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Second chances are something we rarely give anything nowadays. If we dislike something the first time around, often as people, we are stubborn enough to avoid any new incarnations, whether it be a sequel to a film, television show, novel, and even video games.
Considering how expensive a hobby gaming is, often we do not want to take any risks on the products that we buy. Rather than the thrill of discovery, we as consumers have become extremely picky in the types of games in which we invest our money. Now we use reviews, commentaries and editorials as research to give us security in what we purchase. About seven times out of ten, the gaming community is usually correct in its praise of a product or a company's efforts.
About six years ago I strolled into an EB Games and saw a game on the shelf called Persona. Having heard of it being a rare title, I immediately gobbled it off the shelf and eagerly took it home and popped it into my PlayStation. To my surprise, it was not what I had expected considering the research I had done before hand. Eventually, I managed to put in about ten hours before I felt completely hopeless in that I had zero idea of what I was suppose to do, and where I was going. The first person point of view and the horridly designed map were not able to save this game for me. No matter how much I believed that I was participating in neat story concept, I could not get over the horrendous gameplay that I forced myself to suffer through.
It sat on my shelf until early last year. I kept thinking to myself that one day I would pick the game up again from where I left off and see if I had matured enough as a gamer to move on. I plugged in the game one more time and was instantly reminded of what I hated the first time around. Weeks later, I took the game to my local retro gaming store to which the owner told me what a rare game that was. He asked me why I was selling it back and I revealed my various complaints. It was then that he suggested to me that I try Persona 3, but my stubbornness got the best me and I passed on the purchase.
The week Persona 3: FES came out, I was back in my local EB because I wanted to check out Rondo of Swords. As I got to the cash desk, the clerk had asked me if I was an RPG fan and if I had tried out Persona 3. I told him I hadn't and probably never would considering the poor experience I had with the original game. He said the two were nothing alike and that I should give it a chance. It didn't seem like this guy was trying to pressure me into a sale, but rather he was trying to get me out of the stubborn state I had placed myself in. In December, I finally started playing Persona 3: FES and immediately fell in love. A week ago as I went to pre-order another DS game, it was same clerk from before, and I extended my thanks to him for the recommendation he had made, to which he asked me, "So, you got Persona 4 yet?".
Sometimes it's extremely hard to get over past prejudices, even in gaming. Sometimes we can't get over the terrible experiences we've had in the past until we realize that even games have to stand the test of time before they are transformed into something worth while. Though we may never rid ourselves of the negative experiences that we had prior, we come to terms with the fact that sometimes giving things a second chance might be the best thing we ever do.
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