Gaming, for me, has been such an adventure, playing through hundreds and hundreds of creative works of such talented developers over the years. And along that journey, I enjoyed a lot unique gaming experiences.

So, weather it was a one of a kind/quirky game, or your first game you played in a particular genre, or just a very fresh gameplay twist on a genre that just really resonated with you, What (in your personal gaming experiences) felt the most unique to you when you played it for the first time?

(Your personal firsts may be very different than others, which is part of the fun of this thread ^_^ )

For myself, most of my gaming experiences have been on home console, as they were usually gifts from birthdays and christmases (and we definitely got our moneys worth, replaying some games many many times over). When we did finally get a little older, instead of going to the arcade, we would use what money we had to rent games from Blockbuster for the weekend.

Here are a few :

- Super Mario Bros. - The first video game I ever played. I didn’t know at the time that the screen being able to scroll like there was a continuous world in a game was anything significant at the time. I was just so intrigued by the basics of what a video game even was. The idea that I could control what was happening on the T.V. in some manner was so enticing to the imagination. Twas so innocent.

- E.V.O.: Search for Eden - I played this game beginning to end so many times as a kid. Such a fun Action RPG. You evolve your characters body parts instead of leveling up or equipping gear. I made so many funny looking critters and died a lot. Hit stun was a little unfair in this game though…

- Blast Corps - This game was sheer awesome to tweenage me, smashing buildings as fast as possible with cool vehicles/robots in order to save the world from a run away nuke truck. (Was a challenge fun too, when unlocking the tons of hidden levels in this game)

- Bushido Blade - Such a unique fighting game, very few like it. Physics based (possible to get one hit kills with a well placed strike). I remember you could do lots of different moves in this game, but I never quite got the controls down to do stuff like grapples, throw weapon, etc.

- Super Monkey Ball - This game was balls hard (master stages XD), but such a neat game. Tilting the world to move through a 3D puzzlescape. Some levels I would just sit there looking at the level going… WTF, how am I supposed to get to that goal from here??? Such good challenging fun :)

- Elder Scrolls: Oblivion - First huge open world game I really ever got into, such an adventure and exploration of all the caves, quests, etc. I had Morrowind on PC, but only played about 30 minutes of it, then went onto other things in my backlog. (I think because I played it on PS3 it was eaiser for me to get into)
I also remember, the leveling system in this game was a pain. I ended up starting a new file after 60 hours into the game since everything became to tough to kill. Ended up playing 300 more hours, making a character with 100 in all base stats and dominating this game. (Getting those stats at as low of a level as possible, so monster did not level too high, was such a tedious task)

(…And…I will post more later throughout this thread)

Also, have fun sharing (I like comfy gaming stories framing these first time experiences too, so feel free to add that if you like. :D )

The Megaman Battle Network games. To this day I still haven't seen a game with that gameplay style.

Final Fantasy VI -- What a revelation. I played it during a time when I was completely bored with the usual, shallow platformers and beat 'em ups of the era and had actually moved away from gaming. I fell in love with the depth of story and characters.

Daggerfall -- Let's be honest, the game mostly sucked. It was so ugly that I would get raging headaches and the randomly generated dungeons were terrible. It was also amazing, though, with all the customization. You could build your character into exactly what you wanted. We take that for granted today. Another aspect was how it didn't assume you were a little kid like most other games of the day. I loved being able to join the thieves guild, for example.

ICO -- A game that showed me the true potential of the medium. It was an experience that I will never forget. I'd never felt anywhere near that much emotion in a game, it just grabbed me and made me care. It was beautiful. This was the first time I was actually FURIOUS at the villain, it felt so personal and immediate.

Fallout 3 -- I used to be along the Elitists that made fun of FPS games. That was until I played Fallout 3, which changed my gaming tastes forever. It was imaginative and immersive while being a lot of fun.

Splatoon

Pokemon - as a kid I loved that any pokemon in the game was able to be added to your team. other games have recruit mechanics where you can add members to your team, but it doesnt always work. some enemies are limited to 1 fight and they cant be caught or recruited. But every single pokemon, all 802 of them, even legends and ones you only see used by gym leaders, can all be obtained. and as a kid, that was mind blowing. even other games with this mechanic, i just love it

...Aaaand some other cool ones:  :)

- Kid Chameleon - This game was freaky. Kid getting sucked into an arcade machine having to fight creepy floating heads, transforming into all sorts with unique special abilities, secret teleporters, hidden walk through wall, and level skips galore.
But man or man, some levels had that anxiety inducing wall of chainsaws chasing you as you tried to speed through all the weaving passages. Took courage for kid me to play this game. :P

- Tecmo’s Deception: Invitation to Darkness - Speaking of courage. This is probably the first video game I felt uncomfortable to play when it was dark outside. Making deals with the devil and hunting down “guests” in the mansion had me squirming.
This game actually played into the limitations of the technology with short draw distances fading into darkness and the foot steps always sounded so close to you, so you were always on edge. Plus a few jump scares as you turn around to find someone has snuck up on you.
Cool system in this game though, letting you build all sorts of varieties of traps to slay your victims and sell their souls. I think you could even invite more “guests” increasing the risk/reward of each day.

- Everquest - Holy mother of addiction, this game was crack cocaine pixie stix-s to teenage me. First MMO I ever seen in my life. Sneaking out of bed at 1 AM to play even more than 12 hours a day if i could O.o
A massive world to explore. Tons of classes and races. And, Basically my first online gaming with others. I learned a lot about the unkind gamers of the world this year (trolls, griefers, scammers, creeps, and more…).
I was also terrible at the ridiculous exp grind this game was (it was so bad at launch). I remember lots of glitches too, falling through the world while just walking on the open fields, having to get a GM to retrieve you corpse…
Such cool landscapes and lore… So many hours. And I know I only saw a drop of it when I played. (not to mention the ridiculous amount of expansion packs that came after I left this game for good)

- Fortune Street - This monopoly knockoff I actually enjoyed more than the actual Monopoly. Played a ton with my little sister in this game.
Wheeling and Dealing with CPUs, trying to make power plays (risking all of my money buying a ton of properties all at once, without any left if I roll the dice poorly) and playing pump and dump with the stocks, trying to trick others into joining me then sweeping the rug from under them.
Such a cutthroat game, so fun. :D

Jet Set Willy 2 on the MSX in 1985. It was magical and started the thirst for exploration in me. The map seemed infinite at the time as I never managed to reach all the edges.

Civilization on PC in 1991. The first 'board game' I played on PC. So many nights disappeared after starting up the game. I never imagined anything like civilization to be possible in a computer game, spanning the whole of human history with 7 seemingly intelligent opponents and a huge random generated map to explore.

Frontier First encounters on PC in 1995. What? Explore the whole galaxy? Land on any planet? What magic is this! It even had an interesting story to follow if you weren't too busy making money for a better ship. How can this be topped, well it couldn't.

Riven on PC in 1997. Very relaxing game, the music, the sights, it truly felt like going on a great holiday trip. Helped by a large crt monitor, new surround sound system and some legal narcotics (I lived in Amsterdam at that time) I don't think I've ever been that relaxed while playing a game.

Half-Life on PC in 1998. Wow that opening. This is cinematic gaming, it felt like being in a movie. Amazing for its time and we ended up playing death match mode for many years in the office lan network, with one of the regular maps a home build version of the office we were in :)

Everquest on PC in 1999. My first mmorpg on dial up, costing me about $100 a month to play... It was worth it. The first few years of EQ were the best gaming experience in my life, plus I met the girl I later married while playing Everquest. So huge, so many places to explore, so much to do, so dangerous, so unforgiving, so addictive. They call souls games hard nowadays... The best coop game I've ever played as it forces the players to work perfectly together to get anywhere. Which also meant it could be very frustrating if you couldn't manage to get a group of competent people together. (As opposed to riven, do not play while stoned, never been that scared in a video game!)

ICO on ps2 in 2001. I've bought the game 3 times now. PAL version, NTSC version after moving, and the ps3 collection. Truly moving game. A great mysterious place to explore. SotC and TLG come close and improve on the mystery and bonding at certain points, yet ICO still feels most unique.

Zelda Windwaker on GC in 2002. Oot was great, yet Windwaker was unique to me with its cell shaded graphics. The first time I truly felt like I stepped into a living cartoon world. And what a great place to explore.

REZ Infinite on PSVR in 2017. A big jump ahead in time, yet finally that unique feeling is back, starting with REZ Infinite. I was smiling through the whole game. The level 4 end boss is amazing in VR running around you through the corridors. Then there's Area X which made my jaw drop to the floor even more. Best platinum trophy to get, pure gaming bliss. I think I'm going to play it again tonight!

Final Fantasy Tactics PS1: The depth of character building was beyond the norm. Plus: Permadeth. Your beloved creations were gone for good if they died on the battlefield.

GTA 3 PS2 . Holy shit. This is the one. The one that made open world games what they are.

Halo XB. Still maybe my fav FPS of all time. Did everything very well. The AI was awesome. Still better than many of today's offerings IMO.

SMB NES. This one is difficult to describe in a brief synopsis. Just great for it's time. I'm lazy

Ah, just thought of some more unique gaming experiences I had in days long past…

- Streets of Rage 2 - Babbie’s first brawler. I think me and my brother rented this for a weekend or two.
Was so cool to get weapons off enemies and tag team some thugs… Classic Co-op. Good times. :)
…Skate was more fun than Alex :P

- Final Fantasy - And on the theme of firsts… my RPG initiation began here. Man, this game was so awesome…ly unfair! :P
Such limited spell use. Long dungeons had your team begging for potions. Over targeting dying monsters would cost you valuable turns in combat.
I fell in love with the idea of leveling up characters in RPGs though. Showing those monsters who is hoss and boss as a kid was quite gratifying (…after all the beat downs you get exploring new areas)

- The Legend of Zelda - Might as well stick with it… This game was my first adventure game I ever played. And I was so so bad at it.
So cool getting to go any direction and find secret, items, and the occasional dungeon. :)
This is also the only video game my dad ever played (he beat the game, but feared the addictiveness he felt while playing, so he cold turkey-ed out of gaming right then and there)

- Base Wars - Technically my first sports game I ever played, and man, it was more than just baseball.
Battle robots wielding guns and laser swords fighting to steal just 1 more run.
I think you could even get hover craft or tank legs for more top speed/turning/etc.
After this, I never wanted a “normal” boring sports sim.
From then on, I wanted arcade power-ups, sweet gear, and on field combat!

Original SMB - first time I had ever used a D-pad after being accustomed to using joysticks in the arcades and at home on Atari.

Pilotwings - the first psudo-3D game I played at the time that allowed free 360 degree movement when flying the bi plane or jetpack, including being able to change camera perspectives on the fly from standard 3rd person to overhead view. Also a nod to Starfox, which was the first game I ever played that featured 3D polygon graphics.

Jurassic Park SNES - this was technically my first ever FPS experience, as the game switched between top-down Zelda-style overworld gameplay and a Doom-style first person perspective when inside buildings, making for quite the gameplay juxtaposition. These interior levels were also very atmospheric between the dark music and the terrifying roars of various dinosaurs whenever you got near them.

Super Mario 64 - obvious reasons, first fully 3D platformer that got it right.

GTA3 - while I played the original on PS1 which was alot of fun, of course it's the 3rd game that put the franchise and put "sandbox" style gameplay on the map.

Freedom Fighters - a unique 3rd person shooter where you could command your squadmates to attack and defend as you completed various objectives. Wish they had made a sequel to this.

Fallout 3 / Skyrim - both were my first foray into each respective franchise, and the vast worlds, rich lore and open-ended quests & gameplay were like nothing I had experienced before.

Wii Sports - yeah, motion controls were definitely a fad, but c'mon, we all know how awesome bowling and tennis were on the Wii when it first came out!