I will start this off by saying I am not a gamer, though I do enjoy the occasional game on my husband Jordan’s Xbox. So when Jordan decided to plan a trip to the Screw Attack Gaming Convention 2015, or SGC, in Frisco, Texas, this July, I was looking forward to simply going on vacation. What I found in Texas was a renewed love for the gaming systems and games I grew up with.

A big reason I do not enjoy gaming is the lack of games I am interested in, though Jordan tells me I am too picky.

I do not enjoy shooter games, first-person games, or single player games — even if they let me play with someone “online” instead of my husband right next to me on the couch. I also don’t enjoy games that have a lot of different moves and attacks that need to be learned, games that don’t have women characters to choose from or scary games. I especially hate the games that give too many personalization options or that the player needs to pause every five minutes to deal with the items you’ve picked up or change/reload weapons. The list could go on.

What happened to good old Mario Party, Kirby and Spyro the Dragon? What happened to the simple, two player games that had three or four moves to learn? I’m told these can only be accessed on certain consoles that we do not own.

At SGC, I found I’m not alone in my love for older games. With an entire area for vendors selling games for many newer and older systems, I came home a happy woman with my new (old) Game Boy Advance and two Spyro games in my pockets.

Jordan and I also went to several fun panels where we got to hear from John St. John, the voice actor of Duke Nukem games, learn about making YouTube videos, witness a Final Fantasy themed wedding, and meet Mat Pat from Game Theory. I even dressed up for the Cosplay Contest as Nyan Cat — a cat with a PopTart body that trails a rainbow when he flies.

I’m sure the airport employees looked at us funny as Jordan put our three different Sega consoles through security. I can now enjoy a good game of Sonic the Hedgehog on our Sega console or Cat Woman on my Game Boy Advance.

Jordan enjoyed everything about the trip, but for me a big part of it was simply the nostalgia of remembering the joy of the old games I used to play, and buying a large pack of AA batteries so I can keep playing my Game Boy.