Playstation 2: 2003-2007
September 22, 2007 |
Nearly four years ago I had an itch, an itch to play Final Fantasy X. I purchased the game used at EB Games (may they rest in peace) for a very reasonable price and couldn’t wait to enjoy my purchase. The only problem, of course, was that I didn’t own a Playstation 2. For the first few hours of the game I bummed my roommates hardware, but not having played a Final Fantasy since the epic that is Final Fantasy VII, I didn’t realize that my new commitment and his desire to play video games would come to a head. So, one fabled Sunday afternoon in September of 2003 I went to Circuit City and purchased my very own Playstation 2. This is it’s story.
The first two years of my college career were light on video game playing. I owned a Gamecube, which I had bought to play Resident Evil. The Gamecube brought some enjoyment in the form of zombie killing and Tie Flighter shooting, though, there wasn’t much else that got me going. I pre-ordered Zelda: Wind Waker but really didn’t know why. I never went through with the purchase. The Gamecube wasn’t satisfying and when Square announced that Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles was best played with four GameBoy Advances attached, I had all but given up. The Gamecube was sold to EB Games for an insane amount of credit (the day will forever be remembered by all those involved) and never thought of again.
The new Playstation 2 was broken in with over 110 hours of Final Fantasy X play. This, of course, was nowhere near enough time to complete all the side quests and acquire all of the ultimate weapons. It was, however, enough time to make the final battle a walk in the park and to renew my love affair with the video game industry. I suffered through the insane difficultly of Devil May Cry only to be disappointed by the horrible airplane ending. I got frustrated with my teammates in SOCOM and found the best way to complete the missions was by shooting them and doing everything alone. I beat pimps and Yakuza to a groovin’ 80’s soundtrack in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. I enjoyed the comical J-Pop Final Fantasy X-2 and dominated the competition in both NCAA Football and Baseball. I returned to my zombie killing ways all while protecting the president’s idiot daughter in Resident Evil 4, put over 100 hours into Final Fantasy XII and, most recently, shredded frets like there was no tomorrow in Guitar Hero II.
The Playstation 2 has brought me countless hours of entertainment and fun over the last four years but it’s time to lay it to rest. With a heavy heart I will be trading in my Playstation 2 and all 11 games I own for it. While I can’t expect a repeat of the epic Gamecube trade in, the credit earned will go to fund an XBox 360. While I won’t be able to play another Final Fantasy game and a little bit of me will die inside when my money goes to Microsoft, I look forward to new titles to draw my attention and bring me years of entertainment value.