The games that made me
I recently have watched a couple of Youtube videos from square enix developers
about the “games that made them”. It prompted me to think about my own gaming history in a more deep and interesting way.As a side project I created https://gamingwrapped.com but frustratingly I learned very little about myself from the project.
In this post, I will answer questions for myself, about “The games that made me”.
1. What was the very first game you ever played?
Every journey has a starting point. What is your earliest memory of interacting with a screen?
I have a hard time remembering. The first thing that comes to mind is probably one of those Pajamas Sam or Freddy Fish games. When I think about my actual true probably legitimate game, I think it was Crash Bandicoot 1.
Honestly I thought that game was amazing and it, weirdly actually, in my opinion, still holds up today. The animations were so lively. I loved Crash. I loved the music. I remember being a kid and doing the little wombat dance he does after he eats a wumpa. I also just remember spitting around a bunch, cause Crash does spin attack.
It’s a really good game and I think, looking back, I haven’t played a Crash game in a really long time. I did try the latest remake and it was pretty fun but honestly it was pretty hard. I might go back and play it after this just because I really enjoyed Crash.
Weirdly it wasn’t an RPG. It was a platformer but I found it a lot of fun and I found it funny. I was able to beat it, which was nice for young me.
2. Which single game could you not live without?
If you were stranded on a desert island with only one game (and a powered-up console), which one would it be?
Since it has to be a single-player game, I’m probably going to land on Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth. I think what is really amazing about this game is that it just has so much creativity, fun, and variety in it.
There is, obviously, the combat, which has multiple characters, tons of different weapons, and tons of ways to approach it, but there are just a lot of mini games. I think it is extremely, extremely beautiful. The music is; there is so much of it and it is all fantastic. It is a game that could last me a very long time playing it and I truly enjoy every second of my time with it.
3. What is your fondest memory of playing a game with others?
Gaming is often a social experience. Is there a specific moment shared with friends or family that stands out?
It’s a bit cliche but it’s probably just playing Super Smash Bros. I did love Melee and Brawl but I would say I really expanded to a larger group of people with Ultimate and I really got a lot better with Ultimate. It’s just fun. I’ve had a lot of great conversations with people over the game. I’ve had a lot of not so great conversations as well but it’s really just been a game that’s helped me connect with my friends more while having a ton of fun at the same time.
If I’m getting specific I would say there have been a couple of tournaments that I’ve hosted and I’ve gotten to meet new people through them. Probably my funnest time was just playing in this tournament with my friends at my home, eating pizza and chilling, talking about video games and having a good time.
4. Which game soundtrack or piece of music is etched into your heart?
Music has a unique way of triggering memories. Which game’s score can you still hear perfectly in your head?
There are a lot of random themes. I’m just going to go off and list a couple.
Probably the first is a theme of Rabanastre from Final Fantasy XII, which is kind of like the hometown theme. There are a few other Square Enix ones, like the Kingdom Hearts 2 opening screen theme and even some of the battle music for Final Fantasy 15 and 13.
The song that plays at the end of both The Outer Wilds and Blueprints also kinda sticks into my head.
But probably the one more than anything would have to be something from the Persona game, probably the Heartbeat Heartbreak from Persona 4 Golden.
5. What game do you think the entire world should play at least once?
Is there a game you find so important, beautiful, or perspective-shifting that you’d recommend it to everyone you meet?
So there’s a little bit of a spin I’m gonna do. I’m gonna say if you’re somebody who plays video games, the game you should play is Dark Souls. I think that Dark Souls is probably the most revolutionary game ever made but I think to really appreciate it you have to be someone who has played a good amount of games, and specifically RPGs or anything that has not been a Dark Souls game. Another game that kind of falls into this category is Inscryption.
I’d say if you’re someone who’s not really much of a gamer I’d probably tell them to play the original Plants vs. Zombies. I think that game is a really really rare example of a game that is truly fun from start to end without compromise. It also just has a ton of replay value and a lot of creativity. You can play the game a lot of different ways and it’s still played a lot even today.
6. Is there a moment in a game that gave you a “gut punch”?
Not every game is happy. Which story beat or twist left you sitting in silence as the credits rolled?
Definitely Persona 5. I really really liked Persona 5’s gameplay but what I liked about it more than the combat and the RPG elements was just actually talking to my NPC friends. The game does a really really really good job of making you kind of feel like they’re real people.
Part of it is because the game is just really long and has a long runtime. In the very end of the game there’s a sort of final credits second sequence where you go around the map and say goodbye to everyone. For me that was really tough. I felt like I was very moved talking to the individual characters and remembering the stories and everything we went through over the course of the game. It really made me just genuinely pause and re-evaluate my life if I’m being honest. It was very good but very gut wrenching.
Conclusion
We like to think of games as just a hobby, but they really do become part of your DNA - especially the ones from your formative years. I hope this got you to think about your own video game journey. If you found anything interesting, I’d love to hear from you - send me an email!