Tag Archives: Emulation

Digital Playground

Summer 2025 Post Mortem

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Introduction

At the beginning of summer, even before I conducted my final class, cleaned my room, and stepped out of the school for, well, for only two weeks because of summer school, I put together a list of 5 games I wanted to play over the summer. I knew, as you probably did, that list would not be completed. However, maybe I should have played more than one of them for an extended period of time. That might make Summer 2025 Post Mortem a bit less depressing.

It’s not that I didn’t play video games. In fact, I discovered a web page that superimposes achievements onto older video games. As a result, I spent most of my free time in Europe playing Mario vs. Donkey Kong to beat that game. When we got back, I went to one of my favorite games of all time, Frostbite. I need only one achievement there in order to “complete” that game. More recently, I picked up Super Mario 64 again. One of the greatest games ever made. Can’t hate me for that.

The Game(s) I Played

As mentioned, I played a tiny amount of both Red Dead Redemption 2 and The Last of Us. Literally only played through the introduction of both games. Hey, it just gives me a head start on Games for Winter Break. Or, maybe Summer Break 2026. Who knows, maybe I’ll get really crazy and play them without a vacation or one pending.

I played a ton of Hades. Made it to Meg a couple of times. Unlocked the vault or whatever its called where you get kudos for meeting the gods, getting different bonuses, etc. Both of those made me want to play the game even more. If I have time, maybe I will upload some of that play to the YouTube in between Pokemon, Truck Driving, trying to 100% Mario vs. DK and Doors. So, there’s another one I promised!

The Verdict

I said this Summer 2025 Post Mortem might be depressing. I suppose, in retrospect, that makes sense. You rarely go into a post mortem thinking that it will be bright and rosy. However, there are a couple of ways to approach it. I’d rather celebrate the good that I accomplished than worry about the bad or what I didn’t.

Digital Playground

Video Games of Past

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Introduction

This month, we celebrate 10 years of the web page. I got the idea to celebrate my past, present, and future in gaming with a series of articles. I already talked about tabletop games of the past. This article plans to celebrate my video games of past.

If the title sounds awkward, I apologize. I tried to channel Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol with the ghosts of past, present, and yet to come. Then, I realized that it doesn’t quite work the way I wanted. But, instead of changing it, I just leaned into the awkwardness. It’s one of the things I do best.

Actual Past

I wrote in my Newbury Comics article that comics played a big role in my history. Video games played an even bigger role. Growing up, my family owned an Atari 2600 and then an Atari 7800 back when both consoles first released. My parents resisted buying a Nintendo for a while, but finally caved and got us the Nintendo and a bunch of games. My mother worked at a grocery store that rented the games and then sold them cheaper to free up stock room.

The first console I ever purchased for myself was a Super Nintendo. I worked at Toys R Us and saved money in order to buy it. Shortly after that, I also bought a Sega Genesis. I never put much stock in “console wars”. The only reason I picked a side with Sony and Microsoft is that the consoles are prohibitively expensive and I don’t want to piss away 600 dollars every few years for a couple of exclusives.

Through it all, I remained loyal to Nintendo. I bought several Game Boy Advances, an N64, a Wii, and a Wii U. Liam bought a switch that the family uses. I’ve been thinking about getting myself a Switch Lite for trips. But, I should wait until the Video Games of Present to write about that one.

Trying to Capture the Past

More recently, I purchased a Retron 77, which has the look and feel of an old Atari machine. I found a way to load the ROMs onto an SD card and played them that way. Laugh all you want, but Audacity games released two new games for the system, 40 years after it became “obsolete.” That reminds me. I need to buy Alien Abduction.

Then, a couple of weeks ago, I finally caved and bought a Retroid handheld. It allows me to play Atari, GBA, N64, and other console games from my childhood and early adulthood. I love that damn thing and used it many times already while on Cape Cod. I know that Christine might think it’s silly if I buy a Switch, but I see it getting just as much use.

The Verdict

I forgot to mention the Commodore 64 that I received one Christmas that allowed me to play video games of past. It also let me attempt to program them. That produced mixed results at the time. However, my love for programming continues today as one of my many hobbies.