Most games of the 8-bit and 16-bit eras, though fun, were often little more than prettied-up arcade games. Short adventures artificially extended by their blistering difficulty levels, ending once the player ran out of lives or turned off the console. That’s likely why I and so many of my peers fell in love with RPGs, among the first games to let players save their progress, each day progressing further through an epic quest. I spent countless hours grinding my way through random battles, each new level-up or conquered boss battle triggering what I thought to be the ultimate endorphin release (I’d later discover drugs and masturbation).