Tales of Real Otaku – AngelsFail

My name is Pamela, and this is my real otaku tale. I’ve been playing games since I was old enough to use a mouse and keyboard. My dad has a masters degree in computer science so there were always computers around. As you can guess my first gaming experiences were on the pc. I used to play Bubble Bobble, Lemmings, the typing adventures, and Ghostbusters 2 the most. I was lucky, and did not have to share any game time with siblings, as I am an only child. My dad really enjoyed me playing on his computer because I got so frustrated when I couldn’t win. I’m told I was really funny when I threw a fit because i couldn’t figure something out. I have been curious about programming since I was little, and will be attending school for video game development next year when I move to Florida.

My first console was the Super Nintendo system. I was never allowed to get the original NES system because I would play it at my friends house all the time. When I finally got  my own system, I was thrilled. I loved all the games I had for it, Street Fighter, Super Mario World, Bubsby, and many others. My favorite game was Earthbound. Even when I was young, this game stood out to me as genius. I have played through Earthbound around 20 times. I still have a copy, and will pop it in every once in awhile.

The next system my parents bought me was a PlayStation. I loved that system however, my mother did not. I loved playing games that were a little dark, and sometimes really gory (in ps1 standards). This would get me in trouble often. i remember my mom let me rent Silent Hill. I knew it was rated M, and I talked my way into renting it anyways. Once home I put it in, the first screen warns of violent and disturbing images. Unfortunately for me, my mom saw this and made me play it in the living room where she could keep an eye on it. I also got in trouble for blaring the tv when I gamed. As we all know early video game music is very repetitive and would drive my mom and dad crazy.

Some of my favorite games on the ps1 were Dino Crisis, Parasite Eve, Silent Hill, Final Fantasy 7, Final Fantasy 8, and Metal Gear Solid. Then came the PlayStation 2. I amassed so many games, my mom got me a special shelf for them all. I started working at Gamestop, Game Crazy, and Movie Gallery’s video game side. My mom thought it was a good way for me to get a job as well as hang out with others who liked gaming. Most of my friends at the time were into dance. I danced for a dancing company for 8 years. We would preform at Orchestra Hall in St. Paul. I was really glad to go to work and talk about things other than dance; until they made me dress up in a huge inflatable Sonic suit to promote Gamestop’s opening in Rodgers, MN. It was horribly hot and really hard to walk in. I am not a tall or big girl and that suit was about 6 feet tall and really hard to walk in. While I was out standing by traffic in the suit, I saw a huge spider on the outside of my Sonic suit. I never ran so fast in my life. When I got back into the store they had to help me out of it really fast. I hate spiders more than anything. After I got out of the suit, one of the 16 year old boys got into it. He went out to stand by the road.While out there he was harassed by 2 old ladies in a mini van. Those 2 old ladies were my mom and aunt. The poor kid got harassed because they thought it was me. I felt so bad for the kid!

On the ps2, my favorite game was Final Fantasy X. I put 100+ hours into the game, I loved it so much. I also have a tattoo that I recently got in Las Vegas this last March of Tidus’ pendant. The tattoo artist I had played WOW and a few other games. Needless to say we got along well. I’m planning on going back to Vegas and getting a wolverine tattoo from the same artist.

Some of the other games on the ps2 that really stuck with me are the Fatal Frame games, Devil May Cry, and Persona 3. I adore Atlus games, they are always so innovative and immersive. I also got a gamecube around the same time from my future husband as well as a gameboy advanced. I loved Resident Evil 4, and the Harvest Moon games ( I can’t play horror games all the time!). I love the pokemon series, very nerdy but very good. It was a while before i got my Xbox, as I couldn’t afford one until later. When I did get an Xbox, I loved Halo, Jade Empire, and Fable.

As for me and anime, we go way back. I started watching and loving Sailor Moon before elementary school. My dad hated it. I also watched the old X-men cartoon, and a little bit of Transformers. Sailor Moon is still one of my favorite animes because of the mix of humor and silly story lines. I wanted to grow up to be a sailor scout for a long time. When I was older I started getting into serious series. Some of my favorite animes are: Elfen Lied, Serial Experiments: Lain, Boogiepop Phantom, Trigun, Cowboy Bebop, Haibanei Renmei, and many many others. None of my friends in High School really played games or watched anime. The only time I got to talk about the things I liked was either online, or at work.

My favorite anime of all time has to be Bleach. I started watching it when it started on Adult Swim. I didn’t expect to like it, but I just got so wrapped up in the storyline that I couldn’t stop watching. I have seen the first 11 seasons, and am still watching it. I love the characters, and the lore that they have built in. Although, I do admit they use the Yu-Gi-Oh formula of one upping each other every 5 minutes. I still love it. Sure there are a handful of episodes that I didn’t love, but overall it has kept my interest throughout the seasons I have watched.

Thanks for reading! I’m looking forward to working for this site, and hope my articles help you out when looking for a solid game! Cheers! =)