The Return of stinky_ghost: Stolen Cart = Stolen Dreams
I’ve been away from Starmen.net for about 6 years now. Six whole years. Then, I was 19 and a college dropout. Now, I’m 25 with a wife, two kids, and an office job. Seems pretty sweet, doesn’t it? And it is. Life really is what you make, and what I’ve found is that it can be fulfilling beyond your wildest expectations. But no matter how far away from the past I get, EarthBound has never been far from my thoughts. The effect it had on me has stayed with me for more than 10 years.
That really says something, I think, about the staying power of this game. Most people would argue the impact a simple video game should have on someone’s life, especially considering all the violent games flooding the shelves today. But EB has always stood out as a sort of beacon among all others. In a world of copies, and copies of copies, EarthBound represented something that all others were not: innovative, cool, fun, quirky, challenging, happy, sad, and just plain weird. There was something pure and good besides all that, something more fundamental to our hearts, that made a permanent connection with all of us.
Sadly, it was almost over for me. During a move a few years ago, my copy of EarthBound was stolen, along with some other SNES carts. Gone. All the work, blood, sweat, and tears put into the game. Years and years of work and play, stored in that little box of plastic, taken. I felt like I had been hurt personally. Why would someone do this to me? I actually cried for a bit. That something so meaningful, that had been a part of my life for so long, could be so easily stolen from me, was devastating. Most people may snicker at this, but I think a lot more people would identify with me. Something dear to me had been taken, and I would never see it again.
Of course, I got over and got on with life, as we all do. You can see where life has taken me now, and I’m very happy to be here. But I can’t help but wonder what sort of person I would be without EarthBound. It really had a hand in the making of my personality, and my direction in life. I still haven’t bought another EB cart, though I’ve been sorely tempted. And I’m sure one day soon enough, I’ll pay the ridiculous price for a replacement. But EarthBound is something that can’t be replaced, and I seriously doubt it could ever be replicated, either.
I can scarcely remember all the good times I had because of this game, mostly here, at SM.net. All the friends I’d made, most of which have drifted away over the passage of time. My best friend, Cromkayer, whom I haven’t heard from in a year or two. I still have copies of the EB songs we worked on together. Most other details disappeared in the fog of time, but the general feeling of happiness and acceptance stayed with me long after I was gone. It felt like a second home.
I always write like I don’t have a point, but somehow I think the point comes out on it’s own. I don’t think I’ve said anything that everyone here hasn’t felt before. It’s simply the magic that is EarthBound, and even another 10 years down the road, the effect it’s had on me won’t weaken. We can all use some constancy in our lives. EB has delivered that, and so much more. And better than anyone could ever have dreamed.
I’ve been away from Starmen.net for about 6 years now. Six whole years. Then, I was 19 and a college dropout. Now, I’m 25 with a wife, two kids, and an office job. Seems pretty sweet, doesn’t it? And it is. Life really is what you make, and what I’ve found is that it can be fulfilling beyond your wildest expectations. But no matter how far away from the past I get, EarthBound has never been far from my thoughts. The effect it had on me has stayed with me for more than 10 years.
That really says something, I think, about the staying power of this game. Most people would argue the impact a simple video game should have on someone’s life, especially considering all the violent games flooding the shelves today. But EB has always stood out as a sort of beacon among all others. In a world of copies, and copies of copies, EarthBound represented something that all others were not: innovative, cool, fun, quirky, challenging, happy, sad, and just plain weird. There was something pure and good besides all that, something more fundamental to our hearts, that made a permanent connection with all of us.
Sadly, it was almost over for me. During a move a few years ago, my copy of EarthBound was stolen, along with some other SNES carts. Gone. All the work, blood, sweat, and tears put into the game. Years and years of work and play, stored in that little box of plastic, taken. I felt like I had been hurt personally. Why would someone do this to me? I actually cried for a bit. That something so meaningful, that had been a part of my life for so long, could be so easily stolen from me, was devastating. Most people may snicker at this, but I think a lot more people would identify with me. Something dear to me had been taken, and I would never see it again.
Of course, I got over and got on with life, as we all do. You can see where life has taken me now, and I’m very happy to be here. But I can’t help but wonder what sort of person I would be without EarthBound. It really had a hand in the making of my personality, and my direction in life. I still haven’t bought another EB cart, though I’ve been sorely tempted. And I’m sure one day soon enough, I’ll pay the ridiculous price for a replacement. But EarthBound is something that can’t be replaced, and I seriously doubt it could ever be replicated, either.
I can scarcely remember all the good times I had because of this game, mostly here, at SM.net. All the friends I’d made, most of which have drifted away over the passage of time. My best friend, Cromkayer, whom I haven’t heard from in a year or two. I still have copies of the EB songs we worked on together. Most other details disappeared in the fog of time, but the general feeling of happiness and acceptance stayed with me long after I was gone. It felt like a second home.
I always write like I don’t have a point, but somehow I think the point comes out on it’s own. I don’t think I’ve said anything that everyone here hasn’t felt before. It’s simply the magic that is EarthBound, and even another 10 years down the road, the effect it’s had on me won’t weaken. We can all use some constancy in our lives. EB has delivered that, and so much more. And better than anyone could ever have dreamed.
