To What Games Do You Associate Fond Memories?

[Mido]

This morning, I was thinking about games, whether good or bad, that provided me with fond memories through playing said games. I suppose this thread could just be simply which games provided you with the most nostalgia, but at the same time, are there any memories in particular when playing said game that bring you back to a good time in the past? Beyond nostalgia, what was the specific memory that makes the game played remembered so fondly?

Two cases of my own are Halo 3: ODST and Custom Robo. The former I played a ton back in 2009, but it was not until the summer of 2013 when a group of my friends and I marathoned the campaign in one night. The whole endeavor brings back a slew of good memories while also increasing my appreciation for the dark atmosphere and thorough exploration in the game. The latter I didn't actually play, but an old friend of mine did while I was playing Devil May Cry 4. Custom Robo from what I know now has mixed reviews if I recall; but I suppose both of us got enthralled with the game, and I eventually stopped playing DMC 4 to watch the other game proceed. Custom Robo, while sort of monotonous in its combat, had a decent story and was sort of interesting in its own way. Given this experience occurred long before the former one, Custom Robo is a game I would have to try again to see if my fond memories of the game were justified.

I apologize for explaining the thread question in such a roundabout way, but if anyone is feeling it, feel free to share a story of a game providing some great memories!

 

[Dio]

I have great memories of playing the Zelda games. Particularly OoT and TP. I'd get exited to get home from school and immerse myself in those worlds again.

Also Halo 3. I have some great memories of that. Back in the days me and my friend would play together with local multiplayer.

We'd go in forge mode, turn the gravity right down and the speed up and then fight with energy swords to the theme of One Winged Angel.

 

[Spirit]

Zelda games, mostly Ocarina of Time and Wind Waker.

I was rather happy in my life at the ti e and those are good games to remember it by.

 

[Fraxinus]

I don't associate games with specific memories so much as broad items such as seasons, songs (because I occasionally listen to music while playing games), foods, and some other things. When theses things recur I often reminiscence on these games and crave replaying them, even if the game itself isn't anything special to me. There are a few exceptions, which I will address in a moment. For the broader things, I have a lovely list I'm just gonna throw together of some instances that come to mind:

Fire Emblem Awakening - spring, Let Live by Of Mice & Men, Stargazer by Blood Stain Child, Prayer by Voicians
The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks - winter, popcorn
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword - Alone by Bullet for My Valentine, Highway Unicorn by Lady GaGa
The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds - autumn, this entire album by Icon for Hire
Rune Factory Frontier - rainy days, spring & autumn, Monster by BIGBANG, Watch Out by Lovex
Rune Factory 4 - autumn
Super Smash Bros. Brawl - popcorn flavored rice cakes (I don't remember what they're called ok but me and my sister would snack on them while the other designed stages and it was great)

Obviously not all of them, but some of them. I do have a specific memory of me sneaking my DSi to school once and played some Spirit Tracks before the morning bell rang. I helped with the announcements in the morning but they never actually let me help so it was like a study hall that I typically used to log onto ZD (haha) but that day I used it to get the Ocean Rail Map from the Tower of Spirits and that was pretty dank.

Onto the exceptions, there are a few, where a select handful of games do have very vivid memories and emotions stitched onto them and I either replay them to relive those memories, or avoid the games in question forever in order to never relive them. An example of the latter is A Link Between Worlds. I've mentioned it in the shoutbox a few times, but I physically cannot bring myself to play it again, despite how much I actually enjoyed it. And tragically, that game also has songs and seasons tied to it in my mind and it currently is that season, and the artist of those songs just released a new album, and it's very hard to actually fight a growing desire to replay it.

Ok, I will close with another good memory though. Here is the backstory of why my sister and I are both Bowser mains in Mario Kart. My sister and I got pretty into MKDS and after some time of playing it, probably a few weeks or so, the idea came to us that, hey, let's be stupid. And then, my sister was like "I don't wanna be mean to Toad" because Toad was her main at this point (Luigi was mine), so she was like "I need to be someone else" so I was just like "be Bowser." So she played, while I stood behind the couch and watched. She picked the Star Cup as the trial run, and was so incredibly stupid and made great commentary for the duration, and we laughed so ****ing hard at Bowser getting hit by snowballs on DK Pass and--****, THE SOUNDS HE MADE IN MKDS WHEN HE GOT HIT BY THINGS WAS THE BEST THING EVER OK. It was like metallic, drunk, snoopy.

And then we were not even ready for what would come next in Tick Tock Clock because what something happened and when she fell off the road she hit an axle attaching those gears right before the finish line, and HE ACTUALLY FLIPPED OVER AND YOU JUST SAW THE UNDERSIDE OF BOWSER'S HURRICANE KART DISAPPEAR INTO DARKNESS. So we just started being stupid regularly, more often than racing seriously. But then after awhile we had to make all the stupid stuff look like accidents so they'd still preserve their humor because the intentional stuff got stale. But then both of us got good at being Bowser so now we're just Bowser unironically. It was meant to be.

EDIT: ok one more. I apparently forgot me and my sister shared lots of good memories playing video games.

One time in SSBB, my sister and I did a 99-stock 300% handicap match with two Ganondorf CPUs on this custom castle stage my sister made. All was going great at first until one of the Ganondorfs got trapped in the dungeon room and couldn't figure out how to get out. His AI made him think that falling through the floor to escape would cause him to die so he was like trapped in there for quite awhile so we were just killing the other one. Until the other one also got stuck in there. And we were gonna have to end the match because they both had like over 40 stock left until it occurred to us that two ****in pitfall seeds would take care of it. So we had to wait for two to spawn and THAT is how we managed to get the stupid Ganondorfs out of there. It was literally an hour long match I **** you not.

 

[Woyogoyo]

I have really great memories of my first playthroughs of OoT and MM.

 

[Ventus]

Ocarina of Time, Fire Emblem 7, Kingdom Hearts 2, Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards, Bomberman 64, and Super Smash Bros N64. Those games are associated with the times when I could wake up in the morning, do absolutely nothing, and still feel good about myself.

 

[mαrkαsscoρ]

GTA San Andreas: I remember I went to do this one mission in San Fierro, and then CJ just went out w/ profanity in that cutscene, then my brother came in and told me my dad said to turn down the volume. I was so embarrassed that he'd know I was playing this kind of game. It was honestly on me b/c my room and my dad's room were directly next to each other, of course he's be able to hear it

Star Wars Battlefront 2: First game I ever played online and used a headset for. Looking back, I was one of those stupid kids who said stupid things while online gaming [not immature or offensive stupid, just kinda cringy stupid].

Wind Waker: So many freaking memories to choose from, though I guess if I had to pick one off hand, is that when I first went into the Tower of Gods, I had NO idea how to move the boat. So I actually asked my dad if he can help me [he has ZERO interest in video games, thinks they're a waste of time] and he actually figured it out [just press R]. That was the only time I ever saw my dad interact w/ a game.

Super Smash bros Brawl: fall of 2008 - summer of 2012....all of it

Metal Gear Solid 4: My first MGS and the first time I was ever fully engrossed in a game's story. I mostly remember that it was my oldest brother's copy and my brother told me to hide it if he ever came to pick it up. Unfortunately, I did a crappy job in hiding it and he took it away. I was in Act 5 and was so sad that I didn't get to beat it.

Nicktoons Unite: This was the last time during my childhood that my brother played w/ me. I just remember we were both out of school, it was a cloudy day, and we were playing though the Bikini Bottom levels. After that, my gaming life became primarily single player ;-;

Twilight Princess: Jesus christ, I remember when I first saw this game in a display case at Sears thinking "oh my god,is that a new Zelda game!? And with big Link!?". Then I remember telling my friend about it the following day at school who apparently already knew about it from a magazine or something. I think it wasn't until a week later that I got it. It was one of the most exciting games I ever got to experience. Throughout that afternoon till night, I was just doing the whole Ordon village stuff w/ so many things going through my mind like how it relates to Wind Waker and the fact that I was playing a new Zelda game. I even remember looking at the sky and thinking "well there's no water waves, so it's definitely not underwater Hyrule". I think I'll stop here before I end up writing an article.

this is obviously just a mere sample and all these games have much more nostalgic memories behind them, but this is what I can come up w/ off hand
oh but one thing thats a bit more general, playing skyward sword and watching the legend of korra, both of those things go hand in hand to me and I can't think of one w/o remembering the other

 

[GoronGainz]

Mario Kart 64: I remember one time specifically coming back from a holiday & we'd flown overnight so when we got back it was maybe 6/7am. When you're a kid you don't feel the effects of tiredness like you do as an adult so I was pretty much wide awake & decided to play Mario kart 64. I asked my older brother if he wanted to play too but he wanted to try and sleep. About an hour later he came into my room saying he couldn't sleep & we just spent all morning until lunch, playing 2 player races & battle modes. I'm sure we played it after then but it's the most vivid memory I have of playing that game with him.

Super Smash Bros Brawl: So excited for this games for months. Literally spent 12 hours non-stop the day it released & completed the Subspace Emissary for most of this time (probably spent 2 hours on Tabuu alone). One of the longest gaming sessions I've ever had. This was the 2 disc system too which ended up glitching & breaking but we got our money's worth easy.

Wind Waker: The only reason I even ended up playing this game & starting the Zelda franchise was because my brother bought it on a whim. He was torn between Wind Waker & Smash Bros Melee & since our cousin had a copy of Melee we could play when we saw them he decided to pick Wind Waker. It blew our minds. Just everything about it. The story was immersive & interestingly heartfelt, the gameplay was simple enough for 2 first time players to grasp but complex enough to keep it interesting as you're introduced to new mechanics/items. The graphics were great, the music was astounding & to top it off. This game was hilarious. (The tower of gods scene in particular). I probably could do a piece by piece of how this entire game is steeped in nostalgia and the memories associated with it but I'll avoid that for now.

 

[MapelSerup]

Mario Galaxy 2, one of my first Wii games, is really the only one my mom ever played with me when I was little. I later got and played the original, and I would watch my grandfather, who was a huge Zelda fan, play Skyward Sword.
I think I got my 3DS before the Wii, though, and I have good memories playing Super Mario 3D Land, ALBW, OoT3D, and AC:NL.