a history of non-gaming
as a youngest child, i grew up mostly watching my older siblings play games. they'd play stuff like sengoku basara or okami and i would sit there like "wow cool" and never ask to try it myself... even when i got my own DS lite, i'd still hand my sister the console so i could watch her play over her shoulder. (weirdly, i never got into watching let's plays as an adult!)
i also was an impatient kid, so i'd lose interest quickly if i couldn't figure out the next step or beat the next level, so i never finished any games LMAO. the only games i played to completion were professor layton – i've always been a puzzle girl (sudoku, candy crush, that sort of thing). i wasn't much of a board game creature either. any attempts to get into games usually ended with me getting distracted or busy, and the cycle of not really playing shit was set to continue...
then the pandemic hit!
i was finishing up my senior year of college, living with friends, and earning some money. i was deep into the ac pocket camp mobile game when new horizons came out, and told myself i was fine without a switch, knowing my track record with games.
i lasted about a week before i caved. i bought the game and the console, and promptly abandoned pocket camp. (sorry mobile game devs.) later i picked up another game, and another, and between that and the amount of time i had + amount of escapism i wanted to do, i had finally became a proper gamer who used her consoles and completed games.
(obviously that's not what gaming is about. but i got really into it at this point!)
i still don't consider myself much of any sort of media buff (a gamer included), just because i'm so picky with my titles. i rarely take a recommendation, and i naturally keep away from what's popular at any given time because of the overstimulation (bar one). i don't play anything with the intent to get good at it. i still just stick with the first pokemon i find and never look at their IVs. i'm on my fourth playthrough of fe3h and still don't really know how gambits work.
but i don't feel bad about any of that. i just always feel the need to explain myself because people assume gaming means experience with certain games LOL. i've never felt the need to do anything more than pick games i like and play them in order to enjoy! i'm very happy with and proud of the games in my collection. talk to me about them if you like!
games i want to play eventually
- danganronpa: i read through the first game on the SA forums and i want to try playing it myself! maybe i'll end up getting into the other games too.
- undertale: my best friend has been obsessed with this game forever, and has vowed to try pokemon if i play it.
- the great ace attorney: i have it - i just have to start.
gameboy SP
💖 dogz
honestly really loved this version of dogz... the dogs were so cutely rendered. wish they brought this back instead of POV stuff like nintendogs!
💖 hamtaro: ham-ham games
this game changed my life. this game is the only reason i know anything about sports. if i ever get around to learning how to emulate games this is the first thing i'll play. UPDATE july 2024: i learned how to emulate games, and it was! my sister and i STILL hum the synchronized swimming song. (the volleyball game was my favorite!)
kirby: nightmare in dreamland
i hadn't realized until i combed through my old games that kirby has been such a pal to me. i've been playing his games since i was a kid... i should pick up a kirby game again!
kirby: the amazing mirror
i think this was the one where you could spray paint him different colors? or could you always do that? i thought that was so freaking cute.
💖 hamtaro: ham-hams unite!
i learned the word "boutique" from this game. i could never figure out how to get some of the hamsters though! i should play this again!
disney princesses
no idea what the objective of this game was but i was surprised i remembered playing it at all. i thought snow white's... stage? minigame? again, don't know... was quite creepy!
evergirl
lord knows i have no clue what an evergirl is but i played this anyway. i remember getting so mad at the end because you would have to collect gems over the course of the game to determine what kind of girl you were, and each time i played i got the same result, no matter how much i avoided that gem. my GOD.
nintendo DS
💖 professor layton and the diabolical box
this game changed my brain chemistry. i played it for 13 hours straight. something about the reveal of the town's mystery really stuck with me, and the music box song is something i'll probably be able to hum forever. i wrote a story in high school heavily based on this game. this was probably my favorite PL story!
phoenix wright: ace attorney: justice for all
somehow, i played this before i played the first game...? anyway, i was so bad at this game LMAO. i made it past maggey's case and was like "i am not cut out for this" but it was so fun. i continue to be bad at it as i continue it now on the switch, but i'm still having fun!
pokemon diamond
the first pokemon game i really played myself and tried to see through to the end! i got distracted and lost interest while i was somewhere on victory road (IN THE OCEAN?!) but it was a fun time. candice gave me hell.
💖 super princess peach
THIS WAS THE CUTEST GAME EVER... if mario games were like this i would play them lmao. i loved that you had to use her emotions to get around the game. i watched my sister play this but if i get around to emulating nds games i'd want to play this first!
💖 tamagotchi connection corner shop
i was not a good tamagotchi mom but i was fine at this game! it helped me discover my favorite tamagotchi... marutchi.
professor layton and the curious village
the game that started it all. i love professor layton! i love its ability to tell a story that will creep me out and also make me cry. i'm not a fan of flora, but this story has my heart for being so precious, and for showing me that games could be like this.
professor layton and the unwound future
i still liked diabolical box more, but the introduction of clive truly was a me-catered move on the game devs' part. he is my poor little meow meow.
💖 cooking mama
as a child with no coordination, i benefited from having an older sister to watch cook. the food was so cutely rendered...
big brain academy
i was so big on these brain trainer type games as a kid... fuckin nerd. at least this game had the added bonus of being very cute.
kirby: squeak squad
this is the kirby game i remember playing most. somehow those mice are so memorable. also who is that Cool Guy Mouse? i should look up this game again.
pokemon mystery dungeon: blue rescue team
i was soooo dumb and did not know how to play this game at ALL lmfao. i think i just kept taking requests and was like "well when can i progress with the story?" and would get frustrated and start from the beginning. at least the personality test was always so fun.
warioware touched
it's quite cute that wario has his own universe and lore and characters? and they're... so cute? the girls, at least.
mariokart
it's freaking mariokart. i played as toad a lot, but sometimes peach or daisy!
mario party
the ds was insane, i realize. i love that it allowed you to play games with people who didn't necessarily have the same game (like this one). i love that you could play GBA games on it. miss that guy. anyway mario party was freaking fun
hello kitty big city dreams
i remember the walking mechanic on this game was SO SLOW. IT WAS THE SLOWEST GAME EVER and i didn't know what to do with it, really. but i played it because it was so cute.
mysims
i also did not know what to do in this game, so i barely played it, but i love a character customizer.
professor layton and the last spectre
i don't remember this one much - this one had the creature, i think. i liked emmy!
my pet shop
finding the image for this unlocked a memory i forgot i had. it's quite cute that they had semi-realistic-looking renders of the pets in-game and the human characters looked like that.
disney fairies: tinker bell
this one also unlocked a memory. i remember this one was actually very fun! i never got into the larger tinkerbell story, but i liked this game quite a bit.
pictoimage
i would play this around my family and we'd all try guessing what the image was based on how old the artist was. fond memories!!
nintendo 3DS
pokemon sun
i started playing this before college, continued in college momentarily because I REALIZED I COULD TRADE!! (prior to this, all my games were pirated) so i bought a sophomore a bunch of groceries in exchange for them helping me evolve my haunter. this ended up being the first pokemon game i "completed" during the pandemic!
i also met grimsley in this game and became obsessed. i love a washed-up fictional man...
💖 tomodachi life
i'm begging nintendo to release a version of this for the switch with all the chara customization capabilities of miitopia. i'm begging.
animal crossing: new leaf
this was my first real animal crossing game! i was... extremely bad at it and did not know what to do lol. i was also coming into the game years after everyone had already become experts at making their perfect towns, so i felt lost.
two of my first villagers were MOOSE and ELISE so i was not particularly motivated to take care of my town... BUT i met colton and genji, who are still some of my favorite villagers!
nintendo switch
💖 animal crossing: new horizons
acnh saved my life during the pandemic. i was working on my thesis when it came out, and waking up to say hello to my villagers made slogging through sketches and inks so much more bearable. it kept me sane while my life was on pause. i drew so much fanart and made so many friends!
can't gush too much - this is what a shrine is for.
💖 fire emblem: three houses
if acnh saved me, fe3h sustained me. i saw fanart of sylvain jose gautier and never looked back... i'd never have expected myself to play a game like this (given my game history) but surprised myself by taking to it without too much difficulty. i love the characters!
shrine for this too, to come eventually.
💖 pokemon shield
acacia always makes me emotional because to me swsh was my pokemon game... it was the first one i played through within a shorter period of time. I HAD A GALLADE for the first time! i loved my inteleon. also, piers. people have a lot of complaints about swsh, but i adored it for what it was for me - a nice ease back into pokemon after a long time.
💖 pokemon legends arceus
another game i thought looked too hard for me but ended up enjoying a lot. it turns out open world... is fun! i love anything to do with looking into the past and seeing how it informs the present so i loved seeing how they designed this game to parallel diamond/pearl. also, volo.
pokemon mystery dungeon: rescue team dx
i'm not done with this game yet and will probably not finish it, but i started it to avenge my dumb young self... turns out i'm just not really into dungeon crawlers LOL.
💖 fire emblem warriors: three hopes
was nervous i'd hate this game for a) the haircuts; b) the story; or c) the gameplay, but i was able to get over A, had no strong feelings about B, and really enjoyed C. 3h's storyline is much more memorable (i couldn't tell you a thing about w3h's lore), but it turns out i really like a warriors sort of game.
pokemon violet
enjoyed it much more than i thought i would! i thought the pokedex selection was excellent, and i even completed my pokedex - first game i've ever done that for. i loved playing this with friends.
new pokemon snap
this was the first game i tried when my siblings and i decided to buy a family switch! i feel like my fingers are really uncoordinated because taking good photos is insanely hard for me lol...
miitopia
mii games, it turns out, are infinitely more fun when you plug in your ocs or favorite characters. i've yet to complete that awful tower but i want to someday!
pokemon brilliant diamond
I FINALLY FINISHED IT, avenging my easily distracted younger self! i still find the graphics pretty silly but i'm not bothered by it. i also spent an insane amount of time digging underground with strangers.
storyteller
super cute and fun! i loved the art and how they programmed the characters to react differently based on how you arrange the story. these games always leave me wanting more! (also i adore the knight who loves the bitch queen lol)
miscellaneous
💖 madeline european adventures
the og! i loved all the clickable elements of this game. there was so much to look at and explore, and my siblings and i still quote this game's dialogue all the time. iconic.
thousand-year-old vampire
this was my first ever tabletop (?) game, and it's a solo journaling game. it's totally sold me on traditional games like this! i've been slowly putting my sad little vampire through the ringer and i've been having the best time. the booklet is also so beautiful.
wordle
i started playing this before the NYT acquired it! my dad and i are both really into games like this so we compare notes and check with each other if we've played the day's wordle, lol.
connections
the perfect game for delusional girls like me. just like with wordle, my dad and i will compare notes and he sometimes helps me... i love when i get a purple category early in the game!
💖 starbattle
i can spend HOURS ON THIS GAME. it's humiliatingly addictive. i've worked my way up from one star to three stars and try to make the leaderboard when my mind is sharp, but sometimes i play for too long and need hints. if you see "grapejuicemom" on the site, that's me.
twenty
this is my "the flight is so long and i need something to do" game. i think my highest score is 21x20? i get really frazzled as the game gets faster, but it's addictive.