I woke to see a bit of light streaking in from the window, I blinked and gather my wits… “I’m awake!?” Quickly I shifted my gaze to the alarm clock sitting on the windowsill, it was 4:20am. This was it! I sat up and reflected on this wondrous situation, should I go back to sleep or go downstairs to play on the Playstation? The decision was swiftly made and I quickly got dressed and snook out of my bedroom, avoiding the creaky floorboards just outside of the bathroom, skipped over the weirdly placed landing before continuing the descent like an expert.

There was no noise, I was like a ninja, a master of the shadows, this was going to be my moment!

Skillfully I made it down the stairs and turned around the corner into the living room, in all my excitement I didn’t realise that the tv was already on and my grandma was sleeping on the sofa.”It’s ok” I told myself “She is snoring, I can make it.” Making my way to the other side of the room, I scouted the tv remote, picked it up and proceeded to the Playstation.

“What did I play last?” I couldn’t remember!! The pressure was intense and at this point it was toss up between Road Rash or Broken Sword. I had to find out! I couldn’t help my self, so I pressed the Open button and it made that loud plasticy clank when the latch is released and the spring slowly lifts the lid, time stood still and finally I managed to catch a glimpse of what was inside – Road Rash.

“What are you doing up so early son?”
Just like the cops in Road Rash – My gran totally busted me!

I had to think quick If I was to make this work! “Nothing nana, I just couldn’t sleep, so I thought I would come down and play a little until I got tired again” Smooth Mez, well played.

She looked at me, smiled “Alright son, but if your mum comes down I’m going to pretend to be asleep!” My grandma was so damn cool and always had a wicked sense of humor.

With her permission – I had made it, my mission was a success. Now it was time to decide what I was going to play. I wasn’t totally sure If Axle and I (my chosen rider in Road Rash) could hack the intensity and thrills of avoiding cars, evading police and fighting off other riders this early in the morning. No, taking it slow and enjoying a game was the way to go, after all I had a couple of hours before I had to get ready for school.

I looked at my humble pile of games and decided to play Suikoden.

I do not know how many of you reading this have played Suikoden or even know of the series, but this was one of the very first games that inspired me as a young gamer to fall in love with the RPG genre.

I can’t really pinpoint what makes this day stand out as the happy memory that it is, maybe it was waking up when I should have been sleeping, or that my gran actually allowed me to play, or quite possibly the powerful impression of well crafted story on my 12 year old mind.

I like to think that this was one of those defining moments that each of us have hopefuly experienced at some point in their childhood, where everything came together to forge a loving memory. In my case it was the excitement of sneaking down to play, it was the unforgettable company of my gran’s gentle snoring and it was the adventure through the Scarlet Moon Empire.

Truthfully I still relive this memory like it happened this morning, it will always be in my heart as a loving reminder of the friendship, humor and respect I had for my grandma and the birth of a love affair that has lasted for well over two decades…

Catch you on the flipside,