Like many people my age, I grew up with video games. My father and uncles had introduced me to games at a very young age. I can recall sitting on my dad's lap while I was very young as he would play Defender of the Crown on his Amiga. I look back fondly on the times I would read the instruction manuals or maps/guides to "co-pilot" or help my uncles play games as a toddler. I can remember the first time I ever got frustrated with a video game -- The Smurfs on the ColecoVision; I was never able to save Smurfette. I became a proficient reader at a young age because I wanted to play the same games as my uncles, the original Final Fantasy or Destiny of an Emperor -- Role Playing Games that required you to read text-based conversations in order to determine where to go or what to do next. I learned to memorize enemy attack patterns because of games like Mega Man or Ninja Gaiden. I learned to strategize and think long-term from games like Sim City or StarCraft as I got older. For an English assignment in high school, I made my project about music featured in video games... The point is: much like comics, video games have been a presence in my life for as long as I can remember.

When I was young, I had a best friend who lived across the street from me -- Zach. We grew up playing Pokémon, Ogre Battle, Robo Pit, Final Fantasy Tactics, StarCraft, and more. Zach introduced me to Earthbound... One of my all-time favorite games about a young boy that goes on a fantastic adventure to save the earth from Giygas, an alien force threatening life as we know it. Zach passed away a few years ago but he's never far from my mind. I like to revisit Earthbound every couple of years or so to remind me of my friend.
Video games are also a large part of why Ashley, our best friend Mike, and I grew to become such close friends over the years. We have bonded over video games like The Division, Grand Theft Auto Online, League of Legends, Call of Duty, and most recently the Diablo series. If you ever have the chance, ask Ashley about the "Helicopter Story" or "Bobby Cod God" sometime.

My love of games would eventually blossom into a career. Approximately 10-11 years ago I joined a humble local video game retailer here in Winnipeg. As a hot-headed youngster I helped them setup their online and wholesale foothold over the ~5-6 year career I had there, learning everything I could about selling video games. I even learned to clean and repair retro games while I was there, services we now offer at our store. More recently, I've begun to make video games with some friends of mine in my spare time.

Over the last few months, 204Comics has amassed a lovely little collection of games here at the shop. We mainly have many hard-to-find Nintendo games in addition to some Super Nintendo, Genesis, Playstation, and handfuls of others as well. It never ceases to amaze me that even the most mundane sports title can carry profound significance or nostalgia for people -- like Earthbound, for me.

In the last week or two, we have begun to list games to our online store here, a few of which I have linked in this post. If you want to take a look at them or test them in the shop here, please feel free to stop by! I'd love to hear about your favorite game(s) !