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April 14, 2005 - My Top 5 video game companions through the years I was born in November of 1979, eight days before Ron Artest (not that that has any significance at all). Aside from such ugly news events like the Iran hostage crisis, the Soviets invading Afghanistan, the Three Mile Island nuclear debacle, and the introduction of the Susan B. Anthony coin, a bunch of great things happened in 1979 like ESPN started broadcasting, the Pioneer 11 became the first spacecraft to visit Saturn, Pope John Paul II visited his native Poland being the first Pope to visit a Communist country, and the Golden Age of video games was just beginning. Ah, and what a great era that was! Along with my introduction, the world was just getting its first glimpses at arcade classics like Asteroids, Centipede, Missle Command, Pac-Man, Tempest, and Galaga. What a great time to be alive! Too bad I had the motor skills of one-legged dog at the time. Unfortunately, the time I started becoming cognizant of the wonder that is electronic video gaming, the Video Game Crash of 1983 had already happened, and though arcades were still superfluous well into the 1990's and Nintendo ushered a rebirth of home gaming via their Famicon unit (NES to you folks in the States), the creativity and ingenuity of yesteryear was lost forever. Sure there were some gems to come out, and still do, but the industry has gotten too comfortable with just variations of old themes. Gone are the ingenious brainchild's of a small group of men and woman, replaced by multi-billion dollar corporations focused on only giving the, mostly ignorant, market what it wants in the name of the mighty dollar. But I digress, this article is about those persons that have played, sweated, and cussed along my side as we braved to get to the final level. These are the top 5 video game companions of my life, so far that is… 1. Derek & John (my brothers) -It's entirely possible that once I came home from Fairfax Hospital after being born, one of the first few things my older brothers did with me was sit me in front of the TV whilst they played Pong on our black and white Radio Shack home video game system. Though I don't remember our Pong system, I do remember watching my brothers for hours play our Magnavox Odyssey 2 home entertainment system. But it wasn't the home systems that endeared me most to my own kin (though in the later years, John and I had some great times on NBA Jam and Street Fighter II for the Genesis as well as some other modern classics like Twisted Metal and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City). No folks, it was my experiences, my "apprenticeship" if you will, with my older brothers at pure and wonderful 80's and early 90's arcades that created the greatest bond between us. From huge boardwalk arcades to a single Ghosts N' Goblins machine at Dart Drug or 7-Eleven, I spent most of my ankle-biting youth standing next to, and looking up to, my brothers as they hacked and slashed through the most difficult of games. Whether it was John on Dragon's Lair, Space Ace, Rastan, Donkey Kong Jr., or Punchout, or Derek on Pole Position, Zaxxon, Mach 3, Star Wars, or Elevator Action, I stood in awe as I watched them pump quarters into the latest and greatest classics of the day. As the crowds gathered around them to view their mastery, I stood there with sweaty palms that smelt like quarters from handing them to my brothers all day, and said to myself with pride, "Yeah, that's my brother." And the times I did play co-operatively with them, in games like Double Dragon, Final Fight, Rampage, Gauntlet, Golden Axe, and Bad Dudes vs. Dragon Ninja, I felt like the most privileged kid ever. Gee whiz, what great times! I remember the greatest thing I looked forward to when our family went on our yearly vacations to the beach was breaking off from the family at night and going off to spend a couple hours with my brothers at the arcades onthe boardwalk. Nothing compared! So for all those memories, for all those quarters, for all those hi scores, and for all those cheap moves by the computer, I thank you John and Derek for being such wonderful examples of older brothers. I truly owe my video game enthusiasm to you guys. 3. Jeff Sapsford -I've known Jeff since I first realized that I was a member of the human race. We go so far back in so many different ways as best friends; from playground playing, to fort building, to birthday party going, etc. But none may not be as potent as our history as video game companions. You see, after our Odyssey 2 broke down in the mid 80's, we didn't have a home video game system at our house. Jeff had a NES. Suffice to say, I spent many a hour over at Debbie and Brian's hanging out with Jeff, and Matt, in front their kitchen TV playing the likes of Rygar, Ice Hockey, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Zelda, Super Mario Bros., and a host of other NES classics. There were probably summer days that I showed up at Jeff's after breakfast and didn't go home, or take a break from playing video games, till dinnertime. Aww gee, what great days...what great days indeed! Jeff's acquisition of a Super Nintendo in junior high, and when his family came back from Europe, only furthered the tradition of hanging out at the Sapsford's. Hours upon hours were spent in Matt's room playing Mortal Kombat 2 (still my favorite on SNES), Donkey Kong Country, and F-Zero. Classic times. Jeff and I's video game relationship continued into the 32-bit era as we sat in front of the TV during high school playing Playstation games such as Cool Boarders, Tony Hawk, and NHL 97'. To this day, it's inevitable that Jeff and I get together and play some video games. Whether they be classic arcade games at Mario's Pizza in Arlington, or the newest addiction Gamecube game, He and I will always have that connection flourishes through tangled controllers, reset buttons, and blistered thumbs. 4. Adam Rocap -Somewhat filling the video game companion gap that opened when Jeff and his family left for Europe for many years, Adam and I were so ingrained in the 16-bit video games we played, we'd sing the opening songs together during school lunch at OLGC. I still remember the words and tune to the opening song of Lunar: Silver Star Story for the Sega CD so well, it seems like yesterday I was riding my bike as fast as I could to Adam's house after school to get in as much time as possible before it got dark and I had to go home. Adam and I were mostly RPG (Role Playing Game) nuts. The games we were most passionate about were the ones that took tens of, and in some cases, hundreds of hours to invest in. Games like Might and Magic II and the Sword of Vermillion for the Genesis and Lunar 1 and 2 for the Sega CD had us so engrossed in them that we'd strategize during school about what we'd do when we got home to play them. I can remember sitting in his basement playing leveling up our characters for hours and hours at a time, switching the controller duties only when our hands started to ache. I remember feeling so satisfied when we beat the final boss, it was like we had just really, truly saved the world from utter destruction at the hands of the dark forces of evil! What camaraderie we had those days! Every time I load up the latest Final Fantasy or popular RPG I think of Adam and all the days I played these games with his trusty brotherhood by my side. I love the Final Fantasy X's and Baldur's Gate's just as much as the next guy, but it just isn't the same without Adam checking his notes and telling me which town to visit next or what item to buy at the shop. Just isn't the same… 5. Matt Egyhazy -Matt and I's friendship really was an odd one. On the outside we did have things in common like our love for soccer and video games and we did share a similar advanced academic path, at least in high school. But on the inside, we definitely were two different apples. But I think that's why our friendship was so strong in high school; our opposite personalities attracted. Either way, Matt and I clicked during the last two years of our high school careers. And we really clicked on the video gaming front. Matt was an anomaly folks when it came to video games. He was the only caucasian guy I ever knew that could go into Tilt, or any other arcade, and actually consistently beat the asian guys at fighting games. Sure I did it once or twice in Street Fighter or Tekken, but it was mostly due to dumb luck. Matt did it with precision. It was a sight to behold as a friend let me tell you. You gotta understand that in the mid to late nineties, as arcades were beginning to fade away, fighting games reigned king, and the asian guys, and girls (many of whom kicked my butt) wielded them with expert skills that would make Bruce Lee envious. It was never a "racial" thing (cause i love asians cause they make some of the greatest games that I love, among other things), but when Matt would dispose of a couple would-be challengers in Tekken 3 or Street Fight vs. X-men, it was a thing of beauty to see them walk away in shame having been beaten by a white kid. Anyways, Matt and I spent many wonderful hours not only at arcades, but on the home systems too. I always thought I was a good, if not great, video game player. After I became video game friends with Matt though, I realized I was a couple tiers below gaming "greatness". I can't tell you the amount of times he humbled me, and at the very same games I thought I had already mastered. Another great thing about Matt was that he wasn't talker. Sure he was prideful about how good he was, which was really good, but he let his gaming do the talking for the most part, and I respected that. So here's to Matayas and our friendship. Those were some great few years during high school. ?. ????? ????? -Will there ever be another??? Only time will tell...
You can find any arcade game mentioned here at
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