Fondest Game Memories

[foxhound1022]

I know that there are some memories you have of video games that will stay with you forever. Some are of playing games; while others may be getting that game or system you wanted all year. Either way, these are moments that will be relived over and over, anytime you think of them.

For me, it was when we got a NES. I was 5 years old in 1989, and we never had a lot of money for frivolous things growing up, so it was the last thing I expected to get.

I remember waking up early that morning, and quietly sneaking downstairs while everyone still slept. I surveyed each stack of presents; my sister's, brother's, mine. Then my gaze shifted toward the large box in the corner. Upon further inspection, I noticed it was labeled as a gift to all 3 of us, so my interest was piqued. Shortly after, my brother came down and we proceeded to wake everyone else.

After we all tore through our respective piles, it was time for the mystery gift. We converged on it, tearing at the paper like ravenous dogs. I, in no way was expecting to see the large box emblazoned with the now legendary insignia, and I went berserk; running around in circles, screaming like a madman. I'll never forget the first time I powered it on, and playing SMB for the first time.

[cookie monster]

He still does this whenever he gets a gift.

[ExedExes]

I too was longsuffering in my quest for an NES. My folks were not too impressed that my 100+ game library for the Atari 2600/7800 would not be able to be played anymore. So I played it over as many houses as I could. Then that fateful day of Christmas 1989 -- Finally. Also got a mess of arcade ports. Played the hell out of it. Freaking Super Mario Bros. It was already OLD by the time, but I could finally play it for more than 5 minutes at a time.

As long as I waited for a NES, I did not have to wait long for a SNES. Working off a tip from my friend, I was expecting it to come out in September of '91, but I was told that it was out in August! So me and my mom went to Toys R Us to check it out. I was blown away by that demo of Super Mario World. 5 minutes later, I walked away to check out the other Nintendo stuff thinking nothing about getting it. Little did I know, while I was away.... so we left the store, I assumed we were empty handed. I went back to my NES for the day, then a few hours later I was called to the basement. I saw the box for what was probably the greatest thing ever. The freaking SUPER NES. I about cried. Minutes later, I'm rocking out with Super Mario World and saying OMG THATS A BULLET BILL in that first world. I call my friend to brag and it was a fine day. I also returned home after a day out the next day to see my folks also picked up the other 2 launch titles, F-Zero and Pilotwings. Serious O M G moment. They spent nearly $350 in 2 days but I had the entire SUPER NES library and everything else to go along with it. Great times, man. Great times, and a happy memory.

[pakopako]

My best memories are now the times I spent as a youth playing with friends. Discovering new dungeons in Zelda with the neighborhood kids, getting my ass kicked in Mortal Kombat, going head-to-head in Tetris...

...I feel so lonely...

(And strangely, playing modern FPS/fighting/etc. games with the same friends, just feels very hollow.)

[RyaNtheSlayA]

I remember spending lots of time completing and then playing skirmish mode in Age of Empires 2. When I got the Conquerers expansion I went nuts. I also really loved Zoo Tycoon. On the console side of things. I played Sonic 3 & K over and over again. I also played all the Spyro games to 100% completion and played a lot of Gran Turismo.

I guess one of the more prominent memories I hold is when I was getting close to 100% in the first Spyro, I waited till my parents went to bed (I was 7ish at the time) on a school night, snuck out to the living room, and completed it after a few hours. Sure I stay up till midnight almost every night but when you're 7 that's pretty damn late.

I also remember on my 8th birthday, we had decided to celebrate it a few days later instead of whenever my b-day actually was (October 26th). It puzzled me a bit...

Guess what came out on Oct. 26 2001?

That black box gave me so much joy for many years.

[o.pwuaioc]

The first time I got a Sega Genesis: model 1, came with Sonic 1, and man oh man I played that game non-stop for weeks. Then I got Sonic 2. Holy crap! Then years later I was surprised with Sonic 3! Best game ever! Then Sonic and Knuckles with lock-on technology? Pure euphoria.

Late nights when I was a young lad staying up late playing Sonic 2 with my Game Gear plugged into the wall.

The competitions and in general competitive play kids used to have playing Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter II; the awesomeness of Street Fighter II Turbo and Mortal Kombat II. The jaw-dropping goodness from Mortal Kombat III and Super Street Fighter.

My first successive discoveries of great SNES RPGs with Link to the Past, Secret of Mana, then finally Final Fantasy II, by far still my favorite turn-based RPG to date. As I mentioned here, these three games, along with the Sonics and a handful of other SNES games (Mega Man X, Super Metroid, Demon's Crest, and Contra III) really established my gaming tastes, and my memories with them are the fondest.

Surprisingly enough, even though I transitioned from a Sega fanboy to a Nintendo fan in the mid-90s, the N64 did very little for me. I was limited to very few games, but still, it took the PlayStation for me to get really excited again: Legend of Dragoon did it. It was the first game that I owned for the PS1, and my first non-SNES RPG. It wasn't as great as FFIV, but it still blew me away.

Nowadays, my fondest memories are again with friends: playing Rogue Agent or Secret of Mana with sevin0seven and Gritty Kitty and friends, or BallZ3D tournament, or 4 hours of Robotron 64 with fvgazi tonight.

[foxhound1022]

Yeah, SNES was another big one for me as well. I believe that wasn't quite as a shock, since we were all told that if we got good grades until Christmas, that it would be the reward. I still was blown away by SMW when I first played it, though.

Another memory from that time was playing Art of Fighting with my older brother. I believe I had beaten him about 12 times in a row. My brother was always a terrible loser, most often punching me, or even using controllers as weapons. So after his 12th crushing defeat, he throws the controller at the entertainment center, and the impact popped the X button out, and flew back hitting him in the eye. I never laughed so hard since.

[indecks]

Playing the original Zelda on a cold rainy day where all you could do was stay inside.

Went through the whole game in one day with several breaks in between. Awesome.