My mom always hated Nintendo games. She hated how I begged her for my own Pokemon game after my brother got Pokemon Silver, she hated how I would promise to only spend two hours playing Super Mario Sunshine and ended up playing for more than six, and she hated how my life revolved around my Game Boy or Gamecube, while other kids were either studying or being active outside.

Like many other parents in the world, she didn’t get the appeal of sitting in front of a television and twiddling your thumb and index fingers for hours on end. In her opinion, it was a lifeless way to spend your life.

In retrospect, I get where she’s coming from. But the games I played were always much more than just time wasters. They were morals and life lessons encapsulated in a plot and some game mechanics. They were fantasies that allowed me to experience new worlds while sitting in the safety of my living room couch. They were quite literally the bits of personality that helped shape the foundation of an imaginative kid.

Here are just some of the morals and lessons I’ve learned from the many Nintendo games I’ve played:

1. Pokemon Blue: Even if you have an absolutely ridiculous dream, go for it. The companions you make will help you achieve what you want.
2. Pokemon Crystal: Even if you think the journey is over, there’s always a part two.
3. Super Mario Sunshine: Don’t tell your kids lies, and care for the environment. Not doing so can really mess up the lives of people you don’t know.
4. The Wind Waker: Even a boy from a secluded island in the middle of the ocean is destined to be a hero.
5. Pokemon Colosseum: If you make your friends do bad things, they will desert you for someone much nicer.
6. Mario & Luigi, Superstar Saga: Brothers who stick together through thick and thin can save the world.
7. Fire Emblem: Always have a strategy and a backup plan. Not doing so in certain situations can hurt those you care about.
8. Paper Mario, TTYD: Bend reality as you see fit.
9. Twilight Princess: Even people who you can’t see and look evil have a lot of good in them.
10. Super Smash Bros. Melee: Even something deceivingly simple can take years of training to master. Also, be a good sport.

I personally have one person to thank for all of these games: Satoru Iwata, the president of Nintendo until he passed away on July 11th, 2015. He helped program, develop, or produce many of the games I just mentioned, and honestly, I’m not surprised. He was one of the few master programmers of our era — reverse engineering Pokemon Blue and Red’s battle system in days with absolutely no documentation, and personally stepping in weeks before Melee’s release to help crush the many bugs that were still plaguing game. He will be regarded always as a video game genius who loved his craft, putting his vision, expertise, and passion before the money. In his own words,

“On my business card, I am a corporate president. In my mind, I am a game developer. But in my heart, I am a gamer.”

Indeed you are, Mr. Iwata. Wherever you are, I hope you’re still playing the games you’ve helped make, because I’ll be playing them too. Thank you for teaching me what it means to be a hero, a dreamer, and a good person. May you rest in peace.