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That one special game

I may have told this story in a similar thread but Persona 4 Golden

capsule_616x353.jpg


I played the original back when it released and fell in love with it. Between it and Podcast Beyond I was able to get through some tough school moments. But it's Persona 4 Golden that has left a bigger impact. I'll try to keep it simple since it's not a happy story. I was going through a really rough time, and was on the verge of a very dark moment when Persona 4 Golden released. That game honestly is one of the biggest reasons that I am still here. I got to play a new version of my favorite game of all time and explore some new stuff and it distracted me from everything in life for so long that it brought me back from the edge. The real beautiful thing about it is it struck twice. I was in a very similar place in 2017 in which I actually attempted to go through with it. I ended up getting to go on a paid medical leave from work for almost 3 months and during that time it once again brought me enough joy to realize that maybe not all was lost.

To this day if I see any imagery or hear any music from the game it perks me up. Bad day? Persona 4 soundtrack 100%.
 

Heimdall_Xtreme

Jim Ryan Fanclub's #1 Member
I may have told this story in a similar thread but Persona 4 Golden

capsule_616x353.jpg


I played the original back when it released and fell in love with it. Between it and Podcast Beyond I was able to get through some tough school moments. But it's Persona 4 Golden that has left a bigger impact. I'll try to keep it simple since it's not a happy story. I was going through a really rough time, and was on the verge of a very dark moment when Persona 4 Golden released. That game honestly is one of the biggest reasons that I am still here. I got to play a new version of my favorite game of all time and explore some new stuff and it distracted me from everything in life for so long that it brought me back from the edge. The real beautiful thing about it is it struck twice. I was in a very similar place in 2017 in which I actually attempted to go through with it. I ended up getting to go on a paid medical leave from work for almost 3 months and during that time it once again brought me enough joy to realize that maybe not all was lost.

To this day if I see any imagery or hear any music from the game it perks me up. Bad day? Persona 4 soundtrack 100%.
Great story.

P4 and Gravity Rush... Forever!!!
 

Orta

Banned
Been enthusiastically playing Doom since 1995 to this day so I'll go with that. There's also the small matter of it being the greatest game ever made....

Super Mario Bros 2, Batman (nes) and Streets of Rage 1 & 2 all hold very fond and nostalgic memories too.
 

saintjules

Member
It's Suikoden I for me. Many say Suikoden II, but there is no other JRPG on this planet that has given me the same level of emotional feel that the first title in the franchise has given me. I remmeber those days. I played this when I was 14 at the time. No Memory card, so I always had to start over whenever I died. It was frustrating since I didn't work and had no money to buy one. But eventually I got one to eventually complete the game. This game was a once in a lifetime experience.

The music. The Battle System. The Story. The trifecta when done well makes a JRPG perfect.






















 
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BlackTron

Member
Mario 3
Mario 64
Sonic 1/2
Phantasy Star Online
Ocarina of Time
Smash Melee
Starcraft
Ikaruga
Starfox 64
Star Wars: Rogue Squadron
Castlevania: SotN
Super Mario RPG
TMNT: Turtles in Time
Goldeneye
Halo 1

There are hours upon hours of serious gaming in that list.

It's impossible to narrow down one. These are all utterly indispensable.
 
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I may have told this story in a similar thread but Persona 4 Golden

capsule_616x353.jpg


I played the original back when it released and fell in love with it. Between it and Podcast Beyond I was able to get through some tough school moments. But it's Persona 4 Golden that has left a bigger impact. I'll try to keep it simple since it's not a happy story. I was going through a really rough time, and was on the verge of a very dark moment when Persona 4 Golden released. That game honestly is one of the biggest reasons that I am still here. I got to play a new version of my favorite game of all time and explore some new stuff and it distracted me from everything in life for so long that it brought me back from the edge. The real beautiful thing about it is it struck twice. I was in a very similar place in 2017 in which I actually attempted to go through with it. I ended up getting to go on a paid medical leave from work for almost 3 months and during that time it once again brought me enough joy to realize that maybe not all was lost.

To this day if I see any imagery or hear any music from the game it perks me up. Bad day? Persona 4 soundtrack 100%.
Sad to hear about the dark times you have been through, but it’s so beautiful and wonderful to hear that the game helped you through those times. ❤️ And that it still helps. Somethings have just such a powerful way to affect us
 
It's Suikoden I for me. Many say Suikoden II, but there is no other JRPG on this planet that has given me the same level of emotional feel that the first title in the franchise has given me. I remmeber those days. I played this when I was 14 at the time. No Memory card, so I always had to start over whenever I died. It was frustrating since I didn't work and had no money to buy one. But eventually I got one to eventually complete the game. This game was a once in a lifetime experience.

The music. The Battle System. The Story. The trifecta when done well makes a JRPG perfect.























I completely agree, it’s a perfect game! It blew me way and I completely fell in love. I can’t really choose between Suikoden I or II, but the first one definitely made me love the second one more. I so thankful to have been able to experience such a lovely game, with beautiful music, the characters(I just love, every single one) and the story. ❤️
 

saintjules

Member
I completely agree, it’s a perfect game! It blew me way and I completely fell in love. I can’t really choose between Suikoden I or II, but the first one definitely made me love the second one more. I so thankful to have been able to experience such a lovely game, with beautiful music, the characters(I just love, every single one) and the story. ❤️

Glad to hear a fellow fan speak of this. I got teary eyed at the end. Couldn't believe what I experienced. Few years later I walked into Electronic Boutique (before Gamestop) and found a used copy. Never let it go since.

Like music generally it feels like we took several steps backwards in what made gaming great in the first place. I guess it comes with technology, but man. This is one of the few games I'd play over and over and over again.

Sometimes you have to take a step back and re-assess what you're trying to achieve as a developer (if you are one reading this). Remember the past and what has worked in the industry space. It's possible to re-ignite the lost art of gaming.
 
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Glad to hear a fellow fan speak of this. I got teary eyed at the end. Couldn't believe what I experienced. Few years later I walked into Electronic Boutique (before Gamestop) and found a used copy. Never let it go since.

Like music generally it feels like we took several steps backwards in what made gaming great in the first place. I guess it comes with technology, but man. This is one of the few games I'd play over and over and over again. Sometimes you have to take a step back and re-assess what you're trying to achieve as a developer.
Both Suikoden I & II totally broke me emotionally. And I feel it will always stay with me, really good memories from both. Wow, that’s amazing you found an original copy! Definitely one of the games I would love to have a original copy. True, a lot of the music was just perfect in older games. Still a few new ones that have amazing music. But there’s just something special with the older music :messenger_heart:
 
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STARSBarry

Gold Member

Ar Tonelico 2 for the PS2, I still think about this game often and it really saddens me that we received officially a butchered approximation of the script with more than half the Japanese voice acting cut to make way for the god awful dub. Even still the damn thing made a huge impact on me its hard to describe really, but it was just one of those "experiences" which will forever stick with me.

If you do plan to play I would well advise you jump through some extra hoops and play it with the relocalisation patch.



http://at2.metalbat.com/ fixes all the mistranslated and rewritten dialog, restores the Japanese voice acting and even fixes some western exclusive bugs that's where introduced when they tried the ham-fisted approach to localisation, well worth your time though.
 
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Kagey K

Banned
Halo,

If it wasn't for that game on console FPS would sick to this day.

Every other game mentioned here didn't shift the genre, they did it all the same.
 
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Tschumi

Member
I may have told this story in a similar thread but Persona 4 Golden

capsule_616x353.jpg


I played the original back when it released and fell in love with it. Between it and Podcast Beyond I was able to get through some tough school moments. But it's Persona 4 Golden that has left a bigger impact. I'll try to keep it simple since it's not a happy story. I was going through a really rough time, and was on the verge of a very dark moment when Persona 4 Golden released. That game honestly is one of the biggest reasons that I am still here. I got to play a new version of my favorite game of all time and explore some new stuff and it distracted me from everything in life for so long that it brought me back from the edge. The real beautiful thing about it is it struck twice. I was in a very similar place in 2017 in which I actually attempted to go through with it. I ended up getting to go on a paid medical leave from work for almost 3 months and during that time it once again brought me enough joy to realize that maybe not all was lost.

To this day if I see any imagery or hear any music from the game it perks me up. Bad day? Persona 4 soundtrack 100%.
I struggle so hard to decide if Yosuke, Kanji or Chie are the most likeable... For me though it has to be Kanji, and hats off to his English voice actor for really killing his lines... I love his mix of front, warmth, humour, clumsiness and resilience

For me P4G... I live in Japan and spent 2 years in the mountains of Gifu and they really captured the feeling of a small mountain city so well... The kind of one-off'ness of Junes... Yeah, you've picked a fantastic title to have your connection to.

---

My previous post was pretty half assed, and it's probably wrong too... Age of Empires 2 is an all time favourite, but it's not really the most evocative title i can think of.. heck even age of mythology might win out in that family of titles...

... I will have to give a few games for different reasons. First, there are games that mean this to me because i completed them with my wife - that's P4G, it's also P5R, Tearaway on Vita, Lumines: Electronic Symphony, and The Last Guardian on PS4 (とりくうう)

Then there are games that mean something to me, on my own...

I think, I spent a lot of my youth being envious of the games my friends owned, so it was on the occasions when i experienced a game for myself that i really.. resonated with it... Metroid Prime and The Wind Waker... Deus Ex: Invisible War... Pillars of Eternity 2, MGS5, yeah P4G again... Private server Vanilla WoW...

World in Conflict is a huge one because I don't think many people realised how directly it was descended from Ground Control 1.. i feel like i only picked up on it quite so hard because i was such a GC fan.

I think if i had played Horizon Zero Dawn like 5 years earlier it would have been one of my GOATs... When i finally came to it, i had run out of time for massive open world Games...

I think the original fable was a gorgeous, utterly unique experience, i just don't know if it remains so today and I'm unwilling to test it in case it doesn't retain that sense of.. British wonder

Finally, i can't hardly believe it, but Cyberpunk 2077 has become one of these games, almost entirely due to missions outside the core storyline. (I did like developing my relationship with Johnny though)
 
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First, there are games that mean this to me because i completed them with my wife
I totally get this, it’s just something special about experiencing a game with a significant other or someone close to you.❤️ That’s how I have experienced so many games and they become so much more special because of it.
 

killatopak

Gold Member
It’s so hard to pick one but I’ll choose D2.

This is one of the games me and my father played together the most. I cherish the days we were having fun and laughing about each other’s builds, character names and loots we got. It’s such a fond memory that I’ll cherish not only because of the game itself but the bonding I had with my father.

For solo game, RE3. It kinda shaped the way I prefer my games to be. Fun, concise, hard to master and in turn increases the replayability. My favorite character in gaming with my favorite villain in gaming. Unforgettable soundtrack, cheesy lines and great artstyle.
 

McCheese

Member



One of the few games I'd call pretty much perfect, and it came out at an incredible time in my life. Every time I hear the music I'm hit like a ton of bricks with melancholy, knowing I'll never be able to go back to that moment and that things have moved on, people have passed away etc.. not that I've ruled out making great memories in the future, but it's like the game captured some of my youth or something.
 
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Doom85

Member
Final Fantasy IX, a game that made me feel like I was on a grand adventure like no other.
Persona 4, the game with the most authentic group of friends IMHO which made the ending hit hard as I can relate to when I had to go through similar changes in my life.
Silent Hill 3, okay relax 2 is VERY close behind it, but 3 chilled me the most to the bone with its creatures, unsettling environments, and horrifying ambience. Also Heather is my personally favorite lead of the series, and Douglas and Vincent are terrific as well. Also so many music tracks that are both terrifying and beautiful simultaneously
Bioshock and Bioshock Infinite, games that took me to such unique and insane settings
Resident Evil 4, perfectly made me feel like I was in a crazy, over-the-top adventure
Nier Automata, incredible story and cast, gorgeous music, and the final credits sequence made me feel connected to people from all over the world in a unique and unforgettable way
 

lachesis

Member
Definitely Knightmare II on MSX, 1987.

ONr1uAf.jpg


I could say it's more like Konami's prototype Metrovania in a sense... or medieval themed Metroid? You venture into this castle with 10 separate sub-dungeons called "Worlds" - fighting huge unique bosses with different weaknesses and all. A lot "mysteries" to be uncovered and all.


VgIyLXL.png




If there's anything - this is the game that really drew me in back in 80s. Good times.
 
It’s so hard to pick one but I’ll choose D2.

This is one of the games me and my father played together the most. I cherish the days we were having fun and laughing about each other’s builds, character names and loots we got. It’s such a fond memory that I’ll cherish not only because of the game itself but the bonding I had with my father.

For solo game, RE3. It kinda shaped the way I prefer my games to be. Fun, concise, hard to master and in turn increases the replayability. My favorite character in gaming with my favorite villain in gaming. Unforgettable soundtrack, cheesy lines and great artstyle.
Both great games! So wonderful that you got to play with your dad and create lovely memories 💗
 

Old Retro

Member
super-mario-64.gif


I got Mario 64 home and I knew the old, blocky style of graphics were dead forever and there was no turning back. In less than 2 decades of playing, I went from games with big ass sprites to incredibly animated polygons. First time I realized games were equal or better than coin ops. I'd put this on my Mount Rushmore of gaming.

Dire dire docks is also my go to peaceful track and has been for 25 years. 💕
 
It's Suikoden I for me. Many say Suikoden II, but there is no other JRPG on this planet that has given me the same level of emotional feel that the first title in the franchise has given me. I remmeber those days. I played this when I was 14 at the time. No Memory card, so I always had to start over whenever I died. It was frustrating since I didn't work and had no money to buy one. But eventually I got one to eventually complete the game. This game was a once in a lifetime experience.

You played RPGs WITHOUT A MEMORY CARD?!?

Like, you never hit “Continue” once?!?

Waaaaat? You dropped that little golden nugget and just kept going with the story like it was some minor detail.
 
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DelireMan7

Member
Final Fantasy X is also special for me. My first FF and one of my first jRPG. I loved everything about it. The music, the characters, the world...
The music of this game can get me quite emotional sometimes. I remember completely melting in tears at a Distant worlds concert on To Zanarkand...
I am currently replaying it after 20 years not touching it... The magic is still there. This game is incredible.

Many games are special for me. They have marked my gaming life and some are memories of special time of my life :

  • Toejam & Earl
  • Ecco the Dolphin
  • Metal Gear Solid 1/2/3
  • Guilty Gear X/XX
  • Zelda : Link's Awakening
  • Half-Life
  • Warcraft 3
  • Garou : Mark of the Wolves
  • Dark Souls
  • Hollow Knight
 

Fare thee well

Neophyte
Homeworld.

5000 years on a dying desert planet after many more years being banished on an old spaceship convoy; forgetting your origin of being banished, a once great starfaring race. Then one day you uncover the greatest relic found in a ship deeply buried in the desert. Then begins the redemption from your ancient exile.

And all being told with great visual story telling and music. Has a great Middle-eastern styling to the journey. The story and lore has always captivated me.

iIU2TH2aLn2AjgKPTZLTHwCUTibXC1dT1au3KVRk-9M.jpg
 
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Final Fantasy X is also special for me. My first FF and one of my first jRPG. I loved everything about it. The music, the characters, the world...
The music of this game can get me quite emotional sometimes. I remember completely melting in tears at a Distant worlds concert on To Zanarkand...
I am currently replaying it after 20 years not touching it... The magic is still there. This game is incredible.

Many games are special for me. They have marked my gaming life and some are memories of special time of my life :

  • Toejam & Earl
  • Ecco the Dolphin
  • Metal Gear Solid 1/2/3
  • Guilty Gear X/XX
  • Zelda : Link's Awakening
  • Half-Life
  • Warcraft 3
  • Garou : Mark of the Wolves
  • Dark Souls
  • Hollow Knight
It truly is a beautiful game, so many memories connected to it. I’m happy that you’re playing it again and that the feeling is just as magical 💚
 
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saintjules

Member
You beat Suikoden WITHOUT A MEMORY CARD?!?

Like, you never hit “Continue” once and beat every boss on the first try?!?

Waaaaat? You dropped that little golden nugget and just kept going with the story like it was some minor detail.

Haha I didn't have a card initially, but eventually got one to beat the game. I remember the frustration when I got as far as Anji's hideout and died there.

Hitting try again prompts you to load your last saved data, which obviously I couldn't do.

w3RfWCe.png
 
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