Where it all started
By Bricu | April 13, 2012
During the relaunch discussions, I came to realize that I can trace my love of story based games to one specific Nintendo game:
The Legend of Zelda was not an RPG like the Final Fantasy series, but it was the first video game I remember thinking “This is a story I dig.” Granted, I was around nine when the game came out, and the story is pretty simple: Build the McGuffin, save the girl. But the original Zelda was the first game I remember playing where the story seemed to matter: Unlike Super Mario Brothers, you could WIN the Legend of Zelda. So I played this game, shared strategies with my friends and scoured the map for as many of the secret passages as I could.
And I loved every minute of it.
Zelda was the gateway to pen and paper RPGs, console RPGs, comics, and computer games. I still remember my friends telling me that D&D was like, “playing Zelda with your friends, without a TV.” For this reason alone, this game will always hold a place in my heart.
What about you? What was your introduction into this wonderful world of nerddom?!
4 Comments
Thyanel on April 13, 2012 at 12:52 pm.
D&D was definitely the gateway drug for me. I’d love to be able to say it was console game of some sort, but I never had a console growing up. My cousin did, and I got to play with it every time the family went to visit (which wasn’t often), but my cousin really loved fighting games. Those were the only sorts of games he had, and I was never really good at them. Besides, I was more into reading my fantasy novels, anyway.
That’s how I made most of my friends in school. We bonded over similar books and one of the people in our circle was apparently a DM, or wanted to be at least. I can’t remember. Anyway, he posed the idea of all of us getting together and playing. I wasn’t really sure at first, considering I hadn’t done anything like it before, but the second we got into it, I had the time of my life. I’ve been hooked ever since.
Kel on April 15, 2012 at 4:26 am.
The first game I can remember playing on my PS was Dark Crystal (I think that’s what it was called). Then came Legend of Dragoon, Suikoden, Chrono Cross, & Final Fantasy (starting at 7). For PC, Baldur’s Gate and Icewind Dale, Dungeon Siege, and Neverwinter Nights. I had a LOT of free time back then.
I think Suikoden is still my favorite. That one part with Gremio still makes me want to cry.
Bricu on April 16, 2012 at 12:02 pm.
Zelda was my gateway drug, but when I started playing D&D in the 7th grade, I was hooked. We played at least once a week…and I think I may have been playing a game of some sort at last once a week since 7th grade.
That’s a lot of weeks.
Pingback: Where It All Started: Not Quite D&D « WTT: [RP]