Finished a Game?

My brother and I popped in Gauntlet Legends for the N64 this last weekend as I tried to refresh my memory for a favorites list. After looking around for a bit (and breezing through the first level) we picked a level (in the middle of a circle of Runes) and dived in.

Apparently it was the final battle and we were faced battling Skorne. Our characters were level 80+ but we had a hard time getting his health bar down. I guess we should have warmed up more than just that first level. And while the style of game play was familiar I had a hard time remembering when we played the game.

Did we beat Skorne and finish the game? Did we get this far and decide to take a break and come back later? Did we try (repeatedly maybe) to beat him and failed? Why can't I remember if I finished a game?

We hacked away as best we could and argued a little bit about whether we finished or not. He said yes. I'm not so sure. I can't imagine either one of us just giving up on a game this close to the end. Yet I don't remember what happened at the end. Did we find other games to play instead? Maybe other systems? I'd love to cross one more game off my list as "played-completed" but can I rightfully do so if I don't remember doing it.

There's only one way for me to make sure I really did finish that game and that's to play it all over again. On Sunday, back at my place, I hooked everything up and breezed through the first 3 levels. Everything came back to me. I knew what the levels looked like, where the tough guys would be and how to get through the whole thing without wasting keys or magic potions. I still couldn't remember how it all ended. But I did remember how tedious hacking and slashing through all those levels were. Did I really want to go through all that again just so I could say I finished the game with a clear consciences? Especially when I have so many newer . . . and better looking . . . games I want to play.

I don't think Gauntlet Legends is a bad game. I loved playing the original Gauntlet in the arcade and I remember when this game came out and the top down 2-dimensional world came alive in this 3-dimensional game. But the graphics haven't held up very well. The style of game play is still around in games like Hunter the Reckoning, Balder's Gate and the likes. It's just your typical hack and slash. But I don't know if I'm ready to progress through all those levels staring at out dated graphics with a controller that no longer feels as comfortable in my hands as it once did.

So, did I finish this game? I'll have to think about that one and let you know.

Dusting off the old systems

I dusted off my old Super Nintendo system and replayed a lot of my games in preparation before complying my list of favorite games for that system. It was nice to play games I hadn't played in quite some time. Years even. It brought back some good memories.

This last weekend I tried to do the same thing with my N64. Notice how I said "tried." Things didn't go so well. I packed up my system and almost all of my games (except Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask and Magical Tetris Challenge) and headed to my parent's house. My brother was going over to do laundry and I wanted another person to help out with some of the multiplayer options in the games. I was a little disappointed to find that I only had 12 games for the system. That didn't seem right, but that's all I had.

Once the system was hooked up my brother popped in Gauntlet Legends and went to load a file from the memory card that was still in my controller. Apparently I had saves from games that I didn't have the cartridge for. At least for none of the cartridges I had in front of me. Did I sell some games back? Do I have a stash of games somewhere that I haven't unpacked?

Yes, I have lived in the same place for 5 years now and still have boxes I haven't unpacked. At least unpacked completely. I have a lot of boxes that are partially unpacked because I couldn't figure out where to put things so it was best to leave them where they were. I thought I knew what treasures were in those boxes but maybe I don't. I've always meant to unpack them and now maybe I have the motivation to do it. I've got games that are missing people. I need to find them!

But since it's been a long time since I played my N64 I was wondering if I sold any of those games back. I remembered owning Aidyn Chronicles (it was a black cartridge) and I have a save for it but did I sell it back? I think I remember owning Turok too. I didn't have a save so where's that game? I've gone through a list online of N64 games and I think there's 10 more games I should have . . . somewhere. Unless I sold them back of course.

I remember when I got my N64. I was just out of college with very little money to spare. I couldn't get every game I wanted to. Even when I found Game Stop and their used games for less money. I had to pick and choose which games I would get because every game was a splurge and my budget couldn't afford too many of them. I also remember picking up a bunch of older Super Nintendo games during that time. They were cheaper.

So I guess I'm going to have to spend some time unpacking boxes and looking for N64 game cartridges which I may or may not still have. I don't feel comfortable putting out a "favorites" list of games for the system if I don't even know what games I have anymore. Maybe I should have dusted off those old systems more often.

I'm not just a one system gamer girl.

As much as I love my Xbox 360 I do have other gaming systems. A PS2, Xbox, computer, Game Cube, N64, Super Nintendo, GBA SP, PSP, and an XYZ. Okay, I made up that last one. I just haven't played those systems in a long time.

My PS2 is currently functioning as a stand for my 360. My Game Cube has been shoved to the back of my entertainment center. I'm not even sure where my original Xbox is. My GBA SP and PSP are tossed in a bag somewhere and my N64 and Supertendo are working on their dust bunny collections. I do get on the computer occasionally to check emails but after a day at the office staring at a computer screen and sitting in uncomfortable chair I'm not all that inclined to sit and do the same thing at home.

I blame my lack of playing other systems to Xbox Live. It's always a blast to get online and see which of your friends are plugged in and what they're playing. Even looking at the cute little pink Pac Man ghost your tough talking and tough playing friend picked as his avatar is a hoot. Player's mottos change often . . . sometimes hourly. And when your testosterone filled buddies, who once gave you a hard time for playing Hearts, are now seen playing Backgammon or Viva Pinata it only adds to the tauntings you can hand out to them later. (And don't believe them when they say their wives were playing.)

I will have to tear myself away from Xbox Live and my 360 if my other systems even have a hope of getting played again. It's not like I don't have any great and thoroughly engrossing games for those systems. (Yes, the Game Cube and N64 have some of those games too. Have you heard of Pikmin or Rouge Squadron?) It's just when I play those other systems I wonder what my Xbox friends are doing.

Have they past me on the leaderboards for Pac Man? Did they finish a game before me? Did they find a way to get that elusive achievement that's been the bane of my existence in Bejeweled 2? Is their GamerScore higher than mine now?

Yet at the same time I'm wondering what happens next in Final Fantasy X-2. Which is the real world in Chrono Cross? Where will Jak and Daxter or Ratchet and Clank go next? What do I have to do to beat the final boss in Pikmin in one day? How can I save that Galaxy far, far away? And just who is Solid Snake, Samus or Master Chief?

If I didn't have to go to work 5 days a week I'd be closer to finding out those answers, and many more. That is if I can put my Xobx 360 aside to plug another system in. Maybe I'll give it a try tonight. After all, I'm not just a one system gamer girl.