Since I was about one and a half years old, I have been playing video games. My first console was an NES given to me by my cousin, and I have been hooked ever since. Although a lot of people may view their games as just an object, to me each and every single one I own is something special to me. They are memories, ones I never want to forget.In this new series of posts, I want to get a bit more personal. From this point on, I will be discussing games which are special to me, and the memories that come along with them. With each article I also want to encourage you to do the very same. Think about games which are special to you, ones that are more than just a game. What was going on in your life when you were playing it, and how you feel about it even to this day.
So, with that being said, today I'd like to discuss a game which is actually one of the reasons Netto's Game Room is even here to this day. Just what is this game you ask? Well, none other than Mega Man X.
When I was growing up the NES and SNES both played a major role in my life. I played them almost everyday after school, I'd play them when I went to my grandparent's house, and I would also play the SNES when we went on road trips in my grandpa's van. Really I just loved them both, and every chance I got, I would play them. I was never really limited on how often I could play them, but I also didn't sit there and play them all day like other kids. There were still things I wanted to do throughout the day, so I didn't always want to just sit there in front of a game. Even so, I would still play everything I got my hands on, and I was constantly looking for something new. That's where my uncle came in.
My uncle still lived with my grandparents at the time, but he had the entire attic to himself; which was fixed up and furnished. There he had a dresser with a smallish TV, and loads and loads of games. He was single at the time, and he spent quite a bit of his cash buying whatever new came out. I still remember going up there digging through his dresser to see what was new, and that is exactly how I came across Mega Man X. Growing up I loved anything with robots in it, and the moment I saw just what X was, I fell in love. From that moment on, I would play the game as much as possible.
To this day I still remember going over to my grandparent's house and playing X. When my cousins would come over we would all sit around the TV taking turns running through the game, and when we went on long road trips I would take it with me to play on the TV in my grandpa's van. Although I wasn't the best at the game back then, I didn't let it stop me from having fun with it. As time went on I got better, and my cousins began to teach me all about the elemental weaknesses. I learned how to freeze Spark Mandrill, I learned how to take down Chill with just my buster, and I even learned some of the best ways to advance through the stages using special attacks. I really put a lot of work into mastering that game, and one day, my uncle gave it to me; or rather, he gave it to me because he got rid of his SNES. After that I played the game almost daily. I'd come home from school, pop it into my SNES, and just play through it, from start to finish. The game became very special to me, and it is also the whole reason I got into the Mega Man series in the first place. If it wasn't for that, I would have never started the fan site "Mega Man BBS" nor would I have turned it into the RPG forum "Cyber Net" or joined Capcom-Unity. It is because of this game that I became a fan of the series, and continue to be one still to this day.
Although I may be extremely rusty from not playing it for possibly eight years (as you can see in our lets play), I still love the game. (In fact the remake was the only reason I original wanted a Sony PSP!) I never did tell him this while he was alive, but if it wasn't for my uncle, I'm not sure where I would be today. Not just because he got me interested in a lot of the games I'm a fan of, but because of many other reasons as well. I really do owe a lot to him. I guess I should thank him for not selling Mega Man X as well! (Good thing it was in the van, or it too might have been a goner.) Man, so many memories...
