Starting Off Your Collection

Wow, has it really been that long since I posted anything? I guess things get away from you when you're back in the classroom. Can't blame me much for that, though. When your brain hurts, it's hard to want to do anything that involves thought. Of course, that's what the weekend is for. So, after a long absence, here's my latest.

Earlier this month, I celebrated my birthday. If you want to know how old I am, I'll give you a little hint. I am exactly one year older than I was last year. Hey, I want to have some secrets. This birthday was pretty special though, since I became the proud owner of a brand new Wii U console. I finally figured that it was high time I jumped on the bandwagon. I'd played a few demos at stores, and I liked what I saw.

I began my collection with only two games. One came pre-installed, Super Mario 3D World. I've played a few of these before - Super Mario Bros., Super Mario World, Super Mario 3D Land, New Super Mario Bros. (I think you get the idea) so I wasn't too excited. But hey, I'll probably have a blast with it.

The other game was Hyrule Warriors. Let me tell you, I have played a lot of Zelda games, and I enjoyed them all. So, it only seemed fitting that I should begin my collection with this title. I would have gone with Wind Waker HD, but my GameCube copy works just fine, so I didn't think I needed a duplicate. Plus, I played Hyrule Warriors almost exclusively on the demo machines.

I know there were plenty of other games for me to choose from - Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker, Mario Kart 8, Super Smash Bros., Mario Party 10, Pikmin 3, but I figured asking for the Wii U was probably enough. And besides, a collection has to start out somewhere.

So, it kind of got me thinking about other starters. Now, I have quite a video game collection. Heck, it just keeps on growing (although sometimes it's shrunk). I probably would have enough to open my own rental store, if I trusted people enough with my stuff. Yep, I've got plenty of games across a timeline of systems. But each of those collections had to start somewhere.

Now, obviously, I can't remember all of them. Some systems, I don't remember exactly which game I started out with, but I think I remember most of them. So, I'd like to share some particularly memorable ones with all of you.

The Atari was my real first in video games, but I can't remember which game I started first. My guess would probably be Vanguard.

The Sega was a different story. My collection began with games like Sonic the Hedgehog, Castle (and World) of Illusion, Quackshot, and The Aquatic Games. Ah, what fun those were.

My first trip into the proper realm of 3D began with the Nintendo 64. As I recall, Super Mario 64 and Star Fox 64 were my very first on that one. I'd say I made the transition smoothly.

For the Dreamcast, I began with Sonic Adventure. Being a Sonic fan already, I was pretty glad to start off with this one.

The GameCube, I began with Luigi's Mansion and Pikmin. Fun times those were, especially after I gained the ability to save my progress.

Finally, I began my Wii days the way most gamers did - with Wii Sports. Well, I only had enough money for the console at the time. I couldn't buy a whole lot. But hey, it was still a fun start.

There are other systems I have that I really don't remember what my first game was - the SNES and Xbox come to mind. And there were games I only had for systems I rented but never owned. For instance, I began the PlayStation days with a little-known title called Croc: Legend of the Gobbos. But still, you usually never forget the first game that begins a collection. I guess you might say I measured things in games.

So, what about you? What did you have to start out your collection? Anything special?

Keep playing.