Most Impactful Video Games - Part 2 - Gaming Thoughts

What does it mean if something is impactful? Specifically a video game? I think of it as not just something you had fun with, but a game you made memories with. Maybe the graphics weren't the best, or the music the most pulse-pounding, but long after you've set down the controller or walked away from the keyboard, some aspect of the video game in question sticks with you.

Here we have the second part in this series. We'll start with...

Richard

Drakengard

First game I played where I learned that a video game doesn't have to have a "good" ending. It's all sad, depressing, and none of the endings give you a nice feeling. Once again, this applies to pretty much all titles in the Drakengard series. 

Valerie

Chips Challenge (PC)

Next on the list of puzzle-type games was Chips Challenge! How about that for a title? When I saw the brief 'trailer' if you will of the game and what you had to do, I was hooked. To get yourself (Chip McCallahan) through each level to the exit point, capturing all the computer chips and unlocking all those doors? Wow! Patterns and levels as well as being timed? I got this! There were, however, water areas that you had to get flippers for, fire zones that you needed fire boots to protect you, and all sorts of other obstacles that can either be utilized to help get to the other side, or block some form of moving obstacle so you can slide on through! LOL Between Chips Challenge and Laser Tank, I would always play Chips Challenge first and then wrack my brain in Laser Tank! Ah, fun times! By the way, these were both top-down grid-based action-puzzle games. Definitely an accent on the puzzle part. I love puzzle games! 

Hamza

Bioshock

From 2007 to 2012, I took a break from gaming. Life was busy, and honestly, I was burned out from the repetitive shooting gallery style that dominated at the time. I’d occasionally dip into a racing game, but for the most part, I was done with games. Then in 2012, I came back, and Bioshock was one of the first games I played. It didn’t just rekindle my love for gaming—it opened my eyes to the narrative-driven, cinematic side of the medium. It’s the game that got me hooked on intellectually analyzing and discussing the stories and philosophies behind video games. 

Mike

Ecco The Dolphin Sega Genesis (1992 by Novotrade International)

There was a simple rule in my youth when it came to video games: I was to keep my grades up in order to keep my hobby going and if I wanted a new title to play I would need to beat one of my current games to completion. Speeding through Sonic the Hedgehog 1 and 2, getting gold medals in the Road Rash series of games, even scoring in top 3 of “Pebble Beach Golf Links” landed me eligible to get a new cartridge for having “Won” the game. Then along came a Dolphin named Ecco. For 4 months in my youth I would try for countless hours to finish the title in an effort to just mark it off on my list of completed games. This is my top tier game that impacted me in such a way that I had to simply walk away knowing I could not beat it. It humbled me countless times as I would lose weeks on end fighting to get to the finish of the game. My parents even went so far as to purchase a gaming magazine for end game passwords so I could pick up on further levels I would have perished on in previous playthroughs. It was all for naught, as it remains a game I never ever beat.

Susan

Memphis Math: Treasure of the Tombs (PC)

I'm sure there are people out there who have absolutely NO idea what this game is, but it influenced not only just my gaming career, but my whole life. Memphis Math is exactly what it sounds like, a video game aimed at helping people with math in a gamified way. I didn't have math tutors when I was younger, I had a bunch of math games. This one helped me with adding and subtracting fractions in particular. What made it cool was the Egyptian aesthetic. As you progressed through various levels and discovered Egyptian artifacts, you could go into the codex to learn more about them. This game gamified math in a way that made it memorable and caused me to become interested in Egyptian lore and mythos. In real life, I have a ton of Egyptian statues, plates, and even a large tapestry. Heck, I have a book on reading Hieroglyphics that helped to solve some puzzles in The Secret World (or Secret World Legends as it is called now)! Thus, Memphis Math arguably influenced more about who I am today than any other, and that says something.

Robert

Final Fantasy VII (PSOne)

What's there to not say about Final Fantasy VII? It was cinematic, beautiful, well-written (and at times, funnily-translated ... "This guy are sick" will live with me for the rest of my days) and was the first game I ever pre-ordered, a practice often shunned these days. Back in 1997 though, I was thrilled to go to the local superstore and preorder Final Fantasy VII - a big reason? It came with the Prima strategy guide plus a t-shirt (that I have no idea whatever happened to). I then spent the next 100 hours of gaming digging into every facet I could of Final Fantasy VII.

Pierre-Yves

Final Fantasy Tactics

GOAT. Fight me.

But seriously, this was my first strategic RPG. While it just so happens to fall under the Final Fantasy umbrella, the depth of customization for the characters in combat situations where you were oftentimes completely at a disadvantage of your five units to how many others were on the field, had me hooked.

If I have a genre that I would put on part with that of the JRPG? It would be the SRPG genre. While there are many subgenres, what was really impactful aside from the customization, was that after every main mission there was a story or there was a story before it, sometimes even before and after.

This genre stuck with me which is why it's my second favorite genre! 

Nick

The Legend of Zelda

Released in 1986 for the Nintendo Entertainment System, this game made me rethink what video gaming could be. Up until I ventured out as Link for the first time, the majority of my video game experiences were of the action-based variety. Atari, TI99/4a and arcade games were focused on challenging the player through running, jumping, shooting or driving at high speeds. The Legend of Zelda was something different though, as there were still elements of action that tested my reflexes, but more often than not taxed my mind as well with its myriad of puzzles. More than that, it challenged my imagination and made me rethink what video games could be. As amazing as other early NES games were like Super Mario Bros, Excitebike and Kung Fu were, The Legend of Zelda showed me how amazing video games could become and made me think about video game genres for the first time.

~~~~~

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