I forums every now and again. This statement makes me very happy. I'll have to set up my Saturn in the basement the next time you come over so you can experience the original with the seemingly tighter controls. Graphics on the Saturn, while amazing for the time, will probably make your eyes barf, though.
I actually hated NiGHTS the first few times I played it. Sure, the music was fantastic but I was 12 years old when I got it and I had NO IDEA how to be good at it. Took me over a month to actually beat a level. But it gripped me and I was persistent and then just absolutely loved every aspect of it.
It didn't help that my Saturn's battery backup never worked right so I was never able to save my games and had to beat the whole game from scratch every time I turned the machine on. We were REAL gamers back then. Like real cowboys only less smelly and we didn't ride horses.
Playing through it with Val these days. It was fun solo, love the steampunk alternate universe take on the colonies, and awesome music. But playing it with two, three, four friends local co-op? It becomes a fine wine, aged from the days when four player arcade games were all the rage. Absolute blast.
This was another one that caught me way offguard. Had a dormmate who was a bit of a japanophile and I walked in on him playing it one day. I had no clue what was going on on the screen but he insisted that I give it a try.
From the opening movie I think I met one of the loves of my life that day.
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The Magical Quest starring Mickey Mouse
My Dad rented this for me a kid. I was never that much into Disney but I liked some of the movies. I was a little hurt when he got me that game because I thought he was treating me too much like a child (you know, me being nine years old and all trying to act a bit more grown up at the time). I initially refused to play it. Then I got bored. Really, really bored.
The title screen and intro music didn't do much for me, but the music was pretty good there. Then the story started and I felt like I was right on the money: this game was for kids. PLUTO HAD BEEN KIDNAPPED, OH NOES! But when the first stage started...
It hit me: I totally glossed over the fact that I saw a big "Capcom" intro logo. This was a playformer, and a damn solid one at that. With costume changes that had different abilities, kinda like Mega Man, some great music and really good level/character designs, this game was ridiculously fun, whimsical, and challenging. I enjoyed it so much that I ended up buying it when I saw it used at Blockbuster when I was 13. I spent a huge chunky of money on it: $26 (I was really bad with money management). $26 for a used SNES game in 1998?! I WAS MAD. So good, though. Highly recommended.