My Video Game Side Quest: Apps and Ads

    When I first got a computer, one of the things I couldn't wait for was solitaire. I knew from experience that many PCs had their own solitaire programs. I played it a lot in the 90s, since I didn't need anyone else to play. Well, I quickly found out by checking my MacBook, as well as a third-party manual, that Apple doesn't include a solitaire app with its Macs. They have Chess instead. Now, I played chess quite a bit when I was young, but I wasn't that big of a fan.  Since it took a few weeks after I got my MacBook for the installation of the internet at home, chess was the only game I had. Sure, I could customize a little, but I still didn't like playing it. At least there was also a sliding tile game widget hidden within a file. That I really liked. Too bad it got dropped in a later update.

    At least I had internet access at work to download a few games until I got hooked up at home. The first solitaire app I tried was technically free, but you had to buy extra layouts after the limited ones included. The first tableau was impossible for me to solve. I think I accidentally skipped a few layouts, preventing me from ever trying to solve them. I stopped playing it fast. I also got Epic Solitaire, at least I think that was the name. It had different modes to play, customizable card designs and tabletop, and a daily challenge. I played the challenge almost first thing everyday when I turned on my MacBook, usually playing a second game, or more, as well. Every day until my first MacBook died. Of course, I got the game again three days later with my new computer, but it wasn't the same. I couldn't get the game to look the same. I wound up not playing the game ever again. (Like a dunce, I didn't realize that the original game was still on my iCloud. I could have just retrieved it. Oh, well.)  I also got two pool games. One had basic graphics, but an easy mechanics system. The other had much better graphics, but some of the mechanics weren't as intuitive. I played the former way more. I stopped with the pool games after I got the internet installed and I could play my Facebook games instead.

    The only other game I have on my MacBook is Songpop Classic, and I only have that one due to the fact that it got dropped my Facebook gaming. It didn't get a Mac version for months after that, but that is for a later post. I have yet to activate any of the free trials to Apple Arcade on any of my devices. Strangely enough, the Songpop app appeared on my iPhone the same time I got it on my MacBook, without me having to download it.

    I only got an iPhone because I needed it for SFA for my grad school.  I wasn't planing to use it for games and such, but that's what happened. Not only do I have Songpop Classic on my phone, but I have Golf Clash as well. I had to migrate it from Facebook after the game makers had some difficulties with them. At least I had a phone by then to make it work. (More on this it a later post.)

    One thing I noticed on each game is the huge amount of ads on the phone versions, many of them for other games. When on my Mac, there were few ads, and they were usually just there when a special offer was given or when switching between modes. On the phone, Songpop has an ad after every single match it seems, not just occasionally. It's why I try to stick to my MacBook. Golf Clash also had ads, and they can be more intrusive. At first, many of these ads were interactive. You could play a level to try out the game. Sometimes, the playing would stop just before you could beat the level, though. Instead of continuing, the ad would take you to the game's site so you could purchase it. Very infuriating.

    So far, the only game I've actually gotten was one of those fruit merging games, that I keep on my second phone, the one without a SIM. I've also tried different merging games on Bing and YouTube. No other type of game that I've looked at was enjoyable enough to download to my phones. I don't think that I'll get the chance to do it again. Recently, I've not been getting ads for games on Golf Clash. Instead, I'm getting ads for AppleTV, wild salmon, TEMU, and chair tai chi for seniors. I guess that I've aged out of the game demographics, although Clash seems to have a new ad partner as well. The number of possible ads has decreased a lot as well. 

     I just want another test run ad. I want to try out something else. Especially since I don't eat salmon and don't need to sit in a chair for exercise.

My Comic Book Journey: 2026 Update

    I'm taking a break from my current video game series to give the update for my 2024 series on comic book buying locations. (I would have done one on series, but so many have had multiple volumes over the decades, that it would be difficult for a non-fan to understand all the differences. Besides, the series is about the experience of getting the comics, not the enjoyment of reading and collecting them.) I have a lot to update about, so let's get started with the biggest news.

• Page 3 Game Zone:  After over a year of not having new books, Page 3 finally started getting new comics in March. I restarted my weekly pull in April. They still haven't been able to establish connections with all distributors/publishers, but I will be able to get the majority of my books from them. They had a soft re-opening last fall, with being almost full time this spring. Because they had to stop all orders after last year's flood, it took them some time to get back up to speed. Having major changes in the worlds of comic book distribution hurt them as well. That's why they can't get certain titles yet, such as Marvel. Still, I'm doing pretty good for now.

    When Page 3 closed last year due to flooding, I waited a few months before trying to find my comics. I had the mistaken belief that they would continue getting the orders they already had, but wait on any new ones. Yeah, I'm overly hopeful. Anyway, when I found out what was happening, I started making plans on getting my missing books. I started with the places I already knew about, then I started researching the entire state for places I could go to. I even looked into a few neighboring states, hoping for a lead. As such, I was able to maintain my hobby for over a year. This meant going to new places or returning to old ones to buy from, finally.

• Super Hero Creamery, Huntington Mall, ✓:  After avoiding it on my first trip to the Mall, soon after it opened there, I made a special trip that included my first try to retrieve my comics. I had a long list of books to get, and I wasn't disappointed at what I found. As I mentioned in a post last year, I was able to get over a dozen books, but I could've gotten more. In an effort to save money, I skipped a few series that I felt I could easily get later, as well as some that had gaps. I have since made two more trips there, with me getting about a month's worth of comics last fall. However, I was only able to get one comic this past January, and it wasn't the most current issue. I'm somewhat worried that they might be having financial problems. They don't carry many collectables beyond comics, aside from the ice cream parlor in the rear of the store. (Haven't tried it yet.) Maybe the just moved the current comics to a different place that I missed. (I'm a man; of course I didn't ask for directions. Also, most of the employees were in the back with the parlor.) Still, it is worrisome.
• Cavalier Comics, Norton, VA, ✓:  Late last May, I made my first stop in years here to search for comics. While I have been to this store many times, back in the 2010s, I never got anything here, due to Page 3. They had a nice selection, although they were missing quite a few titles I was missing. Still, I was able to pick up a few, as well as almost getting a few more if it weren't for gaps. While fairly close, I decided not to immediately go back. The roads along the shorter route through Knott and Letcher counties were very damaged from the recent floods, making the trip kind of bad. The longer way on US 23 in Pike was took an extra thirty minutes, and was very boring. Also, there wasn't much else to shop at that felt interesting.
• Comic Interlude, Lexington, ✓, + online:  Before my annual June trip to Lexington, I researched the various comic book shops to find one to get my missing issues. I settled on this one, due to a reachable location along my usual route. Unfortunately, my travel companion reneged on the deal the last second, thinking I was planning to shop online instead of in person. I missed out on about a dozen comics that had sold out in the time it took me to place the order and have it confirmed. Still, the joy I had a week later getting a package with over twenty comics I was missing was amazing. Not only have I placed multiple orders since that first one, I even managed to visit the actual store last November. I even wrote about how I geeked out about it in a post. If I ever move to Lexington, this is a strong contender for my new store. 
• Comic Book World, Florence (and Louisville), KY, online only:  After I missed out on a bunch of issues from Comic Interlude, I made another search for other stores in Kentucky. I settled on this one, as it had a wide selection of comics available online. I had to set up an account to buy them though, only to find out that they were changing the way they sold merchandise. I had to email them my order, instead of just clicking. Still, I was able to get almost all of my missing comics. I could have gotten all of them, but comics from their Louisville location weren't available for online sales. (I was finally able to get the three issues I was still down by buying the trade paperback collection they were in through my store.) I've set up a communication chain for the last few months, alternating with Comic Interlude for my orders. While the emails aren't always responded to on time, I've been mostly satisfied. I will probably make my last order with them soon, for the last new issues I'm needing until Page 3 can start ordering them again.
• The E-Bay Store, Prestonsburg: In desperation, I stopped here last summer to see if they had anything. I couldn't see any new comics I got, but they did have a catalog from a publisher I rarely get anything from.  Most of their older comics weren't things I liked either.

     Finally, I remembered yet another place that I forgot the first time around.

•   Unknown collectable store, Pikeville:  In the mid-90s, there was a collectable store on 4th Avenue, across from the Hardee's. I think I sent my mom in first, to see what they had, but I don't remember if I actually went in myself. They really didn't have comics, so I never went again. Some time later, the closed. Whether they went out of business or move, I never found out. The building was later torn down, with the space becoming a parking lot, next to the church next door.

    And finally, finally, in a few months, expect part two of this update. While writing this year's series on video games, I realized I may have missed a few things about buying comics I should had added. Expect part two in July or so.  See you Monday, as I return to video games.

My Video Game Library: Candy Crush

    Last year, in a trial of sorts for this series, I described my history with the various Candy Crush games. I don't want to go over everything, just a few months later, so I will just give the highlights for this post and give a few recent updates. Yes, a lot has changed since I first talked about Candy Crush about seven months ago.

    I started playing Candy Crush Saga on Facebook about the same time it debuted as a game show on CBS. It was about the time they started phasing out most of the story elements from the game. When it began, one needed to win each level in a stage to complete a story element, such as repairing a candy factory or refilling a lake. Now, new players have no idea why they have to rescue baby dragons or use a flying saucer as a power-up, because those story elements have gone. Sure, some story beats roll out whenever a special event starts, but it has basically been allowed to fade away. The levels, obstacles, and power-ups have changed, even some before I started playing. Even the layout is different, going from a stylized game board to a scrolling line of repeating backgrounds. Just this week, some artistic elements has been updated, while a glitch with a daily bonus still hasn't been fixed after a month. At one point, I was winning so much, that I was in danger of reaching the end of the game and having to wait for new levels to drop. Now, I'm lucky to beat a few levels each week. I can go for days without a win, only to go on a streak soon after. I'm nowhere near the end any more. Currently, I play once or twice a day, usually at work in the mid-morning or afternoon. Rarely do I play at night any more.

    Candy Crush Soda Saga has the same issues with story elements, possibly to a greater degree. At least you still see the characters sometimes in the original game. The Facebook version barely has a background anymore. I don't even get the chance to play in events. Not a one has ever shown up, while other players get them all the time. I'm still enjoying the random extra bonuses that popped up for a few weeks last year whenever I played. I'm only now starting to get back into the double digits, although I have used up most of my gold.  Way more than I should have. I am facing worse setbacks here than in the original game. I usually play a few rounds first thing in the morning, only occasionally playing at other times.

    Candy Crush Jelly Saga is the only game that still has some of its story elements out in the open, if only because of the competitive challenge levels. Like Soda, I have yet to experience an event for Jelly. I think they are out there, just not for my version. Recently, I accidentally befriended a bunch of strangers, and I now get life requests and gifts.  I hate that, but it somewhat makes up for not beating levels as fast as I could otherwise. I usually play at night, losing a few lives, then stopping. I return and finish later in the evening, after those lives replenish. 

    There are other Candy Crush games, but they are only apps and not available on Facebook. (I'm not counting the recently added brainteaser version on Yahoo. I've solving it since February, but it hasn't updated the game for a few days.) While I probably keep my progress if I switchover to the apps, I don't want to. I've already got enough games on my phone that take up a lot of my time. I don't need any more. Unless forced to, by having Facebook finally dropping the games. Maybe. 

My Video Game Library: Cartoons

    Before I got my first video game system, I got much of my fill for gaming from cartoons. At one time int he 80s, you had Pac-Man and Dragon's Lair on ABC, a compilation that featured Donkey Kong, Q*Bert, Kangaroo, and Pitfall (with later seasons featuring Donkey Kong Jr. and Space Ace) on CBS, and Captain N on NBC with Simon Belmont (from the 'Castlevania' games), Kid Icarus, and a very inaccurate Mega-Man, with appearances by Link and Zelda, on NBC. There was even a Super Mario series mixed in with live-action segments in syndication by the early 90s. I mostly missed that one, since it was on a time when I couldn't watch. 

    The 90s would also bring a fairly accurate Mega-Man cartoon. The season/series finale even brought in time-traveling characters from Mega-Man X. There was also a cartoon based on 'Street Fighter II' on USA, although it featured many elements from the live-action movie. I didn't like the animation style for the last season, although they brought in elements from Street Fighter Alpha for a surprise. Fox had some cartoons from games I didn't actually play, such as Monster Hunter. I think the show had a fairly deep plot, but I'm not sure it really reflected the actual game. There was also Where in the World Is Carmen San Diego? I really liked that one, as Rita Moreno voiced the titular villain, even though the only episode the visited Kentucky had them at a generic coal mine. (I also liked the PBS game show for kids. It was a nearly perfect blend of education and entertainment. The follow-up Where in Time leaned too much into education.) I even seem to remember a cartoon based on Mortal Kombat, but I never watched that one that much.

    Of course, the biggest video game cartoon was Pokémon. I knew about both the game and the cartoon before it debuted in America, mostly from the now banned episode that caused so many kids to have seizures. I watched it from its start in syndication through Kids WB onto Cartoon Network, where it went all the way through Gen VI. The show then went to streaming for the next to generations, before ending with the original human cast. A new cast was created for the current games. Never saw them.

    The late 90s brought the unusual knock-off Digimon. This cartoon had an overarching plot line that made much more sense. The first block/seasons of episodes feature a bunch of kids transported to a digital world, meeting up their Digimon partners. They managed to get back to earth, and they saved both worlds, only to have their partners return to their world. The second block had a flash forward of a few years, adding many new cast members, as the older ones mostly kept to the background. A similar menace arose, but this time, the two worlds managed to merge, allowing everyone on earth to bond with their own Digimon partner. The third block took place in a different universe with different characters. I couldn't understand much of it. The fourth block moved to a different network, and existed in another universe again. I missed large sections of it, but it was easily the weirdest one of all.

    Since the 2000s, there haven't been many gaming cartoons that I watched. Some, like one based on a Mega-Man spinoff, weren't really interesting. The latest Pac-Man cartoon from Discovery Family was barely watchable. There was also a highly-rated Castlevania cartoon, but it was on a steaming platform I didn't have. Frankly, so much is now streaming and not on cable, that there aren't any cartoons I can watch any more.

My Video Game Side Quest: Social Media

    I have mentioned many times in this blogcast about how I first joined Facebook. I was only trying to get publicity for my store by creating a page for it, only to be forced to form a page for myself first. The rules had changed after I had read an older book, I guess. I didn't even try to get friends for a few months, after a disappointing birthday message from Facebook. One of those friends invited me to join a game he played. Since I wanted to be nice, I tried it out, even though it wasn't the type I usually liked, sports. Specifically, Golf Clash. (I would later realize that he got an in-game bonus whenever he invited someone to join the game, and they accepted.)  After that, I finally started trying out various games. Of course, the first one I chose on my own was Bejeweled. Their version wasn't exactly the same as the one I was familiar with, but I played for a few weeks before I decided to drop it. I would try out a bunch of other games, abandoning them for one reason or another. I quickly got rid of this weird diner-based matching game, once I found out it was from China. I would go on to find other games, most notably the "Candy Crush" games. I even looked into the game Chats that Facebook had with some of the games.  That feature slowly faded. At my height, I had around ten games that a cycled through. Then the shoes began to drop.

    I hit a wall on one matching game. Try as I might, I couldn't get through this one level. I was all but out of special resources, and I saw no way out to push through. So, I deleted the game. I deleted another game after I accidentally reset it back to the beginning. There was no way I was going to start over, so the block breaking game was history. A third game got deleted after it began to freeze up. While I was getting the daily check-in bonuses, I couldn't actually play the word-building game. I was gone too. One game that I really, really loved was SongPop 2 (don't ask about the original). I was taken down when Flash support was ended. I was in the middle of getting ready to say goodbye, when the game was taken down earlier than I expected. At least I managed to get that game back later. (See a future post.) Even Golf Clash was affected for a few weeks by a dispute with Facebook. I was froze out of the game while things were sorted out. The game came back, but left the platform shortly afterwards. (I managed a way to play this game too. Again, later post.) 

    With all of the upgrades that Facebook has gone through, many of the games I left behind aren't even mentioned in my History any more. Only the four games I still play daily are left. I've mentioned the three "Candy Crush" games before, and I will feature them in a separate post soon. The only remaining game left is Cookie Jam. I don't remember how I got attached to this matching game that is quite similar to "Candy Crush." It has similar themes and rules, but the game has always had features unique to themself. In fact, "Candy Crush" has been implementing some of those features, or something close to them. In some ways, Cookie Jam is a better game with their newest features. I find myself playing for longer periods than I do with any "Candy Crush" game. I just seem to rack up longer winning streaks in it. In fact, I sometimes feel that Cookie Jam lets me win. That's how easy it gets at times.

    Facebook isn't the only social media site that has games now. (The games are a big reason why I prefer the site over the mobile app.) LinkedIn added games over a year ago, but I don't really play them. They just feel like digital versions of traditional pencil-and-paper games. In fact, I actually do many similar games in puzzle magazines. Classmates.com is adding games, but the few they have can be found elsewhere. Even Apple News has digital versions of classic newspaper puzzles, as well as few of their own design. These games are usually locked behind a paywall, so I ignore them, but the emoji-based one is similar to puzzles I've made. Small world, I guess.

My Video Game Library: Backstreet Billiards

    I've always been partial to pool. There was something about the colored balls and geometric shots that thrilled me. I was disappointed that I never got a toy pool table like one my cousins got for Christmas. One of my great aunts lived in a house that once was a pool hall. Another relative had a pool table in their attic area. I only got to go up there once, and I never got a chance at the table. Considering how young I was, I couldn't have done much anyway. I started watching 9-ball pool matches on ESPN my junior year of high school. I was just amazed it was on television, but then ESPN didn't have the best variety of sports to choose from back then. The restaurant next to my high school had a table, from what I heard from those who had went there. I only went once, to pick up an order for another student, so I never had a chance to play. I think both colleges I went to had pool table in their rec areas, but I didn't know anyone to help me learn how to play.

    That's why I was very happy once previews started to show up about the first pool games for the PS1. I think there was one on a demo disc, but I didn't like it too much. I was leaning to another game that kept getting previews, Backstreet Billiards. I didn't know which one to get, until I saw a billiards magazine on a shopping trip to Lexington. They were reviewing pool video games, and they rated Backstreet as the slightly better option for the PlayStation. Slightly better graphics and gameplay. That was the one I asked for Christmas.

    The game had two primary options, Story Mode and One-on-One. In Story Mode, you were going after the pool shark who ruined your father's life. You went around town, beating various opponents at pool to get information, while collecting token to increase your stats. (To be honest, I don't think the stats added anything to the game.) As each one was defeated, the bosses, and their pool rooms and background music, would be added to the other mode as playable opponents.  However, after the fourth boss or so, the game stopped. There was a scratch on the disc I didn't notice, and it was causing the game to freeze. My mom returned the game to Walmart.  She got the money back, but they didn't have another game to replace it. I had to wait about a month until my birthday trip to the Huntington Mall to find another copy.

    I played it that evening after the trip, using the saved data on my card to continue. I made it to the next to last boss, when I faced a new problem. I had just picked up a new token to raise one of my stats. However, I had chosen to raise that stat previously using another token that could be used for one of two different one. The new token would push that stat over the max, thereby freezing the game again. I had to start the game over from scratch, making sure to use the tokens correctly so that it wouldn't happen again. I had maxed out all my stats just before the seventh, final boss, and beating Story Mode. 

    My favorite part was One-on-One. There was something about the special tables and music that just hit me the right way. I mostly chose 9-ball, occasionally going with 8-ball if I wanted a change. There was even a snookers table for playing straight billiards. I didn't know enough about the rules at the time, so I barely played that one. I'm thinking there was a two player mode as well, but since I didn't have anyone else to play with, I just used the game's opponents. I couldn't tell much of a difference in gameplay among them, although their stats and styles were supposedly different. I would usually end a gaming session with a few rounds after everything else. I'm fairly sure that I played this game for fun more than any other, as opposed to just grinding away to get every possible challenge in the game.

    After the I lost my games in the flood, my outlets for pool dwindled. I found some online games over time, but done exactly matched the mechanics and graphics of Backstreet. I got a few pool books for my store, but reading is never the same as actual playing. I least I got caught up on the history and rules. As ESPN started to get the rights to more pro and collegiate sports, the need to air pool across their family of networks slowed down. I don't know if they still have the matches anymore. At least at I time I would watch them. Other sports networks have aired pool as well, including a dedicated channel in the upper, upper reaches of my cable box at one time, but it is never at a time I would watch.  I still want to play, but I have yet to get my chance. 

My Video Game Side Quest: Browser Games

    When I got out of playing on consoles, I eventually found my way to computer games via browser home pages. See, I didn't yet have a computer, yet I would need to go online for my store.  I would have to look up books as well as print off various pages This is beyond standard searches and stuff. From the late 2000s to mid 2010s,  I would go to the Floyd County Public Library in Prestonsburg to do this, as they had a better policy on printing at the time. (Since then, the current management has taken up a much stricter policy.) Also, the library was a great place to wait while I was getting car maintenance and my mom's appointments. After I finished what I absolutely needed to do, I would usually wind up with some extra time. At the time, the library's default browser was Yahoo, and I noticed the 'Games' tab. I would sometimes try a few games out, just to wait.  However, there was one game I wanted to try that wasn't there. 

    That game was Bejeweled. I had first read about it in Games Magazine (now known as Games World of Puzzles Magazine), and I wanted to try it out. It was one of the first three-in-a-row games, if not the first to catch the public's attention. Yahoo didn't have it, but MSN did. I would switch out browsers to play it, in the non-combative mode. Just matching until no possible moves were left. I would play a few other games if I got bored. They had an interesting 9-ball pool game. It had tricky mechanics, but it was the only place I had for pool.

    Well, the library got remodeled, and the computers moved to a different room, as well as replaced with newer models. The browser also changed to Google, and I joined Facebook and started playing games there instead. I also finally got a computer, meaning I'd only have to use the library's computer for print jobs or goofing off while waiting. Yahoo had gotten rid of its games tab, and I never really liked Microsoft. I basically stopped playing browser games, even on my own computer.

    But things would change.

    Google doesn't normally have games on its home page. Normally. Occasionally, the doodle will have a link to a game randomly. Whenever there is a game, it is something unexpected with abstract rules or uncommon themes. The most notable of these was an RPG that was in conjunction with the recent Tokyo Summer Olympics. You played as cat competing in certain sports, while also completing various tasks. I googled hints in solving some of these challenges, while making sure not to delete my search history to keep my progress going. Finding out there was a house I overlooked that kept track of my achievements was great, even if I had already finished almost the entire game. I still check the doodle to see if there is anything to play. Just recently, YouTube has started to have small, casual games available, beyond what there is to download on GooglePlay. I haven't look too much into this yet, but I've seen many of these types of games elsewhere.

    Late last year, I noticed that Yahoo had brought back its games tab. (Yahoo is still my mom's go-to browser.) It doesn't have the large selection it used to, but I still checked some out. At first, after trying out a few games, I settled on a mahjong tile-matching game. Now, I am greatly familiar with mahjong, although I have never played, but I had seen others playing something similar. I had also seen the ads. While I didn't always beat the game, I did win enough that I got bored with it. I then moved on to jigsaw puzzles. I loved jigsaws when I was a kid, but I lost them all to floods. Yes, many of the images are cursed enough to suggest they were generated by AI, but I still like them. The puzzles got easier once I noticed that I could focus on just the edges. The rest of the pieces would vanish, until the border was done. Then, they would come back, with the right third on one side, and the rest on the other. And the pieces would show up in the same places with each puzzle. This allows me to finish a puzzle in about five minutes, or less. I started out at 8 x 6, but I have since moved up to 10 x 8 most days, or 12 x 10 if I've got the extra time. I've also started to do the daily Candy Crush Crushable brainteaser since February. (More on this in a later post.) I either solve it immediately or I need multiple tries and hints to get it done.

    I have even started to check out the games on Bing, Microsoft's update of MSN. For the most part, I have only checked out games that are similar to ones I've seen in ads elsewhere. I've only played a fruit merger game on a regular basis, and that was an over a month ago. Bing still has the same 9-ball game that they had years ago. I tried to play it again, but the mechanics are just not quite to my liking. Still better than other pool games I've seen. 

My Video Game Library: Tonga

    Even by my standards, Tonga was weird

    I would never have ever gotten Tonga if I had never played it on a demo disc. It was just that weird-looking, but it was innovative in ways that were beyond many platformers. You played as a pink-haired guy who ended up on a tropical island being invaded by evil, magic pigs.  Years before Angry Birds. Along the way, you defeat the pigs by learning new skills and unlocking special weapons. The game also had sections rendered in a "3-D" effect, allowing you to go 'into' the background as it were at times. While the game was basically a platformer, it had many RPG elements as well.  Achievement missions and side quests that you had to perform to beat the game. I never did get all of them completed. Some of the side quests were just a little too hard for me. One of the missions was to return a lunch box to a character. Unfortunately, lunch boxes were also power-ups used to restore health that you kept until needed. I accidentally used the wrong box, and I couldn't reset the game back to before I used it. I didn't complete the mission correctly, but I still got the credit when I finally met up with him.

    There is reason why I am being a little vague about Tonga. I started playing the game at a time when my grandmother was in the hospital for rehabilitation. My mom would spend the evenings with her, while I stayed at home. As such, I played a lot of games later a night, so the memories of some of the levels are slightly surreal. It didn't help that some of the levels were already weird. One section involved saving a village from the pigs and restoring their water supply. Once done, the water returned to a fountain being filled by streams of water coming from the mid-sections of male statues. You can guess where exactly on your own. 

    The original game was highly rated, and successful enough to garner a sequel. Tonga had a longer game, but only faces five evil pig bosses, instead of the seven in the original game. There was just enough new material added that the sequel didn't feel like a straight rehash of the original, but not enough to warrant keeping the game line running. Like the first game, while I beat it, I didn't get every achievement. 

    I really liked both games, but it is has been so long  since I played them that I can't remember more details. I don't think I replayed them much. I just had to replay certain levels multiple times just to move on to beat the game, although I feel that I had a slightly easier time with the second game. 

    I just wish that I had played it a bit more.

My Video Game Library: Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver

    During the mid to late 90s, I got a little goth. Not all the way wearing black all the time, but goth nonetheless. I blame it on my bad emotional state at the time. Anyway, when I played the first demo of Legacy of Kain:  Soul Reaver, I was amazed.  The story was deeper than I imagined.  The gameplay was so interactive. Technically, the game was a sequel to Blood Omen:  Legacy of Kain. I barely knew of the game and never played it, but it didn't look like the type of game I would be interested in. Soul Reaver felt different. Just the two levels that had demos showed a great mix of combat and puzzles, as well as an intriguing backstory. You play as the vampire Raziel, a lieutenant to Kane, the head vampire who has taken over the land in the first game. Before the game starts, you were killed for having developed wings to fly, and have been in the underworld for a long time before being revived by this Elder god. Upon returning, you go out to defeat the remaining vampires, while trying to avoid vampire hunters out to kill you. You have to shift from the physical world back to the spirit world at times, both to regain power as well as to solve some of the puzzles. After gaining new abilities by defeating the vampire bosses, you defeat one last lieutenant to end the game, before setting out on a new quest.

    I replayed this game quite a few times to get the most out of it, which was a little strange for me. There was just something about going back to solve the puzzles faster and defeating all of the bosses while exploring the many locations in the game. I don't think I even had to use many tips, or cheat codes which were available. (Okay, I did use one once for one of the replays, but only because I messed up something and I wasn't able to defeat one of the bosses. I wouldn't have been able to complete that run without it.) I really got the most out of that game.

    There was a Soul Reaver 2 released soon after. The first game was so large, some portions had to be saved for the second game.  I never got it.  I think I may have skipped it because I was so busy opening my store that I just forgot about it or something.The was also a sequel of Blood Omen starring the original Kane as well, but that was another game I didn't want. I can't even remember if I knew about the game at the time. (I did some research to make sure I remembered everything correctly for this post, as well as many of the others in this series.)

    In 2003, Legacy of Kain:  Defiance came out.  It was the first PS2 game I got after the flood destroyed my entire Playstation collection. Although it was supposed to be a Christmas present from my mom, I was the one who had to buy it from Walmart. It was also the only time in my life I had to be carded for anything, as it was rated Mature. (Note:  I was over thirty at the time, with a touch of gray on my goatee if the cashier had noticed. Still, I find it kind of great that I looked almost ten years longer. I still think I could pass about five years younger, or more, in certain situations. I have yet to be in any other situation that required ID for age limits.) The game combined the two protagonists into one game. Levels shifted from Kain to Raziel.  Each character maintained most of the powers from their previous games, gaining and improving them as the game progressed. Finally, through some sort of time travel, the two met in a final battle.

    And that's where the game lost it for me. At the start of the fight, you were one character. Then just before winning, you shifted back to the other one to finish the game. No spoilers here, but the winner was not the one I preferred. You then went to battle the final boss. The fight was just button pushing. Literally. After knocking out a few tentacles, that would grow back, you had to hit buttons on the wall behind the tentacles in a certain order to win. No real strategy involved.  You didn't even need your special powers to win. The game ends with an uncertain, but somewhat hopeful, future. Maybe. I would go on to buy a guide for this game, because I was sure I had missed something while playing, because I finished it in less than one weekend. I hadn't. I tried replaying the game, using some of the bonus codes for new modes, but I didn't feel it was interesting enough to even finish the first level with any of them.

    I still like the series, but the way it ended was just anticlimactic. There were talks about new games in the series, but nothing came about for them beyond updated versions with some tweaks. I'm not even sure if I would go back to the games if new ones were out. 

My Video Game Side Quest: Demos

    If you weren't sure about whether or not to buy a game or system, there was really only one option back in the 80s--demos. Many places had systems set up so that one could try out a game or two for certain systems. The first one I ever tried was in the early 80s. I went with my mom on Saturday morning to South Mayo Tire to either get the tires rotated or the oil changed. Instead of waiting downstairs, we went upstairs to the electronics department where they had some video game system demo. Of course, I went to play with it. I was having troubles with it though, probably because I was holding the controller upside down, (I have always been a little ambidextrous, doing things offhandedly, so I had the directional buttons on the right and the action buttons on the left, which was backwards.) After a few minutes, my mom forced me off, even though we were basically the only people up there. I spent the rest of the time watching a Smurfs cartoon I don't think I had seen yet. She never took me back, going elsewhere for maintenance when I was there. South Mayo Tire may have gotten rid of its electronics section a long time ago, but it is otherwise still in business. 

    Other stores had demos too.  The ones I remember most were the original location of Lowe's in Pikeville and the Sears at the Huntington Mall. The latter one may have had a Phillips CD-i with the cursed Zelda game port on display. I don't remember ever playing any of them. Video game stores also had some demos up, but I never played them either, as they were usually at distant malls where I didn't have all that extra time to play games.

    In the mid/late 90s, when I was unemployed, I would make trips to Prestonsburg just to break the monotony. One thing I did was go to Walmart and play Super Mario 64 on the GC demo for a few minutes, usually after I lost a few lives. I thought it was fun combining my takes with others to beat the game. There were other system demos up, but I never tried those. I would wind up playing other games at GC demos in Paintsville and Norton. (Walmart has since opened larger, Superstore locations nearby at both spots.). Today, you can't find demos at Walmart, at least locally. Some gaming stores might have playable demos up, but I so rarely go into them and I rarely have enough time to play when I do go.

    I had another way to demo games in the 90s. The Official US Playstation Magazine used to have a demo disc in every issue.  Similar to the disc I got with my PS1, the discs had previews and playable levels to a number of games each issue. These discs were the main reason why I bought one almost every month. The mag even had a mini-guide for many of the playable demos, so you could complete them. Some of the levels could be replayed as many times as you wanted.  Others ended as soon as you lost all your lives, and you couldn't replay it until you reloaded the CD. A few were on a timer, ending after ten minutes or so. I replayed one game multiple times to see as far it went, always losing my lives or hitting the time limit, before I finally finished it, only to get an ending saying you needed the full version of the game to see more.

    While I didn't play every game, or watch every preview reel, I played most of them. In fact, some of them were more enjoyable than some of my full games. For a few months after the 2003 flood, those demos were all I had to play until I could buy more new games. Yes, strangely enough, I had saved most of the demo discs, as well as getting newer ones. 

    Ultimately, the magazine was cancelled, so I had no more new demos. A few other free discs had been available at places, but I never tried them as I was afraid of their dubious nature. Nowadays, with most games being digital, such demos would be hard to come by anyway, even if I had a newer system. I think I remember seeing something packaged with some of the few gaming mags that are still left, but I don't know if any of them were demos. 

    The next few posts will be about the games I only bought because I loved the demos so much. None of them were typical of what I would have normally bought, and I might not even considered them unless I had had them as part of a demo.

My Video Game Library: Q*Bert?!

    When scheduling posts for my latest series, I tried to plan it so that any of the side-quest posts on Mondays would coordinate with the following regular on Wednesdays somehow.  For instance, when I had the side-quest post about gaming magazines, the following regular post was about a game I picked up due to reading about it in a magazine.  Last week, I talked about guides, and the next post was about the game I needed guides that most for. My next side-quest with tie very closely with the next few games.  However, since I want the side-quest posts to precede regular post immediately, and since I don't to have regular posts on Mondays, I am left with a quandary.  I either have to cover games I didn't want to or come up with some other tangential topics to cover.  These posts were supposed to occur nearer the end of the series, but because some of the side-quest posts had to be split up into two parts, I am forced to put one of these 'filler' posts up today.

    Technically, my first ever 'video' game was Q*Bert. The board game. One Christmas, some relative got me this. Probably a second cousin or great aunt or something.  The game board was a tray in the bottom of the box.  On it was the pyramid from the first level of Q*Bert.  Each block of the pyramid had a hole in it to place a peg before the start. One player was Q*Bert, hopping from block-to-block grabbing the pegs.  The other player controlled the bad guys trying to stop Q*Bert, moving in their own ways. (The actual rules may have included more players controlling the bad guys, but since I only had my mom to play against, this is the only way we could play.) The goal for Q*Bert was to get all the pegs, and staying away from the enemies. He even had the flying saucers on the sides for a one-time escape. The other player won by preventing Q*Bert from getting the pegs. I can't remember anything beyond this.

    I lost almost all of my board games in the 1986 flood, save Trivial Pursuit which I had taken with me. I got many of them back. For obvious reasons, Q*Bert was not one of the games still available. (I would end up losing them almost all again in the 2003 flood, save for most of a small portable chess set.  As of yet, I still haven't gotten any of them back.)

My Video Game Library: Pokémon

    That's right.  I tried to catch them all, and I failed miserably about it.

    I had known about Pokémon for some time before it debuted in America. The big thing was when an episode of the anime caused viewers to have seizures. That is what led me to want to get a Gameboy and play the game. Of course, I got the Blue version.  I didn't have that much history with RPGs, so I had an even steeper learning curve with the game than usual. While I started out okay, I quickly began to flail. After a few tries, I took a break. I bought a guide.  Or two.  Ultimately three, I believe. The first guide was the official one from Nintendo, with the stickers of all of the Gen I Pokémon. I bough the others to get slightly different views on strategy. It took some time, but I finally beat the game, although I didn't catch them all, as I had no one to trade with.  Sigh.

    I still liked the game, mostly the cartoon once it started in the US. I got the Gen II game when it game out, again for Christmas. I wanted the Silver version, which was a mistake. Although I might have known, I failed to comprehend that Silver had the same mix of Gen I Pokémon as Blue. This meant that I couldn't even catch the ones I missed in the first game, even if I had a way to trade them.  Still, I continued playing, and made it not just to beating the first endgame boss, but also to the final boss. Yes, I had more guides.  Even more so than for Gen I, as I also got the remix game, Crystal, when it came out later. (I am of the same opinion as a few others that the remix should have been Platinum, and the Gen IV remix should have been Crystal. Whatever.) I think I liked Crystal more than Silver. Still couldn't catch them all.

    When the GBA came out, it meant that I could finally trade with myself, maybe. I know I bought a special connector cable, but I can't remember if the GBA was backwards-compatible. Anyway, I got the Gen III game. Yes, I picked Sapphire. For some reason, I felt this game was harder than it should have been. There were just too many secrets to find. I did beat the game, though.  Barely.  I don't think I was able to collect everything though. I also picked up the remix, Emerald. I picked up a lot more guides for that one.

    Although I lost my Gameboy and GBA in the flood, I didn't lose the Pokémon games. I lost about half the guides though, making getting everything harder. What was fun was getting the updated Gen I game. This time I got Fire Red for Christmas, assuring that I would finally be able to catch as many different Pokémon as possible. I played through the game multiple times just so I could get every single unique Pokémon, and then trade them to Emerald so that I could finally say I caught all the Gen I group that I could. I think I played it through at least five times, including one where I messed up so horribly that I had to play through with the same starter just to collect the special one that I missed. 

    I guess that I had gamer fatigue, but I just stopped wanting to play. I reached a point in Emerald that I couldn't play through, so I took a break.  I never went back.

    When the Nintendo Dual Screen (DS) game out with the Gen IV games, I never picked one up.  Sure, as I mentioned in another post, I picked up the guide, but I never got the DS and the games. I didn't really have the money for the system, but I had also lost some of the will to play after going through the previous games so much. I continued getting guides for each generation up to Gen VIII. (I also watched the cartoon until it moved over to streaming, just before it got to Gen VII.) With Gen IX, official guides were no longer being published.  Sure, I followed along online as much as I could, but I mostly lost interest. 

    Gen X was recently announced, and it is due out later this year on the current version of the Nintendo Switch portable. As of today, only the starters have been announced, and not their evolutions. Part of me almost wants to finally go back to system gaming, but only a small part. The idea of having to pay more just to make sure I had a physical copy of a game doesn't sit right with me. Also, the Switch is more of a partnership system, made for having multiple people playing.  That's something I just don't have. 

    I still want to connect with the series. I'm just not sure how any more.

My Video Game Side Quest: Guides

    I had trouble with a lot of games, so I used every possible avenue to find a way to beat them. Hence, guides. I didn't have them for every game, but I did use them when and where I could. When I first started gaming, guides were frequently actual books. By the late 90s, bookazines became the standard format, as they were quicker to produce. The guides would be out almost as soon as the games. They could also focus on just one game, as opposed to books which frequently featured multiple games.  I regret that I tore out large sections of these books that featured games I would never play, and I threw them away. That was wrong of me. For magazines, that would be okay, but not books.

    Following are a list of places where I bought guides. Places that are closed are in black, while those still open are in blue. I'll mention some other facts with each entry.

• Readmore, Prestonsburg:  I got one of my NES guides that included Super Mario here after signing up for classes at PCC, before going on to Pikeville to get two of my wisdom teeth removed. (The two on the left. The right ones came in fine. However, I still have jaw problems due to the imbalance to this day.) I may have gotten a Pokémon guide here later as well.
• Walmart, Prestonsburg:  I may have gotten another Pokémon guide here. I know I looked at some. Maybe at the closed Winn Dixie as well, but I don't think I bought any there. All I know is that Walmart's magazine area is less than half of what it was at its peak.
• Booknotes, Pikeville:  Of course, I bought books for myself through my own store.  Technically, they all belong to me until sold, but I digress. Almost entirely official Pokémon guides, but one or two others.
• Economy Drug, Pikevile:  They used to get a few guides along with their magazines. I would close my store early the day new mags came in to look at them. I kept looking at a Gen IV Pokémon guide. I think I bought it there, but it could have been elsewhere. The stopped getting mags over a decade ago.
• Food City, Town & Country, Pikeville: I think I saw a few unofficial early Gen Pokémon guides here, but it was the advance guide to the GBA that I ultimately bought here. It was what made me want to buy one, even though I didn't like the majority of the games featured in it. I don't think the current location ever had any guides.
• Walmart, Pikeville:  I got one or two guides from the Gen II/III eras here. At least one was unofficial.
• Readmore, Coal Run:  I'm pretty sure I got my first NES guide here, just after the Christmas I got it. I might have had a Pokémon guide as well.
• Borders, Huntingon Mall:  I remember getting at least one Pokémon guide here, or at least looking at a few. I believe I got a Street Fighter Alpha art book as well. (It featured move lists as well, so I'm calling it a guide.) However, it may be from somewhere else.
• Game Stop, Huntington Mall: Here. They had guides, but I'm not sure if they do any more.  They were still open the last time I went to the Mall.
• BAM, Huntington Mall:  The timeline is a little off, but I may have looked at some guides here, before deciding to get them through my store, if I didn't actually buy them here.
• Joseph-Beth Bookselleres, Lexington:  At least one Pokémon guide from here, most likely unofficial.
• Unknown video game store, Fayette Mall, Lexington: On a birthday trip, soon after I got my SNES for Christmas, I picked up the official guides to both Super Mario World and the competition cartridge with the original three games plus the bonus unreleased one. And this was a few days before I got the second cartridge through mail giveaway. Only time I can remember buying anything here before the store closed, since I can't remember where I got the PS1 controller

    Like mags, guides have gone the way of the internet.  I tried to look for a Gen IX Pokémon guide a few years ago, only to find unofficial, third-party, independently published books of unknown quality. Sure, I could order something, but I'm not sure how good it would be. Places likes Joseph-Beth and BAM would have art books based on games, but they mostly aren't play throughs for guides

My Video Game Library: Castlevania

    I, of course, knew of the Castlevania series well before I got any of the games. There was a 'Belmont' character on one of the old Saturday morning cartoons (more of that in a later post). The games were always being mentioned in the gaming mags. However, it wasn't until the news for the first Castlevania game for the PS1, Castlevania:  Symphony of the Night or SotN, that I became truly invested in the series. Those first preview pictures held a huge secret that would earn the game the "Best Middle" award from EMG (IYKYK).  The game ventured away from the linear path of the previous games to a more explorable situation, with sections locked away until certain upgrades were found. (In fact, this led to the creation of the term 'metroidvania' style of game that had such branching paths that had to be unlocked after this game and the Metroid series, which I never followed.) I started playing the afternoon I got it, after picking it up at the Game Stop at the Huntington Mall.  I think I even opened it and started reading the manual to get a head start. I was surprised at the opening, where my character flew across the screen past the first rooms, only to wind up into basically the first boss battle, pretty much unprepared. Somehow, I managed to work my way through the game, managing to get over 190% of the game explored (again, IYKYK). I worked my way to the final boss, Dracula, as Alucard, his half-vampire son. Yeah, silly, but the name was around before the series was started, I think. Yet, I could never beat him, even with the tips I found.  Still, I loved the game.  It is still the highest ranked game of the series. 

    Later on, a previously unreleased game for the US came out, Chronicles, and I got that for Christmas.  My mom had a cousin pick it up in Lexington somewhere. It was in the standard linear-style, so the change in play was tricky to adjust to. I made it about halfway through the game before I had to take a break. I was never able to get back to either of the games before I lost them in the flood.

    When the GBA first came out, a Castlevania game was one of the highlights. Circle of the Moon featured the same type of explorable gameplay from SotN, but with a different magic system. This time, I was able to complete almost all of the game, even beating the main boss and most of the unlocked challenges. I just couldn't figure out the one empty room with the soundbite of a skeleton.  The graphics could have been a little cleaner, though. The next GBA game was Harmony of Dissonance.  This one brought back the "Sorry, but our undead overlord is in another castle" schtick from SotN (once again, IYKYK). This game was a little underwhelming.  One of its side quests was finding objects to decorating a spare room in the castle. Yes, a challenge involving interior decorating. You couldn't even adjust the objects.  Just find them and, poof, they were arranged for you. Too easy.

    The third GBA game was Aria of Sorrow.  Of the GBA games, this one was the most like SotN. Set in a near-future Japan (?!), you play a college student who gets sucked into the castle where you get the ability to suck (?!) the spirits from enemies you defeat to gain powers from them that you get to decide which ones to use. I must say, this was my favorite of all of the games. While I had almost beaten the game in full before the flood, I had to wait until I got a new GBA to finally finish it.  In the interim, I had found great tips in a gaming mag. I had found every ability, beaten the real last boss, and defeated the unlocked boss challenge mode, getting the best weapon in the game.  Excalibur.  However, since my character wasn't the future king of England, it stayed in the stone. It was more of a hammer than a sword.

    There were follow up games to AoS on the Nintendo Dual Screen (DS), but since I never got the system, I missed out on them. I really hated that. There would be other Castlevania games afterwards, by the game company decided to go a different route, and get out of the console gaming market. There have been other signs of Castlevania in various media, such as a highly rated cartoon, but no new games in some time. I almost even opened my free Apple Arcade trial just to try out a Castlevania game, but I didn't since I don't think it was in the same style. I also didn't want to get stuck paying the monthly fee once the trial was over. Still, I think I would like to play the series again one day.

My Video Game Side Quest: Magazines

    I am always wanting to try something new, usually by finding out as much as I can about it before actually doing it.  When I started gaming in the 90s, there was pretty much only one way to find out about it.  Magazines. I got my first gaming mag just after I got my NES that Christmas.  I relied on mags throughout my entire gaming history, even after the internet started to become the dominant source for information.

    While it might not have been my first mag, Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM) was the most dominant one. It had a great mix of news, articles, previews, reviews, strategy, and humor. Sure, I think I ever decided to buy only one game based on what I read there, but I still feel it gave me more than enough to make that and other decisions. As its height, EGM regularly broke 200 pages and came bagged with multiple inserts. They even had spin-off mags.  This included EGM2 (again, should be read as an exponent), a regular monthly published about two weeks after the main mag. It focused more on strategy and tips, but still had some articles. These articles were usually taken from the main mag, either in part or an expanded version. It didn't last that long.  [They also published a comic book mag, Hero Illustrated, that only lasted a short time, as well as the Official US Playstation Magazine. More on that one later.]

    EGM would outlast many of its competitors, but it was cancelled in the 2000s as online sources took over. A blurb in the final issue alluded to "hell freezing over."  To this day, I can't be sure if it meant a demonic-themed game or that they knew it was their final issue and I missed any other mention in the mag. I had gotten almost every issue for over a decade, and then it was over.

    There were other mags, such as GamePro, Nintendo Power, and the aforementioned Playstation Magazine, but I only picked those up whenever they featured a game I liked.  Although I did get most of the last mentioned one, for reasons that will be evident in a future post. Following is a list of most of the places where I bought gaming mags. I don't remember subscribing to any, so this list is mostly complete, baring any one-time stops. Closed stores are in black. Store still open are in blue, while those that still have mags are in blue and underlined. I will also add some extra facts when I feel necessary.

• Prestonsburg:  Winn-Dixie, Walmart, Readmore, Food City (Glenview Plaza location. The current larger location still has a small magazine section, but I don't think I have ever bought any there.)
• Pikeville:  Economy Drug (I bought many there, but they discontinued having mags years ago.), Food City (Town & Country. The current larger location has a small magazine section, but I don't think I bought any gaming mags there.), Page 3 Game Zone (They had a small newsstand section for a brief time in the late 90s when they were still downtown. I may have bought at least one gaming mag there. Currently, they don't have any mags, but they might be able to order some in the near future.), Winn-Dixie, Walmart (I bought many mags here, especially after I opened my store. The current magazine section is about 25% of what it was at its height, as well as in the back of the store after its major remodel from a few years ago.)
• Coal Run:  Kmart (Only store that regularly carried NP, but I bought a few others here. They got rid of magazines a few years before they closed.), Readmore, Magic Mart (final location), Walmart (Didn't get as many here as when they moved, but I remember an NP.), Kroger/Food City (I got mags at both places, but I can't remember any gaming ones in particular. They were about the last places I visited on shopping trips, so I usually had already gotten any mags by the time I got there. Not always.)
• Williamson/South Williamson:  downtown newsstand (I got many mags here over the years, but I can't remember if any were about gaming, but it's possible.), Kmart (I think I got at least one by the time I finally discovered the magazine section. They closed soon after, I think.), Kroger (I know I got a TCG mag there, so I may have gotten a gaming mag or two as well. Not positive though.)
• Norton/Wise VA:  somewhere, maybe (I am all but certain I got a mag during one of the few trips I took here in the mid-late 90s. Candidates include Food Lion, Kmart, Ingall's, Walmart, and Food City. The first three are closed, although I don't remember if Food Lion had mags. Walmart and Food City have since moved to new, larger locations, with the former still having mags as of the last time I went there. Food City might not, but I may have finally found the section hidden in one of the aisles I rarely went down on one of my last trips. Still not sure.)
• Paintsville:  Food City (Their magazine section was in the front of the store at times, so I didn't always get a chance to look, but I think I bought one there. Haven't been in years, so I'm guessing about mags.), Kmart (found an issue that wasn't out in Huntington once.), Read-a-lot/Kroger (I got mags at both, but rarely. I frequently stopped here after trips to Huntington, so I usually had already bought them by the time I got here. Still, I also had my dentist here for part of the 90s, so I may have gotten one of those times.)
• Huntington Mall:  Phar-more (This was usually my first stop most trips, so I think I got one of the lower tier mags here.), Waldenbooks, Game Stop (I got a TCG mag here, so I may have gotten a gaming mag once as well. The store was still open the last time I went to the Mall, but I don't think they still have mags.), Borders, BAM (The timeline may be off, but I might have gotten one of the last EGMs here. Still, I did get Mac magazines here, and they sometimes had game reviews, so it counts.), Kroger (Barboursville. I think I got an earlier/current issue of one I picked up at the Mall, thereby getting two issues in one day. Could be confusing it with somewhere else. They shrank their magazine section by over 75% when they remodeled/expanded, before getting rid of it completely.)
• Lexington:  Kroger (Regency Center.  The previous experience may have been here instead, or it happened twice. Haven't been in a long time, but they still carried a few mags that last time.), Joseph-Beth Booksellers, Waldenbooks (Fayette Mall), Walden Software (Fayette Mall.  A spin-off store that sold computer software and video games, as well as some hardware and mags. Felt embarrassed buying just a mag here just one time. The store didn't last long.)

        Aside from the occasional bookazine limited edition, such as recent one for the Pokémon anniversary, gaming mags can't be found on most newsstands. In fact, the only mags I see nowadays are imports. Only Joseph-Beth and BAM above would carry them. They are too expensive for me for what they are, and they usually don't carry information about things I want anyway. Never have bought them.

My Video Game Library: Street Fighter II/Alpha

    When Street Fighter II came out for the arcades, its success was phenomenal. I mean, the original game had its fans, but the follow-up was just huge. While I never played it in arcades, I did know about it from magazines. Mostly, from Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM) and the infamous April Fool's Day prank about how to fight a hidden boss. (More on that in a later post.) Now, I didn't like fighting games, but there was just something about following trends that led me to ask for one of the later versions of the game for my SNES for Christmas. Probably the one after they added the new 'World Warriors' and the new boss. Akuma. Yes, he was technically based on the back story that led to the fake boss above, but it was still cool and amazing. Now, I wouldn't say that I was any more obsessed with this game than any other, but I did occasionally get blisters on my fingers from playing too much.  The SNES controller just wasn't designed for the smooth motions required for fighting games. I think I did beat the game for at least one character though. Or close to it. 

    I was glad when one of the updates finally came out for my PS1. My mom couldn't find that version in stores in time for Christmas. So, I had to settle for the SNES version.  I would get the other version later. I can't remember if it was for my birthday or later. Anyway, that game became to only one that I bought for two different systems.

    The game may or may not have been a version of Street Fighter Alpha. This was technically a prequel to the entire Street Fighter series, with elements from both previous games and my other Capcom fighting games.  It's just been so long since I played it, that I can't remember enough to give more details. However, it was a running joke that it was just a stopgap measure until Capcom could figure out how to count to three for the official sequel to II.

    Like some other fans, I did not like the 3D update to the new game. Of course, I never played it the arcade. Didn't even think about getting for any game system, although I might not even have been playing much by the time it was ported over to home consoles. I just wish I could remember more about the games I had. I know I got more than two or three different games, and that I beat some of them with at least one character, but that's about it. One of the games had a story challenge mode that I got about halfway through with Ryu, I think, but I just gave up trying to progress after a while. 

    I really liked the games, but not enough to want to play them any more.

My Video Game Library: MegaMan X

    When Capcom finally decided to update the MegaMan series for the SNES, they chose to go beyond what other developers did.  Instead of just adding new features and improving the graphics, they made a whole new game. Sure, the basic premise of the game remained the same. Beat eight preliminary robot bosses, and then use the powers you took from them to get to the main boss. MegaMan X was slightly different. First, it was set further into the future than the original MegaMan series. Next, the robot bosses were now animal-based. (Although future installments would stray from the definition of 'animal.') This allowed for greater styles of enemies. Then, lots of hidden power-ups and features were added. Special hearts that increased the health bar were in each level. Four levels had energy tanks that could be filled up with spare energy pellets, and then drained whenever needed.  The other four levels had armor upgrades that had special abilities. For instance, the leg upgrade added a special dash jump that allowed you to reach new sections of the stage. By tradition, this is the one that is usually the easiest to find. The arm upgrade allowed for powered up charges, that included special abilities when using the bosses' powers. The biggest surprise was the super secret "Hadoken" fireball power-up that, once found and installed, allowed you to perform the action from Street Fighter II to perform a one-hit energy blast, as long as you were at full power. While some new features would later transfer to the original game line, all-in-all, it was a new experience. It took some time, but I did beat the game. 

    When news broke on MegaMan X2, (Note: that should be an exponent, but it is just easier to type the number, especially once I get to the other sequels.) I was thrilled.  While the original game was tough, it was the type of challenge I liked. Unfortunately, I could never find the game. Neither locally or out of town. I don't know how I missed it, but I did.

    MegaMan X3 was found. Its main new feature was mech suits that you could pilot in certain sections.  There were four different suits to be found, each with different capabilities. It took a long time to find everything, and beat the bosses, but I did it. Too bad that the first of the main boss level had a closing wall segment in the middle that I just couldn't figure out the right jump moves to get through it. I never even tried to finish the game.

    X4 and X5 proved to be even harder games, which makes sense since they were designed for the PS1. I think I actually made it to the end of the game for the former, but I could never pull off the final win against the big boss.  The latter one was worse, aside from the fact that the US port changed the names of the robot bosses to ones based on members of the band Guns N' Roses. I don't remember even managing to get to the final levels for that one.  Its apocalyptic plot also was a little off-putting.

    I think that MegaMan X6 was the only one that wasn't a Christmas present, but I could be mis-remembering. I know I bought one of the PS1 games from the Pikeville Kmart, and this one is the most likely of them. This game was just way too hard. Some of the moves required were just barely beyond me. Also, each of the first stages changed depending on which one you just left. Things were just way more complicated than I liked. I was still trying to beat the game, maybe, when the flood hit.

    While there were more sequels, I never bought any of them. X7 came out just after the flood. I either forgot about it or just didn't bother to get it. I needed the money to buy replacements for other things that I had lost. I don't think I even knew about any other sequels until recently when I saw videos of people posting the play throughs. 

    A few years after the flood, a collection of the first six games came out. Not only did it include the X2 game I initially missed, it had bonus features including artwork and a MegaMan game that never made it to the US. I played X2, and maybe a bit of some of the others, but I never beat any of them or opened up all the bonus features. It would turn out that it was the last PS1, and probably the last ever, physical game I ever bought. 

My Video Game Side Quest: Accessories

    To gain extra enjoyment from playing video games, I got some accessories. Some were vital. At least one was unintended. I still got them all, though.

    As I have hinted at before, I got a Game Genie for my NES. Yeah, technically that was cheating, but I really needed some help.  I was just barely able to make progress into "Super Mario," but I felt like I needed a boost to really get through some of those games. I can't remember if this was a Christmas or birthday gift, or if I got it much later. Anyway, I barely used it. The most I used it was to see all of the victory animations in Tetris. One block wins made things much easier. I mostly used it in "Super Mario" so I could skip levels to save time. The Genie came with a booklet with codes for all sort of games, while newer codes would sometimes be printed in magazines. (More on those in a later post.)

    Yes, I also got the Game Genie for the SNES as well. Unlike the one for the NES, this one was definitely bought later on at Walmart, probably. Well, it was the opposite of the NES wherever it came from. I remember looking at the instructions in the car.  I used this even less than the one for the NES. The games I had never interacted properly, but I think I still used it for a few things.

    There may have even been a Genie for the GB, but I never got it, since I only played Pokémon with it. However, there were other things that I got, but I'll return to that later.

    There was never a Genie for the PS1.  It would have been to hard to do that with the disc format. Aside for the memory card, which was pretty much mandatory, the only accessory I got for it was a special controller. As I mentioned in the MegaMan post, I was having a hard time with an auto-scroll sledding section in an early level. I just couldn't get through it reliably. I thought that getting a controller with slow-motion features could help. I got one in Lexington, wither at a video game store (not Game Stop) at the Fayette Mall or at one of the large stores on the other side of Nicholasville Road. (both Kmart and Toys-R-Us were open back then.) All I can be sure of is that I looked at it in the car while my mom went into Red Lobster to pick up a slice of "Death by Chocolate" cake. It was third-party, but I felt that there wouldn't be any problems. When I tried it out, I found that it worked by quickly pausing the game, switching between the pause/inventory screen and the action. It actually made the game even harder, as I couldn't catch the notifications as to when I was supposed to slide or jump. I don't remember trying it for other games. 

    Fortunately for me, all accessories for the PS1 were backwards compatible with the PS2, so I didn't have to buy anything new, aside from another memory card, just to be safe. 

    When the GBA came out, I finally had the chance to trade Pokémon between games. This was the one part of the game I never got to try out before, as I had no one to trade with. However, I needed some special equipment to make that happen. I found a special connection cable that could attach various versions of devices together. Very third-party. I got it at Electronics Boutique at the Huntington Mall. I'm just lucky that the games could trade with each other through various generations and backwards compatible devices.

    When my first GBA got lost in the flood, I got a new one for that Christmas. It was in a bundle with an e-card reader. With it, I could swipe special cards that could either add new features to old games or play special games that originally came out in the 80s on special watches from Nintendo. I played the free games only once, as I didn't really like them. The extra feature for the Pokémon games was a new trainer that you could challenge multiple times. Meh. 

    [For completists sake, I will mention that I got a third-party mouse for my MacBook. While I am good with the trackpad, some actions are still easier with a mouse. My mother prefers them anyway. The mouse can also hook up with my iPhone, but I have yet to make the connection work.]

My Video Game Library: MegaMan

        The next Christmas after I got my NES, I started an entirely different game series. MegaMan 4.  I had heard about the first three games, from various sources, and I finally decided I wanted to try this one out. I have no idea where it was bought, though. I remember playing it instead of watching either a Christmas or New Year's Day parade. I started the game and got smoked on the first screen on the first level the guides suggested I should start on, RingMan. For some reason, I wanted to stomp on enemies, like Super Mario, only to take massive damage. Getting used to so many projectiles was another thing. It took a long while, and help, but I finally managed to defeat all eight bosses:  SkullMan, RingMan, DiveMan, DrillMan, DustMan, PharaohMan, BrightMan, and ToadMan. (I am pretty sure that MegaMan is one word, but I can't remember about the bosses. So, I am writing them as the same way, for now. Besides, spellcheck clears them.) The Dr. Wily boss levels were trickier, but I made my way through them and beat the game.

    The following years, I would get the next two games locally.  I think they came from the Pikeville Kmart and/or Magic Mart (last location). I remember looking at the games in my car, but not exactly buying them beyond the general locations. I enjoyed to improved features and gameplay. Then, the news came out that the game would finally be porting to the SNES. Sure, a spinoff was already there, but bring the original "Blue Bomber" to the system was terrific. I kept looking out for the game, after I was sure it was in stores, but I could never find it. I either skipped over it when I was on a trip and chose to wait to get it at home, or I just never saw it.  The only place locally that had it was the Coal Run Blockbusters, and it was only available for rent, not for sale. This was the first game that I truly hated missing out on. 

    MegaMan 8 would then be available on the PS, and another system that I never got into.  The two versions would be about the same, with only a few small differences. This time I made sure to buy it when I first say it. I'm thinking the Pikeville Walmart, but I may have gotten it at the Huntington Mall.  Perhaps Game Stop, but I honestly can't remember where I got it.  Anyway, I quickly started playing it as soon as I could. I then hit a wall.  One of the first levels involved an auto-scroll sledding area that I just couldn't get the hang of.  I had to stop playing the game, until I bought a special controller with slo-mo function.  Didn't help, but I managed to beat both auto-scroll sections of the level. I beat all eight bosses, but got stuck on the first Wily level by another sledding section, a much harder one.  I have yet to try and go back to beat the game.

    The last MegaMan game I got was actually the Legacy Collection for the PS2. It collected all of the first eight games in the series, plus a special ninth spinoff game that was never released separately in the US, as well as some other special features that were unlocked by beating the original games.  I finally got to play the seventh game that I had missed out on, as well as the first three games that were out before  I started gaming. While I played each of those four games, I only got close to beating one of them, before I grew frustrated and stopped playing.  I never even tried to replay the other four games as well.  I don't think I unlocked anything worth mentioning. 

    Since then, there have been other games in the series. A remixed version of the original game came out for the Playstation Portable (PSP) that featured a cutesy, chibi style, as well as two new levels with new bosses. MegaMan 9 and 10 came out for systems I never got.  Both were in an 8-bit style similar to the first six games.  Finally, the was even an eleventh game that came out that I never knew about. It featured an enhanced version of gameplay that brought out the best of whatever system it was made for.  I've only seen gaming videos of it in action, so I can't really comment on it beyond saying it looked incredible. [I've been seeing so many gaming videos, that I might be confusing the games I've actually played with those I've only watched.  It is crazy at times, but a lot of them are quite similar.]

    News broke recently that a new MegaMan game will be out next year. It won't be "12," and it will instead have a different subtitle. I think it is still a mainline game, though. Many s

My Video Game Library: Tetris

    As luck would have it, Tetris was ported over to the NES in an official version from the GB just before I got my NES for Christmas. (There had been an 'unofficial' version, but that one had some technical issues working with the game system.) So, of course, it became my first game, excluding the one that came with the console. As the game that led me into video gaming, it holds a special place in my life.

    I played with it a lot, since it was one of only two I had. I couldn't play competitively, as I had no one I could play with.  My mother would never get the hang of playing video games. And I couldn't really play against myself.  The solo version was okay. I even got to beat every level, including the hardest one, and got to see the winning graphics and to hear the special tunes for doing so. Okay, I had help to do that, but more on that in a 'side quest' post later on. As I got more games, I had less interest in playing Tetris, and it became one of the first games I pretty much put aside. 

    Years later, a version of 'Tetris" would come out on the PS1. It was one of the last games for the system I ever got. It was another Christmas gift. After so many years, I thought I would be still interested in playing the game on a better system. I played the game once that Christmas, but I don't think I ever played it again. Most of the game focused on competitive play, which I didn't have. Maybe if I had the internet connectivity, I would have played in more.  Instead, I just had solo mode, which felt strange. I don't think the game relied on the same grid system the original one did. The game was just too different and boring now. I let the game go. It was one of the many destroyed in the 2003 flood.

    I have since had the opportunity to play other line destroying games, but that sort of thing no longer seems interesting to me. 

My Video Game Side Quest: Systems

    This is the first of the occasional bonus posts in my latest series, My Video Game Library.  These side quest posts will cover tangental topics related to my gaming history. Today's post is about every game system I ever had. Strangely enough, each one was a Christmas present. 

    First, there was the NES which I received when I started college. Probably my first year. My mother probably got it from a catalog, either Sears or JCPenny's, but she may have gotten it from a local Walmart instead. Most likely Prestonsburg, but I can't be sure. It took a little while to get used to the square controllers, but I managed it. I really didn't play with the light gun the was included with the system. I beat the Duck Hunt game that came with the system with it, but by standing almost right in front of the television screen to do so. I would manage to get a few games for it, even keeping it around for a while after getting newer systems before putting it away. Somehow, both the NES and my games managed to survive the 2003. However, I through out the light gun and some other pieces when I cleaned up the old house. Very dumb move. I am not sure where any of them are at the moment, but I think they are safe.

    My next system was the SNES a few years later. Again, there was a chance my mom got this through the JCPenny's catalog, as Sears was phasing theirs out. Still a chance it came from a local Walmart, again Prestonsburg. As I mentioned, I managed to find the SNES and play Super Mario World on it before the present got wrapped. The was just the kind of mischievous kind of guy I was with many of my gifts, either finding them early or discovering what they were after they were under the tree. I was alone at home during winter break from college, so I just did what I wanted, and nobody was the wiser.  I got about the same number of games for the SNES as I did for the NES. I stored the system when I upgraded systems. I think the system survived the flood, but it may have been stolen from where it was stored before I could move it to my new place. I know the games survived, but I don't remember where they are at just now. 

    Next came the GameBoy. Technically, GameBoy Color as that version had just came out. I'm pretty sure this came from a local Walmart, no telling which one though. I had finally got it, years after first seeing it in high school, and I only wanted one due to Pokémon. In fact, those were the only games I ever got for the GB. I was so frustrated with it my first time that I didn't try to play the game again for a long time before I went back. I was my first RPG, and even though it was made for kids, my mid-20s brain wasn't dealing with it well. Still, I didn't get any other GB games but that series. I lost my GameBoy in the flood, but the games were saved. Haven't touched them in decades, but I believe I know where they are at.

    When I decided to go all in for gaming, I switched over to the PS1. Catalogs had basically phased out by then, so I'm positive my mom got this at the Prestonsburg Walmart, only because she had to go back there for the adaptor for our older model television. They were sold out. Fortunately, I managed a workaround through my VCR to allow the signal to get through, and we saved some money. The old TV would die soon anyway, and the newer model easily worked with system. I was so surprised after I was finally able to check out the preview disc included with the system. Everything looked so much better than with my other systems. I would wind up getting more games for the PS1 than with any of my other systems, I think. I never put the thing away, even when I got a new system. Unfortunately, while my PS1 survived the flood, someone stole it from where it was stored before I could retrieve. Worse, all of my games were destroyed. I still had some of the discs, but I never tried to see if I could get them restore so they could work. 

    The next upgrade was the GameBoy Advance. This system was incredible. Full color, perfect fit for two hands. Another Walmart buy; no idea which one. I was a very early adaptor. In fact, I actually got games other than Pokémon for it. The best part was that I could play at work. Or was it that I could finally connect my older Pokémon games and trade between them? Anyway, things were going great, until the flood. I lost my original GBA, but I would get a new one that Christmas. It didn't look as good, but it still played well.  The games were safe though. Haven't touched it in over twenty years though.

    I got my PS2 for Christmas in 2002. This was definitely from a Walmart, but I'm not sure which one, as my mom was in Pikeville a lot more frequently by this time, and it had a better electronics department compared with the one at P-burg. I mostly played PS1 game on it at the start, as there were few new games I wanted at the time. Also, I was only able to play twice a week, but I did manage to play some CDs and even some DVD footage on it. Miraculously, it survived the flood and wasn't stolen. Why it wasn't, I have no idea. I suspect something was up with the person who was storing it for me, but nothing can be proven. I only had demo discs to play until I got some new games for it. However, as I had less time to play, I have ultimately put it away. Haven't touched it in decades.

    Finally, I got a special edition GBA that looked like the original GB, but you could fold it in half for storage.  Another Walmart purchase from Pikeville. I was able to trade again, now that I had two systems. I managed to keep both GBAs around a little past when I stopped with the PS2, but not much before they were put away too. I haven't gotten a new system since.

    [Sidenote:  Although not purchased for gaming, my MacBook Pro and iPhone could be included. I got my first MacBook at the Apple Store at its original Lexington location at the Fayette Mall. I got my second one, after the first one died, from Best Buy online. It also ment I couldn't retrieve/move anything stored on the old one. I got my iPhone from Appalachian Express.  It's almost time for an upgrade on it. All were purchased for school, which I still haven't completed yet.]

My Video Game Library: Super Mario

    I debated about which game should come first in this series.  I decided to go with "Super Mario" since it was included with the NES, although I technically played another game first. 

    I already knew something about Super Mario Bros. before I actually played it. The game had pervaded enough into media that I wasn't completely in the dark. I still had a sharp learning curve. The controller was so square, and the buttons in a shape I wasn't used to. Getting used to jumping was a tough sell. Sure, I remember seeing a pre-Mario in Donkey Kong, and maybe even in Jr. , but this was something else. Mushrooms and other power ups were things I had to wrap my head around, and remember, I was nineteen or twenty when I started. I had gotten guidebooks and magazines to help me to figure out what to do and what secrets to look out for. Still, I wound up getting even more help to finally beat the game. 

    I can't remember if I got Super Mario 3 my following birthday or the next year after, but I got it in January. I do know that I skipped the second game, as I already had found out the it was not really "Super Mario," but a reskin of a totally different game with totally different gameplay. Still, 3 proved to be way beyond the original game. I was playing deep into the game on Sunday, just trying to get as far ahead as possible, playing a little later into the evening then I should have getting frustrated. I had a panic attack that kept me up much of the night, and it continued through the next day a college. I was shaky for most of the next week. I almost didn't play the following weekend, but I did work my way through. I was playing one of the last levels, when I just couldn't go any more forward. Turns out, I was missing a door in that level because my olden style television had the color contrast wrong. I just couldn't see it. Once I reset the coloration, I made it through and beat the game, by letting Bowser just jump through the floor. I always felt that ending was a little meh.

    Super Mario World came with the SNES. Again, this was a Christmas gift, one I found early and played with during winter break before it got wrapped. I missed a minor opportunity by doing so, but it wasn't too big of a deal. Anyway, this game I managed to get through on just guides alone, even though some of the new techniques were tricky for me.  I even managed to complete the secret areas to change to game to "Autumn World." That was when I stopped going back to the game. I hated the new backgrounds, and the cheesy updates to the bad guys were stupid. I could've tried to beat the game a second time, but it wasn't worth it anymore.

    As a part of a promotion with my SNES, I sent it a form to get the free updated cartridge for the first "Super Mario" games. This is when I finally played Super Mario 2.  Although it was very different from the other games, I think it enjoyed quite a bit, because it wasn't a 'real' Mario game. Some of the bad guys even got ported over, for some reason.The cartridge even included the real sequel to Mario that was never released in the US. It was called The Lost Levels to differentiate it from the already released 2. I tried some of the first few levels.  They were impossible. My playing style just wasn't up to the greater challenges of the game. I never finished the game.

    I didn't like the Game Cube, so I never got another "Super Mario" game. I didn't get any of the side games released for the SNES or GameBoy. They didn't appeal that much to me. Sure, I managed to play a bit of Super Mario 64 in store, but that was it. I mostly stayed away from Nintendo after that. I've seen many of the further sequels over the years, and while I admit some of them looked good, they just never hit the same way as the first games did. In particular, I say gaming video of the Switch Mario game, and I'm not sure I could play it correctly.  It just looked way too complicated for me.

    But part of me still thinks I might have wanted to try and play.