30 Days of Video Games – Day 1 – Your very first game

So a while ago, on my facebook, I did small series called 30 days of video games. Basically, I posted a new photo every day for 30 days straight and each day would be on a different topic in gaming. So I figured why not do an updated version for my blog! Of course I won’t be posting everyday but I will do my regular 2 posts a week and move on from there! So lets begin! Here is day one……

To determine what my first video game is would be is difficult. Is it the first game I ever played? Or is it the first game I ever owned/was given to me? If it was the first option, I’m not gonna lie, there is no way for me to remember. It could have been the old games on the Texas Instruments computers or maybe Power Pete on my family’s old Mac. So I’m gonna go with the first game that was given to me, and that was Donkey Kong 64.

This game was the first experience I had on the N64. At first, I was honestly under whelmed. You see, I wanted a Sega Genesis like my neighbors had so i could play Sonic, and my personal favorite on the Genesis, Tiny Toon Adventures: Buster’s Hidden Treasure. So when I played it the first time all I could think was, “What is this garbage? This isn’t like Sonic!”. Little did I know I would end up loving Donkey Kong 64 more than most other games on my 64. What finally got me hooked on the game was seeing the first major zone in the game, Jungle Japes. I don’t know what it is about this zone but I love it. I love all the different areas you can explore and the new things to see later on in the game when you get more playable characters.  Like when i discovered the mine cart challenges hidden in the mountain or finding cranky’s hut in the back of the zone. I always felt like there was something I hadn’t found yet there. Of course this wasn’t the only zone with secrets and other goodies like that, Jungle Japes was just the zone that got me completely involved in the game.

Donkey 64 is also one of of the most difficult games to fully complete. Not because of the difficulty but just the shear amount of things there is to do in the game. There are a handful on mini games to play, collecting all the bananas for every character, collecting all the golden bananas and so much more. The game just packs tons and tons of things to do in it and I loved every minute of it. For those who haven’t played it at all pick it up. The graphics are dated but the game play is still incredibly fun. Plus who doesn’t love that awesome DK rap.

What was your first video game? Let me know in the comments! Oh! and if you guys like this, I will gladly post the list so you can start your own!

– Coveltine

Retro Con

  This past weekend I went to a convention called Retro Con. It’s a small convention but a surprisingly busy one. The con was only for 1 day, but that was the perfect length for what it was offering and it was offering one of the nicest dealers rooms I have been to. Retro con was meant for collectors and the dealers room is where it shows. Now, I normally go to anime conventions, but this is the first con I’ve been to that focuses on more than just anime and video games. In fact it focused on most, if not all of geek culture.

What I ended up loving most about it is actually how much I learned. You see I did not grow up with geek culture. Because of this, I don’t know as much about it as many of the people I meet at cons do. But for me, that’s what is exciting. I get to learn about parts of this amazing sub-culture through other fans passion. One of the guests at the con this year was an author named Jeff Ryan. Jeff was one of the first people I spoke to when my friends and I walked into through the door. His booth was literally right past the registration line. He was advertising his book called “Super Mario: How Nintendo conquered America.” He took some time and spoke with us about his book and a little bit of his personal background and what inspired him to write it. Through this passion of his I got to learn things about the game industry, Nintendo specifically, that I hadn’t known before. Walking around the dealers room was like walking into the past. I got to see things that many people grew up with. Granted I was there for the retro games, and I came home with a nice haul for my collection, but I greatly enjoyed learning though these fan’s passion.

  The guests they had this year were the main reason I ended up going to the con. This year they had the Nostalgia Critic and The Angry Video Game Nerd. The two of them are some of my favorite internet celebrities. Sadly their panel wasn’t as good as I had hoped, but it was still fun to watch them give their opinions and share their stories a little. Some of the other guests were Larry Hama, who is best known as the writer for G.I. Joe. Donald Fullilove, who was the mayor in the original Back to the Future movie. There were just enough panels and guests there to break up the day there. Walking around in the dealers room is fun and all but it’s hard to spend all day in there. Well at least without spending all your money in the first 5 minutes after you see something shiny.

This year I was able to get some great new games and consoles to add to my collection, and I didn’t pay too much for them either. My haul included a Super Nintentdo (with 2 controllers), a Sega Game Gear, Sonic the Hedgehog and Castle of Illusion for the game gear, Goof Troop and NBA Live 96′ for the Super Nintendo, Duck Tales and Kid Icarus for the NES, and more!

I didn’t take too many pictures but here is what I have.

My haul from Retro Con 2013!

Holy Crossover!

KITT

 Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed Retro Con and I cannot wait for next year. So yea….. Kind of a lame conclusion but that’s all I got for this one.

– Coveltine