What video game means the most to you?

Not necessarily what game you think is the best of all time (although it could be), but what game is the most important to you? Maybe it was your favorite game you played with your best friend or siblings, maybe it was a game you played during a tough time in your life, maybe it was a game that got you into gaming in the first place?

For me I'll say Dark Souls. Before college I only casually played Nintendo games and owned Nintendo systems. I played other systems at friends houses, but Dark Souls was the game that a roommate showed me that I couldn't get enough of that wasn't a Nintendo game. From there I springboarded into not just wanting to play Nintendo games, but to play great games on every system, and I think I've done a decent job of branching out.

Mario Galaxy...I cry every time I hear the OST...

By the way I was like you, only played Nintendo, but it was Witcher 3/Fallout 4 that chaged that...

TC you can thank Sony fans for supporting Demon's Souls when it was supposed to be a one an done thing and allowing Dark Souls to become a thing.

For this generation, I'd say God of War.

It almost single highhandedly shit on Phil Spencer when making that comment, "it's hard to find an audience for single player games"

and then went on to sell more than any service based xbox game this generation.

Probably Lemmings, Star Wars: X-Wing, or Colonization. These aren't the best games of all time or anything, but they hold up well and just hold so much nostalgia for me. They are definitely anchoring points for my love of puzzlers, space sims, and strategy games.

Amazing to think what the creators of Lemmings went on to achieve.

@boycie: was it GTA? I feel like I read something recently about another game one of them was involved in too. I don't usually follow gaming with that detail

Probably Final Fantasy VII. Before I played it I was pretty much a casual who played whatever everybody else was playing or games that had cool commercials lol. When I played it I realized just exactly what a game could be and how epic RPG's are. It led me to play so many other games that I never would've played too. Also Brave Fencer Musashi for showing me that a good JRPG doesn't have to be turn based or take itself too seriously

Another World for me. I get that the gameplay has issues but that game was such an eye opener for me.

Chrono Trigger. I used to hate the RPG genre but this game convinced me why RPG is the best genre in gaming.

Also Dark Souls and Portal 2 cured my depression for a while.

That's a tough one... I mean my favourite game of all time is Half-Life 2. So I guess that.

But there are a few games that really mean a lot to me. Like Halo CE, Bioshock, Witcher 3, Mass Effect Trilogy etc.

Resident Evil 3: Nemesis was the 1st game I ever beat and what made me become interested in gaming but was still a casual for many years to come

and then...

Devil May Cry was what made me buy my first console (PS2) and after that I became what I can call a "true gamer".

A couple of years later... Shadow of the Colossus was what made me see gaming as more then "just" an hobby but also an art form. It completely changed my perspective of what games could become: emotional experiences by tone, artstyle, environment, sound, music, etc, etc.

Thats why I dont buy the "elitist" argument that games should only be about gameplay. Games can be way more than that. A game with shitty gameplay can still bring pleasant memories for years to come as long as it has its own strenghts

Oh that's easy, Halflife. It went all the the way up to 11.

Total Annihilation. I knew immediately this would be my answer to this question, I just agonised over how to summarise my explanation. Let's just say I'd have to write an entire essay just to explain the huge influence this game has on me.

Goldeneye. The 1st game 4 of us could play without having to pass a controller. Played many hours and killed many beers playing that game.

Honorable mention to Missile Command on Atari. Got the game with my system for X-mas around 1980 or 81 and stayed till midnight playing.

Samurai Shodown. It made me bought a freaking Neo-Geo Gold system for that!

Streets of Rage 2. It's my favorite game, not just because it's the best, but because I've played it with my dad, brother, cousins, and many friends throughout my life.

Wing Commander 3 for me.

X Wing and Tie Fighter are right there.

Those were just the first games that made dreams seem like reality. I really felt like a space fighter pilot in a huge war and it was up to me to win that war.

Zelda Wind Waker also has a special place in my heart because that level of adventure was unheard of for me. I would sail around listening to that great music with a huge grin on my face for hours.

Blood . A pc fps from the 90's. Its what made me appreciate games and consider them art.

@Renegade_Fury: I used to play it with my mother. Great memories.

@phbz: Yeah, it's a great game to get someone to play co-op with. I remember I once got my mom to play it too, which I'm pretty sure is the only time that she's ever held a game controller, lol.

Halo series, Battlefield series, older Call of Duty series, etc ... Many to mention.

Everquest 1 (1999).

Metal Gear Solid 2: Perfect timing. This game predicted the future in so many ways. Really damn cool how this game came out in 2001 and nailed stuff that has happened today. Thought provoking. The Matrix Of Video games.

Metal Gear Solid 3: No Explanation Needed.

Metal Gear Solid 4: The most emotional roller coaster ride for me. This is the end of the story. 50+ years of in game story finally ending. And goddamn, I didn’t think it was possible to top MGS3’s ending, but Kojima did it.

I could not have asked for a better way to end the series. It is a masterpiece.

A game which is close to me is playing FIFA 95 on mega drive with mates. It was a time when I had no worries in the world. Great times the mega drive brought me great joy as a kid.

Starcraft for me game was ahead of its time

Old school Sega and their games are near & dear to me, current Sega sucks arse for the most part.

Starcraft introduced me to RTS

Tactics Ogre knight of Lodis introduced me to SRPG

both game made me realize my love for strategy games. Hard to find a good one these days!

Somehow I hate fire emblems though. felt its too casual for me since well, its made by Nintendo.

Everquest.

From current titles, probably hollow knight, due to many hours spent playing it with my son. It’s his first video game.

GTA

Xenogears It is the game I will remember over all others. This is Square Soft's greatest masterpiece!

-Stand Tall and Shake the Heavens!!

The original Legend of Zelda. When I was really young my Uncle would watch my sister and I while my parents were at work. He played video games a lot and would always let me play Mario and other games. I was too young to remember playing Mario or Duck Hunt, but I still remember the day I played Zelda for the first time. It's one of my earliest memories and is the reason I play video games today. I lived in a small town and the sense of adventure I got from the game shaped my childhood. Always wanting to go explore and see if I could find a hidden cave or forest. It helped me fall in love with gaming and I still enjoy going back to it.

Close Combat 2: A Bridge Too Far (1997).

I still play the original CD release.

Probably Half-Life.

Sort of breathed new life into the genre. Demonstrated how immersive a game could be without cutscenes, a voiced protagonist, etc.

Introduced me to online gaming, which proceeded to be a huge part of my life to this very day.

Modifications, showed just how incredible PC gaming can be.

Thief: The Dark Project. Unforgettable experience. You just can't top that.

WOW.

It helped me quit smoking for a year, I met some life long friends in that game and it gave me a world I could really dive into.

Man... there is almost to many to list, but I can do a few

Super Mario 1,3,World, Maker

Contra, Super C

RBI Baseball

Goldeneye

SOCOM 1,2,Confrontation

World of Warcraft

Breath of Fire 1,2,3

I'll just leave those. That wasn't more than 1 was it?

Half life 1. Man, I bought a new PC so that I could run it properly, and then was so intent on kicking my brother's butt on LAN that I bought him a new GPU so he could play it. Hearing him shriek in panic as I flooded the chamber yet again still puts a smile on my face.

I played Chrono Trigger a year back, didn't really get why it was considered so great. What did you like about it so much?

I think FF7 was the game to get me into gaming pretty consistently... I still remember that we'd bug my dad to go rent it from the local store on the weekends.

Can't name a single game, it has to be two on my list, and that is Final Fantasy 8 and 10.

Final Fantasy 8 - My first Final Fantasy game, the storyline was phenomenal and replayed it over 10+ times.

Final Fantasy 10 - My second or third Final Fantasy game, music was mesmerising and replayed over 10+ times.

Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth (Original) was probably one of the best story-driven rpg's I've played in a long time and is the closest a game has come to bringing me to tears for some reasons. (Especially when they play the sad music, love that tune. even though it's sad.)

Gran Trusimo (Origional, PlayStation one) however was my first video game (Aside from those old lcd baseball games that where a dollar or couples,) and so it holds a lot of sentimental value to me, also being the first video game I ever saw and being the one which made me say "Wow! I've gotta have this stuff!"

Ace combat Zero thew Belkan war is probably one of my favorite video games of all time, tied or slightly surpassed by Civ III complete, though.

Sonic the Hedgehog on the Sega Master System. The Master System and Sonic were the first console and first video game that my old man got me as a birthday present. I became a hardcore gamer and Sega fan ever since. And it's the best gaming memory I had with my old man. Good times.

Runner-up would be Final Fantasy VII. While not the first open-world RPG I played (that would be Secret of Mana) or the first cinematic game I played (that would be Resident Evil), FFVII blew me away in a way no game has done before or since. It was a combination of multiple factors, from the solid RPG gameplay, epic open-world scale and cinematic AAA production values to the gripping story, memorable characters, shocking plot twists and fun mini-games, that came together into a package quite like unlike anything I had seen before.

@robert_sparkes: Still have that game and occasionally play it.

Overwatch, BF1, and COD WW2 have kept me busy a few years

Final Fantasy 8 and the NES Mario games

Yes, and yes. I remember playing SMB3 at my Grandad's neighbour's place. Their kids and I would sit taking turns and it was great.

Although Deus Ex 1 and STALKER SoC are 2 of my fav games of all time. Half life series basically define what gaming is most to me.

incredible level design and pacing and tell one of the best story without interrupting or having a single cutscene is an art. something no one other than valve has ever done.

@lundy86_4: @blamix said:

Final Fantasy 8 and the NES Mario games

Yes, and yes. I remember playing SMB3 at my Grandad's neighbour's place. Their kids and I would sit taking turns and it was great

The good ol days :)

MCC, nothing else comes close.