Just Want To Wish You All The Best!

[Phynx]

I went surfing on a huge wave of nostalgia, listening to all of SGX's music on bandcamp and it reminded me of this community.

I sit here, white-knuckling my nostalgia as I am flooded with wave after wave of emotional memories that I rarely ever get to experience. I just want to wish you all, everyone that I knew, and all of y'all that I don't know, the very best. I love you guys and hope everyone is having as best a year as you can possibly make it!

What I wouldn't give to be able to reset the clock and go back in time to my early teenage years. To rediscover FFR. To grind the ranks again. To see 0-framers again and be able to access the hidden menu of songs with a code. To watch the legends of that bygone era be years ahead of everyone else and look to them for overwhelming motivation to get better.

...To be able to do it all again, but right this time, without all the ego and pretentious behavior...

One thing I can express is I often look back on how I was when I was younger, the way I treated everyone and how I perceived my reception from others. It took a great deal of self-reflection and soul-healing to find humility and to experience what being truly humble is like. What a wonderful feeling and how it changed my personality for the better feels like a real blessing from God. I want to express my gratitude for FFR being a home for me when I was a troubled youth. You guys gave me a community that even to this day, I have not been able to find a suitable replacement for in my heart.

I would love to hear from everyone and to know more of your lives. How things have been for you over the years, how you've grown, what you've experienced, where you are now. I want to try and be a more active member, maybe not to play FFR so much, but to be a community member people can interact with again, to be a friend again, and to attempt to experience the sense of community, if for only but a tiny fraction of what it used to be.

Again, I want to wish you all the absolute best, and quoting the catchphrase of my late brother....

Keep It Real!

[MarioNintendo]

Epic 3,000th post.

I connect a lot with what you're saying here. Discovering FFR was some of my best memories ever. I was a stupid kid when I joined, and I've posted a lot of cringe stuff, but it made me who I am, and I wouldn't change a thing.

As for me, I've had a rough few years since 2018, but I'm climbing the mountain. It feels like I'm halfway there, and I'm speeding up towards the top. It's a marvelous feeling. I have a job I love, a partner that I love, I'm surrounded by great people, and I love the side-projects I'm working on:

- I wrote a book (check out my sig! https://learninganxiety.com) and I'm in the process of getting it officially published
- I created a platform to play retro games on, and it's making all my years spent in my basement feel like they were worth something (https://felx.cc/b)
- I will take dance lessons for the first time this October and I'm psyched about it (and super nervous!). That's something I've been thinking about for over 20 years.

Love ya Phynx, thanks for the vibes, and thank God for this community, without which I would be another lost soul. FFR is my safe space on the internet, and I'm very happy to still have y'all around. Peace!

[Lights]

howdy phynx. would be great to have you around from time to time

[mellonxcollie]

hello Phynx!!

[powerfull]

It must be one of those days because I'm here on a nostalgia trip too hehe, or maybe it's just the insomnia.

I played this game waaay too much back in the day, but only chatted on the forums a bit here and there. I used the profile page chatrooms much more when those were a thing. Either way, I've always loved this community.

FFR basically inspired me to learn game dev with Flash/AS3. I ended up getting a degree in game design & development, and now I'm on my journey to ship my second AAA title.

In fact, my lovely bf of 9 years is from FFR, too! We started as rivals in 2006 hehehe. He was way more active in the forums than I was.

FFR has always been a good place I should just delete my twitter and come back here lol.

[Frank Munoz]

I used to send you random MP versus like 15 years ago when I was a D1 thinking maybe I could be as good as you were some day

[Phynx]

Originally Posted by MarioNintendo

Epic 3,000th post.

I connect a lot with what you're saying here. Discovering FFR was some of my best memories ever. I was a stupid kid when I joined, and I've posted a lot of cringe stuff, but it made me who I am, and I wouldn't change a thing.

As for me, I've had a rough few years since 2018, but I'm climbing the mountain. It feels like I'm halfway there, and I'm speeding up towards the top. It's a marvelous feeling. I have a job I love, a partner that I love, I'm surrounded by great people, and I love the side-projects I'm working on:

- I wrote a book (check out my sig! https://learninganxiety.com) and I'm in the process of getting it officially published
- I created a platform to play retro games on, and it's making all my years spent in my basement feel like they were worth something (https://felx.cc/b)
- I will take dance lessons for the first time this October and I'm psyched about it (and super nervous!). That's something I've been thinking about for over 20 years.

Love ya Phynx, thanks for the vibes, and thank God for this community, without which I would be another lost soul. FFR is my safe space on the internet, and I'm very happy to still have y'all around. Peace!

Edit - I completely glazed over the fact that you highlighted this as my 3000th post. Wow yeah, that was wholly unplanned and I'm glad it came out like that. <3

Mario! Holy shiza dude, it has been a HOT minute! Warms my heart seeing some OG's around still and man, is it good to hear from you. I'm in the process of checking out the items you linked as I type this. That's a hell of an accomplishment, writing a book! Normally I don't have too much in the way of learning anxiety, being a naturally curious person and always with an open mind to learn. There have been a few things that get daunting to me to try and learn and indeed, that gives me anxiety. I might just have to buy the book and give it a good read and gain insights to what you have experienced and what steps you took to overcome it.

I can empathize with that metaphorical mountain. Under different circumstances, I'm sure, but the last four years have been a time of extreme anxiety for me. While it came with business success and financial gain, the last four years have been keeping me on the edge of mentally breaking. I absorbed and took over management of a couple more businesses and now with three of these operations under my command, I'm kept at the very edge of my sanity for the busy season. Operating three separate aerial application(cropdusting) businesses and their associated pilots and crews is a master class on designing ways to mitigate stress and overcoming any shortcomings you personally have with yourself and others. Thank God it is only for roughly half the year and the other half is almost a 6 month vacation while we roll through the colder months. And just like you, it was a mountain. Easily the steepest learning curve I've ever been on, and now, years into it, I am finding a rhythm and understanding the situation more and using my experience to further my performance and figuring out how to make it easier every day through better efficiency.

Man, I would be lying if I said I wasn't a bit jealous of you. While I have family around me that I engage with a lot and have a great relationship with, I am really lacking any close friend connections. It's a daily battle to keep my spirits high when I go home after work to an all-too-quiet house. But you know, I have learned to live a solitary life as best I can and every day is an opportunity to learn how to make myself happy.

I have one request of you! Your retro platform, you should give use an English toggle!

Originally Posted by Lights

howdy phynx. would be great to have you around from time to time

I will definitely make a bigger effort to be a more visible character around here, as best I can. My work season slows down around September/October so I will be lurking more and more! Though I need to admit that I likely won't be involved in the discord. There are people there that are incredibly abrasive and use their political identity as a way to attack others. What's worse about that is I bore witness to others enforcing that behavior, leaders of the community that were okay with it and I'm sorry, I just don't believe in ostracizing people for their beliefs and opinions(unless they're grossly anti-human and harmful to society).

Originally Posted by mellonxcollie

hello Phynx!!

MELLON! Hello! How is you is??

Originally Posted by powerfull

It must be one of those days because I'm here on a nostalgia trip too hehe, or maybe it's just the insomnia.

I played this game waaay too much back in the day, but only chatted on the forums a bit here and there. I used the profile page chatrooms much more when those were a thing. Either way, I've always loved this community.

FFR basically inspired me to learn game dev with Flash/AS3. I ended up getting a degree in game design & development, and now I'm on my journey to ship my second AAA title.

In fact, my lovely bf of 9 years is from FFR, too! We started as rivals in 2006 hehehe. He was way more active in the forums than I was.

FFR has always been a good place I should just delete my twitter and come back here lol.

The nostalgia trips are definitely in my top 5 favorite feelings in my world. When they hit hard like they have been the last couple days, I drown myself in my ancient history trying to remember all the things I have forgotten. Mental archeology is easily my favorite personal hobby hahahaha.

Oh man, FFR really HAS been a foundation in your life, moreso than even me! That's awesome to hear that it had a similarly profound effect on your growth over the years! I feel proud FOR you to find as much personal success and motivation to excel as you have, via this site and community. A tale that I have heard before but also seemed so rare through the years. What game(s) have you been a part of if I can ask? Game dev was always a dream for me through my youth, though not so much now as my priorities have shifted and I took a different path in life by staying in the blue collar work. I still envy those of you who did go into software development though, it is still a fun thing to dream about!

Originally Posted by Frank Munoz

I used to send you random MP versus like 15 years ago when I was a D1 thinking maybe I could be as good as you were some day

Hahaha, I wished I could remember more from the old MP days. I know I was in it ALLLLLL the time. I miss the days of logging into MP and seeing some of my rivals in there (shoutout to tk_hero!) and just jumping in an going for a heavy sweat session to prove myself. I think MP probably had the most profound effect on my skill improvement out of any other form of engagement. Looking back on those times, I really don't feel like I was THAT good but I know I definitely hit a pretty good level. If I could've just worked past my wrist strain, I would've continued with grinding to be better. I hit that point where playing the higher end songs would cause a lot of pain in my wrist and forearm and it quickly killed my desire to play.

Man, thanks for that gush of memories. Even though I'm here now, I have forgotten all about MP and how much time I spent there playing with people...



God this is why I love you guys. I only need to come back and talk to some of you and all of my forgotten memories that I should be cherishing come flooding back and I get to enjoy the moment with a huge smile on my face. A blessed moment of peace in my busy life.

[MarcusHawkins]

Phynx, competing together in OT and seeing you rise to the top was a great memory!

Nowadays, I have an MBA, I perform with several community ensembles on and off (both as a diverse percussionist and choral singer), I teach high schoolers for marching band, and I do numerous notation software sheet music projects! Kept me busy and it seems it'll stay that way too!

[Phynx]

Originally Posted by MarcusHawkins

Phynx, competing together in OT and seeing you rise to the top was a great memory!

Nowadays, I have an MBA, I perform with several community ensembles on and off (both as a diverse percussionist and choral singer), I teach high schoolers for marching band, and I do numerous notation software sheet music projects! Kept me busy and it seems it'll stay that way too!

MARC! Dude it was a good time talking to you and the others in discord during the OT! Probably the highlight moment of my career in FFR, truthfully. Of all the things I have accomplished in the game, winning the 14th OT in my division will always be an amazing memory for me and I keep the FFR token proudly displayed on a shelf in my office so that I never forget that wild grind to win. That was a tough tournament to come out on top of and if it weren't for the incredible people I was playing with and against, I definitely wouldn't have been able to be motivated enough to try as hard as I did. Y'all made it fun for me to be a part of the action.

My brother, you're an artist! I am wholesomely jealous of you for having that talent. I've never been able to be a creative type. I definitely think far deeper into the logical and logistical mindset. Do you do any videos or recordings of your music projects? I would love to hear what you make!

[kommisar]

I remember some of your wild posts on bluexoon once upon a time. though we had a pretty favorable view of you haha