By Latoya Peterson
He stood proud, tall, and defiant.
He had a tattoo.
He was a mass of muscle and attitude.
He was Jin Kazama, my first game crush.
It started off innocently at first. It was 1998, I was fifteen years old, and I had just popped Tekken 3 into the Playstation, looking forwarded to the newest installment of my favorite fighting series. To my surprise, a hottie lay before me. While I was slightly skeeved out at the fact that Jun Kazama and Kazuya Mishima had gotten it on (why Jun, why!?!?!), I had to admit that their progeny was easy on the eyes.
And the best of both worlds.
Jin quickly became my favorite character to use. Nina Williams lay forgotten, gathering dust in a corner of the game. (We had shoe differences anyway.) I mastered his Rainbow Kick in the game and tried in vain to manage the move in real life. I scoured stores for anything resembling the bad-ass flame-up-one-side drawstring sweats which were his trademark. I was bordering on obsession.
However, the obsession was a silent one - there was no way that I could proclaim my love for Jin Kazama. My friends had posters torn out of the latest issues of Word Up or Sister2Sister or erected ceiling shrines of dead rock stars from posters bought at places like Spencers. How was I going to put up a man made of pixels?
Around this time, I also fell for Eddy Gordo. Always my second choice, I loved his difficult to control capoeira moves and watching him rep for the brown people. Still, while I normally go for guys who look like Eddy in real life, in the game he still came second to Jin Kazama.
At sixteen, I found myself nursing two major game crushes.
While I secretly held a candle for them both in my heart, my love manifested in an usually high interest in kickboxing, boxing, and watching UFC and capoeira battles online.
A little time passed and I thought my game crushes were flashes in the pan.
Then I discovered RPGS.
Oh, Yuri.
How often did I miss crucial parts of the cut scenes because I was gazing at your beautifully rendered face?
While there were many others you, Yuri, hold a place in my heart.
If for no other reason that for your impeccably animated hair, which had its own personality and set of movements.
All my game girl crushes aren’t as sweet.
One of them I alternately love and fear:
Sephiroth. How I loathe you. Your appearence can literally ruin my gaming day. And what was with that stealth mess you pulled in Kingdom Hearts? Must you stalk me from game to game?
And yet, somehow, I just can’t quit you…
Keep brooding baby. It looks good on you.
And then there’s Roxas.
My favorite little mystery. Unfortunately, I feel like an old pervert. What age are you supposed to be - fourteen? I can’t even entertain a lusty thought without cringing. And you aren’t even real!
Still, there may be hope for me yet.
If that is you, my little KH2 cutie, you grew up well.
Too bad about the whole frozen-and-pummeled-to-death-after-being-thrown-from-a-cliff-thing. Ah well, it would have never worked anyway.
I never had a girl crush in a game, but a few women did come close.
Her outfits were questionable - yet she always made them look cool.
Her hair must require a prodigious amount of product.
And she is the strong, silent type. I covet her permanent “shall I kick your ass now?” aura.
Princess Zelda is not playing around. Unlike some other slacker princesses who prefer to sit around and send out press releases, you get right into the action. Even when you had amnesia, you were useful and central to the plot. Zelda, you are indeed the original ride-or-die chick.
That’s all for now. I’m sure that once I get through my backlog of PS2 games, there will be a few I’ll need to add.
Or maybe my next love is a next gen console away…
Article © November 2007 by Latoya Peterson.
We’re kicking off a new feature this month, in our sexuality-in-gaming-themed seventh issue: Gamer vs. Gamer, a debate between two gamers with different positions on a topic in gaming. Our first Gamer vs. Gamer concerns sexy female character designs and objectification in video games.
