Alyana Fatima
With the new Bratz game Flaunt Your Fashion, being released, Alyana looks back on her favourite childhood games that she played on consoles like the Wii and PlayStation 2 with friends and family.
When I look back at my childhood, some of my most fond memories come from playing with my friends on my Wii, or staying up past my bedtime playing on my DS and Gameboy. I was fortunate enough to have been raised surrounded by video games and they have been a fundamental part of my upbringing.
Discovering video games
This inspired me to replay more games from my childhood
Aside from classic video game series, I was also obsessed with games based on franchises like Bratz and Barbie. The recent release of the brand new Bratz video game, Bratz: Flaunt Your Fashion, reminded me of all the older Bratz video games I played as a child. Revisiting games like Bratz: Rock Angelz and Bratz: Forever Diamondz makes me feel like I was a kid again, reconnecting with my younger self by riding on skates through Stylesville, dressing up and doing makeup on the girls, and doing chores for all the townspeople. This inspired me to replay more games from my childhood.
Every trip to our grandparents’ place was fun-filled with gaming
Before I owned a console of my own, I began playing games on my uncle’s PlayStation 2 and my cousin’s GameCube. My uncle used to keep a shelf for all the PS2 games my cousins and I would get, so every trip to our grandparents’ place was fun-filled with gaming. Besides the Bratz games, one of my favourites on the console was Hannah Montana: Spotlight World Tour – playing as the Disney popstar on her world tour, exploring iconic cities, performing songs, and going on shopping trips.
Another favourite of mine was Disney princess: Enchanted Journey, about a young girl traveling through each Disney princess’s home trying to rescue them. Every trip to my cousin’s consisted of us playing Mario Kart Double Dash on the GameCube. I would watch my cousin clean up graffiti in Super Mario Sunshine and squeal in happiness when I was finally given a turn.
My First Consoles
I remember the stories and the soundtracks of these games like the back of my hand
The first console I was able to call my own was a Gameboy Advance which was, of course, pink. I was allowed to pick out two games to start with, and my first instinct went towards the Bratz: Forever Diamondz and My Little Pony: The Runaway Rainbow. I remember the stories and the soundtracks of these games like the back of my hand. I have since collected and completed every Bratz game for the console.
After this, I moved onto Barbie games, with my favourite being Barbie and the 12 Dancing Princesses. The soundtrack was excellent and the dynamic of your powers changing according to which dress you wore was exciting. Another favourite was the Winx Club on Gameboy in which you play as Bloom finding out that she’s a fairy, following the storyline of the television series
Although new horizons on the switch has expanded and improved on many concepts, I miss the charm and personality of the villagers in the DS version
Of course one of the most iconic consoles was the Nintendo DS – and mine was a pink special edition Nintendogs-themed one, which of course came with the Nintendogs game. A few months later, I was also gifted with what would become one of my favourite games of all time: Animal Crossing: Wild World. This game needs no introduction, and although New Horizons on the Switch has expanded and improved on many concepts, I miss the charm and personality of the villagers in the DS version.
The Wii: Fun with Friends
For my 8th birthday, I was gifted with my all-time favourite console: the Nintendo Wii. The Wii came with everyone’s favourite game, Wii Sports, and I also had what is arguably the best addition to the Mario Kart series yet, Mario Kart: Wii. I think everyone’s childhood consisted of them and their friends having contests with each other in both games.
Another co-op game on the Wii that my friends and I loved was Disney Channel: All Star Party. This was a party game based on several Disney franchises such as Wizards of Waverly Place, Camp Rock and Hannah Montana. You could play as one of the many Disney characters and compete in several mini-games based on each of the franchises.
Playing the remaster on the switch took me back to my childhood living room
My absolute favourite party game to this day is Just Dance 4 for the Wii. I’m pretty sure I did each dance in that game 10 times and had memorised the Call me Maybe and Oops I Did It Again routines. The newer Just Dance games just don’t hit the same. My favourite Mario game also comes from the Wii, Mario Galaxy. Mario Galaxy has probably the best soundtrack and story from every 3D Mario Game and playing the remaster on the switch took me back to my childhood living room.
PC Games
With consoles ever-changing over the years, the one device that’s been a constant in my life is the PC. Like any other girl, I started out with browser games like doing the My Scene girl’s makeup and nails, decorating Polly Pocket’s room and babysitting Crissy. I also played the Disney channel games online, and my favourites included Wizards Of Waverly Place: Journey to the Cave Of Darkness, decorating Miley’s room in Roomy Room Re-do and finding pizza slices at the Tipton Hotel in Zack and Cody’s Pizza Party Pickup.
I wouldn’t be who I am today without overloading my laptop with several expansion packs, mods and custom content
Of course, the most iconic PC game that’s evolved with me through the years is The Sims. I wouldn’t be who I am today without overloading my laptop with several expansion packs, mods and custom content for the game. The Sims is the best life simulator on the market and truly a game you can never get tired of. Other PC games I loved growing up were Club Penguin, Pixie Hollow and Barbie Girl. Unfortunately, all of these websites shut down, but you can always count on rewritten versions of the game to bring back the magic.
Alyana Fatima
Featured image courtesy of Josa Vicente via Unsplash. Image license found here. No changes were made to this image.
In-article video 1 courtesy of PlayStation via Youtube.com. No changes were made to this video.
In-article video 2 courtesy of Crispy Concords via Youtube.com. No changes were made to this video.
In-article video 3 courtesy of Sky Hakym via Youtube.com. No changes were made to this video.
In-article video 4 courtesy of Drivr3joe via Youtube.com. No changes were made to this video.
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