Big Moments in Gaming

[AngelCityOutlaw]

after I beat diddy kong racing I felt that I no longer needed to beat another game in my life

I got the same feeling with a racing game too. Only for me, it was F-Zero GX on the hardest difficulty.

[Yami]

Oh my god, I remember I got some VHS from Nintendo Power with gameplay footage of Super Mario 64. I must have been 7 years old. First boner. Right there.

I had one of those VHS too. Coming from the SNES the N64 was so hardcore

[Tables]

The opening to Metroid Prime (my first Metroid game) blew my mind in every way. It's still my favorite game ever.

[BardicKnowledge]

For me, there were a few really big moments:

Dipping the (physical, came with the packaging) letter from Dr. J in water to unlock Chapters 6-8 in Startropics. I wish more games did this sort of thing!

The day I was able to differentiate between fireball and dragon punch. No fighting game player should let go of that memory imo.

Getting Snes9x to work for the first time, and playing through RPGe's translation of Final Fantasy V, Dejap's translation of FFIV, and Neill Cortlett's brilliant translation of Seiken Densetsu 3. If you missed SD3 you need to fix that asap, it is right up there alongside FFVI and Chrono Trigger for me.

The transition from 2d to 3d gaming -- Zelda 64 blew my mind.

Flipping the castle in Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.

Figuring out how to get the good ending in Chrono Cross after being unsatisfied with how events played out otherwise.

"I am....*spins guns*...Shalashaska." Pretty much all of Metal Gear Solid 1 was an incredible experience for me.

Lastly: the day I learned how to dupe items in Diablo 1. I played D1 _way_ more than anyone should have, including the Middle Earth mod by Varaya and Khan, which imo remains the best way to play.

In modern generations, there have been fewer mind-blowing moments. I'd say my first attempt at playing Left 4 Dead (with combinations of nekofrog, ashamee, big giant circles, and Tom) was up there. So many things to shoot in that game! It felt like Contra in 3d the first time I played it, haha. The first time I tried the Wii (so much promise, so few games that do it well!) felt great also, though it has proven to be a rare game that really makes good use of that technology.

[noTuX]

My biggest moment in gaming was actually when I was introduced to it. My mom got me a NES for getting good grades in school. I had no idea what it was and no interest in playing with it. Almost a month later, after my mom threatened to kill me, I finally decided to hook it up and see what the fuss was all about. I had the Mario Bros/Duck Hunt/Track and Field combo cartridge, and I was hooked.

The next big moment that I can think of came when I played Sonic Adventure for the first time. Sure we think it sucks now, but it was AMAZING back then (and you know it).

And of course, the last quarter of gameplay in MGS4 pretty much moved me to tears. A video game has never made me cry like that.

[BaconProcurement]

Man, this is somewhat hard as I have so many.

First off, managing to beat the first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game for the NES was no small feat. I think it was more of luck than skill as I attempted to do it again only to get creamed by Shredder. Beating Battletoads was another one, though the most trouble I had with this game was that snake pit level but I persevered. By the way, both of their endings sucked. With Battletoads, I was hoping to be able to play as Pimple, the third Battletoad, after beating the game but I was only disappointed.

Mega Man 4 will always have a place in my heart as defeating Dr. Wily and listening to the epilogue song overwhelmed me with a sense of accomplishment. Even though I didn't really get anything for beating it, I was really glad I played it till the end.

A bit more recent moment was partnering up with a co-worker to tackle Wesker in Resident Evil 5. We stayed up to 3am emptying every weapon we had in order to kill him only to find out all we had to do was run up to him and do a couple of button pressing cutscenes. (facepalm) The game is definitely more enjoyable playing alongside another person you know.

[prophetik music]

i was always a gamer when i was playing through FFVII and VIII, but i think that chrono cross was really the big one that brought me over the fence to being amazed at what my little PSone could do the summer before my senior year. that and middle school's pokemon blue (and my clear purple gameboy that i got with it!) are probably the two games that really brought me into the next dimension of gaming.

the first game that i played where i realized i was really a crazy, hardcore gamer, however, was halo on the xbox. i just couldn't stop playing - multiplayer, single player, even just watching was enough. i couldn't get too much when i first dove in. i'm not as nuts about PvP shooters anymore, but branching into RPGs on the PS2 and then into every genre i could get my hands on with the 360 has certainly broadened my scope.

[PixelPanic]

Oh, I just thought about another one!

When I first beat Mother 3, I cried my heart out. It was the single most vivid perception of sadness I have ever gotten out of any entertainment media. The scene. The hopelessness. The suicide. It all came in one big heap of emotions. Then the aftergame. It felt like I really saved the world. It felt like I really did something. It let me know that, after the end, what I did still mattered. I never had that feeling. At the end of any Zelda game, I always knew Link would win. At the end of any Mario game, he'd beat Bowser. But this. This was like I won. I saved the world.