Siliconera Speaks Up: Gaming Memories

By Louise Yang . March 8, 2009 . 8:08am

Siliconera Speaks Up: Gaming Memories

We all need to start somewhere. What are some of your earliest, happy gaming memories?

 

Siliconera Speaks Up: Gaming MemoriesLouise:I started as a PC gamer in the 80s. Instead of Barbies and toys, my parents got me a computer for my room. I think it was an x86. Back before even Windows 3.1 was released, I had my first multiplayer gaming experience. I would boot up BASIC, compile the source code for Nibbles, a snake game, and play for hours.

When my cousin came over, we’d fire up two-player mode: him on one side of the keyboard, me on the other, and we would both play on one screen, eating up numbers and growing our snakes longer and longer. I didn’t have many toys growing up, but I did have a steady supply of PC games with multiplayer mode thanks to my dad.

 

Siliconera Speaks Up: Gaming MemoriesJenni: I started a bit earlier.

My parents had an Intellivision when I was born. When I was able to start sitting up, and my dad was supposed to be keeping an eye on me, he’d really be playing Burgertime or Night Stalker. To keep me amused, he’d give me the 2P controller to play with. Except with some single player games, the 2P controller would control the 1P movements. So that didn’t last long. That’s really more of a memory that I was told.

I remember playing Shark Shark, Beauty and the Beast, Burgertime and Night Stalker on the same Intellivision, years later when I was in kindergarten. My parents had their business in front half of the house, so they figured the Intellivision would be a quiet activity for me. I’d sit in back, happily playing after school until they were done with work. I ended up getting so good at Shark Shark and Night Stalker that by the time I was in second grade, neither of them could beat me.

 

Siliconera Speaks Up: Gaming MemoriesSpencer:I have a pretty cliche story of playing Super Mario Brothers on a toaster Nintendo, but since the NES wasn’t mine I didn’t really get into video games until I got a Game Boy. After that I took a step backwards and got a Famicom as a birthday gift. When I was younger I probably played more games at other people’s houses that’s how I was exposed to the Master System and Phantasy Star and the Turbo Grafx-16 and Bonk. Boring right? I wish I had a more interesting story to tell now!

OK… here’s a funny one! Growing up I lived in the US and overseas. I would come back and visit the US often though. Before the Super Nintendo was announced the Super Famicom just came out in Japan. I played a lot of Super Mario World and Final Fight right before a trip to the states. Being amazed by the technology I told all the kids I knew that Nintendo made a more powerful Nintendo and I played it. Everyone thought I was lying about the system and were especially incredious when I told them the next Mario game had a dinosaur you ride on.

 

Siliconera Speaks Up: Gaming MemoriesIshaan:When I was a kid, I used to play at arcades a fair bit. Contra was one of the first games I recall playing, both on an arcade system and on a SNES at a friend’s place. Unfortunately, I never owned a Nintendo or SEGA system myself, so it wasn’t until my family bought a PC in the 90s that I got my first real personal gaming experience.

I believe the game was ATFII (Advanced Tactical Fighter). It looked like crap, and for some reason, Sound Blaster cards were a real pain in the neck back in those days, so the sound almost never worked properly. But it was a very fast-moving, very fun arcadey flight combat game, and I would spend literally entire days trying to beat just the first level. The other game I was obsessed with — and this might have been the first game I ever played on any system — was the original Wolfenstein 3D. I spent a good year of my level creating levels for the game and gunning down nazis every spare minute I had.


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  • Akimitsu

    I remember my cousins owning an Atari back when I was little. I don't really remember much about any specific games, but I still try to get my cousin to sell me it to this day. The first system I owned was an NES and I had a blast playing it. It was also the only system my mom used to play, as she loved Super Mario Bros. I still miss the classics from that era, like Battletoads, Super Mario Bros., Ducktales and other evil games like that.

  • sorceo

    My dad and and my uncles would play Crystalis, Rygar, and some other NES games when I was three, and I'd watch. My first memory of me actually playing a game would probably have to be Commander Keen over DOS. We never really had a gaming system in the house after my uncles left except for on the PC, where I got quite a bit of awesome games to play – Jill of the Jungle, God of Thunder, Duke Nukem, One Must Fall, etc. I didn't play an RPG until I played Lunar: SIlver Star Story Complete when I got a Playstation back in 2000. There's a funny story behind me playing it, and probably my most memorable gaming memory. I was on the little boat to Lann Island, and I had to go to the bathroom at the same time. I, being a nervous and clumsy twelve year old at the time, ran with the controller in my hands, knocking the Playstation onto the floor and breaking the disc within it. I didn't get to play Lunar again until I was about fourteen when I found it again on eBay, and it was definitely worth the wait.

  • Kannon

    No one plays Contra for their first game.

  • http://denpanosekai.blogspot.com denpanosekai

    I have vivid memories of playing Adventure on a friend's Atari 2600. I thought the game sucked and have hated that generation to this day! It wasn't until the NES came out that I seriously got into gaming. SMB, Legend of Zelda, Ninja Gaiden (and Clu Clu Land!!!) played a big part, sure. But then Nintendo Power gave away free copies of Dragon Quest… Final Fantasy came out right after… oh boy, that triggered my addiction to RPGs that still lives 20 years later!!

    I've said this before but my grandma bought a Turbo Grafx 16 on release day, and we played all the classics together, like Neutopia, Keith Courage, Dungeon Explorer (my first Atlus game!!!) and of course the Bonk's Adventure series. Hell she even subscribed to TurboPlay magazine. She was definitely the OG Grandma Hardcore. That little console and its multitap did a lot of good to my family! Such a shame that Hudson Soft are not capitalizing on their fantastic past.

  • http://www.reachforreset.com Celedin

    My first most vivid gaming memory would be playing Donkey Kong on the original GameBoy (and somehow deleting my father's save file) and playing a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fighting game on the SNES…

  • http://www.nakedsushi.net/ Louise

    Wow your grandma sounds awesome! Especially back then when gaming wasn't as popular as it is now.

  • Shuyin

    I started as a gamer with a ZX Spectrum. The 1st game i remember playing was Saboteur, which i used to play @a friend, before i got my own Spectrum. After countless Spectrum games (Nether Earth – the 1st RTS game; Archon; Smash TV; Sim City (this amazed me @the time); a Bruce Lee game and many many others) i got a PC.

    I must say, the golden age of gaming for me was represented by DOS. But my earliest gaming memories are connected to the ZX Spectrum.

  • matty

    I have the same experience as Jenni, 'cept it was later on when NES was already out. There's actually a picture of me when I was about 2 or 3 years old playing Duck Hunt with the Zapper!
    Games have always been there like cereal at breakfast.

  • Chow

    Can't remember my earliest gaming experience, but there are two possibilities:

    1) When my youngest uncle was living with us while he went to high school, he had this old computer with a monochrome green screen. The only identifiable thing about it that I can remember is that the attached monitor was made by Zenith. There were some games to play on it, off of 5″ floippies. Some games I sort of remember are Donkey Kong, some safari hunting game with quicksand and a tiger somewhere, ____ Lightfoot (which to this day I can't find any reference on), and a whole bunch of other games that are sort of on the tip of my tongue, but not there enough to describe.

    2) I remember going over to my cousin's place and playing on his computer, which had this really weird monitor that only had monochrome yellow for color. The only things I remember playing on that are Double Dragon, Exile, and some assorted platformers off of the 5″ floppies.

    —
    Console-wise, I started with the Master System. Most likely, my first game on that was Altered Beast. I think I was obsesses with Shinobi after a while, followed by Battle Outrun. Then my uncle bought me Double Dragon, which I still say is the best 8-bit version of DD, especially when compared to the NES version. I think the football game I had for the Master System taught me the rules of the game, through trial and error.

  • thaKingRocka

    pac-man was mine i think. i know we had an atari back then, but i don't remember what game i played first. the master system was the first system that was mine, and i loved it to death. black belt for life.

    my real reason for replying though is one of my favorite twin peaks moments:
    And the second penguin said,”Maybe I am.”

  • Aoshi00

    I think my first games were handhelds, Donkey Kong game watches and those of other variety I don't remember well. There was this Pac-Man machine w/ a screen in the middle, one person can play on one side and your opponent the other. I also played Adventure Island on the Master System at an friend's for a bit and was very envious, I would be excited every time I visited that place.

    My first console was of course the NES, or rather the red & wht Famicom, and the Disk System. Other than the obvious SMB, Contra, TMNT, etc, games that left an impression one me was that baby game, or Dino game shouting words, or there's this SD Dracula platformer. Actually I don't remember the titles, they come back to me when Siliconera posted articles about them and triggered my memory :) Also the Famicom has this quirky speaker on its second controller, so we would say make noises to distract the other player when playing w/ neighbors.

    Later I borrowed the PC-Engine (w/ CD-Rom add-on) to play the first Street Fighter, it was state-of-the-art at the time.

    Since I grew up in HK, I played a lot of Famicom turn-based RPGs based on anime, like Saint Seiya, Dragonball, & actually Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

    My first arcade game in the US, Kung Fu Master! I remember the grunts vividly, that game was wild.

  • http://veryimmature.blogspot.com geoff

    Pretty sure I started gaming in the womb.
    Other than that I think my first was the commodore 64 (ghostbusters was the first game I finished, I remember being freaked out that you could finish a game) followed quickly by the atari 2600.

    Pitfall 2 had 256 screens and at that time I thought that no one would ever make a bigger game.

  • http://denpanosekai.blogspot.com denpanosekai

    I have vivid memories of playing Adventure on a friend's Atari 2600. I thought the game sucked and have hated that generation to this day! It wasn't until the NES came out that I seriously got into gaming. SMB, Legend of Zelda, Ninja Gaiden (and Clu Clu Land!!!) played a big part, sure. But then Nintendo Power gave away free copies of Dragon Quest… Final Fantasy came out right after… oh boy, that triggered my addiction to RPGs that still lives 20 years later!!

    I've said this before but my grandma bought a Turbo Grafx 16 on release day, and we played all the classics together, like Neutopia, Keith Courage, Dungeon Explorer (my first Atlus game!!!) and of course the Bonk's Adventure series. Hell she even subscribed to TurboPlay magazine. She was definitely the OG Grandma Hardcore. That little console and its multitap did a lot of good to my family! Such a shame that Hudson Soft are not capitalizing on their fantastic past.

  • Celedin

    My first most vivid gaming memory would be playing Donkey Kong on the original GameBoy (and somehow deleting my father's save file) and playing a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fighting game on the SNES…

  • http://www.nakedsushi.net/ Louise

    Wow your grandma sounds awesome! Especially back then when gaming wasn't as popular as it is now.

  • Shuyin

    I started as a gamer with a ZX Spectrum. The 1st game i remember playing was Saboteur, which i used to play @a friend, before i got my own Spectrum. After countless Spectrum games (Nether Earth – the 1st RTS game; Archon; Smash TV; Sim City (this amazed me @the time); a Bruce Lee game and many many others) i got a PC.

    I must say, the golden age of gaming for me was represented by DOS. But my earliest gaming memories are connected to the ZX Spectrum.

  • http://twitter.com/matty_125 matty

    I have the same experience as Jenni, 'cept it was later on when NES was already out. There's actually a picture of me when I was about 2 or 3 years old playing Duck Hunt with the Zapper!
    Games have always been there like cereal at breakfast.

  • Chow

    Can't remember my earliest gaming experience, but there are two possibilities:

    1) When my youngest uncle was living with us while he went to high school, he had this old computer with a monochrome green screen. The only identifiable thing about it that I can remember is that the attached monitor was made by Zenith. There were some games to play on it, off of 5″ floippies. Some games I sort of remember are Donkey Kong, some safari hunting game with quicksand and a tiger somewhere, ____ Lightfoot (which to this day I can't find any reference on), and a whole bunch of other games that are sort of on the tip of my tongue, but not there enough to describe.

    2) I remember going over to my cousin's place and playing on his computer, which had this really weird monitor that only had monochrome yellow for color. The only things I remember playing on that are Double Dragon, Exile, and some assorted platformers off of the 5″ floppies.

    —
    Console-wise, I started with the Master System. Most likely, my first game on that was Altered Beast. I think I was obsesses with Shinobi after a while, followed by Battle Outrun. Then my uncle bought me Double Dragon, which I still say is the best 8-bit version of DD, especially when compared to the NES version. I think the football game I had for the Master System taught me the rules of the game, through trial and error.

  • thaKingRocka

    pac-man was mine i think. i know we had an atari back then, but i don't remember what game i played first. the master system was the first system that was mine, and i loved it to death. black belt for life.

    my real reason for replying though is one of my favorite twin peaks moments:
    And the second penguin said,”Maybe I am.”

  • Aoshi00

    I think my first games were handhelds, Donkey Kong game watches and those of other variety I don't remember well. There was this Pac-Man machine w/ a screen in the middle, one person can play on one side and your opponent the other. I also played Adventure Island on the Master System at a friend's for a bit and was very envious, I would be excited every time I visited that place.

    My first console was of course the NES, or rather the red & wht Famicom, and the Disk System. Other than the obvious SMB, Contra, TMNT, etc, games that left an impression one me was that baby game, or Dino game shouting words, or there's this SD Dracula platformer. Actually I don't remember the titles, they come back to me when Siliconera posted articles about them and triggered my memory :) Also the Famicom has this quirky speaker on its second controller, so we would say make noises to distract the other player when playing w/ neighbors.

    Later I borrowed the PC-Engine (w/ CD-Rom add-on) to play the first Street Fighter, it was state-of-the-art at the time.

    Since I grew up in HK, I played a lot of Famicom turn-based RPGs based on anime, like Saint Seiya, Dragonball, & actually Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

    My first arcade game in the US, Kung Fu Master! I remember the grunts vividly, that game was wild.

  • http://veryimmature.blogspot.com geoff

    Pretty sure I started gaming in the womb.
    Other than that I think my first was the commodore 64 (ghostbusters was the first game I finished, I remember being freaked out that you could finish a game) followed quickly by the atari 2600.

    Pitfall 2 had 256 screens and at that time I thought that no one would ever make a bigger game.

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