Quick Holiday Giveaway! LE Homebrew Gyrodine 46 / 50 and Mario Pins (New)

[jonebone | 1,307]

Quick little holiday giveaway as 2020 closes out!  Real simple, open for 48 hours or to the first 30 entrants.  Must post in this thread, and share a quick video game related Xmas memory.  Short or long, doesn't matter.  Here's mine:

Christmas of 1996.  I made an Xmas list and asked for a PS1.  Deep inside I wanted an N64, but knew they would be hard to get and asked for a PS1.  I was mentally prepared to get a PS1, yet opened an N64 and Mario under the tree.  I was so amazed and played Mario 64 a lot of the day in the living room, something I had never got to do before.  Great memories... and little did I know I'd wind up as a crazy N64 collector 24 years later.  

Post your experience and happy holidays!

Entrants List:
Cut-Off at 30 entrants or by 0800 AM EST time Wednesday 12/16/20
1) arch_8ngel
2) Aguy
3) xtremegamer
4) JediTrix
5) LutherDestroysTheGond
6) RH
7) dewisp02
8 ) JamesRobot
9) ZeldaFreak
10) spacepup
11) Psychobear85
12) TrekMD
13) RpgCollector
14) dvertov
15) MiamiSlice
16) imabadguy1
17) drxandy
18) Foochie776
19) BortLicensePlate
20) SailorScoutMandy
21) Tanooki
22) Khromak
 

Edited December 16, 2020 by jonebone

[arch_8ngel | 1,597]

Christmas of 1989 - unwrapping the box for the NES Power Set.

My younger sister got Mickey Mousecapades (my parents thought a Disney game would be appropriate for a 4 1/2 year old -- little did they realize that it would have a brutal difficulty that scared my sister off of gaming until she was an adult :P)

My mom was the first in the house to figure out how to beat World Class Trackmeet.

I think that first day was when I paused Super Mario Bros overnight (to save my place) and learned the hard lesson of the games glitching out from overheating. 

[Aguy | 771]

Christmas 2001: My family and I were staying at a hotel Christmas morning because there was no room left at Grandmas's house (we have a large extended family). We were getting ready for morning mass and for some reason my parents thought it would be a good idea to open some presents before church. Well, they got me a purple GBA (an upgrade to my purple GBC). I don't think they got me any games that day, but it didn't matter, that was still the LONGEST hours of church in my life.

[xtremegamer | 13]

So many memories but might as well start at the beginning.  Mine starts a bit before Christmas in 1987, we were out shopping in a department store.  My older brother and I were playing hide and seek in the clothing racks while my parents shopped.  The game ended abruptly when my brother started to yelling for my dads attention, he had just found a fist full of cash laying on the ground.  Dad tried quieting my brother as to not draw attention and placed the money in his pocket without counting it.  Once my parents finished shopping and we had left the store, my brother and father took the money out and counted, exactly $50.

I remember my brother asking to use the money to buy a Nintendo Entertainment System, but at the time I had no idea what he was talking about.  We went to another store that day, a store like a Wal-Mart or K-Mart type.  Dad picked up the Nintendo Deluxe Set for us that day chipping in the rest of the funds needed.  The deal was this was going to be our big Christmas present that year.

The Nintendo was placed in the hall closet on the top shelf for what felt like months (Which it could have been).  When I would get home from school I would open the door, sit down and dream about playing with that robot as I stared at the box.  I don't believe I ever figured out what the Nintendo was until we played it, I was around 5 at that time.  Christmas day came and went, i'm a bit fuzzy on the details of that day and playing Nintendo for the first time.  I was always last to play (youngest at the time) and more curious about that robot.  I know my brother and father thoroughly enjoyed it.

Fast forward to last week, I had called my dad as I was pretty excited to share with him that I had just found an original receipt for a launch day purchase of an Original Xbox.  My dad is great about listening to my off the wall finds for my collection and still games to this day in his mid 60s.  He thought it was pretty neat and goes on to tell me that he was going through some old receipts (he keeps everything you don't need) and came across the receipt to the purchase of our Original Nintendo.  I am so excited to get home to see it in person as I will be visiting Christmas day.  

Nintendo is very special to me, I did not play it a lot as a kid, mostly watched my dad and brother play.  Probably explains a little bit about why I collected and did not play so much.  I always wonder about where that money came from, hoping we didn't ruin someone's Christmas.  Maybe my brother was meant to find it.  I know this, if he didn't find that money we wouldn't have gotten a Nintendo at least that year.  

[JediTrix | 12]

I'm in the process of hopefully making a video game xmas related holiday for my daughter!  She's 8 and has gamed with me for most of her life, but just casually over the years.  She got into Animal Crossing with me during the pandemic and continues to play a few times a week still.  But she complains that the Switch is too heavy and bulky (we tend to play handheld) and asked for her own Switch Lite from Santa.  So as I type this out, I have Coral Pink Switch Lite downloading Animal Crossing, Mario Kart and Minecraft for her.  I can't wait until xmas morning

 

[jonebone | 1,307]

41 minutes ago, xtremegamer said:

Fast forward to last week, I had called my dad as I was pretty excited to share with him that I had just found an original receipt for a launch day purchase of an Original Xbox.  My dad is great about listening to my off the wall finds for my collection and still games to this day in his mid 60s.  He thought it was pretty neat and goes on to tell me that he was going through some old receipts (he keeps everything you don't need) and came across the receipt to the purchase of our Original Nintendo. 

Oddly enough, my parents somehow passed down the original N64 purchase receipt from 1997 to me as well.  I assume everyone kept the receipts just in case of warranty anyway.  That original receipt is priceless when it is yours, take good care of it!

[LutherDestroysTheGond | 690]

Christmas 2001, my brother had saved up our paper route money that fall and bought a gamecube plus Rogue Leader.  We played it all the time but didnt have a memory card.  For Christmas that year, between the grandparents and parents and paper route Christmas tip money, we got: Pikmin, ESPN Winter Sports, Super Smash Bros Melee, 2 more controllers, and finally a memory card. 

We spent the rest of Christmas break playing those games.  I think we unlocked all hidden fighters in Melee in a few days just from playing so much.  We didn't have a guide or internet to look up everything.  Pikmin is still a favorite series of mine.  

 

Some other great Chrsitmas memories are my grandma surprising me with a 3DS and Zelda Ocarina of Time in 2011 (I was broke and in college at the time), and around 1996 (?) our other grandma/grandpa getting us a red Gameboy and 3 games for us (Galaga/Galaxian, Donkey Kong 94, and Zelda Link's Awakening).  My brother, sister, and I played that thing like crazy.  

[RH | 4,903]

Thanks for the generous give away!

Back in 1996 when the N64 came out, I bought mine on launch day! It was a great day and SM64 kept me busy for about a month.  At Christmas time, I really, really wanted Shadows of the Empire.  The problem was, I could never find it!

Well, one weekend before Christmas, I was out with my dad and I remember being a J. C. Penny of all places.  Interesting enough in their small electronics department was Shadows of the Empire!  It was $70 (and I could have sworn that ESRB was suppose to be $60.)  I flipped out but my excitement was short lived because I knew it was too expensive of a gift to come from my Dad.

Well... my Dad saw my excitement and how I quickly changed my attitude trying to be respectful of his limitations, and right there, he decided to buy it.  He told me he'd still have to hold onto it for Christmas, but he wasn't going to let my little "dream" be crushed since I couldn't find this game at all.

My Dad and I bonded a lot over games and it's one of many favorite memories I have with him.

[dewisp02 | 47]

Back when the PS2 came out, I wanted one so badly for Christmas that I gave up my birthday presents, allowance for chores, all the money I could scrape together, etc to get one. My mom bought it for me, but wanted me to wait to open it on Christmas day and hid it. However, when she was away at work, I searched the house and actually found where she was hiding it. I was also able to open it without her knowing so I could play it (using the included demo disc), which I did daily when she was at work, all the way up until Christmas. She never did find out. 

[arch_8ngel | 1,597]

39 minutes ago, RH said:

My Dad and I bonded a lot over games and it's one of many favorite memories I have with him.

With my dad it was going out shopping for a new game for the system and ending with Legend of Zelda.  He and I mapped out every secret, by hand, for both quests -- he would play sometimes after I was in bed for the night and would excitedly share something new that he'd found the next time we were both playing together.

Our next game after that was Mega Man 2, and we worked together to figure out the rock-paper-scissors of the boss order.

Then when the Dragon Warrior Nintendo Power promotion came around, I think he probably played the game more than I did for awhile, since he had more patience for the experience grinding in small chunks each night when he just wanted to clear his head.  (he beat that game long before I did)

Edited December 14, 2020 by arch_8ngel

[Aguy | 771]

2 hours ago, JediTrix said:

I'm in the process of hopefully making a video game xmas related holiday for my daughter!  She's 8 and has gamed with me for most of her life, but just casually over the years.  She got into Animal Crossing with me during the pandemic and continues to play a few times a week still.  But she complains that the Switch is too heavy and bulky (we tend to play handheld) and asked for her own Switch Lite from Santa.  So as I type this out, I have Coral Pink Switch Lite downloading Animal Crossing, Mario Kart and Minecraft for her.  I can't wait until xmas morning

 

I can relate. My son is 8 and has played and beat BotW by himself 5-6 times. He's got Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity and Super Mario Maker 2 under the tree. My daughter is 6 and mostly watches me and my son play but she started playing Pokemon Shield (their birthday present for me this year) all by herself. She's just learning to read (kindergarten) but has made it to the first gym unassisted. I got Pokemon Let's Go Pikachu and Cat Quest 1+2 for her, can't wait for her to open them.

[jonebone | 1,307]

1 hour ago, arch_8ngel said:

With my dad it was going out shopping for a new game for the system and ending with Legend of Zelda.  He and I mapped out every secret, by hand, for both quests -- he would play sometimes after I was in bed for the night and would excitedly share something new that he'd found the next time we were both playing together.

Our next game after that was Mega Man 2, and we worked together to figure out the rock-paper-scissors of the boss order.

Then when the Dragon Warrior Nintendo Power promotion came around, I think he probably played the game more than I did for awhile, since he had more patience for the experience grinding in small chunks each night when he just wanted to clear his head.  (he beat that game long before I did)

I distinctly remember playing through Zelda with my dad making maps as well.  We also played thru and finished Final Fantasy with the NP guide, though we did use a game genie for infinite gold.  Good times!

[JamesRobot | 5,798]

A couple years ago, I unexpectedly received this really strange picture from @SoleGoose...

Spoiler

 

[arch_8ngel | 1,597]

24 minutes ago, jonebone said:

I distinctly remember playing through Zelda with my dad making maps as well.  We also played thru and finished Final Fantasy with the NP guide, though we did use a game genie for infinite gold.  Good times!

I wore out that Final Fantasy guide long before ever getting a copy of the game.  (only ever had it as a weekend rental until the Super Power Club was running a closeout sale on NES games where you could pick up Yellow Label Metroid or Final Fantasy for $20)  And then my dad was crestfallen when I pointed out that FF only had one save slot, so he couldn't play it on his own  In hindsight, feel like a total asshole about that one  But his RPG love was really always for Dragon Warrior / Dragon Quest.

[ZeldaFreak | 3,600]

Ooo, I really like this idea, thank you! I'll post mine.

I... can't quite recall what year it was exactly, but I know it must've been mid to late 2000s (Keeping in mind I'm only 19, so I'm quite young.) If I had to guess, it probably would've been somewhere around 2007 or 2008. I had been watching tons of videos online on The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. I've always liked tons of video game companies, I've never been super loyal to one in particular over the other, but I've been a Nintendo fan my whole life, and I already knew I loved Zelda by this point. I was slowly working through all the Zelda titles I could get my hands on. I played Link to the Past when I was very young and was instantly hooked. My mom was a big fan of the original two on NES, which is how I played those. My step-brother Hayden, rest his soul, had an N64 with Ocarina of Time on it, so that's how I played that. The next logical step to make seemed to be Wind Waker. One small problem: Gamecube emulation either didn't exist at the time, or was extremely finicky, and we did not own a Gamecube. So, what to do about this problem... well, simple.

I ask my mother if I can have a Gamecube along with Wind Waker for Christmas. No other games, no other reason in particular for wanting the system. I just wanted to play Wind Waker that badly. It looked so amazing. I did very much enjoy Ocarina of Time (as I still do) but there were things about it that I didn't like. Wind Waker looked like the perfect Zelda game to me at the time. Everything I had seen about it online, I had loved. The graphical style, the vast ocean, the music, the dungeons... I just wanted to play it so bad! But... well, I didn't expect to actually get a Gamecube, I just asked for it in the vein hope that maybe I'd find one under the tree. Especially since I already had one or two of the more modern consoles, so I figured my parents wouldn't want to spoil me with video game consoles, in combination with the fact that the Gamecube still wasn't super cheap, since it was only a single generation old by that point. I thought Wind Waker would just be a pipedream of mine, something that I could only imagine about, and that I'd never actually get to play... oh well, at least I still have the videos about it online to drool over.

Fast forward to Christmas of that year. I see an innocuous little gift-wrapped box under the tree, amongst all the other presents of various shapes and sizes. I open it up, and... by god... it's a silver Gamecube. And, if this is a Gamecube that I just unwrapped, that can only mean one thing...!

This was my "NINTENDO SIXTY-FOOOOOOUUUUUUUUR!" moment in life, only for me it was a Gamecube, hahaha. I either quickly unwrap a copy of Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker as well, or my parents reveal it to me after unwrapping the Gamecube. I quickly tear my way through all the other presents, if there were any left, so I can hurry up and hook this thing up and play the Zelda game of my dreams. Once all the presents are opened, I sprint to my room, Gamecube in one hand and Wind Waker in the other, hook it up as fast as I possibly can, and I spend all day and, knowing me, probably all night as well, doing nothing but playing Wind Waker until my body just can not stay awake any longer and I have to pass out. For those of you that know me well and know that I frequently pull all-nighters, this is proof that I've been doing that my whole life, haha.

It was everything I was hoping it would be, and more. It was better than I could've possibly imagined. My life was complete, I was happy, and every time I went to bed, I knew I'd have Wind Waker there, waiting for me tomorrow, so I could spend another countless amount of hours playing it.

And that's what propelled the Zelda series from a series I loved, to my favorite video game series of all time.

[spacepup | 2,404]

I love reading through these stories  !

Mine would have to be when I was in....middle school or early high school, I think it was, I can't remember the exact year, that I got a super awesome gaming present.  We didn't have a lot of money so our presents were usually pretty modest.  Anyway, I opened up my present, and it was a Super Nintendo, with Zelda: Link to the Past, and Tetris Attack.  I was absolutely blown away!  My mom was able to get them used from someone for a good deal, and that winter/holiday break, I played the holy heck out of those two games!  

I'm pretty sure I played Link to the past for like that entire weekend straight ha!  And it was my first time ever playing the Tetris Attack / Panel de pon style puzzle game, and I absolutely loved it.  I played it so much and to this day it remains my favorite SNES puzzle game.

I don't even know how she picked such a great system and games that I would love so much, as I never really expressed it directly, she just knew I liked video games.  But she did a fantastic job and I'll remember that Christmas forever, not just for the great gift, but how she tried so hard to give us something special, when it was often difficult.  That meant much more to me than the actual games.

Thanks everyone for sharing your stories, and thanks jone!

[Psychobear85 | 141]

Christmas 1993 Remember opening our presents and getting an SNES Super Set along with R-Type. This was special to me cause we didn’t have much money but I remember my dad made it happen, till this day I still have that same console and same games we initially got. 

[ZeldaFreak | 3,600]

Oh yeah, and in addition to my story, for reasons that I stated above, while this may not be my "favorite" Zelda theme per se, it'll always be the most nostalgic for me, and will always hold a special place in my heart. When I think Legend of Zelda, I think of this theme.

 

[TrekMD | 1,395]

Oh, boy.  A Christmas memory I have is from 1981 when my parents had bought me an Atari 2600 right before Christmas.  I expected no other games or anything else to be under the tree.  Much to my surprise, there was something under the tree wrapped for me.  When I opened it, it was my second Atari 2600 game - Dodge'Em!    It was a great surprise and the game is still one of my favorites today!

[RpgCollector | 900]

In 96 I was part owner of 5 Video Rental Stores in CA. Everyone got an N64 for Christmas and wanted to rent games. I had no idea how popular it would be and only had 4 of each title per store (could have bought as many per title as I wanted before December). Well if you remember no one had games for sale and my customers were very sad. I hate the N64 to this day. Every time I see one it reminded me of the weeks after Christmas and all the calls and requests to hold games when they came in. No one ever brought them back, just re-rented or said they lost it and paid me for the game. It was madness!

Edited December 15, 2020 by RpgCollector

[dvertov | 205]

It’d have to be 1986, when I had my heart set on an NES. My parents had encouraged me to get a Sega Master System, probably because it was cheaper, but I had been completely drawn in by magazine photos of Super Mario Bros and wouldn’t hear of it. I mean, look, there’s a guy here walking on a giant mushroom. Even as a six year old I had superior taste in video games.

Edited December 15, 2020 by dvertov

[MiamiSlice | 3,089]

I want to enter this but I don't have any video game related Christmas memories from before I stopped celebrating it... tbh I don't have many Christmas memories at all =/

[Avgn Gamer | 669]

Christmas 2006, my parents faked me out with an empty Trix box as a present but when I opened the box a ds lite was in it. It was a very funny moment because I was goin' "ALL I GOT FOR CHRISTMAS WAS CEREAL?!?!"

[drxandy | 3,225]

When I was 16-17 for Christmas I asked for some xbox games thinking I probably wouldn't get them but didn't hurt to ask.

My mom got me 2 games, and 16/17 year old me was a little brat. I thanked her and played it cool but the choice of titles was not very cool to a 16/17yr old. I hate to admit that those games became gamestop trade bait very quickly.

The games were seaworld shamu's adventure and the eddie murphy haunted mansion game. Moron me only looked at the fact that they were shit kids games, not the fact my mom was being nostalgic to us having been to Disney and seaworld which is why i regret getting rid of them the most. I love theme parks and feel stupid for not keeping em so much that I still haven't re bought them for the collection.

[jonebone | 1,307]

Thanks for the stories guys, lists updated.  24 hours left if anyone else wants in!