You ever just like, have moments of nostalgia grief where your brain kind of latches on to whatever you were fascinated by in your childhood and never really let's go of? I go through bouts of this every now and then, maybe it's just a symptom of growing old or feeling general lack of comfort in present life. I have no idea, I'm not a philosopher, but what I do know is that Nintendogs was such a highlight of my childhood that when I ended up getting a REAL!! dog, I begged and pleaded to my mom and sisters to name him after the virtual Shiba Inu that I adopted in this game.

And no, Nintendogs does not prepare you for any actual responsibility. I was not aware of the fact that you actually needed to pick up after your dog when walking them outside. Pissing off my in-game neighbors without understanding why. In fact, I'm sure my virtual Nintendog is actually pretty starving by now since I lost the game at some point and haven't been able to check on him in years.

But, it's days like today where I really, really wish that I still had it, but it's gone. I would check in on my Shiba and toss some frisbees with him for a bit. I really wish I could watch him run through loops on the competition track while reading the funny announcer banter. Maybe abuse the hell out of the records like I used to for hours. See the light in the dog's face that'd appear whenever you shouted it's name, even though it only ever heard complete undiscernible gibberish from the DS microphone. I would emulate the game but I just don't think it would feel the same and therefore, it'll just be stowed away in the back of my brain.

Since today my childhood buddy, Scout, is no longer on this Earth, and just like Nintendogs I cannot give either anymore praise other than thanking them so much for being a light of joy during the most tumultuous time of my life. It was never the pinnacle of gameplay, or the next generation's graphics, but a capsule of time that I will forever be reminded of whenever I hear the Nintendogs walking theme, which is a bop and a half. All it ever needed to be was an escape from reality for a kid who lived through a house full of screams and anger. Now it is a nostalgic memory that I will mourn for the rest of my life.