Hey y’all, just wanted a “space” (Get it? Because we’re talking about Starcraft?) to just reminisce about literally the best Christmas I had. It was 1998, I was 11 and it was a really strong Holiday season for games. Half Life and Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time came out in November, and Brood War came out the week before Christmas on the 18th.
But even though all those games were awesome, the stand out for me was the release of Brood War. My dad bought Half Life the day it came out because he wanted his Voodoo 2 to sweat, but I thought it was kind of lame because I felt it was too realistic. And even though I had a Nintendo 64, Ocarina of Time wasn’t exactly on the radar because PC games from Blizzard and ID games were more to my liking. But yeah, I just remember how excited I was for Brood War. I remember walking by a whole stack of them at a local Costco too while my mom was doing some shopping to prepare for our yearly Christmas party too. I remember wanting to buy a copy and my mom was so adamant about not getting it because our parents had already bought our presents and that game came out too late.
I remember pouring through any pre-release materials and previews multiple times because I was obsessed with the thought of finally getting a medic so I can go crazy with stimpacking my marines, I remember feeling it was a little awkward to have devourers, corsairs, and Valkyries only work against air units and hyped about the direction the story would go after Tassadar defeated the Overmind. So yeah, I was super hyped about Brood War more than anything else.
We’d open gifts after going to Midnight Mass at our local church, and sharing a late supper called Noche Buena. I can’t tell you what was served during that night, I don’t remember many of the gifts I received that night, and I most definitely didn’t remember what the priests’ sermon was. But the moment I’ll always remember was right when my brother and I finished opening the last of our gifts. I remember my dad pulling out two gifts from behind the tree that we didn’t know were there. My brother got a pretty big box, and I got a smaller rectangular box. My brother and I took turns opening our gifts, I went first since I was older and got Ocarina of Time. I was already pretty excited. But then it got even more hype when my brother opened his gift to that face of Kerrigan. That was it man. That was the perfect gift.
Usually, after opening gifts, we’d be too tired to even play with them, but my brother and I were so excited to play the expansion that we installed and played it that night. It was the first time either of us had ever stayed up past 2 AM. I remember watching my brother playing (it was his gift so it was only fair) firing up the Terran campaign and how we were both in utter disbelief that Earth was getting involved in the conflict. And I remember how we just had to see how the Medic played and doing some AI matches with cheats to just try out the new mechanics and see the new graphics. When it hit 3AM, that was when my dad told us both to go to bed. And we did. But damn man.
That was peak Christmas for me. There were a few more stand out ones, like the one in 2001 where I got both Metal Gear Solid and Devil May Cry for Christmas, or the one in '99 when Half Life: Opposing Force came out. But not even those could compare to the one in '98 when my brother and I literally got a gift that kept on giving. It’s literally an unforgettable Christmas. Down to the very feeling I got when we opened those gifts. And at 35, I honestly can’t tell you any specific Christmas memories from the last 18 years. So it’s a very valuable memory. Whenever I feel down or stressed during the Christmas season (and I get those feelings a lot these days) this memory has always been my rock. And it’s always such an uplifting feeling.
I sincerely hope y’all enjoy Christmas this year. Thanks for reading.
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