Looking Back, Moving Forward (or The Accelerated Back Hop)

SPOILER ALERT: Mild spoilers for Persona 4.

Can you remember your first experience with video games? Since you’re reading a blog about gaming, chances are you probably can. Even I, with my admittedly poor long-term memory, can remember the games I grew up on. I remember the Super Solver games, I remember Sim Ant, I remember Dino Park Tycoon, Roller Coaster Tycoon, Oregon Trail II, Amazon Trail, Toggle Trouble Math, Lego Island, Mechwarrior 2, Descent 2, etc. These games helped me pass many an hour as a child, and they undoubtedly had an impact on my identity, both then and now. However, it wasn’t until I got my very first gaming console, a refurbished PSX already bundled with a DualShock controller, that gaming became a truly integral part of my life.