In this topic, we shall list the games which had a lasting impact on our childhood, or otherwise games you remember playing.
I will list mine from earliest to latest time I first played them (NOT by release date) - from memory, at least. I will not list every game I ever played, just the ones I remember most.
The early years (up until mid 1994):
NES
Super Mario Bros - Obvious choice. I used to be afraid of Mario's death graphic, when I was very young.
Duck Hunt - I was never any good at this. The dog sucking his thumb was creepy.
Mickey Mousecapade - First game I ever beat. The ending screen gave me nightmares. (It was just all black with the word "End" written in cursive)
Super Mario Bros. 2 (USA) - Second game I ever beat. First game I ever played which didn't give me nightmares. I did have dreams about it, occasionally.
Pac-Man - I wasn't very good at this, but my dad and my brother used to play this all the time.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Hard game! I remember my brother got this for Christmas when I was very young (about 5), and it was our 5th game.
Zelda II - The Adventure of Link - First Zelda game I actually PLAYED. (I had seen Zelda 3 before at my cousin's house.) Also my favorite Zelda game, to this day.
Metroid - My brother's friend had this game. I didn't get to play it much back then, but I still remember it as one of the first games I saw.
Super Mario Bros. 3 - Back then, my cousin had this game, I did not. I don't remember playing it much, but I remember watching others play it.
RC Pro-Am - A racing game my cousin had. Memorable from childhood, though I didn't play it much.
Snake Rattle n' Roll - Another game my cousin had, that I didn't get to play much, but still remember.
Dr. Mario - Someone I knew had this game. Never got to play it until later.
SNES (I didn't actually own a SNES until I was 8 (1995), so these are all games my cousins had.)
Super Mario World
Star-Fox
Zelda 3
PC games
Tetris - Instant classic. Couldn't NOT include this one.
Mahjongg - (Or a variation of it for DOS) I used to play the alphabet version when I was very young, where I had to match the letters.
Prince of Persia - Cousin had it. I never played it, but I distinctly remember this game, and got to play it myself later in life.
Monkey Island - Another interesting DOS game.
SkiFree - Classic Windows game with the evil abominable snowman.
Hoyle Card Games (by Sierra) - A game my grandparents had on their old Windows 3.1 computer. I used to play Yahtzee on there all the time.
Microsoft Paint - Yes, I know it doesn't count as a game. I don't care, it was awesome.
Arcade Games
Pole Position - "Prepare to Qualify"
Toobin' -
Rampage -
Raiden - Overhead shoot-em-up game. They used to have an arcade at the local mini mart, and I would play this at least once every time I went.
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Mid-Childhood (mid 1994 to about late 1997)
NES
RoboWarrior - I got this game from my sister in Oklahoma, after the visit in August of 1994. It is quite a difficult game, but I remember eventually beating it.
Contra - I used to be so good at this game, I could beat it without losing a single life. It was all because I was able to practice using the Contra code.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: The Arcade Game - Used to play this 2-player with my brothers. We never beat it, but we got to the final boss a few times.
Skate or Die! - Used to play this all the time. Can't really get into it now, though.
Mega Man V - Played this at my friends' house. Still one of my favorite Mega Man games, to date.
Crystalis - An overlooked NES RPG. Never beat it, but still enjoy the action-RPG style this game featured.
Dragon Warrior - Could never overlook this one. Another game I borrowed from a friend, and beat shortly after. Basically just level-building, which was my specialty back in the day.
StarTropics - Ah, who could forget the chronicles of Mike Jones and the yo-yo weapon? I loved this game, especially the battle-scene music. My brother could play it on the piano.
Kirby's Adventure - One of the best Kirby games of all-time, in my opinion. I would rank it up with Kirby's Dreamland 3, and Kirby Super Star.
Wizardry - Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord - My friend used to play this all the time. Didn't get to play it until later, though.
Dragon Warrior IV - Same as above.
Double Dragon II - I ALMOST beat this game eventually. Not quite, though.
Metal Storm - A very good platformer. I eventually did beat it.
TMNT 3: The Manhattan Project - Much like the Arcade Game, used to play with my brothers. I did beat it, eventually.
Bubble Bobble - How could you go wrong with dragons shooting bubbles?
Exodus - A christian-themed game where you're Moses and you shoot W's at enemies. The gameplay wasn't that bad, actually.
Gemfire - My friend had this game. I love it, very fun strategy game.
The Legend of Zelda - I remember having to call the help line to find the 8th dungeon. They weren't cheap, back then, either. (Something like 95 cents a minute for a few tips)
Destiny of an Emperor - My friend had it. I remember the game, but I don't remember playing it at all.
Dragon Fighter - Another game my friend had. It's your basic platformer.
King's Knight - Yet another game my friend had. I never got far enough back then to hear the good part of the music.
Felix the Cat - My other friend had this. I borrowed it and beat it shortly after.
SNES
Super Mario World - Came with my new SNES. Found all 96 exits, eventually. My favorite level was the dolphin level, and my least favorite levels were Valley Fortress, Wendy's Castle, Soda Lake, and Tubular.
Super Mario All-Stars - First time I beat Super Mario Bros 1, 3, and Lost Levels was through this game.
Jim Power - Lost Dimension in 3D - Came with the SNES. It also came with 3D glasses, which didn't help the gameplay at all. I still consider this one of the hardest games ever made.
Donkey Kong Country - I remember getting this from the rental place, but for some reason never returned it. Great game, too.
Tiny Toon Adventures: Buster Busts Loose - I saw this on a commercial and just HAD to get it (I was a big Tiny Toons fan back in the day.) It truly wasn't that bad of a game.
Animaniacs - My cousin had this one. Very memorable, as was Tiny Toons.
ActRaiser - Definitely a unique concept. Mixes elements of RPGs, simulation, and action games, to form an awesome masterpiece. Still one of my favorite games of all-time.
ActRaiser 2 - Sequel to ActRaiser; far inferior, but not all that bad overall. It took me ages just to beat a single stage.
SimCity - Build your own city! I eventually built a super megalopolis of up to 600,000. My brother built one of nearly 700,000 people.
Super Metroid - My all-time favorite non-RPG, and second favorite game ever made (behind Final Fantasy VI). Lots of good memories for this one, especially when I was stuck in Maridia.
Illusion of Gaia - I have a lot of memories for this game, because I used to connect with the characters really well. It was pretty hard, but I loved the story.
Super Star Wars - I borrowed this from a friend. Had some good times with this one.
Top Gear - Racing game, in which the music especially stood out and remains in my memory.
ClayFighters - "Clay Fighters, Clay-Clay Fighters, their heads are made of CLAY!"
Krusty's Super Fun House - Cousin had it. It's like Lemmings. Remember it well because of the cheesily happy music and such.
Alien 3 - Borrowed from a friend. I actually liked this game, especially with the cheat codes in place.
X-Kaliber 2097 - Another game I borrowed from a friend.
Ultima VI: The False Prophet - Really liked this game, especially the music.
Secret of Mana - My introduction to Squaresoft games begins here. I didn't actually get to play this game myself until later, however. Had to settle for watching my brother play, and playing his file without saving.
Final Fantasy Mystic Quest - First Squaresoft game I ever played for myself. I thought it was one of the best games I had ever played, at the time. Obviously, I hadn't played very many.
Final Fantasy II - First Final Fantasy game I ever played (not counting Mystic Quest). I remember naming the characters after characters in Final Fantasy VII, though I hadn't played that one yet, either.
Super Mario RPG - I remember getting this for my birthday in 1997 or 98, can't remember which. Anyway, this is definitely one of my top-rated games of all-time.
Tetris Attack - First introduced when I rented this game some time in '97. My brother is now a grand champion at this game, being able to score over 50,000 points in the 2-minute time-trial.
Tetris 2 - The game I got ripped off for. We traded in 2 or 3 good games (including SimCity) for this piece of crap.
Mario Paint - My cousin had it. I loved the flyswatting game, and I was also into just drawing stuff, back then.
GameBoy
Super Mario Land - Friend had it. I was so addicted to this game, especially the music. I used to take his GameBoy outside when we went, because I liked it so much.
Kirby's Dreamland - Was a simple game, but fun anyway. Especially liked Castle Lololo's theme, and was disappointed to find it removed in the Kirby Super Star rendition of this game.
Kirby's Dream Land 2 - Actually was a great game, if you ask me. Had some innovative concepts, such as the pets.
Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins - Remember playing this one at a friends' house as well.
Pokémon (Blue and Red versions) - Yes, I was a Poké-kid. I didn't actually get this game myself until later, though. My friend had it.
PC games
Leisure Suit Larry series - Yes, I was too young to be playing this. No, I didn't care and played them anyway. They were good games!
Paperboy - We played this on my friends' old Commodore 64.
Kings Quest (can't remember which number) - Played this on my friends' computer.
Warcraft 2 - One of the only strategy games I ever enjoyed playing.
Duke Nukem 3D - One of the only shooter games I enjoyed playing.
Doom - Same as above.
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Late childhood and early teenage years (early 1998 to early 2002)
NES
Non-emulator
Final Fantasy - I first got a copy of the original FF some time in 1998. I later beat it on an emulator.
Gun.smoke - Not a bad NES game, overall.
Yoshi - Fun and addicting puzzle game.
Bubble Bobble part 2 - Borrowed from a friend.
Metroid - Finally got this game for myself. Didn't beat it until later.
Super Mario Bros. 3 - Same as above.
Emulator
Mystery Quest - First ROM I ever played. It was a somewhat buggy version of the game, and I used NESticle to play it.
Final Fantasy II (j) - I didn't like this game back then, preferred the old-fashioned level-up system. Plus, the music wasn't working at the time.
SNES
Non-emulator
Pilotwings - Got this with some new SNES games, one of the few ones I played.
U.N. Squadron - Decent Plane-shooter type game.
Final Fantasy III - Last game I ever got for my SNES console. Remains my favorite game of all-time.
Mega Man X - Borrowed from a friend. Liked this game.
Street Fighter 2 - Was pretty good with Ryu. Beat it on hard (7) after dying about 300 times.
Emulator
Final Fantasy V - It ran too slow on my old computer, and without sound, wasn't worth playing back then.
GB/GBC
Zelda: Link's Awakening - I bought this game, it got stolen shortly after.
Game & Watch Gallery - Enjoyed getting high scores on my friends' cartridge.
Final Fantasy Legend II - I didn't really understand this game at the time. It was my friends', anyway.
Super Mario Bros. Deluxe - First game I got with Gameboy Color. Still enjoy playing it, to this day.
Dragon Warrior I and II - This game got stolen a long time ago. I got another copy cheat ap GameStop, though.
Dragon Warrior III - Had this game for about a year, then spilled Vanilla Coke on it, and it ceased working.
Nintendo 64
Super Smash Bros - Used to be really good with Kirby.
Zelda - Ocarina of Time - Still one of my favorites, never got a chance to beat it, though.
Mario Tennis - Was a good game. It's lost for good, though, as my brother left it in his old apartment.
Donkey Kong 64 - Same as above.
Goldeneye 007 - I used to play this 2-player with my brother. I never was very good at it, myself.
PlayStation
Final Fantasy VII - Used to be obsessed with this game, and trying to perfect it. Still consider it one of the best PS games ever made.
Final Fantasy VIII - Didn't play this one much, but still was memorable.
Final Fantasy IX - Got this game around when it first came out. I was impressed. Probably my favorite game on the PS.
Breath of Fire III - First game we got with our PlayStation. Didn't play it much, but still have memories.
Spyro The Dragon - My favorite non-RPG on the PlayStation.
Tekken 3 - Used to play with Yoshimitsu and Gon.
Legend of Mana - Possibly one of my favorite Mana games.
Guardian's Crusade - I spent ages leveling my character, only to find that in over 100 hours, I was still less than 5% of the maximum level. Despite somewhat cheesy story, still a fun game.
PC
Diablo 2 - Had me addicted until mid 2002 when I quit. Still fun to play, occasionally.
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Most recent memorable games (mid 2002 to present)
NES
Non-emulator
Swords and Serpents - Interesting RPG with ungodly long passwords.
Overlord - Extremely difficult strategy game.
Little Nemo: The Dream Master - Notable for its music.
Romance of the Three Kingdoms - Never really understood this, but loved the music.
1943 - This was a fun game to play on a rainy day. I didn't get very far, maybe stage 4 or 5 tops.
Toki - Made it to the final boss on this game, never got a chance to beat it.
Emulator
Mega Man VI - Awesome game in general.
3D World Runner - I initially played it because the music was by Nobuo Uematsu. I ended up playing it for much longer.
Final Fantasy III - Finally beat this game on emulator. I was impressed, this game is truly a masterpiece, and shameful it took them so long to release it in the states.
SNES
Emulator
Lufia 2: Rise of the Sinistrals - Best game soundtrack ever. Also, some difficult puzzles, but great game overall.
Seiken Densetsu 3 - I almost beat it over netplay with a friend.
Terranigma - It is a shame they withheld this game from North Americans. It truly is a masterpiece.
Pop'n Twinbee - Your average shoot-em-up game, kinda like 1943.
GB/GBC
Emulator
Lufia 3 - The Legend Returns - I was impressed by this game. I ALMOST bought myself a copy on e-bay. Changed my mind at the last minute.
Metroid II: Return of Samus - First played this on emulator. Probably got about half way through the game before I stopped.
Frogger (GBC) - My friend's game. I borrowed it, and beat it. Not bad if you're bored, I liked how stats were saved.
N64
Non-Emulator
Super Mario 64 - First got this game from a garage sale around 2005. It is really a good game, but I played it when it was way outdated, so couldn't get into it.
PS
Non-Emulator
Legend of Dragoon - I made it to disc 3. Sort of lost interest after that. It's a good game, just haven't had a chance to play it lately.
Dragon Warrior VII - Got this game, was too confusing, didn't play much into it.
Final Fantasy Origins - I loved this game - beat both FF1 and FF2. I consider it the best remake I've played yet of FF1, at least (simply because it sticks with the original MP and difficulty concepts).
Final Fantasy Chronicles - This was my first introduction to Chrono Trigger. Needless to say, I was more addicted to Chrono Trigger than I was any other console game since FF6. I didn't play much of FF4, though.
Final Fantasy Anthology - Only played this for the FF6 PS version. Beat that, though didn't like the slow-loading times.
Spyro 2 - Ripto's Rage - My friend's game. I borrowed it, and beat it. Like the original, it had that addicting feel to it.
Spyro 3 - Year of the Dragon - Same as above.
Crash Bash - My friends and I used to have so much fun with this game. Great 4-player game for parties and stuff. I was usually the worst of the four, so the other three started judging their playing skill based on how close their score was to mine. And/or if I beat one of them, it was shameful to them, because I beat them. :P
Micro Machines - Not a bad racing game, again, played 4 player with friends. I wasn't the worst like in Crash Bash, though.
GBA
Non-Emulator
Sword of Mana - I specifically remember playing this during a vacation to the beach. I LOVED this game. Then again, I loved nearly all the mana games, in their own way.
Metroid: Zero Mission - This is, in my opinion, the second best Metroid game ever made. (First being Super Metroid). I beat this on easy and normal mode.
Lufia: Ruins of Lore - I was kind of disappointed with the 4th installment of the Lufia series. It was too hard to level, and the entire central theme of the game revolving around the Ancient Cave, as opposed to this being an optional dungeon, didn't really suit my tastes. Also, because the music of the last two installments were so superior, I was also disappointed at the bland, common tone of the music in this version.
Final Fantasy I+II: Dawn of Souls - I beat FF1, and I did like the extra dungeons. Unfortunately, the game was just too easy with the new MP system, and I preferred the older system. Haven't beaten FF2 yet.
Tales of Phantasia - My brother got this for me, for my birthday, I believe. I had played the SNES version a little on emulator, and really liked it. I played this version more, but I still prefer the SNES version.
Final Fantasy VI Advance - The most recent game I'm addicted to. Still working on that perfect file.
GameCube
Super Smash Bros. Melee - THE game I played most on GameCube. I was an expert Marth user, and almost won a tournament. Unfortunately, I got beaten in the third round by the person who would go on and win the whole thing. Another Marth user, go figure.
Tales of Symphonia - My second introduction to a game in the Tales series. This is probably my favorite Tales game to-date.
Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door - I got this game last year. Goombella was my favorite character.
PlayStation 2
Final Fantasy X - Played for 20-30 hours. My brothers played way more than I. It's fun and all, but can be confusing, and different leveling system throws me off.
Dark Cloud - I got about halfway through this game. It is a fun game, I liked the weapon level-up system.
Kingdom Hearts - Though I didn't get very far, I spent awhile working up. I loved the first Nightmare theme (it's called Night of Fate)
Legaia 2 - Duel Saga - I have had this game for awhile, I only recently picked it up and started playing it again. It's a typical new-age RPG. Reminds me of Legend of Dragoon, the way you input commands for attacks.
Dragon Quest VIII - This was actually a really good PS2 game, I initially borrowed it from a friend. Then, I liked it so much, I bought it myself. It came with a FFXII demo disc, which was kind of boring. Was initially not gonna buy FFXII, but I ended up buying it (and not playing it) anyway.
Mega Man Anniversary Collection - Awesome collection of all the original Megaman games, from 1 to 8. I beat all up to 7, couldn't beat Wily in 7, though.
Dynasty Warriors 4 - I spent AGES working up my guys in this and Xtreme Legends. My first introduction to Warriors-type games, and I loved it.
Samurai Warriors - Borrowed from a friend. I loved this game, even more than DW4.
Samurai Warriors 2 - I bought this game earlier this year. I played it quite a bit, but still didn't get every character.
Warriors Orochi - Most recent game I own. This game is truly unique. 79 characters to choose from is awesome. Only problem is, they made the story kind of cheesy. Would have preferred something more realistic.
DS
Final Fantasy III - I have spent much of my time on this game working up and/or goofing off. However, it is a great remake of the original. I sent a few mognet mails to friends, too.
Children of Mana - This, along with FF3, were my very first DS games. This game could have been better, but it certainly could have been worse, too. The music is impressive.
Castlevania - Portrait of Ruin - My first introduction to the new Castlevania games. I gotta tell you, I was impressed. This game is awesome, it's like classic Metroid meets RPG.
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Well, there you have it, my list of memorable games.
My top 10 MOST memorable games:
1. Chrono Trigger
2. Secret of Mana
3. Illusion of Gaia
4. Super Mario RPG
5. Final Fantasy VI
6. Super Metroid
7. ActRaiser
8. Zelda II - The Adventure of Link
9. Final Fantasy Mystic Quest
10. SimCity
Topic: Most memorable games (from childhood, and today) (Read 1835 times)