The Game...That Made You A Gamer.

[PBMcNair]

Metal Gear Solid, for me.

Not the first game I played, or the first I played to death.
But it was definitely the first time I thought of myself as a gamer.
During one of the codec calls with Miller, he recommends to "trust your instincts as a soldier, as a gamer".
That was the first time I ever really heard the term, and I've been followed that advice in game ever since.

 

[Malbourne]

Definitely going with my purple pal Spyro, from the first installment Spyro the Dragon on the Playstation. I still remember the opening jingle, the Insomniac logo, the poor gnorc that gets his patootie kicked off that mountain, Spyro gliding in and making eyebrow jiggles, the "bling" of selecting the menu options, choosing a save file and hearing that jingle, starting in the Artisan home world, freeing the first dragon and realizing how super awesome it was to be talking to this guy, jumping straight off the beginning balcony, running around and collecting gems, watching Sparx grab the ones I missed, charging the gnorcs, flaming the sheep, running through that hedge maze, exploring the nighttime environs of the first level (I skipped Stone Hill, sue me), recognizing that certain enemies were weak to fire or bashing, exploring the underground caves, collecting a key to open a chest that spat out a veritable trove of gems, finding that one ruby that tried to sneak past my attention before I left that cavern, finding the end of the level and discovering I could light the campfires for the heck of it, wondering how on earth I'd be able to take down that humongous gnorc with the club and then realizing I could just sear his soft behind, laughing at the idle animations, going to Stone Hill (finally), chasing the egg thief, jumping down the well, cross-charging the bulls, learning how to do that sick side-roll I never used again, jumping on the rooftops of the small acropolis, gliding out and realizing I could land on a small beach by the waterside, getting 100% on that level and uncovering my true nature as a completionist, entering the Town Square level (okay, I'm not good with names), adoring the change in scenery (from daylight to dusk), frying poor chickens, falling in the water several times before getting that gliding right, taking the time to get those difficult gems, flaming the gem-in-the-boxes, nearly killing myself by charging metal treasure chests, collecting my first one-up dragon trophy, taking on the deceitful Sheep-on-Stilts that was the first boss Toasty (man, I hated those dogs and did I mention I forgot how to roll), taking my first steps in the desert hub world, getting mooned by the enemies, speedrunning Dr. Shemp, skating through the ice level, firing cannons, entering my first-ever flying level (wooooooh), getting at all those nooks and crannies of every level, flying, flaming, butting horns, talking to more and more dragons, fighting gnorcs,

Well, you get the idea. Musta played the game a hundred times.

 

[ArcadianDrew]

Probably like most people it wasn't just one game that got me into gaming but a succession of games over the years. I was 9 when i got my first console (seems relatively old round here), a mega drive with sonic 2. I played that game for hours everyday but it was all I played and even when I got a N64 and Ocarina of Time (favorite game ever) gaming was just something I thought I would grow out of one day, you know, that magical day when you go from child to adult. But I think the game that made me realize I will always be a gamer (and got me back into gaming after a few years out) was Resonance of Fate. I don't know what it was but that game had me hooked from the moment I started playing it, and in the 3 years since buying it I've gone from owning a mega drive, N64 and hand-me-down PS1 to owning Xbox360, PS3, Dreamcast, DS and various PC games as well. So yeah, Resonance of Fate helped me expand my gaming horizons.

Special mentions go to FFIX and Skies of Arcadia for showing me RPGs can be awesome.

 

[small]

Missile command came close to doing it but it was a single game in the summer of 1983, walking through the arcade section at a local bowling alley and then i heard it, a video game actually speaking and it was obi wan kenobi .. the game was arcade star wars.. it still gives me goosebumps even today, wire frame graphics and all

 

[MeatMachine]

Super Mario Bros. 3 and Doom II.

 

[PinkiePyro]

Pokemon red version... I had my game boy for a year before pokemon came out ended up buying it loving it so much that I got a subcription to nintendo power which led to me wanting a N64 and the rest is history

(hmmm red version... red team I guess I just figured out why I prefer tf2s red team to blu)

 

[Kingjackl]

Of all things, I'd say it was Super Smash Bros Brawl. Before that, I was just a guy who occasionally played video games. I'd say Smash Bros Brawl made me a gamer for three reasons:

1. It introduced me to series' I'd never played before such as Metroid, Metal Gear & Fire Emblem, which significantly broadened my horizons.

2. It was the first game I'd specifically followed the hype for in the lead-up to it's release. I learned everything I could about the characters, the modes, the maps, etc. and I also became aware of the difference between Japanese, American and Australian release times. That fucking came came out 3 months after it did in the US!

3. It introduced me to Yahtzee. Some fanboy or another posted a link to his review of Brawl expecting me to share in the outrage, but it just made me an instant Zero Punctuation fan. That introduced me to a deeper level of games journalism and critique than what I had previously been exposed to, and led to me discovering nearly all of my favourite internet entertainers and commenters, such as Jim Sterling, Moviebob, TotalBiscuit, Shamus Young, Australian Gamer, the GAP and Miracle of Sound.

 

[deleted_by_strongbad]

Dragon Wars By Interplay, this game was the first game that really drew me in, despite all story being told by the screen telling me which page to read in a physical book, which isn't terribly immersive. It sparked a deep love for games and mythology at once.

 

[abcodi]

GTA made me a Gamer!

 

[Gamerpalooza]

Megaman and Mario on the NES

 

[duwenbasden]

Supra Mario Bros the first, on the Famicom no less!

 

[Angelous Wang]

Final Fantasy VII

I'd had the Megadrive, Mastersystem and Saturn before I got Playstation, but I never really considered myself a gamer until I hit the Playstation generation, maybe that was just an age thing.

Final Fantasy VII was the game that finally had me think "Yep, I'm doing this forever."

 

[Rucka'sNucka]

I really didn't play games until the PS2 era, and the first one I played was Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. Yeah, a great intro to video gaming.

 

[Bruce]

Quest for Glory IV sealed the deal for me.

I grew up on games like the Legend of Zelda, Super Mario Brothers and Sonic the Hedgehog, but in real terms it was the first game that I formed a real emotional attachment to.

 

[ExDeath730]

Complicated, i guess it was Final Fantasy VI and Super Street Fighter II, both in the SNES. The first one was my first RPG ever, and it's still one of my favorite games ever, it's just so good, the characters, the system, the story...And SSF II was like the first fighting game i actually tried and got good at. That moment when you notice how you understand the characters and their reach, speed, etc...And can use one or another to their best? Is awesome.

Another very important moment was when i changed from consoles to PC. I remember that it was because of three games. Diablo II, that showed how fun a hack'n slash is, Baldur's Gate II, that made me see how a RPG for PC can be deep (and it was my first time with mods) and Tomb Raider II, that showed that i didn't need a console to play action games, and i loved the fact that my PC that was cheaper than a PS1 (i live in Brazil) was way more powerful than one.

 

[OldDirtyCrusty]

In the eighties various c64 titles like Giana Sisters and others. Maniac Mansion stood out and Lucas Arts followed up to the nineties. I loved their adventures + the whole jump'n'run stuff from Nintendo on the snes. Later the psone with all the upcomming third person titles and racing games. Ridge Racer, Syphon Filter, Road Rash, Tenchu. 2000 i started again as a pc gamer. At the time Max Payne 1&2, Soldier of fortune 1&2 and Gta3 are some of my most played titles. It just kept going and the c64 started it. I wouldn't say it was a single game that got me into it. It was this little grey box and arcade brawlers i played in my early youth on holidays.

 

[LunarKraken]

The first game that I learned to play with competence was Sesame Street ABC 123. I would sometimes watch others play SMB, but platformers were too difficult for me at 3-4 years old.

Spoiler

I think "Ernie's Big Splash" was my favorite minigame (27:30).

In retrospect, this game was kind of creepy.

 

[sumanoskae]

The first one I picked up. I think it was that old Power Rangers SNES game. From day one, I was hooked; I knew that I'd be doing this for the rest of my life.

I suppose the game that really made me begin to appreciate what a unique and powerful artistic tool video games are was Knights of the Old Republic; that was the first time I was totally enamored with an interactive story.

 

[pearcinator]

Super Mario 64

It was my first video game so yeah I can safely say it made me a gamer.