Back in ye olde half-a-year or so ago, someone made a thread on the fighting games section about the first fighting games people played. That thread hasn't updated in over 3 months, but it just came to my mind to ask a similar question, but in various genres outside fighters.
List the genre, the game, and whatever you want to say about that game.
For me, it consists of the following
List the genre, the game, and whatever you want to say about that game.
For me, it consists of the following
Visual Novels: Katawa Shoujo
I downloaded this game out of curiosity and to see if it could help me deal with the emotional problems I was having. Long story short, the idea was to see if the game could help me let those emotions out so I could get it out of my system. Not entirely sure if it worked, but it really got me into VNs as a whole, and is still my favorite of the bunch. The first time I played it, it was about 9 PM, and when I looked up at the clock, it was 2 AM, that's how into it I got.
RPGs: PokemonWhat kid in the 90s and early 2000s didn't play Pokemon? I had a lot of fun with Red and Silver when I was a wee lad of 7, and I had also never legitimately beaten the elite 4 in any of the games until Pokemon X, but that's because the exp share made the game so easy. I'm not really that into Pokemon any more, but it did serve as a gateway into Turn-Based RPGs for me, which helped me fall in love with Dragon Quest, Arc Rise Fantasia, and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone on Game Boy Color (which is surprisingly great and more loyal to the book than the movie).
Puzzle Games: Hexcite: The Shapes of VictoryI guarantee none of y'all have heard of this one. I played the hell out of this game as a kid (and I still sucked at it). The design of the game was pretty good, you have a board composed of 7 hexagons made from tons of little triangles. You need to fill as much of the board as possible while blocking your opponent (or the computer) to make sure they lose points at the end of the round. Sadly, my copy broke, but I will always have fond memories of this one.
Beat 'em Ups: Star Wars: Return of the Sith (GBA)I got this game as a birthday present (which was also the day the movie came out), and I loved it. This is actually a really good beat 'em up which more people really need to play. The gameplay is fun, the controls are perfect, the spritework is beautifully detailed, the duels are fun, and overall it's a good time. If you find this game for even 20 bucks, it's well worth it, even if you didn't like the movie (and I know a lot of people didn't like the movie).
Racing Games: Mario Kart Super CircuitTechnically, I had played Mario Kart 64 first, but I never owned it and don't remember getting all that into it. Super Circut however, was a different beast for me. I spent hours as a kid mastering each track, the rather slippery movement, and humming several of the songs while on the bus to school (between people stabbing my head with uncapped pens, that it).
Platformers: The Jungle Book (Game Boy Color)Again, technically this isn't the first one, but I never got past the first world of Super Mario World as a kid, and I didn't own it. This game was the first platformer I legitimately played and was able to actually get somewhere. It's another movie based game, and a surprisingly good one. Tight controls, great graphics for a GBC title, decent challenge and enjoyable music. I still pop this into my GBC on occasion to take Mowgli for a run through the jungle with no shoes.
Adventure Games: Freddi Fish & RivenI don't actually remember which of these I played first since it was so long ago, though I don't think it matters which one it was, since they're both quality games. I could never get very far in Riven as a kid, and even as an adult, I still can't get very far. Freddi Fish was a game I could play with no serious issues as a kid, though that was the point since it was a Humongous Entertainment Junior Adventure. I have so many memories of Humongous Entertainment, and they're still one of my favorite game companies ever for how good their games are for edutainment games. If/When I have kids, I will make sure to have them play at least one Junior Adventure, because I feel they are a fantastic introductory point for adventure games and puzzles that kids can enjoy before moving on to the big stuff.