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First gaming memories

Hi all!

I'm Retro_Stu so by nature I'm intrigued and inclined to ask what is everyone's earliest gaming memory or first game played?

I'll go first - whilst I have two older sisters and do have memories of the various ZX Spectrums we had, my earliest clear memories go to my beloved Sega Master System, with Teddy Boy, Fantasy Zone and Bank Panic sticking out the most (honourable mention to The Ninja as well!)

blurred background — Screenshot of the first level in Fantasy Zone for the Sega Master System. A bright green pixel hill scape with pink, blue and yellow columns with our character ship Opa Opa encountering some blue blob and green star shaped enemies

Screenshot of the first level in Fantasy Zone for the Sega Master System. A bright green pixel hill scape with pink, blue and yellow columns with our character ship Opa Opa encountering some blue blob and green star shaped enemies

To this day Fantasy Zone remains a game I have never come close to beating but I absolutely adore the soundtrack so much that I often go back to give the game a go, hoping in vain that my Enter the Gungeon skills may have somehow equipped me with the ability to beat Fantasy Zone (they did not).

So that's mine, what about you?

Created at 7:35am, 20th December, 2023. Page last updated at 2:43pm, 16th May, 2024.

Damien Mason 12/20/2023, 9:49:48 AM

Short of Pong, I think my earliest memory is something like Super Mario 3. I can say with certainty what my first PC gaming memory was because that came a little later but gaming's been a big part of my life since before I could form memories. Yes, I realise how lucky I am.

Retro Stu 12/20/2023, 10:27:13 AM

Oooh intrigued to hear what your first PC game was!

Damien Mason 12/20/2023, 11:05:08 AM

I wrote a bit about it here: https://justabout.com/video-games/just-about-video-games-first-gaming-experiences

It's called Voodoo Kid, a point-and-click adventure on a pirate ship. The story I wrote is more about remembering the game and trying to discover the name of it when Monkey Island is the most famous game by that description.

I can't really comment on the game's quality. It was all right for its time and reasonably difficult for someone just learning motor skills, but probably wouldn't stand the test of time or, you know, getting older and better at games.

BoomerMod12/20/2023, 9:54:13 AM

I must say I've not heard of these games, but the graphics definitely stir some old memories!

My first gaming system was the Amiga - I don't remember which one, as we had a 500 and 1200 at different times.

The standouts were definitely;

Bart vs the Space Mutants

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cYJwm43dJA

James Pond 2: Operation RoboCod

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5AD3xAZDtY

Elf - Sound track is an absolute jam! 🎶

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2E0tX_IIaEI

Retro Stu 12/20/2023, 10:26:42 AM

Bart vs The Space Mutants and James Pond - what classics! A few years ago my friend gave me her old Amiga - turned out it was the very same one we used to play together when I went round her house after school! Had some incredible big box games with it including James Pond 2!

BoomerMod12/20/2023, 11:30:37 AM

That's so cool! Have you managed to keep it working?

The wiring on mine is a bit dodgy so I don't get a chance to play it all that often. Last time was a few years ago, when my partner set it up after a stressful day. Turned out it would only work when half disassembled and laid out in a very specific position, so I would be lying down on the floor with the machine spread out in pieces playing Captain Planet and the Planeteers 😎

The Retro Computing Museum near me does repairs, but there'll come a time when they just don't have the spare parts for systems like this!

Retro Stu 12/20/2023, 11:33:52 AM

I managed to clean it up - the rust had got to it unfortunately where it had been stored in a loft before it was given to me. I had a couple of good years with it but eventually sold it on while it was still in working order - like you I didn't want to have to try and source spare parts and come up short!

JoelStaff12/20/2023, 10:01:03 AM

I can't remember exactly which one it was, but it was definitely an Arkanoid/Breakout type game on the NES which I played at a friend's house. Must've been 1991 or 1992. Looked like this, basically:

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Retro Stu 12/20/2023, 10:24:35 AM

Ah very much like Alleyway on the Game Boy!

BoomerMod12/20/2023, 11:31:44 AM

Oh man, I loved Arkanoid!

Alex SinclairMod12/20/2023, 10:03:21 AM

I think my earliest was the Terminator game for the Sega Mega Drive. Then the next few years were filled with evenings playing Game Boy under the duvet with the attachable torch or getting far too competitive at Mario Party on the N64. But probably my clearest early gaming memory was playing Operation Winback. It was one of the first games to use a cover and roll system, and I can remember laughing and laughing while endlessly rolling about with Rollin' by Limp Biskit playing.

Retro Stu 12/20/2023, 10:25:30 AM

I would've been exactly the same with Limp Bizkit playing!

MURRRAAAAY 12/20/2023, 10:30:35 AM

oft now this is a throwback, I Remeber playing Sonic the Hedgehog on my neighbours Sega Master System 2, before I got my hands on one at Christmas!

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the other one that sticks in my mind as it was great but so difficult was Alex the Kidd in miricle world as it was built into my Sega Master System 2 when I got one, you could close the cartridge area with a cool sliding cover and then like magic you could play Alex the Kidd! I kept my master System in mint condition with loads of games all mint, but sadly I took it to an ex girlfriends years ago then forgot about it after breaking up so never saw it again! Wish I still had it lol maybe someday I’ll recreate my little collection.. absolutely loved playing Barcelona Olympics 92 on the system lol

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Retro Stu 12/20/2023, 11:26:28 AM

I'm glad it wasn't Sonic 2 for the Master System.

Sonic 2 on Mega Drive was great, but the MS game was a different game entirely and painfully difficult with no rings on boss fights!

BoomerMod12/20/2023, 11:42:29 AM

Alexx the Kidd is a blast from the past! My aunt had the Mega Drive so we'd always play this when I went round. No clue what the game is about, but it was so much fun!

RichStaff12/20/2023, 11:11:57 AM

Hi Stu! Delighted to have a retro fan on the platform.

My earliest gaming memories are also from a Master System - my best friend's - blurred with early '90s PC games. I was too young to separate them so can't remember exactly the first game I played, but on PC it was either Commander Keen or Wolfenstein 3D, and on MS the blur is across Bubble Bobble, Alex Kidd, Michael Jackson's Moonwalker, and Operation Wolf. Must've been around 1992.

Most vivid memory from around then is marvelling at our new PC being able to play two apps at once and shooting Nazis to (my parents') 'best of Kirsty MacColl' CD. Simpler times!

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FUN INC 12/20/2023, 11:21:36 AM

Tycoon Tex on C16!

Tycoon Tex is a ‘rootin’, ‘tootin’ oil tycoon in the true wild west tradition. Guns blazing, eyes gazing, the faster he can make his pipeline patrol the quicker he can add to his bank balance. Sand, ice or snow can’t halt Tex ‘s speedy draw as he fights off the dangers of falling bombs, surface oil tanks. And if he’s a second too slow – **!!?? BOOM – one more leak, one barrel less to add to his sticky hoard.

Not my pictures...

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BoomerMod12/20/2023, 11:47:47 AM

I'm pretty sure Tycoon Tex would be the antagonist if it were made today!😂

FUN INC 12/20/2023, 2:05:49 PM

Agreed - but I still can't get over the fact that he uses a Colt-45 to shoot bombs that are being dropped out of the sky from jet-planes. That definitely makes him 100% badass!

BoomerMod12/20/2023, 2:25:16 PM

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NicoleStaff12/20/2023, 2:31:41 PM

Whilst this can't have been my first, its absolutely stuck with me as a core gaming memory.

Sitting on the living room floor and handing the PS1 controller to my sister so she could lock Lara Croft's creepy butler in the freezer for me, only for her to then give the controller right back so I could go on my merry way around the mansion without him following and glitch-pinning me to walls with his tray!

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Damien Mason 12/21/2023, 11:11:10 AM

I'll have you know that poor butler goes above and beyond others in his profession, always at your beck and call. I'd like you to find someone else so dedicated!

NicoleStaff12/21/2023, 12:20:17 PM

Organising the freezer was probably on his to-do list anyway. He always forgave me!

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