It was late 1992. Probably November. My family and I had recently moved to Redmond, Washington and we were visiting one of Seattle's greatest landmarks, the Space Needle. I roamed from one end of the circular room to the other staring out the windows at the ant-like people bustling in the city below. As I made my way back around to where we started, I heard a voice come from an arcade machine and my attention was immediately torn away from the glorious view to this cabinet that had beckoned me with the statement "FINISH HIM!". This game I had only read about, only ever seen in a magazine, was really real and I could play it. I dug through my pockets as quickly as I could for a pair of quarters and when I found them, I practically threw them into the coin slots. Without hesitation, I highlighted the blue ninja and began to "FIGHT!".

Holy shit. I was playing Mortal Kombat.