Personal Intro

[Militants]

Couple of years close to my age.

 

[aaronleland]

If you are an old school gamer I already love you. I'm also 31, and started with the early Mario games.

Welcome, Polly.

Awesome!

Back in 1991, they had a demo of Sonic the Hedgehog and one of Super Mario World playing side-by-side at a mall that my parents dragged me to and that's how I discovered video games. As was the purpose of the set-up, I was instinctively drawn to Sonic over Mario because of its brighter colors and because there was more action going on on the screen, but I also liked it better because of its anthropomorphic protagonist. I was a kid. I preferred playing as an animal. But in due season, I came to like Mario a lot too. I really liked a lot of the classic 2D platformers that came out during that era. Hell, I still like 2D platformers! But overall, as I grew up (particularly after playing Final Fantasy VI), I developed a want of more substantial gaming experiences. To give you an idea of what sort of material I like, here are my favorite games by year of release dating back roughly as far as my collection goes (as I'm still collecting a bunch of games from the early '80s):

1985: Balance of Power
1986: Leather Goddesses of Phobos
1987: Guerrilla War
1988: Phantasy Star
1989: Tetris
1990: Phantasy Star II
1991: Out of This World
1992: Dragon Warrior IV
1993: Secret of Mana
1994: Final Fantasy III <-- It's FF6 objectively, but I'm using the title on my cartridge.
1995: Chop Suey
1996: Wonder Project J2: Josette of the Corlo Forest
1997: Final Fantasy VII
1998: Xenogears
1999: Drakan: Order of the Flame
2000: Shenmue
2001: Ico
2002: Animal Crossing
2003: Beyond Good & Evil
2004: Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean
2005: Psychonauts
2006: Okami
2007: Peace Maker
2008: Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4
2009: Flower
2010: Heavy Rain
2011: To the Moon
2012: Papo & Yo
2013: Gone Home
2014: Never Alone
2015: Undertale <--Currently my all-time favorite game!
2016 (so far): Firewatch

If you are an old school gamer I already love you. I'm also 31, and started with the early Mario games.

Welcome, Polly.

I would kill you at mortal combat or Sega hockey.

When you can at least spell Mortal Kombat right, I'll believe you.

Look up Chrono Trigger. It was never released in the US, but they did release a DS version. One of the best RPGs ever.

 

[saveliberty]

I am a cat, so stalking is pretty much standard equipment.

This is why I need the Thank option unlocked!

Mine works.

 

[aaronleland]

I am a cat, so stalking is pretty much standard equipment.

This is why I need the Thank option unlocked!

Mine works.

That sucks.

 

[Polly]

Look up Chrono Trigger. It was never released in the US, but they did release a DS version. One of the best RPGs ever.

Chrono Trigger definitely came out for the Super NES here in the U.S. of A in 1995. I have the cartridge on the rack next to me right now. I purchased it more than two decades ago right here in Vermont, in English, at a regular toy store (video games have traditionally been considered toys despite my disagreement with this categorization) and everything. I also have the PlayStation version (which has animated cinema scenes) and the DS version. And I have it on Virtual Console as well. And it's available online for free anyway now on snesfun.com, just so ya know.

Anyway, I agree that Chrono Trigger is a really amazing game! It was even more so by the standards of 1995. Back then especially, not only was both its visual presentation (I loved Akira Toriyama's unique designs across multiple mediums!) and soundtrack original and of the highest quality, but the game's main hook of time travel worked out really well because it enabled you to see the "consequences" of decisions you had (...sort of...) made. Plus it was rare at the time for games to have more than one possible ending. I also adored the characters: especially Lucca and Robo. Lots of clever plot twists; lots of fun! The reason I didn't list it as my favorite game of 1995 earlier, however, had to do with the fact that Chrono Trigger wasn't really anything more than pleasant at the end of the day. When one finished the game, there wasn't really anything they took away from the experience other than "that was fun", you know?

Chop Suey was a more substantial game, even if it was technically inferior. It was more or less a real person's life story. And it was told in a fashion that was far ahead of its time, with its looping narrative and disregard for the concept of progress. Had it been released 20 years later, it probably would have been a hit. I consider it among the most under-appreciated games of all time. I also really liked the story in Solar Eclipse for the Sega Saturn in 1995 and thought that was more substantial and emotional than what Chrono Trigger had on offer despite its comparative brevity. (Nope, not all of those old FMV were bad!) My favorite Super NES game for that year was Secret of Evermore, which won me over with its sweetness. But Chrono Trigger is a close second for 1995 with me when it comes to favorite Super NES games.

 

[saveliberty]

I was going to post this earlier:

 

[Polly]

Welcome to my world!

 

[aaronleland]

Look up Chrono Trigger. It was never released in the US, but they did release a DS version. One of the best RPGs ever.

Chrono Trigger definitely came out for the Super NES here in the U.S. of A in 1995. I have the cartridge on the rack next to me right now. I purchased it more than two decades ago right here in Vermont, in English, at a regular toy store (video games have traditionally been considered toys despite my disagreement with this categorization) and everything. I also have the PlayStation version (which has animated cinema scenes) and the DS version. And I have it on Virtual Console as well. And it's available online for free anyway now on snesfun.com, just so ya know.

Anyway, I agree that Chrono Trigger is a really amazing game! It was even more so by the standards of 1995. Back then especially, not only was both its visual presentation (I loved Akira Toriyama's unique designs across multiple mediums!) and soundtrack original and of the highest quality, but the game's main hook of time travel worked out really well because it enabled you to see the "consequences" of decisions you had (...sort of...) made. Plus it was rare at the time for games to have more than one possible ending. I also adored the characters: especially Lucca and Robo. Lots of clever plot twists; lots of fun! The reason I didn't list it as my favorite game of 1995 earlier, however, had to do with the fact that Chrono Trigger wasn't really anything more than pleasant at the end of the day. When one finished the game, there wasn't really anything they took away from the experience other than "that was fun", you know?

Chop Suey was a more substantial game, even if it was technically inferior. It was more or less a real person's life story. And it was told in a fashion that was far ahead of its time, with its looping narrative and disregard for the concept of progress. Had it been released 20 years later, it probably would have been a hit. I consider it among the most under-appreciated games of all time. I also really liked the story in Solar Eclipse for the Sega Saturn in 1995 and thought that was more substantial and emotional than what Chrono Trigger had on offer despite its comparative brevity. (Nope, not all of those old FMV were bad!) My favorite Super NES game for that year was Secret of Evermore, which won me over with its sweetness. But Chrono Trigger is a close second for 1995 with me when it comes to favorite Super NES games.

I played Secret of Evermore, but not for long .I'll check it out again.

 

[sealybobo]

If you are an old school gamer I already love you. I'm also 31, and started with the early Mario games.

Welcome, Polly.

Awesome!

Back in 1991, they had a demo of Sonic the Hedgehog and one of Super Mario World playing side-by-side at a mall that my parents dragged me to and that's how I discovered video games. As was the purpose of the set-up, I was instinctively drawn to Sonic over Mario because of its brighter colors and because there was more action going on on the screen, but I also liked it better because of its anthropomorphic protagonist. I was a kid. I preferred playing as an animal. But in due season, I came to like Mario a lot too. I really liked a lot of the classic 2D platformers that came out during that era. Hell, I still like 2D platformers! But overall, as I grew up (particularly after playing Final Fantasy VI), I developed a want of more substantial gaming experiences. To give you an idea of what sort of material I like, here are my favorite games by year of release dating back roughly as far as my collection goes (as I'm still collecting a bunch of games from the early '80s):

1985: Balance of Power
1986: Leather Goddesses of Phobos
1987: Guerrilla War
1988: Phantasy Star
1989: Tetris
1990: Phantasy Star II
1991: Out of This World
1992: Dragon Warrior IV
1993: Secret of Mana
1994: Final Fantasy III <-- It's FF6 objectively, but I'm using the title on my cartridge.
1995: Chop Suey
1996: Wonder Project J2: Josette of the Corlo Forest
1997: Final Fantasy VII
1998: Xenogears
1999: Drakan: Order of the Flame
2000: Shenmue
2001: Ico
2002: Animal Crossing
2003: Beyond Good & Evil
2004: Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean
2005: Psychonauts
2006: Okami
2007: Peace Maker
2008: Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4
2009: Flower
2010: Heavy Rain
2011: To the Moon
2012: Papo & Yo
2013: Gone Home
2014: Never Alone
2015: Undertale <--Currently my all-time favorite game!
2016 (so far): Firewatch

If you are an old school gamer I already love you. I'm also 31, and started with the early Mario games.

Welcome, Polly.

I would kill you at mortal combat or Sega hockey.

When you can at least spell Mortal Kombat right, I'll believe you.

I'll kill you at Tetris!

 

[RWS]

You can all play with your joysticks all you want! Perverts....

I'm a kb/mouse person.

 

[Iceweasel]

Abolish the commercial sector? WTF? As a business owner for as long as you've been alive I can say you have no concept of how the real world works. You really should save the polemic bs for the threads and not trot right in wearing a dunce cap.

 

[Bleipriester]

Hi everyone.

My name's Polly. I'm 31, from Vermont, and bored today (hence why I did you the favor of joining). Some of my hobbies include rolling skating, dancing, and snowboarding (only one of which am I any good at). My biggest interests though are video games and movies. I typically acquire and complete a game a week and anymore visit the theater once a week virtually without fail. The latter is a more recently acquired taste for me. The former (video gaming) is an obsession I've had since I first played the original Sonic the Hedgehog at age seven. Over the decades, I've amassed a library of nearly 900 games and have played well over a thousand.

In terms of tastes, the mainstream gaming scene and I have had a falling out in recent years, mostly because I feel it's in many ways become increasingly stagnant as the industry has grown, to the point that most "AAA" games anymore not only feature similar themes and goals, but also the same basic design. The games I usually prefer these days fall under what I like to call the "alternative games" category, by which I mean cult hits, indie games, and casual games. They broadly just seem less corporate and more heartfelt. (They're also a lot more affordable for those of us who live on a budget.) Something similar could be said of my film tastes, though I'm still relatively new to the status of cinephile, so my film tastes are definitely still developing. Anyway, I'm a wannabe film and game critic, so you might half expect me to write "reviews" from time to time in the appropriate forums that I've spotted.

Politically speaking (I guess I should get around to that at some point, what with this place being primarily dedicated to politics and whatnot), I like to describe myself as a radical communitarian and here's what I mean by that: The way I see it, we can mentally divide society into three basic categories. Those categories are: the commercial sector, the government sector, and civil society. I think the first of those (the commercial sector) should be abolished in favor of a greater, but equitable, role for the other two. So, in other words, you might say that I'm against capitalism -- that I support production for use, not exchange -- but, at the same time, given the roughly even divide I would propose between the public sector and the non-profit sector, I'm not sure my worldview necessarily qualifies as specifically socialist either. It's sort of a mixed economy formulation that includes a significant role for both the private and public sectors, but without a role for profit being involved (i.e. this isn't "market socialism" or "state capitalism" or anything like that). Just sort of a gentle collectivism that meets human needs while leaving plenty of room for, and I think actually far better fostering, human creativity.

Philosophically, I consider myself a humanist because I really value empathy and the promotion of empathy.

Wrapping this intro up, I also want to apologize to everyone in advance if I frequently come off as snarky, sarcastic, and pessimistic. I struggle with depression and have for most of my life. Sorry hence if I seem to have a bad attitude much of the time. I hope my personality (and/or long-windedness, as I typically go for quality posts rather than for large quantities) won't become too burdensome.

Thanks for reading!

Polly

Welcome here. You may figure out that some here didn´t come to learn but to spread their puppet masters bullshit under any condition.

 

[Polly]

Such is the nature of all political message boards, I think. No worries, I expect to see a lot of that. I'm here to commune with the other group!

 

[Moonglow]

Howdy Polly...

 

[Polly]

Heidi ho, neighbor Moonglow!

 

[Moonglow]

Heidi ho, neighbor Moonglow!

So you talk Nedorino ??

 

[Polly]

The Pokemon? (Nidorino?) Sure: Nido. Nido nidoriiiino! Niiid...?

(I was actually borrowing from a show my parents used to make me watch back when I was kid called Home Improvement. There's this quirky guy named Wilson who always says "heidi ho neighbor" or "hi ho neighbor".)

Incidentally, you wouldn't happen to go by Captain Obvious on another message board, would you? You remind me of somebody from the posts I've seen by you so far.

 

[Hossfly]

The Pokemon? (Nidorino?) Sure: Nido. Nido nidoriiiino! Niiid...?

(I was actually borrowing from a show my parents used to make me watch back when I was kid called Home Improvement. There's this quirky guy named Wilson who always says "heidi ho neighbor" or "hi ho neighbor".)

Incidentally, you wouldn't happen to go by Captain Obvious on another message board, would you? You remind me of somebody from the posts I've seen by you so far.

Welcome, Polly! You have talent, what with recognizing Moonpie as a big sock.

 

[Yousaidwhat]

Welcome Polly!

 

[Moonglow]

The Pokemon? (Nidorino?) Sure: Nido. Nido nidoriiiino! Niiid...?

(I was actually borrowing from a show my parents used to make me watch back when I was kid called Home Improvement. There's this quirky guy named Wilson who always says "heidi ho neighbor" or "hi ho neighbor".)

Incidentally, you wouldn't happen to go by Captain Obvious on another message board, would you? You remind me of somebody from the posts I've seen by you so far.

No, I'm Moonglow all over the internet...Nedarino is a reference to the Simpsons, Ned Flanders that lives next door..