My first video game

I remember the day like it was yesterday, the first time I had even been introduced to the realm of gaming, that cold winter morning changed my life forever. I woke up to my first ever game system, the Sega Genesis. Not only that, but inside it I found Sonic the Hedgehog.

Being that i was 7 years old, tasks such as handling a game system were still some what difficult. Truth be told I was not good at it at the start, I didn't understand it and I had a lot of trouble keeping up with the game. The first few levels were at first a challenge because I would just try to speed through them, hitting almost every obstacle. The first time I defeated Egg man at the end of the Green Hill Zone. I was filled with joy, and I was proud of what I had done. I let out a little sigh of relief the game was not over, I still had a lot more to do.

My next few days with that game were frustrating ones, the second world “Marble Zone” had challenged me beyond what I was capable of, and it took me forever to get enough skill to pass it. Every time I had made it farther I got more and more excited, I was about to beat it. Little did I know, Sonic was growing on me, and it was becoming an addiction.

Every level felt like a right of passage, and I was slowing unlocking the gaming potential in me. As i progressed the game, I would always feel accomplished if I could get just a bit farther each time, and every time I had lost all my lives, I would try again, working at getting farther and farther each time.

I loved that game, so much I played it day to night every day of the week. In school all I could think about was how I was going to beat the next world. I practically memorized the first 10 or so levels, and with each play through I got farther and farther into the game. I don't remember the exact day I beat the game, but eventually i did,"Unlocking” up-down-left-right up-down-left-right.

I look back to this day and think, how did such a simple game keep my entertained for so many hours, day in and day out for almost a year? Perhaps it was because I was seven years old, and I didn't have the mentality I have now, where I expect a game to be exceptional, or perhaps its because it was, and still is an amazing game.

No game to this day has had such a huge impact on my life; Sonic turned me into the gamer I am today, and because of that, this game will always have a special place in my heart.