Video Games and Me

So I've talked a lot about different things that inspire me, but one topic I haven't touched on yet is video games, and I know this is a... touchy subject, but I wanted to talk about it.

I've been playing video games since I was a young kid, and one of the oldest games I ever remember playing was Pong on Intellivision. Now, for younger generation who've never played pong, I will say that it was a strangely addictive game, but the graphics horrible.

However, it was the next system that I have my most fondest memories with. The NES (Nintendo Entertainment System). Now when compared to today's graphics, these too would be considered crap, but the reality is that the NES was the first major improvement to video games, and with this system came the start of the greatest game series that still exist to this day. The first Final Fantasy came out on NES, along with Mario, Zelda, Link, and Donkey Kong. And one of my all time favorite games, Duck Hunt.  And to this day there is something so pure and simple about the graphics and design of these games that I still pull them out and play them.

I will admit, I never got a Sega, Super Nintendo, Nintendo 64, or even more recently, Wii. Though I'm familiar with all theses systems, I don't have any of them.

On the other hand, I've been with Playstation since the beginning and have one of their first ever released games: Legacy of Kain. There are many ps games I love, but a few that I go back to time again - games I've even driven inspiration from for my stories - are Crash Bandicoot, Spyro, Soul Reaver, Drakan: The Ancient Gates, Chocobo, Sly Cooper, The Legend of Dragoon, Jak & Daxter, Ratchett & Clank, Tomb Raider, Beyond Good & Evil, and Uncharted.

There's a theme to that list of games, but I'm not going to go into it.

But perhaps my all time favorite game is Kingdom Hearts and I often play this game when I hit a brick wall in my writing. Even though Kingdom Hearts has an overtly complicated storyline with plot holes galore, the play is still fun, the graphics are well made, and overall it's a game allows a person to remember their youth with fondness.