That ONE game (that always makes you smile)

[Jisho23]

Yeah, kind of a sappy topic, but I'm sure everyone here has just ONE game that is although not the best game they own (not by a longshot) but for one reason or another always makes you smile and just... well, feel good.

For me its hands down Donkey Kong Country 2. Its probably because at this point I can probably play some of the levels blindfolded, but something about the graphics, audio (oh god the audio), and gameplay just make me... happy? I dunno, this is a fairly esoteric topic.

[dra600n]

For games that I own - Final Fantasy 1 and Star Tropics. My friends and I, back in elementary school, would play these games until we beat them, laughing and joking the entire time. On snow days, which is when we mostly played these games, we'd cook up some breakfast - corn beef hash, scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast, down some OJ and start the gaming. Good times.

One game that's worth a mention, though I don't own it anymore (I will eventually again since it's not that hard of a game to find) is Dodge Ball on the NES. My friend and I had never played it, and he got it for his bday or some other occassion and brought it over. Upon upwrapping it, I plugged in my NES controllers and we jumped into the game not knowing what we were doing. Once we saw the first person die and an angel float up the screen, we were hooked on the game. Classic IMO.

[staxx]

Rumble Rose or Dead or Alive Volleyball .....always makes me smile.

[Rusty]

Well, playing Castlevania and Donkey Kong 64 were the first two to come to mind when I think of what games makes me smile. I just love both of them and could jump into them any day.

[Jisho23]

Rumble Rose or Dead or Alive Volleyball .....always makes me smile.

I can't dispute that... although I think they make you smile for radically different reasons then Donkey Kong.

[Gooch3008]

mario 64

[Pichu]

Super Mario World or 64....
Just playing them makes me happy! ^_^

[frogofdeath]

Samba de Amigo ver. 2000.

Super Mario 64

The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening

Jurassic Park (Genesis)

[retroman]

TMNT2 The Arcade game..nes.could not wait for it to come out.

[Orion Pimpdaddy]

Thinking about Toy Commander on the Dreamcast makes me feel happy, no matter how hard my day has been. It really feels like your a kid playing with toys. That sounds childish, but another way to say it is that it perfectly recreates the experience of being a male kid. Oh yeah, you can also shoot the poop in the cat's litter box!

[Sonicwolf]

Legend of Zelda - Ocarina of Time. That game can always bring a smile to my face. Such a huge part of my childhood and it will always be special to me. I still beat it once or twice a year.

I guess that negates the best game thing though. I guess I will pick Left 4 Dead 2. It has its flaws but it makes me happy nonetheless.

[Drixxel]

Jumping Flash! 1 & 2, these games are pure cheer. They're just ultra positive and brimming with energy.

[TheMeanwhile]

Paper Mario for the N64!

I have a strange tradition of playing through the entire game every Christmas Eve. So maybe it makes me smile because of Christmas, or maybe its beacuse its an awesome game. It was the first game I actually played all the way through, so that brings back even more good memories.

[coreys429]

My picks: Super Mario Bros. 3 for some reason I can put the game on every time and still enjoy playing it. Turtles in Time for SNES: My best friend and I would spend all hours of the night playing that game. Smackdown vs RAW 08: My best friend made all of the friends as well as himself as characters in the game. I always smile when I am playing a ladder match with Undertaker vs him.

[Emperor Megas]

There are several games that make me smile every time I play them, but since the thread emphasizes just one, I'll have to say the original version of Rez.

I love EVERYTHING about that game. I've never played the Dreamcast version, and while the HD version for the 360 looks superior, they've changed some of the key things I love most about the game. Not the least of which being that awesome "Aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!" you hear when Earth shed's it's outer shell during the stage one boss fight. I always get a head rush during that part. I don't know why the hell they gimped that part in the HD version.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGkRm6MqyPk

Everything about the game makes trips me out, from the synthesized countdown voice prompt when you crack the firewall of each layer, to the way that the music evolves a little more each time you advance deeper into the stages. Even the status updates and pseudo-command lines you run ([x.fire], [...cracking], etc.) that flash across the top corner of the screen. There's so much goodness going on in that game, it's hard not to smile when you play it.

NiGHTS into Dreams, Fantasy Zone II, and Space Harrier would be a few others that top my list. As do Final Zone II and Last Alert for the AWESOME, classic dialog.

[spongerob]

Metal Gear Solid 2.

[Baloo]

For me, it'd probably be NiGHTS into Dreams... and Burning Rangers. Both of those games (NiGHTS into Dreams... especially) really cheer me up when my day is bad. NiGHTS is just so formulatic, I can play it without really having to pay too much attention, and still get a good score on the lap.

Outrun is a pretty calming game once I get to the end, I'm terrible at it but I love the high score theme "Last Wave".

Also: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gy3tErmHtiE

[Geddon_jt]

Good topic. The one thing that immediately came to mind for me was Typing of the Dead for the Dreamcast, but that is more of a game that always makes me laugh vs. a feel-good type of game.

Otherwise I have to go with Zelda: A Link to the Past, or maybe SMB 3.

[Swamperon]

Quite a few do. It's mostly when the music kicks in and I see the opening intro start that makes me break into a smile. A few that do:

Zelda: OoT (The 3DS remake is going to make me smile a lot)
Harvest Moon: BTN/Snes
Azure Dreams
Pokemon Blue
Sonic (Multiple)
Skies of Arcadia
Original Tetris, played on the GB
Shining Force I/III

[kedawa]

I think mine would be Actraiser. It was one of the first SNES games I owned, and I bought it even after renting and beating it numerous times. It's just got a certain charm and style that resonates with me. I love the music, too.
Honourable mentions go to Castle of Illusion, Super Buster Bros., and Bubble Ghost.

Jumping Flash! 1 & 2, these games are pure cheer. They're just ultra positive and brimming with energy.
I only had the second game, but I played the hell out of it. The sense of height was incredible at the time, and the levels are so bright and imaginative. The happy music and campy characters are a plus too.
The JF! games were really ahead of their time in a lot of ways, and I can't think of any other game like them.

For me, it'd probably be NiGHTS into Dreams...
This game has a lot of flaws, like the awful clipping and pointless bits where you had to walk around as the kids, but blasting through the levels as Nights is just pure bliss. I've never played Christmas Nights or the Wii sequel, but the original is one of my favourite Saturn games for sure

I'll have to say the original version of Rez.
I've never played the Dreamcast version...The Dreamcast version is the original. I guess you played it on PS2? I really need to play through this one someday. I don't think I've ever gotten past stage 3 when I did play it, but I love the aesthetic of it. I wouldn't say it makes me smile, but playing it in the dark with headphones on definitely put me in a different state of mind. It reminds me of the vector arcade games that I used to marvel at when I was too young to know how to play them.

[Ro-J]

Billy Hatcher. You're a kid in a chicken suit rolling eggs around the place. Occasionally the eggs get big enough to hatch and a little animal follows you around helping you. Sometimes that animal is Sonic. What's not to smile about?

[Callin]

Zelda: Link's Awakening.

Its unique sense of humor is part of the reason. :-D

[phreakindee]

Single-player: DKC, Commander Keen IV

Multi-player: Worms Armageddon, Unreal Tournament

[skaar]

Ninjabread Man.

I just like the bad joke.

Then I think about the $10.

Then I get angry.

[Aussie2B]

I dunno, I have a hard time coming up with games that would make me smile but are far from being the best in my collection. If a game is charming enough to always put a smile on my face, then it's going to be one of my favorites even if it does have its flaws. But I do get what you mean that even if a game is one of my very favorites, it's not necessarily going to make me smile. Some of my favorite games have pretty dark, gloomy atmospheres, so I'd say it's the cheerful, cute stuff that makes me feel warm and gooey. :P

So here are some picks:

TwinBee series
Cho Aniki series
Wonder Project J and J2
Tail Concerto
Super Mario Sunshine
StarTropics
Super Mario 64
Dynastic Hero and Monster World IV
Marvelous
Marl Kingdom series
Getter Love!!
Mega Man Legends
Parappa series and Um Jammer Lammy
Katamari Damacy and We <3 Katamari

A lot of Japan-exclusives in there, but I guess that's because the really silly and cute games don't get localized often (or at least that was in the case in the past).

[Cers]

Sonic 1 Master System
DOOM

[Emperor Megas]

The Dreamcast version is the original. I guess you played it on PS2?I know that the Dreamcast version is the original, but from what I understand it's essentially the same game as the PS2 port, unlike the HD version for the 360.

[yosh]

Donkey kong country 2. :pimp:

And Fallout 3, All pokemon games up to Crystal, Super Mario Land, Super Mario World 2, MegaMan 2

[diskoboy]

Easy...

Jet Grind Radio and Vib Ribbon.

I can't watch the Vib Ribbon tutorial video without cracking a smile. Its physically impossible.

[Enigmus]

Super Mario 64, Doom, Sonic 3, Pac Attack (Mega Drive), and Team Fortress 2. These are my happy games. :)

[wingzrow]

Ouendan 1 & 2, Both Rhythm tengoku games, the Ps2 katamari games, all the original sonic games, yoshi's island.

Those are the ones that come to mind.

[Malon_Forever]

Mega Man 2. No matter what mood I'm in, I can always sit down and play that game for a bit.

[Damaramu]

Street Fighter Zero 3

[nebrazca78]

There are two games that always put a smile on my face and make me relax even though I've beaten the crap out of them both many times. Pit-Fighter for Genesis and Quake for Saturn. Their gameplay is so much fun, the imagery is fantastic and the music just puts them both over the top. The Pit-Fighter music is very distinctive and well written and the Quake soundtrack was done by Nine Inch Nails. They also have sweet sound effects which sharpen you up for a bit of the old ultra-violence. Funny how I am relaxed by delivering beatings, winning electronic money, obtaining women in mini-skirts or blowing monsters up and then watching blood spew from their torsos.

[kupomogli]

Games without a story generally don't make me smile.

Star Ocean the Second Story wins for me. I'm usually not into games with soppy love stories but the parts with Claude and Rena make me smile.

[fpbrush]

Man, it's probably gotta be Jackal for the NES

Taught me what 'co-op' play meant!

[LynchJustRules]

Final Fantasy VI for SNES...still my favorite game of all time!

[exit]

Earthbound

[JSoup]

The original Harvest Moon.

[bartre]

Definitely Tempest 2000 or Keio Flying Squadron 2 for my saturn.
tempest of course needs no introduction, it's classic arcade action at it's best.
as for KFS2, i originally got the japanese version, but i liked it so much i actually put the time, effort, and money into finding a copy of the European version, despite the terrible english voices.

anyway, any time i'm in a bad mood i pop one of these suckers in and then i'm in a good mood after about 10 minutes.

[Darko]

When I hear the intro music to Legend of Zelda I always smile. Too many good times with my friends growing up not to! Another Zelda title for number 2: Link's Awakening. I played and played that game back in the day. It was so awesome to have a Zelda on GB. Dr. Mario is also up there. It was the only game I could get my dad to play without giving up after 5 minutes. Fun stuff!

[j1e]

Maniac Mansion for the NES.

[p_b]

Bubble Bobble!

[garagesaleking!!]

super smash bros

[SpaceHarrier]

Sonic Adventure

and

Katamari Damacy ..could even the most hardened killer make it through the intro video without cracking a smile and breaking into a Glee inspired dance number? I think not.

[Jisho23]

Definitely Tempest 2000 or Keio Flying Squadron 2 for my saturn.
tempest of course needs no introduction, it's classic arcade action at it's best.
as for KFS2, i originally got the japanese version, but i liked it so much i actually put the time, effort, and money into finding a copy of the European version, despite the terrible english voices.

anyway, any time i'm in a bad mood i pop one of these suckers in and then i'm in a good mood after about 10 minutes.

I second Keio Flying Squadron 2. Although I have absolutely NO idea what is going on for the entire game.

[bartre]

yeah, like i said, i eventually got tired of it, so i tracked down the euro version.
I did look into the original on Sega CD though...
all i can say is that i'm glad they went with a platformer for the sequel.

[BydoEmpire]

Ms. Pac Man. I can always go back to that game. The music, intermissions, sound effects, title screen animations... everything about it makes me smile when I put it in.

[Roganjohn]

super pang

[DreadIsReal]

Turtles in Time. So many great childhood memories with my brother and this game. Also Super Mario Bros, its just plain fun. And Kirbys Adventure.

[tom]

Boulder Dash (A8)....that foot tapping impatient Rockford...can't help but smile

[Tommittaja]

Hmm... might aswell throw one here: maybe "The 3D battles of world runner".. it's just so bright and... trippy when you activate the "3D" mode :-D and it has some awesome music!