Those DAMN Videogames

So, I’ve always considered myself a gamer and as a kid, it was the worst not having a memory card for my PSOne and PS2. Also, on a side note my parents would always complain about me playing video games. To be fair they got me a PS2 on their own without ever asking me. Whenever they’d mention my grades regarding my videogame usage I’d think to say “aren’t you the ones that started this in the first place??”. Anyway, I cherished the weekends when I would get free reign to my consoles. I only had the weekends to get my weekly fill of video games. Eight to ten-hour stretches of gaming were the norm for me (twelve on a good day). There was a time however when all that progress-making and lack of bathroom trips were futile though. I didn’t have a memory card for the entire duration of me having a PSOne and at least the first few years of having my PS2. Years of putting in double-digit hours of game time in the living room for nothing essentially. It was a constant cycle of “Don’t you think you’ve had enough of that??” and *PS2/PSOne startup noises*. It was a constant struggle of never being able to make headway in a video game. The Harry Potter: Chamber of Secrets video game for PSOne and Kingdom Hearts II for PS2 were my mortal enemies in that regard. I could not make any progress on those games at all. I vividly remember the ghost level in Chamber of Secrets and reaching the Aladdin level in kingdom hearts II as the furthest I was able to get in those games pre-memory card. All this while being surrounded by friends who were able to get further than I did and beat the games two times over before I even completed my first run-through. I would ask them about the missions and levels I hadn’t even seen yet and even little tricks and tips they could shove my way. So by now, you must be asking yourselves why it took me so long to adopt such a crucial piece of technology?? In response to that, I’ll say bologna tastes delicious until you’ve had a good hearty steak. In a way, though I took a certain bit of pride in the fact that I was trying to beat these games in one go. Like “yeah sure you beat that game, but you got to save your progress as you went. Anyone could do that”. As delusional as that sounds that’s exactly how I made myself feel better about not having a memory card to save my progress. After endless cycles of progress, restart, progress, restart, progress, and the inevitable freeze, I finally decided to use some of my birthday money on a new memory card instead of another game to add to my collection (shoutout to Shrek super slam!). Getting that memory card felt like the opening intro of Six-Million-Dollar man; “we have the technology” type vibes. It felt like when the rebels received the secret message out of R2-D2’s dome. I immediately felt what I was missing. I no longer needed to log eight to ten-hour sessions anymore. I no longer needed to hit the start button and hope the console doesn’t freeze while I complete a useless chore. Well, the eight-hour sessions were gonna happen regardless, but the point is I didn’t need to make futile attempts to beat these games in one sitting anymore; falling asleep on the couch. I could finally take my time and do it right. I remember the first game I beat with the memory card was Kingdom Hearts II. It had become a priority for me and it was well worth the wait. I watched those ending credits for the game with a tear rolling down my cheek. I would get a second memory card eventually and run into the problem of what to do when I’ve filled up TWO memory cards. Considering where I started however that’s not wasn’t a bad problem to have.