Games That Had a Big Impact on Your Childhood That Other TNL'ers Didn't Play

I was considering making a self-centred blog post about the most significant games of my childhood. That was until I realized that it was A) very difficult to narrow it down to less than 75 games I wanted to include and B) it consisted of lots of favourites I have talked about here enough times already.

So, I decided to pick a few obscure games that aren't on my top lists, and I haven't talked about much, but still had an impact on me. These are all games I'm guessing very few or maybe none of you played back in the day.



Hunt the Wumpus (text version)
This was popular by 1970s mainframe computer standards but has since faded into obscurity. The glow of green text on a black background from early computers is like concentrated gaming nostalgia for me.
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b2...ttheWumpus.jpg

International Soccer
This is pretty much the only two-player simultaneous game my dad wanted to play. Lots of great memories here. The physics were quite impressive at the time.
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b2...onalSoccer.gif

Logic Levels
A contraption puzzle game where you had to make sure the ball got to the bottom safely. Also my first C64 cartridge.
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b2...ogicLevels.jpg

Mr. Robot and his Robot Factory gave me greater appreciation for level design as it was the first time I used a level editor.
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b2...er/MrRobot.png

Pyramid by Aardvark Software was the first text adventure I owned and put a lot of time into. Once I discovered Infocom, the Aardvark games felt weak and limited, though. I think it might have been the first game I cheated playing on by looking at the program code for commands it wanted.

Space Crusher
For a while this was the only portable game I had so it got a ton of playtime, a generic shooter but well made.
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b2...aceCrusher.jpg

Super Arabian was significant to me because it made me see there was a world of import games out there long before it was common knowledge that import exclusives existed. Seeing a Famicom for the first time and realizing it was a Japanese version of the NES (with a microphone in the controller of all things) was fascinating to me.
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b2...perArabian.gif


So do you guys have significant games from your childhood that you doubt other TNL'ers played back then? They don't have to be favourites. I'm curious to see what you'll come up with.

I was a kid during the NES years. I played the same games as everyone else.

To this day, I whistle the stage start music to Rush N' Attack nearly every time I start a chore/task. Does that count?

Hours of Raid Over Moscow had me convinced that we were going to die in nuclear fire THAT VERY NIGHT.



I WAS YOUNG

There's tons of other obscure C64 games that I *loved* that I can't find today since I don't remember what they were called.

Hunt the Wumpus, I think I played it (the graphical version) on a Texas Instrument back in the day. I also played a lot of C64 games at my cousins house, most of which I can't remember atm. ,8,1

I already had awesome taste by the time the NES came out (seriously, you beat Contra, Life Force, and Castlevania II as your first three games... didn't think so), so I have to go earlier to find obscurity.

4th & Inches (Apple IIGS)

http://www.the-nextlevel.com/tnl/att...1&d=1284428227


Atlantis (2600)

http://www.the-nextlevel.com/tnl/att...1&d=1284428613


Batman (Apples IIGS)

http://www.the-nextlevel.com/tnl/att...1&d=1284428227
This ST box was the best pic I could find... same game.


Hardball! (Apple IIGS)

http://www.the-nextlevel.com/tnl/att...1&d=1284428227


Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (2600)

http://www.the-nextlevel.com/tnl/att...1&d=1284428529


None of these are as obscure as they are just older than most of TNL. I'll have to think some more about the other 2600 games I really liked, as there were several. There was also another IIGS game that had a wild west setting, complete with third person gun duels. I cannot for the life of me remember the name though.

I think it's safe to say I put as much time into ESB as I did almost all other 2600 games together (except for maybe Cosmic Ark). It was far and away my favorite game on the system and never got old to me back then.

Alice in Wonderland for the Apple II was one of my favorite games in grade school. I had a hard time with the riddle "You don't get down off a train, you get down off a..." for years before i figured out "Duck" was the answer.

I got to the very end of it, but could never beat it for some reason. I had the key required, but i could never open that door.

Later i had a choice between Star Trek: The Kobayashi Alternative, a super dense text adventure, or Below the Root, a game that played exactly like the game i loved from years before. I made the wrong choice and learned never to get a Star Trek game ever again. It was cool and all, but Below the Root would've been better.

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Originally Posted by Doc Holliday

To this day, I whistle the stage start music to Rush N' Attack nearly every time I start a chore/task. Does that count?

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Thats pretty damn awesome!

Anyway, I went from Atari 2600, to the 800 to the NES, so besides a few weird games I barely remember on the 800, my path was 2600 to NES. Like most people my age.

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Originally Posted by Yoshi

There was also another IIGS game that had a wild west setting, complete with third person gun duels. I cannot for the life of me remember the name though.

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Hmm, Great Western Shootout comes to mind although it might be all in first-person.

And 4th & Inches is my most played football game of all time. I loved Accolade.

Besides the obvious console mainstays, I was always on the ol' Packard Bell playing shareware versions of Apogee and id games.

Raptor: Call of the Shadows was a big one. I found it full version on 3.5" diskette at Babbage's! It's a vertical shooter for people that like to level things up. Your plane starts fairly weak, but eventually you get so damn powerful you can decimate everything from seven directions.



Commander Keen was another favorite. Episode 4: Goodbye Galaxy was my favorite. Classic platformer with goofy characters. I've gone on about it plenty of times before.

http://www.the-nextlevel.com/tnl/att...1&d=1284431389

http://www.the-nextlevel.com/tnl/att...1&d=1284431389

Last but not least is Halloween Harry, later renamed to Alien Carnage. Pretty violent for its time! Best thing about it now, though, is it's free! Link and fun history lesson here.

http://www.the-nextlevel.com/tnl/att...1&d=1284431611

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Originally Posted by ChaoofNee

Raptor: Call of the Shadows was a big one. I found it full version on 3.5" diskette at Babbage's! It's a vertical shooter for people that like to level things up. Your plane starts fairly weak, but eventually you get so damn powerful you can decimate everything from seven directions.

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Yes!

I totally played the bejesus out of this game on my family's first PC (a 386, I believe). It was the game that made me get my first PC pad because I couldn't stand playing it with our shitty joystick or the keyboard.

Attachment 57952

Venture for Colecovision. My brother and I put so many hours into this that we fried the AC adapter.

Attachment 57950

Phoenix (arcade). Best arcade shooter ever! I pumped so many quarters into this back in second grade. There was a grocery store right next to my school, and my bro and I used to walk to school extra early to buy candy and play this. Awesome game.

Attachment 57951

The Ninja (Master System)

I never knew you had to find all the secret scrolls in order to finally get to the princess. For years I played this fucking game and never beat it.

Shadowgate (NES)

http://www.the-nextlevel.com/tnl/att...1&d=1284433449

I don't know how much of TNL played Shadowgate, but I didn't know anyone else who played it when I was a kid. I found it to be a really interesting gaming experience at the time because most of what I knew before it was jumping, shooting, punching, kicking, etc. on a linear path to victory.

Shadowgate provided choices of action that had consequences. Of course, we all know now that there was usually only one correct choice in each situation, with the other choices resulting in death. However, at the time, I found the premise really cool, and it lead me to seek out other point-and-click type games, like Deja Vu and Uninvited.

I've always wanted to play Beyond Shadowgate for the TG-16 CD. I played Shadowgate 64 and really liked it. It was a rental, and I've not seen a copy in the wild since. I'd really like to play that one again.

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Originally Posted by Nash

Shadowgate (NES)

http://www.the-nextlevel.com/tnl/att...1&d=1284433449

I don't know how much of TNL played Shadowgate, but I didn't know anyone else who played it when I was a kid. I found it to be a really interesting gaming experience at the time because most of what I knew before it was jumping, shooting, punching, kicking, etc. on a linear path to victory.

Shadowgate provided choices of action that had consequences. Of course, we all know now that there was usually only one correct choice in each situation, with the other choices resulting in death. However, at the time, I found the premise really cool, and it lead me to seek out other point-and-click type games, like Deja Vu and Uninvited.

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my mom and I beat shadowgate, deja vu and the uninvited together when I was a youngin'

edit: and sort of related, but prior to that I used to play the shit out of Mask of the Sun on the old tank ][e computer

Yes! Raptor! I played the hell out of the shareware but never played the full game.

I used to play a lot of Below the Root on my friend's old ass pc. Such an odd, wonderful game.

Also, for something not mentioned yet, the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy game. The game was fun, and all the stuff that came with it was hilarious.

Brave Fencer Musashi. It was my teen years, but still, if there's anyone on this forum that hasn't played this you're missing out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPgsT9qCjrs

Most of my childhood was early 70's arcade games, CBM and Pong. In my teens, I was introduced to my first real computer RPG called Phantasie (C64). Everyone I knew had a pirated copy, so it was necessary to have a backup to this game, because there was one level where the game would save and sometimes corrupt the disc. I never finished the game because of that glitch.

http://www.mobygames.com/game/c64/phantasie

I use to love Atlantis on the Atari 2600. Don't think I ever fully understood it, but loved it nonetheless.

I just spent the last two hours trying to find the name of it, but there was an old arcade game I use to play as a kid where you would control a car (who I think wore a backwards hat) with a left joystick and his arms with a right joystick in order to grab fruit and gas. The objective was to stay on the road, not crash into other cars or obstacles, and park into your home's garage at the end of each level. If anyone has any clue which game I'm talking about I'd love to know it's name!

That's Munch Mobile.
http://www.arcade-museum.com/game_de...p?game_id=8791

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Originally Posted by NeoZeedeater

That's Munch Mobile.
http://www.arcade-museum.com/game_de...p?game_id=8791

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That's it! Thanks Neo! I would've been up all night trying to remember!

I used to play Munch Mobile, Yie-Ar Kung Fu and Rampage in the arcades all the time.

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Originally Posted by cka

my mom and I beat shadowgate, deja vu and the uninvited together when I was a youngin'

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Same here. My brother was always asking "why did you rent these again?" So my mom would play. Good times.

Most of the games that come to mind for me are non-LucasArts adventure games. The Space Quest series, the Tex Murphy series, The Neverhood...

Also a lot of Sega Master System games, but we've already discussed those.

Heres a few random semi-obscure games (by TNL standards) that had a big impact on me:

Mask Of the Sun - Apple II
http://www.the-nextlevel.com/tnl/att...0&d=1284469152
http://www.the-nextlevel.com/tnl/att...9&d=1284469152

Conan Hall of Volta Apple II


Split Second - Parker Bros.
http://www.the-nextlevel.com/tnl/att...1&d=1284469152

Pac-Man- Tomytronic
http://www.the-nextlevel.com/tnl/att...2&d=1284469409

Galaxian Tabletop- Coleco
http://www.the-nextlevel.com/tnl/att...4&d=1284469409

Mega Zone - Konami Arcade
http://www.the-nextlevel.com/tnl/att...3&d=1284469409

Nevermind

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Originally Posted by Doc Holliday

To this day, I whistle the stage start music to Rush N' Attack nearly every time I start a chore/task. Does that count?

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I love the NES version of this game, I hate hearing about Konami rereleases shit on XBLA and get reminded that most NES ports were better than the arcade games they were based on.

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Originally Posted by ChaoofNee

Besides the obvious console mainstays, I was always on the ol' Packard Bell playing shareware versions of Apogee and id games.

Raptor: Call of the Shadows was a big one. I found it full version on 3.5" diskette at Babbage's! It's a vertical shooter for people that like to level things up. Your plane starts fairly weak, but eventually you get so damn powerful you can decimate everything from seven directions.



Commander Keen was another favorite. Episode 4: Goodbye Galaxy was my favorite. Classic platformer with goofy characters. I've gone on about it plenty of times before.

http://www.the-nextlevel.com/tnl/att...1&d=1284431389

http://www.the-nextlevel.com/tnl/att...1&d=1284431389

Last but not least is Halloween Harry, later renamed to Alien Carnage. Pretty violent for its time! Best thing about it now, though, is it's free! Link and fun history lesson here.

http://www.the-nextlevel.com/tnl/att...1&d=1284431611

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Speaking of Raptor, did you ever play Tyrian? It's a similar style game. I had the Keen Super Pack when it was released, never got too far in those games, but didn't care because I was young. As for HH, I never understood why they changed the name, but I had it when it came out. Also Jazz Jackrabbit.

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Originally Posted by Nash

Shadowgate (NES)

http://www.the-nextlevel.com/tnl/att...1&d=1284433449

I don't know how much of TNL played Shadowgate, but I didn't know anyone else who played it when I was a kid. I found it to be a really interesting gaming experience at the time because most of what I knew before it was jumping, shooting, punching, kicking, etc. on a linear path to victory.

Shadowgate provided choices of action that had consequences. Of course, we all know now that there was usually only one correct choice in each situation, with the other choices resulting in death. However, at the time, I found the premise really cool, and it lead me to seek out other point-and-click type games, like Deja Vu and Uninvited.

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I played the shit out of all 3 of those games at my friends house.


As for my own - I played a lot of Terminal Velocity on PC, and T-Mek at the arcades.

My parents couldn't afford to buy me every game I wanted as a child and encouraged me to go be active. I have no idea how the fuck some of you played so many games as kids. I have my fair share but holy shit at some of you really digging into those libraries.

I had a group of like 4 other guys my age and we would just rotate games that our parents bought. Otherwise I know I wouldn't have played as many games as I did.

Halo 3

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Originally Posted by Razor Ramon

My parents couldn't afford to buy me every game I wanted as a child and encouraged me to go be active. I have no idea how the fuck some of you played so many games as kids. I have my fair share but holy shit at some of you really digging into those libraries.

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I actually spent most of my childhood outdoors and my parents were low income but I somehow managed to play a ton of games because I pirated a ton of computers games, arcade games were everywhere in the first half of the '80s, and I knew kids with a variety of different systems. So it was kind of by fluke.

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Originally Posted by dave is ok

Halo 3

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http://www.the-nextlevel.com/tnl/att...4&d=1190699336

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Razor Ramon

My parents couldn't afford to buy me every game I wanted as a child and encouraged me to go be active. I have no idea how the fuck some of you played so many games as kids. I have my fair share but holy shit at some of you really digging into those libraries.

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I remember the year after the SNES came out, one of my friends received the system and 25 fucking games fir a Christmas gift.

By contrast, I got a NES after this.While everyone was rocking the Genesises and the SNES's, I was playing good old JJ & Jeff on the TG-16. I don't care that it was a shit game, it was fucking weird and I loved every minute of it. I used to go home and practice my Street Fighter moves on my NES controller. When I finally got my SNES, I only had two games: Fatal Fury and Street Fighter 2. I borrowed games a lot, which kept me sane. But SF was really all I needed.

So, I guess, on topic, that game would be JJ & Jeff.

http://www.the-nextlevel.com/tnl/att...1&d=1284483796

http://www.the-nextlevel.com/tnl/att...1&d=1284483796

That picture proves I have better taste than everybody

It also proves gays play on heroic.

I have no idea what compelled my Dad to get an Intellivision. If anyone else I knew had a pre-NES system, it was a 2600. It doesn't seem like anyone else here really brings the system up very often, either.

I'll mention these two games, for starters.
Auto Racing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWaUCaRAioQ
This game wasn't so much about auto racing as something like Pole Position as it was something like a weaponless two-player RC Pro Am. The main way the game is enjoyed is to play with someone else and try to ram the other car into the obstacles so that you win. Auto Racing sessions quickly devolve into the players trying to joust each other off of the road instead of actually getting laps completed on the track. When I would play this game on single player, what blew my mind was that all five of the courses were on one gigantic map, along with other hidden roads between the buildings. I remember spending time trying to hunt down the hidden tracks to see where they would lead, invariably hitting something, then having to start the journey over again after being forced to restart somewhere miles away.

Space Hawk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riTZH01cnbM
To my eight year old mind, this honestly felt like space exploring. I thought it was great how it seemed like your little jetpack guy was isolated and alone in the black endless abyss of space and it was up to you to navigate around it all for the sake of survival. It was exiting to play a game long enough for new enemies (like comets and small hawks) to suddenly appear and sometimes disappear when you first crossed the point threshold. I also liked being able to build up a head of steam and actively hunting down the hawks, or making adjustments in inertia just right so that I could tail behind a hawk and shoot bubbles as fast as they were made for easy point milking.

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Originally Posted by ChaoofNee

Besides the obvious console mainstays, I was always on the ol' Packard Bell playing shareware versions of Apogee and id games.

Raptor: Call of the Shadows was a big one. I found it full version on 3.5" diskette at Babbage's! It's a vertical shooter for people that like to level things up. Your plane starts fairly weak, but eventually you get so damn powerful you can decimate everything from seven directions.



Commander Keen was another favorite. Episode 4: Goodbye Galaxy was my favorite. Classic platformer with goofy characters. I've gone on about it plenty of times before.

http://www.the-nextlevel.com/tnl/att...1&d=1284431389

http://www.the-nextlevel.com/tnl/att...1&d=1284431389

Last but not least is Halloween Harry, later renamed to Alien Carnage. Pretty violent for its time! Best thing about it now, though, is it's free! Link and fun history lesson here.

http://www.the-nextlevel.com/tnl/att...1&d=1284431611

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Jeez! Wow, the good old days! I loved those games.

My fear, especially with the 486 dx2 Packard Bell, was playing those shady shareware titles that temporarily fooled your computer into thinking it had less RAM than it did.

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Originally Posted by Brisco Bold

Jeez! Wow, the good old days! I loved those games.

My fear, especially with the 486 dx2 Packard Bell, was playing those shady shareware titles that temporarily fooled your computer into thinking it had less RAM than it did.

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Those fucking terminate and stay resident programs. We had a 486sx. Shit was gross, but it could play up to Quake.

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Originally Posted by dog$

I have no idea what compelled my Dad to get an Intellivision. If anyone else I knew had a pre-NES system, it was a 2600. It doesn't seem like anyone else here really brings the system up very often, either.

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It's a shame now ignored this system has become. It had some of deepest console games on the market, experiences that didn't have proper equivalents on Atari.

I went from a Master System to a Turbografx. So I played many games that most people haven't. As far as TNL though, I can't think of any that no one else would have played. Some of my favorites that probably weren't the best games, but I learned to like were
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pERiXbkK_n4

I like how the guy shoots the horses in the ass. I used to do the same thing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgJNaLo2uH4&feature=related

You could send the bird out and in certain areas the background would crack open revealing a warp. I spent hours and hours sending that bird over every inch of every level. I also liked the switching of characters to use their specific powers to advance through a level. Probably why I liked The Lost Vikings so much later on. I can't play this game anymore. The slippery and loose control is too obnoxious. Didn't bother me much back in the day though!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzOgCzCVRZU
I LOVED Spy Hunter (sucked a shit ton at playing, but still LOVED) in the arcade. So when I saw this game for my Master System, I had to have it! It took me a while to find a youtube video where the guy playing actually knew what he was doing. I'm pretty sure I beat this game, but it was tough going. I miss the days where I could devote 5 or 6 hours a day to a single game for days on end.

On the Turbo side, I always dug this WARNING! OBNOXIOUS COMMENTARY AHEAD. Couldn't find a clip of just gameplay. Sorry.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xK_gdjNBc5M

I sure it's nigh unplayable these days, but again, I was a kid with nothing but time. I don't know why I liked this, I didn't particularly care for the cartoon. Maybe it was the shitty air surfing segments?

Next is

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIcQQxzdGu4

Historically, I've never been one for puzzle games. Tetris, Columns, Klax, etc can all fuck off. I really liked this one though. Maybe because it gives you more breathing room to figure out what you want to do? I'm kinda dumb, so I need time to form a strategy.

Lastly is

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=diMtgy_H-eU

Incredibly derivative and fairly difficult, this was a shooter that I loved because it reminded me of so many other shooters I loved but had the silly backgrounds and enemies to keep it interesting and somewhat unique. I don't think I ever beat it, but came close a few times. I've never been one to toss controllers around due to frustration, but this game more than any other had me close to that point.

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Originally Posted by Razor Ramon

My parents couldn't afford to buy me every game I wanted as a child and encouraged me to go be active. I have no idea how the fuck some of you played so many games as kids. I have my fair share but holy shit at some of you really digging into those libraries.

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And by " encouraged me to go be active," Ramon means "mowing other people's lawn."

My older brother had an intellivision in the early 80's. All I remember playing on it are Blackjack and Poker and Demon Attack. When I was a teen I ended up trading my best friend a box of legos for an intelli and 30 or so games. Best. Trade. Ever. It had the intellivoice and a cloth dust cover that said Intellivision on it to protect the system. Hot shit!
I still have one now, but rarely play it. I just can't stand those controllers anymore. Again though, they never bothered me when I was young!

I should pick up Raptor and play it again. Maybe see if I can get Tyrian 2000 to run, too.

Anyway, most of the stuff I played was arcade, and it's been gone over a million times already. Rush'n Attack, Moon Patrol, Rolling Thunder, Bosconian (rant about incorrect level layouts in the 360 version goes here), Tac Scan, Tempest, Robotron, etc. The only game I can think of that I played extensively that doesn't get much commentary is Cliff Hanger.

Apologies for the pain about to be unleashed-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=776shC9pi1M

Yep, they disemboweled Castle of Cagliostro (plus a few bits from Mystery of Mamo, which I'd never have remembered without a memory-bump from Wiki) and turned it into a Dragon's Lair-type game, with truly wretched voice acting and every hint of the Lupin III license removed. And yet it was still great for the time.

James

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Originally Posted by Razor Ramon

My parents couldn't afford to buy me every game I wanted as a child and encouraged me to go be active. I have no idea how the fuck some of you played so many games as kids. I have my fair share but holy shit at some of you really digging into those libraries.

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The trick is to have parents that play. My dad bought the 2600 for himself originally, and the IIGS was for school and shit in theory, though he played Chuck Yeager and Mean 18 on that all the time. My mom plays JRPGs and puzzle games too... misguided soul, but it beats nothing.

Another game I got, from my parents who must hate me.

Seicross. Fuck that stupid game.

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Originally Posted by Yoshi

Chuck Yeager

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This had a book the size of a bible, IIRC, right?

Yeah, I think so. I only played to ram the plane into the ground.

This also sounds correct. My friend was all into those games, but he'd get them from Babbages after the next edition came out because that shit was expensive when you're a kid.

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Originally Posted by Some Stupid Japanese Name

My older brother had an intellivision in the early 80's. All I remember playing on it are Blackjack and Poker and Demon Attack. When I was a teen I ended up trading my best friend a box of legos for an intelli and 30 or so games. Best. Trade. Ever. It had the intellivoice and a cloth dust cover that said Intellivision on it to protect the system. Hot shit!
I still have one now, but rarely play it. I just can't stand those controllers anymore. Again though, they never bothered me when I was young!

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Yeah, the controllers bother me a lot more today (games that don't need the keypad are better emulated) but I still hook up the system now and then for games like Tron Deadly Discs, Demon Attack, Beauty and the Beast, the D&D games, Burgertime, etc.. I agree with dog$ on Space Hawk's lost in space atmosphere. That was cool game. I always played with the inertia set on but liked how it gave the option to turn it off.

I also played a lot of the Eye of the Beholder games on PC.

Blake Stone, I don't think this was the version I played, but it's incredibly similar. Loved the hell out of this game.


Megarace, my computer barely ran it at the time, but the announcer was fantastic and it was semi fun to play.

Oh! I also played a lot of Whiplash, and had been looking for it for a while, and just found out it's more widely known as Fatal Racing.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...g_Coverart.png

World of Warcraft

*ba dum tsh*

We took Vlos and turned him from a little kid only slightly less annoying than DJ, to a grown man that any of us would be proud to fuck.

Jill of the Jungle ;-;
http://www.ellosnuncaloharian.com/im...ig/jill1_1.png

I had a version of Jungle Hunt on my Apple II that said Jungle Cunt when you started it. Funniest shit in the world when I was 13 and 28

Oh, also:
http://cache.wists.com/thumbnails/0/...0c4b18017-orig
Lucky and Wild.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Melf

...
Attachment 57951

The Ninja (Master System)

I never knew you had to find all the secret scrolls in order to finally get to the princess. For years I played this fucking game and never beat it.

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I love this game. Glad to see someone else appreciates it as well.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Pineapple

Megarace, my computer barely ran it at the time, but the announcer was fantastic and it was semi fun to play.

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Loved/hated this game. Played the shit out of it.

Anyone remember Bioforge?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by James

I should pick up Raptor and play it again. Maybe see if I can get Tyrian 2000 to run, too.

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That's how I got Raptor again! Man, do I love Good Old Games.

For the record, have Tyrian. I plan on doing so, myself.

Sprint 2 was one of the first arcade racing games I'd played. I believe I was around 10 when this game arrived at the local bowling alley.



Kee Games' (Atari) Tank, was the first time I'd ever played a videogame. It was around 1975 when I'd first played this game at the roller rink. Atari would later package this game, along with a few other games for the Atari VCS, and call it Combat.



Atari's arcade football was my first roller-ball game. It was really popular at the local bowling alley in 1978.

The Black Cauldron for Amiga was really the only Kings Quest-ish game I played as a youngin'



But really it was all about:

http://www.the-nextlevel.com/tnl/att...1&d=1284556763

and

http://www.the-nextlevel.com/tnl/att...1&d=1284556763

Cosmic Ark had a big impact on me like 2 years ago when your roomate yelled at us to keep that racket down.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Chux

Cosmic Ark had a big impact on me like 2 years ago when your roomate yelled at us to keep that racket down.

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Maybe it was during your anal kaboom playtime.;)

ewgross.com

There was a perverted version of kaboom for the 2600. The game was called Beat em' and Eat em'.

Big post:

Puss n' Boots (NES) - Platforming bits were pretty stupid, but the vehicle levels were really fun! It's sort of a shitty-production-values version of Clash at Demonhead.


Donkey Kong 3 (NES) - One of my very favorites, a platformer/vertical shmup hybrid! Played a lot like Super Buster Bros., thinking now about it. Way stressful when the "stolen flower" music starts up! Stanley was great.


Mickey Mousecapade! (NES) -Shooting the stars and uncovering secrets was entirely fun. Nice harmless game for a nice harmless time.


The Little Mermaid (GB) - This game was secretly awesome. If you liked Capcom's NES-era Disney games, you'll like it. You capture small baddies in bubbles and use them as weapons! Fun boss fights, and flopping around on land was completely hilarious.
I honestly thought it ranked up with the best OG Game Boy games, even though it's very short.


Jaws (NES) - stupid goddamn shark I swear. We'd play this endlessly, getting the knack for a rapid-fire twitch. And for what? Ugh, Jaws. Fuck you forever.


Dynowarz: The Destruction of Spondylus (NES) - not a great game by any means! But the cinemas were so cool Nice moody music, too. ROBOT DINOSAURS!! Game had no ending whatsoever! I wonder if that's true of the Japanese version?


Godzilla: Monster of Monsters (NES) - holy fuck yes. I still like this game. Godzilla: Final Wars, 20 years earlier. Lots of slowdown, pretty glitchy, but shit yeah giant monsters. Utter Toho fanservice, you even get to fight Space Amoeba!
(I am not certain the game is even beatable without cheats; that glowing half-doughnut UFO will murder you instantly)

I wish this exact game had been upgraded and ported to the Neo Geo. King of the Monsters is nice and everything... but it's just not the same. As a child living in Ft Lauderdale, I watched a lot of SUSHI CINEMA on Saturday mornings...

Fuck that Jaws game. I went on vacation to a beach town and the nintendo had that. I hated it. They also had mappyland, and Little Mermaid NES. WTF.

I messed with Megazeux a lot. It was more of a game creation kit than anything; I never really played the packed in game.



let's play commentaries can be so annoying.

Soccer Kid for 3D0.
Fun character platformer. Probably doesn't hold up well but who knows

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Chux

Fuck that Jaws game. I went on vacation to a beach town and the nintendo had that. I hated it. They also had mappyland, and Little Mermaid NES. WTF.

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My one buddy used to be able to beat the original TMNT game (not the arcade one, the much more difficult one), JAWS and finish Mike Tysons Punch Out without getting hit. It was incredible.

NES JAWS WAS SO GOOD

Fuck you guys.

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Originally Posted by Mzo

NES JAWS WAS SO GOOD

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I liked Jaws for the NES a lot, too.

Jaws was the best horrible game ever.

It really had no story at all, just drive the fucking boat around until something happens.

It had awesome music, and I can hum all of it right now.

I have no idea how they made it work, but relative to how close the fin was to you when you hit a random encounter, Jaws would jump into the scene and ruin your shit after a set amount of time. Hitting him meant fighting him right away, but if he was near he'd creep up and it was awesome. I used to be TERRIFIED of this.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Tain

I messed with Megazeux a lot. It was more of a game creation kit than anything; I never really played the packed in game.



let's play commentaries can be so annoying.

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Good catch.

The original ZZT was one of the first games I remember with a really vibrant mod community. People made that crude (even for its day) text game do some really wild stuff, and there were some genuinely great adventures that modders made. I even saw someone make a side scrolling platformer in ZZT.

Around the same time, Virtual Reality Studio (3D Construction Kit to the Euros) came out and took the modding thing to a whole new level. Being able to script interactive 3D action-adventures back in like... 1992... that was pretty mindblowing, and kept its novelty well into the mid 90s for me. It was the right balance of accessible and powerful.

Alas, I've never found a good resource for VR Studio games. There were some really ingenious ones that I used to download off of BBSes or whatever, but they seem to be lost to the winds now. It's too bad.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Mzo

I used to be TERRIFIED of this.

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LOL, yeah. Just motoring around vroom vroom vroom OH FUCK THAT SHARK FUCK DAMN!

I forgot about ZZT & Megazeux, but I use to play the shit out of those. Megazeux was a lot more interesting, as it was basically the unofficial sequel to ZZT and gave a ton of options to effect the world you were creating. I spent god-knows how many hours messing with both of them, although I never finished the one game I started making for ZZT.
We can also forget that "Super ZZT" was actually a thing as I remember it completely sucking.

Shout out to Jill of the Jungle as well! My father had that on one of his work computers (Along with the original Duke Nukem, Battle Chess, Commander Keen, and a few other shareware games) and I use to play the shit out of Jill. I'm sure it probably doesn't hold up, but it'd be neat to give that a go again.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by dementia_

Soccer Kid for 3D0.
Fun character platformer. Probably doesn't hold up well but who knows

---

Actually, I think SK does hold up well. The Amiga AGA or 3DO versions are good - the SNES one is a nice try but it sadly misses at least a few levels (although its version of the BGM isn't bad either).

Killing rats or anything that moves with a soccer ball = win. I even started singing along to the London stage BGM after getting a little annoyed at the underground rats.

"I gotta brand new soccer ball
(Time to get out my soccer ball)
I'm gonna knock some rats out with it
(I'm gonna kill some damn dirty rats!)
HA,HAHAHAHA, HA, HAHAHAHA... :D"



I'd say a lot of Genesis, SNES, and TG-16 games would make my list. Anyway, here's one I'll put forward since no one else has mentioned it:

Junction (Micronet/Genesis, Lic. by Konami)

You move the tiles around to keep the red ball going along through all the checkpoints. Get stuck in a dead end and you lose a life. There's even a treat for Engrish lovers at the end of the game: "That was last your red ball...". Micronet didn't market this one worth a damn, and it faded into obscurity- shame, for this one is quite good. One later set of levels has a cool double-helix background.
Shame there isn't more to show in this video- stages 11-20 have some cool BGM, and the levels get much harder as you go. Junction is somewhat HTF, but if you're interested then eBay has a handful of copies right now going for up to $15 (that price is for a complete one).

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Geen

I use to play the shit out of Jill. I'm sure it probably doesn't hold up, but it'd be neat to give that a go again.

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I was playing it last week and I think it has held up nicely. The graphics are amateur-ish but they were back then, too.

Hunt the Wumpus, yes.

D&D on the Intellivision was awesome, better in some ways than Adventure on the 2600.

Tombstone City on the TI was great.

Yellerdog has the best taste of anyone in this thread (except PussNboots, fuck that game)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Korly

Yellerdog has the best taste of anyone in this thread

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http://www.the-nextlevel.com/tnl/att...2&d=1048340986

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Korly

Yellerdog has the best taste of anyone in this thread (except PussNboots, fuck that game)

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He posted the wrong version of that game, unless he played the Japan game!



Also, i've played ALL of those games except Little Mermaid GB and DynoWarzzzzzzzzzzz, so it doesn't live up to the title. YELLERDOG.

Dang Finch you're right!! That is the correct version!

I did not realize the Japan version was different!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Korly

Yellerdog has similar taste to anyone who plays Tekken.

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Fixed.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Korly

Yoshi has similar taste to people who throw ugly stones in really shitty looking glass houses.

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Just as relevant and clever!

My house is titanium, bitch.

Must suck in the winter.

Agree with Yeller re: Mickey Mousecapade and Donkey Kong 3. Those are two of my favorite games and I'm surprised they're overlooked.

Mickey Mousecapade is a solid bitch to beat. The only reason i ever saw the end is because my roommate in college got an invicibility fairy right before the last boss.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Korly

The Black Cauldron for Amiga was really the only Kings Quest-ish game I played as a youngin'

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I was going to post Black Cauldron too. A friend had it for the PC (5.25" floppy lolz) and was the first adventure game I'd ever played. I got hooked and played a bunch of 'em: Space Quest, Police Quest, Indiana Jones, Sam and Max, Day of the Tentacle, etc. It was one of the games that really got me into learning DOS and PC's and all that good stuff.

Ladybug - The local arcade had a huge number of maze games, and this was easily my favourite. I really loved how you could adjust the maze in order to escape, making it less about memorization and more about reaction.

http://www.the-nextlevel.com/tnl/att...1&d=1284688716

Below the Root - Nice to know that other TNLers played this brilliant and odd game. Telarium made a whole bunch of adventure games that don't fit cleanly into either the interactive fiction or the graphical adventure genres, and they're all worth checking out.


King's Quest IV - I never did own this game, but when I saw it at a computer show it made a huge impression on me. That's because it was being used to demonstrate a Roland MT32, and it just sounded amazing. I couldn't believe that a computer was playing orchestral-quality music. And so, while my friends did paper routes and lawn mowing and stuff in order to buy sports equipment or console games, I saved up for a sound card...


Wing Commander - And when I saved up enough money for a sound card and a game, this is what I ended up getting on the recommendation of the local computer store's owner. I was not disappointed. It looked great, played great, and sounded absolutely fantastic on my brand new MT32.



Ultima Underworld - It's hardly obscure now, but it was back in The Day. How many of you can honestly say you played this back when it was new? It shipped about a month before the far more hyped Ultima VII and its technical achievements were ignored in favour of Wolfenstein 3D, but I played this when it came out and was just blown away. I felt that I had seen the future of gaming: immersive worlds where your decisions mattered. Where puzzle solving wasn't just using predetermined items on other items, but a matter of your own creativity and ability. Where action, roleplaying, and adventure all co-existed seamlessly. Unfortunately the future was stolen by the much more immediately accessible first-person shooters that appeared soon after, but thanks to games like Fallout 3, S.T.A.L.K.E.R., BioShock, Deus Ex, Splinter Cell, and the upcoming Epic Mickey, I'm happy to see that Ultima Underworld's achievements have not just been relegated to the dustbin of history like other games vastly ahead of their time such as The Scoop or The Last Express, and instead remain a small part of the gaming landscape today.

http://www.the-nextlevel.com/tnl/att...1&d=1284688716

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Originally Posted by bVork

Ladybug - The local arcade had a huge number of maze games, and this was easily my favourite. I really loved how you could adjust the maze in order to escape, making it less about memorization and more about reaction.

http://www.the-nextlevel.com/tnl/att...1&d=1284688716

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Lady Bug was my favorite arcade conversion for the Colecovision. A friend of mine had that game, and we played it more than any other title he had for the system.

Ladybug was a big one for me, too. It was the first ColecoVision game I played when my uncle got the system in 1982 and I was amazed by it. And yeah, Underworld was ahead of its time. It's probably something I mention fairly often but the whole Looking Glass Studios legacy fascinates me. The games weren't always the most popular but they managed to quietly leave their mark on a lot of developers.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Yoshi

Yellerdog has similar taste to anyone who plays Tekken

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THIS IS IRON FIST!

Maaaan Wing Commander. The cinematics were so rad. Always wanted to play Privateer, it sounded amazing.

I like how NOBODY talks about the Wing Commander movie when videogame movies are discussed. Rightfully! The games had a better cast by far, even if the production values were all BBC'd up. Luke Skywalker, Biff Tannen, Malcom MacDowell, Sallah...



I for-sure saw this in the theater, but I do not remember a bit of it. That dude from Das Boot is in it? They took "World War II in Space" a little tooo seriously, at least design-wise.



What's ol' Freddie Prinze doing these days?

Cobra Triangle taught me that life is pain.

Fuck that last level forever.