Despite my age, I wasn’t really raised on video games. I was 10 or 11 before I got my first game system – a Sega Genesis. My months of badgering my mom and dad for it didn’t faze me until Christmas Eve night, when, riddled with guilt, I burst to their bedroom and tearfully told them that I didn’t want that hateful Sega after all. My poor parents didn’t have a contingency plan, though, so I still got it Christmas morning. I ended up getting pretty good use of it in the end (finishing Sonic the Hedgehog about 3 times), but I never failed to suffer a twinge of shame every time I flipped the “on” button.
It wasn’t until I was well into college that I was able to appreciate video games as an exciting and often misunderstood new medium. That said, most of my game purchases have been based on how cute the characters in them are.
For me, The Legend of Zelda games are the hands-down winners, both for their classic cuteness and their challenging fun. There are 15 games total in the series, which began in 1986 – I’ve only played 5, and finished 3 of those.
Some cute Zelda highlights:
In The Minish Cap for Game Boy Advance, magical tree stumps transform you (Link, the hero of the story) into a little person and back again. Here, a miniature Link explores a cobbler’s table. Note the little Minish person at the bottom right. This is such a cute game, what with the extreme smallness. It’s my favorite.
Wind Waker for Game Cube is the most cartoon-ish Zelda game. This was the first one I played, so it’s my favorite.
The new Twilight Princess for Wii, which I’m playing right now, is less cute than some of the other Zelda games, but it does have this one cute little monster that talks gibberish, and the art direction is pretty special in parts. So far, it’s my favorite.
You were in tears over the Sega? I don’t remember this. Must be that guilt gene. It does rear its ugly head from time to time, doesn’t it?