Binarynova's Realm - Faves

Super Mario Bros. was the game that started it all for me. My earliest memories are of our apartment, my elementary school, and this game. I was introduced to this game by my babysitter at the time.

My babysitter lived in a building near ours. I think she was in college at the time. She had an NES and she'd always let me play Super Mario Bros.. My earliest memory is of my babysitter teaching me how to slide under the blocks in World 1-2 as "Big" Mario. She also told me about the mysterious Minus World. I was hooked.

When I was 9 or 10 years old I played games like Willow and Dragon Spirit: The New Legend in the living room while Mom sat on the couch cheering me on. She played her fair share of games too. Her favorite at the time was Swords and Serpents. She had a pad of graph paper in which she drew and labelled maps of each level.

One day Mom came home from work with a new game. She just read the back of the box and thought it sounded like something I'd be interested in. It was Crystalis and it quickly became my favorite NES game for its unique storyline, intense gameplay, and wonderful soundtrack.

From Software's level design and world building are absolutely the best in the business and in Demon's Souls they top it off with amazing gameplay and music. The game oozes "feel" and atmosphere and it deserves to be considered among the best games ever made.

My brother and I spent countless hours playing this game together. Working together to beat bosses felt so incredibly rewarding (we also spent a lot of time duping upgrade mats, haha). It will forever be one of my favorite multiplayer experiences and it's among my favorite games for the Playstation 3.

Cracked Rear View was one of the first albums I ever bought for myself. I remember hearing "Time" on the radio and being mesmerized by the guitar lick and wanting to hear more.

I would always play my favorite songs on repeat. Mom finally convinced me that even if they weren't being played on the radio the other songs on the album were probably good too, and I'm glad I listened to her.

My brother, our mom, and I were introduced to Bruce Cockburn by my late stepfather. His work required him to drive a lot, and so his CD player was always stocked with great music. Every road trip we took we'd hear Bruce Cockburn, John Gorka, and Joni Mitchell and many others.

I love Cockburn's intricate style of guitar playing, and he's at least partially responsible for my love of fingerpicking. His guitar lays a foundation for his intense and vivid storytelling. While I've grown to love several of Cockburn's albums, Charity of Night will forever have a special place in my heart.

I was introduced to October Project's self-titled album by a friend of mine in high school. I was a fan of new age artists like Enya and Loreena McKennitt, and October Project sounded to me like a rock/pop variation of that genre. Mary Fahl's haunting voice carries a weight that simultaneously sounds perfect and out-of-place among the instrumentation.

High school is a time of discovery and a time we often make as many missteps as we make progress. For a time I was following a path that wasn't really my own, and this album (and others like Velvet Hammer's Come Down) helped me realize that and helped guide me back toward the right path.