Games that got you back into gaming?

[boatofcar]

Over the years, I've been in and out of the current gaming scene. Usually what happens is something won't come along for a verry long time that interests me, but then once something does, I'm hooked for a month. Is anyone else like this? Here are some of the games that have brought me "back."

Super Mario 64- I didn't really play this at all until I got to college in 1999. My roomate brought his N64, and I played this on weekends for hours on end. It was a great game to help me get through a rough freshman year.

FF9- Skipped parts VII and VIII because I got a N64 instead of a Playstation. Once I heard that part 9 was going to go back to the "roots," as it were, I decided that I'd pick it up along with a PS2.

Tony Hawk 3-I was more into retro gaming at the time this came out, so I guess this was the game that brought me back to the PS2.

After THPS3, I stayed out of the current scene almost completely, with the exception of Dragon Warrior 7, which I beat during the course of the summer of 2002.

After college was over in 2003, I had a ton of money laying around after becoming employed (well, compared to when I was in school), but nothing really interested me on the PS2, so I decided to get a Gamecube for the sole reason of Animal Crossing. I must say, this game kept me occupied for well over 4 or 5 months, until really there was nothing left to do in the game, at which point I was really depressed, because it was such a great game until that point.

Fast foward about a year....after reading a couple of reviews, I decided to take a chance on a $20 title by Namco...it had some Japanese title I couldn't pronounce, but I figured I'd take a chance and see what all the hype was about. :D

I guess you could say that Katamari Damacy is the game that brought me back into gaming again most recently. But now, for some reason, I've bought more new(er) games in the past 6 months than I have in the past six years. Just recently I've picked up:

Super Monkey Ball
Super Mario Sunshine
Mario Kart DD
Luigi's Mansion
and Donkey Konga

I don't know if I am enjoying GC games more than PS2 games because they remind me more of the classics in terms of just plain fun, or because these games are just so beautiful in the fantasy worlds they create. Another possible reason I've bought so many titles for current generation systems is that the only titles I'm, interested in collecting for my retro consoles are beyond the price of what a new current generation game would cost me (boxed Stack-Up and DKJR Math, anyone?) :)

Anyway, that's my story.

[Richter Belmount]

castlevania symphony of the night I was completely bored with gaming overall than I really got into the gameplay and music and made me like games all over again.

[imanerd0011]

I was out of gaming for a few years from about 1997-2000. Then I played Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2. The game blew my mind!!! @_@ I had never played a game that had so much actual skill involved in it. Mastering THPS 2 was like getting good at a sport, or being very skillful at an activity. It was more than gaming to me, and I wanted to become as good as possible at it. Then THPS 3 came out and I became truely obsessed. Now only a couple years after that, you are looking at an obsessed retro gamer. So I guess you could say that the THPS series got me back into gaming.

[NintendoMan]

Well, I was sorta out of gaming back in like 94-96 or so, manily because I was a broke middle-schooler-high schooler. I have been a hardcore gamer until that time though, ever since I was like 6 when I got my NES.
I finally was old enough to get a job and bought an N64 with Goldeneye being my first game, then Mario 64 was my second. Those two single handedly got me back into it and have never stopped since to this day.

[Retsudo]

What got me back into gaming? When I saw Streetfighter 2 on the SNES back in 92. I just had to have it.

[slip81]

Phantasy Star IV got me back into gaming in '96, and I played nothing but RPG's for a few years, and then I fell out of it. I was a casual gamer from maybe '98 till GTAIII came out then I got back into it pretty heavy, and got even more addicted when I joined this site.

[Brian_Provinciano]

Back in the NES/SNES/Genny days, I was all about the latest consoles. With my snazzy SegaCD, life was awesome! When the N64 was coming out, I was ready to preorder it... then I didn't. I just kept with the older consoles, all the way until GTA3, when I just had to buy a PS2. Bought it for the game, and now I'm all into the new systems. GTA3 did the same thing for thousands of others like myself, brought us into the new console scene. Of course, I was into PC games between that time, with GTA on there driving me to get the PS2 so I wouldn't have to wait. So, I was still gaming, but not into the modern consoles.

[-hellvin-]

A very recent one for me is Shadow Hearts 1 & 2. I had been enjoying collecting a lot more than playing for QUITE some time and after playing the two right in a row, I got a big gaming urge in me and I've been playing stuff non stop lately.

[Sylentwulf]

This subject comes up a LOT. Gonna have to start cut n pasting my answer :)

Final Fantasy 7 got me back into gaming. When I was in my late teens, I started partying a lot more and playing a lot less. When I finally settled down a bit in my own apartment, FF7 was on a mag cover and it just blew me away with graphics since I had still been playing FF4 and DW4 :)

[EnemyZero]

i still havnt really fotten into the new console scene, but i can say games like katamari damacy and ribbit king have sparked my interest a little more....

[Chainsaw_Charlie]

What got me hooked into gaming was the Nes, but nore recently it's been non square rpgs

[Tatsu]

The first console that brought me into gaming. Before I played on the Atari 2600 at a friend's house but it didn't suit me. But the NES really got me hooked and I was always buying one console of the new generation (nes, super nes, gb, ps1, n64, ps2 gba and then later the mega drive and the saturn). I was really disappointed with the N64 and lost my faith a bit. Even if I continued to buy new consoles I always waited about a year after the first release to see if the the games that come out really fit me. Especially about the PS1 I was really critical. Because it was from Sony (this was before my disappointmend with the N4) and not from my beloved Nintendo and because the first games didn't seem interesting to me. But soon the PS1 got me and I was very excitet about it. Especially FF VII hooked me to play for hours and there were a lot of other great games that came out. I still waited long time until I got the PS2, mostly of financial reasons. But I'm very happy with it and still buy a lot of games...

[Oobgarm]

I was big on gaming until the dip in between the SNES and N64.(I was a Nintendo child, back off). I scoffed at the PlayStation, and the other systems like 3DO/CDi/etc. were too expensive for me. Super Mario 64 brought me back from the hiatus, only to let me go once I finished it. Gaming for me was very light until I got Goldeneye 007 for N64 in 1997. Things took off from there, and I haven't looked back.

[Lady Jaye]

What got me back into more serious gaming was when my friend Alain showed me Final Fantasy on an emulator on his computer. Shortly after, my cousin Nick showed me Ogre Battle on an SNES emulator.

I then got into emulation, started to play more games and, eventually, moved back into console gaming (although I've had a SNES since early 1997, it took a couple of years before i became a hardcore gamer).

[studvicious]

I was a huge Nintendo gamer during the NES and SNES years and I couldn't wait for the lord of all consoles, the "Ultra 64" with it's lifelike graphics and it's mind blowing games.. I had a subscription to Nintendo Power and a few months before the "Ultra" arrived they had this huge article about how they changed the name and logo to "Nintendo64" and showed some crappy screens of what the games would look like. I felt duped. This monster system was turning into a joke right before my eyes.. needless to say I let my subscription run out and never bought a N64, and 'till this day there is only 3 whole games I want for it @_@

So to make a short story long, I was watching tv and saw the trailer for a little game called Final Fantasy VII and I had found my place in video games once again.

[bargora]

I think I've mentioned that Colony Wars pulled me back into console gaming, and Doom II pulled me back into computer gaming. Both worthy games (I thought)!

[Barbarianoutkast85]

Disgaea: Hour of Darkness before that the last game I bought for the PS2 was Metal Gear Solid 2 I think. Well thats what got me back into playing my playstation 2

[Ed Oscuro]

Um, I never left? LOL

On the serious side, though, I'd say MAME and emulation got me into older games. Being at the CV Dungeon has gotten me somewhat familiar with the series. So far, money and my collecting habit have kept me from getting a PS2, so I can't say I'm drawn by current gen stuff one way or another. Same with the DS and PSP - there's really no reason for me to want to get them right now at this price and with the alleged problems, so I'm waiting for a price drop...though I've been waiting for years to get a PS2, and it's had a couple so far. Knowing my purchasing history, I probably won't get a PS2 until the PS3 gets a price drop, and then I'll get a PSX or TEST ROFL

[Proclus]

In 2000, I was brought back to gaming by NES games such as Castlevania III, Gargoyles' Quest II and Solstice.

After a two-year break (2002-2003), 16-bit games like Ristar, Earthworm Jim and Donkey Kong Country 2 did the trick in 2004.

(As you can see, I'm a retro gamer.)

[Flack]

As a kid, both SMB 1 and 3 brought me back into gaming at different points in time. Destruction Derby and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater both drug me into the PSX world. I'm not sure I've been out of it since then, although my interest always peaks when Star Wars games are released (which is why I bought a Gamecube).

[otterpop]

It's really odd how many Tony Hawk Pro Skater responses there are, but I too have to say, that game brought me back into videogaming.

[Kamino]

n64 pissed me off to no end.
NO END.
I was ready to build a gaming pc, in the 700mhz class, for dos gaming/light mid90s computer gaming, and emulation. I was about ready to sell off the consoles.
I was fixing a computer for $ at a friend's house, and he fired up a ps2 game...the commodore 64 bootup screen caught my eye...
It was VICE CITY.
That computer-building idea looked pretty lame from that moment on. I rushed to the local store and bought a ps2 and vice city. couldn't even afford a memory card till payday a few days off. It didn't matter. I never looked back.

[sabre2922]

the only time i dropped out of the gaming "scene" since the old 2600 days was back in 97-99 for the simple reason that I became a father.
But what brought me back was 9-9-99 the launch of the last true gamers console DREAMCAST me and my then best friend split the money to buy the DC,Sonic Adventure and SOUL CALIBUR!
So in conclusion I would have to say that it was a combination of the launch of the DC and the amazingly near-perfect 3-D fighter that was/is Soul Calibur @_@ that brought me back into my old hobby.
you see like a few other gamers here I was completely let down by the N64 other than Super Mario and the Zelda games to me the graphics were a blend of horrid fuzzy foggy maddness.
The Playstation was good but it lacked the pure 2-D power of the Saturn and in the end developers were going crazy with the overuse of Textures on a system that had been pushed to its 3-D max looong ago and just made the 3-D games that were released in the last few years of the PSX life look all the more uglier and convoluted.
So it was more than 3 years before we the gamers finally recieved a system with both very good 3-D and 2-D capabilities and that was what Sega Delivered with the Dreamcast and brought me back into what was once my favorite hobby.

[MegaDrive20XX]

In 2000 I took a 4 month break from games from April till July. I didn't want anything to do with games, I had Dreamcast...played it to death with PSO...was dulled with any genre..but the DC was the last system I had before the dry spell ...but the one game that made me snap out of my coma. Was the search for Sonic CD.

I had obtained a Genesis,Sega CD, and 32X for under $35 with all the part

I never was a member of a forum during 2000, so it was harder to find..and during Ebay, it was a pain to find as well.

It wasn't until 2002 that I finally got Sonic CD brand new for $13 from Ebay

The thing I didn't know, was during those two years, I was back on the "buying and selling" cycle once again.

So thank you Sonic CD for helping me wake up and smell the cartrdge...or CD in this case..

[Funk Buddy]

NFL2K

Once I saw this on the DC I had to have one.

[Muscelli]

after Dreamcast died, i didnt really play that many games for it for a few years... then last year, I then discovered Border Down, possibly the greatest DC game... awesome graphics, great soundtrack, and magnificant gameplay..

http://nfg.2y.net/games/borderdown/xscreen2.png
http://nfg.2y.net/games/borderdown/xscreenb.png

ive sold it, regrettably... but Im getting a gamecube in the mail any day... I hope resident evil 4 really brings me back into console gaming

[Ed Oscuro]

It's really odd how many Tony Hawk Pro Skater responses there are, but I too have to say, that game brought me back into videogaming.
Hmm...the first one I played (XBox I think, actually...wow, looks dated now :) was lots of fun. I haven't gone out of my way to track down any games in the series on my own, but I'll have to someday. The whole skating thing really goes against the core of my self-image as an action gamer, so yeah, it's a darn good series.