Samuel McConnell

It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of the Final Fantasy series. I’ve been enthralled by the games ever since I played the Super Nintendo Final Fantasy II on a tiny TV in my bedroom back in 1996, staying up way past my bedtime - sorry, Mom. I’ve loved the complex themes, the dramatic stories, the strategic gameplay, and of course the series’ hallmark music. Since then, I’ve played nearly every game in the series - and have replayed many of them, many times.

Before Robert Downey, Jr. popularized Iron Man, the most well known of Marvel’s superheroes was Spider-Man. He stood apart from other heroes because, when he wasn’t fighting crime, he was a pretty ordinary kid with relatable problems. He’s flawed, and funny, and trying to have a normal life, despite having these awesome abilities.

Last weekend I was browsing a list of upcoming releases for the Nintendo Switch, and I saw a game I never expected to see on the console - or on any console, really.

I consider video games an art form. Some people, famously including Roger Ebert, would disagree with me, and that’s fine. It’s harder to dispute, though, that a large amount of art goes into video games - concept art, 3D modelling, creative writing, musical compositions, and more, all to create one cohesive work. It’s easy to ignore all these parts to focus on the whole, but often times this work deserves to be appreciated in its original form.

In the late ‘80s, one of the most well-known video games was Tetris. Originally from the Soviet Union and released in arcades and on a multitude of home computer platforms, the game was most popular when released for the Game Boy - in fact, it sold more than any other game on the system, with more than 35 million copies produced.

One thing the Super Nintendo is fondly remembered for is its role playing games - titles like Final Fantasy III, Chrono Trigger, or Secret of Mana. These games are story-driven and have you play as a cast of characters usually working to save the world from a great evil. 

Many mobile games have a very short shelf life - they’re hyper-popular for a few months, and then quickly burn out as players move on to the next one. But here we are, two years after the launch of Pokémon Go, and the game has more players than it ever has, outside of its first few months.

This commentary originally aired May 9, 2013.

Fairy tales are a part of our shared cultural knowledge – if you refer to Jack and the Beanstalk, the Three Little Pigs, or Goldilocks, almost everyone knows what you are talking about.

For the last week, all the big game companies have been showing off what they’ll have for the next year at the Electronic Entertainment Expo, or E3, in Los Angeles.

Practically next door to KMUW’s studio is a little building that has something that Wichita has been missing for years - a real arcade, filled with games from the ‘80s and ‘90s, when arcades were at their peak. This arcade has a name that I think will be really easy to remember - it’s called The Arcade.