What video game has influenced your love of video games the most?

[Salvatore19]

For me it would have been Pokemon blue version. sure i played video games before but this game is what drove me to be almost addicted to video games. i would play this 8 hours a day nonstop.

[Tavrobel]

Pokemon Red, because it is better.

[Christmas]

Final Fantasy!! :bigsmile:

[The Man]

I doubt I'd ever have started playing games without Super Mario Bros., so I'd have to say that. Legend of Zelda would be pretty high up on the list as well. FFVI influenced my taste for awhile when it got me to play RPGs for several years, but I'm back to playing mostly action/adventure games.

[theundeadhero]

My gaming experience started with watching my dad play Legend of Zelda and then playing it myself. Six years later I played Final Fantasy and fell into the world of RPGs. It wasn't my first, I had beaten Dragon Warrior I before, but FFI drew me into the system and I still love RPGs.

[Khimbar2775]

though i will concede pokemon red/blue got me hooked in, i wouldnt attribute it to my video game "hook." i was weaned from watching my older brother play (and subsequently play myself) Secret of Mana, FFVII, FFT, and Ocarina of Time

[The Last Oath]

I did play hours and hours and use the same number of batteries for playing several Pokemons on my gameboy.

Final Fantasy is up the top too and the Metal Gear Series i guess.

[Shattered Dreamer]

My earliest gaming memory was age 4 playing on a Street Fighter arcade machine:D Flimbo's Quest on the C64 can take a lot of the credit for my love of gaming only finished it once but it was an epic. The Fifa series, Tekken series, GTA, Final Fantasy 7 & 8 & the Age Of Empires series also deserve most honorable mentions :D

[Raistlin]

Super Mario World and the Super Mario Bros. series were the first games I played to death. I was 5 or so at the time. Another one of my early favorites was Zombies Ate My Neighbors. Oh, and Kirby for Gameboy. Hours and hours of Kirby growing up.

For a more specific genre, Breath of Fire III really got me into RPGs (I played Super Mario RPG first but I didn't go out and find more RPGs because of it). I was... 10, maybe?

[Bunny]

As much as I hate the series nowadays, Final Fantasy was single-handedly responsible for my initial enjoyment and interest of video games as a child. Swords and Serpents and Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Pool of Radiance furthered my interest in different types of role-playing games.

[Vermachtnis]

Mega Man, specifically Mega Man 4. It's that as my first game ever played. And Skull Man was the first boss I've ever beaten. You could jump and shoot and charge and slide. It was awesome! Also I think I was a better at it when I little cause I beat Pharaoh Man first once. I can't do that now.

[Quindiana Jones]

Nuclear Strike on the PS1 is the reason I play games anyway. I don't know how many times I've completed that game. And credit has to go to FF9 for introducing me to Final Fantasy, which are easily the most influential games I've ever played.

[Shoeberto]

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past is probably the most influential game to me, having first played it at such a young age and being absolutely blown away by it. This was before I even knew that the Zelda series was so popular and well-regarded. I went into it expecting just another game, and then it became the benchmark by which I judged other games for years. Wonderful, wonderful game.

[Bolivar]

I wanna say Super Mario Bros. and Tiger Heli, they kinda solidified my passion but they were early ones.

Like others I partially want to give it to gameboy games like pokemon for the obsession side, and other game boy classics like Mario Land 2, Wario Land, and Zelda: Link's Awakening.

Shining Force got me into RPG's and Final Fantasy VII pretty much made it a done deal. Command & Conquer got me into PC games and RTS, so with computer RTS and console RPG's being my driving force, I'll say any which of those 3 games.

[Momiji]

Although I've been a video game fan ever since my dad let me play Super Mario Bros. for NES when I was 2, I think the game that really sealed me as a fan of video games over all was either Dragon Warrior or The Legend of Zelda, both of which I played when I was just a little older. I've gone through a handful of 'phases' as a gamer since then-- I went from being a Zelda fan (oh god I could remember how I almost wet my pants when I got Ocarina of Time when it came out), to being a huge Pokémon fan (which I still am today) to broadening my horizons to other RPGs, to being an arcade fan.

If I had to give a list of games that have influenced me to keep loving games over the years, I'd have to say...

Legend of Zelda (got me into gaming more than anything else)
Dragon Warrior (my first RPG)
Super Mario RPG (just 'cause it's a great game)
Pokémon Red (really got me into handheld gaming, and was just such a fun game)
Kingdom Hearts (got me into Final Fantasy)
Final Fantasy IV and VI (renewed my love for older games)
Mushihimesama (sparked my interest in shmups, and is my favorite game to this day (thanks, Jeremy))

[McLovin']

Tomb Raider. Then onto Mario. Then to FF.

Tomb Raider was friggin scary. Dem tigers.

[Levian]

Super Mario Bros was the first game I played, but I found it pretty boring. Still do! I think what first made me spend hours in front of the TV was playing various multiplayer SNES games with a buddy. Lost Vikings, Mystical Ninja, Street Fighter II, Donkey Kong & Super Mario World. In that order probably.

Final Fantasy VII was probably the one that got me sitting there alone though.

[Nifleheim7]

Tomb Raider 2
Final Fantasy VII
Shadow of the Colossus

and currently i'm under the influence of Demon's Souls.This game will probably make me hate every other game i play afterwards.

[Vermachtnis]

Everytime someone says something from the PSOne Era and above I feel old.

[Kossage]

The game that really got me interested in video games was Turrican II: The Final Fight for Amiga 500. Awesome graphics, addictive gameplay, kickass soundtrack... it opened a whole new world to me and still remains as one of my favourite games. :)

[leader of mortals]

When I was younger, I had an nes and a sega...

The sega broke, so I played the nes. My brother, later, got a psx, so I played that, and my favorite game was FF7. If it weren't for FF7, my mom would not have thrown out my nes, and I probably would have stuck with nintendo though the generations instead of Sony, so I would call FF7 most influential to me.

[theundeadhero]

I only owned an NES from 1986-1997, not counting a gameboy. It was in 1997 I bought a SNES and then not until 2001 when I bought a PS.

[eestlinc]

The Legend of Zelda was the first game I ever had dreams about. What a great game.

[Dreddz]

Final Fantasy VII. While it was Sonic on the Megadrive which got me into gaming, it was FFVII that made me realise how much video games could effect me. I realised that games weren't just about having quick reflexes. I suddenly had a greater appreciation for the music and worlds that occupy these games. It wasn't till Deus Ex that I started to appreciate the characters and story within a game though.

[JKTrix]

I'd say my gaming 'renaissance' happened during my first year of college in 2001/2002, when the Xbox 1 came out. The main thing was Halo 1, but there was also stuff like Soul Calibur 1 that were mainstays at the school's 'gaming club'. I've been around video games my whole life, but with just the NES and 'all the gameboys' growing up, it was largely a single-player thing. But the first time I hooked up with 15 other guys to play Halo in one room over 4 screens, it was like magic.

In high school, I had played several different PC multiplayer games over the school's LAN and Internet--stuff like Jedi Knight, Starcraft, Chasm, Diablo and the first few Unreal games, but playing with all those people in the same place was totally different. So looking back, Halo 1 is probably what really sparked my current fervor for videogames, while my 'heritage' still draws me to portable games.

[Barraza]

Mine is much earlier: when I was five, playing Final Fantasy IV for the first time.

I had played other games, of course, and they were fun as hell for a child, but Final Fantasy IV just seemed so adult (ironically, it's pretty childish). But that got me craving, and even at a young age (talking six or seven) I became a bit of a snob - I only liked "games with stories". Period.

[silent_symphony]

Hmm.. Me? when I was three yrs old, I started playing Super Mario Bros. and soon came the Mega Man series and enjoy wooping Dr. Wily's behind..(started at Mega Man 1 @ the age of 7)

[I Don't Need A Name]

Took up Tomb Raider 2 as my first PC game, along with the original Age Of Empires.
Although it was Guardians Crusade that started off my love for gaming (especially RPGs). From then on, it was Final Fantasy VII (even though I now regard it as a poor title compared to the rest of the FFs) and Metal Gear Solid that took up the obsession xD. And obviously Pokémon Red and Blue took over hand held gaming

[P4ine]

zelda: a link to the past or super mario brothers 3, maybe both

[~*~Celes~*~]

Super Mario Bros. 3 was my first game at the age of 3. Then we got an SNES a couple of years later and I got into Link to the Past, Zombies Ate My Neighbors, Killer Instinct, Mortal Kombat... Pretty much my first video game was my gateway game :p

[Depression Moon]

Pokemon Red, because it is better.
:hahaha: Please it's all about the Blue. On topic. For me probably not a surprise to anyone was Final Fantasy IX. That game really pulled me into those passive slower playing games that really engages you with their stories. Made me look at games differently.

[Madame Adequate]

Pretty difficult. Hmmm. The first game I played which really, really got me into gaming, as opposed to just being a fun thing to do... Hmmmm...

This is incredibly difficult. Going back that far I really can't remember what I played when. Everything I can think of, I know I was playing stuff before it, like my Amstrad CPC, and various friend's/family member's Amigas. A little later I got my own Master System, then a Mega Drive, which was probably when it really started for me. I can say with certainty that Theme Park is up there very, very highly in importance. If I could ever have been dissuaded from the path of gaming, I think Theme Park ended that possibility forever. Edit: Scratch that. Thinking about it, I was lost when I played Sonic the Hedgehog.

[black orb]

>>> Atari games..http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y156/rodv/Luca-Walk-Front.gif

[Laddy]

I know saying FFVII is a good game is equal to saying Hitler was a pretty awesome guy around here, but FFVII is the game I cherished the most, its story, while poorly explained, was masterfully written, with a fantastic combat system, and an immersive world.

Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn blended gameplay and storyline masterfully, as one of the best-written games ever, and Bioware's crowning acheivement. (Which is saying a lot.)

[Shadow Bahamut]

i think the ONLY game i really played and completed way back then was FFVII. i did have a Sega Megadrive before the PS and played Sonic most of the time. But i'd have to say it was thanks to Squaresoft with FFVII that got me truly into games.

i miss Squaresoft... Enix can never take the legendary stand that S-soft had! (even though they're givin it a damn good try with FFXIII :p )


I know saying FFVII is a good game is equal to saying Hitler was a pretty awesome guy around here, but FFVII is the game I cherished the most, its story, while poorly explained, was masterfully written, with a fantastic combat system, and an immersive world.

Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn blended gameplay and storyline masterfully, as one of the best-written games ever, and Bioware's crowning acheivement. (Which is saying a lot.)

sorry for the double post guys, but i just saw this and.. how can anyone say FFVII was a "bad" game?? i mean, come on, for its time, it was well ahead. Some say the story was poorly explained, BUT, it did it's job, it kept everyone questioning the endless unanswerable questions which left the game open for debate. That, i think, is what lead to its unrivalled sucess.
I say it was a legend.

[PrincessRosalina]

Super Mario Galaxy

Mario Kart Wii

Final Fantasy VI and IV then later X and X-2

[krissy]

>>> Atari games..http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y156/rodv/Luca-Walk-Front.gif

ya

bleep bleep bleep
bloop bloop bloop

the one where you were killing spiders from a rooftop
soccer with dots
western shooter

[Freya]

My mom is a huge tetris fan so I guess that started the whole thing in my family. So I was a gamer when I was an infant blah blah.

Tetris. That's the game that started my gaming.

[Laddy]

i think the ONLY game i really played and completed way back then was FFVII. i did have a Sega Megadrive before the PS and played Sonic most of the time. But i'd have to say it was thanks to Squaresoft with FFVII that got me truly into games.

i miss Squaresoft... Enix can never take the legendary stand that S-soft had! (even though they're givin it a damn good try with FFXIII :p )


I know saying FFVII is a good game is equal to saying Hitler was a pretty awesome guy around here, but FFVII is the game I cherished the most, its story, while poorly explained, was masterfully written, with a fantastic combat system, and an immersive world.

Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn blended gameplay and storyline masterfully, as one of the best-written games ever, and Bioware's crowning acheivement. (Which is saying a lot.)

sorry for the double post guys, but i just saw this and.. how can anyone say FFVII was a "bad" game?? i mean, come on, for its time, it was well ahead. Some say the story was poorly explained, BUT, it did it's job, it kept everyone questioning the endless unanswerable questions which left the game open for debate. That, i think, is what lead to its unrivalled sucess.
I say it was a legend.There's a lot of anti-VII guys and gals here. And it's usually for silly reasons.

[Shadow Bahamut]

There's a lot of anti-VII guys and gals here. And it's usually for silly reasons.

Lol, thats a little retarded... thats the game that basically set the base-lines for all later FF's. I can just about understand the original FF fans from the days of 8-Bit pixels...they were amazing in their own way.

[Jiro]

Final Fantasy VII. While it was Sonic on the Megadrive which got me into gaming, it was FFVII that made me realise how much video games could affect me.

Yeah, something like this. FFVII was a pretty heavy obsession for me for a long time, and then it spread to the rest of the FF series. And now it just goes wherever. I lurve me some games :D

[vinnie's mini's]

I would have to say it was probably 'The legend of Zelda: A link to the past' that really got me into gaming. I used to watch my parents play it all of the time - Due to the fact that I was indeed a small infant at the time - and I always loved everything about it! The colours, sprites, music and even the sound effects. Obviously when I started playing it I didn't really get the whole idea that there was a storyline to follow, so I would normally run around until I'd eventually end up at the digging mini game thing (Holy waffle I loved that mini game so much for some reason O.o ).

It's a game that I just can't compare any other to. It holds a lot of great memories for me and I never get tired of playing it - even though I know exactly where everything is and how to complete things. To this day my Mum and I start singing the music as soon as we hear it start, it's great! xD

[MadeOfApples]

Legend of Zelda.

Before it, I never played a game that was non-linear, that large, or just that difficult. I remember drawing paper maps of dungeons and where to find secrets with the candle on the world map, taking these to school, and comparing them to my classmates. Fantastic stuff.

Even with my interest in Video Games nearly depleted, this game still makes me fall in love with them all over again.

[Black Magic Shopkeeper]

I can't even remember.
I think, as crazy as it sounds, it might have been Road Rash, Asterix and the Great Rescue, or Shaq Fu. More than likely Shaq Fu. I didn't even know about RPGs until FF8.

[Moon Rabbits]

http://3aymun.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/syberia.jpg

[Bunny]

There's a lot of anti-VII guys and gals here. And it's usually for silly reasons.

Lol, thats a little retarded... thats the game that basically set the base-lines for all later FF's.

You are absolutely correct about this. Which is why they've all sucked.

[Raistlin]

FF7 isn't that bad. I thought it was fun (and way better than FF8). It definitely helped me get into RPGs, though the "most influential" in that category for me would have to go to Breath of Fire III, as previously mentioned (followed by Suikoden II).

[Zeldy]

I first got into videogames after watching my brother playing Zelda: Ocarina of Time. He was four years older, so I'd just sit happily and watch him for hours before playing it myself when I was older.

I've just started playing FF7 again and I love it!

[Rocket Edge]

Final Fantasy VIII.