If you could experience one game for the first time again, which would it be?

[Saltyk]

I'd have to say Final Fantasy VII. I've stated multiple times on this site that it is my all time favorite game. And I mean that. It will always be my favorite. Even if I play a better game, it will never beat FFVII. For me, it was my Undertale. My Chrono Trigger. Whatever game you played that let you know that games could be more than "run right, jump, and shoot" or "shoot bad guy in face till dead" or whatever, that is what FFVII is to me.

However, I have one regret. I knew Aeris (Aerith) was going to die before I even started the game up. My uncle, trying to save me from investing time in leveling her up, told me that she died. As a result, her death meant very little to me at the time. I hear people who say they cried when she died, but I can't relate. I kind of regret that. So being able to experience that moment blind would be worth a lot to me.

 

[MHR]

If I could go back in time as well, World of Warcraft. Vanilla was the shit.

If there's no time travel involved... I dunno, uhhhhh

Elder Scrolls; Oblivion? That game had a lot of mechanics other games didn't have at the time. Huge living open world, a physics engine, a veritable infinite collect-athon, hundreds of hours of gameplay, and a fuckton of bugs. That would involve forgetting the other Bethesda games though, because all the others are upgrades over junky Oblivion, aren't they?

WITHOUT forgetting ANY other games, or using fucking time travel, I guess I might pick The Legend of Zelda; A Link To The Past. I'd still remember all the modern games, but I could see how old games truly hold up to the newer shit, even if it's only a nihilistic exhibition match between nostalgia and reality.

Possibly wasting a wish to find out a beloved old game was shit the whole time; Brilliant.

 

[distortedreality]

Chrono Trigger. Fantastic game even to this day, but it just doesn't hit me like it did the first time. You can't go home again.

This was going to be my answer, but personally, it hasn't lost any impact over the years, the story is just as engaging now as it ever was.

I'm tempted to say something like Gone Home - simply because there's no real benefit to replaying it, and the impact that the story had is somewhat lost on subsequent playthroughs.

KoToR would be another one. I still enjoy replaying it, but knowing the 'twist' definitely colours my perception of the story and the choices I make.

 

[DeadProxy]

If I had to pick one, I'd have to cheat and pick Mass Effect 2 and 3, because I played them back to back when ME3 released, and see the whole series as one whole game.

My first experience with these games was fantastic, and went about as perfect as one could hope for without having prior knowledge. My Shepard looked human (basic shepard is lame, always customize) and had enough renegade to have a slight scar, the crew is great and varied, and except for one moment, I was able to pick either Paragon or Renegade option I wanted throughout Mass Effect 2.

There was just so much I enjoyed about the games that when I beat ME3 the first time, the next month of my life was just replaying 2 and 3 in sequence, trying to relive my first run, as well as try some of the other romances, but something always went a different way than expected.

Plus, the feels this game made me feel were damn strong. Jack is definitely my favourite character, being all strong and stuff on the outside, but a scared little girl on the inside was well done to me, with her romance scenes all being emotional and not just some sex scene like Miranda.

And if I could relive the Citadel dlc of ME3 (the really funny, basically fan service dlc) I could die happy, that dlc is so full of jokes and memorable moments.

 

[Bernzz]

Definitely Metroid Prime. The first time I played that game, it was a borderline religious experience. I finished Prime 2 again about a year ago and it fell into the realm of "really fucking good" as opposed to flat out blowing me away. Don't get me wrong. The games have aged VERY well (as first party nintedo games tend to do). But nothing beats that initial "hit" (if you want to use an analogy for less than legal substances).

You beat me to it, mate.

Definitely Prime for me. Not played it for a few years so I reckon I'm due a replay, but yeah. Nothing beats the initial foray into a Metroid game, and Prime especially.

 

[FalloutJack]

YOU WANT ME TO PICK ONE?!

My sentiments exactly, but I have one decent idea, one that I don't have at my fingertips and has been a long time since I DID play: Skies of Arcadia.

I don't have the system it was made for anymore, or my copy. I don't have a Gamecube or any idea where to find it for that. Suffice to say, this was an exceptionally good game, alot of fun with thrills and adventure. Be a pirate AND a hero AND kick some ass? Oh, hell yes. That's worth doing over, most definitely.

 

[totheendofsin]

Earthbound, that game was the one that convinced me games were more than just a mindless distraction and they could have narratives that rival and even surpass film and literature

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

Mass Effect 2. Strange that I'd like to forget the second one. I'd have to forget the third one as well for this to make sense. I remember the hype before it. It was real, so real. And then the game came out and it totally lived up to the enormous hype. First time meeting everyone, Illusive Man being awesome, the suicide mission, Legion, Mordin, Thane etc. The epilogue and hype for third game. Too bad that third game didn't deliver. But the second one is one of the best gaming experiences I've ever had.

 

[FakeSympathy]

KOTOR,

would love to experience Lord Revan plot twist again

 

[broadbandmink]

The main issue I find with this topic is that some of my favourites go way back and might not have aged that well given all the titles I've played since.

So, with that in mind, my safest bet would probably be the original Deus Ex, since I still have a blast with that one every time I boot it up for another re-run.

 

[Politrukk]

Bioshock,Oblivion or Gears of War if we take them as they were at that time.

Bioshock was impressive graphics, story,ambience,gameplay all made for a massive experience.
Gears of War 1 was at the time quite revolutionary it set the bar with a new gameplay style and art/story direction, people harp on it a lot but it's actually quite a decent storyline they had there.
Oblivion was incredible for the generation gap and reset the standards for open world games, from start to finish it was an incredible experience at that time.
Especially for someone like me who didn't go for the PS2 or the Xbox but the gamecube that was a huge leap.

 

[BrawlMan]

Devil May Cry 3 or Bayonetta. The epitome of the action genre were some of my favorite games to experience.

I would normally say Devil May Cry 1 based on how much I adored that game, but it really has not aged well at all.

The same, except I would be adding Sonic 3 & Knuckles to the list.

 

[Corven]

For me it would have to be undertale.

The reason why is when I first heard of the game my opinion was pretty much "eh, some retro nostalgia laden rpg that I would never finish." So I ignored it at first, but then I started to hear people I trust on game recommendations praise it, so I became intrigued enough to watch a let's play and I ended up loving the hell out of the game but I thoroughly ruined the chance to play and experience it for myself without any outside influences.