Important Games of Your Life

[ChillVirus]

While many games meet our standards of being "fun" (most of these games have the name Mario in the title), some games go the extra level and become something much more. They are games that become part of your life story, for one reason or another. Some games do this by changing your religion, other games are more for serious competitions than just "play", others help you make dozens of real-life friends, some help you find or lose your job, and some can help you find the man or woman of your dreams.

Now I ask of thee, what are these important, sentimental-value games of your life? Feel free to stretch my meaning of "important," just as long as in the end the games you mention are something that you value.


*(Note: since I didn't want to make my first post overwhelmingly large, I decided to double post and separate the prompt from my personal examples. Thanks for your understanding moderators *hugs*).

[ChillVirus]

Here's my list (no particular order):

Super Smash Bros Melee (Gamecube): For the last two years this has been the most important game of my life. Currently I go to the University of Advancing Technology, and out of all the close friends I have made there since, at least 80% really enjoy playing this game. When we hang out, at least 1/4 of those times we are playing this game. The order of skill rank between my friends constantly changes, so not only is it consistently fun to continue playing SSBM with them, it is also a very exciting to see where everyone ranks. SSBM has definitely made our friendships stronger, and it will be impossible to ever forget how close of friends we have become through it. But only a brilliantly deep and eventful game like SSBM would ever be capable of doing that.
This game also holds the title of most played game of my life, and my favorite game of all time.
And on a side note, SSBM is also the only game I play on a serious competitive level (I estimate myself to be one of the best 200 in the state of Arizona). If SSBB turns out to have online capabilities, I look forward to diagnosing your death with my Dr. Mario.

RPG Maker 1(PS1) : While not truly a game, this piece of software has confirmed that video game design is something I truly enjoy. I made two games with it so far, with about 550 hours of "playtime." Although I have not used it since I have started attending UAT about 2 years ago, I still thank the game for giving me a head start in game design.

Donkey Kong Country(SNES)/Super Mario Kart(SNES)/FFVII(PS1)/Pokemon Red(GB): All four of these games share a similar importance, in that all four of these games were the reasons I started aspiring to become a game designer 8 years ago. DKC's and SMK's strongly themed worlds and hypnotically ambient music were always in the back of my mind when designing my own games. FFVII was my first high-scale RPG I ever played, so needless to say it was a real eye-opener when I realized the power that story can have in a video game (and on an important note, I wanted to be a fiction writer right before I changed to become a game designer). And finally, Pokemon Red's power to show individuality through the Pokemon party you choose stuck to me as an important element that should be included in all games.

Katamari Damacy(PS2): Katamari Damacy is my most recent inspiration for what is the epitome of great game design: taking a fresh idea and making it into a game, without sacrificing the previously-established elements that makes game fun. In other words, while no game is truly original (because all games need to borrow successful elements from other already-created games), Katamari Damacy certainly changed the pace and scope of it all.

Dance Dance Revolution(Arcade/PS2): I fell in love with this game almost immediately, which is great for the fact that I bought the game without really knowing much about it. Now, this game is the main source for some of my favorite musicians and songs, and where I have met and kept many of my current friends. It helped me acquire a girlfriend at E3 (though we're no longer together). And most importantly, it's one of the few ways I still stay in good shape and health. ParaPara Paradise also holds similar importances, but to a less degree.

Honorable Mentions:
Dr. Mario(GB): prevented many hours of boredom, since it was my only portable game for the longest time. Also, this is the puzzle game I excel the most at.
Super Smash Bros.(N64)/Street Fighter II(SNES): One of the few games that I can still play with my older brother, which is amazing for the fact that he and I, for some reason, have a hard time talking to each other.
Advance Wars Dual Strike (DS): The game that my little brother and I talk about for hours, which is a big deal when we live 1000 miles away.
Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney(DS): The game that at first pissed me off severely, since I had been working on a concept for a lawyer game for two years before it surfaced in the US (I am aware now that it is an old series in Japan). But as it stands right now, it is one of my favorite series of games ever.

[Vegetto]

im about the same with smash bros melee, it is by far my most played game

other games

Chrono Trigger

Zelda ocarina of time

im too tired to think of any more

[Drunken Savior]

Chrono Trigger - I just have fun no matter how many times I play it.

Silent Hill 2 - Proved to me that videogame's can display a deepness usually reserved for books.

[fruitsofherwomb]

Streets of Rage

Gunstar Heroes

Donkey Kong Country II Diddys Quest

Super Mario Bros 3

Super Mario World

Sonic 2

Ninja Turtles Lost in Time

Double Dragon 1-3

Gunsmoke

1942.

Legacy of the Wizard

T&C Surf Designs

So many....

[Beam]

grand theft auto vice city and san andreas it helped get my wife gaming and bringing us closer while we were seperated.

super bomberman 2, it was so funny when one of us got blown up that we laughed til we were sore

incredible hulk ultimate destruction helped me find a middle ground where my step son and i connected , comic books

all in all games have been very important in my life kept me out of the in crowd and thus kept me from a lot of bad stuff that could have gone on in my life.

[Diavle]

Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, hands down.

The story it contained and the information I looked into due to it have drastically changed my way of thinking and outlook on life.

[murray]

Outrun (the original arcade version)
Super Mario World
Ninja Gaiden (on hard) pats own back
Punch Out - NES
Megaman 2 - NES
Half Life 2
Ocarina
Resident Evil

[artraider]

I would say digital devil saga serise, there is alot of emotion and sub context and in the 2nd game I actually felt sad when diffrent events happened and it got emotional at times. I have played alot of rpgs and rarely do I get alot of emotion in the ps2 generation even.

[diunx]

[Risky]

sheesh:

super mario bros. - forced me to look into the power of mushrooms
contra - 30 lives, neverending fun
chrono trigger - legendary
counter-strike - still playing 8 years later
ninja turtles arcade - tons of quarters lost every thursday at the skating rink in the summer
ddr - i used to spend hours at the mall playing korean 3rd mix and hours at home playing the jap. 2nd mix
metal gear solid - first game trailer that I thought could also be a really badass movie

[Mistatee]

Ill start from earliest to latest:

Stunt Racer: or something like that for the Colecovision. My first ever Videogame

Contra 1: first game me and my oldest friend played non-stop in order to defeat.

Master of Orion: Best Turn Based Strategy game ever, and forever.

Tie Fighter: I cant describe how long I played this game, felt like I grew up on it.

Road Avenger/Sewer Shark/ Night Trap: For some reason i was retarded as a kid and mistook FMV games for real-time graphics, making me play these 3 Sega CD games for ages...

Lunar: SSS: This answer should be clear to most forum go-ers.

General Chaos: EPIC Genesis game that we played 4 player... thats right 4 player on Genesis.

Metal Gear Solid: Only game I got on launch of Ps1 Dual Shock. Beat in about 10 times that Christmas Break.

Suikoden 1: Random game I picked up from a used bin, discovered a marvelous Series.

Lunar SSSC: Made Lunar 1 even better, somehow

Xenogears: Bought this instead of Final Fanatsy 8 when they both came out. It was a good move seeing is its an epic game, and was extremely rare for awhile.

Starcraft: Put ample time on this one.

Diablo 2: Played this game for easilly over 5000 years. Defines Action RPGs / PC games for me.

Soul Calibur: First 3D fighter I didnt want to kill myself for playing. Played it for years.

Quake 3: Really the only FPS Ive played for months on end, aside from Halo

Virtual On: Finally a 3d "fighter" (really an action game) that tore me away from Soul Calibur.

Panzer Dragoon Saga: Finally got my hands on this game. That was a day of days.

[Alexander]

[Nem]

Sonic 2 for Game gear. My first console game.
Sonic 1,2,3 & knuckles. Marked my younger days. Awsome games till this day.
FF7. The first RPG that showed me how far RPG's can go. Threw me from indifferent to RPG fan.
Xenogears, Suikoden 2 and FFT. Moments of pure gaming bliss.
PSO for DC. My first online game.
Guild Wars and now WoW for saping away my life. LOL!

[Vegetto]

I would like to add

Way of the Samurai wow that game

Steambot chronicles WOW that game, just magical

skies of arcadia DUDE... this one was magical as well, awesome