What games have had an ever lasting impression on you?

Metal Gear Solid and Ocarina of Time come to mind for me. It could be nostalgia, or how 3D gaming was just getting started then and we hadn't experience games like that before. But what's had an impression on me all these years is the character's journey and experiencing that journey with them. With MGS, you weren't just playing a tough guy who shoots at people. There's a lot more depth to the character, the story and even the conversations with your comrades along the way. It's like reading a good book where you might learn something in the end lol. As for Ocarina of Time, the character's journey from kid to adulthood is also relatable to the gamer at that time. And how Nintendo implements those themes is brilliant.

Well anyhoo, that's my Sunday fun day topic. How about you, SW? What games have had an ever lasting impression on you?

Metroid Prime Remaster, greatest game ever made.

Halflife.

• Deus Ex
• System Shock 2
• STALKER
• Half life 1 and 2
• Doom and Doom Eternal
• Quake 1
• Max Payne
• Mafia
• Splinter cell Chaos theory
• Chronicles of Riddick escape from Butcher Bay
• Metro 2033 and Last light

all these games are truly some of the greatest games I have ever played and put ever lasting impression from start to finish.

"As for Ocarina of Time, the character's journey from kid to adulthood is also relatable to the gamer at that time."

Yes, many a homie has regaled me with tales of how they once pulled a sword from a pedestal to suddenly become an adult. :-S

But I agree with this one. The game is unique for me, it felt like the story or journey was communicated with music as much as with the visuals. It definitely left a strong impression and feeling. I don't feel like I've had that from any other game.

The first Wing Commander. Later entries and Star/Freelancer were better games, but the first one stuck with me. The scope was epic, the situation was dire, there were real consequences to your failures. Felt bad about losing a wingman in a way that no game had made me feel before. It's a hard game to go back to since many others have done it better since, but it left a lasting impression on young judaspete.

Super Mario Bros. My parents did not let me get a NES. They weren't too keen on videogaming in general early on (that changed eventually in gen 5). So anytime I went to a friend's house that had it, I'd play Mario as much as they would let me. So yeah, I was that kid that came over to play your Nintendo.

Metal Gear Solid 2: Son's of Liberty

Absolutely mind blowing game for 2001.

Very few games today even manage to measure up to it.

No particular standouts, at least not like that. Just some games that informed my preferences, at least for a time. Or games that were milestones in my experience.

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SMB1 - First game that had me thinking gaming was awesome.

SMB3 - Mind blown, up to that point didn't think a game could be that good.

Zelda 1 - First "open" game I played that was about adventure and exploration.

Contra - Most games of the era were challenging, but Contra really drove home how rewarding they can be.

TMNT Arcade (NES) - Loved the actual arcade version, but up to that point, didn't think we could get decent home versions of games like that.

Mike Tysons Punchout - It's Mike Tyson. In Punchout.

Double Dragon 2 and Ninja Gaiden 2 - My favs of both OG series. 80s kid. Bad ass Ninjas and shit in my video games. Unlike most of what I played before, showed how the right contextualization can take an experience further.

Street Fighter 2 and Mortal Kombat - Similar to above, 80s/90s martial arts action. Taken to a new level, big wow factor for the time. In SF2s case, showed me a whole new level of depth and competitive gaming.

DOOM - Even having played Wolf 3d before it, still felt like nothing I had ever played. SMB3 level of mind blown.

Phantasy Star IV - First "huge" story driven game I played. First RPG as well. So different from everything I was used to.

Final Fantasy 6 and Chrono Trigger - Same as above, just taken to another level. Genre gold standard for me, slowly down hill from there.

Final Fantasy 7 - Insane production values, stuff I never could have imagined leading up to it.

Ocarina of Time - I was actually bummed about most games going 3d. OoT was the first to fully convince me. Not only in the fact that it worked so well, but how they were able to communicate so much more mood and atmosphere than what I'd played prior.

Metal Gear Solid 2 - Not my first stealth game, but the first that really had me sold on the concept. And like some of Kojimas other games, gave me a false sense of where gaming was headed in terms of interactivity and detail lol.

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Alright, that's probably too much as is.

Could just list all my favorite games, but yeah. Games like OoT, Mario 64 and Super Metroid are crazy memorable. Will also forever remember the glory days of Unreal Tournament and Quake 3 Arena.

Many. Perfect Dark cuz it was my first fps. Oblivion cuz it was my first open world game. Demon's Souls cuz i lost my virginity to Fromsoft because of this game. HALO CE because it felt to me like an incredible video game for its time.

haha

Must be nice to have played the franchise all the way back to when they started.

MGS 2… the NYC setting always struck a cord for me, particularly because it came out soon after 9/11. Then there’s the whole prophetic message about the power of the information age too. And then there’s the actual game part which had a ton of hype back then at the time. Oh and can’t forget switcharoo with Raiden lol

A good number. A few standouts would be:

Games that introduced me to their respective franchises like

- Final Fantasy

- The Legend of Zelda

- Dragon Warrior

- Super Mario Bros.

- Street Fighter II

Great games that are my all time favourites

- Final Fantasy 6 and 7

- Chrono Trigger and Cross

- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

- Metal Gear Solid 1, 2, and 3

- Super Mario Bros. 3 and World

- The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Breath of the Wild

Mine is:

• Bloodborne (aka GOAT)
• Persona 3
• Starcraft
• FF7 and Tactics Ogre Knights of Lodis
• Rollercoaster Tycoon
• Monster Hunter Freedom Unite and World

lol sometimes. It's nice to have seen where these things come from, but also a bummer seeing where some of them go. Regress, transform for the worse, vanish, etc.

Yeah, the Raiden swap only bothered me initially. Early on it was clear you're just viewing Solids story through the lens of an initiate. Was actually pretty dope, always thought it was a smooth brain complaint lol. Admittedly some of the Raiden/Rose shit was too much, but overall it was pretty cool.

Usually laugh at all the Kojima prophecy shit, but the forethought in MGS2 was like damn. Has some pretty specific application to much of what we see today.

Yeah, game was slick. Managed to exceed its already insane hype in so many ways. Still a game I'd gladly replay.

Outer Wilds

There are a lot of games that had a lasting impression on me, but Outer Wilds came to my mind first.

MGS 1 & 2

Road Rash

Super Mario 64

Golden Sun 1 & 2

Final Fantasy 7 & 10

KotoR 1 & 2

Need for Speed Underground

Persona 4 Golden

Demon's Souls

Dark Souls

Bloodborne

Elden Ring

Wolf3D blew my mind back in the day, Quake III Arena made me some amazing life long friends, FFVII was exceedingly good, such a splendid game in every way, but the biggest impression came from Everquest 1999 - 2004, it was like a world you could escape to after being at work all day and had the best gaming community there ever was.

Same. I only got to play it at random places like Radio Shack and Walmart, so it was my unicorn. Then I saved up $80 to buy Spear of Destiny, then got home and found out the disks were corrupted. Had to wait months before I could return it for a working copy. Then my brother wouldn't let me use the keyboard because I would "wear out the keys". I played and beat that whole game with the mouse. And I loved every second of it. There was a lot of effort you had to put in just to play games back then.

Plenty of other classics are right next to it; LttP, FFIV, Warcraft, StarCraft, Halo CE, etc.

To name a few

Elden Ring (I know its pretty new but damn an open world souls game just tickles my pickle)

MGS3

MGS5

TLOU

Kotor

RE2 remake and original

State of Decay 2 (sorta my comfort game from some odd reason)

Ghost of Tsushima

Yakuza 0

Persona 4 Golden

WoW

Half-Life: not only a great game in its own right, Half-Life introduced me to online gaming, mods, and more.

Command and Conquer: great games, but more significantly it sort of set the standard for story-driven, cinematic games.

Total War: Shogun: one of the first "hybrid" games (RTS and TBS) I ever played, it was an amazing and expansive title that made me a fan of the franchise for life. With some exceptions, the games have only gotten better over time.

Deus Ex: a first-person RPG with action elements, the game challenged my idea of what a first-person game could be and opened my mind to different possibilities.

World of Warcraft: I subscribed back when it came out on a whim, almost embarrassed to do so simply because MMO's are something only the most serious of nerds indulge in. Never looked back afterwards; I still play to this day, and while the company and the game has stumbled here and there, it's still a really great game to play either casually or hardcore.

@iambatman7986: great shout on NFS! I did not experience the first game but Underground 2 was such an incredible game for me.

Zillion, Starflight, NHL 92, halo ce, GoW, the Witcher

Super Metroid comes to note.

It was the first game I played that impressed upon me the importance of music in the conveyance of the overall atmosphere and experience. That game grabs you from the first chirp of the baby Metroid before the title screen even shows up.

It remains to me to this day a powerful testament to how crucial good sound is in a game, because honestly, Super Metroid wouldn’t be half as good as it is without its score. This single track here encapsulates what the franchise is all about:

Still have fond memories of blowing up the White House at the end (with a laser IIRC?), and laughing at the developers playing their roles in makeshift sets in their offices (probably).

It was all good cringe.

@MirkoS77: I played Super Metroid on a demo kiosk when it came out, and not again until about five years ago. It instantly fit in with all those classic hits.

I did the same with Faith No More. Assumed Epic was their only hit and wrote them off. Couldn't have been more wrong.

Fallout 3

Unreal Tournament (1999)

Half-Life 2

Half-Life: Alyx

Halo 1, 2 & 3 (Multiplayer)

It was good cringe lol.

What's really surprising is they got some really big-name actors on there towards the end: James Earl Jones, Michael Beihn, JK Simmons, David Hasselhof, Jonathan Pryce, and more.

But they still managed to keep it all delightfully corny, despite the talent.

Unreal Tournament (PC). It opened up a whole new dimension. It was my first competitive online game. I don't usually play online games anymore though.

Halos, Kotors, Mass Effects, Gears...To name a few. :P

I have a lot of games I like, but a permanent impression would be Fable and Detroit Become Human.

Detroit become human makes you think what life would be like with robots.

@SolidGame_basic:

Ghost of Tsushima

Super Metroid,SMB3, NHL 2k3,anything Halo.

Faith No More! Ha, I remember them from my teenage years. Good stuff.

Dark Souls

Stardew Valley

Breath of the Wild

Hollow Knight

Was it because of the story?

Metal Gear Solid. Any of the MGS games. But 2 in a big way made me pessimistic about our 'trustworthy' political consumerist society. How we are all pawns in our game of life. MGS had immersed me in it's atmosphere and it's deep story so complex that it hurts my head.

Final Fantasy 8. I wanted 7 but 8 had such an overwhelming presentation. Everywhere is beautiful. Everything is beautiful.

Half-Life.

Fable: The Lost Chapters

Lots of games. Resident Evil 4 got my adrenaline going better than any other game I had played up to that point. Super Mario Galaxy 2 was the culmination of all Nintendo’s efforts in platforming, the pinnacle of the genre in every way with beautiful visuals and a breathtaking soundtrack. Breath of the Wild completely whisked me away with its open world freedom and splendor.

I told my wife last night, as I began playing Metroid Prime Remastered, that I remember so much about that game as well. It’s a game to get lost in. Every single encounter and sound effect and visual detail has such meaning. Many games have I forgotten the majority of content after playing through them, but not Metroid Prime. And that familiarity is actually working in its favor because it’s so enjoyable to experience it all over again.

Action – Double Dragon

Action-adventure – Alundra

Adventure – The Curse of Monkey Island

Fighting – International Karate +

Horror – Resident Evil

Platformer – Sonic the Hedgehog

Puzzle – Tetris

Puzzle-platformer – Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

Racing – Ridge Racer

RPG – Final Fantasy VII

Shooter – Galaga

Sports – WWF Smackdown!

Stealth – Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty

Strategy – Command & Conquer: Red Alert

Visual novel – Clannad

Virtual reality – Dennō Senki Net Merc

Silent Hill:Shattered Memories.

I got the more or less “standard” ending and as a woman who was a girl with a very complicated relationship with a deeply flawed father… it just sort of gutted me. I was crying my brains out. I felt sluggish for two days.

Powerful.

I was expecting more Halo Infinite here.

Super Mario 3 and World

Final Fantasy 7,8,9 and X