The Gamer Blue Print the first 16 Years

So I was going to blog about some Street Fighter related items, but today I felt like typing about something else.

So today was my son's two month check in and vaccination shots. Poor little guy. As soon as he wakes up he cries. The pain must be unbearable for a two-month old. So I figured I would carry him and play some video game music. Thanks to Mega Ran, my son was put to sleep. I also played some jams from the Plasmas and Select Start. During this time I began to think, what games should I let my son play, should I just let him play what ever "Imagine Babyz/Petz/Dogz/Catz" game or should I let him begin his video game lineage the same way I began mine?

So I decided to make a chart of the years and how old I was at the time to coincide with my son's age and what not. On this list I compiled some of the best games I played during those years. For instance, in 1985 I was 4 years old, and Super Mario Bros. was the game of that year. Granted, I don't think I got my NES until 1986 or 87, but it's a good measuring stick for my son.

So here's the list of games, only in order of their release (from the top of my head).

2013/1985 (4 yrs) - Issac will be four years old. Little kids are pretty advance these days, but the game in 1985 would have been Super Mario Bros. (NES)

2014/1986 (5 yrs) - Ghosts 'n Goblins is the only game I can come up with during this time period.

2015/1987 (6 yrs) - Oh man, this is going to be a great year for Issac. The Legend of Zelda, Double Dragon, Punch Out! (with or without Mike Tyson), Castlevania, and Mega Man make this one great year to finely shape young Issac's video game career.

2016/1988 (7 yrs) - A good time for Issac to learn his first cheat code... Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Start... good old Contra.

2017/1989 (8 yrs) - Time for Issac to learn the importance of great co-op play with Guerilla War. Then some great single player action with Mega Man 2, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for NES.

2018/1990 (9 yrs) - This must be a great year for "III's" as Super Mario Bros. 3 and Mega Man III are released. Also going to have to make my son watch Fred Savage in the Wizard.

2019/1991 (10 yrs) - The 16-bit era has begun. The 16-bit Wars are raging. Issac will get the best of both worlds while playing Super Mario World and Sonic the Hedgehog. Other notable games are SNES version of Street Fighter II. And one of my favorite video games of all time, Final Fantasy II (IV).

2020/1992 (11 yrs) - Super Mario Kart and the Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past make this a must play SNES year.

2021/1993 (12 yrs) - My PC gaming cherry gets popped with Doom, so naturally as a part of gaming history for me, Issac will battle the hordes of demons. On the SNES side of things, the FX Chip hits big with Star Fox.

2022/1994 (13 yrs) - Another SNES dominate year. Super Metroid, Final Fantasy III (VI), Mega Man X, and one of the greatest platform games of all time, Donkey Kong Country.

2023/1995 (14 yrs) - Some of the last greatest RPGs of the 16-bit era, Earthbound and Chrono Trigger. Also, the Pokemon craze begins with Pokemon Red and Pokemon Blue.

2024/1996 (15 yrs) - Super Mario RPG bids plays the SNES's swan song as hits like Resident Evil and Super Mario 64 hit the Sony PlayStation and Nintendo 64.

2025/1997 (16 yrs) - Powerhouses like Star Fox 64 and Final Fantasy VII hit the market. Castlevania Symphony of the Night proves 2-D games will never die, and Goldeneye 007 brings home great First Person Shooter action to the Nintendo 64.

Hado... you know the rest!

So Street Fighter IV is finally here, and now I'm realizing something... I am one lousy Street Fighter player. It started to set in while playing my friends in HD Remix last week, where I only had a handful of wins. How do I suck so much? I do no know. I can do combos, I can focus-cancel moves, and all kinds of stuff.

I'm loving Street Fighter IV, except the fact that there are so many Akuma players out there. I've beaten down a few before they could do a Raging Demon, but most of the Akuma plauyers rely on that damned move. I'm almost postive that's how most of those players have obtained their BP. Scrub out as Akuma and just Raging Demon your way to victory.

Well, back to the drawing training board...

STREET FIGHTER IV VIDEO APP

STREET FIGHTER IV VIDEO APP

Reedakis... you suck!

Tales from Xbox Live...

Well, here's a funny story of what happened last night on Xbox Live. Lately I've been playing a little bit of Halo 3 since my Uncle Manuel finally got an Xbox 360 and Halo 3. Well, so last night we were in a Neutral Assault game on Valhalla.

Normally I just let the game start, and hardly ever speak a word. Well, some Halo newb named "reedakis" began talking smack. Asking if I was Asian or something, and making stupid remarks. I just kept answering with "What?" Ala Stone Cold Steve Austin. So right before the game begins, he says, "your going to have my d*ck in your mouth."

I think nothing of it, and just want to let my actions speak for my words. The match begins, I start off lousy. I think I died about 4 times without a single death. Then suddenly as they were about to plant the bomb I caught fire. It was great. I made "reedakis" my personal bitch. Every time I would kill him I would shout into the microphone "hey reedakis, who's d*ck is in who's mouth now?" It was hilarity. I think we ended the matching with 3 bomb plantings, with my personal kill/death ratio at 17-9 with 5 assists. It was great.

So pretty much this is for all the "reedakis" people out there. Cut the crap. Your sh*t talking was pretty much pointless. So "reedakis", you sir may kiss my ass.

Street Fighter IV...

Street Fighter IV is closely approaching US Console release. It almost feels like it was yesterday when Street Fighter II made it's Super Nintendo debut. I still have calluses on my left hand thumb thanks to Street Fighter II and the SNES directional pad.

As the days get closer and closer to the release of Street Fighter IV, I feel the nerves getting tense. The anxiety is building. This isn't any fighting game release, this is Street Fighter IV. Not Super Duper Street Fighter II' Turbo the New Champions Edition, or Street Fighter Zero Max Double Upper Left Right Down Up Select Start, but a whole new digit in the Street Fighter saga.

I'm a huge fan of Capcom fighting games (Marvel Super Heroes, Street Fighter). I'm not a walking library like Marc, BigMex or even my friend John Yamamoto, but I am a Street Fighter purist. I remember evolving my game thanks to John. Throws used to be taboo untill I realized how easy it was to through, and even take sacrifice hits and throw on the recovery.

With the release of Street Fighter IV, I hope I'll be able to improve my game. Especially since the last time I played IV was at Super Arcade and Mr. Calipower himself (Alex Valle) got a perfect on me... I left the arcade with my head down, but not out.

Here comes a new challenger! Attack me if you dare, I will crush you!

STREET FIGHTER IV VIDEO APP

Getting to know me!

Well, it seems to be a trend going around there people are posting facts about themselves. I don't know how many I can do, so I'll just bullet them as below.

• I'm the oldest of two.
• Me, and two other cousins are the last males carrying our last name in my father's direct family.
• My son is cuter than yours.
• Final Fantasy IV and VI are far superior than Final Fantasy VII and VIII.
• The first Halo game was the next Goldeneye in my honest opinion. By means of getting you together and playing with your buddies.
  
• I've worked for Starbucks for a long time. I'm creeping up to the decade mark soon. Hopefully they find it in their budget to keep or promote me soon.
• I have two seasons of Married with Children on my PS3's hard drive, and I still watch them to this day.
• I'm a sucker for Gametrailers.com's Retrospective series.
• The Megas are my favorite video game band, and quite possibly one of my favorite bands.
• I love Nippon Ichi games, but have ever been able to complete a single one. The closest I've gotten was almost completing La Pucelle Tactics for PS2.
• I take great pride in my video game collection. Many hard years and tons of game hunting have led me to obtain such a great collection.
• I own a Street Fighter II' arcade machine.
• I love Pokemon. I'm a sucker for the collect-a-critter-and battle your friends type game. What can I say, I'm a collector at heart.
• In Street Fighter games, I like to perfect lesser used characters like E. Honda or Dee Jay.
• I love Anime. Probably too much. I'm a regular attendee at Anime Expo every year.
• Of recent Final Fantasy games, I thought XII was amazingly good. Like, really.
• I live and die by the St. Louis Rams.
• I'm a Cheap Ass Gamer.
  

New Year, New Love, New Life

"Life is like a game of cards. The hand that is dealt you represents determinism; the way you play it is free will."- Jawaharal Nehru

So we're starting off this great year of 2009 AD! I'm excited. I've leveled up in life into the role of father. And man, it's not an easy role, but every time I look into my son's face, my heart just melts.

On December 21st, at 9:34 pm, I was there to watch a new life enter my own. Issac Daniel Manzanares was his name. I still remember when the doctor told us it was going to be a boy, I had a smile on my face you'd have to surgically remove. Losing sleep isn't fun, but it's a necessity. I have to nurture and keep this little life well. Sort of like having a Pokemon, that poops and pees a lot.

My family is overjoyed. My mother has been wanting a grandchild for a long time, and my Dad is just too overjoyed as well. My Pops told me while he's at work, he'll hide off to the side or a corner somewhere so he can open up his cell phone and look at pictures of my son (and his grand son).Granted, my gaming habits are going to be grinding to a halt, but just until Issac's old enough to play with me. Then every thing's game. I'm going to have to dust off the NES and pop in my copy of Guerrilla Wars and teach Issac how to play and beat the game. Guerrilla Wars is a game my Dad and I used to rent almost once a month and play together.

Speaking of Dads, my Dad was a great example to follow. I can only hope to be half the Dad he was to me. Taking me to Rams (football) games every Sunday while they were here in Los Angeles. Taking me to watch Hulk Hogan, then the WWF Champion, wrestle against Ric Flair (WCW's Champion at the time). My Pops was awesome. Hopefully Claudia will let me take my son Issac to all kinds of great events like Anime Expo and Comic Cons.

As for gaming news, I've been trying to polish off Final Fantasy V Advance in between the baby's nap times. Then I'll try to finish off Fallout 3, and hopefully move onto Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne, with a little Disgaea 3 in there.. Some RPGs I've been meaning to beat or play. Then after that it's onto my Backloggery's fortune cookie, to see what I'm going to play next. I got some Gamestop gift cards burning a hole in my wallet. Mayhaps I'll finally get Little Big Planet or Castlevania: Order of Eclessia.

Well, till next time I blog, I hope all of you have a great
2009!