What was the First Video Game you were obsessed with

[rawbertson.]

I was really hooked into games even with Mario 1 / MArio 3 on NES, but the first real series I fell in love with was Mega Man (Mega Man 4 was the first one I played when i was about 5 or 6)

What about you?

[brycickle]

Probably Chrono Trigger.

[TheLurper]

I was super into NBA Jam, Street Fighter, and Mortal Kombat.

Of course, any of the original Mario games. Marble Madness was awesome too.

When THPS came out, I told my friends they could come over to hang out that weekend, but I would not be going out.

Doom, Doom II, and Duke Nukem were mind blowing when I first saw them.

I also remember thinking Bionic Commando was cool despite being too young to understanding the controls. I desperately wanted Skate or Die to be cool but it was nearly as bad Back to the Future.

[layzieyez]

The arcades in the 80’s were nearly a weekly mindfuck for me as a child following around my older brothers and their friends.

I know I had a phase where I was super into the Journey game.

Then, I went as far as buying the trading cards for Dragon’s Lair because I wanted to complete it (I don’t think I ever have tbh).

Sinistar and Crystal Castles were both so sick.

Tron might be it, though. Just like the Journey game, it had a variety of different gameplay mechanics for different segments and I was stoked on the light cycles bit the most.

[rawbertson.]

Probably Chrono Trigger.

not the first RPG i played but the first one i fell in love with i think and my bro and i got all the endings, new game + etc.

I was super into NBA Jam, Street Fighter, and Mortal Kombat.

Of course, any of the original Mario games. Marble Madness was awesome too.

When THPS came out, I told my friends they could come over to hang out that weekend, but I would not be going out.

Doom, Doom II, and Duke Nukem were mind blowing when I first saw them.

I also remember thinking Bionic Commando was cool despite being too young to understanding the controls. I desperately wanted Skate or Die to be cool but it was nearly as bad Back to the Future.

I think everyone knows how much I love street fighter. MK was huge too of course I played it
I remember NBA Jam was huge when it came out too. that shit was really fun, and you could find those cabinets all over the place for awhile.

Doom 2 was among the first PC games I owned. It took me al ong time to get doom 1, i only ever played the shareware version for years. I had Duke 3d straight away, that game was quite massive at the time too, everyone was playin it. could never put that shit out these days lol.

Have never played bionic commando, i heard its dope!

The arcades in the 80’s were nearly a weekly mindfuck for me as a child following around my older brothers and their friends.

I know I had a phase where I was super into the Journey game.

Then, I went as far as buying the trading cards for Dragon’s Lair because I wanted to complete it (I don’t think I ever have tbh).

Sinistar and Crystal Castles were both so sick.

Tron might be it, though. Just like the Journey game, it had a variety of different gameplay mechanics for different segments and I was stoked on the light cycles bit the most.

At some point I had this + another game called Braindead 13 on PC (exact same style of game) i think because you could save state it was not too hard to beat it on there lol

[BallDontLie]

Resident Evil 2.... unlocking hunk was like the holy grail for me. I miss the school yard rumors too, "you can play as Akuma" "you can play as a piece of tofu" which seemed more absurd. You actually can lol

[Blind Fisherman]

I was born in ‘94 and missed out on a lot of the games yall have mentioned (aside from Mario and a select few).
For me, it started with Ocarina of Time. My dad surprised me with an N64 and a copy of OoT and THPS1. I could never figure out what the fuck I was doing in either game bc I was like 5 or 6, but I fell in love with the environments, music, etc. and now I’ve played through damn near every Zelda game available.

Also, special shoutout to THPS1 for sparking my interest in skateboarding at such a young age. I begged my parents for a skateboard for at least 4 years until they finally caved and got me my first complete for Christmas when I was 10. 

[Linked]

Crash Team Racing on ps1. My parents rented it once after it came out and I was blown away. Bought it years later and dumped hours into getting 100%

[rocklobster]

Marvel vs Capcom 2 - my brother and I would spend entire afternoons at the arcade parked in front of the cabinet, we were decent but far from elite. If 1 of us got beat by another player the other would step in and try and dethrone him. This was before we knew anything about character tiers or the meta so we went with whoever we liked. My go to was Guile / Rogue / Sentinel, his was Spiderman / Amingo / Captain Commando. We should have pooled our allowance to buy a Dreamcast and some arcade sticks but nothing can compare to the experience of being in a smokey arcade filled with other sweaty nerds, quarters nearly lined up trying to keep the streak alive.

On a console it was probably Seiken Densetsu 3 or Trials of Mana. Spent countless nights during my military service emulating it on a PC using the English patch and a $10 USB controller. The spell casting was broken with the ring system but the environments and colorful characters made me a fan for life. The 2020 remake didn't hit the same, went back to getting a SNES emulator on my phone to (try) and play it on the go, but life is just too hectic.

[Thebird]

Mortal Kombat.  I can still remember that release date was called Mortal Monday.  I used to wake up super early to get game time in before school.

[Dante Bichette]

Smackdown vs Raw 2007. Still one of the best wrestling games of all time.

[Bupstop]

Willow for the nes. I love that movie and that game so much. Basically a Zelda clone but that’s alright because Zelda rules too.
Still to this day I like to listen to soundtrack on YouTube. Takes me back.

[Carrolls Chesthairs]

Banjo mf kazooie baby

[rawbertson.]

Some deep cuts in here

On a console it was probably Seiken Densetsu 3 or Trials of Mana. 

I never knew there were more of these Secret of Mana games
I played the first one a decent amount when I was a kid but I did not get into for some reason. maybe will give them another shot some day

[WashingtonNECKTIE]

The first classic gamecube titles were my shit, namely Wind Waker and SM Sunshine

When I got a PS2; THUG2, MGS2, Sly Cooper

[Abyss1]

[Tear Up a Trick]

Sorry if this sounds cornty - It's probably hard to overstate what a big deal Pac-Man was.

I had Pac-Man fever big time, and would draw that guy and the ghosts on anything I could, had the pajamas and anything else branded.

The sounds associated with that game were mesmorizing and still give me chills if I go into a dark place that has the game.

Older kids would have their quarters lined up across the face of the screen, and then have their cigarettes smoking on the console when not hanging off their lips.  I would be so pscyhed if I got to the arcade early enough to have the machine to myself for a bit.

It seems much easier to find Ms Pac Man over the years, which was just as much a big deal.

If you were there for it you know what a global deal it was, man I probably could talk about Pac-Man a long time

[Bupstop]

I was super into the pac man cartoon when I was a kid. I remember arguing with my friend over who could be super pac man when we would play together. You just reminded me of this so now I’m going to YouTube some episodes and see if it holds up.

[Benicio El Toro]

Childhood obsession. Ocarina of Time. My grandma was obsessed with it and got me hooked. She had the guide and everything. Remember seeing that book and being so confused. Like. This is for kids but she's reading words for it must be serious.

Late teen obsession. Mario kart on the wii. My roommate and I prolly played 6 hours a day over the course of a winter. By the time it was all said and some we ended beating most of the developer times. Maybe only a couple we couldn't get. Idk if that's even a noticeable accomplishment but getting to a point where you and a friend can't play Mario bc you're so into it sure feels like one.

Honorable mentions:
Nfl blitz (64) and the league (ps3)
Nba street
Super mario strikers
Dark alliance
Put some work into Skyrim and then thought it would be cool to turn into a vampire. Never touched it again.

Edit- Rawb, you and one of my best friends would have a blast talking about/gaming/megaman. Wouldn't be surprised if you've crossed paths. You have any Midwest gaming friends? Is that a thing? Kooking it hard over here but I'm out of my element rawby

[rawbertson.]

I know some people who play street fighter but if I am being honest I have no idea still what the Mid West means even though I have looked it up several times. I know a decent amount of people from street fighter all over USA and Canada though.

I really want to go back and play Megaman Legends again, I never beat it but put a lot of hours into it + Brave Fencer Musashi probably around 96-98.

[rocklobster]

I really want to go back and play Megaman Legends again, I never beat it but put a lot of hours into it + Brave Fencer Musashi probably around 96-98.

No idea how Brave Fencer Musashi would hold up but I remember having a blast with Megaman Legends get getting to customize your blaster. In that same vein The Misadventures of Tron Bonne was a fun take on the Megaman Legends formula by letting you play as the villain and getting your Servbots to do the looting.

Speaking of Megaman - Megaman X2. In Asia video game stores would bootleg videogames and you could get SNES games on 3.5" floppy disk - worked most of the time except some games had copyright protection like in Megaman X you'd get stuck on Chill Penguin's stage with the Start button being pressed constantly. Megaman X2 was the first cartridge we actually owned and spent the time to get all the upgrades, hearts and shoryuken.

Last one Castlevania SOTN - incredible music, animations, boss fights, freedom to explore and use different weapons to suit your playstyle. Soul Steal made most the enemies a cakewalk and some weapons were so broken, but it's still fun to play get 200% if you're patient.

[MOE SYZLAK]

Turtles in Time fir SNES.
I don’t even have the console anymore but I kept my copy of the game

[linty]

Dungeon Master. It was already an old game back when our family friend booted it up but I was still in awe.

[pops]

This and Sonic 1-3. I lost count how many times I've completed these games.

[Anderdingus]

The first duke nukem on this computer we had

[layzieyez]

Sorry if this sounds cornty - It's probably hard to overstate what a big deal Pac-Man was.

I had Pac-Man fever big time, and would draw that guy and the ghosts on anything I could, had the pajamas and anything else branded.

The sounds associated with that game were mesmorizing and still give me chills if I go into a dark place that has the game.

Older kids would have their quarters lined up across the face of the screen, and then have their cigarettes smoking on the console when not hanging off their lips.  I would be so pscyhed if I got to the arcade early enough to have the machine to myself for a bit.

It seems much easier to find Ms Pac Man over the years, which was just as much a big deal.

If you were there for it you know what a global deal it was, man I probably could talk about Pac-Man a long time

I was trying to remember which of my uncles had taken my brothers and I to Waikiki to an arcade at the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center. It was almost exclusively Space Invaders and Moon Cresta and maybe Crazy Climber cocktail tables in that place.

Anyway, I remember there was a clamor when they rolled in Pac-Man tables that night. It seemed everyone got the same idea and they swarmed the new game. I didn’t get to play it that night, but I was definitely mesmerized.

Also, I never got good at it when I finally did get to play which is why I wasn’t as drawn in as the hardcore dudes who could memorize the patterns or had a strategy.

Thanks for reminding me about that night and also that cocktail table machines used to be so prevalent.

[Chalupa]

Turtles in Time fir SNES.
I don’t even have the console anymore but I kept my copy of the game

If you like it there’s a “Cowabunga Collection” for newer systems that have around 7 games including that one.

My first video game that I was obsessed with was Donkey Kong Country on the SNES, and my favorite level was the second level in the second world with the minecarts.

[Jim and Dan]

Turtles in Time fir SNES.
I don’t even have the console anymore but I kept my copy of the game

One of the best, if not the best, beat-em-up of all-time...

I loved the quasi-historical aspect of it and the soundtrack was immaculate...

Bury My Shell At Wounded Knee and Starbase: Where No Turtle Has Gone Before are excellent titles...

Zelda: A Link To The Past was an early, obsessively played game, but it was probably FFVII that became my first really obsessive game overall, from the lore, the gameplay, the music, everything about it just hit perfect...

[rocklobster]

Expand Quote

Turtles in Time fir SNES.
I don’t even have the console anymore but I kept my copy of the game

[close]

One of the best, if not the best, beat-em-up of all-time...

I loved the quasi-historical aspect of it and the soundtrack was immaculate...

Bury My Shell At Wounded Knee and Starbase: Where No Turtle Has Gone Before are excellent titles...

Shredders Revenge is an excellent addition if you haven't already played it. Each character plays uniquely with lots of replay value, the art style and music is faithful to Turtles in Time too.

[HateSkates]

Donkey Kong 64 really had a deep hold on my young brain stem. Shit went stupid.