Between the Margins

Retro Handhelds

Nintendo GameBoy

So I was given my first Gameboy when I was very little. My Mum and my Brother were already gamers, so I guess they thought I should have my very own console.

My very first game was Kirby's Dreamland. So naturally I had to add it to this list. It was the one that started it all for me, and I still have a big fondness for the Pink Blob today.

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Link's Awakening was my very first Zelda game. I'd seen my family play The Legend of Zelda, The Legend of Zelda 2: The Adventures of Link and Link to the Past many times, but Link's Awakening was my game. I fell head over heels with the game. I loved the Dreamlike Fantasy Element, the Soundtrack even though it was 8bit music.
I always used to get stuck on the 8th Temple: Eagle Tower. That pillar and ball puzzle with the floors collapsing always used to confuse me.

Mum was also obsessed with the game, and she used to take my Gameboy to the Beach with her.. much to my Horror. The amount of times sand got stuck in the buttons.. So frustrating.
To this day, Link's Awakening is one of my top Zelda games, sharing its spot with Majora's Mask. Since it's one of my favourite games of all time I have a massive back tattoo of the Windfish to celebrate it.

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It should come as no surprise that Pokemon Red and Blue have made my list. The games that launched a franchise. I was obsessed with Pokemon when I was young.
It's all I wanted to talk about. I collected the Merchandise, played the games and made my non gamer friends very uncomfortable I am sure.

Sadly this love hasn't grown with me, as I've gotten older and the games haven't really changed that much. I think I stopped really paying attention after Gen 3.
Still, I remember the day I first saw Pokemon in a magazine. I remember seeing Dewgong and Ponyta and thinking they were the most beautiful creatures I'd ever seen.

I've always thought if I was a Pokemon Trainer, I'd probably be a Plant and Bug type trainer.

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So I hadn't even heard of Dragon Quest when Mum gave me Dragon Warrior Monsters. I'm not sure why she bought it for me actually, it wasn't a birthday or Christmas present if I recall. Just a random gift. (She is very generous and loving Mum)

So Dragon Warrior Monsters is actually a pretty hard game and it does not hold your hand as much as Pokemon does. So I did spend a lot of time being rather stuck on it. However, I was in love with the World and Monsters. It scratched my Fantasy itch far more than Pokemon did, despite them both being Monster taming games.

There is a track in Dragon Warrior Monsters that plays when you are adventuring called "Unknown World" which is one of my favourite musical tracks from any video games.
If you aren't familar with Dragon Quest or Dragon Warrior Monsters, I do recommend checking it out. Especally if you enjoy Retro Monster taming games. The Monster designs go very hard.