[Computer Gaming]It seems that everyone I know is getting married these days; in fact I'm attending a wedding tomorrow, which despite all my best endeavours will apparently feature neither a "zombie horror" motif nor the arming of guests with paintballing guns. Bah, the fools.
Anyway, all this random matrimony has me contemplating my first love. Her name was Alis, and along with her friends Odin and Noah and her flying cat-thing Myau she saved the Algol Star System from Dark Force and the evil emperor Lassic.
I remember our first date, at the Camineet spaceport. She was distraught because her brother had been brutally slain by the oppressive police force; I comforted her with some new weapons and armour and several hours of levelling up. We strolled along the romantic beaches fighting giant tentacled monsters, and when we ran low on hit points we retired to Alis' house, where the screen went suggestively dim.
Our relationship matured over time; we took holidays to the nearby desert and ice planets. We squabbled at times, when one too many annoying pit traps left us both stressed and angry, but ultimately we grew together. We took the plunge and committed to the joint purchase of a giant ice-crushing landrover - the payments were huge but it made the commute across Dezoris that much more manageable. Finally, we tied the knot in a romantic ceremony during an eclipse that involved feeding our cat magical berries; we honeymooned in a castle in the sky, and weren't distracted in the least by the ramblings of some old man in a crown and the unspeakable evil thing he kept in his basement.
Yes, Phantasy Star was that moment in gaming when I went from merely dabbling in games to deciding, "I want to play more things like this!" Sure, today I can see how my enthusiasm caused me to miss faults in its grind-based levelling and linear character progression, but aren't we all blind in the face of young love?
I'd like to throw the floor open to all you crazy people who stop by and read my blog. What was the defining nexus among YOUR first experiences with computer games? Which was the game that coloured the way you see the medium today? What game will forever have a special place in your heart, despite all its crippling, crippling flaws? Leave a comment under this post, or better yet, blog about it and let me know!
This post dedicated to Chris and Claire; may you enjoy many years of levelling up together.
11 comments:
My first love was the original Bard's Tale. My uncle gave me a copy for our Commodore 64 when I was about 10 years old. That was where I learnt to love moving through seemingly endless dungeons fighting monsters and picking up treasure for little or no plot reward.
And of course Azure Dreams. :-) Dungeon crawling in a tower with a 'how many chicks can you pick up' side quest, huzzah!
I've always wondered why there hasn't been a proper Azure Dreams 2 (the horrible Game Boy port isn't worth the mention). The combination of Pokemon and a dating sim seems so natural and effortless that it's amazing there haven't been about a million versions of this.
ROFL!
Chicks dig the levelling, don't they? :)
Oh, and I'm with Julia: My first computer game love was the original Bard's Tale.
From vague memory, I suspect my bard was even named Julia. :)
Pirates! on the commodore64. True love. I know better than to revisit the more recent version. I prefer the nostalgia.
Of course, I still have a mad crush on Nethack. We date regularly.
(I also still play Transport Tycoon, from 1992, and Heroes of Might and Magic in various incarnations. I'm usually in for the long term gaming relationships, apparently...)
Hurray for Nethack! Let me know how Heroes 5 works out for you if you get a chance to play it... and subsequently tear yourself away from it again.
Also, y'know, feel free to leave your name or tag so I can see who's stopping through! 8-)
Oh! Pirates! Fight villains! Rescue family members! Seduce women! Fight people who probably weren't technically villains but who nevertheless wobbled a sword at you threateningly! Blow things up! Burn things down! Buy and sell trade good!
That was the best game ever!
Oh, Pirates! sounds like a blast. Where do I get a copy of that?!
Though at the moment I am playing Neverwinter Nights...Mmmm...RPG goodness.. :-)
Anonymous commentor notwithstanding, the consensus seems to be that the remake is the superior product. If you're lucky you might catch Pirates! Gold at Revolution CD or possibly you could get one of the older versions from a freeware/abandoware site.
Elite.
For me it was the original Prince of Persia game. I remember being amazed by the graphics, and the gameplay was challenging. And a little later on, Sonic the Hedgehog on the Sega Master System - loved the music and the gameplay.
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