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You know those wonderful games where you think you've finished all the content, only to discover that there's a whole lot more to the story?  Like when you figure out what's controlling Richter in Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, and then find out that there's another whole version of the Castle to explore?  Or how about in Kid Icarus: Uprising, when you finish Stage 9, and Hades comes along and literally rips a hole in the credits sequence, and the game goes on for another 14 stages?

Well surprise! My Life In Videoland is having one of those moments! It may have looked like a forgotten derelict blog, floating out in the miasma of the Internet, but in reality, it's been constantly on my mind. Life has just been really busy in the last three years.

In the time since Sonic's 20th birthday, the last regular blog post I made, I've done work as a designer, had a stint at a Japanese teacher, moved a few times, authored two books for an educational software company, become a paid artist, sung in a choir, met the love of my life, got married, and then left the country again to earn a degree in Digital Humanities in Ireland alongside my spouse (for which I have my own academic blog). So, I've been a bit busy.

A lot of things have gone on in Videoland, too, some of which beg extensions of older posts.  Kid Icarus: Uprising was released, and actually managed to exceed my very high expectations—and the Japanese developers even used a message from me on their website! (in Japanese, of course!).  Sonic Generations was released, and was a bit of a mixed bag.  I could write extensively on both of these things, as well as on a number of other game series that I haven't touched upon that are dear to me.

For starters, though, considering the proximity to All Hallows' Eve, the next best step for the blog might be to examine one of my favourite series, one that is very dear to me: Castlevania.

And so, without further ado, let the next level begin!

285 Issues of Power

I just received the final issue of Nintendo Power. This magazine has been in my life since I was a mere lad of seven, and reading the very lovingly written final installment was a surprisingly poignant experience. Nintendo Power has been there for almost my entire life, and I read each of its 285 issues, watching as the magazine transitioned from Nintendo's in-house, map-laden PR machine to an independent collection of reviews, previews, and interviews. Way back in 1988, when one couldn't just jump onto the Internet and download a walkthrough, Nintendo Power was a repository of maps, codes, and guides. I finished a number of games with the help of that magazine, and vicariously enjoyed many more. Even all these years later, I still go back to the first few years of magazines to read up on those old games.

The very final spread of Volume 285 was a comic: Nester & Max; a very touching tribute that pays homage to the monthly comic of the magazine's early days, Howard & Nester (originally drawn by the unbelievably talented 今井修司 [Shuji Imai], whose name I finally tracked down after seeing his illustrations credited in the Japanese guide book to Castlevania III).  Nester, now all grown up and with a son, reads the last issue of the comic and puts it on the shelf before going off to join his son Max for a game on the Wii U.  The comic is filled with references to Nintendo Power's history; the writer and artist (Chris Slate and Bill Murdon, respectively) clearly put a lot of love into the magazine's send-off.  Reading it, I felt a profound sense of nostalgia combined with a deep sense of loss, and suddenly realized that tears were running down my cheeks.  The comic is very touching, and, for me, very resonant. Nintendo Power has, in many ways, been a centerpiece of My Life in Videoland. Which is why, after a year-and-a-half's unintended hiatus, I am determined to resurrect this blog.

Goodbye, Nintendo Power. Thank you for the past 24-and-a-half years. You will be missed.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SONIC! おめでとう誕生日、ソニック！

Today, June 23rd, marks the 20th Anniversary of the release of Sonic The Hedgehog for the Sega Genesis.

(Thus the recent focus on the series, naturally!)

So, Happy Birthday, Sonic!  Keep on running!

A Gamer Looks at Thirty 「３０歳になったゲーマー」

Today is a big day: my 30th birthday.  Measured in console years, I'm about 480 years old.  That's saying something, I guess.  I've watched the industry grow and expand since the beginning of the NES era, (1983 in Japan and 1985 in the US) and it has been quite a ride.  Gaming has moved from motion-sensing Power Gloves to... motion sensing Wii Remotes.  Sometimes, the more things change, the more they stay the same.

As gaming has aged, series that have shown staying power have begun to get well-deserved recognition.  Even relative newcomers such as 戦国無双 (Samurai Warriors), released in 2004, and 戦国Basara (Sengoku Basara), released in 2005, have begun to count anniversaries.  Being born in 1981 makes me older than most of these storied franchises.  Counting from their original release dates in their respective regions, I predate Pokémon by 15 years; Soul Calibur (then Soul Edge) by 14 years; The King of Fighters and Warcraft by 13 years; Doom by 12 years; Kirby by 11 years; Sonic The Hedgehog, Fatal Fury, and Lemmings by 10 years; Fire Emblem and Wing Commander by 9 years; Sim City and Populous by 8 years; Pool of Radiance (the first licensed Dungeons & Dragons computer game) by 7 years; Final Fantasy, Street Fighter, and Mega Man by 6 years; Kid Icarus, Metroid, Castlevania, Dragon Warrior, and The Legend of Zelda by 5 years; Gradius and Super Mario by 4 years; Punch Out!! and Tetris by 3 years; Dragon's Lair and 信長の野望 (Nobunaga's Ambition) by 2 years; and BurgerTime by 1 year.  On the other side of the coin, I have a few elders: Pac-Man was born one year before me, and Space Invaders three years before me.  Even those two elder franchises are both still going strong, and I can but tip my hat to all of them they celebrate each 5-year milestone in their lives.

So, what of 1981?  There is one major franchise that saw its birth in that year: Donkey Kong.  The big ape, and, by extension, his yet-to-be-Super nemesis Mario, then named Jumpman (Nintendo counts Mario's anniversaries from 1985, when Super Mario Bros. was released, however), first hit arcades that year.  Another well-known release?  Frogger.  So, I share my birth year with a barrel-throwing simian, a freeway-crossing frog, and a carpenter-turned-plumber.  Not a bad year, really.

Thirty years later, I've played countless games and have read even more books about games. I've gone to concerts and events, sometimes rubbed elbows with some big names, and have even finally become a small part of the industry that I so love.

What will the future bring to Videoland?  Who knows?  I can say this much, though: as long as our princess is in another castle, as long as the soul still burns, as long as robots fight for everlasting peace, and as long as another quest will start from here, Videoland will always be an exciting place.

And I, for one, am happy to call it home.

START 「スタート」

With my other blog, Gaijin at Home, in full swing, people may have been wondering what my life was like before I left for Japan.
Well, there were family and friends; there was studying and music and acting.  But mostly, there were games.

I have been an unabashed gamer ever since I laid eyes on my first arcade game, Pole Position, in the hotel arcade during my first trip to Tokyo—when I was three years old.  And, yes, I remember the title of the game (I have since confirmed it with photographs).

That how my memory works: things are integrated in my mind, so that when I remember an event, I also remember what I was thinking about at the time or what else was going on in my life then.  And, for the most part, those things are games.

And so, I give you the flip-side of that quirk of memory: a blog about the games that I have played, and how they have become a part of my identity.

I suppose that this goes without saying, but the reflections on this page are not intended to be objective reviews of the games mentioned.  Quite the opposite: these entries are completely subjective, my recollections of games as they relate to my own experience.  My memories and my experiences may be quite different from yours (I hope they are!), so keep that in mind as you read.

Finally, a note:
As is also the case with Gaijin at Home, this site makes liberal use of Japanese characters.  If you cannot see the text below, you will need to adjust your browser before viewing this site.
このページ、日本語の字が使われています。画面に出てない場合はブラウザーの設定を直してください。