We all have that one game that holds a special place in our hearts. What game is it for you?

For me, it’s Metal Slug. Growing up, every Monday, my parents would drag me to the laundromat after work. As a kid, it was a pretty boring, but I had my toys, origami books, and coloring books to keep me entertained. However, my favorite thing to do was playing the Metal Slug arcade machine with my dad.

My dad was great at the game, and he taught me how to play. Though I improved, I could never keep up. When I’d inevitably die, he’d let me take over his side to let me have a bit more playtime. My favorite part was when he’d share stories from when he lived in another country and would go to the local arcade.

Those moments are cherished memories, and even today, whenever I visit an arcade, Metal Slug is the first game I play, despite still being terrible at it haha

Honorable mention goes to Mario 64, another game that holds a special place in my heart. I got an N64 from a garage sale, and playing Mario 64 while at home, with my mom’s “chore” music in the background ignited my love for gaming

  • cazssiew@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    In terms of nostalgia, ffvii, but the most moving experience I’ve ever had with a video game is mother 3.

    • vivadanang@lemm.eeEnglish
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      1 year ago

      Also David Lynch’s batshit insane original movie.

      yeah, seeing the miniseries and the new film has given me a lot more appreciation for how fantastic Lynch’s execution really was. Still one of my all time favorites and I love the books (er, original herbert, not the son as much).

      If you liked that stuff, check out Herbert’s other writing, specifically the Dosadi Experiment and Whipping Star. Any universe that posits a Bureau of Sabotage that fights against the galactic bureaucracy becoming too effective gets my respect.

  • rxbudian@lemmy.ca
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    1 year ago

    Capitalism 2 It’s one of the older games, but it’s pretty good at learning to understand supply chains and costing

  • willya@lemmyf.ukEnglish
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    1 year ago

    There’s a lot, but similar to yours, probably the original Killer Instinct arcade version. My parents were in a bowling league every year and I’d go when I was younger. It was on Friday/Saturday nights. They’d give me money for the arcade every time. Plenty of nights where I got to play for a long time only paying once cuz I had got so good at the game. There was only one other kid that could take me down.

    • Ashtear@lemm.ee
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      1 year ago

      It’s crazy how much of this game was exactly what I needed. I had lived not far from the Oregon coast during the time this was set. Spent a lot of time there. I left a couple years before this game out, just long enough to start missing it deeply. The visuals and the dialogue especially were so on point that it was deeply nostalgic for me. The story about losing and reconnecting with friends, the nerdy shit, all the anxieties, even the animist undertones, I connected with all of it. This game is even a big reason why I started following voice actors, as I was so impressed by Ashly Burch in this role. Chloe is why I played Before the Storm and the Farewell episode, too.

      This is the closest a game has ever felt to being tailor-made for me. It was a step on my mental health journey. I started journaling after playing this. And I started moving on.

        • Ashtear@lemm.ee
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          1 year ago

          I don’t want to oversell it! So much of how the game connected with me was due to unique circumstances and a lot of coincidences.

          It’s not a bad game, though. Got pretty decent reviews.

  • moreeni@lemm.eeEnglish
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    1 year ago

    Need for Speed: Most Wanted. I love arcade racing games, simulators can be annoying sometimes. The graphics were also pretty good at the time. I also really like the customisation options, nothing better than making your car feel really yours.

    The OST is very special to me. It helped me form my current music taste. Hell, I still listen to it from time to time. I have also discovered my favourite band, Mastodon, through the soundtrack.

    But the best part were the cop pursuits. Oh, the sweet sweet adrenaline from dodging car blocks and SUVs etc. I remember how hard my heart was beating every time I was running away from cops after completing every objective, listening to them communicating on the radio, hoping none of them would be on my way to the nearest shelter.

    • lordriffington@aussie.zone
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      1 year ago

      I’m guessing you mean the original Most Wanted. That game was excellent. I think the ‘special place in my heart’ is probably reserved for NFS 3 (which I played the absolute shit out of and was the first NFS game to include cop chases) or the first one just because it introduced me to the series. Most Wanted though was the last good NFS game in my opinion. I lost interest when Underground came out, but when the demo for MW was released I played it so much I had to buy the game. The soundtrack was good as I recall; I think it was also the last NFS game where I didn’t immediately mute the music.

      And yeah, the police pursuits were really good in that. Hard enough to be a challenge, but not so hard that it was punishing.

    • limeaide@lemmy.mlOP
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      1 year ago

      Midnight Club 3 and Little Big Planet 1 & 2 shaped my taste in music a lot. I love the soundtrack to those games

  • compact_ravioli@feddit.de
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    1 year ago

    The Night of the Rabbit by Daedalic was the only video game that made me cry. I never felt like that because of a game ever since.

  • tws@lemmynsfw.comEnglish
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    1 year ago

    FFVII Deus Ex Baldurs Gate Alpha Centuri Master of Orion (1&2) UFO: Enemy Unknown Homeworld

    All the originals

    Very few modern games have captured me the way those did back then. It’s like trying to enjoy modern music, nothing sounds as good as the stuff your 20s

  • Heavybell@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Wing Commander: Privateer. I dunno, there’s something special about a sandbox-trading-combat game where the story must be stumbled upon.

  • ClaireDeLuna@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    It’s hard to really pinpoint just one game…but I would argue Skyrim is my nearest and dearest. 10k hours of playtime since release, haven’t played for nearly 2 years but I still keep tabs on mods in the event I go back (I will).

    I was maybe 12 when I first played Skyrim, roughly a year after it was released and I was enthralled by it. By that age the most “expansive” game I’d played was maybe Minecraft (Beta 1.7.3). I think it might’ve been my first open world game?

    Either way, the music, the questing, the exploration and detail in the worlds always held my ADHD brain’s attention well. I saw the flaws, sure. However I thoroughly enjoyed that janky buggy game more than any other thing out there for a long long while.

    Right behind Skyrim would have to be Dishonored. It’s actually one of the only two games I’ve gotten a physical PC copy for. But the lore, story, and vibes of the game were genuinely so cool to me. I replayed that and the games sequels several times now.

    Minecraft holds a close place in my heart too, I generally come back to it once a year for a nice, lightly modded hardcore playthrough. It especially helps me with creativity, since I get to build something without it feeling like work.

    But yeah, Skyrim will always hold a place in my heart, and to a level it even influenced parts of my younger personality.

  • Bali@lemmy.cafe
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    1 year ago

    Some Sega Genesis games when i was a kid, Streets of Rage, Sailormoon, and Sonic the Hedgehog 2 which i have never finished IDK maybe its the game that’s a bit too hard or maybe I’m just too dumb.

    Fast Forward to 2009, i played a game called The Mana World. It’s my first and only experience with online game. I made some good friends on and from the game, i think the overall community is very nice and helpful. I got hooked leveling up and reached to level 93 in few months. Unfortunately i have to cut the game because i need to focus on my study. Still its my greatest memories with gaming!