I’ve probably played an uncomfortable amount of FF7 to most. During covid, I recently became single so I decided to find some like-minded discord communities to pass that time. I met someone who was streaming FF7. I hopped into the stream and kicked it off with explaining how to get a golden chocobo to reach the final red materia. We’re married now and have a dog :D
thats fun
Staying up all night playing GoldenEye.
I mean…you just described large portions of 1997 and 1998. On the weekend.
Some houses had a rule. No oddjob. I had a different rule. You’re oddjob. It was no fun if it was an even fight. I needed a handicap to make it harder.
thats one of the most badass statements ive ever read
1v1 where you’re expecting Oddjob is a lot different than 4P deathmatch where one guy is Oddjob. That’s where it’s a real dick move cause he’ll catch you by surprise.
Still, though. Respect.
24 hour Civ 5 marathon with beer and the boys in my college days.
…well. What happened???
It was just amazing to hang out and focus on playing a game deeply for 24 straight hours with my two closest friends. Can’t recall otherwise being so pleased with how I spent my time.
Meeting my wife on Elder Scrolls Online has got to be number one, but we didn’t even play the game very long to be honest lol.
I play games with my wife every now and then and it’s great. I wouldn’t say regularly but every few months we’ll play something like State of Decay 2 or Astroneer and get really in to it for a week.
I met my wife playing Rock Band. It was definitely a top gaming moment. But I didn’t realize at the time what it would lead to eventually.
Oh for sure, us either. We were guild mates for a while, then friends, then partners! The process took years.
I didn’t think anyone did.
I don’t know if these are the most joy but some good memories.
When I first saw Mario 64 in Toys R Us I was awestruck. Just unbelievable. Mario in 3D.
When I was playing Ocarina of Time I was hunting Poes in Hyrule field on Epona. I fell asleep because it was late. When I woke up the game was still running. Nothing overheated. Nothing killed me in game. No loud jarring noises. I wasnt late for anything. I just woke up and started hunting Poes again.
A friend and I were staying up late playing one of the early Kings Quest games where you can dial a 900 number to help you if you got stuck. This was back when save points were maybe once every 10 minutes if you’re lucky. We had gotten to a really verbose riddle that we were supposed to have found a clue for earlier in the game but missed it. We just figured out the riddle and guessed it on the first try. It was an unbelievable triumph.
Playing Halo co-op with my wife.
I also choose playing with this guy’s wife.
KOTOR. just existing in a Star Wars world and becoming a Jedi. really have no idea why we can’t have another Jedi RPG, do you not like money Disney?
Well we’ve had a couple Jedi RPG-lites in the Fallen Order series.
But nothing quite like KotOR I’ll give you that. They just had incredible atmospheres on each planet. I loved the city planets the most, like Taris, Nar Shaddaa, and Manaan.
idunno, to me the heavy reliance on platforming and metroidvania-style traversal far outweighs any superficial RPG elements in those games. I just get annoyed rather than immersed in the game.
Wandering around in Morrowind before I really knew what I was doing, being happy just to find a few coins in a tree stump or a crappy dagger.
Other games have given more extreme emotions. But no other game has instilled such a joyous sense of wonder.
Killing Vivec and then getting the message about being doomed was probably my favorite “oh shit” moment of all time.
Not too long after it came out I was good at Siege and I mean good I was ranked in the top 1000 players and I thought that was pretty badass. I got a DM from some guy who was like “Hey I’m from TEAM and we wanted to know if you wanted to try out for our Siege squad?” I said thanks but no thanks, I have a mortgage and a full time and then some job. I dont want to take on the obligation.
I then went and googled the team, I was being courted by serious professional players. I still decided I didnt want that headache but as someone who has always been an underachiever it was like an IRL achievement popup or a level up notification. Like… look what I can achieve when I actually give a fuck and put the work in.
When I finished my first run of Subnautica, something definitely came over me. I ran around in my base cleaning up, I organized all my spare food and water in a cabinet “for the next person stranded here,” I released the fish in my alien containment, said farewell to my cuddlefish, parked my Seamoth in the moon pool, turned the lights out in the Cyclops, the whole bit. An amazing adventure was at an end.
God, I miss Subnautica!
Once when I was 8, a friend brought over his PS1 and Metal Gear Solid. We played pranks on the guards in the zone that has a bathroom using claymores and Nikita missiles and called snake the Toilet Stalker. Peak 8 year old humor, I couldn’t breathe from laughing.
Another in High school, visited my older sister in the dorms and the boy floors were having a massive halo Lan party since all the rooms were connected. I had never played a console shooter before but the guys were really welcoming and wanted me to join anyways. One match came down to a 1v1 with me and one of the good players, I almost got him with the sniper but lost. I wasn’t too bummed but afterwards everyone on the floor cheered me up. I stomped the same guy later that night in warcraft 3 and that one felt good.
the ending of outer wilds, figuring out that the treasure really was the friends we made along the way, will always stand out to me as the most magnificent, joy-filled moment in my 25+ year gaming experience.
that, or getting the cool sunglasses in fez.
It’s been years, and I still haven’t recovered from the ending of Outer Wilds. I don’t think I ever want to either, haha
Outer Wilds is the correct answer. I wish I could unlearn that memory and play it again from scratch.
Meeting [redacted] on the [redacted] was such an unexpected and powerful moment for me as well. I don’t even usually get into lore that much in games, but Outer Wilds is so well done I nearly cried in that moment.
Rock Band 2. Bladder of Steel achievement playing with a full band of 4 (locally).
It’s playing the entire setlist of 84 or so songs all the way through in one sitting. Without pausing or failing.
We did it with all instruments on Medium, but we did it! (I could pass anything on Expert, but maybe not all the way through. My friends were borderline Hard players at best, so Medium was the only way we’d ever be able to do it together)
Wow that does sound incredible
I don’t track or rank joy like that, but discovering the dark world in The Legend of Zelda a Link to the Past is definitely up there. Just realising the world had this whole extra dimension to it.
I still love dimensionality / hidden depth in games.
I mean, who doesn’t?
Same “There’s more!?” vibe as discovering the underground in Final Fantasy IV.
See also: Symphony of the Night
Mass Effect, almost certainly with plenty of honourable mentions to other games.
Peak is the Dramatic Scene at the end of ME1 after the final boss. Really really moved by events on Tuchunka and Rannoch.
Favourite moment outside Mass Effect, JC Denton saying “You’re gonna burn, alright”
