Ah, Blockbuster. A symbol of the 90s now, as seen in Captain Marvel. But to me, it was a very real part of my childhood. The most exciting part of my childhood existence was having my folks drive me to Blockbuster to rent a new game.
Let me tell you a story of Super Mario RPG.
I was looking for Harvest Moon (as usual), which the Blockbuster never had. My holy grail. Being a child, despite it NEVER being there, I always hoped it would some day magically appear. The hope never diminished! Alas, it never did appear.
The holy grail remaining the myth it was, I instead began to look for another game. I wandered into a section of Mario games, where I saw two titles: Super Mario RPG and Mario is Missing.
Now, the back of the box was everything. It was up to that little square of info to sell you on a game. So I picked up both and looked at their little squares intensively.
One looked more like the Mario I knew. It even starred my favorite Mario brother, Luigi! But the back of the box clued me in that something was wrong. The graphics looked off. Luigi was in the real world. And it looked... educational? Oh no. That wouldn't do.
So I picked up the game I knew nothing about. What was an RPG, anyway?
I fell in love with this game instantly. I didn't realize it until I played SMRPG, but I had always valued the world and story in games above all else. This game focused on those things. It was a grand, sweeping journey starring my favorite game character. The music was amazing. It completely captivated me from beginning to end.
Choosing it over Mario is Missing sparked my love of storytelling in games, my love of RPGs, and introduced me to a little company by the name of Squaresoft.
I never would have picked it up in an era where you can choose whatever you want from a digital e-shop.
Any rental store stories you have?
Let me tell you a story of Super Mario RPG.
I was looking for Harvest Moon (as usual), which the Blockbuster never had. My holy grail. Being a child, despite it NEVER being there, I always hoped it would some day magically appear. The hope never diminished! Alas, it never did appear.
The holy grail remaining the myth it was, I instead began to look for another game. I wandered into a section of Mario games, where I saw two titles: Super Mario RPG and Mario is Missing.
Now, the back of the box was everything. It was up to that little square of info to sell you on a game. So I picked up both and looked at their little squares intensively.
One looked more like the Mario I knew. It even starred my favorite Mario brother, Luigi! But the back of the box clued me in that something was wrong. The graphics looked off. Luigi was in the real world. And it looked... educational? Oh no. That wouldn't do.
So I picked up the game I knew nothing about. What was an RPG, anyway?
I fell in love with this game instantly. I didn't realize it until I played SMRPG, but I had always valued the world and story in games above all else. This game focused on those things. It was a grand, sweeping journey starring my favorite game character. The music was amazing. It completely captivated me from beginning to end.
Choosing it over Mario is Missing sparked my love of storytelling in games, my love of RPGs, and introduced me to a little company by the name of Squaresoft.
I never would have picked it up in an era where you can choose whatever you want from a digital e-shop.
Any rental store stories you have?