What was your gaming epiphany?

November 29th, 2009 Posted in Features, Posted by Austin

nintendo_64

Thinking back to the days of my youth, one memory stands out above all else: The summers. School was out, the air was fresh, and all the kids got together to play baseball and Frisbee in the park. All of them except me, because summers to me were filled with nothing but a constant fascination with the Nintendo 64. First it started with FIFA (which version it was eludes me at the moment) but as the summer went on I got more games, from Mario 64 to my personal favorite, Star Fox 64. Then, at the end of the summer, it all went away once again, leaving me dreaming of games throughout the fall, winter and spring until the cycle repeated itself.

Though, you’re probably wondering, “Why such an odd cycle of gaming, Austin?”, and I’m about to tell you.

Every summer, my mom (who worked as a child-care provider at a school) had the privilege of borrowing the school’s N64 and bringing it home to me and my siblings to play non-stop, and every summer we started with just one game: FIFA. Now, I’m no soccer fan, and I certainly wasn’t then, but simply the fact that I was playing a Nintendo 64, even though I had no idea how to play or what I was doing, was a magical feeling in itself.

About a week later when the real games came along (Mario 64, Star Fox and Mario Kart) is when my fascination turned into a temporary obsession. I played for hours on end, repeating the first level of Wave Race and never quite beating the first Bowser due to lack of skill, but no matter how many repetitions I took, it never got boring. The race against Koopa the Quick, trying to walk down the spirally mountain with King Bob-Bomb in my arms, and flying across the water with dolphins are some of the fondest memories of my childhood, but even those games couldn’t compare to the one game I played endlessly to the point where I memorized the dialogue of many levels: That game, if it wasn’t already obvious, was (and still is) Star Fox 64.

star_fox_64

From the time I turned it on, Star Fox had me captivated. The game possessed non-stop action, fast-paced shooting and characters that reacted to your actions. What more could you ask for in a game? At the age of 8, not much. I was glued to the TV for hours at a time, saving Slippy’s hide and laughing whenever Falco shouted “Hey Einstein, I’m on your side!” At that age, I wasn’t sophisticated enough to understand things like gameplay and controls and graphics. I was just captivated by the idea of it all to the point where I didn’t care.

Looking back on it now, it really amazes me how many times I was able to play through the game (granted I never actually beat it the “real” way during my childhood) without getting bored, and even today I’m still able to power through the game multiple times in a session without so much as thinking about playing anything else. Obviously not everyone that reads my short outing will share my love for Star Fox, much less love it for the reasons I do, but I know that everyone has that one game that was a sort of gaming epiphany for them, if you will. This brings me to the point of my article, and the question that started me writing this in the first place: What was your gaming epiphany? Perhaps it was when you first played Super Mario Bros. on the NES, or when you finally got through Ghosts and Goblins after many hours of playing? Whatever it was, leave your answers in the comments section below!


  1. 17 Responses to “What was your gaming epiphany?”

  2. By bob on Nov 29, 2009

    idk if i have one

  3. By Zack on Nov 30, 2009

    There were a few for me I think.

    I used to watch a babysitter of mine(when I was very young) play Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. I was captivated.

    Then Ocarina of Time was a huge point in gaming for me. Equally was Pokemon Red Version.

    Oh man, N64 was great though. Vivid memories of loving Super Mario 64, Star Fox 64, Smash Bros., Zelda, Mario Kart.

    Definitely my favourite generation. It’s what made me a gamer.

  4. By orenn on Nov 30, 2009

    Gameboy Camera. At the time, that thing was AMAZING!!! And there was just so much to unlock and do…

  5. By Ryan on Nov 30, 2009

    I know exactly what you mean Austin, and I agree that Starfox 64 was an amazing game. But that wasn’t the title that was my “gaming epiphany”. The game I felt so connected to was Super Smash Bros. for the N64. I never owned a N64 when I was little, but I had a friend from Hamilton who had one, and a copy of SSB, that he would bring down every Summer. I would have to say, those long Summer’s of smash bros with my friends are definitely my most fondest memories. Now, a solid eight years later, I have an N64 and a copy of the game. Even though I have brawl now, I still play this game just for the nostalgia of it. When it comes on the VC this year it’s going to be a must-buy for me too.

  6. By SumAznKid88 on Nov 30, 2009

    Mine was playing Pokemon Gold on my aunt’s gameboy for hours!!!! I just couldn’t stop playing!

  7. By L.A.C. on Nov 30, 2009

    Mine was definetly the whole N64 era.
    Where do I begin?
    My sister had a NES which she game me when she grew up.
    To everyone, the NES was just another form of entertainment just like music and tv, but to me it became an addiction.
    Unfortunately for me, my family could never afford a SNES, so I had to releave my gaming feaver at my friends or cousins’ houses.
    Then, the Nintendo 64 came in better times.
    My parents could buy me the console and so they did.

    I bought dozens of games throughout the console’s lifespan and nearly all of them where played non-stop.
    Mario 64 was my top favorite until Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

    I had played the original Zelda, LoZ: ALTTP and LoZ: LA, but never owned them, so I never actually got into the Zelda experience.
    But OoT completely blew me away.
    I loved absolutely everything in that game.
    To me, it was the perfect game.
    In addition, I never had an absolute favorite videogame character until this game, which is to this day Ganondorf.

  8. User avatar

    By Austin on Nov 30, 2009

    @Bob: There’s gotta be some game that really started the gamer in you! What’s the first game you can really remember falling in love with?

    @Zack: I definitely agree. The N64 era was really the golden age for gaming in my opinion.

    @orenn: Aww, I loved playing GBCamera! Not only was it just a really cool game, but the little mini games inside of the main game used to make me laugh because the boss battles were so great!

    @Ryan: Oh man, Smash Bros. was a big one for me, too! Though, I only ever played on the Hyrule level and Sector Z because all the other levels were just too small!

    @SumAznKid: I remember when I got Pokemon Silver for Christmas one year and the night/day thing amazed me so much! It was just about the coolest thing I had ever played, I think.

    @L.A.C.: Yea, for its time, OoT was really just about the most perfect a game could get. It was just so… epic in every was possible. It still amazes me that on their first venture into the 3D realm, Aonuma and Miyamoto just hit the mark perfectly.

  9. User avatar

    By Valay on Nov 30, 2009

    Mine was Ocarina of Time for sure. Opened my eyes to just about everything gaming-related. It was also the first 3D title I played.

  10. By Caio on Nov 30, 2009

    Mine was Metal Gear Solid on the PS1.
    Freaking awesome!

  11. By karma on Nov 30, 2009

    The one that stands out in my mind is Ocarina of Time. I’ve only played through it cemented my love for video games. I remember just staring at the end screen for about 10 minutes. Other ones would have to be Super Mario World and Super Mario 64.

  12. By Elaine on Dec 1, 2009

    for me, the simplest games were the most addictive. pac-man, donkey kong, mario and bomberman. SNES, a time where you could fit 100 games into 1 cartridge, that was what i looked forward to. the current era has many games, but not many with replayability (when played alone). i still remember replaying bomberman and chrono trigger.

  13. By L.A.C. on Dec 1, 2009

    @karma:
    Same here.
    I think I was 80% gamer until OoT which made me 100% fanboy gamer.

  14. By dev on Dec 3, 2009

    mine was definately Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, on the n64.
    my sister and i couldnt stop playing it once we started. :D

  15. By Qlazarus on Dec 5, 2009

    It’s certainly refreshing to read other gamer’s positive experiences playing games. It’s pretty rare to see other people that just like playing video games!

    My gaming memories stretch back to the original Nintendo.

    Boy those were the days, having your own video game system at home was pretty special. Arcades were still popular.

    I loved The Adventures of Bayou Billy, River City Ransom, Castlevania II, Legendary Wings, Tetris, Double Dragon one and two, Baseball Stars, Bad Dudes and whatever other games we owned back in the day.

    I remember when the N64 came out we would sometimes go to the local Blockbusters to test it out. That controller was certainly revolutionary and running Mario around that castle in 3D was quite a blast!

    Unlike many of the gamers here, I didn’t play Ocarina of Time until I traded a friend for it when he purchased a Game Cube and received the 4 Zelda games on the one disc. Great game. I’d like to play it again. Last time I checked I was still stuck in the underwater castle!

  16. By opiumx on Dec 5, 2009

    I could write 20 pages on this question, but Ill keep it kinda short. I loved alot of games on the NES, zelda/mario and a boy and his blob. But when the snes came out, I didnt play games much, I played sonic alot on genesis, but I quit games for a long time.

    Then, later on when sega saturns were cheap, I got one and had alot of fun with panzer dragoon series and knights into dreams and burning rangers. Thats when I quit again for a while, not cause of the games, but for other reasons.

    Then, dreamcast came out, and I had alot of fun with that, and still like to go back to it here and there.

    But then, gamecube and xbox came out, and I didnt trust microsoft as a game system, so I waited in line to get a gamecube. I got the system, a memory card, and two games, luigis mansion and wave race.

    I really liked lugis mansion, but after beating it, I was bored with gamecube. Some games came out that I had alot of fun with, but I waited and waited for a new zelda/mario, and eventually sold it and gave up for a while.

    Couple years later I picked another one up used with a memory card and wind waker.

    Here is when I got my epiphany. I tried to play it, but just didnt like it much. I never even got the sword though. One week I got the flu, and gave it a full run. I played it 10 hours a day for a week, and realised that what they are doing with games these days, is sheer awesome.

    Loving the feel of the gamecube controller more than any others, I went and got alot of the best gamecube games. I never regret it, and I still love the gamecube.

    Windwaker, made me think differently about games as I thought they were from my nes/crappy sega system days. It was very fun, and drew me in.

    This is when I started searching out some of the best games ever made, such as OOT and other games like The Longest Journey and Grim Fandango.

    I thank nintendo for this, I have had alot of fun. The wii however brought something that has made me play more games than ever, thats more fun. Super mario galaxy? Christ man, talk about fun, natural feeling controls. I also hated first person shooters before wii, because I dont like sitting at a computer playing them, and I die alot trying to use a xbox controller as well.

    I have to say tho, a game I spent the most of my time on, was tiger woods for xbox1. I played all of them to where I got all of the par5 eagles even. You can imagine how happy I was to get tiger 10 with wii motion plus, its great.

  17. By opiumx on Dec 5, 2009

    I totally forgot my gameboy only loving days, I got to where, 3d games really made me mad, and wanted retro style games for a long time. I had alot of fun with gameboy/gbc/gba.

    Anyway, Wii has brought back what I say was missing in games, FUN. Not to mention, family fun. Sure nes was fun with family when it was new and so on, but after that…

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