The First Game You Loved Beyond Entertainment Value?

[Thaius]

I just finished the game in HD. This is, of course, not the first time I played it; I played this game to the point of memorization back when it first released. But I recently found the HD trilogy and just finished Sands of Time, which I still think was the best of them. A truly brilliant adventure.

Sands of Time was, for me, one of the most important games in my development as a gamer. Halo was the first game I loved for story and atmosphere, but Sands of Time was the first game I played with great characters and an emotional story to go with it. The ending still gives me chills.

So, Escapists, what is one of those games for you? That game that may not have been your first love, but marked the first time you loved a game beyond its simple entertainment value?

 

[NerfedFalcon]

The game's biggest flaws are that the Prince's monologues after the vision pillars are deleted if you quit and reload before he can give it, and the lack of subtitles, both of which make it incredibly difficult to know what the game's story is, let alone appreciate it. Have either of those been fixed?

 

[DrederickTatum]

You should change the title of this thread to the question and not your answer.

Ratchet and Clank was the first game that I got properly immersed into the story and liked it for more than just the gameplay (I was still young).

 

[Elementary - Dear Watson]

Final Fantasy IX was the first game that I religeously followed the plot... And then I tried with MGS. Unfortunately the MGS games just lose me at every slight bend!!!

 

[GLo Jones]

I definitely agree with on SoT. It's still up there as one of my favourite games ever. Other than that, the Dynasty Warriors series has stayed with me the longest, those titles represent everything I originally loved about video games.

 

[Kizi]

Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty. Prior to that point, I never paid much attention to story in games but that game definitely had a large role in changing that.

 

[Soxafloppin]

Sonic Adventure 2: Battle, which narrowly beats Super Smash Brothers Melee.

Honestly, for a while they where the only games I played, by a While I mean like a year. (I was about 9 when they came out by the way.)

As for POP:SOT I loved it too, I got the HD collection because I loved SOT and never played the other two before, honestly they let me down a bit, I actually preferred the simple combat of SOT and thought the hunor was spot on and better than the wierd dark tone of WW (Although I do love the story in that game and how it messes with the two princes and time)

 

[Freaky Lou]

Sonic Adventure 2: Battle, which narrowly beats Super Smash Brothers Brawl.

Honestly, for a while they where the only games I played, by a While I mean like a year. (I was about 9 when they came out by the way.))

Are you sure you don't mean Melee? Because Brawl came out about 7 years later.

 

[Casual Shinji]

Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee

The first title that made me realize games could offer so much more than movies interms of visuals and imagination.

 

[Zhukov]

Bioshock I guess.

I've always payed attention to the stories in games, but that was the first one that convinced me that those stories could actually be worth paying attention to.

Before playing Bioshock I was just in gaming for the headshots and explosions, entirely satisfied by the likes of Halo. After playing it I rapidly became the jaded and hyper-critical old grouch you see before you.

 

[Soxafloppin]

Sonic Adventure 2: Battle, which narrowly beats Super Smash Brothers Brawl.

Honestly, for a while they where the only games I played, by a While I mean like a year. (I was about 9 when they came out by the way.))

Are you sure you don't mean Melee? Because Brawl came out about 7 years later.

Yea Typo, Well spotted.

Strangely I only played Brawl for about a month before getting bored.

 

[lobster1077]

I think Metal Gear Solid 2 was the first game I was drawn into because of its narrative rather than its gameplay. It was about 4 years ago so I was 14 or 15 I think. Until then I just valued games for the escapism and fun they provided.

 

[StorytellingIsAMust]

I think it'd be my first Zelda game: Oracle of Ages.

 

[Thaius]

The game's biggest flaws are that the Prince's monologues after the vision pillars are deleted if you quit and reload before he can give it, and the lack of subtitles, both of which make it incredibly difficult to know what the game's story is, let alone appreciate it. Have either of those been fixed?

I beat it in like three sittings (I still have enough of it memorized that I beat it in about 4.5 hours), so I never really noticed the thing about his monologues missing. I don't think it had an option for subtitles, but I did remember the sound mixing sometimes drowned out the voices, so I turned the voices up and the music and effects down, and I understood it fine.

Also, I never actually finished Warrior Within, so I was willing to give it a second chance... and I can't think of a single thing it's doing right. I'll still finish it, but this is pretty bad...

 

[Thaius]

Sonic Adventure 2: Battle, which narrowly beats Super Smash Brothers Melee.

Honestly, for a while they where the only games I played, by a While I mean like a year. (I was about 9 when they came out by the way.)

As for POP:SOT I loved it too, I got the HD collection because I loved SOT and never played the other two before, honestly they let me down a bit, I actually preferred the simple combat of SOT and thought the hunor was spot on and better than the wierd dark tone of WW (Although I do love the story in that game and how it messes with the two princes and time)

Yeah, I only played a little bit of Warrior Within before, because the little I played let me down immensely. Now I'm giving more play time to it, and... yeah, still sucks. The more complex combat only serves to make it more hack-n-slashy, the "darker" tone is just pointless and annoying, and the music almost completely abandoned the "ancient Persian rock" aesthetic and replaced it with generic grunge rock. And is it just me, or are the graphics actually worse?

 

[Sixcess]

Tricky question. Although I've been a gamer since the mid 90s, thinking about it it's probably from as recent as 2009 in that I'd say Fallen Earth.

It's far from perfect, but even when I drift away from it for several months at a time I still keep my subscription going, because I love it for its atmosphere, and for trying to do some things differently from other MMOs, and for coming just close enough to my ideal game that the flaws don't matter. That's enough to make me want to keep supporting it, even when I'm not playing it.

 

[putowtin]

KotOR is a biggy for me, reinstated my love for the Star Wars universe (which last years Force Unleashed II destroyed)

the Assassin's Creed series has to be my favourite series, but not just for the games, for the films, books and comics, which have added more depth to the series I love.

 

[blaize2010]

Either Kotor or Metro 2033. I've played in the tunnels of Moscow 10 times. never gets old.

 

[Soxafloppin]

Sonic Adventure 2: Battle, which narrowly beats Super Smash Brothers Melee.

Honestly, for a while they where the only games I played, by a While I mean like a year. (I was about 9 when they came out by the way.)

As for POP:SOT I loved it too, I got the HD collection because I loved SOT and never played the other two before, honestly they let me down a bit, I actually preferred the simple combat of SOT and thought the hunor was spot on and better than the wierd dark tone of WW (Although I do love the story in that game and how it messes with the two princes and time)

Yeah, I only played a little bit of Warrior Within before, because the little I played let me down immensely. Now I'm giving more play time to it, and... yeah, still sucks. The more complex combat only serves to make it more hack-n-slashy, the "darker" tone is just pointless and annoying, and the music almost completely abandoned the "ancient Persian rock" aesthetic and replaced it with generic grunge rock. And is it just me, or are the graphics actually worse?

To be honest I myself thought the prince looked blockier that SOT, but I thought my mind might have been playing tricks on me.

 

[Silvianoshei]

I actually had a few to solidify my tastes.

First was Perfect Dark. Holy crap that was an amazing shooter. TONS of fun playing local multiplayer. Remember that? Where you had multiple controllers hooked up to one console, and had to play splitscreen? I dunno if I can even do that anymore...

Second would have to be Ocarina of Time, which was first game I beat. I have really strong memories of my older sister sitting on the couch and watching me play while giving me stupid suggestions. Bless her heart.

Third is Final Fantasy VIII. Not VII, VIII. I played that first, and honestly I liked it better. I played VII later, when I was 12 or something and I cried when I saw Seph's sword pierce Aerith's heart.

My DOMINATING memory of childhood gaming remains the MOTHERFUDHA!@#$!@#$!@#$!@#$$!@$@#$%!#$^$%ASDFASDFDDDDDDDDDDDDD Empire Strikes Back for the NES. If you'll pardon my french, fuck that game. My first rage quit.