Hey there! Thank you for returning for part three of our Favourite Moments. In part one, we looked back on some of my fave moments from 2015 to 2017 and in part three, we looked back at 2018 to 2020. If you have yet to read parts one and two, feel free to check them out first and come back for our concluding part. With that out of the way, we shall move on.
Year 7 (2021) – Returning To Gaming Events And OLED!
Even though the world is still reeling from the repercussions of COVID, a bit of normality started to return to the world as restrictions were starting to be lifted. Although the first half of the year was still problematic and huge gaming events like E3 and Gamescom were “Digital Only” events, the latter half of the year saw a distinct change in physical gaming events. One such event that I had the privilege to attend was Road to Gamepolis.
This event was held on the campus of a teaching facility known as EVAD that is dedicated to the development of video games. It was an “open-air” event as most of the booths and attractions were set up in the exterior of the campus. Some parts were held inside the EVAD building like the eSports tournaments but everything else was set up under gazebos alongside a stage for musical performances and announcements. As masks were mandatory at the event, I had a little fun with mine by drawing a bulbous nose and a moustache so that I would look like Super Mario. I thought I pulled the look off rather well! 
As October rolled around, it was the return of EGX. Having not been back to the UK since February 2020, I was itching to go back to visit my family and see my friends again, I took all the necessary measures so I could go back to the UK (from Spain) visit my family and attend EGX with my brother Jack and my sister Ashleigh, along with her partner Alec. Although EGX 2021 was stricken with strict health and safety protocols and there weren’t any of the top three publishers present at the event like Nintendo, Sony or Xbox, it was still quite a lot of fun.
Fall Guys was the main attraction at the event and a special “Fall Mountain” course was set up to challenge players to run up an inclined conveyor belt in order to collect crowns. On the two days that I went, I tackled the mountain twice. Once with Jack, and the other time with Ashleigh and Alec. For someone who is not as healthy as he should be, I was surprisingly nimble on my feet. I saw many people try to run up the mountain and a good number of people fell, but not me, my feet weren’t having it. I managed to run up it five times both times, which I am pretty chuffed about. 
What made EGX 2021 extra special for me was of course, meeting people. I met up with fellow members of the Nintendo Switch gaming community like Pete from Rapid Reviews and Jason from The Cross Players. I also met up with the fantastic Mr. Ryan Brown of Super Rare Games for the first time (Jack had met him before at a previous event but it was the first time for me). It was such a pleasure to see them all in person and have a conversation with them that wasn’t restricted to 180 characters. For me, the best thing about gaming events like EGX is not playing the video games that are available but meeting people that you have spoken to for a long time on social media or via email and finally meeting them in person.
Of course, EGX wasn’t the biggest gaming event that Miketendo64 went to. On the other side of the pond at around the same time, our US correspondent and game reviewer Jonathan Ober was attending TooManyGames on our behalf. He also got to meet a lot of Twitter mutuals and YouTube personalities at the event and even got to enjoy the day with his family. You can find out more about TooManyGames, you can read Jonathan’s experience in his feature article for the event.
Another very triumphant moment for us for 2021 was the opportunity to review Metroid Dread and the Nintendo Switch OLED. Nintendo UK reached out to us and asked if we would like to review the game and the Switch OLED model. Of course, we immediately jumped at the opportunity and Jack got to review the new model and the game. It was kind of funny in a way as we came full circle on ourselves. When the Switch first came out, I first bought it for my brother and we told our father that “Nintendo sent it us” so he wouldn’t ridicule us for wasting money that could be better spent on something else. Four and a bit years later, Nintendo have actually sent us a Switch. The world truly does work in mysterious ways. 
Year 8 (2022) – Returning To Normality (Somewhat) & Kindred Spirits
Okay, so the year isn’t quite over yet but we are already off to a great start. In April of this year, I got to visit my brother and celebrate his 30th birthday with him. We also went to a new gaming event called W.A.S.D in London. We met up with some old friends like Pete, Dottie, Sebastian, and Richard and had a pretty great time. At the end of May, we will also be attending some more events like MCM ComicCon London and a Retro gaming event in Chiclana de la Frontera in Cadíz, Spain.
As we set our sights to attend Gamespolis and EGX again later this year and Jonathan attending TooManyGames again, we have also been cordially invited to a gaming event called FORMAT in Manchester, England this September! We are still trying to work out which of us at Miketendo64 will be going to that but we will be sure to have some kind of presence there. Another great thing that has happened to me is meeting and befriending a fellow video game website owner who lives not that far from me.
Now video game bloggers may seem to be a dime a dozen in most places but for two of them to run a website that is predominantly English, living in a place that is predominantly not is not a common thing. The person in question is The Elite MYT of The Elite Institute (I won’t write his real name out of respect for his privacy). We have been engaging on Twitter for quite a while before we actually met and there was always a matter of circumstance (usually down to distance) that prevented us from meeting up before. When my partner and I moved house for a job opportunity for her, it actually put us within the same area more or less and it was like “Now we HAVE to meet up.”
So, at the beginning of this year, I have met up with The Elite MYT a few times and now we are pretty good friends. We now Whatsapp each other often to talk about games we are playing as well as everyday things. An extra benefit is that our partners seem to have a lot in common too, which is always a bonus!
BONUS!!! Remembering Those Who Help Turn Miketendo64 Into A Community
Before I wrap up my favorite moments over the years, I would like to give a huge shout out to those who made Miketendo64 possible. The following list of people have contributed and helped forged Miketendo64 in to what it is today. They have lent their talents, their words, and injected passion into our website. I truly appreciate every single person here for being a part of Miketendo64 and turning it from a simple blog into a community.
For some people, we reached out to them so we could share their love of gaming on our website. For others, we provided our platform so they could have an opportunity to write about the games they love. It has always been about a sharing a love of video games and bringing people far and wide together.
To all of them and all of you, we thank you. Thank you so much for being a part of Miketendo64.
Ali@Nintendo – @switchgamerali
Ashleigh Longman – @avlongman9
Bri Bri – @japanesenintendo
BryOreoTendo2021 – @oreotendo2021
Camjo-Z – @camjoz
Chelly Reviews – @chellyreviews
colonelkatafi – @colonelkatafi
dansgamingnews – @dansgamingnews
Daryl Baxter – @dlbaxter gamer2006 – @gamer2201
gamerguy235 – @gamerguy235
homemakingwithmichelle – @homemakingwithmichelle
honestgaming2 – @honestgaming2
Jack Longman – @jhlongman
James Baldwin – @baldwinttv
jmac857 – @jmac857
Jonathan Ober – @jonathanober
kerrydd90 – @kerrydd92
kingmer – @kingmer
Kris P. – @2kris15
Jeff Kuribo – @jeffsapunk
Lachlan Bruce – @sxcwaluigi
LadySugarcube – @ladysugarcube
Lucas Sierra – @lucasthereviewer
Matt Correia – @matcorreia
Max Waring – @OctolingMx minusthebrant – @minusthebrant
Mr Panda – @mrpanda2002
Kieran Fifield – @lordkieranos
Nintendo Impact Gaming! – @nintendoimpactgaming
obliviouslifeform – @obliviouslifeform
Patrick Bailey – @Patrick Bailey
peltos – @peltos
princessgamer24 – @princessgamer24
Rachel P. – @3rachel3
Renanp2 – @penedarodrigues
Richard Atkinson – @Nintenmau5
Richard Young – @yoshi100582
Roadhog Main – @roadhogmain
Ruairi O’Brien (Lucariocios) – @lucariocios
Seb O. – @deorellanarlln sodamancer – @sodamancer
Switch Nindies – @switchindie
the Well-Red Mage – @thewellredmage
themancalledscott – @themancalledscott
themassey18 – @themassey18
Thom – @thomdoesgaming97
Toby Saunders – @johnhiggleton
Toys and More Club – @inklinggenne
vicsatonaka – @vicsatonaka
Will Reed – @NerdyPandaPlays
YOU – Yes, YOU! For giving us the time of day, for reading our content and for continuing to support Miketendo64. You Too are Team Miketendo64! 
Alas! my M64 Retrospective: Seven Years Running – Our Fave Moments has come to an end. Thank you for sticking with us to the very end and reading about our favourite moments from the last seven years. We still have many more favourite moments to make in the future and we do hope you will be a part of them. That is all from me for now but until next time, Keep On Gaming!
