Sick Day Memories

So yesterday, I was extremely sick. Now that I'm an adult with responsibilities, getting sick means that I still have to go to work, but when I was a little kid, getting sick meant one thing, video games. I remember fondly my infrequent days off from school, robotussin, fevers, and an entire day to spend with a brand new game. Here are five of my favorite sick day video games that I remember well, in a sequential order of course.


5: Dino Crisis
I had strep throat when I was little. I was out of comission for a few days, and since my mother felt sorry for me, she bought me a game I had been bugging her about for months. Dino Crisis was such a fun sick day, it scared the shit out of me, and played just like one of my favorite games that I had beaten just a couple weeks prior, Resident Evil. If you re-visit the game now, you'll be bored and astonished at just how bad Dino Crisis really is, but at the time, it was cutting edge and very interesting. I beat it in two days.



4: Jak and Daxter
Ignore the two diarrhea filled sequels and the addictive but irrelevant combat racing spinoff, the original Jak and Daxter was one of the best straight up platformers ever made. I don't remember exactly what I was sick with, but I know I felt bad, and I had a brand new copy of J and D. I love this game, everything about it, but something I remember very well, Jak and Daxter was actually funny. I mean really funny. Mix the great writing with one hell of a streamlined collection system, great colors and animation, (best use of green that I have ever seen), and you've got not only one of the best PS2 games, but a seriously fun sick day.

3: Persona 3
I can remember every tiny detail about the first time I played Persona 3. I was a little older, maybe 19, but I had to call off of work because I couldn't stop vomiting. So, having bought this new age jrpg the night before, I popped it in and gave it a shot. What I found was ground breaking, ridiculously addictive, and unbelievably well-written. Every character was good, every piece of music was good, the Persona summoning system was good, the dating sim and school sim were good. Everything about Persona 3 is good, and the story itself, is great. I had to use a pen and paper to remember every persona that I had created, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. Rock on Atlus.

2: Pokemon Snap
I had the chickenpox, and I had Pokemon Snap. This blog is called Pokedad. I love Pokemon. This game was a brilliant spinoff. This game is on a list of the best things that have ever happened to me. Surfing Pikachu.









1: Final Fantasy 8:

I got the flu really bad when I was in 7th grade. I had to miss school for a week, so my mother loaded my sick ass into the car and we drove to Best Buy and bought the game that my Gamepro had been raving about. I brought it home, excitedly tearing off the plastic, and then started up my Playstation. It wouldn't turn on. I cried and cried until my mother ran out and fucking rented a Playstation from Blockbuster. I proceeded to play one of the most artistic video games ever. Final Fantasy 8 is a beautiful experience, with, and let me put it into some serious hyperbole, THE GREATEST SOUNDTRACK EVER RECORDED FOR ANYTHING EVER. This game is one of the geek things that are responsible for who I am today. I miss you Square, you guys used to work magic. I beat the very first disc in a single sitting.

So, my sick day yesterday considered of me going to work, throwing up, going home, and trying to watch the Yankees through Nyquil soaked eyeballs. I miss being a kid sometimes.