Your gaming timeline in 10 to 15 games

[Reed Rothchild | 9,520]

I'll think about it and type something up tonight.  Probably gonna exclude SNES to avoid spoilers

[Reed Rothchild | 9,520]

(I excluded SNES to avoid spoilers)

 

This is where gaming started in my opinion.  Yeah, I'm sure Zork and Ultima are great games, and Robotron and Ms. Pac-Man are fun in short bursts.  But this is why I'm playing video games 30+ years later.  The first obsession.  Still just as playable today.

 

This might objectively be the greatest game of all time.  There was nothing even close to this kind of intense, visceral experience when it came out, and most games still can't touch its insanely sharp gameplay.  I was so desperate to find a way to play this when I was a kid, that I dreamt up ways to buy a Genesis and 32X.  That's desperation.

 

I somehow wasn't very aware of the N64 existence prior to its release.  I don't have a great explanation for that, but somehow my focus was more on Super Mario RPG and other SNES games.  Then I played this on a Sears kiosk.  I'm not sure I've ever had more fun with a game than I did in those first ten minutes.  Gamechanger.  SNES was instant history, I needed this.

 

When the hype train for this guy started rolling along, I get caught up in it.  Those TVs ads, those magazine ads, that sublime cover art.  Suddenly I needed to know about all of those Japanese RPGs I had been missing out on all these years.  What were all those games in the back of GameFan?  Should I get into anime and find more stuff like this?  One day I actually sat in Barnes and Noble and looked through the ENTIRE guidebook.  I didn't own a PlayStation.  When it came out for PC I got the demo, and it promptly took down our machine.  When the full game went on sale I bought that, and it took down our machine again.  This game was the bane of my dad's existence.

I didn't actually play through the game until several years later, and by then I had already played through VIII, and many other JRPGs and WRPGs, so the actual experience was something of a letdown for me.  But I have never been so hyped about anything.

 

When we finally upgraded our old-ass PC we got a Dell Pentium II.  The games?  Myst, Riven, Tomb Raider II, and this.  I only vaguely remember mentioning this one to my dad, so i was pretty shocked that i got it.  I then spent the first month mostly playing Tomb Raider II and the demo for Age of Empires.  This game confused me.  Then I sat down and gave it some serious time...

Even today, this game puts most others to shame.  The scope of the units.  The balance to the resource management.  The chaos of the battles.  The GOAT soundtrack.  I probably put 500 hours into this.  In single player.  In a game that has no storyline or real campaign.  I didn't care.  Hell, I played through EVERY SINGLE multiplayer map against the PC.  Console games took a backseat for years after this.

The Krogoth mission is still probably the greatest in the history of strategy games.

 

The GOAT.  I said it then, I say it now, I'll say it on my deahtbed.  This game (and its sequel) are better than everything else.  The storyline, the atmosphere, the tightly balanced gameplay, the intense violence, and crushing sense of doom and despair.  I could probably only play this game for the rest of my life and be content.  After this, I didn't have time in my life for subpar games anymore.  Only the good ones would deserve my attention.

 

Remember the first time you fought off the special forces?  Remember the first time you shot down an Apache?  Remember the first time you were afraid of the water?  Remember how perfectly balanced the entire arsenal of weapons was?  Remember how good Opposing Force was?  Or Blue Shift?  Or the demo, which was standalone?

Before this game, titles like Jedi Knight were considered the greatest of all time.  Afterwards, we could only look at other shooters and be like...

 

The (other) GOAT.  The story and atmosphere takes a slight step back from the first, but in its place is the greatest multiplayer in the history of the world.  I wish I was playing it right now.  I'd play it all day.  I'd sell my entire collection of games in exchange for an online community that was as thriving as this was at launch.  And don't even get me started on World War 2 Recon.  This is a game where I had to force myself to uninstall it so that I would do other things in my life.  Multiple times.

 

In high school, spring, summer, and falls were basically endless marathons of football practices, football "optional" practices, football camps, and the football season.  It's a grueling grind, where you're constantly in some sort of tired, agitated, and hurt state.

But man, did I relax and unwind afterwards, in the dark, with epic RPGs.  This was the epic-est.  It didn't matter if I got blindsided by a 250 lb tight end (there were no safety rules back then), because at the end of the day I got to play this.  The best RPG of the last ten years is Dragon Age Origins.  And that's a slightly inferior Baldur's Gate III.

 

In college I mostly retired my PC gaming (I couldn't afford to get a new rig so it left me behind).  But I did have my PS2, and stacks of cheap games.  This is the one that left the biggest impact on me.  I normally find Japanese melodrama to be overly heavy-handed, or preachy.  But this game strikes a perfect balance.  I may or may not have teared up.

 

Every other game was from years ago.  This is the only modern title on the list, and for good reason.  The Switch was a godsend for us busy parent types.  I had been mostly relegated to getting my gaming fixes on handhelds, as getting any sort of quality time on my 360 or PS3 had become a thing of the past.  When the Switch came out, the title that convinced me to get one was none other than Skyrim.  People like to make jokes about it, but the ability to get a deep "Western" RPG on a portable console was extremely appealing to me.  And after I finished it I looked for another one.  Enter this game.

Best described as a board game mixed with an dungeon crawling RPG, I became obsessed.  See, I had also had to give up board games when my kids were born, because of time constraints.  Now I could scratch all the itches at once.  And this game has such amazing atmosphere, and unique gameplay, and a sadistic difficulty curve... it's to die for.

 

 

Honorable mentions:

Ikaruga

Final Fantasy Tactics

Castlevania Symphony of the Night

Super Mario Odyssey

Shin Megami Tensei Strange Journey

Grand Theft Auto San Andreas

Star Fox 64

Skyrim

Fallout 2

Katamari Damacy

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2

[RH | 4,903]

Galaga/Ms. Pac-Man - Arcade - early-1980s

Galaga and Ms. Pac-Man probably aren't the first games I ever played but this cab is the first I recall.  I have a vague recollection of my Dad picking my brother and I up after he'd divorced my Mom and taking us to a small arcade outside of "Gold Circle", which after a purchase or two was absorbed into what is today Target.  I still recall my Dad holding me while I sat on a stool, staring at the spacecraft at the bottom of the screen, and me wiggling the stick back and forth. I'm honestly not even sure he put a quarter in the machine, but I was small and it's a good memory. (Single-cab for both games selected, though I don't think they made this until the 20th anniversary of these games.)

Pitfall - Intellivision - mid-1980s

Not long after that, my aunt started dating a gentleman she'd eventually marry.  She was still living with my grandparents and after my parents divorce, we moved back in with my them for a couple of years.  My aunt was like a second-mother and part of the approval process for a future-husband was that my brother and I had to like the guy.  My brother, my aunt and my future uncle went over to his house one day and he drove us around in his new gold Corvette and he had an Intellivision with a few games.  The only one I recall playing was Pitfall, but I remember loving it so much because it was the first time I learned that I could play games "at home" and I was hooked forever.

Pole Position - Atari 2600 - 1984-1986

Well we never got an Intellivision like my uncle had but like many people my age, our first home gaming console was an Atari 2600 when "the crash" happened and games were $5-10 each.  We had about 10 games but the only ones I remember playing that much were Pac-Man and Pole Position. Pole Position was, by far, my personal favorite.

Oregon Trail - Apple IIe - 1987-1989

I'm not sure how you can be an American kid that grew up in the 80s in public education and this game CAN'T be on your list.  Everyone loved this game!  I have no clue what was so appealing about it compared to the many others that were offered by the MECC company, but across the nation we were all enamored with Oregon Trail. It's still a good game and I love revisiting it every few years.

Super Mario Bros/Duck Hunt - NES - 1987

Oooooh, Nintendo. It's even more cliche to put it on this list than the Oregon Trail, but considering that for many of us this was the first and only title we had when the NES entered in our homes, it was also the first home console experience we had that was a HUGE leap beyond the 2600.  For the first time I felt like I was experiencing games that seemed on par with the arcade titles that I had enjoyed with my Dad a few years earlier.  Pair that with the Duck Hunt which was like "magic" and it was truly a transformational experience. My brother an I wore this cartridge out and it was always a favorite to return to.

Update 5/2020: I finally beat this game.  I had to cheat with save states but as much as I loved this game in my childhood, I had to settle with watching my brother beat it because I couldn't.  Well, I finally did it myself, even if I did restart the game after every death.  It was still just as fun as it was in the 80s.

Final Fantasy Adventure - Game Boy - 1992/93

I found this one at the flea market.  A mom had about 4-5 Game Boy games with manuals she was selling for her son. The copy of FFA she was selling also had the manual and the map. This was my first time being introduced to the Final Fantasy franchise and was also my first time experiencing an adventure/RPG.  It was a personal game-changer.  I'd liked games before.  A lot.  But now I had found a game that I was obsessed with.  Even today this game remains the one I've replayed the most.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 - Genesis - early/mid-1990s

Eventually arcades started to dry up and the ones that remained were getting more expensive. My Dad's solution was to rent a Sega Genesis about every other time we came over to his house and, for some reason, my brother an I picked Sonic 2 every single time as the title we wanted to rent.  I really, really loved this game and the strong association with my Dad makes it a personal favorite title of mine.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 - Game Gear - mid-1990s

I loved my Game Boy as a kid, but when I saw that a handheld console could be in color, I was blown away! As soon as I saw a commercial for the Game Gear, I really, really had to have one. I saved up multiple birthday and Christmas cash gifts to buy a core unit and my generous brother forked out the cash for me to get Sonic 2. After buying the Game Gear, for many birthdays and Christmases I got a lot of games for this console and loved them all, but Sonic 2 was one of my favorites probably because of my love for Sonic 2 for the Genesis, even though the two games aren't related at all.

Super Mario 64 - N64 - 1996

I extolled the praises of this game a bit earlier in another thread.  I picked up an N64 on release day.  I had just got my car license and after school I went to Wal-Mart and picked up a copy of SM 64 with the Nintendo 64.  For the second and only other time in my life, my brother paid for the game to go with the system I had long saved up for. This game was extremely fun and provided many, many hours of game play.  Looking back today, I'm still surprised at just how solid of a title that game was, even though it was a very early entry for Nintendo into 3D gaming.

Torin's Passage - PC -1996

I can't exactly remember the date but around 1996/97, my family bought our first home PC.  Torin's Passage, an edutainment title and Mechwarrior were packed in with our IBM Aptiva. I enjoyed those other titles, but Torin's Package was the first point-and-click game I'd ever played and was my favorite of the three. I loved the mechanic and I thought the story was super-fun.  I replayed the game about 6-7 years later and even though I'd matured beyond much of the humor, it was still a fun experience.

Final Fanasy VII - PlayStation - 1997

All because of Final Fantasy Adventure, I wanted this game.  Actually, I wanted Final Fantasy II & III for the SNES, but since I didn't get a SNES until about 2 years ago, this was the first Squaresoft RPG I was able to enjoy since I picked up FFA years before.  Holy cow! What I loved about FFA, was only made better by playing a legit JRPG! Pair that with the materia system, which I still think is one of the greatest weapon enhancement mechanics ever made, and you have what I consider to be another instant classic that I still enjoy playing.  This game is about as defining for me as Final Fantasy Adventure.

Duke Nukem 3D - 1998

It's time to kick ass and chew bubble gum... Duke Nukem 3D was my first LAN PvP game play with more than 2-4 players! My buddies and I would play on our High School LAN and it was amazing. In college, it was replaced with Half-Life but considering the LAN multiplayer experience in High School, I have better memories of this title. Hail to the King, baby!

Ridge Race V - PlayStation 2 - 2000

The PS2 is the only system I ever imported from Japan.  I picked one up on eBay right when it was released and I picked up Street Fighter and Ridge Racer V.  Street Fighter was fun, but I learned to really love racing games with RR V.  I still love Ridge Racer V and I can't even count how many hours I logged on this one, earning every car and playing time trials.  It's a game that's somewhere between an arcade racer and a sim racer.  I tend to prefer arcade-style racing, but for me the balance of this title was perfect.

Katamari Damacy - PlayStation 2 - 2005

I'd bought plenty of games between Ridge Racer V and Katamari, but this was one of the first games I bought after getting married.  It was also the first game my wife really got into and the one that helped make her a gamer.  She and I logged way more hours into the Guitar Hero franchise than we did this title, but had she not got hooked on Katamari, I doubt she would have gotten hooked on gaming. I owe this title a lot.

Breath of the Wild - Switch - 2018

The Switch is the first home console I'd bought since the Wii and even that one I didn't get into it that much.  The Switch, however, has re-caught my attention and Breath of the Wild was a large part of that.  Back in 2016 when I started collecting, I mostly decided to focus on older games and enjoying them.  In my opinion, there's already a HUGE backlog of games I always wanted to play, so why not just stick with with older, cheaper stuff and ignore the newer titles? Regardless of my 2016 opinion, something about the Switch caught my eye and Breath of the Wild made me have a change of heart. It's a dang good game and now I've bought and enjoyed many Switch titles.

Edited July 8, 2020 by RH

[RoyalT | 161]

22 hours ago, Reed Rothchild said:

The GOAT.  I said it then, I say it now, I'll say it on my deahtbed.  This game (and its sequel) are better than everything else.  The storyline, the atmosphere, the tightly balanced gameplay, the intense violence, and crushing sense of doom and despair.  I could probably only play this game for the rest of my life and be content.  After this, I didn't have time in my life for subpar games anymore.  Only the good ones would deserve my attention.

 

 

 

The (other) GOAT.  The story and atmosphere takes a slight step back from the first, but in its place is the greatest multiplayer in the history of the world.  I wish I was playing it right now.  I'd play it all day.  I'd sell my entire collection of games in exchange for an online community that was as thriving as this was at launch.  And don't even get me started on World War 2 Recon.  This is a game where I had to force myself to uninstall it so that I would do other things in my life.  Multiple times.

 

 

Geez, I've never heard of this, but based on your enthusiasm alone, I am going to give Myth a shot for sure.

[G-type | 2,480]

On 11/26/2019 at 2:00 AM, DefaultGen said:

I love Night Stalker so much.

The 2600 version, Dark Cavern is pretty damn fun

[GPX | 1,369]

1. Granny's Garden (Amstrad) - game played the most in primary school.

2. Sonic the Hedgehog (Megadrive) - everything about it seemed perfection back in the early 90s.

3. Streets of Rage (Megadrive) - favorite beat'em up on a console.

4. Street Fighter 2 (SNES) - favorite 2D fighter, likely the game I had played the most in the 90s.

5. Super Mario World (SNES) - played this after Sonic, and loved it probably more than Sonic due to the explorative nature and variety.

6. Mario 64 (N64) - favorite 3D platformer from the 90s.

7. Einhander (PS1) - favorite shooter of all time, graphics, music, gameplay, weapon mechanics - perfect!

8. Zelda Wind Waker (Gamecube) - I was never really an RPG fan back in the 90s, having played only bits and pieces of previous Zelda games. Wind Waker was the first Zelda game I had completed.

9. Wii Play (Wii) - made gaming simple, but brought more laughs and interactions with friends than any other games before.

10. Mario Galaxy (Wii) - Incredible sequel to an incredible game that was Mario 64.

11. Defense Grid (Xbox Live) - addictive tower defense game that has ruined many hours of my spare time.

12. Geometry Wars 2 (Xbox Live) - addictive shooter that has ruined many hours of my spare time.

[Inzoreno | 102]

1. Super Mario Bros./Duck Hunt - The first game I ever remember playing and, being extremely young at the time, can't say I was any good at either of them. But I enjoyed them both and it planted the seeds that would eventually turn me into the gamer I am today.

2. Pokemon Blue - First game I really got into, having already seen the show and gotten the cards, it was the first game I actively asked for from my parents. Until then, I had always just played whatever games my parents just happen to buy, with little input from me or from my brother. It's also the first game I ever finished and to this day I still remember that, for some reason, my final team included a Lv. 100 Victreebel.

3. The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker - Probably the first game I fell in love with. My parents, up until that point, had forbidden me from ever playing any of the Zelda games due to some religious over-protection. I missed the first game, A Link to the Past, Ocarina, etc. It wasn't until after getting a Game Cube, a friend of my recommended the game to me. I think I rented it from Blockbuster, because I spent a few days while home from school sick playing through it. It was a magical experience and, to this day, is still my favorite Zelda game of all time.

4. Halo: Combat Evolved - The game that turned me into a hardcore gamer. Until I reached that point, while I liked playing video games, they were not a major form of entertainment for me and I made no effort to keep up with the news of the industry or about new releases. But after just one local multiplayer match in Halo, my world was completely changed. Very shortly afterwards I traded in my Gamecube stuff and bough an XBOX along with a copy of Halo. I also became more interested in gaming as a whole and started reading magazines and articles online to keep up with the new releases. This game also cemented my love of the FPS genre. 

5. Okami - Hands down, Okami was a revelation. To this day, this is my favorite game of all time, a masterpiece that has yet to be topped by any other game I have ever played before. The combination of art style, music, gameplay and a story soaking in Japanese mythology left my blown away when I first played it and I have made sure to always have a copy in my possession even if circumstances force me to sell my collection. 

6. Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow - The game that turned me on to going back and playing retro games. Now, by itself, it wasn't retro at the time. When I had played it, however, I had never played a single Castlevania game before it and once I completed it during college, it awoke the desire to go back and play the older Castlevania games, going all the way back to the original NES trilogy. That opened me up to playing other old games I missed out and turned me on to so many classics I missed. Also the game that made me love the Castlevania series and Metroidvania-style games.

7. Chrono Trigger - This established my love of the SNES and is my favorite RPG of all time. After being turned on to retro games by Castlevania, I picked up the DS copy of Chrono Trigger due to the overwhelming positive reputation it had and it absolutely lived up to the hype. For me, it established that 16-bit is probably the era that is going to hold up the longest. The beautiful sprite work of Chrono is still a sight to behold to this day and even now I wish more indies attempted more 16-bit style games rather than just 8-bit.

8. Shovel Knight - The game that introduced me to the indie scene. I had heard about it some time before, but didn't buy it until a physical copy came out on the 3DS. I picked it up and fell in love with it. It introduced me to the indie scene, which has probably become my favorite part of gaming right now. A fantastic alternative to the samey AAA titles pumped out each year by the big publishers. Including Shovel Knight, some of my favorite games from the past decade have been from the indie scene. 

9. Dark Souls - I was intimidated the hell by the game when it came out and I shied away from it for some time even though I really liked the looks of the game. I was given a free download code for the first game during one summer home from college and spent much of that time pushing myself through the game. I fell in love with the game, and with Souls-like games in general and it made me realize that difficulty didn't necessarily have to be something to avoided. 

10. Telltale's The Walking Dead - I was once a fan of The Walking Dead and since this was the first big game with the license, I picked it up without second thoughts. This game helped create my appreciation of 'walking simulators', as I really enjoyed the more deep plot even though it didn't have the most in-depth gameplay elements. But that was ok, and it has helped me appreciate other games in the same vein, like Gone Home, Tacoma and The Town of Light. 

 

[T-Pac | 7,537]

Here's my Gaming Timeline in 10 Games (with some fun illustrations to go along with it):

1 ) Dig Dug - In the early 2000s, I had no interest in video games based on what I'd seen from friends or on TV, but then my parents gave me a Namco plug-and-play system for Christmas. I was immediately hooked on classic 80s arcade games. The score-based gameplay was straightforward, the pixelated graphics were charming, and there was something undeniably enticing about experiencing some of the foundations of gaming as a whole. Pac-Man was a blast to play with my family, but Dig Dug really drew me in. It was action-packed and the levels changed layout to make me feel like I was always progressing toward something greater. Without a doubt, Dig Dug built my interest in classic gaming.

2 ) Warlords - My parents struck gold again with another plug-and-play console. This time, it was an Atari system with several built-in paddle games. At the time, I didn't know the distinction between these console-based games and the arcade games of my Namco system - all I knew was that I loved seeing more blocky graphics and playing titles that built the origins of an industry. Of these Atari 2600 games, Warlords was a standout to me. The multiplayer was great fun, and it was so satisfying to see the screen flash when I took down an enemy fortress.

3 ) Super Mario Advance - My first modern console was a Gameboy Advance SP. I experienced so many great games thanks to this handheld, but little did I know that most of my favorites were ports of NES and SNES titles. My love for classic games held true even when I was unaware of it. I didn't know anything about Nintendo's early systems (not even what came before the Gamecube), but I knew that I liked his handheld system with pixel-graphics like my Namco games and a huge variety of titles to explore. I was immediately hooked on platformers, and Super Mario Advance was my first foray into the genre that I have only grown to appreciate more over time.

4 ) Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3 - This was, and possibly still is, the pinnacle of my gaming experience. Yoshi's Island was my favorite title on the GBA, and it seemed to do everything perfectly. The levels were varied, the graphics and music had a distinctly artistic take on the old-school vibe I loved so much (I still didn't know this was a port of a classic SNES game), and the difficulty was approachable for my admittedly sub-par gaming skills. It was the full package, and Yoshi's Island has always been a game I've eagerly gone back to over the years.

5 ) Guitar Hero III - In middle school I had my first true taste of 'modern' gaming when my family got a Nintendo Wii. I definitely enjoyed it, but aside from a few exceptions, I realize that I was more fascinated by the peripherals and gimmicks than the games. I played a lot of Guitar Hero at the time - it didn't have the unidentifiable appeal of the classic games I grew up on, but the skill and rhythm-based gameplay was addicting.

6 ) Animal Crossing: City Folk - My most shamelessly-absorbing gaming experience to date revolves around Animal Crossing for the Wii. My sister and I used to play this game every day, captivated by the seemingly mundane tasks of planting trees, fishing, and buying furniture. I had briefly played the Gamecube original at my neighbors' house when I was younger, and I was disappointed that this Wii iteration didn't have the 'old games' in it like that one did, but the curiously engrossing nature of Animal Crossing kept me occupied for several years.

7 ) Skate It - This was a unique gem that I discovered on the Nintendo DS and played intermittently throughout my teenage years. I wouldn't consider it a standout game by any means, but it drew me in as a way to have skateboarding (a favorite hobby of mine) in the palm of my hand. It was a lot like fingerboarding (Tech Decks) to me, in that I could imagine pulling off amazing tricks and continue to engage in the sport even when I was off my board. Additionally, performing tricks by swiping the stylus across a skateboard on the DS touch screen was an incredibly intuitive mechanic that paired the game perfectly with the system.

8 ) Altered Beast - This is the game that initiated my plunge into the world of retro-gaming. I came across a Sega Genesis Flashback system at a warehouse store one summer in high school, and I had to have it. I still didn't know anything about classic consoles, but I could tell by the box that this was just like my beloved Namco and Atari plug-and-play systems from my childhood. When I played through the library of pre-loaded Genesis games, I was once-again captivated by that one-of-a-kind retro charm that had eluded me for so long during my foray into the Wii and the Nintendo DS. Ristar was my favorite game of the bunch, as a clear throwback to the platformers I had cut my teeth on with the GBA. However, Altered Beast really captured that old-school style that I craved. I immediately found myself researching the library of this 'Genesis' console, and that spilled over into learning about the SNES, NES, Channel F, Neo Geo, and countless other classic consoles and systems. These were the kinds of games I had always gravitated toward, and they were all out there for me to get my hands on - I just didn't realize it before because I had never known where to look! The Genesis Flashback threw me into the hobby I had always loved but never found before, and Altered Beast was the catalyst for my retro-gaming experience.

9 ) Kirby's Adventure - Shortly after acquiring my Genesis Flashback, I ordered a NES/SNES clone console for a chance to play some of the games that originated my favorite series on the GBA, DS, and Wii. My first ebay purchases were a Super Mario Bros/Duck Hunt cart and Kirby's Adventure. Kirby was everything I had hoped for - classic, 8-bit Nintendo charm in an authentic cartridge from the early 90s. I even found myself feeling nostalgic for the game when I realized it was a port of my favorite childhood Kirby title on the GBA! This solidified my enthusiasm for retro-gaming, and the NES was the king of classic consoles as far as I was concerned.

10 ) Metal Storm - In college, I transitioned from being 'someone who enjoyed classic games' to being an avid retro-game enthusiast and collector. And the game that marked this transition was Metal Storm. It was one of the first obscure titles that I came across in my research of the NES library, and it set me on a course to discover all sorts of unique games for my favorite classic platforms. Metal Storm is one of my all-time favorite NES games, and it had a significant role in expanding my interest into all things retro-gaming, from history and preservation to the online classic-gaming community. Aside from that, mechs are awesome - and who wouldn't want to mess with gravity while you blow up evil computers with your laser cannon?

-CasualCart

[Kguillemette | 1,544]

Hard to do this in 10 games. This might be a 2 parter.

1 Socrates.

My first gaming console was called a Socrates. Just a simple console that follows a robot with educational games about math, science and geography. It was kind of like a primitive leap frog system. I always had that feeling of accomplishment when I completed games and answered questions correctly.

Mega Man 4

Before my family had an nes, I had the chance to play one in the big kids room when i was in day care. This was the game that was in the console at the time. Nobody could get far in that game. I watched someone get pretty far in skull man's level, when it was my turn, I did the same thing he did, but got a game over before I made it to the boss.

3. Shadow Blasters Sega genesis

 

Me and my sister killed hours on co-ok trying to beat this game. It is pretty similar in style to NES TMNT and contra where there are 4 characters to choose from, each projectile has it's own strength and weakness. And you need to navigate platforming with enemies and bullets flying at you from all directions. We eventually figured out that it was much easier in one player mode, level up Marco and Leo, and save Horatio and Tiffany for the late bosses.

 

4. Myst

No game drove me crazier than this one in my childhood. I was so beyond proud of myself when I managed to draw a map of the underground maze and finally solved the mysteries of the island.

5. Goldeneye- n64.

Boy Scout camp would not be the same without all the deathmatches. This was as good as party gaming got. The hard part was the guys who had the respawn points memorized and put proximity mines in place, racking up kills unfairly quickly.

 

To be continued...

 

 

 

[BortLicensePlate | 652]

@CasualCart Big fan of the little illustrations you included with each game, nice work

[T-Pac | 7,537]

5 hours ago, BortLicensePlate said:

@CasualCart Big fan of the little illustrations you included with each game, nice work

Thanks, man! I've really been enjoying all the great posts in this thread, so I wanted to put some extra effort into mine as well!

-CasualCart

[TheBiRD | 137]

1988-1992  - 5to9 Years old - The Beginning!

1) Just like many of you, Super Mario Bros. started the journey. Remember playing in the basement with my brother and cousins. Uncle passed by and as a young kid, told him ''come on, come play with us, just try it, it's so fun!!'' Just like my dad, my uncle didn't play video game, but this time he grabbed the controller and gave it a try. He came to the first hole when I told him ''jump down, you'll get 1up..!''  What he did and, of course, died. Remember him saying ''ok I'm done'' but in fact it meant ''F*&#? you little monster''!! Fun fact : my 6 yo daugher passed the first stage by herself, for the first time, this week!

2)3) My dad always told me and my brother that he would never buy other video games because he said it was a waste of time and money. Even that, on Christmas, in the basement at my uncle's house where there was cloud of cigarette's smoke. There was a huge heavy box that we had no idea what was in. We were amazed to found out that there was a dumbbell for the weight but also two great games : Legend of Zelda and Mike Tyson Punch-Out!!

   

4) Can't tell how we got this one, but I played a lot : Super Mario Bros. 3. We had Mario 2 also. But was really deep into Mario 1 and 3! I remember telling my parents : ''that's not the ''left Bros'' version, it's not good..) Yeah at 6 I knew about it already...  lol

 

 

1992-1996 - 9to13 Years old - SNES, my best gaming memories!

5) I can't remember how I get my SNES console, I'll have to ask my brother if he remember! ** (update might come!). But I remember playing, playing and playing again! It started with the game that came with the system : Super Mario World.

6) Then, there was the ''sequel''. Since I didn't play Zelda II on the original Nes. So for me, A Link to the Past was my sequel. It was a shock, I remember coming out of the bed at night to play the game since my brother didn't leave me the controller on the day shift!!!!! I remember saying thing like : ''man, graphics are so crazy, you can see Zelda (yes at the time, I called Link : Zelda...) really stepping when he gets in the stairs!!). 

7)8)9) Squaresoft trilogy! Secret of Mana, Final Fantasy III (or 3, but not 6, nowhere on the game box, manual or cart it says ''6''!!!) and Chrono Trigger!  Hours and hours and hours and days and weeks and months of fun!! Three legendary games!!

10) When I wasn't home playing RPG alone. I was home with friends or at them house playing NHL 94 then NHL 95. It's just crazy how intense we were playing those two! 

 

1996 to 2000 - 13to17 Years old - Playstation and computer era!

11) Traded the SNES bundle for a Playstation. We were young and stupid!! I remember playing Twisted Metal 2, Metal Gear Solid, Gran Turismo and Resident Evil! Anyway, one game really get me involved : Final Fantasy VII !!

12) It was also the move from the ''386'' computer to a Pentium I dunno what, but a way better computer! My brother's friend was a geek who own all the best game. He told us which one to get. Here are the titles I played a lot : Carmageddon, Command & Conquer, Unreal Tournament. The original Grand Theft Auto was a blast from the beginning. Even if today, I don't own the lastest console (the lmore recent console I own is the Wii and it's for the kids!). That franchise is one of the only one that might, someday, makes me buy the newest console. 

 

2000-2020- 17to38 Years old - Gaming with my girlfriend

13) When I meet with her back in 2000. We just literally burned that game. Yes, for real, her Mario Kart 64 just stopped working after couple of years playing it too many times! It was her console. She had Goldeneye 64, Diddy Kong 64 and Mario 64 but I sucked at every other games on the 64. 3-4 years ago, I gave Ocarina of Time a try, but still no talent with that ergonomic controller... Still with my girlfriend and still play Mario Kart 64 near every two weeks!

2008-2015- 17to32 Years old - Gaming with my girlfriend

14) Then we bought a Wii just to be able to play Mario Kart Wii. With the stearing, it was awesome. I don't have that game anymore, but have to rebuy it! 

 

2015-2020- Adult gaming

15) Not much time to play anymore, but I play every week those 2 games : Contra and Super C.  Perfect fit : retro fun and fast to end games! I play Contra as a kid too but more as an adult because it was my cousin who owe it. Super C I tried it but was way to hard, area 4 was the best I reached, area 5 maybe 3-4 times!

Edited December 9, 2019 by TheBiRD

[G-type | 2,480]

23 hours ago, BortLicensePlate said:

@CasualCart Big fan of the little illustrations you included with each game, nice work

Really great stuff! I appreciate you going the extra mile.

I was super into quirky stylus driven DS games back when that system was out (Pac Pix, Trauma Center, Elite beat Agents, Kirby Canvas Curse, etc) , but I never tried Skate it. Makes me interested to check it out

Edited December 9, 2019 by G-type

[hyrulevyse | 151]

On 11/28/2019 at 12:01 PM, RoyalT said:

Geez, I've never heard of this, but based on your enthusiasm alone, I am going to give Myth a shot for sure.

Ha, I thought the same thing

[Reed Rothchild | 9,520]

3 minutes ago, hyrulevyse said:

Ha, I thought the same thing

Well if you do end up giving it a spin, this is your best friend:

Left hand on Q + E + 2.  Those rotate the camera and set a basic formation.  Trust me on that.

[TheBiRD | 137]

bump - love to read that thread!                                                                                    fd             f                                                                                                       

[ErickRPG | 42]

This sounds fun.  But it deserves a little time dedication, so I'll post back later.  A little teaser, I started with Atari 2600.

[Scrobins | 1,725]

I come back to this thread every once in awhile as I’ve gotten to know some people better and re-read their posts through that perspective. I hope others newer to this site see it and add their own biography in video games.

[ZeldaFreak | 3,600]

I dunno how I've only just now seen this thread. I'll have to also contribute to it when I get the time.

[OptOut | 8,883]

1 hour ago, ZeldaFreak said:

I dunno how I've only just now seen this thread. I'll have to also contribute to it when I get the time.

Yeah, same here, what the fcuk?

I feel as though I've slipped into another dimension again... happens sometimes where most of everything is the same but there are just little differences. Like the Mandela effect! Been hitting my head on the low ceiling in the bathroom at work, never used to do that, but I guess it's like an inch lower in this reality...

You notice anything else unusual recently ZF? Maybe we dimension jumped together, lol!

[ZeldaFreak | 3,600]

10 hours ago, OptOut said:

Yeah, same here, what the fcuk?

I feel as though I've slipped into another dimension again... happens sometimes where most of everything is the same but there are just little differences. Like the Mandela effect! Been hitting my head on the low ceiling in the bathroom at work, never used to do that, but I guess it's like an inch lower in this reality...

You notice anything else unusual recently ZF? Maybe we dimension jumped together, lol!

Well it feels as if 2020 as a whole has been a completely different reality than what I'm used to considering all the stuff going on, so it's possible

[BortLicensePlate | 652]

I remember seeing this thread and thinking yeah this is one I wanna make a post for! And then it never happened. I'll get to it 

[MrPeaPod | 121]

Nes - Super Mario Bros 1 2 & 3

The first video games I ever played were the Mario Bros. trilogy. My grandparents had an NES in their second living room that they built. I would never mind going over there for a visit bucause my brother and I were able to play these awesome video games. They had a fairly nice stack of games. 25 years after playing them at my grandparents house, I'm still the owner of them. 

The Super Nintendo - Super Metroid

My parents bought the kids a Super Nintendo for Christmas one year. It was the bundle that came with Super Mario World and Super Mario All Stars. I think that playing the remakes of the Mario Bros trilogy on the Super Nintendo was the first time we were able to make it through the whole game. The save feature was a blessing.

We then got the Donkey Kong Games. I remember in DKC3 that my brothers and I could never make it to the first save point in the Ice World. We tried for days but could never do it so my dad stayed up all night long and learned how to play the game so that he could make it to the save point for us. I still remember him showing us in the morning.

The Super Nintendo never really took off for me until I was gifted Super Metroid for my birthday. I can't remember what year it was but I do remember receiving the game and the Nintendo Players guide. I played that game for the next summer. I beat it multiple times trying to go faster, getting 100 % of items, and even cleared ever single tile. It was the game that drew my love for video games and for playing them quickly. I've completed no other game more times than Super Metroid. Still the most influential game for me. My younger brother has the games from my youth. The only two I wouldn't give him were Super Metroid and Zelda a Link to the Past.

N64 - Zelda Ocarina of Time

After getting an N64, I still mostly played the Super Nintendo. I would play the multi-player games mostly. 007, Mario Kart and Diddy Kong Racing were the main ones I would play. The only game I truly spent any time with was Ocarina of Time. I always wanted Majoras Mask but never did until just recently. I have yet to start it

PS2 - Baldurs Gate Dark Alliance and Xenosaga

I don't recall where our PS2 came from. I think my older brother brought it home one day. My uncle owned a pawn shop, so each time we would come visit the store he would let us take a game home to keep. My brothers choose, Baldurs Gate and Downhill Domination. I choose Xenosaga III. I picked that game because I had just recently played through Final Fantasy X and thought this would be the game closest to it. I can understand how some people would be turned off by the hour long cutscenes but I absolutely loved it.

My brother and I played through Baldurs Gate countless times. It is still the game we go to and play if he is spending the night over at my place for any reason

Wii - Zelda Twilight Princess

This game is special to me because I've played through every minute of it with my niece. She was always interested in my small Zelda collection so we started playing Twilight Princess together. At first she would just hold the nunchuck while I would hold the remote. It made the beginning of the game much harder than it was intended to be. Eight years later and we just finished the game. It's been a blast the whole time and to see how shes grown from the first time playing together

Chess

My adult life has consisted of playing the video games of my youth or playing chess online. A co-worker got me interested in chess and I've been hooked since. In just over a year I've played 1500 games and rated 1200 in blitz online. Chess is everything I could want in a game.