Yello's Gaming History

Earliest gaming memories (2000 - 2007)

Luckily, I got exposed to games during my earliest formative years. My older cousin would always come over to my house and have me try his games. The first two consoles I ever touched were the GameCube and SNES. He had a TON of games for each system, so it's hard for me to remember all of them. But the games I remember playing were Super Mario World, TMNT IV, Super Mario Kart, Jungle Book, X-Men, and Super Castlevania IV for the SNES, and Melee, Double Dash, and Mario Party 4 for the GameCube.

The two consoles that DID stay at my house was my sister's GBA SP and original Nintendo DS, which solidified my dedication to all things Nintendo. My sister was a massive Pokémon fan well before I was. Much like 99.99% of all kids in the 90's, she had all the hallmarks of Pokémania. Trading cards, plushies, books, pens, and yes, even video games. I was still a small toddler, so I had no idea what the concept of Pokémon was, I just know I was consuming a LOT of it. Her earliest games before I started played were Pokémon Ruby and Emerald.

My first ever consoles (2007 - 2013)

I was probably around 7 when I had my first consoles. The timeline is a little fuzzy, but the first console that I fully owned was a blue GBA SP and the first home console we had was the Wii. Since my sister already had her own SP, we shared a lot of the same games. Yes, the majority of them were licensed kids games like Camp Lazlo, The Lion King, and Cars, but I never treated them any less because as a kid, all games were worth playing if I knew how to play.

The only notable GBA games I remember playing back then was, of course, my sister's copies of Pokémon Ruby and Emerald, and a bootleg copy of Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3. God, that game was way too hard for a little kid like me. Though, somehow I remember making it all the way to World 6 without running. When my sister allowed me to restart her Emerald save file, I did the tried and true method of overleveling my starter Mudkip all the way to level 100, which I still have to this day. Past that, we stopped getting any more GBA games, which is a shame.

I was a little too young to comprehend the Wii craze. I just remember one day, our family randomly secured one with the Wii Sports pack-in around 2007 and you already know the magic that entailed. Yes, I was very impressed by the motion controls, especially as a kid. Can you blame me? Our earliest Wii games were Mario Kart Wii and Super Smash Bros. Brawl, which is when I first got into the weeds of games; constantly replaying stages, exploring every feature, and even trying to complete as much as I could.

When Just Dance first released in 2009, it came at the perfect time. It was a fitness game packaged as a party game. Combine that with popular music and intuitive controls, this easily slotted into any family gatherings I attended. Thankfully this was before I grew self-conscious in my later years, so I got to spend weeks memorizing and perfecting each routine like it was my job. As silly as it sounds, the Just Dance franchise gave me the confidence to practice and excel at a video game I loved. I'm not a professional dancer, but this series combined with my K-Pop days definitely solidified my fascination with dance.

I did get my fair share of Wii shovelware like Six Flags Fun Park and EA Sports Active, but for the most part, I fully enjoyed a lot of the Wii games I received, many were sequels to first party titles I played on my cousin's GameCube. This remains my favorite console of all time because of the countless memories I shared with the people around me.

Around this time, I also received a blue DS Lite, which mainly became a Pokémon machine, with a side of Mario Kart DS and Mario Party DS. I remember bringing my DS Lite EVERYWHERE on car trips, family gatherings, weddings, etc. I was constantly using DS Download Play with my sister or even other kids. I'm surprised that hinge lasted as long as it did.

Nintendo-obsessed (2013 - 2018)

During the DS and Wii days, I was blissfully unaware of the general gaming landscape. There were no gaming websites I flocked to, no gaming shows I tuned in, not even any gaming magazines I subscribed to. My only sources for new releases were traditional commercials and advertisements, as well as the Nintendo Channel on my Wii. Yes, this was before Nintendo had an official YouTube channel. But as I got older and became more comfortable with consuming content on the Internet, I began to immerse myself into more of the Nintendo ecosystem, which began when I bought an original 3DS in 2013 with my own money.

Mario Kart 7 was an obvious first choice for me and that was the only 3DS game I played for MONTHS. When I was a preteen, I legitimately thought that the 3DS as so cool and futuristic. Built-in apps like StreetPass and Face Raiders felt so charming and kept my brain occupied as I familiarized myself with this shiny new system. I dug into every feature this bloated device had to offer and I loved it.

Since it was mid 2013, I already knew the Wii U was out, thanks to the trailers from the Wii's Nintendo Channel, but I still didn't have it yet. But because I was so unplugged from the gaming landscape, that meant I was also unaware of the collective disappointment surrounding the system. No one I knew I had it, but gaming was never a source of peer pressure for me, so I purely wanted the console cuz it was the next new thing from Nintendo.

Once I discovered Nintendo's YouTube channel, that's when I was officially plugged in. And I'd say the catalyst was E3 2013. Thanks to the Digital Event all being uploaded to YouTube, I got to see reveal trailers for Mario Kart 8 and Smash 4, both graphically stunning at the time. From that point forward, I knew to always keep an eye out on Nintendo's YouTube to get the latest announcements.

It wasn't until May 2014 that I finally convinced my family to get the Wii U (with my own money again), conveniently around the release of the new Mario Kart 8 bundle. To this day, it remains the one and only special edition bundle I'd ever get for a console. And I'm so glad my patience was rewarded because I was even MORE obsessed with Mario Kart 8 than 7. I'm talking about hours and hours of online matches just because.

If I was any older, I probably would've succumbed to public opinion, but I was at the perfect age that any new product from Nintendo was beyond magical. Staring at the menu, messing with settings, exploring every weird feature; all of that added up to a very joyful time, even if the system itself wasn't very appealing to the public.

Thanks to the eShop, I began to browse other games and franchises I had yet to try. I was fully convinced that any game published by Nintendo was worth trying. I dabbled with the Wii's Virtual Console, but I didn't appreciate it at the time because I did not have the proper controllers. Please do not play Super Mario Kart with a GameCube controller.

The first retro game I tried out on my Wii U was Super Mario World. I know, trying that game at 14 is crazy, but hey, better late than never, right? I was having a ton of fun until I was hit with that old-school difficulty jump near the end of the game. I didn't grow up with many platformers, so you can imagine the constant struggle I faced. It was very humbling and eye-opening how much I needed to broaden my scope, even with Mario games.

EarthBound was a Virtual Console game I took a chance on that truly changed my life. The only RPG I ever played was Pokémon, but I always heard about the endless praises across the Internet. And boy, was I glad I did. The quirkiness, the charm, the ambience; everything just molded together to create an impossibly immersive and emotional experience for a SNES game. I was truly blown away from start to finish that I would continue to replay the game more than 4 times at this point. A masterpiece.

Animal Crossing: New Leaf was another successful dive into a new franchise. I never understood any of the AC references whenever I played Smash, so when I stumbled upon New Leaf as a Club Nintendo reward in 2015, let's just say it became one of those games I always snuck in past my bedtime. I did not understand the power of real-time events and daily incentives until this title. I was usually very slow with beating games, but Animal Crossing FORCED me to slow down and take my time, which was SO addicting. Yes, I even felt a connection with my very first set of villagers. A very cozy game before the genre took over many years later.

Not all new ventures were as successful, though, In my journey to try new Nintendo franchises, Zelda was next on the menu. Obviously, I knew what the Zelda franchise was, but I never grew up with any of the games. When I redeemed my Club Nintendo reward from my Mario Kart 8 bundle, I selected Wii Party U over Wind Waker HD, which was...a choice. But fear not, thanks to a high school classmate, I borrowed his copy of the original Wind Waker on the GameCube because I heard it was a good entry level game for the series. I was having a lot of fun at first...until I got to some of dungeons.

So..a little confession. I'm pretty convinced that I grew up with easy games: Pokémon, Mario Party, Mario Kart. Notice how I didn't mention Donkey Kong, Ninja Gaiden, or Mega Man. I'm glad I played the accessible games I did, but they never challenged me in ways like problem solving, reaction time, or motor skills. Zelda dungeons were a rude awakening of a skill I failed to develop as a child: puzzle solving. Whenever I got stuck in a dungeon, there's quite literally only one solution, or else I would not progress. And for some reason, that limitation frustrated me to no end. I was too stubborn to look up a guide, so I would keep running around and by the time I stumbled onto a solution, I would be so upset at how stupid the solution was that I just wanted the dungeon to be over already. Rinse and repeat, and I basically just wanted the game to be over cuz the endless roadblocks I struggled to overcome bogged down the experience for me.

And it wasn't just Wind Waker, I tried Oracle of Seasons right after to give the 2D games a try and the same thing happened: I stumbled around so much to a point where most solutions never felt satisfying because I felt dumb wasting so much time. Something about the traditional Zelda formula never quite clicks with me to this day.

Pokemon obsession

My Pokémon obsession continued with Pokémon X in early 2014, which was actually the second 3DS game I ever got, meaning that for nearly a year, I was stuck with only Mario Kart 7. I don't know how I survived that long. But yes, the leap to 3D was very exciting for Pokémon fans, including me. I didn't even care that much about the story, I was just so happy to sink my teeth into a brand new entry with fancier graphics and snappier gameplay. I was still hesitant to connect with people online, but I do remember spending hours doing Wonder Trade. Yes, it was kinda like a slot machine....oops.

Speaking of Smash, Smash 4 was such an important game in my life, but not in the way that you'd expect. I was and still am not a competitive player, especially in fighting games. But the way this game infected my entire life is still unmatched to this day. The hype was off the charts, my addiction to online matches was concerning, and the amount of people I got to played with because of this game was magical. I basically lived and breathed Smash 4 (yes, both the 3DS AND Wii U versions) for 2 straight years which truly solidified me as a bonafide Nintendo fan.

Playing with classmates in Gen 6, inheriting Gen 5 games, going back to older gens 2 and 3, Gen 7 hype

Switch-less

BOTW on Wii U, classmates playing on their Switches, stuck with my OG 3DS and Majora's Mask, feeling FOMO and alone lol

The renaissance (2018 - 2024)

All Switch memories

Online multiplayer games with friends

Trying new games

Pokemon rebirth

Crossroads (2024 - Now)

Switch 2 release