Comfort Gaming

[Scotty_ffgamer]

Are there any games you can always go to when you are having a bad day or are simply really stressed out? I find that I tend to either go to games or movies when I'm feeling down, and it's often the same batch of games that I'll play.

1. FF VIII - Whether I actually play it or not, this is the first game I think about playing on bad days.
2. Kingdom Hearts 1
3. Donkey Kong Country
4. Star Fox 64
5. Any NES Mario game/Super Mario World

[Loony BoB]

When everything is going to crap, when all else has failed and I can't go on with dealing with life anymore... FreeCell, I love you, never change. :<3:

[Quindiana Jones]

The intro music to FFIX is pretty much the best music for getting me started. It makes me take the first step forward, whether that be getting on through some hard times, or just getting on and fixing the broken sink.

[Bolivar]

Call of Duty and Dota although I can't say they always give me the comfort I'm seeking :(

[Slothy]

Just about any decent murder simulator will do. CS: GO lately. But, if that's not doing it for me, I always have the catharsis that comes from playing Gran Turismo.

[Pete for President]

There is always Ace Combat for me to unwind and blow things up, FFX whenever I feel sad, and of course Dark Souls for everything else.

Guitar Hero used to be one of those games too, but I haven't played in ages.

[Scotty_ffgamer]

I used to do DDR whenever I was frustrated in middle school/early high school. Guitar Hero took it's place in high school. In college it was Just Cause 2 with friends. The ones I had already listed are ones that never get old for me, though, and I can always turn to them to cheer me up.

[krissy]

when i feel terrible i play zone of the enders 2 start to end on easy and i feel really powerful again

[Scotty_ffgamer]

That reminds me.... I need to beat Zone of Enders 2. I have it on my PS3, but I didn't beat the first one until the end of my last semester of school and didn't have time for the second one.

[krissy]

it's way better in terms of everything
and i liked zoe 1 just fine

[Pike]

Any TES game, but Morrowind and Skyrim in particular. Something about Tamriel just makes it easy to lose myself in the world and keep my thoughts "bounded" by the screen so I don't think about any outside crud going on in my life.

[Del Murder]

Tetris or any of the 2D SMB games.

[Shorty]

I look at comfort gaming as more of a nostalgic experience, so when I feel that way I cycle through old PC games from my childhood. Any of the old Sierra games (namely Laura Bow and the Dagger of Amon Ra), They Journeyman Project, and any of the silly old DOS games I used to play (Hugo's House of Horrors, Cosmo's Cosmic Adventures).

I only maaaybe do this once a year or so, though. If I'm having a bad day or am stressed out, I do something other than play games.

[Shiny]

Knights, Super Mario Bros All Stars and Street Fighter 2 were all my favorite games when I was a little tot, so playing those are very nostalgic for me but they also relax me. Knights in particular has a very relaxing and hypnotic power over me. O_O

[Lone Wolf Leonhart]

I used to be in love with The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of time.

There was a period of time as a kid where I would come home, turn that game on, and just walk around. After I had beaten the game, I would still turn it on and walk around towns talking to NPCs. I would make up my own quests to do as well. One that sticks out is I would walk in to every dungeon, go straight to the defeated boss room, and teleport out. I would keep doing that in consecutive order all the way up to Ganon's Castle. I can't tell you how many times I beat that last boss.

In this example, comfort gaming for me was not about trying to escape the outside world, it was about me being so attached to the game world that I wasn't ready to leave it even after completion of the game. To this day the only item in the entire game I'm missing is the 4th glass bottle (shooting the special poes on horseback in Hyrule Field). I just couldn't seem to find them all on the field. It was the "item that got away".

Another game that brings me great comfort is The Legend of Dragoon. It's my favorite game of all time and I spent countless hours playing it. I did everything there possibly was to do in that game (50 stardust, optional super boss, all side quests etc)Something that brought me comfort was the music. I remember going to Shirley's Shrine and just "chilling out" there. Walking around, getting in to random battles, riding the train cart. I probably picked this area because of the beautiful white cobble stone everywhere and the way relaxing music.

Legend Of Dragoon Music ~ Shirley Shrine - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LstiMEhrKjE)

[Aulayna]

Bejeweled 3
Plants vs Zombies
Bejeweled Blitz
Minecraft

Really simple casual games, but find them easy to unwind too as anything more indepth can sometimes just cause me to get more wound up.

[Del Murder]

Oh, Zelda 1 is definitely my all-time favorite comfort game. I can play that game any where at any time.

[Scotty_ffgamer]

I've actually been playing through Zelda 1 the past couple of days, and it is an oddly comforting game for me. More so than I thought it would be. I really should get out of the habit of using games as comfort when I'm extremely stressed out or something. I don't do it as much anymore, but I used to just shirk off nearly all responsibility for days until I complete everything in FF8 or something equally as time consuming as a means to escape my problems. Obviously, that usually made situations worse, heh.

[Pike]

Oh yes, another vote for the original LoZ. That game is GREAT for relaxing or stress relief or really anything.

Sonic 2 as well.

[Iceglow]

First person shooters or fighting games. When I get pissed off it's good to just let the violence seep out of me in a medium which doesn't involve me actually hurting people.

[TrollHunter]

Probably painkiller, it's so insanely ridiculous I cant help but smile.