Picture it… the year is 2002. I'm in the military and I am living in the military barracks. I have no roommate, so life is good. My current addiction… Final Fantasy 8. I started playing it back in early 2000, but for some reason never finished it. So I picked it back up and proceeded to destroy. Anyone that is familiar with this game will recall that it had 4 discs. After logging some serious playtime, I had put together a hella mean deck of cards for the mini card game, Triple Triad. When I first started I was not interested in the card game very much until a cool thing happened.

My friend was in my room one night watching me play the game. After much drinking and gaming I was dead tired and about to call it a night when my friend asked if he could stay over and play around with the mini card game. I said sure and crashed out. Well the next morning I wake up to realize that my friend was still there… still playing the freaking card game. He had managed to assemble an incredibly tough deck to play with. I give him props to this day for the deck he built. Anyways, the game took on a new meaning for me, since I could actually win duals now with a much stronger deck. I know it wasn't really my deck, but I was already on the 3rd disc of the game, so I thought what the hell. Anyway, so the gaming continued with the new might deck in hand.

When I say Final Fantasy 8 was my addiction, I am dead serious. For those who are not familiar with Army life allow me to explain a bit. My day officially starts at 6:30 in the A.M. So I usually get myself up about 45 minutes prior to that in order to get ready and head to our morning formations. Well it got so bad with this damn game that I would go to sleep the night before really, really late. Got to get in all the gaming I can right? I would were my clothes to bed that I had to wear for the next day… that way, when I woke up, I wouldn't have to waste time getting dressed. So I would set my alarm for about 2 hours prior and use that time to battle in the card game or just advance in the story. It was ridiculous. At one point, I swear, I was only getting about 3 hours of sleep a night. And in the middle of this all… I was dating my future wife.

I had already proposed and we were getting married very soon. She knew of my love for games, but I wasn't sure she was up on my addiction. So at this point in the game I am nearing the 4th and final disc. I can't wait to finally put this game under my belt. Then disaster strikes. I get married. Well getting married was bad, it was what would happen next that decide my fate with Final Fantasy 8. I moved out the barracks and into an apartment with my new bride. We were both happy, young and in love. After a few weeks of honey moon romance, I decided to get back to my other girl… my mistress if you will.

I begin looking through boxes to get all my stuff out and ready. Playstation One? Check… Controllers? Check… Game? Check… Memory Cards? WTF? It was in the box before… what the hell happened to it? So… this is how it ends. I searched for months and months for the memory card. I knew deep down inside that the card was gone, but I tried to keep hope. Anyone who has experienced the feeling of loosing 150 plus hours of gaming on a memory card knows what I was feeling. I thought I was going to die. How could I muster up the strength to start from the beginning? The truth is… I never did. I tried a few times, however the thought of starting fresh AND building a new deck of cards was too much to bear.

How would I go on? So that was about 8 years ago. I have moved many times in the Army since then and had almost completely forgotten about the incident. Almost. In fact, it has always remained in the back of my mind… haunting me. Knowing that I will never complete it. It was so bad that I even got the follow up games 10, 10.5 and have never had the heart to open them. I actually have those games still in the plastic because I couldn't face them knowing I had completed the other. I have this weird tick that will not allow me to finish games out of order. Don't know why, it's just something I have always done. So this past February, the Army decided to move me again. So I picked up my family and we moved to Arizona.

One day after finally getting settled in… I was in my office unpacking some boxes. That is when I noticed a older looking box. Turns out it was one the ORIGINAL boxes I used when I moved my belongings out of the barracks when I got married. So I open the box, not daring to think "it" could be in there. When I opened the box it was like when Link would open a treasure chest. Light shown from the box, music played and behold… My Playstation one memory cards were there in all their glory. It was a time to rejoice and celebrate. The missing link has been found… My Final Fantasy saga could continue. I was whole again. I couldn't believe my eyes. The feeling I had was the same feeling I had when I discovered I could float through the wall in level 1-2 in Mario Bros only to find a secret water level.

Now all I have to do is pop that bad boy into my PS2 and try and pick up where I left off. How will it feel after all these year? How much will I remember? Who the hell cares right? I am just happy that this tragic story did end with a touch of happiness. I dedicate this story to all of those who have suffered in some shape or form as I have. To all those who have little sisters or brothers who pressed the power button just before you could beat Contra. For all those who stood an hour in line to just play Street Fighter in a laundromat downtown. And finally to all of those who know deep down inside that Triple Triad is the baddest mini card game of all time.