Favorite Pastimes :: Videogames

Videogames can be played for long hours for enjoyment and relaxation. It was a joyous occasion when the 8-bit Nintendo was introduced to the common consumer, and over 15 years later, videogames are becoming increasingly popular with more speed and in-depth storylines as well as effulgent vector/3D graphics in a color palette which spans over millions of different colors. Though there are an array of excellent videogames on the market, the better ones were made for the Nintendo and Playstation consoles.

Nintendo® Entertainment System

Nintendo Entertainment System After many of the older video game systems such as ColecoVision and Atari, the nation gets swamped by the Nintendo Entertainment System. The first Christmas of its release was the holiday where an unprecedented number of systems were being sold; it was almost safe to say that there was one in almost every household. There were an assortment of games that were released for this NES system, many of which are displayed on this page. Of all the games shown, the ones that had the most impact are Final Fantasy and Super Mario Bros. 3. These games and many otherbrought upon many hours of enjoyment and were easily replayable without ever becoming dull and repetitive.

Super Nintendo® Entertainment System

After three years of playing and conquering numerous games for the 8-bit Nintendo, it was time to move onto the next generation of gaming. The Super NES introduced a whole new array of games all fused with 16-bit graphics. Fans of the Ninja Gaiden and Super Mario Bros. series would rejoice with gladness as all three releases of each series were re-released on the Super NES platform. The Super NES platform would remain popular and stand the test of time, even with competitors such as the Sega Genesis. Other systems, such as the TurboGrafx-16 and the NeoGeo, attempted to thwart the 16-bit gaming rivals. However, the prices of the two systems knocked them out of the water real quick. The Super NES is still a very popular video game system even after 10 years of being on the market.

Sony® Playstation™

At first Ronald was all for the new Nintendo system and hoped for the sequel to Final Fantasy III would be even greater than its predecessors. Squaresoft made the game so much more exciting that it became huge - a 3-CD release. However, the Nintendo 64 was released as another cartridge system, and the business relationship between Squaresoft and Nintendo fizzled. Squaresoft decided to take their game and release it on the Playstation platform. That decision, in the opinion of the webmaster, brought forth a large movement from Nintendo to Sony. Fans of the Final Fantasy series would eventually see versions two thru nine on this platform, including the never-before released Final Fantasy V (released in Final Fantasy Anthology). The quality of games for this system were phenomenal, and soon the 16-bit and archaic 8-bit systems and games began to fade away from department store shelves and into pawn shops.

Sony® Playstation™ 2

Once again, Sony stirred the gaming world with the second release of their video game entertainment system. Not only could it play PS2 games, it could play PSX/CD/DVD discs as well. As of today, Ronald is holding out for the Playstation 2 in hopes that the price will one day drop to $99. However, with major releases such as Final Fantasy XII and God of War II, it does not seem that that will happen anytime soon. Perhaps the best advantage thus far of holding out on a current system until its successor is released is that there will be no future re-releases (as witnessed with Playstation as well) and the prices of the more expensive games begin to drop. Though it must be said that in the history of domestic video gaming, a time has indeed come thus far where more and more people are content with their current system and do not plan (if at all) to purchase the newer system until later on. With such a strong and diverse game library, who needs a $620 Playstation 3?