Video Games have been a staple in the tack board of my life since I was about age 3… Well now that line was a little cheesy, but I digress. Now I don’t recall a lot from my childhood. Some of my earliest memories involve watching my father play Pokémon on his neat little Game Boy Color. I would spend hours watching as he would narrate every little bit of it. It was like watching a movie. Now I wouldn’t get to play it until I was maybe 5 but regardless this was my first experience with Video Games. As I’ve grown, and experienced video games with better graphics and improved controls. I still think back on those days. How simple things were and how much fun I would have.
Growing up in my house, there wasn’t a wet eye to be found. Both my mother and father loved to play Video Games. My father was more of a home console man, while my mother still preferred the classic arcade titles. Even still, not a day went by where a game system was off. We owned quite a few consoles growing up. By about age 10 I had experience with a Game Boy , Sega Genesis, Sony Playstation, Sony Playstation 2, Game Boy Advance, and of course the Nintendo Entertainment System. Video Games were always there. They were sort of an escape from reality. They helped me to relieve my stress. If I had a bad day at school I’d take out my frustrations with some Pac-Man. If I had been yelled at by my parents I would lose myself in the wondrous world of Sonic the Hedgehog. And if I wasn’t the one playing it was a guarantee it was because somebody had somehow snagged a controller before me.
Even now that I’m older I still play games daily. My taste may have changed somewhat, however my love for Video Games has not. I have about 6 different consoles in my room alone (And am now working towards a seventh). Although my collection has grown, and my backlog has filled to the brim with new titles (Still haven’t played the “Mass Effect” or “Bioshock” trilogies), somehow I still find myself going back to my roots and enjoying the old classics I used to love. There are a couple of games I keep fresh and ready to play. But there are also few that I have lost over the years, either to garage sales (Thanks Mom…), or just playing em until they broke. There is 5 titles specifically that I feel should be played by anyone with a bone of sense in their body. 5 games that I constantly want to go back to and play over and over. These, my dear friends are those games. So strap in. And do a barrel roll.
5. “Galaga” – Namco (1979)
5. “Galaga” – Namco (1979)This by far is my favorite “Arcade” title, and sadly the only one on this list. But rightfully so, it deserves every moment in the spotlight it can get. This game and I go back pretty far. I remember anytime we would go to restaurants or to the movie theatres I would scramble around trying to find this game. And boy was I good. Still am too. I even managed to get the High Score at my local movie theatre’s arcade. The machine has since been reset and any proof I had is gone. But nonetheless I did it, and I’m proud.
This game is simplistic in nature. You simply move your ship left and right dodging flying insects, and firing back at them. It seems easy right? Wrong. Oh so very wrong. This is by far one of the most frustrating games I have ever played. I can’t even begin to count how many quarters I wasted playing this game. I remember never being able to get to the third Challenge Stage. The farthest I remember ever getting. (This would of course be my High Score run I mentioned earlier) is level 43. My second highest would be 21. I never again have been able to get past 21 and that in itself is very frustrating to me. I always have strived to do better than my best but with Galaga. Well. That’s just not humanly possible. This game has kept me mad since I was in Elementary school. And if I keep going to the movies, it’ll never stop.
4. “Need for Speed: Underground” – EA Black Box (2003)
This game single handedly fueled my love for cars. Pun intended. If it weren’t for this game I don’t think I would be the same person I am today. I would be a sad and lonely little kid. A kid who never played one of the greatest racing games of all time. I love this game; it introduced me to a whole other genre of gaming I before used to think was lame as could be. I can remember coming home from school, throwing my backpack on the floor, and rushing to our game room just to pop this bad boy in the PS2. Every day I would race at least 20 different times, customize my car, and then repeat the process. I was happy. I was content.
I’m not sure what it was about this game that drove me. (Again pun intended.) Perhaps it was the idea of going fast. Maybe it was the amount of customization options you had. It might have been the amazing soundtrack. I’m sure however that it couldn’t have been the story considering there wasn’t much of one to it. The idea was simple enough. Win illegal street races. Earn a lot of money. Personalize your car. Rinse and repeat. Either way, I owned those virtual streets. No matter who I was up against I would always come out on top. I was unstoppable. Even my brother knew better then to challenge me.
I had played with racing games before getting my mitts on this one. But none really seemed to stick. There was something special about this one. I have picked up a couple of times since first playing it back 2005 But sadly this is one of the titles on my list that I’ve come to lose. I gave all three of the copies I had owned to three separate friends, on three separate occasions just weeks before we would move to a new house. All three times I’d give somebody this game, we moved. It’s almost as if it was cursed or something. One thing is for sure, I will never loan a copy of this game to anyone else ever again. Period.
3. “The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask” – Nintendo (2000)
This title only recently climbed onto this list and into my heart about 5 years ago. About 7 years ago, we had gone to visit our grandparents, and we were staying in our camper on their front lawn for a couple of days. One night my Grandpa asked me if I wanted a new video game system. I of course jumped with joy over the offer. I followed him out as he led me to his shed. He pulled a box off of a shelf handed to me and told me to go nuts. Little did I know what was inside that box. I went to our camper and immediately opened it to find a Nintendo 64 and a handful of games. Excited would be an under exaggeration to describe how I felt. I had heard so many brilliant things from my friends about how they grew up with this system. I had never once touched the console before, let alone The Legend of Zelda. With my new console I received both N64 installations of the famous series. “Ocarina of Time”, and “Majora’s Mask”. I got to work right away on the first one. And after hours of pouring my blood, sweat, and tears into that game I had finally beaten it. It wasn’t until about a year after receiving the console that I finally decided to pick up and play Majora’s Mask. Boy do I wish I had done it earlier.
I was greeted with a very colorful opening scene of what seemed to be nice peaceful town. I was ready to indulge in every beautiful moment. Then out of nowhere the cut scene went black, the music changed, and my feeling of joy quickly turned to pure fear. I had an uneasy feeling in my stomach. I had no idea what lied in store for me. But I was ready. The premise of this game was simple enough. Unless of course you delved into it more and explored every side quest available. Your job as the protagonist is to save the land of Termina from their impending doom. Which for some reason, takes the form of the moon falling onto the land on the eve of the town carnival. Makes sense.
Playing this game was like nothing I had ever experienced before. The story was deep. The artwork was beautiful and the music was absolutely perfect. I couldn’t walk away. I remember being up until about 3 in the morning one night just exploring the vast land of Termina. I was so engaged in this game. And it was so amazing. Every side quest, every mask, every musical tune. It was all amazing. It kept me wanting me more. I still pick this game up every so often and play for hours on end.
2. “Pokémon: Gold Version” – Game Freak (1999)
I there is one series that has always been with me, it was Pokémon. More specifically Pokémon: Gold. The amount of hours I had put into this game would astound anyone. The memories I created playing this game. The amount of stats and such I had memorized. It all was so much fun. I still remember my first run in with the legendary Ho-Oh. I can recall a bunch of great things when it comes to this game and the time I spent with it.
This was one of the first games I ever had the privilege of playing. I was given this game as a gift from my father. Before that I would always watch him play it on his Game Boy. He would beat it over and over. Narrating the whole entire thing, start to finish. It is some of my most fond memories of my father I have. One day he decided to surprise me. He went to the bathroom and left me with the Game Boy and one simple task. “Finish this Battle.” I went to work. I had a Charizard and that was about all I really remember. I was somehow able to beat my opponent against all odds my 5 year old mind had fathomed. My dad had managed to come back just in time to see me deal the final blow. And it turned out. I had just beaten the game for him. He gave me the game and told me, “Alright, your turn.” He told me his best time. And sent me off.
Little did I know, I would not only beat his time within two weeks. But I would continue to play beyond my childhood and even into my adulthood. I took that Game Boy on every single car ride I went on. I would start a game on the way to my grandparent’s house. And I would have beaten it when I came back home. I played at school, I played at daycare. I went to sleep watching Pokémon on T.V. and would wake up with memories of dreams about Pikachu and Squirtle. I still play this game all the time. I think I’ll go play it after writing this to be honest.
1. “Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage!” – Insomniac Games (1999)
This game is by far the one on this list I have a hard time explaining why it is number one. Let alone why it is on this list. But that’s what is so great about it. I can’t even begin to explain why I love it so much. Everything about this game blends together so well. And each aspect makes this hidden gem shine so brightly in my eyes.
There are so many different things I can say about this game. But let’s start with the first thing I always notice when I play this game. The story. Now while some call it extremely linear and basic. There is a villain who you must save the world from by collecting enough orbs and Talismans. That’s why I praise it. It does a nice job capturing the simplicity of a child’s bedtime story. But all the while it contains the same sort of adventure you’d find in a more adult oriented video game. The story never made me feel stupid. I always wanted to help Spyro save the world from the evil Ripto. And the voice acting for this game is superb in every sense of the word. Thanks Tom Kenny!
The other great part of this game is the combination of gameplay, music, and the environment. This game isn’t just another video game in my eyes. It’s an experience. Every piece of detail works together to create one vast world where as a kid I would get lost in. this is one of those games where I’d sit down to play for an hour after school. And then before I knew it, it was bedtime. The gameplay and mechanics in this game scream flawless. The controls were fluid and simple. But the game always managed to be challenging when need be. Yet it would never become so hard I would give up and go do something else. And there was a sense of reward for completing side missions. They weren’t just tacked on for replay value. That’s something a lot of modern games seem to have a problem with. The music composed for the game is more than perfect, no song sounds out of place. Maybe that has to do with the fact that Stewart Copeland (The drummer for “The Police”) was the main composer. The color scheme and landscape of every different realm were brilliantly fitted to match the mood of each area. This game in one word is just simply “Astounding”.
Final Thoughts
So if it wasn’t clear before, let me reiterate. I absolutely love video games. They have helped me in so many ways, to overcome many obstacles in my life, simply by just being there. They help me to relieve stress and take me back to a simpler time. A time I can only remember vividly when there is a controller in my hand.
When I look at my list I start to notice something. There are literally no games on here from this decade. I’m not entirely sure why this happened the way it did. There are obviously loads of games from even the past 5 years alone that I have loved. I think the real reason that there aren’t many games from recent times is because of when I played them. The games on this list were all games I played thoroughly before I turned 13 years old. And because of that I feel these games helped to shape the person I am today.
Whenever I feel down or I just want to relax. I turn on my game system and proceed to get lost in a video game. It may not be the healthiest of lifestyles. But it sure is a hell of a lot of fun. I hope you enjoyed hearing my opinions. And I hope some of you will try to pick up and play some of choices. I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Honorable Mentions (In no order)
· SSX 3
· Tetris
· Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
· Batman: Arkham Asylum
· Pokémon: Emerald Edition
· Need For Speed: Most Wanted
· The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
· Rock Band (Series)
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