What game gave you the most "WOW" Factor when you

[Sylentwulf]

What game gave you the most "WOW" the first time you saw it?

Mine is Final Fantasy VII. The reason I bought a PS and the reason I got back into gaming. Partying, drinking, and doing drugs after the SNES, stopped gaming for a little bit, I was 18-20 at the time, can ya blame me?

I just remember seeing Final Fantasy and buying a videogame mag (Something I RARELY do) and just being absoultely ASTONISHED. After still playing FF3 on the SNES, the graphics and sound were exponentially better than anything I had ever seen. Period.

[Sniderman]

There have been many "WOWs" in my head (first experience with Superchager games on the 2600, first game of Dragon's Lair in the arcade, etc.), but the one in recent memory was my first game of Resident Evil on the PSX.

The bizarre angles of presentation, the smooth animation, the movie-like soundtrack. Wow. And when those damn dogs came crashing through the window, it gave me a heart attack. I jumped away from the TV, still clutching my controller. This, in trun, dragged my PSX off the TV, causing it to crash in front of me. Yet another heart attack. Took me a 1/2 hour to calm down.

It had been a LONG time since I was that wrapped up in a video game.

[Achika]

I just picked it up so I had a game to play at launch, but when the Dreamcast was released and Sonic Adventure was there. I saw the opening scene with the water and the city....yea it's that good.

[NoahsMyBro]

I would have to say Star Raiders (Atari 800), Sonic The Hedgehog (Genesis), Myst (PC), Sonic Adventure (Dreamcast), and Super Mario Bros on the SNES, solely due to the sound.

[Cafeman]

I went right from Atari 5200/8bit graphics to the Sega Genesis, since I had skipped the NES years while at college.

I could NOT believe how much detail Sonic the Hedgehog had! The music, colors, the length, the speed! How you could even go backwards in the level! It literally floored me. I just had to buy a Genesis after playing Sonic at a friend's house.

[NoahsMyBro]

I had the exact same experience! I played the hell out of my 5200. Then I lost interest in consoles for a little while. Friends got the NES, & it didn't appeal to me. During college I saw an ad on a bulletin board for a 7800; I'd never heard of it, but I bought it from some guy for $45, including about 8 games. I played it a bit, and stashed it in a closet or something.

A few years later I saw Sonic at a friend's apartment, and had to get it. Sega had some promo where you could get a Genesis with Sonic pack-in, and then they would mail you Sonic 2. So I bought the system.

Didn't ever get much else for it. I have about 7 or 8 Genesis cartridges, total. The only ones I can recall are a Williams arcade collection, Ms. Pac-Man, Star Flight (Space Flight?), Sonic, & Sonic 2. The Space Flight game is also fantastic. I looked long and hard for it after I got my Genesis, having seen it a long time previous to that at a friend's house, who had rented it. (Wow, what a terrible sentence! I'm glad no English teachers are around to scold me...)

[Raedon]

the first time I played Doom I was impressed. Also seeing Super Mario World demo for the first time when I walked into a store to see the snes the first time. the Colors and image were just so much better then my friends RF hookup (evil RF) Genesis.

[NE146]

(pardon the train-of-thought typing to follow)

ok what made me go "wow!" when I saw it hmmm..

First seeing the cockpit game "Star Fire". "YOU SHOOT TIE FIGHTERS! IT'S JUST LIKE STAR WARS".

hmm I also specifically remember saying wow when I first saw the explosion in the coin-op "Eliminator" when you blow up the Eliminator. I thought that was cool. Sure it looks tame now, but that wasn't the question. :P

Seeing Mario Bros (NOT Super Mario Bros) in Japan playing at a store on a Famicom. The NES had not been released in the states and I thought I had stumbled upon the most awesome japanese home console ever! The crash had happened a few years earlier and I remember thinking "These japs have awesome home videogames! It looks just like the arcade! I wonder if I can play this in the U.S." :lol:

hmm I guess the other memory would be seeing Cobra Command arcade (I liked it better than Dragons Lair). Starfox on the SNES, seeing Galaxian 3 in Japan, ummm... oh yes I remember a big wow...

SEEING DEMON ATTACK ON THE 2600! Yeah that's it, seeing Demon Attack whereas before I had only seen games like Slot Racers or Hangman or Bowling. Demon Attack was probably the biggest "wow". :P

[NvrMore]

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

It was just completely astounding that so much life and atmosphere could be put into a game like that. The first scene when you walk out into the rain looked fantasic and the sound of the rain and your wet footsteps was incredible.

[Revolt]

That would have to be....Mortal kombat 2,3, Tekken tag, and virtua fighter2

[Kid Fenris]

I was truly stunned by the opening scenes in Final Fantasy II (FFIV). The combination of dramatic storytelling, cinematic presentation, and epic-scale music was like nothing I'd seen in a video game before, and I was enraptured.

Yes, the game looks downright archaic by today's standards, but I still can't resist popping FFII in my SNES every now and then, just to recall that rush of pure gaming neophyte awe.

[Kidnemo]

Playing Legend of Zelda on a 13 inch tv!

Sonic the Hedgehog on genny.

Final Fantasy 2(4) on snes.

Sonic Adventure on DC.

Super Mario 64.

Dragons Lair in the arcade.

Jet Set Radio Future on xbox.

[digitalpress]

Not to many in recent years, but...

When I first saw Dragon's Lair played on a Game Boy Color, I did WOW at the technology. Very impressive.

When I saw the giant sandworm boss in Panzer Dragoon on a Sega Saturn I know I had never seen anything like that before on a home game. Just lookit' all those polygons! funny how the Saturn never really got known for it's 3D games yet this is my fondest memory.

The gazillion guys running around in State of Emergency for PS2 made me WOW... until after 10 minutes when I realized I was getting bored already.

[Tritoch]

The biggest wow for me would have to be seeing Super Mario 64 for the first time at Toys R Us. My jaw literally dropped and I never wanted to leave. Playing Super Mario Bros. in the arcade is certainly another as it's what got me into games permanently, as is the opening of the first RPG I ever played, Chrono Trigger.

[6502]

Seeing and (most importantly) hearing Ys Book I & II for the first time. I bought a Turbo-CD on blind faith, but my faith was rewarded when I started up Ys. The cinematic intro was stunning for the time with gorgeous cut scenes and beautiful music and voice. Of course, the in-game graphics weren't too hot, but I still vividly remember watching that intro for the first time.

Runner-up would be Soul Calibur for the DC. Soul Blade was my favorite fighter on the PSX, but I had never seen Soul Calibur in the arcades. I wasn't very interested in the DC around launch, but when I saw Soul Calibur playing on a kiosk I was completely stunned and knew I had to have a DC.

[YoshiM]

I'd say the game that gave me the most WOW factor was Golden Axe for the Genesis. Gaming changed for me when I strapped on my headphones and heard a home video game play in full stereo and looked almost exactly like the arcade.

The only other "wow" factor was seeing Soul Calibur for the Dreamcast. I've played the N64 to death, saw the pixelated glory of PSX (don't get me wrong, it's got good games, but it didn't overly "wow" me) so I had high expectations for the DC. They were blown away.

Nothing else in modern gaming has blown my socks off like those two instances.

[Cafeman]

Chiming in again ... you guys jogged my memory a bit!

Sega's Model 2 arcade games really blew me away, lock-stock-n-barrel. I remember both the first times I saw Daytona and VF2 -- I could NOT believe those visuals were possible. Stunning!

Panzer Dragoon on Saturn, Joe! Yep, same here, those sand worms and really the entire (once) beautiful game. It really sold the Saturn to me.

[Raedon]

once beutiful? If you haven't played Panzaar Dragoon Saga sense you got that super nice Digital 5.1 surround system witht eh 12 inch sub I would suggest taking another look. The game is a true work of art on several levels.

[Britboy]

Pac-Man, when it was first released into arcades. I still remember the crowd gathered around the machine at the Valley Forge Convention Center. Ironically, that very place is now the site for PhillyClassic!!!

[Anonymous]

My first real wow was playing Zelda for the first time. I'd heard of it, but my parents got it for me for christmas probably on the kind words of some hyper intelligent wonderbeing that happened to be working at Toys R Us. I still remember wandering around methodically burning every bush I could reach in the game looking for hidden entrances.

Graphically, Final Fantasy III hit me like a ton of bricks, as did Final Fantasy VIII. Mario64 was so much fun I didn't realize I was drooling the first time I played it . Cinematically, Metal Gear Solid was the first game that took itself seriously. It was so hard to not jump into the game, and go through the "interview" stuff Kojima had put on the disc, but it was worth every second. Graphically, Smuggler's Run had incredible draw distance, and Wreckless is still a beautiful driving game. But Halo still floors me every time I play it. It is the game that I think truly represents a wonderful mix of cinematice elements, top technology, and intuitive gameplay that mixed together better than most games out there today. It's one of the first games where no imagination is necessary. Take that as you will.