The GAMINGbible Team’s First Games They Ever Played
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Featured Image Credit: Elias Castillo, Nintendo, Hudson Soft, Activision
We've all seen the posts do the rounds on social media: what's the first video game you remember playing? So here's some of the GAMINGbible team's first games that they remember playing. And, what about you? Head to Facebook or Twitter to join in the comments.
What does the below say about GAMINGbible? Well, that we span quite the age range, and we all started somewhere unique to us. Our first games say little about what we grew to love most, but they all set us on our way.
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Pokémon FireRed
Game Boy Advance, 2004
FireRed was and still is the absolute best way to experience the first generation of Pokémon games, fact. In the summer of 2004, I remember playing this gem with friends in the school playground, huddled around on our Game Boy Advance SPs. We weren't always allowed to play video games at school, it was just for 30 minutes of 'Golden Time' every Friday but, oh boy, you bet we made the most of every single second.
Everyone was enthralled in the adventure of their first Pokémon journey - an experience shared between mates who would help each other out when they got stuck in a particular area, magical stuff really. One person discovered Mew for the first time and we all completely freaked out, so much so that gaming was consequently banned from 'Golden Time' - it was the best of times while it lasted.
I wish I could say I still had my copy of FireRed or even my deep blue SP, however my mum threw it out along with my Pokémon cards that could well have been worth a small fortune today. Thanks, mum. Will McCue
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Super Bomberman
Super Nintendo, 1993
I can't remember how young I was, or why I was there, but I remember Super Bomberman. At some point in my childhood, I was visiting family, and my cousins were playing a video game on their SNES. I can't say for certain, but I believe this was the first time I experienced a game. I only briefly played, but it was long enough to blow up a few blocks, and even some enemies. The whole thing stunned me. The way I could control the events on screen made me feel like I'd gained magical abilities, and I didn't stop thinking about that experience until I eventually got a game console of my own (a SEGA Game Gear, in case you're curious).
It's safe to say that this experience was the start of something bigger, as games soon became my favourite hobby. To this day, I'm still a huge fan of Bomberman, much to my friends' bemusement, and I'm always down for a game. Bagsy Player 1! James Daly
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Tekken 2
PlayStation, 1996
We weren't a very rich family growing up - we got by, but we certainly didn't have enough money for the bells and whistles in life. In fact I don't think I even saw a games console until I was perhaps nine or ten. The day my dad brought home a second-hand PlayStation (1) with a random selection of games is a very vivid memory for me, even now some two decades later. And the game that sticks in my memory from that small assortment the most is Tekken 2.
My sister and I would spend hours, days, weeks even settling disputes and trying to beat the game as all the characters. I remember sneaking downstairs and peering into the living room to watch my dad play it after we'd gone to bed, just to see how far he was getting, and to see if I could pick up any tips to beat my sister. Tekken as a series has moved on quite significantly since the mid-'90s, but my memories of it will always make it a favourite of mine. Even if my sister can still beat me with one hand tied behind her back. Mark Foster
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Hopper
ZX Spectrum, 1983
In the 1980s, clones of popular games were incredibly commonplace. Any time an arcade game proved a hit, you can bet that publishers big and small alike would be aiming to cash in on the buzz by putting out a very similar product. Which brings me to Hopper, a Frogger-alike developed and published by Persona Software Services. I played this while plonked down on the carpet of my then-living room, on a ZX Spectrum that my uncle had brought over. We later inherited that same ZX Spectrum, and it was my one and only games machine at home until we upgraded to an Amiga.
If you know how Konami's Frogger plays, you know how Hopper does, too: dodge traffic, cross the river, win the game. Elementary in the extreme, but if it ain't broke, right? Definitely not a memorable title in the Spectrum's wide-ranging library, but the one I played before anything else. Lucky me, I guess. Mike Diver
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X-Men: Mutant Academy
PlayStation, 2000
The first game I can remember playing is X-Men: Mutant Academy on the original PlayStation. At least, I'm fairly certain that was the first game I played. I was around five or six years old, and my dad came home one night with a veritable bounty from Blockbuster: several bags of popcorn, Marvel Vs Capcom: Clash Of Super Heroes, and X-Men: Mutant Academy.
Weirdly, I have absolutely zero memory of playing Marvel Vs Capcom. But I can remember staying up well past my bedtime (8pm!) huddled around the PlayStation with my mum, dad, and sisters as we duked it out on Mutant Academy. It's been years since I've played it so I couldn't tell you if it was any good now, but I remember choosing Wolverine over and over again because there was one really easy move you could spam to win. Like, I distinctly remember this move being impossible to block. Dad issued a ban on Wolverine in our house shortly after that. These were the days before Activision could just drop a nerf via an update, see. How times have changed. Also, RIP Blockbuster. Ewan Moore
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Monster Truck Madness
PC, 1996
Let me be clear: I had no idea what was going on in this game. When I told this fact to my boyfriend, he said, "... they're trucks." And I replied, "But I didn't know what a monster truck was." As far as I was aware, monster trucks were a creation of Monster Truck Madness, something that simply could not be achieved in reality because it was much too dangerous. These vehicles all had odd names like Carolina Crusher, Grave Digger, Snake Bite, and Bigfoot, boasting brightly coloured frames that had been crunched into indistinguishability by the art style.
I raced round tracks called B.C Place and Tacoma Dome, spray from the tyres suspended in the air as teeny tiny blocks, and the engine sounds were hypnotically melodic as they spun over road, grass, and sand. And, the best part was that we bought a joystick to play some helicopter game that my dad had, but it worked brilliantly with Monster Truck Madness and it was just like real driving (probably). Imogen Donovan
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Gauntlet
Master System, 1990
Gauntlet was released on the SEGA Master System in Europe in 1990, just a few years before I was born. Little did I know a few years later it would be my first video game encounter (thanks, Dad) and by doing so it created a lasting memory. The game gave you a simple and crucial choice of four characters: a Warrior, Valkyrie, Wizard or Elf, each with their own unique attributes to play as throughout. Gauntlet could be played solo or via two player co-op, which in theory gave you a greater chance at survival.
Each run through the dungeons was addictive, and every time you perished it left you wanting to try out another character, or grab a friend to play co-op with so you had the support of another hero against the ghouls. Although those days are long gone, my first gaming experience with Gauntlet back then still remains with me to this day, and probably will do for many years to come. Phil Boon
Topics: Sega, Pokemon, Tekken, Nintendo, PlayStation, Retro Gaming
