The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past as guessed by mZuzek
At the start of this list when I mentioned I would include five games that were important to my start and growth as a gamer, I also mentioned there was a sixth game that actually deserved to be in a list like this. That sixth game is 'The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past', and I doubt anyone would disagree with the statement. The game is considered a classic by many, and it really is for good reason.
The game is a milestone in the series, setting a lot of it's lore and style in stone, but is also a milestone in it's genre and among it's peers on the Super Nintendo. In the game Link is called upon in his sleep by Princess Zelda who has been put in the dungeons of the castle by "Agahnim", a sorcerer that has betrayed and killed the king. Unbeknownst yet, is that Agahnim is actually the evil Ganon in disguise. The 'King of Thieves' has escaped the confines of the ethereal Sacred Realm where he had been imprisoned ages before. Descendants of those that sealed him have been kidnapped and are being sacrificed, in a bid to find the sacred Triforce, which grants the user the power of the goddesses that left it, when they created the world.
I used to think the game was impossible to beat, literally, and that the final boss Ganon, was immortal. Until I discovered my aunt had actually beaten the game. I was still a young child however, and I was mostly playing on her file without really knowing what was going on since I still lacked any real knowledge of the English language. Besides playing her file, I started like a dozen new ones just to see the rain at the game's start again and again. The game made a huge impression on me however, and the series would forever stay in my mind as my absolute favorite video game series.