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Before I got into emulation, I had very little experience with video games. As a kid (and even now) my family was relatively poor, so I never had the chance to be a bonafide gamer. To this day I only own a small handful of physical copies. So here’s a complete list of every video game I knew of before I ever downloaded a ROM. It’s shockingly short, and severely lacking in many iconic titles, but in some ways I appreciate games and other media because of that.

Ports of classic arcade/Atari games on my uncle’s computer: Asteroids (actually, it was a clone called Hyperoid, but still) Centipede Tempest Battle Zone Missile Command Pitfall Crackpots Freeway Frostbite H.E.R.O. Kaboom! (also there were a couple Tetris clones)

Games I played on my grandma’s DOS computer (both on 8-inch floppies): Rogue Firepower

Games I played on school/library computers: Reader Rabbit/Reader Rabbit 3 The Magic School Bus Explores the Human Body Math Blaster - The Search for Spot Reading Blaster - Invasion of the Word Snatchers Bugdom Nanosaur Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing (not sure which version)

Games I played at McDonald’s: A Visit to Sesame Street: Numbers one of the N64 Elmo games Mario Tennis

Games I watched being played at various arcades: The Simpsons Caveman Ninja Namco Classic Collection Vol. 2 Ms. Pac-Man Pac-Man Plus Dig Dug Galaga Kangaroo Popeye Pengo Kung-Fu Master Jungle King Toobin’ Laser Ghost Pong Puzzle Bobble Journey Point Blank Sunset Riders

Games I watched being played at a friend of the family’s house: Super Mario Bros./Duck Hunt one of the Ninja Gaiden games, dunno which

Games I watched being played by kids at day camp: Taz-Mania 2 some Godzilla game on GBC Super Mario Advance

Games I watched being played by faculty in my elementary school cafeteria: Bugs Bunny - Rabbit Rampage Zombies Ate My Neighbors

Game I watched being played by a kid in middle school: Super Mario Land

Game I saw as a demo at a department store: Pac-Man 2: The New Adventures

Games I own strategy guides for (but not the actual game itself): The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages/Seasons (I once saw a cousin play one of these) Super Mario Bros. Deluxe Super Mario Advance Super Mario Advance 4 Animal Crossing (GameCube)

Games I saw in magazines or commercials: Mendel Palace Bazaru de Gozaru no Game de Gozaru Game Boy Camera Bomberman Max Hercules - The Legendary Journeys/Xena - Warrior Princess Warlocked Dive Alert 40 Winks Floigan Bros. Paper Mario Spyro 2? Hey You, Pikachu!, Pokémon Snap, Pokémon Stadium

Games I actually own: Pokémon Red/Blue/Yellow (plus extra cartridge-only copies) Pokémon Silver (cartridge is currently lost) Pokémon Crystal (bootleg copy, cartridge only, battery was already dead) Pokémon Sapphire Pokémon Trading Card Game (cartridge only) Game & Watch Gallery (cartridge only) Game & Watch Gallery 4 (cartridge only) Luigi’s Mansion (used copy) Wii Sports Epic Mickey

Epic Mickey was the last video game I ever bought. I just can’t afford to buy games anymore.

You know, the one time I got close to cosplaying was when I went to Video Games Live and dressed as Error.

I don’t think anybody knew who I was (even after I told them).

mah boi

I found what seems to be a minor bug in Oracle of Seasons. If you pull off an Iron Mask’s mask with the Magnetic Glove just so that it drops into this pit in Unicorn’s Cave, it will count as being killed and the door on the left will open.

Dunno if that’s new or anything, but thought I’d share it anyway.

Sometimes it’s a bit surprising realizing how little experience I had as a kid with something I’m a huge fan of. I think I’ve already mentioned how little Disney I actually saw back then, especially the TV shows. Heck, I still haven’t seen every Disney thing I want to watch.

Just the other day I started replaying the Zelda Oracle games, since I didn’t finish them last time. Back when they originally came out, I never actually owned a copy. I saw a distant cousin playing it once, and my parents got me the strategy guide since it was cheaper than the actual game, but I was sure that someday soon I would be playing it for real. The same thing happened with Super Mario Bros. Deluxe and Super Mario Advance. “I have what I need to beat the game once I get it” was my logic. But I never did. I still don’t have enough money to get them- I only have ROMs.

What I did own was Pokémon Red, Blue and Yellow (and TCG for GBC). Trouble is, I never actually finished them. I’ve mentioned before that I kept trying to beat Brock with my Pikachu on Yellow, and I accidentally erased my save file on Red, and I kind of lost interest soon afterward. I did manage to complete Silver later on (too bad the battery ran dry on that one...) as well as Sapphire. Even with the Pokémon anime I didn’t see much of it. Except for a handful of episodes Kids WB reran often, and a few more I had on VHS, I only saw the Kanto seasons twice before getting the DVDs. Orange Islands, Johto, Hoenn... the vast majority of those I’ve only seen once, some not at all. Chronicles? I wish.

Same thing with Mario. I was a little too young for Mario’s NES and SNES heyday, but I did see the original SMB/Duck Hunt at a neighbor’s house we used to go to when my mom was at work. I only own three physical Mario games: Game & Watch Gallery 1 and 4 (cartridge only), and Luigi’s Mansion, all bought used.

Being just shy of poor sucks. I’m extremely lucky to have this computer, honestly.

Say “dodongos”!

So I’m reading NES Godzilla Creepypasta, and it got me thinking: since I don’t get most of the obscure kaiju and video game references, I would imagine the average person doesn’t either. If such a popular story can have so many obscure references, surely people can appreciate Dipped?

Same thing with Ben Drowned. I have never played Majora’s Mask (heck, I haven’t played too many Zeldas period), so I didn’t really fully appreciate what was going on.

I don’t expect anybody to get some of the references in Dipped honestly. But I did try to make it so that you could enjoy it without understanding them. Heck, I hope that they add to the weirdness.

Just some thoughts.

Not all that familiar with the music from any of the Zelda games (I was only exposed to Game Boy titles growing up), but this track caught my attention while listening to game music radio.

Moley-ho!

Geez, now that I have the Roc's Feather and the Zora's Flippers in Oracle of Seasons, I can sequence break all over the place.

Link's Awakening is one of the greatest games ever, and this is probably the greatest playthrough of it ever. I rewatch this every now and then- it's that good. Be sure annotations are on!