Tuesday, June 29, 2010

The Ten Things That Have Made Me Say "F&$% Yeah!!" in Video Games

Now, I haven't done a list in a minute, but I figured this was as good a time as any, being that I should have some new gaming hotness to review for y'all next week. So, I figured I'd give you guys a list of the ten things that most exemplified a "Fuck Yeah!!!" moment in video games for me.

10) The first time the "Konami code" worked for me on a game not called Contra. Konami used that classic code for a lot of games, but most gamers didn't know it worked on anything but Contra. When I tried it on Life Force, though, those 30 lives got a reaction out of me that was unforgettable.

9) Beating Mike Tyson in Punchout!! The first time I fought him, I used a password to get to him, and thoroughly got my ass beat. After I invested time into beating the game the hard way, I was mentally prepared to fight Tyson, and I won by decision. I don't care if it wasn't a KO since I did something a lot of gamers still can't say they've done.

8) Witnessing the subtle awesomeness of the original Blaster Master. I might get some grief about this one, but Blaster Master was an incredible game that has been plagued with crappy sequels. The first time I fought that giant frog was sheer joy.

7) The cutscenes in Tecmo's NES games. Cutscenes are commonplace nowadays, but back on the NES they were virtually nonexistent. When Tecmo unveiled what they called "Cinema Scenes", everyone in the video game community stood up and took notice. The opening to Ninja Gaiden on the NES was the best game intro ever.

6) Finally finding the princess in Super Mario Bros. Toad honestly had me wanting to strangle him by the time I got to the final castle, but when Bowser hit the lava for the last time, and I saw the princess, I knew it was done. I didn't cheer because I beat the game, I cheered because I didn't have to rescue Toad again.

5) Seeing Street Fighter 2 for the first time. I remember how "meh" Karate Champ was, but I wanted it to be better. Then I remember how much potential the original Street Fighter had, and how bad it was executed. Then I saw Street Fighter 2, and it literally introduced me to a new sub genre: the well executed fighting game.

4) Symphony of the Night There have been a lot of "Fuck Yeah!!!" moments involving Castlevania for me. Nothing prepared me how incredible Symphony of the Night was (and still is). the expansiveness of the game design gave me goosebumps, and the game handles like a dream.

3) The utter coolness of Maniac Mansion LucasArts has been responsible for a lot of great gaming experiences. Their high water mark was Maniac Mansion. an RPG that was way ahead of it's time, thus making it a cult classic among those of us old enough to remember it.

2) Surviving past the second level in Ghosts N' Goblins I remember this struggle well. It took me no less than a month to get past the second level back when I was 9 years old. I never played anything as hard as this game, and I haven't played anything this hard since. Passing that level made me feel like I had done the impossible, and I honestly think I did.

1) Falling in love with "Bullet Hell" shoot em ups Raiden started the obsession, but Giga Wing made it flat out love. Games like DoDonPachi, 19XX, Diamhoo, etc. have honestly become favorites of mine. I have become so adept at the score attack modes in Giga Wing that I once topped a Stage's high score without having in my contacts or wearing glasses.

Those are some of my "Fuck Yeah!!!" moments, but what are yours? Leave a comment telling me your fondest gaming memory.





No comments:

Post a Comment