I've always played video games, and recently, I have bought a lot of games which I may have obtained illegitimately in the past. I'm fortunate enough now to have a large space dedicated to my video games, where I can have all my machines set up and ready to play with a flick of a few switches. I used to emulate the majority of the older systems but after going back to the actual hardware, I can say it definitely isn't the same.
There is still something about owning the original copy of a title, something that I never really experienced when I was copying the majority of my games as a "poor student". Even though I have flash cartridges for the cartridge based consoles and many of my CD/DVD based consoles have been modified to run on burned media, it's just not the same. It's not logical, the game experience is exactly the same. But for some reason, I want to collect the physical sgame instead of using my flash carts. As my video game collection now heads towards 700 games (more including dodgy copies), I started to think about my fondest memories. This post is my brain dump of these memories, preserved so that when I'm old and forgetful, I have these words to reflect and jog my memory on.
The Commodore 64 is a machine that I cut my teeth on. After playing with this computer, I knew I wanted to work with them as a job. It was my brothers machine and it had a ton of pirated titles. I remember playing titles such as Archon (which I still play to this day), Barbarian, Bruce Lee, Ghost and Goblins, International Karate, Street Rod, Spy Hunter and Test Drive. My sister and I used to play Bubble Bobble when she came over for dinner on Sundays and we'd play through all 100 levels. It's a computer that I'll never get rid of.
My first experience with the original Nintendo (NES) was in Singapore. My aunt had a console with a can't-remember-how-many-games-in one bootleg cartridge. The cart counted the 7 levels of Contra as 7 individual games. I can't remember all the titles on it, but I do remember Contra and Binary Land.
I got my own NES when I was maybe 10 or 11. I bought it off a school friend for $30 as he had a SNES. I saved my lunch money for I don't know how long and starved to get it (and I still have it, although I don't use it cos I now have a NTSC one which is better). It came with Super Mario Bros/Duck Hunt, Excite Bike, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Shadow Warriors (Ninja Gaiden) and had an extra controller and Zapper gun. I got really good at SMB and Ninja Gaiden as these titles were all I had for years, until I was at uni and had a job/car and managed to find Probotector (Contra for European countries). At $10 it was a good buy but I never got it working until only recently when I bought a bottle of isopropyl alcohol and scrubbed the pins clean.
My sister's boyfriend/fiance bought a Sega Megadrive. I have memories of playing through Sonic 1 (which I just completed with all 6 Chaos Emeralds), Alien Storm, Columns, Ghosts and Ghouls. During my uni years I bought my own with a MegaCD from eBay. I also have a load of games which were ex-rental from the local video shop before they closed.
At some point, my brother bought a SNES (which I now have but don't use). There were a ton of RPG's which have really increased in value over the years which were kept. He had a whole lot more but traded them for a PS1. I distinctly remember Terranigma, Lufia 2 and Secret of Evermore. I only recently got a Super Famicom (Japanese SNES) and have been buying a number of titles for it.
I can't remember how I got my first PS1 (probably from my first job), but I do remember buying second hand games from Cashies for it. I had a decent collection but sold it for some reason which I can't remember. I remember going to Hi-Tech world to buy a Dual Shock controller and Gran Turismo. I also remember another school friend Paul who had Gran Turismo, so we would meet up and race each other with our modified cars. I remember playing through, saving and modifying a R32 Skyline to it's maximum capability and decimating him. After that, we didn't play GT anymore, mainly playing Twisted Metal after that. I remember playing through FF VII (I didn't finish it till later in life). I also remember after meeting my uni mate Jared, being introduced to the import games which were never released here. I got my PS1 modded so I could play titles like Chrono Cross.
I can't remember exactly when I got my N64. But I bought Goldeneye, Mario Kart 64, Zelda Ocarina of Time, Super Mario 64, Banjo Kazooie and others. I remember playing Banjo Kazooie with CB until the early hours of the morning, eating cheese and tomato sandwiches as a mid morning snack. Goldeneye was a staple with high school friends, 4 player action on a 34cm TV. During uni years, I remember playing Perfect Dark with Jared and some other guys.
I remember Jared buying a PS2 and Jak and Daxter. It just came out and we bought it from KMart. I remember holding the PS2 box and walking about of KMart and the shopping centre, and all the kids we walked past were staring at what we had. After playing a few hours of Jak and Daxter, I bought my own PS2 and Jak and Daxter a few days later. Many great games on the PS2, but standouts for me were the GTA trilogy.
I bought an original XBOX and modded it for XBMC (oh and games of course). It was my media player right up until TV downloads on the internet moved to mpeg4 and the XBOX couldn't cope anymore.
During my uni years I remember coming across MAME and people building cabinets for them. At the time, arcade cabinets were stupidly expensive, and it was often cheaper to build your own. My Dad helped me build my first arcade cab. It definitely wasn't the best or prettiest work, but it did the job. I bought an IPAC controller and Happ arcade buttons from the US, when the exchange was 1 AUD = 45c USD. I ended up destroying the cab after I sourced some proper arcade cabinets and needed the room. I regret it somewhat now as I look back and think about it with rose tinted glasses. Dad was probably thinking I was doing it wrong and only stepping in so I didn't fail haha.
My first PS3 was a present to myself after starting my new (and still current) job. My 360 had died (as did everyone elses at the time) and was out of warranty and I didn't want to give my money back to Microsoft for an unreliable console. I've only just recently bought another 360 (a revised model which is supposedly more reliable). The PS3 only died recently after a lightning storm, which I got replacement value for from insurance to buy my PS4. I replaced my PS3 with a second hand unit. Plenty of great titles here. Bioshock series, Uncharted series, Fallout series, Skyrim. I still have a largish stack of PS3 games to play trough.
I don't recall exactly when I got my Gamecube, but it was after its heyday. I do remember Jared having a GC, with Super Monkey Ball and playing the Monkey Target mini game. It's where the "help me Gordo, I'm falling!" saying comes from as a uni friend was not able to master it. CB and I played Super Mario Sunshine and I recall her getting angry at the controls.
My Wii was a free hand me down. My Wii U i bought after KMart advertised a Skylanders pack and Wii U Basic for $180 odd. My niece and nephew got the Skylanders and I kept the Wii U. Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze was a massive pain the rear.
That's about all I can think of at the moment.
