Back in my much younger days, which was predominantly lived during the 90s, video games were expanding their reach and influence. That decade was full of corporate competition between two developing heavyweights, Sega and Nintendo. It would be known as the Great Console War, and out of it came the fruits of competitive engineering. By…Read more Choosing the Best Path
Going Deeper
For those of you who know me, you know that I enjoy a good retro gaming experience. I love breaking out some of the old systems, or at least the ones I still have, and playing through some pixelated magic. If the truth were to be told, however, I would say that those experiences only…Read more Going Deeper
Acting With Certainty
Man, to say that the last 365 days have been crazy is truly an understatement. With COVID-19 changing the landscape of everything that we thought we knew as "normal," many people have come to the conclusion that the life they knew before the pandemic is not one in which they can return to. The use…Read more Acting With Certainty
Remade in Glory
1997 was a very odd year for me. I remember transitioning from living in sunny California to the rather temporate Illinois environment because my father had recieved a job transfer. It was right around that time that the ultimate video game was releases; Final Fantasy VII. I played the predessor to that game till my…Read more Remade in Glory
Sorry, but Your Hopes and Dreams Are in another Castle
It’s Mar10, so here is a great entry that fits the time!
I am in my early 30’s, so I remember the days in which arcades were actually fun places visit. In the small town where I spent most of my summers, there was a local pool where kids would go to escape the nasty thick humidity of the Kansas “sloppy wet heat”. Sure, I enjoyed swimming, but the real reason that I went to the pool was to play the two arcade machines that were posted right outside of the locker rooms. I remember vividly that the one on the left was Dig-Dug, a frustrating arcade game that required you to dig into the earth and pump up monsters with your magic vacuum and watch them explode. The only thing I was good at in that game was dying. The one on the right was the real deal, the big enchilada, the creme of the crop; it was none other…
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Being Tethered to the Console
All retro gamers will agree that there are limitations to what older systems will allow the player to do. Graphics and software aside, it's the hardware, particularly the controllers that create the biggest barriers to a truly pleasurable gaming experience. I think about the Super Nintendo, for example. The system is considered to be just…Read more Being Tethered to the Console
Sleep A Little, Miss Alot
Ah, the sleep spell. Such a wonderful and overused video game trope. Most RPGs, and few other genres, have sleep spells that pretty much cripple any player who is unfortunate enough to have it cast upon them. Every Final Fantasy game has it, as well Pokemon, Warcraft, Skyrim, and even Smash Bros.; just to name…Read more Sleep A Little, Miss Alot
Embracing the New While Remembering the Path
It's easy for me to look back at the last 30 years or so and see how far video games have come. Some of the earliest gaming memories that I have are with my father's old Atari 2600. Man, talk about one of the best retro systems ever made. For its time, the 2600 was…Read more Embracing the New While Remembering the Path
Coming Back to the Kingdom
Japanese RPGs really know how to make a player home sick. I feel like every single one of them starts off the same way; there is a hometown boy who wakes up in the morning and goes on a quest that will separate him from his family. It happened in Chrono Trigger, Secret of Mana,…Read more Coming Back to the Kingdom
Through the Reign of Terror
As a writer, I am always surprised to see how similar the stories are that people compose. From the plots of books to television shows and even video games, storylines have the tendency to show similarities between each other. I do not think that this is done on purpose, but rather comes about through subconsciously…Read more Through the Reign of Terror
Up Up Down Down Devotionals 