Games that made me

I've been a gamer my whole life. Gaming has always been my biggest hobby and passion. But how did I become a gamer? Which games had the biggest impact on me? All of this and other things I want to talk about here.

1989 - 1996 How I became a Gamer

I still remember the moment vividly when I played my first Video Game. This might be the earliest memory of my life that I can remember. We were out with some friends of my parents. I must have been 3 or 4 years old. Those friends also had children, but they were mostly teenagers and they had a Game Gear with Sonic.

I had never seen a video game before, ofc with memories that long ago it gets a bit blurry from here on, but I remember them letting me play it for a bit. It felt like magic and ofc I was obsessed with Sonic from that point on.

This day really influenced my early gaming years. My parents got me a Game Gear and a Master System shortly after. I think Game Gear was first, but I'm not sure anymore. Sonic became my favorite Franchise back then. I played every single Sonic game that came out on the Game Gear and Master System. Back then, my Mum got into gaming too and also played Sonic and other games.

I will never forget how nervous we both got when she reached the last Level in one of the Sonic games. Something I never achieved back in the days. It all felt so exciting. I played a lot of different games back then, but another one I remember well is Bomberman. I freaking loved Bomberman!

Once in Kindergarten, I got asked what I like to do in my free time. Innocent me explained, “I like to play Bomberman!” Then the teacher asked me what that was. So I explained, “A game where you place bombs and destroy stuff”. Well, on that afternoon, my mum had to come to the Kindergarten and explain why her son plays a game about “bombs”. 

As someone who loved Sonic and Sega, I was very Anti-Nintendo as a child. Which is kinda ironic looking back now that I'm a huge Nintendo Fan. When my Friends spoke about how cool the Game Boy and the Super Nintendo are, I laughed it off. Sega had the better graphics! And the Game Boy was in green, while the Game Gear had games with color!

Well, this changed one evening. I don't remember exactly where, but a friend lent me his Game Boy. I think we were on a trip and I had no console with me, so I played with his. On it, I played the Game Boy port of Kid Icarus. I don't remember much about the game, but after this, I wanted a Game Boy. So I must have really liked it because this evening led me on the Path of Nintendo.

1997 - 2001 A Love for a Lifetime

I think somewhere in 1996, I got my first Game Boy. Tetris was, of course, a huge hit for my parents and me, but it was also the first time I played Zelda. Link's Awakening was a game that fascinated me back then. I couldn't read at this time, so my mum had to read the text for me. With her help and a lot of trial and error, I came far in the game. Even though I wouldn't beat it till years later.

Around this time, all the different things I loved became a bit of a blur, so I won't try to keep this in chronological order. Let's start with Pokemon. Pokemon was my life as a child! I don't even know how it was advertised, but I remember watching the Anime from Day One and also having both games, Red and Blue, from Day One. 

I studied all the names of the Pokemon, I had a guidebook for the games and completed both games alone. At this point, I had two Game Boys. The very old Game Boy and a Game Boy Color. So I could easily trade Pokemon with myself. I also had a Game Boy Printer and Game Boy Camera. With this, you could print yourself a document showing that you caught all 150 Pokemon! Damn, I was so proud. I remember the last Pokemon missing was Tauros.

But I wasn't just crazy about Pokemon. Back then, one of my favorite things to do was going to the flea markets with my parents. It was so easy to find cool Game Boy Games for a low price there. So I collected a lot of them and still own them all.

I also got a Super Nintendo for a short period of time. We bought a used one with a few games. I didn't keep it for long though, as something came up. I can't remember the full situation, but we got a chance to get a Nintendo 64. For that, I had to sell my Super Nintendo, which I did straight away ofc.

Playing N64 for the first time was again pure magic. I loved Mario 64, Mario Kart, Bomberman 64, Star Fox, Pokemon Stadium, Banjo-Kazooie and so on. However, all of this pales in comparison to my favorite game of all time, The Legend of - Zelda Ocarina of Time.

This was my Christmas gift in 1997. But I knew I would get it, so my mum allowed me to play it already before Christmas. However, I wasn't allowed to save the game, so my father wouldn't be able to find out. I played the beginning of the game multiple times. Zelda OoT was the first time in my life that gaming felt like a big and grand adventure to me.

This game was so filled with lore and secrets. I honestly feel playing Zelda back then had the biggest impact on my gaming taste. Till this day, the games I love the most are usually games about exploration, with a big world and lots of things to find. 

Through my love for OoT, I became a big Zelda expert back then. I remember how my friends after school would call me and ask me to help them with certain dungeons or puzzles. Zelda was everything to me back then. No matter if it was OoT and Majora's Mask on the N64, or Link's Awakening, Oracle of Ages and Season on the Gameboy. I loved it!

2001 - 2004 Becoming a modern Gamer

In some ways, 2001 to 2004 felt a little bit like gaming feels to me nowadays as well. I got the Gameboy Advance and the Gamecube Day One. Both I loved and till this day, they are some of my favorite consoles of all time.

The Game Boy Advance has a very special place in my heart. It helped me to get to know many of the classics from the Super Nintendo. I fully played games like Super Mario World or Zelda: A Link to the Past for the first time on the Game Boy Advance.

But there were also many other games I fell in love with on this Handheld. Golden Sun was probably my first real JRPG and Advance Wars was my first Turn Based Tactics game. It was also the first time in my life that I was really up to date with gaming. I always bought gaming magazines back then and if possible, I got every major release on day one.

This was also the time I used the Internet for the first time, which will become a topic later. However, with the Game Boy Advance, I was very active in a Forum at the time. This made me really feel like it is today, that I could share my excitement about a new game with many other like minded people.

The GameCube had a similar vibe for me. I loved it from the start. Luigi's Mansion, Zelda Wind Waker, Star Wars Squadron, Splinter Cell, Super Mario Sunshine, Super Monkey Ball, Fifa and so much more! The N64 and Gameboy kindled my love for Nintendo, but the Gameboy and Gameboy Advance set it in stone for Life.

But being a Nintendo Fan back then wasn't always easy. Many of my friends in school switched to PlayStation. Mostly because you could buy games very cheaply as they were easy to copy illegally. In some ways, it was weird as it did make me feel like I'm missing out at times. However, I also think it shaped me in a way. I stood by what I love and didn't give in to the pressure of the masses. Looking back, I'm kinda proud of myself for that.

Another first around this time was also getting a Computer. I did play a lot of different games on the PC back then, like Anno 1503 or Rainbow Six. However, the biggest memory back then was using the internet for the first time and finding some gaming friends to play online with.

2004 - 2014 The Internet Age

The next 10 Years I would describe as the Internet Age. It all started with my gaming buddy, whom I got to know online. We played a few games online, but the first that really got us was Splinter Cell Pandora Tomorrow. We loved the multiplayer of that game.

It was the first time I dipped into E-Sports and it also led to more online friends. Over time, we moved on to Warcraft 3 Funmaps. We played a ton of different ones back then. This became a time that I would get home from school, get onto our Teamspeak server and spend my whole day there with my buddies.

There was pretty much always someone on the server, so we talked all the time. Either gaming, watching something together, or simply hanging out. But the probably biggest game of the time became World of Warcraft.

Looking back, I must admit I don't feel like the game had as much influence on me as you might think. I mean, I spend years playing it! But I kinda feel it was mostly the social aspect of it all. Being in a Guild, doing PvP together, or Raiding. All of this was my form of going out and partying.

I also got to know a lot of people in the game and often became some sort of social support for them and my first time falling in love ofc also happened in the game. Still, I don't have the same warm feeling toward World of Warcraft that I have towards Nintendo, for example. It's really more about the time and people than about the game. We also played many other games, like Battlefield 2, for example. But it was always the same core group of people.

One special and very nerdy memory is New Years Eve nights. On those, we would play games like Civilization 4, for example, all night long. I also remember my first night alone at home, where I could spend playing Warcraft 3 all night long with friends.

But I didn't just play Multiplayer back then. Some of my very special memories of the time had to do with BioWare. Mass Effect 1-3 or Dragon Age 1 and 2 are still to this day some of my favorite games of all time.

I also bought a Wii and a Nintendo DS. But at this time, I lost the spark for Nintendo a bit. I think it had to do with the shift Nintendo made to be more casual and at the same time, I was in the Age where Nintendo simply didn't feel cool enough anymore. Honestly, around that time, I thought I might never return to Nintendo. Boy, I was so so wrong.

2014 - The Flame burns again

I think this section has to start with Dark Souls. I did try Dark Souls 1 when the PC Port came out and hated it. To me, it felt clunky, difficult for no reason and simply bad. Honestly, I didn't understand how somebody could like this game.

When Dark Souls 2 came out, some of my favorite content creators back in the day started a lets play for it. They explained why they loved Dark Souls one and were so excited to play Dark Souls 2. Watching the beginning of it made me want to try it again. In the end, I played through Dark Souls 2 while watching them. I would always play a section and then go back and watch how they played it.

This made me fall in love with Dark Souls 2. I understood the appeal and understood why hard games are so rewarding. Something that has a big impact on my gaming taste to this day. I then went back and played Dark Souls 1 the same way and what can I say? It's now easily in the Top 3 of my favorite games of all time! I love every new From Software game and the Souls games are definitely a genre that defines my gaming taste.

2015 was my return to Nintendo, but for a different reason than you might think. I did play Monster Hunter 3 on the Wii with a friend and liked it. With my new love for harder games, I got very excited for Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate on the 3DS.

Now I didn't own a 3DS, so it was the first Nintendo Hardware I had skipped at its release. But my excitement made me go and get a New 3DS XL with Monster Hunter Stories 4 when it came out. I have such warm memories of this time in many ways.At the time, I fell in love with a wonderful woman who is now my wife and at the same time, I fell back in love with Nintendo. Because after playing Monster Hunter, I went to check what else I could play on the New 3DS.

As I had missed out on so many games, 2015 became my year of catching up. Back then, 3DS games were very cheap to buy, especially used copies. I got games like Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, Mario 3d Land, Fire Emblem: Awakening, Luigi's Mansion 2 and many more. Honestly, it made me fall in love again with Nintendo and showed me something I was missing all these years, the Nintendo magic.

I also got the 3DS port of Xenoblade Chronicles, but I didnt finish it on the 3DS. But more on Xenoblade later. Now, as you could already tell, Handhelds always had a special place in my heart, so when Nintendo announced that their next console would be a Handheld, I got beyond excited.

When the Switch 1 came out, I didn't have much money and hunting one down was hard. But seeing what the console would be, I knew I had to get one.

The days before the release were horrible. I bought it at a German retailer and it went from “no worries, you will get yours” to “sorry, we are out of stock”. It was a back and forth all this time. Even on the day of the delivery, it didn't even show me if it got sent or not. 

In the end, the deliveryman arrived at 10 pm. I never got a package this late before, but I was so happy. Playing Zelda Breath of the Wild on the Switch was one of the most magical gaming experiences Ive ever had. The switch itself felt awesome and the game was a true revolution. 

Later that year, it was followed by Super Mario Odyssey and Xenoblade Chronicles 2. Till this day, maybe the best gaming year of all time when we speak about pure quality.

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 became another magical memory for me. I honestly wasn't excited for this game. It looked too Anime. The first game looked more serious and the only reason I bought it was that I really liked Xenoblade 1.

Well, what can I say? Xenoblade Chronicles 2 became my most emotional gaming experience ever. I fell in love with the characters. I loved and cried with them. I kept on listening to the soundtrack after I was done. Even till this day, I sometimes watch some of the cutscenes on YouTube and cry every single time I see the ending. 

This game made me a Xenoblade Fan. Since then, I have played and finished Xenoblade Chronicles 1 and 3. Both had a similar effect on me. Xenoblade also made me into an Anime fan again. I always liked anime, but I never watched it that much. Now I have an anime night with my wife every week and watching anime is one of my favourite hobbies. 

Xenoblade also made me into a bigger JRPG fan. Since then, I have played tons of Team Asano games like Octopath Traveler 2 and indie gems like Chained Echoes. Currently, I'm also playing Final Fantasy VII Rebirth and loving it. It's safe to say my love for Japan blossomed with Nintendo and Xenoblade.

Now ofc since then I played and experienced many more games. Elden Ring was outstanding to me, but I also played and enjoyed many indie games in the past years. I even started to get into gamedev. 

It's safe to say that my journey as a gamer isn't over and that there will be more games in the future that will shape me. Looking back, it almost feels like, around every 10 years, there has been this big, impactful moment. From Zelda Ocarina of Time, which transformed me into a lifelong Nintendo fan and woke my interest in exploration in gaming, to Dark Souls, which taught me how rewarding it feels to overcome challenges in games, up to Xenoblade Chronicles 2, which opened my eyes even more to anime, JRPGs, and emotional stories in games.

It's been a fun journey and I can't wait to see what will be the next big game that impacts me and maybe changes my way of thinking in the future.