Ah Memories

Ever have that "something" that brings back fond memories every time you see/hear it?

That'd be certain video games for me. Yes, I know that puts me irrevocably in the "geek" category, but I don't care! Some video games bring back certain memories for me that I really enjoy reliving from time to time. For example:

Playing Super Mario World on the SNES makes me think of the Christmas I got my very first gaming console. I was so excited to get the SNES -- I had been bugging mom and dad to get me one since I heard about them. So they got it for Christmas (which is a shock cuz they usually only get me things I need for Christmas, not fun things). I was in about 7th or 8th grade, and I spent my entire Christmas vacation playing that game in the basement. Mom and dad used to catch me playing at 3am over my vacation, and they would get so pissed because they told me to be in bed. I'd sneak out anyways. ;-)

One of my two all-time favorite games is still Final Fantasy II on the SNES (which I just started playing again tonight for the first time in about a year). I rented this game from the video store one weekend and became totally engrossed by it. I just had to have it. So I saved up the 70$ it cost to buy the game, and went out and got it about a month later. I have fond memories of playing this game until my thumbs and eyes hurt. The storyline is just so captivating! I still play it today! This was the very first RPG I ever played, and it's the sole reason I am hooked on the genre.

Then Final Fantasy III came out (my other favorite game of all time). This one nearly doubled the play time of FF II, and it still kept the amazing storyline. I usually end up playing this one right after I play FF II. I played this game while I was transitioning from my old house (over by the middle school) to the new house (on the edge of town), so that'd be about 10th grade. I used to play it for hours on end; trying to find every secret, get every magicite, etc. Man, I love this game. I still remember riding home in the car when I bought the game -- I opened up the box so I could read the manual on the way home. By the time I got to the house, I was so excited to play the game it almost hurt. I still have that manual sitting around....

I played other great games while I was in high school: Legend of Zelda, Chrono Trigger, Secret of Mana, etc. All these games absolutely rocked. They had great storylines, the controls were intuitive and they were just plain fun to play.

Then I moved away to DigiPen... and there was a contest going on amongst the students -- who could beat Final Fantasy VII the fastest? I remember this vividly. It was the first time a video game had ever been advertised on TV. The graphics...were...amazing. There's no other way to put it -- we sat in awe of the graphics and thought that Square was lying to us. So I went out and bought a PlayStation just so I could play FF7. I paid 300$ in Canadian for the PS, along with 70$ for the game itself. The game boasted something like a mandatory 60 hours of play time before you could beat it -- but the current champ had it beat in almost 30 hours. I sat down the weekend before classes started and played for 17 hours before I got to the end boss. He kicked my ass so hard because I just didn't have high enough levels to face him. I ended up beating it in just under 20 hours. Straight. In a weekend. Oh man, it was awesome.

Sadly, I feel FF7 was the downfall of Square. It's when they started focusing on making the graphics the main reason to buy the game. FF7 had a compelling storyline, but it wasn't nearly as good as FF2 or 3. They went downhill from there, and fast. I didn't bother to buy FF8 or 9 because they looked horrible. I bought FF X for PS 2 just because I figured I should give the series another shot. Of course, I also wish that I had those ten hours of my life back that I spent figuring out the game really does suck just that bad. I've almost lost all faith in Square to put out a decent RPG that grasps my heart as much as FF 2 and 3 did. I just keep hoping they prove me wrong!

Some people think video games rot the brain. They make you vegetate in front of the TV all day long and they don't stimulate the mind enough. I think they're wrong. Video games create memories that will be with you for the rest of your life.