Your Fondest Gaming Memories

I love thinking about my past and all the good memories I have. I do a ton of reminiscing and I always tend to think about my past more than I think about my future. I also go through lots of old posts on C3 and look back at all the fun times we've had. During doing so, I came up with an interesting thread idea...

What are your fondest gaming memories?

Mine are:

- Playing (and mostly watching) Donkey Kong Country for the first time and hearing it's amazing soundtrack is one of my earliest and fondest gaming memories.

- Looking at Nintendo magazines and gawking at the first images of the (then called) Ultra 64, as well as seeing the 3D games and strange looking controller.

- The Christmas I got Donkey Kong 64, since I was a huge fan of the Donkey Kong games on the Super Nintendo. I had been waiting ages for it and I was very excited about getting it. I remember playing it all day that Christmas Day.

- Buying The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker and going into my local Woolworths store early, to make sure I got the Ocarina of Time bonus disc.

- E3 2006, when Nintendo first showed the Wii properly. I was incredibly excited about it all and the fact it was so different. Also, seeing Miyamoto pretend to be a conductor was quite funny.

- Getting the Wii. I remember I was like an excited puppy, waiting for my system to arrive. When it did, I remember literally jumping around with excitement and setting it up to make Mii's and play some Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz.

- Another E3, but this time for entirely different reasons. E3 2007 brought a bit of a dull Nintendo press conference, but Cubed 3's IRC chat provided hilarious humour and behaviour. For that reason, it's become one of my best gaming memories.

- Opening and Playing Super Mario Galaxy. I remember shaking as I tried to pull off the wrapper. The opening to the game had me in awe and the visuals and music were incredible. Seeing that beautiful view of the water in front of Peach's Castle for the first time was great.

Those are my main one I can think of, but if I think of any more, I'll be sure to add them.

( Edited 24.01.2011 02:10 by Marzy )

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! LET'S GO STEELERS!!!!!

Now, let's get back on topic haha.

My best video game moment happened to also be the first time I played a video game. I still remember it. I was mad young, I think 6 or so, and we went to Toys R Us. I recall us getting the huge box and putting it in the cart. Haha, at the time, there were these teenagers and their dad (this is gonna be sort of hard to explain). The one guy said that his finger was jammed from the sliding automatic doors. He convinced me that those doors were evil, as his finger was crunched up (I later realized that they were pulling some kind of prank because as soon as we left, they went to another family to do the same thing. I have no idea why they would do this, it's really weird). But anyways, the next couple hours would be some of the best in my life.

My first video game experience, Super Mario 64. No joke, I was mesmerized. The first 3 to 4 hours, I was messing around outside the castle. I thought this was the whole game, just outside the castle. And you know what, I LOVED it. The entire time I was jumping around, trying to figure out how spatial movement worked (as it was my first video game). Every time I figured out a new move or jump, I would go crazy. This craziness would continue the rest of the game (from jumping through paintings, peach turning into bowser, the scary boos, neverending stairs and countless more). When I go back to play this masterpiece, I realize why it is my favorite game ever.

One moment where I was extremely frustrated was when I got Contra 4. I spent a long time (don't remember the hours), trying to beat the game...on easy. Once I did, I was so happy, then when I tried it on medium, I failed horribly. I'm sure if I go back to play it now, after a while, I'd be able to beat it on medium.

One of my proudest moments was in Pokemon Gold. I took only my Typhlosion (level was in the low 80's), that had flame wheel, strength, thunderpunch (lol from a tm), and either earthquake or magnitude, I can't remember, and single handedly beat Red (oh, and I did this without any items, no potions, ethers etc). I felt so awesome.

A pretty cool moment was when I got my Wii. My cousin and I were waiting outside since 5 am or so, and there were a lot of people in front of us. After waiting for hours, the manager comes out and says that they only have 30 Wiis. Guess what, me and my cousin were numbers 31 and 32. I was pissed, and we were waiting for my mom to pick us up, when one of the 30 guys who got a voucher decided to sell it. We ran up and offered him 50 dollars for it. A couple seconds later some other kids ran up and offered 100 dollars for the voucher. Thank God, the guy said we came in first, so we got the voucher, and ended up getting a Wii. And to top things off, there was a quasi family reunion at my house, so everyone, including the adults, were having a blast.

Here's a moment I'm sure will be on other lists. When Miyamoto unveiled Twilight Princess. Thinking about it right now gives me chills. Holy crap was it epic.

Another awesome gripping moment was during Mario Kart Double Dash. I was playing the one mode where you go through each course, and whoever has the most points at the end wins (on 150cc). I got first on all the levels up to the one with the huge bridge and cars everywhere(Mushroom Bridge I believe). The ending was beastly. I was fifth at the start of the bridge and I was thinking, my streak is over. I passed whoever was fourth as I threw a banana in front of them. I'm halfway across the bridge and the top three are all mad close to each other at the end of the bridge. All of a sudden, I hear a blue shell. It flies over me and hits who was first. Since the person who was second was right next to first, they also were thrown up high. The computer who was third wasn't directly hit, but drove into the bomb radius, causing them to spin out. I was totally amazed and without reacting, I also ran into the bomb radius. So here we are, 4 karts literally right next to the finish line. I hold acceleration as hard as I can. Somehow I got out as first! I looked at the times. Me and second player were tied. Three and four were .001 seconds behind. I've never seen anything as close as this ever. It was like the U.S rally against the French in swimming at Beijing.

Hmm, I know I have a ton more, but like Marzy, I'll add em later, the only thing on my mind is the Steelers!!!



( Edited 24.01.2011 04:31 by bornforthis43 )

My first memorizing video game experience, was Pokemon Red. I was young when they came out, in 1996 I was only 5 years old. I had no idea, what to do, it was even before I knew about guides, on games. Even when my cousin had, pokemon blue, he had the guide, I never knew how to read when I was younger, but when I got my first badge, in that game. My Charmander was all ready a Charmeleon and level 25. Also, when I caught my very first pidgey. I was so happy I showed everyone, who was in the house.

The time I got an N64. I was still in school and saved up to buy a pre-owned one from somewhere like Cash Generator. After I finally got the amount together my mum bought it for me and it was waiting on my bed when I got home. I loved that system.

Twilight Princess reveal, though ultimately I thought the game wasn't great...

End of Wind Waker.

Playing through Pokémon Blue entirely in Japanese with no idea what was going on, just because I liked the TV show. Then doing it again when it came out in English. Brilliant game. Subsequently getting excited for the release of Gold. Back then I found it easier to restrict myself from spoiling things for myself, for the last two generations I've known all the creatures ahead of release. I've done a media blackout for Black/White, so am hoping that I get a similar experience of discovery to the first two generations this time.

Wii launch was fun. First time I've ever queued up at a launch for a console, an entire day on Wii Sports.

Playing Pilotwings Resort last year was the first time, for me, that 3D ever 'clicked'. I can't see footage of a flying game, or one with a similar draw distance, without thinking 'that'd be amazing in 3D!' any more.

I'll probably think of more later.

-Spending my allowance for food while on a school trip in Paris... on buying Pokémon Silver XD. I could withstand a day or two without eating too much .

-Chrono Trigger on SNES :

Mason said:

Wii launch was fun. First time I've ever queued up at a launch for a console, an entire day on Wii Sports

-Starfox (Starwing) on SNES. My first "3D" experience.

-Beating Resident Evil 2 on N64 and thinking "My N64 doesn't need CDs and silly load times to make "Playstation quality" games =)"

-Beating FF6 on a PAL SNES using an adapter (FFIII since it was the US version) and getting a black screen midway through the ending because of a region check :/. Had to wait till the days of the GBA to see the entire ending XD.

-Playing Super Metroid for the first time and getting stuck down in the pit where the Etecoons are because I couldn't do the wall-jump (which I mastered since XD), forcing me to start all over again.

-Beating Ikaruga on Gamecube !!! =).

-Beating Resident Evil Rebirth in Invisible Zombie mode on Hard difficulty, having thus accomplished everything in that game =).

-Hang on Arcade Machine, first game I ever played (Aged 4).

I'm sure I have tons more memories, more on that later.

( Edited 24.01.2011 12:39 by Kafei2006 )

Playing through The Simpsons arcade game to the end while on holiday when I was eight or nine years old. 10p per credit! Those were the days...

- Thinking I was playing Super Mario All Stars on the SNES without the controller plugged in (I was really young and my family played a joke on me by copying the my button presses to make it work)

- Hours on Street FIghter II finally learning how to do a Hadouken.

- Being amazed by Starwing and it's polygons.

- Playing OoT on Christmas day, never having played a Zelda game before.

- Pre-ordering Wind Waker to find out that I also got the OoT disk free.

- Being told by my mother to take the shopping in from the car only to find a Wii instead. I had saved up for months and got it two days before general release. I was ecstatic.

I really don't know where to start. I tend to forget a lot of things of my past actually, which really sucks. I guess the things I can still somewhat remember are those worthy being in this topic.

- The time where I got my first real console, a Gamecube. I remember, there was a pre-owned one on Ebay back then with around 25 games or so. My dad bid on it until the very end where I and some friends were standing next to him just as the final minute passed. As my dad won the auction, me and my friends celebrated and were completely going nuts. I guess that's the moment where the gamer in me was born.

- Playing Ocarina of Time for the first time on my Gamecube with the Collector's Edition I got for Christmas. While it wasn't my first game, I like to call it just that. Why? Because I was only playing random games before, not really caring about anything. Ocarina of Time was it, that turned me into the dedicated gamer I am today and I couldn't be more grateful for that. Best game of all time for me, even only for the fact that it achieved to pull me inside the gaming world.

- Twilight Princess reveal. Not too surprising, really. I really could have been one of those guys in that room screaming "OH MY GOD" during the reveal. The time between that up to the actual release, oh how painful it was. In the end though, it finally came and I got my copy for the GC because I didn't get my Wii until Christmas and well, left-handed Link FTW. I remember desperately begging my dad to stay at home from school the day it came. It was glorious.

- This actually is quite a recent one, Okami. There are those scenes where you restore major areas in the game. When I watched the first one for the first time, I was literally speechless, just staring at the screen, totally captured by its magic. It wasn't just the stuff happening on the screen though, the music in those scenes was absolutely amazing. So many different emotions in such a short time, it's really a masterpiece. That was actually when I realized that the beauty of Okami is unparalleled. Truly a moment I'll never forget.

- Playing Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean. It was probably my first real RPG back then and still remains on top of my RPG list. Maybe my opinion is completely influenced by nostalgia but I never found the English voiceovers to be horrible. I loved them, actually. I would play through it again sometime but there's still so much stuff to do in my recent games.

Those are all I can think of right now, I doubt that I'll remember more than that. Without a doubt, there were many more games and moments that really stood out. I just wish I could still remember them...

When my mother caught me self-pleasuring to Peach in Mario 64. Yeah that was not a good day, but a fondest memory nontheless.

When I was younger, my mum and dad used to rent games for me and my brother. That was a nice memory and renting games is something I don't even think about doing these days. The time we rented Pilotwings 64 and Blast Corps was my most enjoyable experience of game rentals.

I also forgot to mention the reveal of Twilight Princess at E3 2004. Watching those crowds erupt in cheers, screams and clapping always sends shivers down me.

Christmas, 99 I think. Me and my brother both got a Gameboy Color. He got Pokemon Red and I got Yellow. It was our first experience with a gameboy and the pokemon series and we were both instantly hooked and loved every second of it.

A fond one: playing FF7 for the first time last Summer on recommendation of a friend and realising what I had been missing.

A not so fond one: Having the ending sequence freeze while the music played on and having to guess what was happening...

Playing Sonic the Hedgehog on my dad's mega-drive when I was 2 or 3, and then watching my dad as he completed the whole thing, I thought it was amazing.

Going to a electronic store somewhere in central London when I was 6 or 7 and seeing the N64 for the first time with Super Mario 64 and playing it, I thought it was brilliant, and so did my dad.

Completing Goldeneye007 by myself when I was 9 years old, it really got me into James Bond, I was like "Yeah, I killed Alec Travelin!".

Around the same time I borrowed my cousins Ocarina of time and remember being scared of the inside of the Deku tree. Still, did me good as 5 years ago I brought the game myself for the N64 and played it right through to the end and it felt like a massive achievement to me,

Getting a Gamecube and buying Star Wars Rogue Leader: Being amazed at the graphics of it, made me feel like I was really attacking the death star.

( Edited 13.02.2011 13:37 by Stulaw )

Angus said:
A fond one: playing FF7 for the first time last Summer on recommendation of a friend and realising what I had been missing.

A not so fond one: Having the ending sequence freeze while the music played on and having to guess what was happening...

You sure you don't mean FFIII (FF6 US version) being played on a PAL SNES (which I mentionned in my own post above)

( Edited 26.01.2011 22:32 by Kafei2006 )

Nope, but yes your post did remind me of my own misfortune.

'kay, I had no idea this happened with FF7 though. It's a well known fact about FFIII, but I had never heard of this happening on FF7. How come you had that happening to you ?

Hoo boy, where to begin?

- Earliest gaming memory is of playing a Donald Duck game on Master System. Lucky Dime Caper, or something like that, t'was good fun, and I'd snap it up in a second if it were on VC.

- Exploring a music & games store near me called Pegg's Records, being mesmerized about everything on the shelves. I loved that place. Pity it closed down when I was about 6 or so.

- Trying out new games at this guy's small hut-like tent at the local Car Boot every week, I think that's where the initial addiction began, and I believe that was my first sight of the 16-bit era, not too sure.

- Hiding my borrowed copy of World of Illusion on Mega Drive so only I could play it after school. I was a greedy little bastard back then.

- The day my twat brother brought home an N64 with a copy of Super Mario 64. I had never heard anything about the machine or the 3D prior to that point, so seeing it running for the first time blew my tiny little mind. He made up a rule that it could only be played once a day, needless to say I soon broke it.

- The day a family friend brought around a Playstation and a copy of Star Wars: Masters of Teras Kasi. It's universally agreed on how crap that game it, but at the time I loved it to bits, and thanks to nostalgia I am still fond of it. Ended up with a Playstation of my very own not long after; t'was a choice of that or a Saturn, and I think I made the right one.

- I first played FF7 not long after. To be honest, it didn't immediately grab me, and I wasn't left with the feeling of greatest game ever or anything like that. But as I played more of it, got to understand the characters and story, saw THAT moment, and moved towards the endgame, it really grew on me, and the feeling I got at the end still resonates every time I replay it.

- We had had a Gameboy in the house for quite a while, but up until a certain duo of games arrived it barely got any use. Two things I'll always remember about Pokemon Red; the headache I had soon after playing it all night (have never had a gaming-related head-pain since), and the point where all three of my starter creatures (did the trading trick with a friend) evolved at the same time after a battle with a Team Rocket Grunt near the end of Mount Moon.

- One word. Dreamcast. The prospect of Sonic in 3D was all I needed to hear, but to actually see it running...well, that good sirs, is the very last time a level of Graphical fidelity has impressed me, nothing has come close to knocking my pants off since. In fact, Sonic Adventure has the distinct honour of being the only videogame ever to make me omit sleep just to play it. No joke. That's probably why I get so frustrated seeing SEGA destroying the original game's reputation by cascading that DX abomination around.



( Edited 26.01.2011 23:37 by Phoenixus )

Kafei2006 said:
'kay, I had no idea this happened with FF7 though. It's a well known fact about FFIII, but I had never heard of this happening on FF7. How come you had that happening to you ?

- Playing Pokémon Red for the first time was a great memory. I hadn't had a Gameboy at the point and instead was playing through Pokémon Stadium.

My fondest memory is playing Super Mario Kart with the cousins. In cunning hands, the feather was a potent item. We used it to jump shortcuts, evade red shells, and hide behind walls during battle matches.

I remember literally jumping around with excitement and setting it up to make Mii's and play some Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz.

I remember getting that game. Did you find it to be impossibly broken? The motion controls just didn't work, at all, for most of the mini-games, and they ruined the classic Monkey Flight and Fight with stupid rules and graphics.

The original Monkey Ball I have very fond memories of.

I remember getting that game. Did you find it to be impossibly broken?

I actually thought it worked well and I enjoyed it quite a lot. About half the mini-games suffered from bad controls, but some of them were really great.

Hmm, I must've given up after trying the fishing game. There was a net, a pond, and some fish, and no matter how I held and desperately pointed the controller, I could not get the net to move.

The cell shaded graphics also felt like a step down. I really liked SMB2's more "realistic" look.

Seems like what I really wanted was a Wii port of SMB2.