Your best gaming experience, ever?

[Salus]

Go into as much detail as you like, I enjoy reading these. I'm always fascinated by what grabs people (in movies, games, etc.) as I like creating content myself.

Anyway, if I had to name the gaming experience of my lifetime, it would have to be playing World of Warcraft way back in the day, before and around Burning Crusade. I had no idea games could be so immersive or transporting, (queue "A Whole New World" song from Aladdin). It's hard to even put into words the sense of wonder you'd get just exploring the environments, from the starter zones like Tirisfal Glades and Eversong Forest to Terokkar Forest and Zangarmarsh in Outland. And don't get me started on my crazy love of Outland. I had to tell my leveling buddies to take a hike just so I could experience the world without being rushed or distracted by banal internet chatter.

So yes, I'm one of those weird people who don't have WoW-stalgia purely because of antics with friends, instead it was mostly solo leveling and appreciating art, music and atmosphere in an amazing new way.

 

[Barbas]

The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind - the first time I stepped off the deck and onto the wooden pier at Seyda Neen, I just..the silt strider...Arille's Tradehouse...that asshole Fargoth and his stupid ring...and then there's the soundtrack...the melodious, mellifluous, marvelous, magnificent soundtrack...

Every...time I...AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH *breaks down into sobbing fits*...there's just so much beauty in the world, man!

Spoiler: Maximum overfeel.

[HEADING=2]Soule. <3[/HEADING]​

 

[Darth Rosenberg]

(Morrowind's a very worthy mention)

Maybe annihilating a self-appointed Gouki specialist on SFIV, with Cammy, 5 to 1 - that felt pretty frikkin' good.

Beating Sephiroth for the first time when FFVII launched was a memorable highlight, too: Tifa was down and out, Barret was spinning around about to kill himself or Cloud, so everything rested on Cloud's Limit Break. One nerve shredding Meteorain later, and Safer-Sephiroth was no more...

 

[scorptatious]

One of the best video game experiences I've had was when I've beaten Spyro the Dragon for the first time.

That game was the very first game I have ever beaten, and at the time, I felt incredibly satisfied taking down Gnasty Gnorc and saving the Dragon Kingdom. Especially when I found out that games, like movies, end with a credits roll.

Another one would be playing Shadow of the Colossus. That game is fucking beautiful in almost every regard. To this day, I still like to pick up and play through it.

Also, when I finally beat Final Fantasy IX. The final boss was causing me trouble and beat me four times. I was pretty angry at the time because I was so invested in the story and characters and I wanted to see their journey through. So after some grinding and a bit of adjustments to my party, I went back and took the final boss down. I found myself cheering very loudly and shouting obscenities as he was crumbling away.

What followed next was possibly one of my most favorite endings in a game ever. Many feels were had. Then the credits rolled and in the background, this song played:


It was one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard in my life. The feelings it gave me pretty much summed up my overall experience with Final Fantasy IX. That game was absolutely amazing.

 

[InkySpines]

I will second World of Warcraft: the Burning Crusade.

One January evening my guild pushed into Serpentshrine Cavern. I can't remember if we had taken down Leotheras the Blind or Morogrim Tidewalker, but in the afterglow of our successful efforts a 5 man group spent the next few hours around midnight hunting the elite Gronn of Terrokar Forest and the Blade's Edge mountains.

Afterwards, our group of t5 geared caster dps and healer picked up a PUG warrior and proceeded to chain-run Heroics across Outland. Heroics were somewhat serious business back in those days, and being able to plow through them with a combination of disciplined crowd-control, focus fire, and hard-earned t5 gear made cake out the content like Shadow Labyrinth or Shattered Halls that had for months bedeviled us as we tried to make up ground from a late t5 start. We didn't even need the gear that night, we just couldn't stop the runs with people had grown so fond of. During one point in the Shadow Labyrinth, I noticed the sound effects from the spells of my mage and my guildy's mage were perfectly synchronized, even the Polymorphs repeatedly going off mere fractions of a second apart from each other, our internal intuition of our Sheep timers identical. This is what WoW has been losing since Dungeon Finder's introduction (and now has near totally lost): the journey, the sense of accomplishment, and the dear friends built through cooperative effort and mutual interdependence. Rest in Peace, Rexxar server community. You may have been only middling in terms of progression, but you were typically helpful, polite, and professional.

My brain flooded with endorphins, I noticed the late winter dawn creeping through my window. It was the closest I ever came to a truly zen-like experience in a game world.

 

[Liquidprid3]

There's too many great video game experiences of mine to choose from. But if I had to choose a favorite, it would be playing Shining Force with my Mom as a kid. Currently playing Shining Force II for the first time, and it's bringing great memories back. My mother isn't even a gamer, but she taught be strategy, tactics, and patience.

I've also had a lot of great experiences with my older brother. Mario Party, Mario Strikers, Pokemon battles, and especially Monster Hunter Tri. Our interests may be different, but we were both obsessed with that game, and we can finally play together thanks to the 3DS port.

And friends. Oh god, the great times with friends. Whether it be playing Melee together (the one game I'm actually good at compared to them) or dicking around in GTA IV, there are just some moments that stuck with me. Gaming has always been an experience with me, whether it be alone or with friends.

I already mentioned the game, but my second favorite experience would have to be Monster Hunter Tri, especially online. Many late nights were spent on that one. I think I have 400 hours on my file. And my brother has 500. We even got the wired keyboard for the Wii to talk with people, great times. I met a lot of cool people, and I had so much fun questing. I cried a little when the servers shut down, even if. I stopped playing a few months prior. I deeply regret not going on the last day, but with the private server being developed, not all hope is lost.

Games have taught me a lot, and. I really don't know who I'd be without games. They helped me further my vocabulary as a kid, and they took me on adventures that books or movies couldn't achieve. I'm glad that I don't only play one type of game. I'm glad that I get to experience so much, and have so much fun. So thanks, gaming, for making me a better person.

 

[IllumInaTIma]

Oh boy...

I remember my PS1. I loved that thing. I had many different and awesome games on it. Crash, Hercules, Gex, Syphon Filter, Dino Crisis... you name it. But none of them comes close to the time I had with Front Mission 3. I remember launching it for the first time, having no idea what game is it. Then there were giant robots and some turn based combat. And I couldn't understand any of it, because of how complicated it seemed (and because it had shitty Russian translation). But I loved it! I managed to complete the game and get some sort of grasp of overall plot and even shed a couple tears during the ending. Then, some time later I've decided to play it again only to accidentally discover that there's A SECOND CAMPAIGN THAT WAS JUST AS LONG AS THE FIRST ONE. AND FIRST CAMPAIGN WAS ABOUT 60 HOURS LONG. NEW CHARACTERS! NEW ROBOTS! NEW LOCATIONS! NEW PLOT! IT WAS LIKE A GODDAMN FOR ME. You know how some people wish to erase their memory and play their old favorites again like it's a new game... WELL THAT'S WHAT IT WAS LIKE. It's almost indescribable..

Many years have passed, my gaming habits changed somewhat, but I could still feel Front Mission's influence. About 2-3 years ago I was experiencing what I like to call "gaming drought". There were many new games to play, but I just didn't want to. All I wanted to do was to play some Dota and even that didn't bring too much joy. In desperation I decided to browse ROMs for my good old PSP. I've decided to download some game, can't remember what it was, but something happened... and I ended up with mysterious ROM of Persona 3ortable... Holy shit. It was so... unusual, and yet so familiar. It was so easy to get accustomed to the gameplay and yet it had so many little unique things. Story felt really weird and yet easy to follow. Characters were simple schoolkids, but with an incredible depth to them. And that setting, it was so bizzare and usual at the same time. It was like discovering a new island after years of drifting in the ocean.

 

[The Wykydtron]

Pretty much all of Persona 4. It includes elements from every single thing I love. Mystery story check, friendship check, well written characters check, really cool theming that is followed through completely check (seriously, I can't stand when something drops its themes halfway through *cough*BioshockInfinite*cough*) and anime art style. The final boss of Persona 4 is one of the best moments I have ever seen. The music for that fight is a massive drawn out dirge for a good reason.

On a more social point, playing League with my friends over a long period of time. As omg so radge inducing as League can be it lends itself to playing as a group pretty well. Except when it ruins friendships of course. It manages to create some standout memories too. Like when me and a friend witnessed the phenomenon that would come only to be referred to as "The Brave Swain Incident"

Long story short our Swain waited alone in the enemy jungle at 1:20-1:50 and attempted to 1v5, nobody told him to fall back, he never asked if we were invading he just...did. He did pretty well considering but of course he still died. Not a word was spoken before during or after this event by either our team or the enemy team and everyone continued as if nothing had happened.

 

[an annoyed writer]

Oh shit. I've so many that I couldn't name just one, and they've all left their own, different and unique marks on me as I've experienced them. Some, like my time in Gears of War, Ratchet and Clank, and some of my Halo experiences were just big, dumb chunks of fun. Others... were more transcendental experiences, like the other half of my experiences with Halo, my experiences with Legend of Zelda, most of my N64 library, Deus Ex, and of course Mass Effect. What really elevated those were some really tangible benefits and life-changing and improving effects they've had, like how my time in Mass Effect finally helped me gain the courage, motivation, and drive to come out and transition from my atrocious lie of a male existence into the much sweeter, relieving personal truth of my life as a girl. The others helped me develop my tastes and abilities on the artistic front, with Halo's forge, Zelda's gameplay design, Deus Ex's branching paths and incredibly dense and detailed world, and just the formative years of my gaming life in general.

 

[Yabba]

Halo 3 on the mission "The Covenant" just at the beginning storming the beach with the theme, anti air guns firing off in the distance and the turrets firing at you. HUNNNNGGHHH

 

[Autumnflame]

Completing mass effect one,
all of jade empire,
Last of us
Beyond two souls ( yes i liked it despite its flaws)
Completing the Imperial Agent storyline in Swtor

 

[Whitbane]

I'd say Runescape or early World of Warcraft. There's just that feeling of entering a world for the first time and being able to go where you want to, when you want to. There's just so much to do, and so much to explore that your head spins with the possibilities. It's a great feeling.

 

[BlackBark]

+1 for Persona 4. I'm currently playing through Persona 4 Golden and it has been a really pleasant surprise. I actually wasn't expecting to like it that much, but I have to say it is the best game I have played in quite a while. I have been quite disappointed with a lot of my gaming purchases over the last year; Bioshock Infinite, TLoU, Metro LL all fell below my expectations, so I'm really glad I got Persona.

Another one of my favourites is Little Big Adventure 2. It was one of the first real PC games I played, so it has serious nostalgia value. I did play it again recently and while it has some pretty serious gameplay flaws, I think it has such a well crafted and interesting world. The characters that inhabit the world are all fun to interact with; something that I feel is lacking from many open world games today.

I can't really say what my best gaming moment is, but those were a couple of good ones that came to mind.

 

[Evonisia]

Doing the Westfall questline for the first time in Vanilla WoW, seeing the Defias as an actual threat and you slowly figure out that they are much bigger than they first appeared in Elwynn Forest. I miss them being a big thing in the first Human areas (you even saw some members in Duskwood). Now we have a very cool but much different story about how they're trying to rebuild.

Now I know amongst the WoW community this won't be popular but also entering Desolace in Vanilla and being told to get to friendly reputation with one of the two clans (the third is always hostile). Gelkis Clan unite!

 

[Sean Hollyman]

Probably the first time I ever beat The Elite Four in Pokemon Emerald. I can't even remember what my team was but it had Blaziken and he's my favorite Pokemon.

 

[MrSchmeiser]

Uhhh hard to decide, it would have to be either my first gladiator mount from WoW or killing pre nerf kaelthas or the first time you arrive in anor londo and you just stand there and see this lower budget game just destroying every game you played so far

 

[Michael Tabbut]

Defeating Sephiroth in Kingdom Hearts vanilla for the first time. I had spent a week trying to beat him in the Colosseum and when I finally beat him I felt fulfillment.

 

[Seraj33]

For me it would be playing throught Gothic 1 several years ago.
My brother presented the game to me and I sat down with it. Initially I got very frustrated with the wonky controls and having to figure the unique game mechanics. But as I made my way down that very first path you start out on and get down to the Old Camp... man. The game just grabbed a hold of me. A strong hold that wouldnt let go. That feeling when you went and bought your very first, very own sword (getting weapons wasnt easy in Gothic).

I played it for several hours every day. The soundtrack and the atmosphere was just superb. I have never ever played a game that made me feel so much THERE you know. And thats coming from me who have played games like, Morrowind, STALKER and etcetera.

The sense of progression in the game and the free will sandboxy system made it feel very much worth every minute I put into it. You start out as the filthy newcommer, but you move your way up and become more revered and respected. It was so great.

There were just the small things that made me love it. That you would get asskicked by wolfpacks the first time you entered a forest, but as you went on and got stronger, they were no match to you and whole new areas just became accesible.
The nifty little detail that maps were ACTUAL maps that you had to get someone to make you and that they looked like they were hand drawn. And there were no silly magical "Go here" or "You are here" arrows all over it either. It was just a plain map that YOU had to navigate.
The combat, although it was uncomfortable at first, when you got used to it if really felt like you were swinging the sword i your hand, and when you used your magic you almost felt how you were charging it up.

I have sadly never gotten the chanse to play Gothic 2. I tried 3.. but it wasnt really the same. Ive seen footage of 2 and will probably buy it from GOG some day.

I can say truthfully I wouldnt trade any gaming experience for the one I got from Gothic. It is definantly on my top 5 favourite games.