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I'nhalki · **08-26-2015, 07:18 PM**

My childhood basically plays as a timeline of the games I played, when I look back. My dad bought an NES the year I was born so he could have an excuse to own something my mom considered a toy, so I grew up with Nintendo and then Sony consoles every year of my life. Gamer dads are awesome.Â

It's clichÃ© as all hell, but Ocarina of Time was my formative game. I was honestly far too young to appreciate the earlier Zelda titles. Ocarina of Time was the first game that made me cry. It had themes about the bittersweetness and loss of growing up that I still get chills about looking back. I still get choked up when I think about seeing Saria again as an adult--I dunno why it hit me in the feels so much, but it did. The technical and thematic sophistication of that game really stood out to me for the first time as a kid the same way my favorite books and movies did.Â

Other than that, my formative gaming memories are social ones from elementary school and with my dad--trading PokÃ©mon with buddies at school, inviting friends over after school to play Rogue Squadron or Mario Kart on the 64... Trying to get 120 stars before my dad did on his save file in Mario 64... And then the more solitary memories of the PS1 and PS2 RPGs and horror games that I came to love but didn't have anyone to share them with (somehow all my friends became Counterstrike and Halo zombies in middle school).

Growing up with video games is awesome. It's really like having a whole vast array of beautiful places to explore and play in as a child. If my husband and I ever decide to have kids, I'm definitely following my dad's example. : )

A'kos Saiyal · **08-26-2015, 07:28 PM**

First rpg I ever played that got me into that format of games, the original Dragon Warrior. I played that nearly to completion, where it died on me, and lost my data. A year or two later I found it, got mad at it all over again, and punched the cartridge, just one time, but it wised up and my data was restored. I didn't get up until I saved the princess.

On the computer, probably The World of Xeen. The combined Might and Magic 4 & 5. I still remember the last scene of 5 with Corad.

But my favorite rpg's of all time, that didn't just define what I like in games, but in how I right and still gives me things to think about, The Legend of the Dragoon and Xenogears. I liked the former so much more than FF7, especially the characters, and Xenogears had everything. I loved the story, giant mechs, martial arts, the combat system. There's no other console game I've put more hours into before or since. The second disk was more of a visual novel with dungeon clearing for half the disk, but since I liked reading so much, I didn't even care.

Even now, when someone talks about a dragoon, I first think of Dart, Rose and Lavits. Herschal and Miranda. Nothing has really compared to those two games since, no matter how much I enjoyed them.

Sig · **08-26-2015, 07:56 PM**

In no special order:

FFVI (the first thing that really sucked me into fantasy aesthetics);Â
Baldur's Gate II (best RPG story and characters, ever);Â
Xenogears (excellent story and characters);Â
Suikoden II (so. damn. emotional.);Â
Morrowind (lost myself in it for daaaays);Â
Everquest (the GLORY DAYS).Â

Glacirus · **08-26-2015, 11:55 PM**

God, so many games could be listed here...but I'll try to contain myself to the first/introduction to certain types of games. In no real order:

Yoshi's Island (First real game experience)
Final Fantasy/FFII/Earthbound/Pokemon (First RP experiences)
Ragnarok Online (First MMO and Class/Job focused game)
City of Heroes (First in-game RP experiences)
FF Tactics Advanced (Game that returned FF to my life)

...god, so many more games come to mind, but I'd really go on and on and on, so I'll stop now.

13uddy · **08-27-2015, 10:44 AM**

As a young child, I remember spending so many hours a week over the course of many, many years playing the arcade games at local restaurants, such as "Joust", "Pac-Man" and a bunch of others. Â But the one I spent the most time (and quarters/tokens) playing was the old Star Wars arcade game that was built so that you sat inside the frame and played as if you were piloting a starfighter. Â
[Image: 117624-atari_star_wars_arcade_game.jpg]

[Image: 117624-atari_star_wars_arcade_game.jpg]

For console and other video games, I had all the usual games (the Super Mario Bros. series, Duck Hunt, Tetris, etc.), but it was the RPGs like Final Fantasy and other games that ate away most of my time playing. Â

In my teens, while I still loved RPGs, I also became addicted to Monster Rancher. Â To this day, I still consider Monster Rancher 2 to be one of the best games ever. Â The influence Monster Rancher had on me is still pretty evident today with how I enjoy other games where you raise a monster pet, such as the main Pokemon series and select spinoffs (like Pokemon Conquest), some Digimon games and many others (including sites with a pet monster theme). Â I also think it might be a part of the reason I enjoy pet classes in many MMO games as well, such as the Beastlord of EverQuest 2 or the Hunters of WoW. Â I may be in my mid 30's, but I have never truly given up my dream of having my own pet monster.

Little Yuna · **08-27-2015, 11:02 AM**

[Image: metroid.jpg?itok=ak9tB7Z2&timestamp=1440443384]

Manari · **08-27-2015, 11:21 AM**

(08-27-2015, 11:02 AM)Little Yuna Wrote: *awesome Samus picture*

As a kid I remember it being more like this: Â

[Image: m1art_cartoons.jpg]

Melodia · **08-27-2015, 11:35 AM**

Mine go way back.

Legend of Zelda
Castlevania
Wizards and Warriors
Contra
Baseball Stars
Dragon Warrior

All NES games but ones I loved. Until the Sega Genesis and Phantasy Star III. LOVED that game. The concept of sci-fi in a game and being able to marry someone of your choice, and then continuing the game with their kid? Awesome.

My firstÂ Final Fantasy was VIIÂ and when I was 21 in the Army.

cuideag · **08-27-2015, 11:41 AM**

Super Mario RPG was incredibly important to me and I blame it for giving me the first bud of a very weird appreciation for bad guys and bad guys chumming up with good guys. Also, it was just so fun and the music was so good.

I only really wanted a PS1 because of Masters of Teras Kasi (I'll fite u I was great at that game)but not long after that a friend insisted I try this FF7 thing. While that was great, I think Breath of Fire 3 was the one that ended up having a bigger impact on me. It was the first BoF game I played so I didn't have the context that the others might have given me but I was still amazed with the mythology and the world. I am still a sucker for deities and gods and they ways they conflict or grow with each other and their lessers.

Xenogears was incredible to me for so many reasons and I am still mad with someone I knew for throwing the copy I lent her away. SO MAD.

ICO and Katamari Damacy happened when I was in high school so kinda borderline childhood I guess but they definitely deserve mention each.

Roe Dad · **08-27-2015, 11:43 AM**

Oh megaman 3 how I loved you. But megaman x is what really did it for me. Some of my other favorites include mystical ninja and zombies ate my neighbors

Martiallais · **08-27-2015, 11:45 AM**

Legend of Zelda is probably the classic that most defined my childhood (I mean look at Martiallais LOL). I even had one of the shiny golden cartridges. With each iteration of the game I became more and more of a fan.

Right behind that (and on a different spectrum) was the Megaman series. I know I broke (and had to use my allowance to pay for) 3-4 new controllers as the older games were what I've dubbed 'Nintendo Hard'. But I still loved them and still love (some) of them now.

Games like Street Fighter (hello, going to school with little bandaids on), Streets of Rage, Double Dragon/Battletoads, Contra, and Castlevania get an honorable mention. I was actually behind on the RPGs and ended up going back playing a lot of the classics that people have mentioned here much later. But Xenogears is still a personal favorite RPG till this day.

Speaking of late, another one I came to later was the Metroid train but I distinctly remember my little brother, who was the bigger fan, complete with posters of Samus on his walls, finding out at the end of the second game (I think?) that she was in fact a girl. At first he was pretty shocked but she's still one of his favorite characters to this day. Gotta love gaming memories with family right? Big Grin

Stormwind · **08-27-2015, 11:52 AM**

There are many. More then I will probably be able to name here. I had the fortune of growing up in the golden age of video gaming (NES-> PS2) so my list of classics is long.

Final Fantasy 3/6 is a big one. This is my gold standard for Final Fantasy games and everything has come up short since then.

The Legend of Zelda series, A Link to the Past and OoT, especially. These are such good games.

Lastly and most important Chrono Trigger. I have yet to find a game that engages me or gets me going more the Chrono Trigger. I own every version and re-release of the game, and probably replay it once a year....speaking of which...it's been awhile.

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Those Childhood-Defining Classics

RPC has moved! These pages have been kept for historical purposes