Gaming is such a tremendous, expansive hobby, and it’s inevitable that each of us are drawn to a wildly different variety of titles. I’ve met so many people who have never even heard of some of my favorites, and vice versa. But all of us who play share something in common- a journey.
There are points in everyone’s gaming journey where you find yourself swept out of Kansas into the strange, wondrous beyond of Oz. The rules change. Firmly drawn lines of what a video game CAN be are shattered, and you find yourself walking well beyond what you ever dreamed was possible or probable. Sometimes these experiences can even impact how you approach other games and radiate influence beyond their own bounds.
These are the Games that Define Us.
A few years back, a good friend challenged me to make a list of every single video game I’ve ever beaten- and at this time of writing, it sits at 349. But amidst this document that proves I have way too much time on my hands, there are certain titles that stick out as the aforementioned game-changers. These titles aren’t a list of favorites, but rather the ones that opened me up to new experiences or impacted me on a personal level.
So let’s take a walk down the Yellow Brick Road and revisit the Games that Defined Me.
-Super Mario Bros. (first played in 1993/4)-
I started off my gaming journey behind the curve. Sure, lots of people started off with the NES back in the day, but I first played it sometime in 1993 or 1994- FOUR YEARS after the Super Nintendo had already been out making waves! But when my stepdad first set up the console and started up Super Mario Bros., none of that mattered. Playing a game on the TV?! It was so cool! Like being in control of a fun cartoon! The Mushroom and Fire Flower power-ups only made it even more exciting. We played a lot of Super Mario Bros. back then and I always asked to be Player 2 because Luigi was green (which is my favorite color).
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-Super Mario 64 (first played in 1997/8)-
I played a lot of other 2D platformers the ensuing years before something else came along and BLEW MY MIND- 3D video games! I’ll never forget seeing the game kiosk set up at Walmart and running around Peach’s Castle for the first time (quite terribly, I might add) trying to collect the coins on the lobby ledges. The following year, my dad gifted me a Nintendo 64 for Christmas and it wasn’t long after that I finally got my own copy of Super Mario 64. I was so used to games where the objective was “run to the right” that I didn’t even realize that the goal was to collect Power Stars for… an embarrassingly-long time.
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-Pokémon Red and Blue (first played in 1999)-
It might seem strange to see a lower-tech GameBoy game follow up a 3D Mario, but Pokémon was a phenomenon. It had games, toys, cards, a TV show- you name it! I got my copies of Pokémon Red and Blue for my 9th birthday in 1999 and these games marked a HUGE change in my gaming habits. Before, video games were like toys- I’d play for a little while, beat a few levels, take the shortcuts for progress, grab a few Power Stars, etc., then move on to the next activity. But I simply couldn’t tear myself away from Pokémon Red and Blue. I always wanted to play. When I wasn’t playing, I was talking to friends about it, or I’d be thinking about my team and where I needed to go next.
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-The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask (first played in 2000)-
My time with Majora’s Mask is a story in two parts. You see, Baby Brink got this game for Christmas of 2000. I had dabbled a little with Ocarina of Time, but never played it extensively and so my experience with Zelda games was limited. The fact that I had a time limit in which to pursue my quest filled me with dread and anxiety, and so the most I managed as a kid was collecting the 6 or 7 masks you can find within Clock Town/Termina Field, never once even making it to the Great Swamp.
I finally returned to the game in my early 20s to give it a proper attempt, but used a guide to help alleviate the lingering anxiety of the constant time limit. And you know what? I loved that game! I finally beat Majora’s Mask in 2012 then played it a second time shortly thereafter with no guide, then once AGAIN when it was remastered for the 3DS. Majora’s Mask taught me that getting out of my comfort zone with anxiety can lead to some truly incredible rewards, not the least of which was a much needed boost of confidence. I got a tattoo of the titular mask to remind me to not let anxiety rule my decisions.
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-Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life (first played in 2003/4)-
While I’ve put hundreds of hours into Stardew Valley, the idea of enjoying a “relaxing” game started for me with this delightful GameCube gem. All of my previous experience with video games was about going on an adventure. But here I was…planting crops? Picking flowers? Talking to GIRLS? Baby Brink wasn’t used to these activities in a game, yet somehow they became part of a comforting routine. The only pressure came from trying to talk with the villagers each day and making sure my crops stayed hydrated, all while wooing my village honey and keeping an eye out for the forest spirits! A Wonderful Life changed my perception of what constitutes “fun” in a video game and opened me up to so many of the cozy games I enjoy today.
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-Fable (first played in 2005)-
I was no stranger to RPGs as a young teen, but this open-ended Action RPG found a delightful balance between adventure and simulation. After training to become a Hero (capitalized), players are thrust into a high-stakes journey to find the bandits that slaughtered their family, picking up contracts along the way for extra gold. However, you can also spend time interacting with villagers- waving to them, terrorizing them, wooing them, having hilarious fade-to-black sex scenes: you name it. Choice was also a pinnacle of the game’s systems, as you could complete many quests either as a noble hero, or terrifying villain. You even get to pick your own title and hear people rejoice or tremble as you walk through towns! And did I mention you can kick chickens?
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-The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (first played in 2006)-
Morrowind was my introduction to The Elder Scrolls series, but Oblivion was the title that truly wowed me with its scope and immersion. This game was MASSIVE for its time! Much like Morrowind, players can wander anywhere in the world right from the get-go and do whatever they want, forsaking the main story entirely if they wish after completing the introductory area. Oblivion also streamlined many of the series’ systems, making it much more accessible for players that were new to epic RPGs. Actually HITTING an enemy when you connected was so satisfying after Morrowind’s use of a dice-roll accuracy system, and removing the Stamina cost for walking took away the previous game’s burden of just trying to explore the world. Oblivion still has some of my favorite stories in all of gaming- the Dark Brotherhood questline, in particular- and might have made the biggest impact on my time investment into video games, after Pokémon Red and Blue.
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-Dark Souls 2 (first played in 2016)-
If Majora’s Mask taught me to tread water against anxiety, Dark Souls 2 picked me up and threw me in the deep end. I didn’t want to be a part of the Souls community initially- games that were “made to be difficult” just seemed obnoxious. But after hearing a lot of talk and seeing videos about Dark Souls not being “hard,” but rather “deliberate,” I decided to dip my toes in with the newest entry at the time. Dark Souls 2 pushed me to explore challenging areas, all while encouraging my own gradual improvement with both stats AND how I approached combat. This trend would only continue with Dark Souls 3- a game I’ve played through five times and still want to keep revisiting- but Dark Souls 2 will always hold a special place in my heart for being the start of my FromSoft journey.
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-The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (first played in 2017)-
The Nintendo Switch and Breath of the Wild were the first console-launch pickups I’ve ever gone after, and while I was excited for this epic adventure, I drastically underestimated the impact it would have on me. BOTW made me feel like a kid again. Hyrule opened up from guided pathways into a massive open-world, with myriad secrets to uncover and an incredible physics system holding it all together. Grass burns, and creates an updraft when enough of it is aflame. Boulders can be rolled and pushed onto unsuspecting enemies. Metal weapons attract lightning and conduct electricity. Link was even afforded new powers through the use of the Shiekah Slate, allowing him to freeze objects in space, create magical bombs, and even control metallic items telekinetically. And in a series first, Link is able to equip numerous different weapons and armor a la RPGs, each with their own benefits and bonuses, like temperature resistances or heightened attack/defense. The open world also allowed the player to pursue the story at their own pace and in complete its dungeons in any order. All the pieces of BOTW came together to form a cohesive whole while expanding the scope of an already-incredible series, and those early memories of exploring this version of Hyrule are some of my favorite in all of gaming.
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-Animal Crossing: New Horizons (first played in 2020)-
I’m not going to pretend for a moment that my experience with this game is unique in any way, shape, or form, but its impact on me in undeniable. ACNH gave myself and millions of others a haven of normalcy during one of the worst periods of time in the modern age. My days were filled with fishing, foraging, designing my home, and hanging out with friends on our unique islands rather than focusing on the isolation and distress of real-life. I befriended cats, sheep, and horses, who moved into my blossoming settlement alongside Isabelle, Tom Nook, and his tanuki nephews. This virtual community (both real people and NPCs) became my entire social circle beyond daily check-ups with family. I will always look back with fond memories on the safety net that was Dnalsi Island.
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-Baldur’s Gate III (first played in 2023)-
While I’ve been a longtime fan of RPGs, Larian Studios’ recent masterpiece showed the ability to bringing deep, engaging, classic role-playing experiences to the video game platform. There are so many branching narratives that stem directly from the player’s choices- Party members can permanently die, villages can be destroyed, and the world itself can fall to ruin. The level of interaction with the environment also blew me away, from shoving enemies off of cliffs in combat to being able to jump over large gaps with my Fighter’s high strength score. Much like Zelda: Breath of the Wild did for adventure games, BG3 took off the shackles that so many video game CRPGs are bound by and gave the player absolute (HA!) freedom to do anything, just like a real tabletop RPG.
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The End…for now.
Who knows what sort of games may continue to define me in the future? Could The Elder Scrolls VI live up to my hopes and dreams, ushering in a new era of role-playing excellence? Or will another game swoop in and enrapture me with its innovation? That’s why gaming is so exciting- you never know what to expect.
What are some of the games that have defined your personal journey through life? I’d love to hear your own stories!
Thank you for reading! Until next time, friends!
-Brink
The Brink of Gaming 