Two weeks ago I talked about Super Mario World, the first video game I ever played. Last week I talked about Crash Bandicoot 2, the first video game I ever owned. Let's backtrack to a time between those two major events. When I was about six years old, our family moved from Indianapolis to the … Continue reading Tetris and the Art of Making the World Make Sense
Christmas, 1998: my brother and I unwrapped a Sony PlayStation, and it became one of the best gifts of my childhood. My brother and I had spent months deliberating over what should become our first video game console: the Nintendo 64, or the Sony PlayStation. At the time, both consoles seemed equally matched. The Nintendo … Continue reading An Ode to the Sony PlayStation and Crash Bandicoot 2
Super Mario World: the most iconic video game on the Super Nintendo, and a staple of 16-bit nostalgia. It was a part of many gamers' childhoods, including my own. I was maybe 3 or 4 years old when I got my first passport to the Mushroom Kingdom. In fact, Super Mario World is the first … Continue reading Super Mario World and the Art of Play
Every year I participate in National Novel Writing Month. It's a writing challenge where you try to complete a novel (at least 50,000 words) in the span of just one month. Obviously, there's not enough time to polish the material; all you end up with is a very rough & disorganized first draft of a … Continue reading 2023 Will be a Year of Change For This Blog
Welcome to 2023, everyone! As is tradition, I start every new year by looking back and taking stock of last year's experiences. I played many games in 2022, and they're all very different from each other. Some games were from familiar franchises like Splatoon 3 and Xenoblade Chronicles 3. However, for most of 2022, I … Continue reading My 2022 in Gaming
Holy moly, it's already the end of 2022. I just got in the habit of writing the correct year down whenever I sign something! At the end of every year I write a series of paragraph-long reviews of the rest of the games I played this year. It's not that I think these games aren't … Continue reading Mini Review Marathon 2022
The mountains of Renais were usually peaceful. However, their calmness was interrupted by a horse rushing through the trees. A proud but wounded knight rode upon it. A princess clutched the knight's waist. In the distance the burning castle of Renais was getting smaller and smaller. Exhausted, the knight Seth stopped and to dress his … Continue reading History of the Emblem, Chapter 5: Eirika
Roy's our boy! Roy's our boy! This is what the audience chants when Roy, a mysterious red-haired swordsman, is winning a match in Super Smash Bros. Melee. It was a memorable cheer; any Melee player could chant it even today. But back in 2002, Melee fans had little explanation about who this character was or … Continue reading History of the Emblem, Chapter 4: Roy & Lyn
I often wonder how the Western video game market would've been different if we had Japan-exclusive games like Mother 3 released here. As infamous as that game is, its actual audience will forever remain limited to diehard fans. Only the fans willing to find the fan translation and emulate it will actually experience the game. … Continue reading History of the Emblem, Chapter 3: Sigurd & Leif
Sunlight fills the cathedral windows, causing Celica's red hair to glow. She bows her head. Her hands are clasped together: "Mila, our Mother Goddess, please hear my prayer. Our crops are dying. Abominations are rising from their graves. Rigel has invaded our homeland. I can no longer stand idly by. What must I do?" Celica … Continue reading History of the Emblem, Chapter 2: Celica
Hookshot, Charge Beam, Revive 