Gaming... The Classics & Me

Nothing moves me more than experiencing a childhood memory. Every time I watch an 80's cartoon or a movie that I enjoyed during my childhood, I get engaged, excited and sometimes crack-up in laughter and say to myself... Did I really use to watch that?!

Growing in Kuwait, like most kids during the 80's probably did, I watched Arabic dubbed Anime, got an MSX computer system AKA (Sakhar) from Al-Alamiya (for the purpose of gaming ONLY) and owned a BMX bike with the colorful tapes on the wheels and noisy attachments. If you missed on one of those I doubt you being a Kuwaiti. I think this should be a rule for citizenship qualification in Kuwait. Playing games was the mostly done activity, when my big brothers allowed me that is!

Playing video games wasn't just a habit, it was a ritual for most younger people at that time. The times I hated the most was when the exams approached and my mom decides to hide the gaming systems so my brothers and I can study. I can always find where it's been hidden but I cannot risk taking the system and then watch my mother destroying it with anger for disobedience (Believe me she will!). Those were the happy days where we gather with cousins and play Street Fighter and then act the whole game in real life beating. Doing the finish him moves of Mortal Kombat and sitting solo playing Super Mario Bros. After the Iraqi invasion I decided to buy an SNES and my younger brother got the SEGA Genesis. I played his more by force of course and after the usual brother to brother beat-up... Fun fun days!

Oh I remember the worst day of my life alright... Well maybe not the worst but it surely was one of the worsts! It was when my youngest uncle decided to take the SEGA Mega Drive system away from our house to play it. We did not see it again for months until I sneak at his place and stole it back with what I could grab of our games. A lot of the games were missing of course but at least I got the system back.

High School period kicked in, oh boy those teenage years. I owned a PSX back then and played some good periods of time, but those teenage years were spent more out of the indoors. All the bad habits were experienced during those years, but don't let us get into details about that. The game that mesmerized me and got me more in love with my PSX and gaming was non-other than Metal Gear Solid. Back then I did not make the connection with the classic MSX/NES classic version. They are so different and I found the classic one was too hard. That game was the best game I ever played back then. I'm not much of an RPG gamer. In fact, I never really tried to play them. I only played Parasite Eve, Final Fantasy and Xenogear for a short while and stopped. They were a really interesting games, but action was my thing.

A long pause came after that when I traveled to the US to get me an Engineering Degree. I did not play much then even though I took my PSX with me there. I did replay MSG, Resident Evil, Castlevania and beat Tomba and Tomba 2, which were also my favorite, other than that, gaming was only done for socializing. School took most of my time and college fun! PS2 was released and I couldn't afford it yet so I had to wait a year. I saved up, waited and anticipated playing those better graphics games including MGS2. God that system was great! You can never complain about the PS2! it was great for so long and took the lead for so long as well. Nintendo was still competing and strong but common! It's was the master of the gaming console and one of the reasons of SEGA system death. R.I.P. SEGA, I miss you... You were a better system but your greed didn't serve you well.

During the time of my studies I use to travel back and forth to Kuwait. Getting caught up with life and catching up with my friends back home, I barely noticed that I was missing all my classic systems! No Atari! No MSX! NO SNES... NO EVERYTHING! Yah... Who knows where they are now? I wanted them back I wanted them back so bad! They were one of the best childhood connection! It was then I started my first collect! Thanks to E-bay, my first purchase was a Sega Genesis 3 with some cartridges. I can't remember details but then it was when I completed my studies and went back to Kuwait that I got really crazy! How you ask? I will share with you my collection and passions though this blog but all in time...

playing games and collecting them is not my only hobby of course... I have more! Diving and water sports is a passion of mine. Hopefully if you like my blog I will share a lot of those interests. Because that's what its all about isn't it? writing blogs I mean...