Which chunk of years is your Nostalgia?

[GPX 1,207]

Pretty straightforward topic - if you have the power to go back in time, which chunk of years would it be regarding gaming euphoria?

Mine was the early-to-mid 90s. Snes and Megadrive were my gaming passion. The Mega CD and PS1 blew my mind a few years later, but the 16-bit era was definitely the period I had spent the most time gaming. 

[fox 1,408]

Ha trick question

The most memorable years are 2015-2020 because they just happened so I can remember them clearly.  I remember things like it was yesterday, because it was.

[ZeldaFreak 2,997]

Well, it depends on what exactly we're talking about here, really. If we're talking strictly gaming euphoria, barring nostalgia, it would actually have to be 2017 for me, as that was the year my personal favorite video game of all time was released, Breath of the Wild, along with one of my favorite video game consoles and multiple other 10/10 games that were an absolute joy to play, and some that I still have yet to play. Breath of the Wild, Super Mario Odyssey, Sonic Mania, Horizon: Zero Dawn, Resident Evil 7, Cuphead, Mario Kart 8: Deluxe (I never played the original Mario Kart 8, so this was a new experience for me) Metroid: Samus Returns, and I'm sure many others I'm forgetting. 2017 will definitely be one of those years I look back on very fondly, both in general and in relation to gaming.

If we're talking years I look back on with nostalgia (Keeping in mind that I am only 19, so my answers will likely differ from everyone else's) then 2009 to 2012 is a potential candidate, as those were the years I was most actively playing the LittleBigPlanet series, which is one of the game series I hold very near and dear to my heart.

But, at the end of the day, even though I hold a huge amount of nostalgia for the LittleBigPlanet games, I'm gonna have to go with '05 to '09, as that was around the time I started to really get in to Super Nintendo games (and gaming in general) and around the time I discovered my love for series such as Legend of Zelda, Donkey Kong Country, Castlevania, etc early on. Those were the years I really started getting in to gaming as a whole, and when I discovered the type of games that I enjoyed.

[Reed Rothchild 7,453]

Poll probably needs clarity.  I went with realtime years, in the context of gaming.

Could have gone either way.  Chose 95-99 since a lot of the stuff from 90-94 I actually played in 1995, 1996, etc 

[twiztor 660]

the NES is my favorite system of all time. this may seem counterintuitive, but based on that i chose 90-94. yes, the SNES and Genesis both released and were more popular during this time, but i never owned them growing up. my love of the NES largely is due to it being my only console for such a long period of time.

in a different way, for me 95-99 also has a lot of nostalgia that is harder to recreate. i was in jr high/high school during this time. i bought an n64 brand new (the first system i bought with my own money- i still have it and it still works!) and spent countless hours with friends playing Mario Kart, Goldeneye, and WCW/nWo Revenge. i sure as hell don't miss high school, but i do miss all of the great time with friends.

[LostLevel83 84]

Would have clicked the first two choices if possible 

[Tanooki 4,524]

Same here it's too limiting.  I never really stopped, but the decade spread of 86-96 would be the most on the nose choice so I'd need to have check boxes not a single radio button to hit the first two as that's closest.

[Richardhead 2,163]

2000-2004

Drinking and games with @JamesRobot pretty good times.

[AstralSoul 471]

I have nostalgia through all the years of my gaming but the strongest for me was 1994 to 2003 which seem to be my defining years for me in gaming, starting with Donkey Kong Country and ending with Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker. Narrowing it further, definitely 95 to 99. N64 was my prime console for many years and the last two years of SNES was it's most memorable to me. 

[JamesRobot 4,961]

I'd probably go '05-'09.  360 was the last console I really played during its heyday.  Drankin with @Richardhead and whoopin his ass at some Fight Night.  The PS2 years were pretty great too.

[Deadeye 1,556]

NES is my favorite system and play the most on it today, but that is not really the question.  As far a memories and looking back, I have the most nostalgia for PS1.  95-99 for me.

[Andy_Bogomil 724]

Yeah definitely 95-99 for me. Was still playing lots of NES and SNES and then early PS1 games like Resident Evil and multiplayer 64 games in the latter part of this time period which may even be more nostalgic. My gaming essentially dropped to zero in the early 00s in high school and university until I started collecting again in the late 00s. Essentially skipped the GC/Wii/PS2 era with the exception of a few games.

[Estil 1,118]

I would say 90s (upper elementary/middle/high school years) and early 00s (college years).  So naturally I'm most into NES/SNES and later GC/GBA when I played those in those eras...I'm very excited I'll get to finally explore the PS1 lineup   I didn't really see anything all that special about it in its prime (until my college years when I had to get one if I wanted to play the MegaMan games) but I can sure find out what all the fuss was about back in my HS days (when the PS1 was in its prime)!

[Homer 17]

Wish you had 87-92, that's my block.  

[OptOut 7,823]

I came of age in my gaming with the launch of the N64. Of course, grew up with NES and Megadrive and SNES, but I was like 11 when we got our N64, and it blew my tiny mind. That was also the first time I started buying videogame magazines and anticipating games BEFORE they were released. So I picked 95 to 99, although I would also include the early 00's up to about 03/04 for my peak nostalgia.

 

Great thing is, we don't actually have to travel back in time to indulge the nostalgia! All you need is a pile of plastic squares and the wife and kids to leave you the fuck alone for an hour or two!

[Hammerfestus 3,116]

That’s a brutal split.  I need the option to be basically the entirety of the 90s. 90-94 is a primo chunk of my childhood.  It’s got most of my original  NES memories which makes it a strong contender.  But if I’m being honest with myself, 95 - 99 was like Jr High/High School and probably the years that I most considered myself a “gamer” (I actually hate that designation and do not consider myself that now.  It smells to me like old crusty semen socks).  I was still playing NES as well as Genesis and Super Nintendo.  I also got a PlayStation in 97 and I’ve obviously got big love for that.  The build up and release of Final Fantasy VII is one of my most special gaming memories period.

The first few years of the 2000s could be tacked on to that 95-99 era but by 02 I was off to college and spent the next decade or so with minimal video game interaction.  Especially new games.  I brought my NES to college with me and we did get really high and play a lot of SMB3 and Klax though.

[doner24 1,068]

90-94 Got a hand me down NES In 90 and started renting games with every spare cent me and my bro found. Then got a Genny in 91 and a SNES in 93. 

[The Count 434]

I voted 90-94 as well. We received our NES in 1990 and then a SNES in 1992. We played the hell out of them and some handhelds and then received a N64 in like 1998. All three amazing consoles, with no disrespect to the PS2 I bought at launch.

[gandalf1 26]

My original answer was 95-99, because there were so many games I wanted, and as a former Funcoland employee, a lot of games I just couldn't afford to buy. I'm no expert but I don't think a lot of the games from then appreciated in value, so what was regularly priced at 70-80 bucks back then I could probably find dirt cheap now if I went looking for them. 

[Kguillemette 1,164]

2000-2008. Those were my high school/young adult/college years, where I first started buying video games with my own money and appreciating that I earned them. It just felt so good to do. I enjoyed and played the games that came out those years, especially gamecube, well into the later part of the decade and I still enjoy discovering games that came out around then.

Second choice would be 90-94. This would be peak childhood discovering video games in the first place. This include the first run of NES games like Bubble Bobble and Zelda, too.

[BortLicensePlate 638]

Nostalgically speaking I'd say late snes to early n64. But nowadays I enjoy playing nes games the most

[ThePhleo 1,955]

1994-2001

It's a long time range, but there's a lot going on in those years for me.

For one, all my grandparents that I knew were alive during those times (including two great-grandmothers!)

I was there when the transition from 2D to 3D gaming came.

I was there when the Internet was truly popularized.

I was there when the Lion King was in theaters.

I was there when Windows 95 and 98 came out.

I was there when Electronic music became the norm.

I was there when we turned the millennium.

 

I can roughly remember the day it began...around the middle of school Summer Break '94 when we traded in my Dad's NES to get me and my younger brother a SNES.

I can even pinpoint the day my nostalgia ends. September ... 12, 2001. 9/11 is oddly nostalgic to me in a sombre, maybe macabre way.

[Quest4Nes 376]

90-94 in general for nostalgia

 

i got an snes in 92 but as far as golden age of games for me probbly fall 95-99 since i was still well into snes and then got a ps1 a little late.

[GPX 1,207]

On 9/4/2020 at 2:27 AM, Reed Rothchild said:

Poll probably needs clarity.  I went with realtime years, in the context of gaming.

Could have gone either way.  Chose 95-99 since a lot of the stuff from 90-94 I actually played in 1995, 1996, etc 

Yes, I can see how it can be ambiguous with the topic. I guess I really meant what were the years of personal nostalgia for each individual. The nostalgia here lies also on personal circumstances such as in your case, where you may have played gaming consoles a few years after they had came out. 

 

[Estil 1,118]

Yeah I know you guys must think I'm silly for saying this so much but I appreciate so so so much living in this "future time" where we can (ironically) experience the past (gaming and history and otherwise) in ways never before dreamed possible!  I may not have gotten to have much of an NES/SNES collection of my own back in the day (I could only do rentals at the time), and I might have missed out on the prime era of PS1, and I might have missed out on the Genesis (besides Sonic) back in the day, nor was I able to get any subscriptions to Nintendo Power or any of the other magazines (just read them off the rack once in a great while if we happened to visit the local Wal-Mart).  But by golly I sure can experience all that now!!