If you could play a game for the first time again, what will it be?

[PAOerfulone]

I have quite a few of these actually.

Off the top of my head, Xenoblade Chronicles 1 - for sure. Super Mario Galaxy, Sonic Heroes, Last of Us 2, Final Fantasy IX. But there's three games in particular I want to talk about.

Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword - I got into the Zelda series late. Not until my senior year of high school to be exact. With Wind Waker HD on the Wii U, that was my introduction to the Zelda series. And I was so intrigued and impressed with what I played plus I had heard so much about the Zelda series and how it is every bit as good, if not better, than Mario as far as Nintendo IPs go, that I wanted to give more games a shot to really get into the experience. Since the Wii was my main console of choice at the time, I naturally turned to the Zelda games for that system, which were Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword. Twilight Princess was the first one I played... And oh my God, I was BLOWN AWAY! The scope of the world I was in, the characters I interacted with, the combat, the dungeons, the story, the exploration, the music, everything about the game just screamed "Grand Adventure." Like something straight out of Camelot or the Hobbit/LOTR movies. I always point to Twilight Princess as the game that officially made me a Zelda fan...
But it was the NEXT game I played that made me a diehard Zelda fan, made it my favorite Nintendo franchise, and for a few years, was my favorite video game of all-time, and that was Skyward Sword. From beginning to end, I was absolutely in-love. The world I was in was incredible, the characters I interacted with, the motion controls were the best I had ever experienced up to that date and still are. And the relationship between Link and Zelda in that game is the absolute best in the entire series. (Skyward Sword Link and Zelda are one of my all-time favorite ships.) I vividly remember staying up until 4 AM just to beat the game... And then waking up late for school the next day - My Dad was PISSED!!! XD But I remember thinking, "...Worth it!" And it really was. That first playthrough of Skyward Sword sparked a love, passion, and feeling of awe in me that makes video games so thrilling and such an amazing hobby. When I play a game, I want to get lost and absorbed in the world I'm in and the adventure I'm going on. To forget about life for a bit, just unwind, and have fun. And Skyward Sword hit me in ALL the right places and it was why it was my favorite game of all-time...
Until...

Persona 5/Persona 5 Royal - This game and ESPECIALLY Royal are my favorite games of all-time to this day! From the very first time I watched the intro of "Wake Up, Get Up, Get Out There," I knew I was in for something special. And I absolutely was. It hooked me from the opening scene where you're robbing a casino, showing off to your friends, the perfect blend of style AND substance with the turn-based combat and the personas, getting arrested, beaten to a pulp, and then BOOM flashback to April. And I was like, "OH SHIT! We're gonna see how we got here!? Okay!" From that moment on, I made it my mission to get through to the end of that game, and I absorbed everything about it. From Shibuya as a world, the awesome OST, and the characters (Ryuji, my bro and home boy!!! Ann, my sweetheart who loves sweets! Yusuke, my starving, fabulous friend who loves to paint! Makoto, I didn't like you at first, but now I would trust you with my life! Futaba, my baby sis who drives me CRAZY with her hacking my phone! Haru, my sweet but scary rich girl, please don't hurt me! And Goro... Oh my God, Goro... ESPECIALLY in Royal...) I just kept going through that game hoping in the back of my mind, "God, I don't want this to end! This is AMAZING!" And when Royal came out, those feelings came flooding back in full force with the further development for Goro (Royal is why I call him Goro and not Akechi), and especially Sumire.

When a game can invoke that feeling of awe, wonder, and majesty in you on your first playthrough... THAT'S what it's all about and I can't wait for that next experience, whatever that game may be!

Last edited by PAOerfulone - on 10 January 2025