The early 2000s are home to some of my fondest childhood memories. Organized sports, slumber parties, the Cell Saga and, admittedly, Total Request Live. The turn of the century was a cultural apex to which many of my current tastes can be traced, including my obsession with video games. This era was dominated by the PlayStation 2 and Xbox, but at the time, I gravitated toward the familiar. The Nintendo Gamecube and the Sega Dreamcast were my childhood consoles of choice and I played just about everything on those bad boys, from Soul Caliber to Zelda and back. But of all the games I played in these very formative years, it was Sonic and his unlikely companions that have stuck with me the longest. And no, I’m not talking about Tails or Knuckles or Dr. Eggman. I’m talking, of course, about Chao. Continue reading