Games that evoke acute nostalgia for you.

[Prolepro]

One of the more powerful effects of gaming for younger generations are the intense associative memories of gaming with their childhood. Being a child of the late 90's and early 00's, I've been gaming as long as my memory can recall and many of the most powerful memories of that time are spent gaming. Just hearing the soundtrack of many games in passing evokes intense emotions of nostalgia that are often powerful enough for me to just stop whatever I'm doing and think back to those times.

The soundtracks for games I spent the most time playing like World of Warcraft, Morrowind, or Fable, in this way, have become a nostalgic minefield for me to navigate. The intensity of the emotions often becomes too much for me to handle and I can't listen to them for long.

These moments of acute nostalgia sometimes keep me up at night thinking about all the time I spent in those worlds. Sometimes it's accompanied by regret, but not for the quantity of time spent but the passing nature of that time which has long since left. And. on top of that, the fact that I can replay these games to this day yet cannot recapture the fulfillment of those massive imprints left by the time spent playing them.

Which games evoke this kind of nostalgia for you?

 

[solari]

Dragon Ball Z: Legendary Super Warriors was a huge game from my childhood my best friend and I were obsessed with at the time for quite a few years. Pokemon RBY & GSC also bring back a lot of nostalgia for me as Pokemon was the first game series I got really into as a kid.

 

[GamerJM]

Pokemon Red. Really the entire first three gens of Pokemon, in their own way, though Red probably the most. Gen 1 reminds me of one of my first in-depth experiences with a video game and the complete and utter cultural phenomenon that was Pokemon from 98-2000. Gen 2 reminds me of the absurd amount of time I pumped into those games in the Summer of 2001 (100+ hours,which was a lot for me as a kid with limited gaming time). Gen 3 reminds me more of the exact personal experience I had with that gen, as that was the one where I really communicated with a couple of friends to trade, battle, and exchange team building strategies. All three games just remind me of youth.

 

[Wong Kar Why]

the first two halos have a special place in my heart. so many good memories playing with friends.

 

[Father Kratos]

Even though I had been playing games much earlier than that, HL2 has this kind of impact on me. The music that comes up when Valve logo pops up on the screen....still use my PS3 to play orange box every now n then to take a stroll in the streets of Ravenholm.

 

[Anno]

Whenever this plays:

 

[tellNoel]

Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest.
And when I get to Stickerbrush Symphony, shit gets real nostalgic

Either that or Windwaker and when I get to Dragon Roost Isle or out on the Great Sea

 

[SCB360]

GTA Vice City, that soundtrack....Man that could be the GotY soundtrack, spending days on end replaying that game when I was, what 14 years old, those days were great

 

[EndlessNever]

 

[Hippopuncher12]

Whenever this plays:

Click to shrink...

Oh man, yeah for sure.

Still have the game installed and I will log on occasionally just to run around Qeynos. Good times.

 

[Cantaim]

The battle network games. Those things were a lifestyle for me and my friends growing up.

 

[DrKelpo]

Anno 1602, Grim Fandango and the first Rollercoaster Tycoon... so many memories <3

 

[100%TrophyMaster]

Dragon Quest as a series does this for me. One of the first games I ever played was the original 'Dragon Warrior' on NES which came with a Nintendo power subscription. The series has a certain charm to it that always gets me nostalgic. The music and graphical style are very consistent throughout the series and I think that adds to the feeling of familiarity.

 

[spad3]

I'm just gonna leave this right here...

 

[Goldboy]

Pokemon

 

[Grapezard]

Pokemon Colosseum was the first video game I'd ever played, since I'd started playing kind of late into my childhood. I still listen to the soundtrack once in a while.

Blew my mind when I learned that I could catch wild Pokemon in FireRed.

 

[Trago]

My dad rented a lot of games for me as a kid, so I would spend a lot of time with different games from time to time. I'd ask to rent certain games again like Grandia and Final Fantasy IX so I could finish them. Pretty much anything from the 5th and 6th generation of consoles gets that kind of reaction outta me.

 

[Tuco Benedicto Pacifico]

Any footage of Ultima.

 

[vortz]

Blue Shadow on NES. Better than ninja gaiden.

 

[Pygrus]

The Legend of Zelda on the NES was where gaming really sunk its teeth into me as a kid. Any time I hear the main theme I am hit with waves of nostalgia.

 

[The Unsent]

Yoshi's Island and Ocarina of Time, I think it's because both games are about growth, with Link as a child, leaving the forest, discovering he's Hylian, not forever a child like the Kokiri, and Yoshi's Island because it's about the birth of a hero and looks like a bed time story come to life.

 

[Deleted member 37233]

My first real gaming experience and to this day the best game in it's franchise. I will never forget the voice of the narrator and the perfectly selected music.

 

[Deleted member 7450]

Never owned one, but the Dreamcast invokes the feeling more than any games that are very close to my heart.

Can't explain why. I've only borrowed from a friend once and had very little time with it.

But there is just something about the menu sounds, the cd he had with a snes emulator and a bunch of games, and I dunno what it is, fucking weird.

 

[FRS1987]

Final Fantasy VII. I can still hear it echoing on my old tube television in my old living room, I can still hear the Play Station boot-up sound too. I have fond memories of the Play Station and it was my primary system for many years and nothing was able to replicate that feeling again.

 

[sinonobu]

Pokemon Gold / Silver ost.

It was one of the very first games I've ever played.

 

[Pascal]

Hearing the Ristar soundtrack always gives me that warm nostalgic feeling. This song in particular:

 

[FFNB]

Quite a few, really:

Super Mario Bros 2: back when it came out, it blew me away how different it was from the original Super Mario Bros, and I remember me and my friends hanging out for hours trying to master it.

Super Mario Bros 3: another game changer for me. The scope of the world, the gameplay additions, and the return to a more familiar mushroom kingdom setting, great graphics and memorable Koopalings. There's a reason it's on my list of favorite games of all time. So good.

Castlevania 1-3. I remember vividly how I felt and where I was the first I saw and played each one. Just watching a Let's Play of any of them fills me with wistful nostalgia and great memories.

Super Mario World, Super Castlevania IV: both are tied to memories that have become bitter sweet for me. I remember going over my cousins house and him firing up his Super Nintendo and popping in these beauties. I was poor, and couldn't afford an SNES, so trips to his house were always extra fun. Didn't hurt that he was well off and had all of the toys and gaming systems I only dreamed of having. We'd stay up all night having a blast. Sadly, he died in a car accident when we were in our early twenties. I still miss him over a decade later, and playing both Super Mario World and Super CV feels me with both joy and melancholy.

Chrono Trigger: I played both it and Final Fantasy III/VI the same year, on a classmates borrowed SNES, but it was Chrono Trigger that got me hooked on the genre. I still play it once a year, and each time I fall in love with all over again, or pick up on some little detail I missed or overlooked since the last playthrough. It tops my chart of favorite games of all time, along with the next game on my list:

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. What a departure from Super CV IV, and is probably my favorite game of all time, tied with Chrono Trigger. I still remember the first time I fired up this game, playing it on my brother in law's PlayStation, clutching the strategy guide I bought for it and just being blown away by what I was playing.

Metal Gear Solid: I was 18 when this game came out, and I had never played anything like it. I thought the story was excellent and mature, the cinematic presentation unlike any other game before it, the cast of characters memorable and iconic, the boss battles mind-blowing, the graphics incredible, just everything about MGS1 floored me. I had no idea how high the series would get from there, or how it'd hold such a special place in my heart, but playing the Shadow Moses stage in MGSIV brought unexpected tears to my eyes because of the flood of nostalgia I felt revisiting that area literally 10 years later. I was 18 for MGS1, 28 for MGS4, and it was a fantastically emotional moment for me. I can still play OG PS1 MGS1 and get swept up in those fond memories of playing it in front of my mom and her remarking that it's "just like a movie!" Lol.

I'll say that not as much from the PS3 to PS4 era hits me with as much nostalgia. Perhaps the Uncharted series, especially Uncharted 4, which was such a beautiful close to the Nathan Drake saga. Lost Legacy was excellent, and I'd love to see Chloe and Nadine carry the series forward.

Some PS2 games like Shadow of the Colossus (playing the remake on the PS4 has been a delight and very nostalgic), MGS2 and 3, God of War, The Mark of Kri, GTA3, Vice City, San Andreas, etc all give me a bit of nostalgia too, but nothing as potent as the games I highlighted above.

It's been one of the many joys of my life to see this industry go from Pitfall on the Atari, to where it is now. To have experienced the evolution of the industry through many decades, and to now be a part of the gaming industry myself, hopefully having a little hand in shaping a few nostalgic memories for another generation of gamers.

 

[TheDarkKnight]

Final Fantasy 7. It's not my favorite FF, but it seems to be the one that really hits me when i replay it, see footage for it, or listen to the OST.

I guess its signified what was going on for me in college at the time, the signal of the PSOne and what that meant to me as a long time gamer. I dunno. But it gets me

 

[SLB1904]

Latest Kirby trailer feels like all greatest hits from 90s combine

And I never played Kirby before

 

[Deleted member 1635]

Whenever this plays:

Click to shrink...

Damn, you're quick. Came in to post the same thing. Really anything EverQuest (well, through 2005 or so) evokes a great deal of nostalgia and fond memories.

 

[Deleted member 4532]

Anything from the first four generations of Pokemon. I could only get new games on birthdays and Christmas so all my attention went towards the games and the anime series.

 

[Quakeguy]

FF7
Grandia
Shenmue

 

[Aurongel]

DOOM.

Beating the spider mastermind with the help of my dad will forever be one of my favorite memories in this life.

 

[BornRZA]

Jet Set Radio on the Dreamcast evokes it the strongest for me. There's just something about that game and console in general that brings back a flood of memories from my early teens. Some of the best times of my life so far...
Close 2nd would be Halo: Combat Evolved

 

[Spartacris]

Link to the past, Super Metroid and the original StarFox come to mind.

 

[nightstalker962]

A few of those mid 2000s PS2/Xbox games like Sly, Ratchet, Halo 2, KOTOR. Fun times.

 

[gnilres]

Pokemon Red. Really the entire first three gens of Pokemon, in their own way, though Red probably the most. Gen 1 reminds me of one of my first in-depth experiences with a video game and the complete and utter cultural phenomenon that was Pokemon from 98-2000. Gen 2 reminds me of the absurd amount of time I pumped into those games in the Summer of 2001 (100+ hours,which was a lot for me as a kid with limited gaming time). Gen 3 reminds me more of the exact personal experience I had with that gen, as that was the one where I really communicated with a couple of friends to trade, battle, and exchange team building strategies. All three games just remind me of youth.

Click to shrink...

This also eerily accurately describes my life

 

[iceblade]

The Sims 1 and Sim City 3000. Spent AGES playing both games and even now the soundtracks bring me back to those childhood memories, which is helpful (and precious) because I can't seem to remember very much of my childhood at all.

 

[IIFloodyII]

Bully is probably the biggest. Though pretty much all of Rockstars' PS2 stuff are massive nostalgia bumps for me.
As does Super Mario 64, Goldeneye 64, Crash 1, 2, 3, MGS 1, 2, 3, a bunch of Pokemon games, Crash Team Racing and Mario Kart 64.

 

[Oscillator]

Can't get more acute than the first game I ever loved:

 

[Outrun]

It has to be Outrun.

When I was young, I used to get depressed because of the dreary weather in the UK. The soul of Outrun, from its blue skies, to its Ferrari Testerossa and OST always cheered me up.

 

[LucasMonclar]

Super Mario World, Einhänder, Pokémon Gold/Silver in my childhood.

Further, in my adolescence, definitely Fifa Street and DBZ: Budokai 3. I used to spend entire weekends playing them.

Those were the times...

 

[Kaji AF16]

Captain Tsubasa 2: Super Strikers (Tecmo, NES, 1990), which is my favorite game of all time. I have been playing it on NES clones or emulators for the last 28 years. I knew it being a seven-year-old kid and it remains the single most important videogame in my life.

That said, I am also particularly nostalgic for several Mega Drive and mid-to-late nineties PC games.

 

[BouncyFrag]

Anytime I hear the camp theme from Dragon Age Origins.

 

[Silvergun-Blue]

A huge one for me is the file select screen from Shining Force 3 and it's music, Ishahacut's Room.

Chrono trigger, from the moment those seagulls cry out during the panning shot at the beginning, I'm in my happy place. If I want to get straight up emotional, I'll listen to To Faraway Times.

Other game ost's include Super Castlevania and the SNES Versions of Sim City and Lemmings.

 

[Calaius]

There are probably others and it's not to the point where I can't listen for too long, but yeah, the vanilla WoW soundtrack, I'm with you OP, it's right up there. Nostalgia hits me in the chest and in the feels everytime.

 

[KainXVIII]

Will play them until death!
Dizzy 1

Kyrandia

LBA

 

[Terraforce]

Hearing certain soundtracks from Mega Man Battle Network, Kingdom Hearts 2, and Pokemon Gold/Silver really evokes some strong nostalgia from me. Some almost make me tear up a bit.

For example:

 

[Deleted member 9971]

Zelda Twilight Princess i nearly cry if i see that main menu intro or hear the field theme or midnas lament + the games ending (final goodbye with midna). Also thost moments where wolf link howls old themes especially song of healin and zeldas lullaby.

"Link.... i love you" is my headcanon.

Oh and the lost woods + temple of time theme.

So alot in that game

Reason is i played this game through as a kid multiple times with friends so that was certainly special it also is the only zelda game my sister liked. I myself also enjoyed it immensely.

So all of these reasons is why i have Zelda TP tattoo's you can see em in my era profile bio. I replay the game once every 6 or so months.

 

[carlosrox]

The PS1 in particular is hugely nostalgic for me. That system had such an identity it's not even funny. Super 90's, in the best way!

And this wasn't even the console I played the most or grew up with in particular! I was 12 or so when we ended up getting the PS1 a few years after launch. It was our (me and my older brothers) first non-Nintendo system aside from a Game Gear we dabbled with briefly!! Maybe it being something so unique for us helps that feeling of standing out from the rest.

But yeah, PS1 games just had such an identity. Tomb Raider, Tobal, Suikoden, Vandal Hearts, RE1, Powerslave, etc.

The PS1 just felt so "early 3D"/experimental to me, I love it.

It somehow fills me with more nostalgia than even the NES, SNES, or N64.