If there’s one thing I have always deterred myself away when it comes to my favorite video games, it’s generally the fandom. I’m not saying I dislike fandom in general, because I’ve met some of my best friends through social communities. Still, there is a good reason why I only dabble a bit in fandom and if you know a thing or two about fandom, you completely understand why. Basically, it’s because people tend to become very defensive about their beliefs, especially their favorite pairings.

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Ever fancied a replica keyblade? Or even some replica materia? Really? WHY?!

Video games have always been used to sell us crap we don’t need. Just like movies. Seems like you can’t turn around from a good game without finding a flood of shoddy plastic action figures or lame photoshopped posters screaming Buy! Buy! Buy! I’m now going to name and shame some of the ones that personally piss me off. Do you disagree? Can you not live without your daily supply of sonic-flavored cola? Let me know in the comments!

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In the hopes of expanding the gamer lifestyle, for years in my childhood I had hoped for some sort of television channel dedicated to gaming. While the Super Mario Brothers Super Show was freakin’ awesome, it dealt more with ‘don’t get into an angry plumber’s white van!’ issues than video games. I do kind of wonder if Mama Luigi would ever let Yoshi eat that weird cereal that was spawned during the initial Nintendo boom. My mom never did.

Gaming TV has existed in some form or another since around the early 90’s.

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Lately I’ve felt like I’m not a gamer anymore. I don’t own the latest generation consoles, unless the Nintendo DS counts, and the last time I actually paid for a computer game was when I bought The Burning Crusade. Most of the gaming things that come out of my mouth are about the days of yesteryear, beginning with a “remember when” and ending with “yeah, those were the days.” At a fresh twenty-one, I’m somehow washed up and burnt out on gaming, but unable to fully let go.

And it sucks.

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I hate button mashing. It feels like an exercise in pointlessness. What exactly it has to do with your characters fighting skill I have yet to figure out. I highly doubt that someone can decapitate a beastie just by hacking out four sword moves in a vaguely random pattern. And it frustrates me. I think it’s meant to frustrate, that somehow getting to the point where you want to smash your controller through your television means that when you finally complete it - through luck more than anything - you’re meant to feel elated.

I don’t feel elated. At best I’m glad it’s finally over, at worst I’m retiring from the game (I’m unable to retire from the game without defeating the frustratingly difficult bit, but I’ll be blowed if I’m wasting anymore of my life on it).

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