The most important game from your youth

[yotsuya]

Moon Patrol on the Atari 2600.

Oh yeah....Moon Patrol.  I used to remember having to take my clothing home to hang dry cuz i'd wasted my quarters on this console while i was waiting for the clothing at the laundromat.

Archon on C-64 floppy disk

It was the first game I remember having clear goals and me really wanting to be good enough to meet those goals.

[megamoze]

I was into animation, so Dragon's Lair and Space Ace were very important to me.

I also have very vidid memories of Rolling Thunder, Ikari Warriors, and Victory Road.

[Emy]

For computer games, it would probably be Age of Empires II.

Honorable mention for Tetris because it was the first game I played and I would spend hours trying to beat my mom's score  Plus it's still one of my favourites!

[ark_ader]

Arcade....  it had to be star wars in the Sega center in Cerritos, CA.  Important as I wanted to really get into game design.  It definitively flipped a switch.

I can remember when it came out you had 20 guys around it and cost 50c a pop.

[cw]

early years..
arcade: starship one                 http://www.arcade-museum.com/game_detail.php?game_id=9782
apple 2: wolfenstien
         

[BlueGhost]

Moon Patrol on the Atari 2600.

Oh yeah....Moon Patrol.  I used to remember having to take my clothing home to hang dry cuz i'd wasted my quarters on this console while i was waiting for the clothing at the laundromat.

Archon on C-64 floppy disk

It was the first game I remember having clear goals and me really wanting to be good enough to meet those goals.

I played Moon Patrol so much on the 2600, that I can't get anywhere when I try to play it in MAME.  I always want to press up on the joystick for jump instead of using the button, guess I could remap the jump button.

[brihyn]

"Most Important" for this hobby might be Pong.  I was somewhere between 8-10 when we had a Pong cabinet, and even back then I was trying to figure out a way to mount the Atari 2600 into the cabinet to allow it to play those games, without it looking like a hole in the cabinet, shelf mounted, and a 2600 sitting inside.

Most important game I loved to play? could be either Gyruss at the arcade or Star Raiders on the 2600. Star Raiders was one of the most addicting games on that system imo.

[Loafmeister]

I love threads like this, but I def have to go with a "per system" answer, sort of in order of playing them but I will skip some systems so that this really reflects the "most important" tag.  Certainly, "most important" does not necessarily mean "best game". 

Seriously this almost impossible to answer...  I gotta break out the arcade because some of these were "important" for different reasons

- Arcade - Racers:  Outrun
- Arcade - Sports:  Champion Baseball
- Arcade - the rest:  Robotron

- Pinball:  Flash (not at all a fav, but man that sound and the lighting changed everything!)

- Colecovision:  Donkey Kong or Time Pilot, can't decide, both showed "wow, you can actually play something at home that feels like the arcade game"

Apple 2+ gets 3 titles, just can't pick between these.  Put SOOOO much time in them:
Microleague baseball.  Apparently, me and my buddy weren't the only dudes who loved it!
Rescue on Fractalus.  What I wouldn't give for a modern day remake!  Still fun to play to this day
Karateka:  what a game!

Amiga - uh oh, can't pick one again...:
- Dungeon Master:  Change the landscape of RPG's forever!
- Dragon's Lair:  Actually looked like the arcade and fit on 6 floppy disks? (ok missing scenes but still!)
- Hardball:  I miss Accolade...
- Pinball Dreams - specifically the Nightmare table

I know I'm missing more obvious stuff

[pbj]

Hm... Flash is a good pinball choice.  That's probably the first one that was doing things you clearly couldn't have done on an EM. 

[Speed Racer]

Great thread.

When I was a teenager, my local arcade would have these late night flat rate sessions where all the machines were set on free play. The one game that stands out from that time was Daytona USA. My mates and I spent so much time on those machines, swapping out the losers if there were more than four of us. It was as much about hanging out with the guys as it was about playing games.

At home, my first consoles were an original GameBoy and a Mega Drive. I put many hours into Zelda: Link's Awakening (GB) and Street Fighter II (MD). Those two are largely responsible for me getting hooked on games. Only downside.... I am way more proficient at SFII on a gamepad than on real arcade controls 

[Mighty690]

My dad and I used to build Heathkit H89 computers together.  Early '80s CP/M machines.  Once a computer was done I'd burn it in by spending every waking hour playing a game called Telengard.  I was totally obsessed.  Telengard was a random dungeon crawler that played well on a computer such as the H89 which only had text-based graphics.

Much later, early '90s, I was completely addicted to a game called Spaceward Ho!.  It was a multi-player conquest game.  Think Risk in space.  My buddies and I would stay after work until 2-3:00 in the morning battling it out on the network.  I wasn't quite a kid anymore, but I thought I'd mention it anyway since it was still an early game I'll never forget.

[spedinfargo]

I might be the only person out there whose favorite game of all-time is Konami Super Basketball.  #2 isn't anywhere close.

Hell, I quizzed my peers on FB if they remember my favorite game from youth and nobody even REMEMBERED that game.

[yotsuya]

I might be the only person out there whose favorite game of all-time is Konami Super Basketball.  #2 isn't anywhere close.

Hell, I quizzed my peers on FB if they remember my favorite game from youth and nobody even REMEMBERED that game.

Was that on the Sega Master System?

[mgb]

While we're all sharing stories of some of our favorite games.
Picture this:
It's 1995, I'm 22 years old and living in a boarding house (in a pretty good neighborhood though)
My whole living space is one room of about 12' x 12'
I've traded my beloved Sega Genesis for a guitar but I still wanna have some game time.
I pull out the ol' colecovision with Atari adaptor and hook it up to my Sony trinitron
And start playing.

I spent many a night after work
Just me, a six pack of Sam Adams and...

Demon Attack

I love that game, one of the best of its kind and pretty good graphics for the 2600

[markc74]

Demon attack +1. Even now the sounds of the aliens swooping in sounds awesome. And best box art ever 

Mineshaft on the acorn electron
Paperboy on arcade

[mgb]

I can still hear those sound effects from demon Attack
It's almost like I just played it yesterday.

Oh wait I did just play it yesterday.

[dmckean]

Demon Attack really pushed the boundaries of the 2600 hardware. It and Ms. Pacman are about the only two cartridges where you really get an arcade feel.

[yotsuya]

While we're all sharing stories of some of our favorite games.
Picture this:
It's 1995, I'm 22 years old and living in a boarding house (in a pretty good neighborhood though)
My whole living space is one room of about 12' x 12'
I've traded my beloved Sega Genesis for a guitar but I still wanna have some game time.
I pull out the ol' colecovision with Atari adaptor and hook it up to my Sony trinitron
And start playing.

I spent many a night after work
Just me, a six pack of Sam Adams and...

Demon Attack

I love that game, one of the best of its kind and pretty good graphics for the 2600

I was 22 in 1995 as well. I was getting ready to student teach the following spring. At that point in time, my brother and I (he was an eighth grader) had many, many rousing battles of NHL '94.

[geeteoh]

Demon Attack! I played that all the time. I got real good at it. I sat down for a long high score run and found that it has an end! The game just stops at level xxx. Kind of upset me. Stopped playing after that.

[DeLuSioNal29]

 The first time I played Demon Attack! was on an Intelevision.   I still think it's the best version.

[Draco_Elessar]

Super Mario Bros. for the NES. Still love playing it today.

[jennifer]

Super Mario Bros. for the NES. Still love playing it today.

Sorry Mario but the princess is in another castle.

[Loafmeister]

as well. I was getting ready to student teach the following spring. At that point in time, my brother and I (he was an eighth grader) had many, many rousing battles of NHL '94.

It's embarrassing I didn't put the NHL series for the Genesis into my list, just forgot.  Between NHL hockey, NHLPA '93, NHL 94/95 and 96, I estimate I put in at least 1500 hours into those games.  starting with NHLPA '93, we had leagues going ($20 per person I think), with our "commissioner" coming up with these weekly league reports that were hilarious.  At the end of the year, various achievements were rewarded for winning the cup, leading the league in goals/assists, etc.  Heck as a matter of principal, I kept my "winnings" envelope for winning the Vezina with Montreal/Roy.  Kind of a badge of honor and a joke, considering I was one of the worst players.  Winnings weren't much for that, I think that's a whole $2 Canadian dollar coin in that envelope.

Oh the memories!

[mgb]

Any fans of Jungle Strike and Desert Strike?
Two of the best games ever.

How about
Shadow of the beast
And
The Imortal


I played all the above titles on the Genesis for many hours

[jdbailey1206]

as well. I was getting ready to student teach the following spring. At that point in time, my brother and I (he was an eighth grader) had many, many rousing battles of NHL '94.

It's embarrassing I didn't put the NHL series for the Genesis into my list, just forgot.  Between NHL hockey, NHLPA '93, NHL 94/95 and 96, I estimate I put in at least 1500 hours into those games.  starting with NHLPA '93, we had leagues going ($20 per person I think), with our "commissioner" coming up with these weekly league reports that were hilarious.  At the end of the year, various achievements were rewarded for winning the cup, leading the league in goals/assists, etc.  Heck as a matter of principal, I kept my "winnings" envelope for winning the Vezina with Montreal/Roy.  Kind of a badge of honor and a joke, considering I was one of the worst players.  Winnings weren't much for that, I think that's a whole $2 Canadian dollar coin in that envelope.

Oh the memories!

[harveybirdman]

I rolled my share of college classes to stay in the dorms and play NHL '94

The Immortal, man that game was crazy hard.... Never got very far.

[Loafmeister]

Any fans of Jungle Strike and Desert Strike?
Two of the best games ever.

How about
Shadow of the beast
And
The Imortal


I played all the above titles on the Genesis for many hours

Played lots of Shadow of the Beast and quite a bit of "The Immortal"... both were better on the original Amiga release

JDBailey:  Yep

[mgb]

I rolled my share of college classes to stay in the dorms and play NHL '94

The Immortal, man that game was crazy hard.... Never got very far.

I'm ashamed to say but on a few occasions I called the help line that was listed on the box.
My mom was less than pleased but if I remember correctly I finished the game

[mgb]

Shadow of the beast was freakin hard.
But I still love the music.

I will have to look into the amega version

[Loafmeister]

When it came to difficulty settings, anything from Psygnosis = evil ---daisies--- difficulty setting!

[deadmoney5]

as well. I was getting ready to student teach the following spring. At that point in time, my brother and I (he was an eighth grader) had many, many rousing battles of NHL '94.

It's embarrassing I didn't put the NHL series for the Genesis into my list, just forgot.  Between NHL hockey, NHLPA '93, NHL 94/95 and 96, I estimate I put in at least 1500 hours into those games.  starting with NHLPA '93, we had leagues going ($20 per person I think), with our "commissioner" coming up with these weekly league reports that were hilarious.  At the end of the year, various achievements were rewarded for winning the cup, leading the league in goals/assists, etc.  Heck as a matter of principal, I kept my "winnings" envelope for winning the Vezina with Montreal/Roy.  Kind of a badge of honor and a joke, considering I was one of the worst players.  Winnings weren't much for that, I think that's a whole $2 Canadian dollar coin in that envelope.

Oh the memories!

Yep..we would get in some VERY heated battles with the NHL series on Genesis back in college.  One of us would pick a team to start the playoffs and that person would try to win all 4 rounds to get the cup, while the other guy would just be the other team.  Winning cups rarely happened.  I was great at NHL 93 and my roommate was great at Madden..I don't think I ever won a Superbowl against him, and he never won a Stanley Cup against me!

[Paul Olson]

Probably the most important game to me is Stunt Cycle. It wasn't a brand new game when I played it (which is good because I was 5 then, and I never would have seen it) at Disneyland, but it was the best thing I had ever seen at that point. I chose to play that simple game for hours over everything else at Disneyland, and I still have that games first mentality when I go somewhere.

Donkey Kong would become my favorite arcade game, and the original Zelda my favorite console game, but I think Stunt Cycle was the one that really gets credit for my game craziness.

I have owned the game for 4 years now, and thought about selling it earlier this year, but it is probably the only nostalgic item I own at this point. I can finish the game almost every time I play it, and I don't play it often, but it is nice to have it.

[BorgDog]

Game that really sucked me into games at all and computers in general was dialing into the mainframe (300 baud was awesome!) on the teletype terminal and firing up Zork.  We had maps (drawn on old used wide terminal paper of course) up all over the wall trying to figure it all out.  That and Oregon Trail.  The hours spent, and only text and our imaginations.  Later many quarters pumped into asteroids, space invaders etc, don't know where I came up with it all, but most spare money went to the small arcade at the bowling alley. 

[yotsuya]

as well. I was getting ready to student teach the following spring. At that point in time, my brother and I (he was an eighth grader) had many, many rousing battles of NHL '94.

It's embarrassing I didn't put the NHL series for the Genesis into my list, just forgot.  Between NHL hockey, NHLPA '93, NHL 94/95 and 96, I estimate I put in at least 1500 hours into those games.  starting with NHLPA '93, we had leagues going ($20 per person I think), with our "commissioner" coming up with these weekly league reports that were hilarious.  At the end of the year, various achievements were rewarded for winning the cup, leading the league in goals/assists, etc.  Heck as a matter of principal, I kept my "winnings" envelope for winning the Vezina with Montreal/Roy.  Kind of a badge of honor and a joke, considering I was one of the worst players.  Winnings weren't much for that, I think that's a whole $2 Canadian dollar coin in that envelope.

Oh the memories!

Yep..we would get in some VERY heated battles with the NHL series on Genesis back in college.  One of us would pick a team to start the playoffs and that person would try to win all 4 rounds to get the cup, while the other guy would just be the other team.  Winning cups rarely happened.  I was great at NHL 93 and my roommate was great at Madden..I don't think I ever won a Superbowl against him, and he never won a Stanley Cup against me!

My favorite NHL'94 story, which I think I've told, was when my brother had played a full season from start until the Stanley Cup finals without losing a single game. He was proud of that fact, so for the Finals I played as the opposing team. I beat him in three straight games as was just about to beat him to win the Cup when he shut the console off in frustration, almost near tears, so it didn't save. Good times!

[telengard]

My dad and I used to build Heathkit H89 computers together.  Early '80s CP/M machines.  Once a computer was done I'd burn it in by spending every waking hour playing a game called Telengard.  I was totally obsessed.  Telengard was a random dungeon crawler that played well on a computer such as the H89 which only had text-based graphics.

Much later, early '90s, I was completely addicted to a game called Spaceward Ho!.  It was a multi-player conquest game.  Think Risk in space.  My buddies and I would stay after work until 2-3:00 in the morning battling it out on the network.  I wasn't quite a kid anymore, but I thought I'd mention it anyway since it was still an early game I'll never forget.

Telengard is also the most important game from my youth, I had played the C64 version. 

Probably followed by Defender (the arcade version).

[DeLuSioNal29]

Lakers vs. Celtics on Genesis.  Played that in college and it was awesome.

[jeremymtc]

The most important game I played early on is definitely a different thing than my favorite game from early on. My favorite game from early on was probably Star Raiders on the Atari 8-bit computer (I had a 400, older step-brother had an 800).

The most important game I played was a few years later, SSI's Empire - Wargame of the Century. A friend of mine introduced it to me (this was the PC-AT era iirc), and we would play the hell out of that game for days on end. That was the game that hooked me on IBM-compatible PCs and made me learn the ins and outs of MS-DOS, device drivers, batch and config files, PC hardware expansion and all the other stuff that followed. Up until then, I had been content with the various packaged 8-bit systems from Atari, Apple and Commodore, but I was a PC guy after Empire.

[empardopo]

KungFu Master is the best for me.

[n3wt0n]

Great Question!

I am glad that Shadow of the Beast by Psygnosis got a bit of love. I spent A LOT of time playing that game on the Amiga when I was a kid. Everything about it was pretty mind blowing to me. as far as graphics and in game music it was far above anything else I played.

The most important arcade game from my youth is a tough question. I don't have a place and a game that stands out as a singular incident. I know that Choplifter was my nemesis. I loved playing it but really, really sucked at it. When it came time to throw down the single quarter my mom would toss my way while she paid for groceries I was always conflicted -Should I play Choplifter or something I can play for more than 30 seconds. Those were the tough decisions as a kid I guess.

As for consoles, it's hard to beat the first time I saw Super Mario playing on the NES in my friends basement. But, if I can choose only one it has to be Demon Attack because I played co-op with someone very important to me and I will always remember how fun those games were.

[RTyper56]

I have always been a Nintendo boy, and played a lot of Mario games, but I think what really was the most important would be Galaga '90 for the TG16, or Super R-Type for the SNES.

My first console was actually a TG16, only bec we couldn't find an NES at the time, and I always played Galaga '90 on it. We also had Military Madness, Neutopia, Psychosis, a few others, but the most hours went towards Galaga.
We eventually found an NES and got a bunch of games like Mario bros./duck hunt, final fantasy, laser invasion, contra, super C, and other I cant remember.