Gaming
I've played video games since I was very little. Initially, when I was in about first grade (around 2003 or so) I would install and play child-friendly CD ROM games like Lilo & Stitch: Trouble in Paradise (2002), Maisy's Playhouse (1999), Barbie: Pet Rescue (2000), and The Land Before Time: Activity Center (1997). I was introduced to one of my all-time favorite franchises around this time, Pokemon, by a coworker of my mom's. He would bring in his GBA SP and his copy of LeafGreen and let me play it. Around the same time, I had a friend who got the all-new Nintendo DS Lite, so she didn't need her SP anymore-- so she gave it to me, and my mom's coworker gave me his copy of LeafGreen.
This sparked a lifelong love of the franchise, and I've had every handheld Nintendo console since in order to continue playing them. Some of my other favorite Nintendo handheld games would be Pokemon LeafGreen (2004), Emerald (2004), Platinum (my favorite) (2008) later Legends: Arceus (2022) and Scarlet (2022), Fossil Fighters (2008), Pokemon: Mystery Dungeon Blue Rescue Team (2005) and Explorers of Darkness (2007), and Fantasy Life (2014)
My first ever home console was a Slim PS2, on which I played things like Finny the Fish and the Seven Waters (2005), Barnyard (2006), Sitting Ducks (2004), Madagascar (2005), 102 Dalmatians: Puppies to the Rescue for the PS1 (2004), Shamu's Deep Sea Adventures (2005), Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly (2002), and Neopets: The Darkest Faerie (2005).
I then got my XBox 360 and Wii shortly after, which also were some of the most formative years of my gaming life. On the Wii, I played things like Super Smash Bros. Brawl (this was during my huge Kirby phase where I was playing Squeak Squad (2006) and Superstar Ultra (2008) nonstop, so I obviously mained Meta Knight because I had a huge crush on him) (2008), Sea Monsters: A Prehistoric Adventure (2007) (more on this in the paleontology shrine), The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (2006), and Okami (2006). The last two in particular were vital to the themes and tones of media I love nowadays.
Finally, the 360. This console was my Bethesda machine. I played tons of games on it, but the ones that stuck with me were Assassin's Creed Brotherhood (2010) and Revelations (2011), Fallout 3 (2008), New Vegas (2010), The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (2006), and most of all, V: Skyrim (2011). If I had to play one game for the remainder of my life, it would be Skyrim.
Moving forward, I currenly have a Switch, PS4/PS5, Xbox Series S (aka my Starfield machine), my original PS2, a fuschia GameBoy Advance, and my special 20th Anniversary Pokemon New 3DS. I treasure these consoles with all my heart, and while some have come and gone over time, these ones will stick with me.
That being said, I work at a retro game store and I love retro things as well!! Particularly handhelds and early PS1-looking things.
