Games that defined your life Top10 - With honorable mentions

[BurningDoom]

And all those threads are 2, 3, 4 years old.

So? There's no rule against necroposting if you have something constructive to say...

I'm not saying there is. I'm just saying some people don't like to dig that far back to find it. You do a search on here and most of the time you get 20 different threads that have similar words in it, but isn't the sort of thread you're actually looking for so you stop searching after that.

[Razzmatazz]

Picked this as it was the first game I EVER played. Must have been about 5 at the time and my dad had got a Master System II with this game built in, and I would just love watching him play it, I could barely get through the first few levels but he got up to the castle. We never did complete that game. But it kick-started my interest in all things gaming.



I had played games with more than one player before but this game was a REASON to go round someone's house to play 2 player. But it was a co-op game so it encouraged team work, I remember designating either the left or right half of the screen, or the top/bottom depending who you played with, designating health pickups to who needed it, planning boss fights, it wasn't the hardest game but it was ALWAYS fun, and still is. It looks a bit more dated than the other two in the trilogy but it's still my favourite one. I weren't a fan of the special moves that took a bit of health off, give me the cops with their heavy artillery anyday! Whilst the enemies danced lol.



This isn't a good game, especially now. But I was 9 and I was getting into football/soccer a lot at this age, I saw my first live game in the 96/97 season (Spurs v Sheffield Wed.) and remember spending hours on this game. I've always had a fascination with league tables too. But yeah this game isn't the greatest in the series, but remembering the savage noise a foul made, or being able to press A to make the commentator say GOAL! repeatedly was fun, if a little silly. But yeah this game co-incided with me getting into soccer/football til this day.



I picked this game because it brought me closer to my dad. We had a grey gameboy and only this game for it for about 5 years, and it was one of the only things we bonded with as he worked a lot of night shifts and long days. He was on it constantly and it's probably the only game he has loved other than Alex Kidd. I tried to get him into Goldeneye but he didn't like it.



This game was excellent at parties and gatherings and I just remember it being brought just as much as Goldeneye but anyone could play it, your sister, parents, kids, and it was one of the first games I was ever really good at!



This coincided with the start of watching wrestling around 1999 when WCW was on TNT and I watched Smackdown every week. I didn't have Sky Sports to watch RAW But this game was excellent and another one that was always out at N64 gatherings. It hasn't aged well but I loved the guys like Juventud Guerrera and Rey Mysterio Jr doing crazy moves.



This is and always will be my favourite game. I fell in love with it when I saw it on Sky (satellite TV) and they used to have shops on there where you could purchase games, and they were showing the bar brawl at the start of the game and it just blew me away. I had to have it. I bought it on the day of release (my parents made it my birthday present) but then it was released in November and I wasn't getting a Dreamcast until Xmas! So literally I stared at it on the shelf for a month. But when Xmas hit, I played it every day. Everybody who has played it knows it's set at Christmas too, and it just sums up December for me, that whole build up to Christmas and I just had to go to Japan after playing this game. I did go to Tokyo in 2006 after saving up on Mcdonalds wages, and it felt I had accomplished a dream. From a bloody computer game! This game opened me up to the world, other cultures, and I played it just as DVDs became popular. So at 14 I was watching all sorts of martial arts films and Japanese cartoons. I have played plenty of other one player adventures since but none have sucked me in and not let go. It's also the only game I ever purchased the soundtrack for!



This was the first game I imported, and it got me into the "scary" games, even though it's not that scary. I think it had the perfect blend of action and atmosphere, I couldn't get into previous "scary" games as the controls were so awkward. Other than Shenmue I think this would be my favourite game, but it made this list because it was the only real time I played my Gamecube a lot. For some reason I never got into Metroid, Mario Sunshine or Wind Waker (yes they are on my list of games to play through!) and F Zero I played in the arcade, but Resi 4 just felt like an adult game. Of course I loved GTA3 on the PS2 but it was still a mess about game too. I think as I was 18 when this came out, it represented a change in my gaming tastes.



This is a game that represented my time as a university student for 3 years. Even though the game is re-released each year with updates the circle of friends I was with at university just couldn't get enough of this game. It was the precursor to many a drunken night, getting laid, living away from parents and I used to walk home at 7am many mornings from a friends after a night of co-operative Master League.



I haven't had a PS3, I've dabbled with the Wii but this is the reason I keep going back to my 360. I've sold and had broken 360s but I always buy another, and the best memories I have had online involve trying to finish the final boss on Insane with a friend. I'm not a fan of online multiplayer usually as it can lack the banter and get too serious, but this game kind of represents gaming going full circle to the days of playing co-op Streets of Rage. For me anyway. I can't wait for #3.

[Gunstar Green]

I agree this is not really a rehash thread as the topic is different than your ten favorite games and is a lot more interesting.

I'll do this in chronological order since it's about games that have shaped my tastes as a gamer.

1. Super Mario Bros. (NES)

This is not only where video games turned from a toy to an obsession for some people it's when I went a kid who enjoyed video games to a kid who loved video games. I begged and begged for an NES which I finally got on my fifth birthday while everyone else was begging for a Sega Genesis and the SNES was just around the corner. I still have fond memories of firing it up for the first time and watching my dad run into the first goomba, dying, saying "this is stupid" and leaving the room.

2. Kirby's Adventure (NES)

The first game I ever remember beating. I was young and the difficulty was low and the power-stealing mechanic was incredible. There was so much variety in this little platformer. I'm also not a completionist gamer by any means but this was the first game I ever felt the drive to discover all of the secrets.

3. Sonic 3 & Knuckles (GEN)

The first Sonic game impressed me with its graphics and speed but this one called out to me in a way the others could not. I don't know if it was the game's length, graphics, different endings depending on your character and chaos emeralds, the lock-on cartridge gimmick or the simple, wordless story sequences but it's the reason I finally fell in love with my favorite console of all time, the Sega Genesis despite being late to the party when I got that console in the mid-nineties.

4. One Must Fall: 2097 (PC)

During the 16-bit era I took a detour into PC gaming and would stay there until the end of the PlayStation and N64 duel. I found a world of shareware titles that were open to me to try, many of which were far more complex and better looking than what was on the home consoles at the time. One Must Fall: 2097 was a fighting game with giant robots that at first glance was just another SF2 clone but the gameplay was smooth and simple. Every character had their own complex story to discover and the real meat and potatoes, the Tournament Mode, had you create your own character and added RPG elements where you bought and sold upgrades, trained your character, and even bought and sold robots. The fighting engine wasn't incredibly deep but it was incredibly fun and the other elements made the game feel far more complex to me than other fighting games of the time. It helped that I was falling head-over-heels in love with giant robots and science fiction at the time. This game was my gateway drug to the fighting genre.

5. Wing Commander II: Vengeance of the Kilrathi (PC)

The first game in this epic space opera that I played and still by far my favorite today. I never knew a video game could have such an incredible story of plot twists and drama. Main characters died, the good guys sometimes lost and the storyline branched depending on how you performed piloting your space fighter into battle against the Kilrathi empire. I came to love the entire series but this one left a major impact on me.

6. Mechwarrior 2: Mercenaries (PC)

Much like Wing Commander II and One Must Fall: 2097 before it this was a game that cemented my love of PC gaming at the time to a point where I wasn't even looking at the consoles other than when I was over at friends houses. I liked the original Mechwarrior 2 but it's prequel Mercenaries was awesome and really introduced me to the Battletech universe in ways the first Mechwarrior 2 did not. The action itself was incredible as you piloted a giant robot into battle but most of the missions required brains as well as brawn to pull off glorious bastardry and win against impossible odds. You also had to maintain your own mercenary unit by buying and selling mechs, hiring pilots, maintaining damaged mechs, buying ammo and other weapons. It made me feel like a part of a larger living-breathing universe.

7. Doom (PC)

What is there to say about Doom that hasn't been said? This along with Wolfenstein 3D were the games that kicked off the FPS genre and I loved them both and find them just as fun to play today due to their simplicity. Doom is what really upped the ante though and put you in dark and frightening environments. It's one of the first games I remember that really got my adrenaline pumping and made me jump. It was one of those moments in gaming when you started wondering how it was ever going to get any better than this.

8. StarCraft (PC)

I never really got into RTS games except for this one and I really got into this one. Probably the most addictive online game that wasn't an MMO. I had played Quake and a few other games online before this so it wasn't my first experience with competing over the Internet but there was something special about StarCraft. I also loved the single player mode but this was the first time I played one game pretty much exclusively because I didn't have any time to play anything else. Every waking moment that wasn't spent doing something constructive was spent playing StarCraft. I still love the game but because of how much time I spent with it when I was younger I can't bring myself to play it today.

9. Crazy Taxi (DC)

The goofy little arcade game that brought me back into the console fold. I remember playing the demo at an Electronics Boutique and going "I have to have this." The graphics blew me away and the Dreamcast showed so much promise and a possible return to form for my beloved Sega. I begged my parents for a Dreamcast that Christmas expecting them to flat out refuse but they agreed and got it for me. I was a bit disappointed when I didn't get Crazy Taxi under the tree until my godmother gave it to me later in the day. After this my love affair with the Dreamcast began full-swing.

10. Metroid Prime (GCN)

This was the reason I got a Gamecube. I loved the Metroid series and used to play a lot of Super Metroid with my friends and seeing Metroid finally make a comeback was a huge deal. I didn't really expect much from the first person perspective but to my surprise I found the game to play like a 3D Super Metroid! The feeling of exploration and discovery was still there. The environments were huge and beautiful. The bosses were big and awesome. It quickly became an instant classic in my book and even outshines Super Metroid in my blasphemous opinion.

Edit: Forgot the honorable mentions.

Combat (2600): my first videogame, Vanguard (2600): first shmup-like game, Mega Man (NES): first game to beat me to death where I didn't want to give up, Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES): spent the most time in probably any of my consoles, Streets of Rage (Gen): showed me how fun senseless violence in games could be, MUSHA (Gen): game that really got me into vertical shmups, Thunder Force III (Gen): game that really got me into horizontal shmups, Mortal Kombat II (Gen): along with Doom it hooked me on the ultra-violent fad of the time, Earthsiege 2 (PC): Goes hand in hand with the Mechwarrior games for me though not as high quality, The Red Baron (PC): first flight sim I got into that wasn't Wing Commander, Starfleet Academy (PC): loved the FMV in this game along with the later Wing Commander titles, Quake (PC): first online game, Half-Life (PC): singleplayer blew my mind and the online mods were incredible, Marvel vs. Capcom 2 (DC): got me way more into fighters, Bangai-O (DC): helped me learn about Treasure, one of my favorite deveolpers, Virtual On (Arc): a giant robot fighting game that feels like it was made just for me, the only arcade machine that I really badly want to own.

[dsheinem]

I agree this is not really a rehash thread as the topic is different than your ten favorite games and is a lot more interesting.

Ok, I guess I didn't get it before but I get it now. My apologies - like I said I was in a bad mood..

To make up for it, I'll even join in, though I'm going to pair these up:



Parsec and Hopper (TI99/4A) - I used to play both of these games quite frequently as a kid...the best part was that I played them with my parents and grandparents, who genuinely enjoyed them as well. They still have solid gameplay mechanics and "hold up" well. I think I'll bring my TI with me next time I head to mom and dad's and see if they want to reminisce



Choplifter and Touchdown Football (7800) - I had about 10 games for the 7800 when I was a kid, but these are the two I probably played the most (though Centipede and Joust were close). Choplifter had a great pick up and play for 5 minutes feel to it, but the game session could also go for hours if I was really invested. Touchdown Football is the first game I can remember playing frequently with my younger brother, and even though the gameplay is pretty horrible by today's standards it was amazing to us as kids.




Castle Adventure and Mach 3 - x86 PC - I played these games quite a bit on our first home PC, an old x86 with an amber screen! Castle Adventure plugged along nicely and was the first rpg of sorts I can remember playing (other than maybe Swordquest). Mach 3 had to run via simulated CGA graphics (anyone who had to type "simcga" followed by "cls" in DOS knows what I mean), but impressed me nonetheless.



Sonic the Hedgehog and NBA Jam - Sega Genesis - of all the Genesis games I owned, these are the two I sunk the most time into. I am glad to say I still own both of the original carts that I did when I was a kid, and both of them still work expertly. In my opinion Sonic has never topped his first outing, and I played this game so much that I started creating my own lyrics to the different tunes heard in the game. NBA Jam was my brother and I's go to game of choice.




Doom (PC and 32X) - As I was entering high school I became invested in more "mature" games such as Blood, ROTT, Wolfenstein, and other FPSs that doled out the gore. I spent more time with Doom than any of them, splitting my time between both the PC and 32X ports fairly regularly.



Final Fantasy series and Twisted Metal series (PS1) - Like many, Final Fantasy was the first real RPG I became invested in for hours and hours, and played through to completion and more. I played 7, 8, and 9 while in college when I wanted some gaming time to myself. I also spent a lot of time playing Twisted Metal 1 and 3 (and sometimes 2) with roommates all four years. Many a drunken afternoon was spent searching for power missles with Spectre. Mr. Grimm, or Warthog.



Quake III and Unreal Tournament (PC) - These were the other big time wasters in college, and I got pretty good at both. I remember staying up very late playing matches online, setting up LAN matches with friends on campus, and tweaking settings out the wazoo to get a perfect performance/graphics balance. These are probably still the best games of this type to come along, as the arcade simplicity has unfortunately given way to classes, complexity, etc.

I am going to leave last gen and current gen stuff off the list, as I started becoming much more interested in current AND retro gaming, pouring more money into the hobby, and moving from game to game much quicker. Part of the reasons these games defined my growing up was because I had limited access to (or funds to purchase) things I may have been interested in. If I got a game for Christmas, that might be it until I had a summer job and could buy something else!

Anyway, that's already more than 10 titles, but my honorable mentions would go to Joust (7800), JumpJoe (x86), Madden 94 and Gaiares (Genesis), NHL 97 and 99 (PS1), and Half Life (PC).

[Evildeadmanwalking77]

No particular order:
1-Super Mario Bros 1-3
2-The Legend of Zelda (NES)
3-Pitfall (Atari)
4-Pacman (Atari & arcade)
5-Donkey Kong (Atari & Arcade)
6-Resident Evil (PS1)
7-GTA 3 (PS2)
8-Gears of War (Xbox 360)
9-TMNT the arcade game
10-Mortal Kombat (arcade & Genesis)

Honorable mention:
Night Trap (sega cd)
Berzerk (atari)
DK Junior (arcade & atari)
Pro Wrestling (NES)
Venture (atari)
Worms (PS1)
Double Dragon (arcade & NES)
Streets of Rage (Genesis)
Sonic the Hedge Hog 1-Sonic & knuckles (genesis)
Toe Jam & Earl (genesis)
RC Pro Am (NES)
Mike Tyson's Puch Out (NES)
New Super Mario Bros Wii
Rock Band series
Left for Dead (Xbox 360)
Call of Duty series
Castlevania (NES)
Tecmo Bowl (NES)

[Gamerforlife]

There's probably a lot more than 10 I could mention, but I'll try and narrow it down

1. Street Fighter II - Like many people, my love for 2D fighters started here. Well, actually, I don't really play 2D fighters anymore but I was obsessed with them at one point and it was because of SFII. I remembered the first time I saw it at the Southside Bowling Lanes arcade in Scranton Pennsylvania. I had never seen anything like it and had to play. Took me FOREVER before I finally understood how to actually do the specials. You wouldn't believe how long I ended up playing that game using just regular attacks While I give the Street Figher series my respect, my favorite 2D fighting series now would be Darkstalkers, followed by the versus games, Marvel Super Heroes and Rival Schools

2. Super Mario Bros. - One of the first games that I owned and finished. Since then I have played many platformers over the years and it is one of my favorite genres

3. Double Dragon(NES) - This and Super Mario Bros. were my first NES games. Tough time I had with this game, but I did beat it and have always had an interest in beat'em ups ever since. I remember when Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles arcade came out I was obsessed with it. I never was any good at it though, but when TMNT II: The Arcade Game came out on the NES I played that game over and over and over again. I could beat the whole game solo without dying once

4. Balloon Fight(NES) - I don't know if this was the first game I ever played, but it is the earliest I can remember. I played it at a friend's house and was intrigued by it. Balloon Fight, Double Dragon, Super Mario Bros., Popeye(Atari 2600)and Space Invaders(also Atari 2600) are the earliest games I remember playing. I don't remember if the Atari 2600 was my first console or the NES, but they both got me into gaming. The NES is the console that got me hooked though

5. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles(arcade) - Probably the first time an arcade game really amazed me. I was obsessed with going to the arcade and playing this game every chance I got. Ever since playing TMNT, arcades seemed like a magical place to me. Funny, since looking back it wasn't that amazing of a game. Still, it furthered my love for beat'em ups leading to me putting hours and hours into other beat'ems over the years like Ninja Warriors on the SNES and Streets of Rage 2 on the Genesis

6. Final Fantasy 6 or 3 depending on what region the game was released in.
My first Final Fantasy game and my first rpg, I have been an on again off again fan of rpgs ever since and a pretty hardcore Final Fantasy fan. FF is the only rpg series that has always been must buy games for me

7. Ico - Changed my view on what games were capable of artistically and emotionally and there are still very few games I have played that can match it in those areas, if any at all.

8. Viva Pinata - Like Ico, changed how I view games. This game was original, creative, charming, endearing, addicting and fun in a way no other game I have played has been. It's one of the only really "next gen" feeling games I have played this console generation

9. Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition(Xbox 360) - This is the game that actually made me check out other SCUMM games

10. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic - Made me a Bioware fan and was my first real exposure to western style rpgs.

I could list other games probably and maybe some honorable mentions, but I think this is enough

[mluitjens]

In no particular order:

1. Super Mario Bros. (NES)
2. Metal Gear: Peace Walker (PSP)
3. Tiny Toon Adventures (Genesis)
4. Contra (NES)
5. GTA: San Andreas (Xbox)
6. Pokemon Crystal (GB Color)
7. Zelda: A Link to the Past (Super NES)
8. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Genesis)
9. Final Fantasy IX (PS1)
10. Super Smash Bros. (Nintendo 64)

Honorable mentions:
Sonic the Hedgehog 3, Super C, Legend of Zelda, Twisted Metal, Super Mario Bros. 3, Aerofighters, Metal Slug, Star Wars KOTOR

[env963]

Not in any order at all.

Mike Tyson's Punch out!! - NES
Super Mario Bros - NES
Alien Vs Predator - Atari Jaguar
Legend Of Zelda - NES
Quake - PC
Unreal Tournament 3 - PC
Mortal Kombat II - PC/Genesis
Final Fantasy VII - PSX
Pacman/Ms. Pacman - All platforms
Rez - Dreamcast



Honorable mentions

Tempest 2000 - Atari Jaguar
Panzer Dagoon Saga - Saturn
River City Ransom - NES
Tecmo Bowl - NES

[BLAST PROCESSOR]

I agree this is not really a rehash thread as the topic is different than your ten favorite games and is a lot more interesting.

Ok, I guess I didn't get it before but I get it now. My apologies - like I said I was in a bad mood..

Glad you contributed.Great list there!

Get in a better mood, buddy! You're among friends here.

[Smashed Brother]

In no real particular order:

- Castlevania Symphony of the Night (PSX). This game is pure perfection. Games like this are the reason to even play games. The beautiful graphics, the perfect gameplay, all of the items to get and secrets to find...and of course, the soundtrack. Back then, this game really became a part of who I was.

- Super Mario Kart (SNES). The first real competitive multiplayer game that I spent time with. It was a fantastic single-player game in its own right, but playing along with other people really opened it up. I used to play this game with my mom when I was a teen!

- Super Smash Bros Melee (GCN). Right up there next to SOTN as pure gaming perfection. I have invested hundreds of hours into the multiplayer aspect of this. It all started with my 2 roommates and I, staying up to 4 in the morning playing this. Then I started inviting people from work to play...and then other non-gaming friends in my group...and then their friends and so on. I haven't even mentioned the awesome gameplay, music and homages to all things Nintendo!

- Tekken 3 (PSX). Another multiplayer game that really had an effect on me. This game took all of the greatness from parts 1&2 and really amplified them. I remember spending countless nights, learning combos for Hwoarang and all of the different throws for King in anticipation of fighting against like-minded friends. Making new friends with this game. Before SSB Melee, this was the goto fighting game. Sure, part 5 is better but this stuck with me for much longer.

- Super Mario Bros 3 (NES). Saw it in The Wizard, rented it and loved it. Then one day, my mom came home and suprised me....with my own brand-new copy! My whole life became this game. Many hours were spent with this game, exploring every level, every nook and cranny. This one still stomps all over every Mario game out there. I can still hear the soundtrack to this game if I close my eyes for a minute...

- Soul Calibur (DC). When I popped this into my shiny new DC, I knew that the next level of games had truly arrived! This was the most amazing looking game that I had ever seen, and once I made it past that, the depth of this title was revealed. My old buddy Joe and I would play this on a nightly basis between round of Tekken 3, sometimes staying up until 5 in the morning. It was like a chess game between the two of us. Good times...

- Metal Gear Solid (PSX). This was an amazing title that moved me emotionally in so many ways. Such an amazing story and just a great experience all-around. I became proficient enough in this game to beat it in under 2 hours, so I would just show people how awesome this game was. Part 2&3 were also fantastic, but to me, they're not as memorable as the first game.

-Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX 2 (Xbox). This really isn't a great game per se, but it was the Wipeout mode that really captured my imagination. That, combined with the ragdoll-like physics and the numerous(that's a severe understatement) gliches in this game made for an experience that lasted many years. My buddy Rick would come over and we'd play this stupid game for hours on end, exploiting every piece of sloppy programming that this game had to offer. It really was something to look forward to, beleive it or not!

- River City Ransom (NES). My first real exposure to the Technos style of gameplay, I had rented this when I was a kid. I invited some of the neighborhood kids over and we played the shit out of this game. So much so, that this became a regular rental for me. Every aspect of this game is just enjoyable, and the soundtrack is amazing. I love this game so much that I own nearly every version of it, including the incredibly expensive PC Engine game!

- Double Dragon II (Arcade). Even though the NES (and PCE) version is superior, my absolute favorite beat-em-up would have to be this version. It's slow and glitchy, but it really moved me when I first played it in the arcade back in the day. I loved the post-apocalyptic graphic style and the dark, synth soundtrack...so much so that it carries over into my modern day tastes with movies and music and even video games. I still play it on MAME at least once a week when time allows.