We all have that one game that stands out in our minds as the foundation on which our love of gaming was built. Perhaps it was a game that you experienced in your formative years, that helped you decide which genre you enjoyed and which console you wanted your parents to buy you for Christmas. Or perhaps it came later in life when you were longer in the tooth, and had missed out on the earlier consoles in favor of the PlayStation, Dreamcast, or Nintendo 64.
A recent tweet from Variety’s gaming editor Brian Crecente gained a lot of traction, with him asking his followers to share the story of how they first got into games. As such, we’re posing the same question to GR’s readers in order to find out how you all first fell in love with the medium.
My first “wow” moment with a video game came in the early ’90s with Super Mario World. The SNES was my first console, and I was completely taken aback by how colorful and inviting SMW was. I spent entire weekends glued to the TV, completing it over and over again. As the years went by and I still couldn’t stop playing it, I was effectively taking part in (very amateur) speedruns of the game, seeing how quickly I could get to Bowser. Super Mario World remains one of my favorite video games ever made, and while later in life I appreciate some of the more difficult games in the series, they still don’t really compare to the memories I have playing the SNES as a kid.
But that’s enough about me. What game made you fall in love with this weird and wonderful medium? As always, let us know in the comments section below, and we’ll feature our favorite comment of the bunch.
