What game got you into video games?

[El Fangel]

I don't mean the first you played, I mean the game that caused you to really get into the habit of buying them yourselves?

Final Fantasy 8, For myself. I had gotten a PSX for Christmas and had a few games with it but none that truly gripped me.

The massive world, story, characters and style caused me to seek out other Final Fantasy games and it sort of went from there.

So, what game really sparked your love?

[Drakul]

I genuinely don't know. I've been gaming my entire life.
I can't actually remember not being a gamer.

[Kris P Lettus]

i was born in 1981

[drave]

First game I played at home was Kung Fu on NES. From there I never stopped. First game I ever completed was Trojan on NES. Beat it when I was 5 and moved on to Top Gun.

Ah, memories :)

[El Fangel]

i was born in 1981

Doesn't answer the question, bro.

[SlickyTrickyDamon]

Super Mario Brothers.

[Kane Knight]

Define "buying yourself."

This is a legit question, to attempt to pre-emptively stem Fangerl's bitching.

[drave]

That is a stupid question, even for Fangerl's bitching. Instead of being semantic, just answer the damn question.

Besides, you COULD call him out on using PSX, if you really wanted to get him wound up. And honestly, that is all you are doing by being anal.

[Emperor Smeat]

Can't think if there was a single game to act as the spark for buying games but if I had to take a guess either WCW/nWo Revenge or QB Club 98 for the Nintendo 64.

Playing Revenge and QB Club at a cousin's house made me want to get a N64 but don't remember if QB Club 98 was the first game I didn't own as a gift and bought on my own.

[CSL]

def Sonic The Hedgehog. Remember going to my Auntie/Uncles when I was like 5 and seeing it being played and was like "I HAVE TO GET ON THIS". Had a C64 and stuff before that but I lost my fucking shit when I saw Sonic.

[LoDownM]

Don't even remember at this point.

[Fignuts]

Megaman 2

[Triple Naitch]

Super Mario 3 was the first game I was obsessed with.
Shenmue is also up there.

[Raven Reaper]

http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m55d5tWbfQ1qe3shwo1_500.jpg

This one aside from arcade malls.

Then Doom/Wolfenstein changed my gaming life forever.

[Kalyx triaD]

A little known super hard NES game called Rescue blew my mind and planted the seeds for playing games on their hard setting, as well as introducing me to the First Person perspective. I don't know if that's game that got into gaming period but it had a lasting effect on what games could be at least.

[dronepool]

I honestly don't know, my first system was a Master System. I know with the SNES I remember way more games- Mega Man X, Mortal Kombat 2 and Super Metroid.

[Purgatory]

The first system I bought myself was the N64 in 1996 while I was in Germany. Mario64 kicked it all off for me.

PS1 - Bought it for the Final Fantasy series.

Dreamcast - Friend of mine bought it, he then went on a trip to see family out west somewhere. I never saw him again. I loaned the system to some 'friends' because I wasn't using it (hated it). They sold it because they needed the cash, didn't tell me till a month or so later.

Xbox - Bought it for Halo and the GTA series...traded in for a PS2 after awhile.

Gamecube - Traded my PS2 for it, but then traded it back in a few months later and rebought my PS2.

Xbox 360 - Bought used, Red-Ringed 5 months later, 2 weeks before Christmas in 2007. Sent it in, they sent me a brand new 2008 model about 3 weeks later. Still using it now, purrs like a kitten still.

Wii - Super Mario Galaxy, had to have it. Don't really use it much now.

Original Xbox - picked up for my son at a garage sale for $40 as a Christmas present last year. Never used it, now just sits in a box.

Another Gamecube - Picked up at a Yard sale for $2. I shit you not, TWO fucking dollars. It came with 6 games. Just sits on a shelf because the games can be played on the Wii. I don't know why we bought it in the first place. lol

[Vietnamese Crippler]

It was probably Super Mario World that came bundled with my SNES.

[El Fangel]

Define "buying yourself."

This is a legit question, to attempt to pre-emptively stem Fangerl's bitching.

I suppose I could have been clearer, though at a young age you won't often buy your own. Perhaps it would have been better put as "ask for games"

[Ultra Mantis]

I dont know, probably Sonic the Hedgehog since it was bundled with the console.

[road doggy dogg]

I've always been a gamer since I was able to hold a controller, really. Different games really introduced me to different genres/playstyles though.

Wolfenstein 3D was the first real "first-person shooter" I played. Then came Doom. And Quake. And Duke Nukem 3D. I can't believe just how revolutionary ID Software was at the time.

Platformers are probably my favourite genre. Classic (and not-so-classic) NES titles like 8 Eyes, Ironsword, Megaman 1-3, Super Mario Bros. etc, all really made me fall in love with the genre. When the SNES came and games like Earthworm Jim and Donkey Kong Country came out, well that just sealed it.

'Sandbox' games are another favourite of mine. I loved SimCity 2000 (I was late to that party and didn't play much of the original) and to this day SimCity 2000, 3000, and 4 are 3 of my favourite titles. I ran the gamut of Maxis titles, dabbling in SimAnt, SimEarth, SimFarm, SimTower... I loved the micromanagement aspects of them and how they really changed our perception of what "games" really were. Also, Theme Park, Theme Hospital, all the Bullfrog titles in the genre were incredibly addictive as well. Not to mention the RollerCoaster Tycoon games.

Turn-based strategy games. Civilization needs no introduction. Heroes of Might & Magic 2 is a staple for me (3 is the superior game but 2 has the nostalgic element to me; the rest of the series, MEH)

RTS games. First I started out with Command & Conquer. Red Alert next. Then came the Blizzard titles. Playing custom maps against the AI in Warcraft 2 ate up so much of my time. Battle.net games of Starcraft were amazing. Playing Warcraft 3 was the first real competitive/ladder type gaming I've ever really done. And the custom maps alone were astonishing. One of the most flexible titles out there with the map editor. And obviously I can't finish this paragraph without mentioning Age of Empires 2. That was probably the first game I was ever really truly "good" at, as in I read up on strategies and tried to be BETTER than other people at. I had my build order with the Franks down something fierce, and I would bet anything that in my "prime" I could beat anybody I played. I never got much into AoE3 but I dabbled in Age of Mythology. And there were a ton of other games I loved in the genre that deserve mention, KKND, Total Annihilation, Red Alert 2, Supreme Commander, etc, but they never really had the impact on my 'growth' as a gamer like the others. Total Annihilation was awesome in the way that the developers really pushed the game along with CONSTANT "DLC" (entirely free at the time, of course), putting out new units every week, seemingly. Amazing service.

Then of course there were the dark years in my life of playing MMOs. World of Warcraft was what it was. It was kind of the game that made me realize maybe I need to stop treating this hobby so seriously. So now I don't game nearly as much.

[/way too long and tangential reply]
crossrine

[El Fangel]

Wow, good read that was.

[Savio]

Megaman 2It was either this or Double Dragon 2

Loved both of those.

[Vietnamese Crippler]

The more I think about it, it could be Mega Man X that got me into it all since that was one game/series I remember that I needed to play when I was a kid.

[Tommy Gunn]

Mario Bros / Duckhunt combo pack that came with the NES, followed by Zelda on a gold cartridge, fuck yea!

[Skippord]

I dunno, I was really into the Simpsons Wrestling game when it was being made so maybe that.

[Extreme Angle]

was brought up as a gamer because my dad was crazy into the C-64, so I have really vague memories of playing that as a toddler.

I had a Megadrive for Christmas '96 (age 5) and then Streets of Rage, Disney games/Sonic got me hooked.

First purchase was this, bought because I liked the cover :nono:

http://static.ztorm.net/media/images/221/2215/221542.jpg

I got a Playstation the year after and the rest is history.

But I do remember Final fantasy 9 being the first 'real' game I went full-on gamer for i.e "queuing outside the door on the day of release."

[Boomer]

The first games I remember playing regularly were games on our family's IBM PC Junior - Mineshaft was a crappy Pac-Man-esque game that I wasted a lot of time on. I remember playing Duck Hunt/Mario off and on whenever I found a Nintendo, but I didn't have a game system until my brother snuck in a Game Gear around the time I was in second or third grade. I honestly don't have one game that made a huge impact on me.

[NoJabbaNoBogRoll]

Whatever the first game I ever played was. Most likely something like Repton on a BBC computer.

The first one I personally owned was probably the Master System with Alex Kidd in Miracle World built into the console.

[loopydate]

I played Atari at my grandparents' houses as far back as I can remember. But the first thing I ever had that was "mine" was the NES with Super Mario Bros. and Duck Hunt. We (my sister and I) saved up our spare change for a year to get it, and I've been playing ever since.

[Ruien]

The game that had me hooked? Like really hooked? Diablo 1.

[Kane Knight]

I played Atari at my grandparents' houses as far back as I can remember. But the first thing I ever had that was "mine" was the NES with Super Mario Bros. and Duck Hunt. We (my sister and I) saved up our spare change for a year to get it, and I've been playing ever since.

While the NES was a christmas gift, that cart pretty much did catapult me into my own purchases.

[whiteyford]

was brought up as a gamer because my dad was crazy into the C-64.

Never not been around a computer.

[stultiloquy]

Probably Tecmo Super Bowl.

I had played tons of video games by the time TSB had come out, but that was the first game my brothers and I could all gather around and play together, which set the tone for the majority of my future purchases.

Lots of heated battles and fun times were had with that game, we'll still pop the cartridge in every now and then to play through a season.

[El Fangel]

Super Mario World was definitely my most played game however, fuck I love that game.

[Savio]

I played Atari at my grandparents' houses as far back as I can remember. But the first thing I ever had that was "mine" was the NES with Super Mario Bros. and Duck Hunt. We (my sister and I) saved up our spare change for a year to get it, and I've been playing ever since.
ever since? like to today?

[Kane Knight]

ever since? like to today?

You make it sound like that would be weird.

Considering how popular retro gaming is.

Also, this:

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/122953-RetroN-5-Console-Revives-NES-and-SNES-Era-Classics

http://uncrate.com/p/2013/03/retron-5-xl.jpg

[The Rogerer]

Pong

[Savio]

I retro game time to time myself but I don't have my first NES. In fairness he probably didn't mean he still uses his old NES though

[Frank Drebin]

This is a great question that I can't really find an answer for. Pretty sure the first games I played were for the Atari 2600 but I can't remember a singular game that "got me hooked." Pitfall maybe?

Later on loved the Wolfenstein games that have already been mentioned above. Loved Space Quest and Full Throttle too, but those were after I was hooked.

[DaveBrawl]

I retro game time to time myself but I don't have my first NES. In fairness he probably didn't mean he still uses his old NES though
I still have mine, the SNES too. Been a while since I pulled them out and played them though.

The first game I played and the one that got me playing on end was Mario Bros. 3. But it was probably the SNES in general that made me love games so much.

I've kind of lost the fun feelings towards games I used to have though. I kind of have to force myself to finish them these days as opposed to spending all day dreaming about playing them and finally getting home and spending a couple hours enjoying them.

Maybe I should bust out the old NES & SNES and retro it up over Easter.

[loopydate]

ever since? like to today?

I don't mean that particular cart, though I do pick it up and play whenever I get the chance to go back up to Michigan to see my folks (they have the NES).

[XCaliber]

Can't say for sure but it was probably Mega Man 2.

[Crazy Nick]

I have several games that really got me into gaming, one of the first games I remember playing was Sonic the hedgehog, that one really got me into gaming.

Super Mario World was another game that spawned my gaming interest, it game bundled with the first console that I got which was the Super Nintendo, I would spend hours trying to figure everything out.

When I got my first PC, I have fond memories of playing Doom, I absolutely love that game and is still one of my all time favorites.

All and all I honestly can't remember a time in my life that I wasn't a gamer. I love playing games of all kinds, truly one of my favorite ways to pass time.

[Immortal Moose]

I remember Super Mario Bros. and Duck Hunt getting me interested in video games when I would go to my grandparents' house or the lake house.

Then when I got and N64 it was Super Mario Bros. 64 and Goldeneye that had me hooked.

But I got much more heavily into video games when I started playing GTA 3.

[DAMN iNATOR]

i was born in 1981

Super Mario Brothers.

[Poit]

Super Mario bros. was the first game I played, but I didn't really get "into" video games until I got my first Nintendo Power magazine. So, I guess I'll say Super Mario Kart, since that was on the cover?