Games Throughout Our Lives

[Roto13]

You mean sit through another one of your bullet hell videos? No, I don't think I can. ;P

[Momiji]

I rest my case then.

[I Don't Need A Name]

199? - Stunt Car Racer on my parents' Amiga 500

Can't remember bugger all about this apart from playing it so much that the Amiga actually broke

oh my god, i forgot this existed. this game was awesome.

[scrumpleberry]

I'm too lazy to post screens or explain them. All games which I've been proper obsessed with at one point or another -

1. Spyro the Dragon (very first game, bought to shut me up whilst moving into new flat <33333)
2. Grandia
3. Final Fantasy IX
4. Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee (yeah I don't really know either.)
5. Grandia II
6. Final Fantasy VI
7. Guild Wars
8. Ocarina of Time

Pretty much in that order. The sims 2 doesn't count because it didn't do anything good for me except for greatly increase my interbuttz browzing skillz as I was a proper downloads h0r.

edit: HOW COULD I FORGET POKÉMON RED AND CIVILISATION II AND THE SETTLERS IV

[theundeadhero]

I've also been gamig for over 20 years. I just picked the most impressional games of the times. I could have easily listed more games for every system out there.

[Wolf Kanno]

I've also been gamig for over 20 years. I just picked the most impressional games of the times. I could have easily listed more games for every system out there.

Yeah but what if you have alot of games from each system that was very impressionable on you? For instance, I would have to talk about the arcade scene cause it had a big impact on me back in the day. There have been many games that have drastically changed my view. I couldn't pick just one or two from that list for each gaming era.

I will still attempt it but it will take awhile to gather my thoughts.

[Roto13]

I think I'm just going to make a huge list and post it in installments in my blog. :P

[demondude]

It starts with Baldur's gate 2, and ends with it.

[Momiji]

I think I'm just going to make a huge list and post it in installments in my blog. :P

You mean sit through another one of your blog entries? No, I don't think I can.

[o_O]

Keystone Kapers (Atari 2600)
This was the first video game I ever played. It was pretty rubbish really, but as a three-year-old I marveled at the interactive T.V. program. I remember it being ultra-difficult.


Alex Kidd in Miracle World (SMS)
This is one of the games I wasted the most time on as a kid. I played it from the time I got my Master System until I'd saved up enough pocket money to buy Wonderboy 3. I never finished it as a kid, 'cause I never realised that you could rest up against the spikes in the water section of the magic castle. Not to mention the "cheat" that NEVER worked, because there were 15 different button combinations it was rumoured to be.


Wonder Boy in Monster Land (SMS)
I never owned this game, but I still played it enough for it to have easily made this list. I never did finish it because I always missed the bell on the level where you get the legendary boots and got frustrated. Maybe that's something do do if I ever start playing games again.


Wonderboy 3: The Dragon's Trap (SMS)
This is probably my favourite game on Master System. You're a kid who for some reason is trapped in a castle and has to fight a dragon to escape. Only thing is, defeating the dragon turns you into a Lizardman, and you have to go on a journey killing dragons until one turns you back to a human instead of some other animal.


Golden Axe Warrior (SMS)
If Wonderboy 3 isn't my favourite game on SMS, then this is. It's a Zelda clone, though it's a hell of a lot better than any &lt;16bit Zelda. It also features the greatest video game track of all time.


Sonic series (SMS and Megadrive)
I practically lived at my friend's house when these games came out, because a) he owned them and b) he owned a Mega Drive. They really shouldn't need any description.


Pokemon Red (Gameboy)
I emulated this with no$gb, back before the author crippled the emulator by making it shareware. This was awesome because you not only did you get a sweet Pokemon Red frame around the game window, but the game displayed in limited colour. I ended up cheating to get all the pokemon and then losing my save because I tried to be a smartass and get a party full of Missingnos.


Chrono Trigger (SNES)
I emulated this game too, 'cause you pretty much couldn't get Super Nintendos in New Zealand. I don't really know what to say about it other than I did absolutely everything there was to do too many times, but not as many times as Spatvark did. It's still one of my two favourite games.


Pandemonium (Playstation)
This was the first Playstation game I owned. I played it for hours on end 'cause the demo CD that came with the console got kind of boring. I'd never heard of cheats before this game, aside from the level select cheat I accidentally discovered while button mashing between levels in the original Wonderboy (why I was button mashing then, who knows?). I was fascinated by the crazy environments that were in this game; I've since realised that it must have been developed my people tripping on acid. Plus, Greg Proops voiced one of the main characters, and I thought Whose Line is it Anyway was just the bees' knees.


Final Fantasy VII (Playstation)
My other favourite game. Again, if this needs anything more said about it, maybe this message board isn't for you.


Diablo II (PC)
This was another huge drain on my time and my parents' patience, of the days when "doing my homework" was a euphemism for "pulverizing rakanishus". I never played online, but the single player mode was pretty damn kickin' rad. I don't think I ever physically screamed at a computer when I wasn't taking down Duriel, one hit at a time.


Morrowind (PC)
Well, this is probably the best western RPG in the universe. Way better than Oblivion. I hate Cliff Racers.


Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (PC)
The last game I really played properly. It took me quite a while to get this game because I was terrified of the sheer size of the map. I would definitely say this game kickstarted my career in carjacking, drug dealing and blowing up cities with Harrier jets. I need that you drive.

[Bolivar]

Wow, this is a great thread, Nominus! Here goes:



^ I guess 3/4, late 80s to early 90's, the NES was a big thing for me. When my dad would pick me up, he would sometimes take me to his friends' houses where SMB, Tiger Heli and Tetris were the order of the day. SMB 3 really left an impact on me on how much you can do with an imagination, cool colors, and great music. RBI Baseball and Tecmo Bowl all are some of my favorites.



I was too young to be caught up in a console war, but after playing sonic somewhere, i know I wanted a Genesis. I got one with Sonic 2 and it blew my mind. Seeing my friends with super nintendo's, Genesis games to me were faster, louder, and just more in your face than anything I had played up to that point or seen at the time. Sega channel was insane for me. It got me into so many different genres and games, but there was one which really stands out:



I don't know where I would have gone in gaming without this. It was my introduction to RPG's, and the story, artwork, strategy, characters, and just amazing epic time I had playing through it left a big impression on me. It's definately one of my favorite games of all time. On Sega Channel I played Shadow run, Landstalker, Phantasy Star, Sword of Vermillion, and others, and I was hooked on RPGs, but this is definately my favorite from then. However,



^ This changed it all. I always find it ironic nowadays how certain 16-bit traditionalists say that this game lacked compared to what came before it. I will never understand this argument. As an RPG fan leading up to its release, this was everything we were waiting for, without realizing we were waiting for it. It was the coming of the video game revolution. On every aspect, from story, to sound, to graphics, to the ways it presented the events, it was a huge leap, and changed many ways in which games are presented. I don't know why I got a PSX instead of a saturn, but I'm glad I did. Other honorable mentions: Spyro, Midieval, Cool Boarders, Twisted Metal and MEGA MAN LEGENDS.



The christmas when PS2s were abundant was about the same time FFX was released. There was only one feeling I could feel as a PS owner - rewarded. It brought gaming to the next level, and is cited as the first game that really showed what the PS2 can do. This was also when I got into metal gear, so it was great times there. GTA, Guantlet DL, Tony Hawk 3, Agent Under Fire, there's way too many, so I'll leave it at that.


Up to the present day. Kojima stated he chose to make Old snake the protagonist, because he himself, and the fans as well have all gotten older over the course of Metal Gear. As gamers, we have all gotten older over this journey. This game for me is a beautiful portrayal of life that really transcended games. Being older I can appreciate it, I think it speaks to the gamer who is an adult now, reflecting on the exploits of their youth, and going out for one more adventure. I really can't wait to start my 3rd playthrough, and I can't wait to see where games go next. The responsibility for developers is now to challenge themselves as much as they can, which is now more arduous than ever. Kojima has given me faith in that, and that's why the new generation should be discussed just as much as the old.

[Wolf Kanno]

Well, I started with my uncle's Atari 2600 playing, Frogger and other Atari classics. I was pretty young and loved the games but I rarely saw him. When the NES came out I really wanted one but my mother was against video games at the time but eventually she caved in and I got it for Christmas one fateful year. I loved playing through Super Mario Bros. and Legend of Zelda but my true love came when I discovered a little game called Mega Man 2



I loved this game and the whole Mega Man series. The music the levels and the wild characters were just out of this world for me. My other favorites I picked up on were Castlevania and SMB 2 and 3. I loved my NES but my father would take my interest elsewhere...



Battletech for the Commodore 64 was my first real foray into PC gaming and to a lesser extent RPGs. It had a pretty amusing plot and its gameplay was fun. I love mecha and war stories and this game satisfied both. I used to play make believe in my backyard concerning this game (and Mega Man 2)

Course my old man wasn't finished there and I also played a game that made me far more knowledgeable about adult matters than all of my elementary school peers.



For those who have not heard of this series except for its blasphemous party game console knockoff starring Larry's retarded nephew. This is an adventure game where the goal is to score with a lady of the fairer sex. Adult humor and hilarious deaths ensued including a drowning in a bar bathroom cause the toilet overflowed and the door was locked and having unprotected sex with a rather skanky girl that results in you blowing up when you leave the room. And people wonder why I was odd as a child... Its cause I thought you blew up if you had unprotected sex!

About this time the SNES was released and the Sega Genesis was on the scene. My family being too cheap or broke (depending on which parent) left me at the mercy of experiencing modern gaming through a friend and their system. I remember playing Super Mario World and Sonic the Hedgehog series at many sleep overs at friends houses. It was a fun time cause I got to enjoy the console wars and the battles between Sega and Nintendo.

Being fortunate to live in the city, I was exposed to the arcade scene. My father didn't particulary care for it til I got him hooked on a gem of a game called Gauntlet and of course Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, a game based on a series I loved in my childhood days. The game was awesome, it also taught me the horror of porting games from arcade cabinets to inferior consoles.



Around this time another game was making a splash at the arcades and it was very different from what I had played before. I was a huge fan of martial arts and this game gave me a chance to act out my fantasies...



I got my ass handed to me by veteran players but it never stopped me from enjoying the game. Even if it did get a little expensive. Finally I was able to talk my father into getting me a new console system. Having been a PC man he understood the concept of upgrading to more powerful machines. Course he gave me a decision. Genesis or SNES? I knew enough about both to understand their pro's and cons. I liked both of their gaming libraries and though I preferred the Genesis' library of games more, what ultimately made me decide on the SNES was my love for Street Fighter II

I got my SNES, SFII:Turbo Edition and Mario All Stars. My library became more fighting games (MKII) and beat em ups but I had this friend in middle school who kept raving about this series called Final Fantasy... I borrowed FFIII (VI) and initially hated it. The plot was intriguing but the menu based battle system was slow and stupid to a guy partaking of the fighting game genre. I gave it back to him but he decided to try again and break me in easier. He gave me...


Secret of Mana, its action combat system kept me entertained and the story hooked me from the get go. The music and the locations were awesome. The variety of weapons and that damn Sage!!! I eventually bought his copy of the game from him for $25 dollars. After that I decided to try the FF series again. I had some issues with my first foray into VI cause I accidentally found the glitch that either messes up your equipment or erases all the save files. I sheepishly gave it back without finishing it. I found and bought FFIV and enjoyed the hell out of that game and eventually found a copy of FFVI



Up until this point I played games solely for mindless fun. It wasn't until FFVI that I came to relalize that games could have real depth to them. I never really cared about a group of pixelated characters before until I played this game. I relaized that games could be seen more as an artform than just a form of digital amusement. It also made me look back at older games and see more depth to them than I had previously thought was there. VI made me appreciate FFIV and SoM more than I had when I originally played them. I've still never had a game do this before. Open my mind to a degree where I can see past efforts more deeply and favorably. Its why its still my favorite game in the series.

After this I made fighting/action games my hobby in the arcades while I focused my console efforts onto RPGs. I was introduced to the Breath of Fire series, Lufia and a wonderful little dream project called Chrono Trigger. All these game had wonderful stories and casts accompanied by excellent combat systems and world designs. By this point, my RPG friend was getting me hooked a few games for the Sega Saturn. NiGHTS is still a game I have very fond memories of. I also remember playing Virtua Fighter and the coming of the 3D era.

That era really started to take hold at first in the arcade scene. Both Street Fighter and MK were annoying people with constant rehashes This little game called Virtua Fighter was getting some attention cause it was a fighting game in total 3D. I finally got a chance to play with it but walked away less than impressed. 3D was becoming the "in" thing with both Nintendo and Sega chatting on about it being the "wave of the future". Even Sony came out of nowhere and was talking about making a CD based console with 3D games. Most of us felt Sony might fail like the Atari Jaguar had. I always felt most of the 3D games back then were rather fugly and simple in design. The only exceptions were NiGHTS and a little title that shocked the world called FFVII. Beyond that I also felt 3D was not far enough to make games fun. It was more of a novelty back then than an actual gameplay platform, at least to me that is.

The next generation swept in and I was once again left behind. I supported Sega cause the Saturn seemed to be the only system with a great library. The N64 was progressing slowly with Zelda and Metroid being postponed from the launch (Later Metroid was canceled) and the PlayStation was trying hard to be the edgy system with MKIII and Twisted Metal. Finally FFVII was released and Sony got a boost. Magazines were raving about this game and though my friends were awed at first most of them stopped talking about it after they finished it. I finally talked my father into buying me a PS1 for Christmas. I even bought FFVII for my birthday in anticipation of getting the PS1, 2 months later.



I read the manual religiously and counted the days. My friends tried to warn me not to get my hopes so high. One of them was busy playing a few gems that would change my life but before that I finally got my hands on the game and played it for most of my Christmas Break from high school. By the end of the first disc I felt it was the greatest game of all time. When I finished it, I felt it was the greatest disappointment of all time. After that, I fought with most other gamers concerning this game and it became a taboo subject for me.

In my despair of having my hopes crushed, my friend lent me two games that not only softened the blow but really changed my mind about games as they were the first two games I could truly say were "mature"



Final Fantasy Tactics was my first foray into strategy and games heavy in politics since the days I played Battletech. At first I had a difficult time understanding and getting into the system but by the endo of Chapter 1 I was hooked and played it like a man possessed. Despite its terrible translation (something I was used to from playing Ted Woosely games :rolleyes2) I felt its story was more epic and groundbreaking than games I had played in the past. I liked the idea of a game having a truly bittersweet ending and a tale of corruption that didn't entail ancient magic powers or aliens.

The next game he lent me was a low profile game I had seen on shelves but hardly heard about. Most people were still either talking about FFVII, talking about the upcoming FFVIII, or this other game called Metal Gear something or other... Anyway, it intrigued me cause of the awesome anime designs of the characters and the prospects of playing an RPG with giant robots.



Xenogears was a convulated wonder of religious and philosophical wonder. It was fun, intriguing and made me expand my knowledge on subjects concerning religion and ethics. I probably learned more from this game than I ever did at my high school. FFT was historical, while Xenogears was Philosophy and theology. Both games still remain my top favorites and easily the games I feel that have not truly been surpassed in terms of story, world, gameplay and music. It has been a decade since their release and their are very few games that have reached the level of these titles in my eyes.

The rest of the PS1 was playing many of Square's outstanding non-FF titles. In fact, until FFIX I had been rather disappointed with VII and VIII. FFT, CC, Xenogears, Threads of Fate, Brave Fencer Musashi, and Vagrant Story, had all been outstanding games. I also jumped into more Breath of Fire, Street Fighter Alpha 3 (by this time the arcade scene was on its last leg) and Suikoden. My PS1 library is mostly RPGs with a few fighting games to keep me sane.

The only other title to impact me at this time was Metal Gear Solid


I had heard wonders about this game but didn't get hooked until I got a hold of a demo. I grew up on 60's spy shows and James Bond thanks to my mother and so I have a weakness for espionage and political conspiracy theories. I got the game rather late and thus must suffer the penalty of always having a copy of the game that features the obnoxious green "Greatest Hits" logo on it. It took me awhile to get used to the game but its story and visual blew me away and it quickly became one of my most played PS1 games. Interesting enough, I recently got my GF hooked on this series and despite starting with MGS3, she was still amazed and loved this game.

In High school, a friend and I went to the last remaining arcade stronghold in the city. Celebrity and Boardwalk were gone and all was left was Fun Plex, now renamed "Fat City". My friend and I saw people crowding around a psychedelic machine emanating some music. We watched a few people play and get thrashed horribly. We took a chance and played the game and though it ended with middle school girls laughing at us, we both had damn fun and it became a ritual between us to play Dance Dance Revolution. To this day its still one of my favorite series. I've also become rather good at it as well.



I waited on getting a PS2, until games I actually wanted were to be released so basically MGS2 and FFX. Like with my PS1, I got it as a gift for Christmas and just like before, I owned both games before I got my PS2. MGS2 was fun but its overly convulated plot and lackluster brain twisting ending left me feeling a bit jipped (despite this, I'm one of the few people who was pleasantly surprised by the Raiden plot twist). FFX left me very cold. I really felt the game was mediocre and it was the first FF I ever got truly bored with. Since then I have given the game several chances and each time I walk away hating the game more. Its easily the worst FF in my book. Its only strong points are its graphics, its mostly good voice acting (except Yuna and Seymour) and its half decent soundtrack. Everything else was terrible and it pretty much killed my faith in the FF series. I had hoped to get some enjoyment from SE's side projects but they were very few and only Kingdom Hearts and Star Ocean 3 were somewhat enjoyable. Just when I was thinking gaming was disappearing and becoming digital films, I finally found a copy of a game that had intrigued me since the PS2's debut: Ico



This game redefined my concept of what a game could be. Its simple yet one of the most challenging games I had played in ages. Though there was little dialogue, the story and the characters were amazing and its ending is still one of the most touching in gaming. Its psuedo sequel Shadow of the Colossus was also truly groundbreaking and redefined my views on not only gaming but how a story can be told. Its at this point I understood the flaw in SE's games at this time. They were cheesy movies with a combat system tied to them. Team Ico showed me that the gameplay and the story don't have to be seperate and in fact, when they are combined correctly, create even deeper immersion.

This game restored my faith and after that I expanded my horizons and basically took a break from SE games. Suikoden and Breath of Fire V: Dragon Quarter kept my RPG needs at bay. I went a long time without playing new PS2 games until Konami released Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater.



When EA first started out the slogan they used was "Can a game make you cry?" When I finished MGS3, I can honestly say yes. I am not a very emotional person, generally I'm told I'm rather cold and insensitive so most of my friends are taken back when I tell them that this game moved me to the point of tears. In terms of story, gameplay, and immersion. This game is not only the best MGS, I feel its one of the best games of all time. Even after MGS4, I can still say 3 is easily the most touching and powerful game in the series. Its probably my all time favorite game to be honest. Subsistence just made it better

My interest had changed and I was hoping to play a new RPG. It seemed like a drought of good RPGs was going on and then I stumbled upon a gem of a game called Shin Megami Tensei 3: Nocturne



I have always been interested and intrigued by the occult and the idea of a game focusing on it had me quite curious. It took awhile to track down but once I got started on it: I couldn't put it down. The game was like Pokemon on steroids... In fact the thing that made me really happy about it was its unforgiving difficulty level and its high emphasis on strategy rather than grinding. Its story was dark and unusual for an RPG, the world is destroyed 15-20 minutes in, you wake up in a post apocalyptic world as a demon where other demons fight to make their ideal world a reality. The most intriguing part is that you can choose and help sides but pretty much all of the ideals are imperfect. There pretty much is no happy ending to the game and yet it touched upon ethnic cleansing and defining value in life as well as true redemption. It had been a long time since I played an RPG with a maturity level this high. I instantly became a fan of the series.

By this time, KH2 and AC had come out and I was beginning to feel SE had hit bottom. KH2 fixed most of the gameplay issues of the first game but sacrificed good storytelling in the process in favor of more of Nojima's convulated nonsense he is mistaking as good writing. FFVII:AC was exactly what I had expected, a two hour snuff film designed to please the die hard fans of the game. XII had been delayed for almost two years and I was rather hesitant. On the one hand, SE had been releasing alot of mediocre titles and was starting to port old games and make sequels. I disliked X so much, I was hesitant to get my hopes up for XII. On the other hand, the game was being developed by Matsuno and his FFT/VS team which I felt were two of the strongest titles Square released in the PS1 days. Matsuno's disappearance made me really worry. Yet the game looked amazing even though the Star Wars inspired airship battles and the combat system put me off. Despite all this, I pre-ordered it, went to the midnight release and started the game on Halloween of 2006.



Lo and behold to my surprise that the game was amazing. Its cast and story was mature, the combat wasn't as controlling as I thought and the world, oh my god the world design was incredible. I'm rarely impressed with graphics but the amount of detail in the cities and landscapes were awe inspiring so I would find myself just sitting there staring at the landscape. Its world was alive which is something I cannot say for 99% of the games out there. It truly is a groundbreaking game in many regards and I hope that future games will partake of its wisdom.



Persona 3 is an amazing game that also showed me other ways a game can be immersive. Its one of the few games I can truly say I care about everyone and its one of the few games I can honestly say builds an emotional bond with the player. You not only want to help people in this game, when the game starts talking about how hopeless the situation is, you even begin to believe it and this is coming from a jaded gamer who feels he has seen it all. Its story is slow but beautifully told and living in the P3 world (and I do mean live) you get a better immersion and connection to the characters than you would have had it been done like other JRPGs. The bond might still be there but it wouldn't be as strong.

I picked up a Wii cause I felt Nintendo was onto something when they said innovation is the future. If I knew then What I know now, I might have held off on getting a Wii but then again I would have missed out on playing Twilight Princess


I love the Zelda series, even the overhyped ones like the painfully mediocre Ocarina of Time but Z:TP was not only a giant leap for the Zelda franchise but its utilization of the Wii system was awesome. When I talk to people about the Wii's potential for interactive gaming, I'm thinking of this game. The Wii-mote fixed the failure that was the Z targeting system and combat was much more fulfilling than before. Its even designed in a way that rewards careful use of special moves instead of just thrashing the controler about and getting tired. Z:TP is an amazing game but what made it really stand out for me was how it used the Wii to make it a deeper and more immersive game.



It always seems like Kojima is the only one who knows how to do things right. Now while MGS3 is still my favorite I must commend MGS4 for one thing. It proved to me that there are some designers who understand how to combine storytelling and gameplay. Team Ico pioneered it and MGS4 proves its a good student (MGS3 as well). Some of the most intense scenes in the game are actually interactive gameplay scenes. From trailing a resistance fighter in Prague, to escaping Gekkos in a bazaar in South America, to walking across a room filled with microwaves... (need to see it to understand) Thegame marks a new standard for combinig story and gameplay. Sure you die sometimes but it just makes the scene's more intense knowing you have to somewhat play for keeps. Its truly one of the better games to define the current generation of consoles and what should be expected from it.

[Rostum]

Master System
Alex Kidd in Miracle World
This actually came as a default game for when no other game was in the Mega Drive, and it was such a fantastic game! I sometimes even still hum the music to this day.


Sonic The Hedgehog
I had both a Master System and Mega Drive, so I had played the other Sonic first, but I loved this one more, especially the music in the jungle stage.


Wonder Boy
I absolutely loved how you could ride dinosaurs and a skateboard.


Nintendo
Super Mario Brothers
First game I have played. Well we had an older Atari with Pitfall, but I was too young to remember it like I do with Mario.


Super Mario Brothers 3
This just took Mario and made it awesome. My sister and I would play this all the time.


Contra
A friend and myself used to love teaming up in this game. Even though he sucked and I kept dying because he fell behind.


Super Nintendo
Zelda: A Link to the Past
My first introduction into the more action/adventure/rpg type of games. I had only ever really played racing and platform games. This brings back heaps of awesome memories.


Battletoads & Double Dragon
I love battletoads, and I love double dragon. This game is absolutely brilliant! Even better with a second player.


Aladdin
Well as I said I was a huge platformer fan, and this game was extremely good. The Mega Drive version was alright as well, but the Super Nintendo veresion blew it out of the water.


Mega Drive
Sonic and Knuckles
I actually liked the original Sonic better, but for some odd reason I have more fond memories of this game. Love Knuckles.


Earthworm Jim 2
Absolutely love the quirkiness of this game. The cartoons were awesome too!


Mortal Kombat 3
Spent a lot of time on this game. Too much time in fact!


PC
Riven
My introduction to the adventure genre. This game is a beautiful masterpiece. High quality rendered backgrounds, with absolutely stunning musical ambience, a great story and great live acting. The atmosphere of this game is just so unique and the only thing that has ever come close is Shadow of the Colossus in that regard.


Grim Fandango
Okay, probably the best LucasArts adventure game, and right up there with Riven. It's got my favourite theme; film noir. And they mix it up with aztec legend and great art deco designs. Brilliant script and pacing, and nice gameplay.


Final Fantasy XI
Very first MMORPG I had played, and still play to this date. The hype and community building up to its release was phenominal! Such a good online game, even though frustrating at times. Tarutaru's are the cutest, as a Mandragora's. Definitely a lot of great memories with this game.


N64
Mario 64
While not my first introduction to the 3D platformer scene (I had played Jumping Jack Rabbit before), it was the first that I really felt did well at the time. I had competitions with friends for who could get so-many stars before the other, and it was just really fun.


The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
While after Link to the Past I had played other Zelda titles, none had topped this. It is absolutely brilliant, and a great 3D introduction to the series.


Mystical Ninja staring Goemon
Haha I thought this game was so cute and quirky. I loved the fat guy.


PSX
Motor Toons Grand Prix 2
First 3D game, and it is a racing game. I don't know HOW long I spent on this game; a damn long time I bet. Didn't have two player, but had time trials that I did with friends, and its just so wacky that it's a great racer. (I actually couldn't find an in-game shot!)


Final Fantasy VII
Introduction to the RPG's series. While not my favourite anymore, it was a huge impact in my life and I love it for that. It is also quite a good RPG, no matter how many people will rag on it for whatever reason.


Chrono Cross
A beautiful RPG; graphics, sound, story, characters.


PS2
Final Fantasy X
First game on PS2, and I really did love this game, while still not my favourite in the series it definitely kept me hooked.


Psychonauts
Another masterpiece from Tim Schafer, the guy who made Grim Fandango.


Xenosaga 1, 2, 3
I won't count these as seperate games. While I had only played them in the last year or so, they are quite amazing. It's more like watching a movie, but a great movie at that, and the game play can be quite good!


Wii
Mario Galaxy
Recently played through. I think this is incredible; they have brought back to life the platforming genre with this game, by giving it mechanics that were never thought of. They really broke the mold of platforming, just when you think it couldn't have anything new. Graphical it is also very beautiful.


There are so many awesome games, a lot have been mentioned in this thread thus far, and so I thought I'd change it up. There are heaps of games that have influenced me and impacted on me in many ways, however I can not mention every one of them in this thread. These pictures do none of these games justice, go out and play them!

Edit: Fixed.

[Roto13]

Mystical Ninja staring Goemon
Haha I thought this game was so cute and quirky. I loved the fat guy.

That game was awesome. It was a mix of Mario 64 and Ocarina of Time with the always-great Mystical Ninja theme. And there was a giant battle robot. With a theme song.

And a giant space peach.