So I saw a Youtube video about a guy talking about the games that changed his perception of what video games could be throughout his life. Games that come along and just completely changed your mindset about what you could enjoy about a video game or even how to enjoy them.
The following are the games that really changed how I see gaming, in no particular order:
Super Mario Bros: This is probably the first real game I ever played and started the addiction. While technically not the first video game I got my hands out, my grandfather had an Atari that I played at a very young age. SMB is the first game that I played where i realized I was playing a game that could be beaten. My mom worked in a bar when I was very young and they had a Galaga and a Pac-Man arcade machine that my 5-year-old ass wasn't going to beat on any number of quarters. So SMB was the first game that I got to play where there was no begging for quarters, no pressure of some time limit, and basically infinite retries. It was a video game that I could play endlessly and it was also the first game that had a home balance where it wasn't trying to be hard to dick you out of money, or artificially jack up it's length because there was just no concept of that yet.
Donkey Kong Country: This game was where I started to notice graphics and I remember thinking this game was incredible as the 3D style art was nothing like anything else on the SNES at the time. But on top of that DKC really expanded what a platformer could be, in the sense of it was the first game I played where exploration mattered as there were secrets and mini games in the levels. It had collectibles and while it wasn't the first game to do that, it was the first game that I ever figured them to be a noticeable thing.
Final Fantasy 7: I know you are all tired of hearing me talking about this fucking game, I don't care. FF7 is THE game that showed me that games didn't have to be arcadey experiences that were gone the moment the console was turned off. Games could tell a story, a LONG story, and you could go on a journey with them over weeks or months depending on how long it took to get through. I remember wanting to push through the next boss just to see if I got a cool new bit of story or a sick cinematic. This is the game that made me consider story actually mattering in a game.
Resident Evil 4: Much the same way FF7 made story matter to me, Resident Evil 4 made gameplay matter. Before I didn't have much care to what the gameplay mechanics were to be honest. I liked gaming and I didn't care if it was an action game, an rpg, a platformer, I didn't give a shit. RE4 made it start to stick out. After RE4 it started to become a lot more apparent when a game's mechanics were ass garbage, when things weren't working, in that way is set a new standard in my mind for how a game should play. Furthermore RE4 was the first game were repetitive playthroughs mattered because that was the game where you unlocked new costumes and guns and allowed for a lot of fun replay ability that wasn't really showcased before this.
Mortal Kombat 9: I used to love Tekken, probably my favorite fighting game series as a kid. Though once I started wanted story out of my games, I really stopped playing fighting games. Until MK9 came in with a full on Mortal Kombat retelling featuring a full campaign to go along with the fights. NetherRealms set the bar for what I think a fighting game should have with this entry into the MK games. A great fighter with a full story mode that had all the bells and whistles of a campaign you might see in an Uncharted game or something. Sadly I still don't really like fighting games, but I always play the latest NeatherRealms game regardless.
The Witcher 3: This is another game I've talking about a lot over the years, and really what's more to say about it. TW3 is still one of the best open world games I've ever played. No other game has been able to combine open world gameplay with a story that matters even when it really doesn't. However it is still the mark for what I want out of an open world RPG and it's a mark that nothing has yet even neared touching.
World Of Warcraft: Once I got a console, I thought I was done paying continuously for a game. The arcade idea of having to sink money into a machine to keep playing was supposed to be beyond me. In fact I used to see people playing WoW and think "You buy the game, but then have to keep paying to play it." It made no sense. But then someone got me a trial and told me to give it a go. 12 years later and I guess it's pretty good. The idea of an MMO never really clicked with me because I thought you had to have a bunch of friends, and I didn't have any so how would I ever play this game. Turns out you can just make friends with strangers and like fight dragons and shit and it's a pretty good time. WoW is the reason why I understand WHY a bunch of companies are trying to have "live service" games, and I also understand why the concept of a "live service" game can be really fun for a lot of people. However you can't just fart a game like WoW out, it takes a lot of planning and thought into how a constant game system will work in both the short and long terms, which is something these newer games just aren't doing. God help us if someone manages to crack the WoW-code and make something that engrossing work again.
Bloodborne: I'm not a hard games guy. I'm not, I play on easy and I don't give a shit. Bloodborne was the first time ever playing a game that was supposed to be "hard". A buddy dared me to play it and if I could get to the first boss he'd buy dinner. So I played it for hours at his house while he laughed at me and I failed to get to the boss so I also had to pay for dinner, fucking ****. Anyway I walked away thinking that shit wasn't for me, too hard, total bullshit, fuck it. Then I got my own copy of the game for like stupid cheap and decided to give it a casual shot on my own. The funny thing about it was that even though I hadn't played the game in probably over a year I still REMEMBERED, I remembered the ambushes, I remembered the controls and how to duck, dive, dip, and dodge. I made progress, fast progress even. I think I got to the boss in like an hour, hour and a half maybe. All that struggle at my friends was still with me and I got through all of it. Then I fought the Cleric Beast and I died a few times, but getting back to him was easy and before I knew it PREY SLAUGHTERED. Bloodborne is the first game where some skill-set with me just "clicked", after that Cleric Beast died, I had the game on lockdown and honestly the rest of Bloodborne came kind of easily. Thus my Soulsbourne passion began. There is sometime truly magical about when a game just clicks, and suddenly shit that should be difficult is just a breeze.
What are some games that made a difference in how you view video games? These don't have to be good games, just impact in your personal video game journey.
The following are the games that really changed how I see gaming, in no particular order:
Super Mario Bros: This is probably the first real game I ever played and started the addiction. While technically not the first video game I got my hands out, my grandfather had an Atari that I played at a very young age. SMB is the first game that I played where i realized I was playing a game that could be beaten. My mom worked in a bar when I was very young and they had a Galaga and a Pac-Man arcade machine that my 5-year-old ass wasn't going to beat on any number of quarters. So SMB was the first game that I got to play where there was no begging for quarters, no pressure of some time limit, and basically infinite retries. It was a video game that I could play endlessly and it was also the first game that had a home balance where it wasn't trying to be hard to dick you out of money, or artificially jack up it's length because there was just no concept of that yet.
Donkey Kong Country: This game was where I started to notice graphics and I remember thinking this game was incredible as the 3D style art was nothing like anything else on the SNES at the time. But on top of that DKC really expanded what a platformer could be, in the sense of it was the first game I played where exploration mattered as there were secrets and mini games in the levels. It had collectibles and while it wasn't the first game to do that, it was the first game that I ever figured them to be a noticeable thing.
Final Fantasy 7: I know you are all tired of hearing me talking about this fucking game, I don't care. FF7 is THE game that showed me that games didn't have to be arcadey experiences that were gone the moment the console was turned off. Games could tell a story, a LONG story, and you could go on a journey with them over weeks or months depending on how long it took to get through. I remember wanting to push through the next boss just to see if I got a cool new bit of story or a sick cinematic. This is the game that made me consider story actually mattering in a game.
Resident Evil 4: Much the same way FF7 made story matter to me, Resident Evil 4 made gameplay matter. Before I didn't have much care to what the gameplay mechanics were to be honest. I liked gaming and I didn't care if it was an action game, an rpg, a platformer, I didn't give a shit. RE4 made it start to stick out. After RE4 it started to become a lot more apparent when a game's mechanics were ass garbage, when things weren't working, in that way is set a new standard in my mind for how a game should play. Furthermore RE4 was the first game were repetitive playthroughs mattered because that was the game where you unlocked new costumes and guns and allowed for a lot of fun replay ability that wasn't really showcased before this.
Mortal Kombat 9: I used to love Tekken, probably my favorite fighting game series as a kid. Though once I started wanted story out of my games, I really stopped playing fighting games. Until MK9 came in with a full on Mortal Kombat retelling featuring a full campaign to go along with the fights. NetherRealms set the bar for what I think a fighting game should have with this entry into the MK games. A great fighter with a full story mode that had all the bells and whistles of a campaign you might see in an Uncharted game or something. Sadly I still don't really like fighting games, but I always play the latest NeatherRealms game regardless.
The Witcher 3: This is another game I've talking about a lot over the years, and really what's more to say about it. TW3 is still one of the best open world games I've ever played. No other game has been able to combine open world gameplay with a story that matters even when it really doesn't. However it is still the mark for what I want out of an open world RPG and it's a mark that nothing has yet even neared touching.
World Of Warcraft: Once I got a console, I thought I was done paying continuously for a game. The arcade idea of having to sink money into a machine to keep playing was supposed to be beyond me. In fact I used to see people playing WoW and think "You buy the game, but then have to keep paying to play it." It made no sense. But then someone got me a trial and told me to give it a go. 12 years later and I guess it's pretty good. The idea of an MMO never really clicked with me because I thought you had to have a bunch of friends, and I didn't have any so how would I ever play this game. Turns out you can just make friends with strangers and like fight dragons and shit and it's a pretty good time. WoW is the reason why I understand WHY a bunch of companies are trying to have "live service" games, and I also understand why the concept of a "live service" game can be really fun for a lot of people. However you can't just fart a game like WoW out, it takes a lot of planning and thought into how a constant game system will work in both the short and long terms, which is something these newer games just aren't doing. God help us if someone manages to crack the WoW-code and make something that engrossing work again.
Bloodborne: I'm not a hard games guy. I'm not, I play on easy and I don't give a shit. Bloodborne was the first time ever playing a game that was supposed to be "hard". A buddy dared me to play it and if I could get to the first boss he'd buy dinner. So I played it for hours at his house while he laughed at me and I failed to get to the boss so I also had to pay for dinner, fucking ****. Anyway I walked away thinking that shit wasn't for me, too hard, total bullshit, fuck it. Then I got my own copy of the game for like stupid cheap and decided to give it a casual shot on my own. The funny thing about it was that even though I hadn't played the game in probably over a year I still REMEMBERED, I remembered the ambushes, I remembered the controls and how to duck, dive, dip, and dodge. I made progress, fast progress even. I think I got to the boss in like an hour, hour and a half maybe. All that struggle at my friends was still with me and I got through all of it. Then I fought the Cleric Beast and I died a few times, but getting back to him was easy and before I knew it PREY SLAUGHTERED. Bloodborne is the first game where some skill-set with me just "clicked", after that Cleric Beast died, I had the game on lockdown and honestly the rest of Bloodborne came kind of easily. Thus my Soulsbourne passion began. There is sometime truly magical about when a game just clicks, and suddenly shit that should be difficult is just a breeze.
What are some games that made a difference in how you view video games? These don't have to be good games, just impact in your personal video game journey.
