It's time for my third entry in the Retro Gaming Blogging Challenge. Todays topic is a tough one. Not because there aren't any games I've completed. Rather on the contrary. There's so many games I've played and completed that it's hard to pick just a few. I'm gonna have to limit myself on this one.
I'll start out with the first game I ever completed and end the post on the game that meant the most to complete. I'll write a short summary on each one.
Super Mario World
The first video game I ever owned was, coincidentally, also the first video game I ever completed. I was hooked on this game from the start. Even though it took me some time I did end up finishing it in the end. Since then I've finished it many times over. I won't go anymore in detail on this one as it's all already listed in my post from yesterday, linked in the beginning of this paragraph.
Pokemon Yellow
This one is special to me. I was gifted my stepfathers original Game Boy that he wasn't using anymore. He only had Tetris to play on it.
While visiting my grandfather one summer we were checking out a toy store. I found the awesome looking game called Pokemon Yellow and it was priced at only 50NOK (6$). I was ecstatic as I had exactly 50NOK in my pocket. Turned out the last zero had faded from the price tag and it was actually 500NOK (58$).
My grandfather paid up for the rest. I was so happy. I had all these Pokemon cards already and I had been watching the TV anime for months. Finally I could delve into this world on my own.
This one was rough. I spent months just trying to beat the first gym, featuring Brock as the leader. I was not a tactical genius at the time. Seeing as Brock used rock type Pokemon and in Pokemon Yellow you start with Pikachu, a lightning type, the matching was hard.
Eventually I grew some IQ and figured it out. I leveled a Nidoran, a Pidgey and a Caterpie and I managed to finally progress. The barrier was understanding type matching. From there on out it was easier to go on to beat the game.
Source: Nintendo Life
Golden Sun | Golden Sun: The Lost Age
The two Golden Sun games were something special. I played these on my Game Boy Advance. I actually played them in reverse order. I had seen Golden Sun: The Lost Age in a magazine and received it for Christmas.
I played this for the longest time before I eventually beat it. There were a lot of barriers in this one. A lot of challenging puzzles and a lot of hard bosses. I played this in a time where I never used utility skills in any games. I was all about that damage. That probably didn't help.
Eventually, after being stuck on the last boss for ages I managed to beat it. That feeling of beating a game after having played it non stop for months is something special.
You can say I was excited when I found out there was another game in the series. I found out from a friend who had it and we swapped cartridges. I was quite shocked when he beat the game in short of a month after having spent several months on it myself.
I actually replayed these games when I was in the military. I was sick and confined to the sickbay for a week. I downloaded an emulator on my Samsung Galaxy S4 and I managed to finish the first game. I finished the second game some time after being released.
These games are long as well. According to HowLongToBeat the main story of the first game clocks in at 22 hours while the second game clocks in at 31 hours. That's quite decent.
Source: Golden Sun Fandom
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
This is the big one. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time really is something special. I remember being in total awe of those awesome graphics. This was the first game in which I experienced 3D. A whole new world was unlocked.
I remember playing this at my friends house for the first time. I was absolutely terrified. Leaving Kokiri Forest for the first time and encountering the Stalchilds. I was shitting myself.
It wasn't until years later when I got my own Nintendo 64 that I got to properly play it. Luckily I was older and the Stalchilds didn't terrify me as much. It still took a lot of time. The world was huge, at least for it's time, and the game was hard.
I remember being stuck in the dreaded Water Temple for what felt like ages. When I finally beat that temple it felt like I had beaten a whole game on it's own.
I've always had a thing where I never let anyone help me in games. I refuse to take any help. I'm gonna do this on my own. This is something that lingers in me to this day. I never use any guides when playing games. If i'm gonna buy a game why would I let anyone else play it for me? I'll take some tips, sure, but that's it.
The pride I felt when I finally got to the top of Ganon's Castle was immense. Believe it or not but I actually managed to beat Ganon on my first try. Probably through sheer luck.
Source: Zelda Gamepedia
I could keep this list going but it has to stop somewhere. These are the games that made the biggest impact on me to finish. I hope you enjoyed reading my short stories. I'm looking forward to the next entries in this challenge. I check #retrogamingchallenge several times a day to read all the awesome entries. You should to!
You can find my earlier entries here:
My first video game console | Retro Gaming Blogging Challenge #1
My first video game | Retro Gaming Blogging Challenge #2
If you like my content and want to see more of it feel free to follow me and check out my Twitter Account that I just made. I'll be sharing all my posts there when they go up alongside other quality content I find on Hive.