Video games have always been an important part of my life for as long as I can remember, and growing up was no different. One of my most beloved series was Spyro, specifically Spyro: Year of the Dragon for the skateboarding aspect. I couldn’t get enough of it, exploring each carefully constructed level for all the gems and dragon eggs, vanquishing all the cartoonish creatures in flame. I was enamoured by the landscape of each level, and the game’s mechanics kept reinventing themselves with each new hub world. I never got bored, and could play for hours. So when the remastered trilogy was announced, I was ecstatic to have an excuse to reunite with the dragon I grew up with.
Instead of blowing the dust off the PS1 once again, the title screen loaded up on my Switch. As the familiar jingle played, my mind was cast back to all the lazy Sunday afternoons I had enjoyed as a child. To my surprise, my mum had perched over my shoulder, eagerly watching me play. With some light encouragement, she took her turn reliving her own childhood. After all, it was her copy I had originally played on.
Admittedly the change of controller and button layout proved too much for mum. She wasn’t very good at the game (mum, if you’re reading this, I’m sorry!) but neither of us cared. We found hilarity in her transforming simple platforming jumps into a complicated maze of confusion. My mum and I haven’t always shared the same core interests, but this is certainly one we were both fond of. The memories we made that evening are now equally as special to me as the game itself.
2 replies on “Reignited Childhood”
This is so sweet Joseph. I had an experience that echoed yours with the launch night of the Crash Bandicoot remasters. My three siblings and I loved the originals on PS1. Me being the youngest wasn’t very proficient, and therefore I relied on my elders to experience the latter parts of the games. As we each grew up, I was the only one that really stuck with video games. I was elated to pull them all into my bedroom and show them the reimagined sights and sounds of our childhood. We each took turns passing the controller around, just like the old days. The only difference was that, this time, I was the expert and they were the filthy casuals. Over the following years we all moved on to different stages of our lives and we wouldn’t be the four siblings living under the same roof for much longer. It fills me with melancholy, but I’ll always cherish the memory where for one night only, we travelled back to a simpler time.
Hiya, this is Joseph here! Thank you so much for your comment and kind words! I love this for you guys and glad my article got you thinking about a fond memory you had! Suppose I was lucky that Spyro is a lot easier of a game! With all the new remakes coming out recently we’re bound to see more and more of this! Thanks again and hope you had a great day!