Games That Stayed With You

[RestlessDreamer]

Fun question: What was the last game you played that had a lasting effect on you when you finished it? Like for days after you couldn't stop thinking about the ending or the experience you had. Maybe something like the final song from Bastion or the finale of Gone Home? Maybe something as simple as a plot twist (a la Bioshock)?

Of course, try to answer which game and why without going into too many spoilers! You want other people to be able to experience these golden moments for themselves, right?

[yell0wf0x]

2013: The Last of Us. That part with ellie looking at bill's porn stash was really memorable for me. 

2014: Southpark Stick of Truth. Man this game is so much win. Everything was funny and memorable. Especially that anal probe and aborted fetus scenes.

2015: Until Dawn. That time where ye try to kill off everyone, gives ye a feeling of delightful satisfaction. 

[Chrysocyon]

I haven't played a lot of newer games, but the last that I can think of that stuck with me is The Dog Island on Wii.  I picked that game up as a joke thinking it was going to be terrible, but it was actually really cool. And then it got suddenly depressing and existential in the end.  I was not ready for such a cute game to get so serious.

Before that, Ghost Trick on the DS.  It was a very plot twisty game, I can't even begin to talk about it without giving spoilers, but I will just say that I shed man tears at the end of it.

Honourable mention to Silent Hill 2 on PS2.  That game haunted me for a long time.

Edited November 4, 2015 by Chrysocyon

[RestlessDreamer]

I haven't played a lot of newer games, but the last that I can think of that stuck with me is The Dog Island on Wii.  I picked that game up as a joke thinking it was going to be terrible, but it was actually really cool. And then it got suddenly depressing and existential in the end.  I was not ready for such a cute game to get so serious.

Before that, Ghost Trick on the DS.  It was a very plot twisty game, I can't even begin to talk about it without giving spoilers, but I will just say that I shed man tears at the end of it.

Honourable mention to Silent Hill 2 on PS2.  That game haunted me for a long time.

I teared up constantly during the last 30 minutes of Ghost Trick. Mostly dealing with Sissel's story conclusion and identity revelations. Was pretty moved by it. 

[Azu]

Grand Theft Auto III shaped a large range of my current interests. Especially considering that I played it at a relatively young age.

MSX FM, Rise FM, Head Radio, K-Jah, Lips 106, Game FM. All of these in-game stations center around specific musical genres that I still love and listen to on an almost daily basis. Drum and bass, trance, 90s pop, dub, hiphop. My love for all of these genres stemmed from this one game, and not only that, I've expanded into various other genres thanks to the foundation that GTA 3 created for me. From Drum and bass, I found jungle, techstep and neurofunk. From trance, I found various forms of house and techno. From dub, I found reggae and ragga-jungle, from hiphop I found alternative rap, electro-funk and breakbeat. I could go on forever!

In terms of the visual side of things, the dark and gritty, industrialized atmosphere and design of GTA 3's Liberty City is a benchmark to what I consider my 'taste' in maps, locations, atmosphere and even aesthetic. Aforementioned taste has lead me to find an appreciation for cities and locations such as Detroit, Manhattan, London, The Bronx, Brooklyn, etc. From my appreciation of these locations, stems an interest in other media set in locations with similar atmospheres such as The Sopranos, John Wick, Hackers, etc.

Graphic design and fashion tastes? Still to this day, I admire the look of early 2000s / late 90s graphic design due to GTA 3 being set in that era, and my own character is even reflective of that to some extent. The shaggy, urban look which was considered cool for a good part of the late 90s, with baggy clothing, a chill attitude and rasta traits. I still adore darker, baggy clothing. Cargo pants, hoodies. All that urban stuff, you know?

In summary, the foundation that GTA 3 created allowed me to expand my horizons more so than any other piece of media ever has. I can safely say that no other game has ever had such a profound impact on me.

Edited November 4, 2015 by Azurex

[Tsuujou]

Contra 4. 

Best DS game I ever played. It even got me into WayForward's other games which...don't compare to me honestly. 

[Alexxx-Returns]

Ocarina of Time stayed with me so much I got a tattoo of it.

[Vaer]

No particular order:

• Final Fantasy IX - Its themes of death, life, and existence struck a chord with me.
• Xenogears - The main character's struggles of identity, role in life, and acceptance of his destiny helped shape me today. And it had Giant Robots, Martial Arts, crazy religions, and aliens.
                               I replay this title a lot.
• Chrono Series - Too much to explain.
• Megaman Legends 1&2 - Megaman's background and story hit home.
                                I replay 2 often.
• Breath of Fire series (mostly 3&4) - Ryu was just always one of my favorite silent heroes.
• Final Fantasy VII Crisis Core - It filled some plot while adding a bunch of blah but seeing Zack's story first hand...UGHH...**tear**
• Brave Fencer Musashi - Loved the story. Samurai, Knights, Magic, and Technology?! 
• Front Mission 3 - More giant robots.

Edited November 4, 2015 by Vaer

[Dijon]

Secret of Mana

Morrowind

Silent Hill 2

I still can't stop thinking about Undertale I don't want it to be over ;v;

[Sourdough]

Terranigma, Metal Gear Solid 3, and Paper Mario: TTYD. Only games that made me stop and think for a while, either about how the ending affected me (Terranigma and MGS3) or how fun the whole experience was (Paper Mario: TTYD).

[Dijon]

Terranigma, Metal Gear Solid 3, and Paper Mario: TTYD. Only games that made me stop and think for a while, either about how the ending affected me (Terranigma and MGS3) or how fun the whole experience was (Paper Mario: TTYD).

YOOOOOO TERRANIGMA IS THE SHIT

 

[Zerig]

Morrowind

the actual gameplay has not aged well, but

dat setting

dat lore

perfect

[Kinare]

As honestly boring as it was to force myself through it, the original FEAR stayed with me, though it is starting to fade now. I have no idea why, because it was just really repetitive and irritating, no real scares. Am near done with the 2nd one and it hasn't had near the same effect and is still just as boring, though there's more attempt at skeery things. It might simply be because I played through the entire first game in just 3 or so days, and it's a long game for how repetitive it is. 11 hours in the original, then both DLC campaigns were 7 hours each, so a total of 25 hours. It was such a relief to be done, but for some reason I missed it.

Am at 7 hours clocked into the 2nd one, so I figure at max I'll be around 10 hours when finished. That's significantly less than the first game, so despite all the forcing myself through this one as well, I don't think it will stick with me much and I'm really hoping the 3rd game gets interesting because I'm quite sick of forcing myself through these games just to get them off of my list of HDD hogs that need to be played ASAP. ><

Otherwise, two older examples that have really stayed with me are Dragon Warrior 3 and Final Fantasy 6. There's other games that stuck with me for maybe a month or two after, but nothing like these.

[Imperial Impact]

or the finale of Gone Home?

[RestlessDreamer]

Heh. Hey, I liked the ending of Gone Home. To each his own.

[Sourdough]

YOOOOOO TERRANIGMA IS THE SHIT

 

Terranigma is indeed the shit. The gameplay is easily the best on the SNES, the story and setting are unique, and that ending. Oh God, that ending.

[Jerry]

Dat feel when so unskilled you can't finish a game ;___;

[RTDragon]

Hmm let's see.

Illusion of Gaia considering since i did'nt realize what i was playing till years later it was the second part of a series of games on the SNES.

Final Fantasy 3/6 -The game that really introduced me to RPG's.

Super Ninja Boy (Super Chinese World- Something that was rather unusual for a video game RPG Like but combat was different.

Beyond the Beyond. This was interesting considering the plot and the main character has a dragon for a partner.

 

I'll post a bit more when i think about it.

[Aresh]

I didnt really get much opportunity to play games when I was young but

the classic I spy games, Pokemon snap, the twilight zone pinball table, actually a lot of arcade games I cant remember the name of

 

also AC: black flag totally ripped off a pirate game I had by discovery channel on our shitty 90s pc and I love it

[Luca]

Metroid Prime, I always end up going back to this game every few years. It's honestly my favorite game.

 

Phendrana drifts is my a e s t h e t i c 

[Vaer]

Phendrana drifts is my a e s t h e t i c 

YASSSSSS.

 

[Paws the Gryphon]

Paradroid '90 on the ol' Amiga.

Why has this not been remade?

[Sarcastic Coffeecup]

I only fairly recently played To The Moon a couple of months ago, but I can already tell it's going to have a long lasting effect.

It has already gotten me into origami, and the soundtrack is just phenomenal and calms you down like no other. The story was a real tearjerker too.

[Hewge]

Warcraft 3

World of Warcraft

Starcraft

Starcraft II

Ori and the Blind Forest

 

[Zaraphayx]

Off the top of my head:

Morrowind, Starcraft, Warcraft 3, KOTOR, Skyrim.

[Twopaw Tarnished-Silver]

I suspect I would pick Morrowind, Oblivion and Skyrim as three if I'd begun playing them, but here are the ones I know for sure:

A) StarCraft: Brood War (completed): I still remember the finishing cinematic where Gerard (the Admiral retreating, unsuccessfully, back to Earth) commits suicide at the end of the game, shortly after posting a final communication to his wife and children back on Earth, then the haunting music right before the credits, detailing the very, very early teaser (at least in intent) that would come around regarding the Xel'Naga, Kerrigan's evolution as a Zerg-human hybrid and master of the swarm, and who that unusual Firebat in the final Protoss missions really worked for, ten years down the road with Starcraft II. If I can ever get StarCraft working properly in Windows 7, I will finish the game from back to front just to see that ending again.

B) Neverwinter Nights 2 (unfinished): I have rarely played a game like Neverwinter played that was based directly on a major book-and-paper RPG that stuck with me the way NWN did. I quite honestly examined blades of grass, and trees which didn't seem to be a repeated model in-game, because I kept reminding myself: ''I won't be coming this way again.'' It sank deep in me, and it felt so good to suspend my disbelief at my computer that it really didn't need to make sense most of the time, the same way a good RPG would. Aside from an aforementioned gaming session, I don't think I have ever in my life or gaming part of it, anyway, took to heart an RPG like I took Neverwinter Nights. I think the book-and-paper parallel for me would be the AD&D boxed set 'The Temple Of Elemental Evil', where even the first bit of flavour text regarding that chunk of Greyhawk was detailed with a depth that, again, it really sunk into my heart and has stayed there since. In the same way, I looked around in the Village of Hommlett and silently understood that I would not see any of it or the people in it, oblivious to my unease, as it were, ever again.

-2Paw.