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I was surfing through Raptr, and I saw a post asking community members their top ten video games that have defined their past. That got me to think about my own list. I came up with a lot of video games, but after much contemplation, I narrowed mine down to five. These five games do define my gaming preferences, but not to the full extent. They are also on here for nostalgic reasons, too.

1. Pac-Man — I admit, I am not a big fan of this game. I always start panicking when those things start chasing after me. Regardless, this is the first video game I remember playing at the bowling alley. Back then, the bowling alley had a lot of arcade games, and I vividly remember playing this when I was five. I practically grew up in the bowling alley (because my parents and I were active bowlers), so along with Pac-Man, I grew up playing Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter, and pinball machines. Those days of wasting quarters bring back so many memories.

2. Phantasy Star IV — This Sega Genesis game was the very first RPG introduced to me in fourth grade. My best friend had this, and I watched her play. I remember falling in love with handsome Rune. My best friend told me about Wren and Demi, telling me that they weren’t humans, which surprised me. Back then, I did not know the plot or what an RPG was, but Rune made a lasting impression on me to where I eagerly sought out this title when I got into video games later on. Even today, this game holds a very special place in my heart!

3. Oregon Trail — Before I had any sort of game consoles, arcade and PC gaming were what I was used to until fifth grade, which was when I finally got a GameBoy and a Super Nintendo. But even after I got those two systems, I still played a lot on the PC, and one of the games that I adored to death was the PC version of Oregon Trail. I first played the Apple’s version, but I could never hunt properly in that game. Needless to say, when the PC version came out with a user-friendly hunting game, I became addicted to it.

4. Chrono Trigger — While I credit Phantasy Star IV for being the first RPG I was introduced to, I credit Chrono Trigger for being the RPG that made me become a fan of RPGs. For me, this game had it all — good music, characters, plot, battle system, and time travelling. The group of friends I hung out with in junior high introduced me to this game, and I am forever grateful they did. Otherwise, I would have completely missed out on this gem.

5. Suikoden II — The same group who introduced me to Chrono Trigger also introduced Suikoden I to me. I love the first game of the series, but the second game is what really cemented me to be a big fan. This game is one of the most heart-breaking game I ever played, and even now when playing, I become quite emotional. Let me also add the fact that this is the only series I have beaten. I have yet to beat a single Final Fantasy game, but it was always a priority of mine to beat a Suikoden game.

If I ever decide to expand the list, I’d also include Gyakuten Saiban and couple of other games, but those games came to me when I was older, in my 20s. But these five games are the games that have impacted me when I was younger. Not only have they influenced me to be a gamer today, but they also illustrate my gaming preference and style.

Fellow readers/bloggers, if you are a gamer, what games would go on your list?

Everyone, meet my new Nintendo 3DS XL named Sakura. This baby almost didn’t make it to me because my dad accidentally left it on top of the car O_O; I’m very, very glad nobody took this package!

Oh, and for those who do not me well — I am not a fan of pink. In fact, I usually avoid anything in pink, orange, red, and so forth so on, but I actually like this shade, and I really didn’t like the other colour choices of blue and red, so pink it is.

Now with Sakura in my possession, I can finally play Tales of the Abyss and Theatrhythm Final Fantasy!

Alabaster, my PlayStation Vita has taken over my life. No, no, no. Persona 4 Golden has taken over my life. Actually, wait, since Alabaster is the device that allows me to play P4G, then the Vita has taken over my life. But then playing P4G directed me to start watching the anime series . . . HRM. I digress.

I have come to discover that P4G really is an awesome game. I deeply regret not playing the PlayStation 2 incarnate in the past (yes, I own the game, but I never got around to playing it), despite the game getting so much rave reviews. I dedicated myself to get the true ending of the game on my first playthrough, and after a couple of weeks, I met my goal. Now I am on my second playthrough to try and nab the rest of the trophies I didn’t get and to max out all my social links. I decided to take a break (okay, truth be told, my Vita is charging at the moment) to write a spoiler-free review of P4G.

The Goods
* The plot is really engaging, and the slow build-up to the climax over the year (in-game) was well done and well paced.
* The realism portrayed by the small town impressed me. I especially like how the teenagers acted like teenagers.
* All the twists and turns in the plot were quite unexpected.
* The characters and their interactions and their development — top notch stuff, Atlus!
* All the social links the main character has to build up on — lot of work, but this is where so many character development happens. So good.
* The battle was fast and intense. Gotta love exploiting the enemy’s weaknesses.
* The music and sound effects were great. In fact, unlike with Persona 3 Portable, I liked many of the songs upon the initial listening. P3P’s soundtrack took me a while to get used to.
* Teddie, Kanji, Naoto — I love them so much, especially since they add so much depth the plot, I think.

The Bads
* The dungeons drove me crazy. I think 10-12 floors were too long. 8 would have been a good maximum.
* The new game plus does not carry the enemy’s stats over, so players have to guess or use guides to figure out their weaknesses again. Really makes no sense to not carry those over.
* The camera was wonky for me. I hated how it’d zoom in on things, which gets in the way of attacking shadows for the player advantage.

The Uglies
* Chie’s English voice — horrible, horrible, horrible. Hearing her voice makes me cringe.
* That bloody fishing game. I do not like.

Conclusion
Some reviews I read claim P4 to be one of the best RPGs ever made. For me, the best RPG will always be Chrono Trigger and Suikoden 2, but P4G definitely ranks up there as being a fantastic RPG that gives fantastic plot, characters, and battle system. Not to mention, the game is FUN. I have not had a game that made me laugh and have fun in a long while — not since Persona 3 Portable, it feels like. Sure, Hakuouki and Zero Escape: Virtue’s Last Reward were great, too, but P4G is much more enjoyable.

On a similar note, Persona 4: The Animation is enjoyable, too. It’s obviously meant to be watched after playing or having some knowledge of the game. I can see people watching the anime without any knowledge will be lost. Still, though, it’s a good companion to the franchise.

Within the last week and a half, I’ve been abducted by the thing known as work. Despite the abduction, I’ve become familiar with Hikaru the Kindle Paperwhite, and I beat Zero Escape: Virtue’s Last Reward. Now I am here to present my thoughts on the two.

Kindle Paperwhite
I like it. I find it to be a tad bit slower than my Kindle Touch, but the fact that I can read in the dark makes up for it. The bottom part of the screen does emit the “glow/shadow”, but I was able to ignore it after a while. I’m just thrilled that I can read in the dark, and the lighted screen has served its purpose for me. Plus, I like the idea of having a device that I can carry 2910920 ebooks instead of carrying the said amount physically. Yes, I will always prefer real book, but ebooks are appealing in their own ways compared to real book.

Unfortunately, like my Kindle Touch, the readers are crap for manga reading. So while I love the Kindles for reading simple text-based ebooks, I won’t be using it to read graphic-based books like mangas. A pity, really, since I do like mangas. Nonetheless, I do like my new Kindle, and I am glad I upgraded for the lighted screen!

Zero Escape: Virtue’s Last Reward
After falling madly in love with Hakuouki in December, a game full of samurais, wars, and pretty boys, VLR’s different genre threw me off for a loop. Yes, both games have murders and killings, but Hakuouki had a fairly straightforward plot. VLR ended up being a total mindfuck and all the twists and turns put me through one hell of a ride. Here’s another spoiler-free reaction post I wrote at NokoNoko. I really did enjoy the game, even if I did prefer 999 over it.

In the last few weeks, I have given up my soul to these six + five un-pictured characters from Hakuouki. Long story short, I went to Japan in October 2010, and Otome Road was doing a major publicity stunt on the second season of this series, a series I never heard of, but was still captivated by the bishounens. I left Japan with a lot of Hakuouki merchandises without knowing the series name. It wasn’t until in 2011 that I researched and found this series. By then, I learned that Aksys was going to release the video game in North America, and I eagerly bought it for my PSP in February 2012.

Now, ten months later, I finally played the otome visual novel, and I’ve become a die-hard Hakuouki fan. I even ordered the anime series on DVD and just finished watching them. I’m glad I watched the anime after I played the game because the anime, while a good addition to the franchise, would have been confusing otherwise. I love both, though. The plot, the characters, the history of the Shinsengumi (hugely fictionalised, but it has introduced me to them!), the whole Bakumatsu era . . . they were all engaging for me.

Playing the game and watching the anime have made me go through a very cathartic journey, but it is a journey I do not regret. Do I recommend this to others? The game, yes — the anime only after playing the game. The game is a visual novel, so it requires a lot of reading, so technically it is not a game, per se, but it is definitely more interactive than reading an actual novel.

Ah, getting involved with a series that has taken over my life . . . I’ve certainly ended 2012 with a bang!