I remember the first used game I ever bought was Mike Tyson's Punch Out! in 1989. My brother's best friend had brought a copy over recently, and though I sucked at it, I loved the huge characters, catchy music, and the feel of the punches. A few weeks afterward, a kid named Jason in my third grade class offered to sell me his copy for $7! I had my allowance saved in a big pickle jar in my parents' room, as I was trying to save up for new Nintendo games. I asked my mom if I could have some of my money to buy the game, but she made me promise to put half of my money in the bank first, so I did.

I had this plastic little BB box that was meant to clip to your belt that I used to put little things I thought were cool inside, like my Lego knights or Silly Putty. I put the money inside and took it to school the next day. I had trouble going to sleep, I was so excited, so I did some reading in my copy of How to Win at Nintendo Games... I think volume 2. The tips didn't mean much to me yet, but I memorized the password to fight Mike Tyson, which I'l never forget: 007-373-5963.

The next day, I bought the game before school, effectively making it impossible to pay attention the rest of the day. As soon as I got it home, my brother and I started taking turns like maniacs until my mom made us turn it off for the night.

I played the hell out of that game, and beat it within the year. However, not having the manual, I had no idea about star punches, which I'd somehow glossed over in Jeff Rovin's book. It wasn't until I was a teenager and my buddy Tim started throwing uppercuts that I had my mind blown!

Nothing overly special, but it made me happy.