Games that had a powerful effect on you

[Blackyu]

Ooooh, I have a LOT of games that changed my life !

• Pokemon (mostly 3rd gen) : My very first videogame ever. I was very young at the time (Around 7 I think ?), I didn't understand anything but it kinda taught me strategy, small management, and I hold this game deep within my heart. So go ahead, touch my save file, but you probably won't appreciate the consequences.
  
• Metroid Fusion : After my first videogame ever, we have my favorite game ever. Seriously, Metroid Fusion had a pure and refreshing gameplay compared to any other game I've played up until that point. I seriously loved that game, and every aspect of it. The linear, yet interesting storytelling, the main enemy of the game, the various environments, huge maps, and everything else. It got me playing other Metroid games, and whenever I hear someone praising Super Metroid, I'd just like to show them Fusion and be like "AND THIS ? YOU LIKE ? YOU PLAYED ?!" Guess I'm just crazy. '-'
  
• Stardew Valley : OOOOOH BEAUTIFUL <3 Seriously, in case you didn't notice, I GREW UP with the GBA, holding those advanced 2D graphics in my heart, and for someone like me, Stardew Valley's graphics are a DREAM. And, for how stereotypical some characters can be, they made me feel real emotions. For example, there was this girl (Maru), and I asked her to be my girlfriend, she accepted. Then, just a day later, I learned indirectly through an event that another girl (Abigail) loved me. Then I felt bad, because I knew that I chose Maru, and Abigail has also been forced to watch me marry her. Yes, I can become very emotional for harmless things that don't change anything in the game.
  
• Shovel Knight : Another great indie masterpiece. Old-school, with an amazing gameplay, and interesting levels. A truly great action-platformer that combines old and new, I won't say a lot, just play it if you haven't, it's worth its price.
  
• Ben & Ed : Aaaaand let's stop loving games for a while. The title of this topic is Games that had a powerful effect on you, it includes NEGATIVE effects too ! èvé
  So yeah, Ben & Ed, kinda Rage game, horrible platforming, uncontrollable, loud techno music, GOD I HATE THIS GAME MORE THAN LICORICE
  
• Horror RPGs : Back to praising stuff ! I used Horror RPGs here, but by that I mean the famous ones, such as Mad Father, Ib, The Witch's House, Misao, Paranoiac, and all the rest ! They got me into the Horror Genre as well as RPG Maker, and I seriously love how, using such a simple engine like RPG Maker, they ended up with polished and independent games. Seriously, I would love to make something like that one day. And that's probably why I'm jealous... :c
  
• Layers of Fear : Still in the horror genre, we have this game. It's an atmosphere-based mostly discovering-adventure game. And oh boy does this game have GRAPHICS !! The 3D team is just AMAZING !! If you're an atmosphere horror game fan, this is THE game for you. And, after seeing the ending, I had my MIND BLOWN. Layers of Fear is worth checking out !
  
• Until Dawn : Yay, more horror games ! And this one is my 2nd favorite. A glorious Triple A title, and the reason why is in its selling point : "A game where all your choices matter." They're not lying, choices really matter, and the whole game is based on the butterfly effect triggered. Seriously, the story and the characters are well-thought, everything makes sense at the end, and when you get a perfect ending with nobody dying, you just feel incredible. It's an example of a very good modern horror game that isn't a RPG or an action-survival based (I'm looking at you, The Evil Within !).
  
• Corpse Party : BloodCovered : If I didn't put this game in the Horror RPGs genre, it's for a reason. It's because it's my all-time favorite horror game. Everything about this game is just PURE PERFECTION ! If I had ONE game project to absolutely make, it would be this one ! Even though Corpse Party has Sequels (CP : Book of Shadows, CP : Blood Drive and CP 2 : Dead Patient), none of them can make up to BloodCovered. This here is the TRUE spirit of Horror-Adventure-RPG Games, the essence of it ! With truly outstanding originality, one of the pioneers of horror, made in RPG Maker. And I most probably idolize it because I know I'm NEVER gonna reach such an advanced level of incredible game development... XD
  

Wow, I rambled longer than expected. Sorry ! ^w^'

 

[TheZoeman]

The game that had the biggest effect on me when I was younger was Final Fantasy Tactics because it was one of the first RPGs I ever played. It was also one of the first games I played that had a bigger story that was hard to fully grasp until I was older. There have been other RPGs that I've grown to love since, but Final Fantasy Tactics will always have a special place in my heart.

 

[Plueschkatze]

Suikoden I and II: I will forever love this two games. They influenced me so much. The epicness, the amount of characters, the story twists.


Suikoden III: I disliked most of this game. But loved the IDEA of changing views and playing through the eyes of different characters.


Zelda Series: Twilight Princess is so dear to me. But I have special memories of OoT and MM, too. Twilight Princess atmosphere still influences me a lot. All this loveable characters. (Through most of them are pretty blank to be honest.. you still grow very fond of them)


The Last of Us and Telltales the Walking Dead: The play with good and evil in characters, all these shades of grey. How close you grow to characters you know a "bad" or did bad/wrong things in the past. Regarding Telltales WD: The choices and that you never know how they'll influence the game.


Life is Strange: Decisions, Atmosphere, the story that's now about BIG and EPIC but about everyday and friendship mixed with these strange supernatural powers.


Fragile Dream: Atmosphere. Love how they play with this feeling of solitude and those strange characters you pass by. 


Nomnomnami's Games: Especially Treat Series and Her tears were my light. Small games, that yet are so lovely. The characters are so well done, all the cuteness and the stories. Love them. They gave me so much joy, more then most BIG games played in the past years.


Undertale: Simply because so much changes through decisions and there's so much hidden that you can discover IF you care. Also all the stuff that happens with the savedata and stuff, like crashing on purpose as part of the gameplay etc. adds a new dimension to the game. 


Final Fantasy VII: Up till today I'm still influenced by the gloomy setting. There's a special version of that setting stuck in my had that's not even a real lookalike of what the FFVII world looks like. HA HA. But my version is so precious to me, one day I'd love to bring it to life in one of my games! 


Secret of Mana: Loved the ability to play with my parents back when I was a child and years later with my little sister.


Dead by Daylight: Full of bugs BUT the gameplay and teamdynamics are pretty awesome and suuuuperfun. The fact that both sides are players (Killer and Survivers) gives the game a special dynamic.


Pokemon: Such simple, repetetive gameplay. But I'm still SUPEREXITED about sun and moon. I have so much love for my favorite pokemon and teams and love to make them into characters.


Jade Cocoon: Loved the mechanic to fuse monsters you caught. Would love to do a JaceCocoon/Pokemon hybrid game with more rpg elements/story and stuff in the future, I have many ideas for such a project~


Meadow: Just played this supersimple game with my sister for a few hours the past days and it left an influence on me, since it was such a nice experience, through the game has not much to offer gameplay-wise it was awesome to run around as animals and discover a world and interact with strangers only through some emotes and jumping and howling. I hope they expand this game. It made me smile SO much.

 

[Canini]

I would have to say Final Fantasy IX. It thought me the importance of world-buiding and how a narrative is built on strong characters. I still replay it now and then and still find the world and gameplay to be among the best I have ever experienced! It is pretty much the perfect mix of pathos, humor and nostalgia for me. 

 

[HexMozart88]

Uh, Super Hexagon...  :


Yeah... first twitch game I've ever played and how I discovered I enjoyed twitch games. Also, interestingly enough, I got better at softball after playing that a bit. 

 

[Wonderfull Darkness]

@Mettool's Soma Spirits! One of the greatest games I've ever played, the story, the battles, the jokes! All BRILLYANT!!!


Fixed my love for games, also one of the first games I played when I first joined this community!  

 

[leenat40]

For me, it was Bloodborne in 2016...


Yes, it's weird.... But... When I started playing it... I realized so much about humanity, this world... It's like I reached a different level of consciousness...


I started seeing, and feeling things I never did before... (Even my friends noticed, that I started acting different.) 


I started believing that all of this, we see everyday... It's only an illusion. 


Xd

 

[Animator111]

For me these would be


1) Alex kidd when I was little


2) Sonic 1 in Genesis. I remember that excitement feeling I had when I first saw it, thinking I would make


an impression showing it to my classmates


3) Art of fighting - I was 20 years old back then and was playing it in coin ops. It made me say " I can draw and animate muscular guys like these,


if only I could find a job as a sprite artist in a video game company that would be awesome !"


I managed to do it 15 years later as there were no game companies in Greece back then

 

[Animator111]

For me these would be


1) Alex kidd when I was little


2) Sonic 1 in Genesis. I remember that excitement feeling I had when I first saw it, thinking I would make


an impression showing it to my classmates


3) Art of fighting - I was 20 years old back then and was playing it in coin ops. It made me say " I can draw and animate muscular guys like these,


if only I could find a job as a sprite artist in a video game company that would be awesome !"


I managed to do it 15 years later as there were no game companies in Greece back then

 

[Rayhaku808]

Megaman Battle Network 1.  Towards the boss fight and the ending oh man what a twist!


Fire Emblem Blazing Sword. I had no idea what fire emblem was. I've never played a tactical rpg before. And this was a new setting for me. I didn't read/watch Lord of the Rings at the time. I didn't get to play final fantasy growing up. I was blown away by everything it threw at me.

 

[Pilgrim Adventures]

To the Moon. In terms of emotional impact, can't think of a gaming experience that came close.

 

[MobileSuitSonic]

Mother 3.

I was bawling like an infant through the second half of the fight. If you've played it, you know what I'm talking about.

 

[GoodSelf]

Bioshock. It completely changed the way I think about games, and made me want to become a game designer.

 

[LxCharon]

The original Legend of Zelda, it got me into games, it got me into game design, it still inspires me to this day. I had played some games like mario, duck hunt, and some arcade offerings. But one day my babysitter's nephew was visiting her and had brought his NES and the original LoZ. I was enthralled, i couldn't tear my eyes away, everything about that game stole my mind and imagination. Though it wouldn't be until years later that I'd be able to play that particular iteration of LoZ for myself.

Pokemon was next. When red and blue came out I didn't have a gameboy, but I did have a Super Gameboy for the SNES. Red version consumed my life from the moment I popped it in. Pokemon still consumes my life as an adult. But as a child? I played the games, played the card game, had toys, watched the anime, went to the movies in theatres. That obsession still sits with me today, the brilliance of the design that brought about that obsession inspires me.

Then, fast foward quite a few years and the tactical turn base rpg was the next to influence me in such a way. FF Tactics, the first Fire Emblem in america, and Shining Force. They made me rethink everything i thought about games, slow, methodical, and most importantly deeeeeeep, they were unlike anything i had played before (including rpgs). But especially FF Tactics whose complex, convoluted, political plot really became the stepping stone that got me into political intrigue. Now if you ask me my favorite anything it's probably politically related on some level, and I have FF Tactics to thank for that.

Finally Catharsis, which is an RPG maker game. It's still unfinished but gotdam is it influential to me. I had used rpg maker back when you could only illegally use it, but it was playing catharsis years later that made me download it again and really try to make my own game. You can tell how much care and love went into making that game, and I want that. I want to put that much passion into my projects. If you haven't played catharsis check it out, the demo is on rmn.

 

[Sanct]

A couple of days ago I played Owlboy... That was the first time I actually cried at a video game ending (possibly because it was also so good, but also because the story was just plain amazing). I beat the whole game in one sitting because I was just completely in the world and it was just amazing. Everyone should play it (I mean EVERYONE).

 

[Milennin]

Sonic (1, 2, 3 & Knuckles): These are my childhood classics, and I still consider them as one of the best games I've ever played. Even for my own games, I take inspiration from these.
Pokémon: The only franchise that has managed to keep me hooked for 20 years, consistently putting out high quality games on a nearly yearly basis. They were my introduction to the RPG genre, and instantly fell in love with them.
Golden Sun: My first traditional JRPG with one of the best videogame OSTs I've ever heard, and a super fast-paced combat system that simply looks amazing. Even to this day, I love the GBA graphics of everything, from the town tilesets to sprites to combat animations.
Guild Wars 1: It has the deepest and most fleshed out RPG combat system I've ever seen that doesn't come down to spamming attack and drinking potions to stay alive. Even though it was originally launched as a CORPG, it's perfectly playable as a single-player game. This game is my main inspiration for any combat system I work in RPG Maker.
Eden*: A beautiful visual novel that I could recommend to anyone. The only time I ever cried while playing a videogame.

 

[LxCharon]

@Milennin God, I love the Golden Sun games. They are hugely inspirational on how I design dungeons in my games!

 

[jezebelthenun]

I get extremely emotionally attached to game characters, so when they throw a twist of "so-and-so was really a bad guy the whole time" I get suuuuper mad! Specific examples in the spoiler

Spoiler

Bioshock did this, and I was mad for MONTHS. Atlas, whyyyyy?!?!?

Then, again, in Portal 2. I loved Wheatley so much, and they turned him into an enemy. It hurt.[\spoiler\

As far as games that just sucked me in and gave me all the feels, DA: Origins is probably #1. I played every origin multiple times, and felt feels every time. Also, I'm in love with Alistair, but that's another thing entirely.

FFX is a big one, too. Something about that particular story, and the lack of conclusion. Very powerful.

 

[Failivrin]

@Milennin, remember the end of GS2 The Lost Age when they fight the Doomsday Dragon? The monster is really their parents transformed, but they have to defeat it in order to restore magic to the world. It's been a long time since I played the games, but if my memory is clear... After the dragon is defeated, Jenna is horrified to discover that it was really their parents all along, but Isaac says, "I knew what I was doing the moment I raised my blade."
That's a very interesting scenario. The heroes have come to the edge of the world, but right and wrong are suddenly unclear. Isaac, Felix and the others must choose between a personal duty to protect their parents versus a vague but larger duty to protect the world. Isaac acknowledges that there is no good choice, but that doesn't stop him from acting quickly. Unlike many heroes in similar situations, Isaac doesn't apologize, regret, or even curse fate because he is prepared to live with the consequences of his decision.

As a kid, that scene really moved me. I didn't know until a year ago that the writers were basically reenacting a scene from the essays of Jean-Paul Sartre, the existentialist philosopher who said "man is condemned to be free; because once thrown into the world, he is responsible for everything he does." It's a really good example of how video games can transcend genre and become more than just entertainment.

 

[BoredSoul]

The Walking Dead, no doubt that this was the most powerful I've played.