Games that changed your life

[Xalmar]

Ocarina of Time for me. Before I played that game I was kind of casual about games, I only played them with friends or relatives, only for little bits at a time, etc. etc. Then I played this one and it completely blew me out of my seat. Ever since then I've been playing video games with a lot more enthusiasm, gone to video game sites to talk about them, rated a few of them, and so on.

A runner-up would be the Pokemon games, which sparked a huge (and somewhat frightening) streak of fanboyism that lasted well into my high-school years. I still like Pokemon now, I'm just not obsessed with it.

 

[Space Spoons]

Chrono Trigger. Growing up, my older brother was one of the biggest Final Fantasy fans I'd ever seen. I would look at his save files, with several hundred hours logged for each game, and wonder what the appeal was.

Well, when my brother went off to college, he left me his PSOne and a copy of Final Fantasy Chronicles. Since I'd gotten tired of playing Crash Bandicoot, I decided to give Chrono Trigger a try. Yeah, it was an rpg, but it looked different from the ones my brother was always playing.

My mind... Was absolutely blown. I had never before invested so much time and interest into a game, because I had never played one that was so damn immersive. So many endings, so many tech combinations to learn... I played for months to get them all, and I enjoyed every second of it.

The game changed my life because it not only showed me what was so great about the RPGs my brother used to play, but also gave me my first taste of that wonderful feeling you get when you finally triumph over a long, somewhat difficult game.

 

[moose13130]

Metal Geaaaaar rules my soul all the way from number 1

 

[pieeater911]

Fallout for getting me interested in the (Western) RPG genre.

Conkers Bad Fur Day, for having AWESOME multiplayer.

Super Metroid, for being the first game I ever played on the SNES.

There are others, but I can't think of them. I'll add them later.

 

[shatnershaman]

Super Mario Bros (First game...)
Mario 64 for affirming Nintendo fanboyness
Halo Combat Evolved for switching me.

 

[LordCraigus]

Red Orchestra. Not only did it trigger my no doubt life-long interest in the Eastern Front, the game and its community definitely changed the way I look at games as a whole, especially WWII games and the FPS genre.

 

[Boober the Pig]

X-Com: UFO Defense. I had 2 men left with one enemy left. I had fought and lost this battle 6 times already. One of my men had had his mind taken over and was standing in front of the alien, (Ethereal if you are wondering). I had only one hope of winning, I shot through my man at the alien and killed them both. When I hear about friendly fire deaths on a real battle field I always think about that and wonder if someone actually had to make the same type of decision in real life.

 

[valentin8]

When i played the original Nintendo 64 version of Conker's bad fur day it showed me the importance of your loved ones over cash and a kingdom also when you are bored you should throw knifes at your friends while jumping on a two story building lol

 

[black lincon]

fire embalm such a awesome game

In total agreement but more specifically path of radiance and radiant dawn they were kind of about how even when you solved the main problems there were still lots more(both were about someone trying to commit genocide). And cod4 changed my perception of FPS's i just never played them before then bam awesome game. Now I cant get enough FPS's

 

[-Seraph-]

Chrono Trigger. Growing up, my older brother was one of the biggest Final Fantasy fans I'd ever seen. I would look at his save files, with several hundred hours logged for each game, and wonder what the appeal was.

Well, when my brother went off to college, he left me his PSOne and a copy of Final Fantasy Chronicles. Since I'd gotten tired of playing Crash Bandicoot, I decided to give Chrono Trigger a try. Yeah, it was an rpg, but it looked different from the ones my brother was always playing.

My mind... Was absolutely blown. I had never before invested so much time and interest into a game, because I had never played one that was so damn immersive. So many endings, so many tech combinations to learn... I played for months to get them all, and I enjoyed every second of it.

The game changed my life because it not only showed me what was so great about the RPGs my brother used to play, but also gave me my first taste of that wonderful feeling you get when you finally triumph over a long, somewhat difficult game.

Oh Chrono Trigger, you not only made me fall head over heals for RPG's, but with your subtle sub contexts, and symbolism, and philosophy made me look at stories in general in a whole new light. Inspired me to find the greater meaning behind the stories.

 

[SurferRosa]

X-Com: UFO Defense. I had 2 men left with one enemy left. I had fought and lost this battle 6 times already. One of my men had had his mind taken over and was standing in front of the alien, (Ethereal if you are wondering). I had only one hope of winning, I shot through my man at the alien and killed them both. When I hear about friendly fire deaths on a real battle field I always think about that and wonder if someone actually had to make the same type of decision in real life.

Deep stuff. Probably Baldur's Gate, because before that I equated RPGs with console-style or Eye of the Beholder (i.e. rubbish(.

 

[Space Spoons]

Chrono Trigger. Growing up, my older brother was one of the biggest Final Fantasy fans I'd ever seen. I would look at his save files, with several hundred hours logged for each game, and wonder what the appeal was.

Well, when my brother went off to college, he left me his PSOne and a copy of Final Fantasy Chronicles. Since I'd gotten tired of playing Crash Bandicoot, I decided to give Chrono Trigger a try. Yeah, it was an rpg, but it looked different from the ones my brother was always playing.

My mind... Was absolutely blown. I had never before invested so much time and interest into a game, because I had never played one that was so damn immersive. So many endings, so many tech combinations to learn... I played for months to get them all, and I enjoyed every second of it.

The game changed my life because it not only showed me what was so great about the RPGs my brother used to play, but also gave me my first taste of that wonderful feeling you get when you finally triumph over a long, somewhat difficult game.

Oh Chrono Trigger, you not only made me fall head over heals for RPG's, but with your subtle sub contexts, and symbolism, and philosophy made me look at stories in general in a whole new light. Inspired me to find the greater meaning behind the stories.

A modern day classic, without a doubt.

Wish I could say the same for Chrono Cross. Wasn't a bad game, really, but it just wasn't the same... At least not to me.

 

[Thaliur]

The Monkey Island Series, prefably Monkey Island 2. It definatly had a big impact on my sense of humor and love of adventure games.

I'm totally with you on that

Also, I think Neverwinter Nights affected me in some way. I liked playing a bard in it, and this bard-ness also tends to show in my real self. Usually I'm one of the persons in the background, doing what I can to help others in different ways.

 

[SenyorLandline]

If I go way back , then Wonderboy In Monster Land.... but most recently COD2/4. Or maybe COD1 multiplayer sniping on Pavlov.

 

[milomalo]

Silent Hill 1, which I played when I was about 9. I didn't sleep for a week.

yes silent hill and resident evil, how old its silent hill 1? i cant remember and im too lazy to google it

 

[Sethran]

Is this changing your life or just having a slightly altered couple of days? There is a fine line, after all.

For me, Lost Odyssey would have to be the one game in my life that has really altered my perspective of things. After playing it, I began looking at things very differently. After all, having just spent the last however many hours seeing the world through the eyes of a man who could never die, and always lived on regardless of those he left behind, you can't help but be affected in some way.

I think it was the little side stories when he remembered a story from his past that really struck a chord mentally. After all, how would you feel if you knew a boy who had lost his legs at a young age, and knew him until he grew old and died as a satisfied man? Or, how would you feel knowing that this little girl who worshiped you but was too weak to live past the age of twelve would never find you regardless of how long she waited wherever it was that souls went, because you could never die and join her?

Of course, the resulting confusion as to whether or not there is an afterlife, even after a thousand years of wandering and never finding an answer is enough to make one think "What's the point?" in the face of religious struggles and belief wars...

 

[LewsTherin]

Hmm...

Morrowind, for one, was my first venture into the realm of the open-ended First person style of RPG. I was playing at my friends house, and I asked him what to do in the game. he just said, just do whatever comes naturally, the game is like that. Blew my mind.