Origin Story - Andrew

Hey all,

I'm Andrew and I've been playing video games since I was like three years old. When I was younger, it was always my dream to either become a game developer or a game journalist, but I ended up thinking it was too risky and went into engineering instead. But over the years, I still took shots at creating gaming websites and blogs and what not. Nothing stuck...but now with this PlayStation 4 broadcasting, a fire has been lit and that excitement is back. 

I started gaming with the TurboGraphx 16. It was a Christmas gift from my parents and it came with Bonk's Adventure. If you've never heard of Bonk, he was pretty much the equivalent of Mario for the TurboGraphx; a tiny little caveman baby with an enormous noggin that could be used to headbutt enemies. His power up was a meat leg that he would eat, turning him into a maniac headbutting machine. I loved it at the time.

Bonk's Adventure for the TurboGraphx 16

The TurboGraphx of course ended up being a failure, which brought me over to Nintendo with the SNES. That is where my love for gaming truly originated, specifically with Japanese role playing games. Final Fantasy III was my first. It introduced me to the idea of an immense, developed world with deep, interesting characters; characters that would eventually feel like close friends. Finishing a game like that felt like leaving those people behind, moving away from a world that I had become so invested in. It grabbed me. Final Fantasy III and Chrono Trigger became my favorite games of all time.

Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy III for the SNES

Then the PlayStation came, and Final Fantasy (along with all other SquareSoft titles) moved away from Nintendo. I decided to defect over to Sony's camp and since then I have been a part of the PlayStation Nation. I have owned all PlayStation consoles: the original PlayStation, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, and now the PlayStation 4. So that is what I will add to this show. I am invested in all gaming related news, whether it be Nintendo, Microsoft, Sony, or Mobile. However, my expertise will pertain to all things PlayStation related. 

I hope that we can grow an audience with The Level Up Show. I know that I will work my hardest to provide all of our followers with the latest gaming news and knowledge, but also with entertainment. So thank you to anyone who read this origin story. If you have any questions for me, please feel free to leave them in the comments below. I will now leave you with my gaming statistics:

Gaming Dedicated Consoles Owned:

1. TurboGraphix 16
2. Super Nintendo
3. Game Boy
4. GameGear
5. PlayStation
6. Nintendo 64
7. PlayStation 2
8. Nintendo Gamecube
9. PlayStation Portable
10. PlayStation 3
11. PlayStation Vita
12. PlayStation 4

Favorite Genres:

• Role-Playing Games (Final Fantasy, Chrono Trigger)
• Action Adventure (Uncharted, Metal Gear Solid)
• Platformer (Super Mario, Jak & Daxter, Ratchet & Clank)

Favorite Game Series:

• Final Fantasy
• Metal Gear Solid
• The Legend of Zelda
• Kingdom Hearts
• The Chrono Games
• The Uncharted Series
• Jak & Daxter
• Ratchet & Clank
• The Team Ico Series (Ico, Shadow of the Colossus)