Renting video games- a memory

Renting video games simply isn't done anymore; paying a couple of bucks to have a game for a set number of days, and then having to return it is a thing of the past. In this day and age of digital copies, prevalent piracy, and gaming consoles requiring you to install a game before playing it, renting games just isn't feasible or profitable anymore. But back when it was, my God it was glorious.

The week I played Undertale

In August of 2016 I started my first job as a History teacher in a country school. It was a small school, housing grades 8-12, single building. By the time I was hired, though, the school was down to 65 kids total, all separated into five grades. On my second week working there the principal gave me a laptop computer, as per school policy. It was a crummy old thing, but it did come with Undertale.

It was a fun diversion for my lunch hours; after a busy morning, the game was like a godsend to me. In the morning I worked with the grade 9's, 11's, and 12's. Doing three grades in one day is NOT easy; imagine doing five a day EVERY DAY! And the grade 8's were THE WORST!

Anyway, I had Undertale. Every day after I ate my lunch I'd go to my classroom, boot up the game, and play it until ten minutes before class. After I clocked in I'd return to my classroom, put the comp away, and teach my classes.

I could tell whoever had the computer last had already played the game; when I fell down to the Underworld Flowey greeted me like he had seen me before. However, the previous owner certainly did not go the Genocie Route, as far as I could tell. Personally, I didn't make it very far; only as far as the Ice town and to Papyrus' boss fight.

Why didn't I got further? It's not that I dropped the game by choice; my job ended the next week. The school was losing kids daily; when once there were 65 kids, there were only 40. Then 35. On my last day of class, there were only 18 kids total. The school was closed down completely. My last two days were spent clearing up the classroom (wasn't mine anymore), stacking the books away. That was August 2016.

The first time I played Undertale I was trying to relax my mind for the busy afternoon that awaited me. The last time I played Undertale I was trying to keep my cool as my very first job was ending. Undertale will always remind me of that school, of those wonderful children, and that beautiful school that got closed down.

Toys R Us- A Memory

So with Toys R Us, a store that specialized in toys (and which formed an integral part of millions of people's childhoods) closing yesterday, I've decided to share a memory from that store.

It was around the year 2000, during the second year of Pokemania. Toys R Us was the place to be if you were a Pokemon fanatic thanks to the Pokemon League, a special activity hosted every Saturday where kids could join up and play the Pokemon Trading Card Game. My little brother and I were obsessed with Pokemon, and we both played the TCG. We weren't good at it, though. We were also from a family with a tight budget, so our funds to buy the cards were limited. But we were happy.

One particular Saturday we were playing Pokemon TCG in Toys R Us. The place was PACKED! Every hallway there were kids playing Pokemon TCG, trading cards, battling it out with Pokemon cards. And from the speakers one could listen to the Pokemon anime soundtrack 2 B A Master. It was great.

One November evening of that same year, as we were out shopping at Toys R Us for my little brother's birthday gift, I caught sight of a game. Not just any game, but one I wanted for a while now: Pokemon Gold. I was SHOCKED! I begged my mom to buy it for me, and she obliged. We brought that game home, and I played the SHIT out of it! I remember my first Starter: Totodile. I've played and re-played Pokemon Gold hundreds of times, to the point it's become the second Pokemon game I've replayed the most. For the record, the Pokemon game I've replayed most is Pokemon Red.

And that's my memory.

Positive Effects of Gaming in my Life

You've read the title, you know what this is. Here are 5 POSITIVE effects gaming has had in my life:

Remembering Monster Rancher

Monster Rancher was a series of games with a simple premise: raising monsters and battling them. However, the series had a gimmick that was nothing short of BRILLIANT; monsters were obtained by reading REAL LIFE CD's you owned on the Playstation. On paper it sound silly, and in fact this day and age it sounds sillier. But back in the late 90's-early 2000's, this idea was BRILLIANT.

My Top 5 Favorite Consoles

Welp, you've read the title, so you know what you're getting. Here's my list!

My Love-Hate Relationship with MapleStory

There's no MMO I've quit and returned to more than MapleStory. Ah yes, that free-to-play game from South Korea has had its ups and downs, but in all honesty it's a game that's easy to love, easy to play, and easy to quit. I should know; I've quit that game twice a year for the last 7 years!

Remembering Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3

Though the Tony Hawk franchise is pretty much dead these days thanks in no small part to the dismal trainwreck that was Tony Hawk Pro Skater 5, it does one well to return to a simpler time when the Tony Hawk franchise was THE hot selling commodity of the 90's. And to me, no game perfectly encapsulates the fading spirit of the 90's better than Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3, one of the best games I ever played.

Remembering Power Rangers Games from the 16 bit era

Power Rangers is one of those franchises that, had someone told you it'd still be on 24 years after its debut, you'd have laughed in their faces. And yet, barring the year 2010, the show has continued to produce new episodes consistently since its debut in the year 1993, with most seasons having at least 1 licensed game. When you look back on it, you realize that the number of Power Rangers games is actually pretty impressive. These games, each of varied quality, is typically a "Beat-em Up," like Double Dragon, only lighter, softer, and way easier. Let's remember a few.

Remembering Kingdom Hearts 1

It's a bit hard to believe that Kingdom Hearts 1 is already over fourteen years old. Although I no longer follow the series (too many sequels on consoles I don't own) I am still fond of the original game. I want to share some memories regarding this classic with all of you.

Five Video Games That Changed my Life

Though my entire life does not revolve around video games, they most certainly do take up most of my free time. Some would say I'm wasting my life, but in the words of John Lennon "time spent enjoying yourself is time well spent." Video games are fun, but that's not the only reason I love them. Some video games have left a lasting impression on me, helped me become who I am today. So today, I'll share this list of video games with you.

Remembering Time Stalkers

Way back in the year 2000, during the waning years of Sega as a video game giant, their last console, the Dreamcast, was hungry for RPG's. To be sure, the console was not without some fantastic titles (Skies of Arcadia, Grandia 2), but some were...forgettable. One of these RPG's that have been forgotten by most gamers is Time Stalkers. But was Time Stalkers a truly bad experience? Was it simply a mediocre game that was rightly overshadowed by the titans of its genre? Or, was it an overlooked classic?

Cool Boarders 2- A look back

I'd like to take today's entry to just shut my brain off and instead reminisce about a happy time in my childhood. Back in the year 1997, Sears was having a competition for the Playstation, which was back then really started to gain momentum. The first place prize was a Sony Playstation, the second was three free PS1 games of your choosing, and the third was two PS1 games. I came in second and picked 3 games: Final Fantasy 7, Primal Rage, and Cool Boarders 2. Though I am often an enemy of nostalgia, today I want to talk about what that last game meant to me.

Good times.

Pokemon versus Nostalgia

The year was 1998, when I first  heard of Pokemon, and needless to say, I caught the bug. Back then, there were two Pokemon games: Pokemon Red and Pokemon Blue. I asked for the Red version because it impressed me more. The generation that was first introduced to Pokemon is all grown up now, facing the world, building the future, so many of us feel nostalgic for old Pokemania. Even today, the first generation is still held up in high regard, still talked about. It is the first generation that has the most famous Pokemon creepypastas (creepy stories that are spread through the Internet), including the story Jessica (about a Pikachu from Pokemon Yellow that becomes sapient), the Lavender Town Syndrome (about how the background theme to a town in Pokemon caused dozens of children to commit suicide) and even the original Pokemon Black (about a haunted game cartridge where the Pokemon were murdered by a mysterious entity known as Ghost, that the player controlled). Yet, why? Why all this nostalgia?

No feels, please