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StaceyPowers

Best childhood gaming memories?

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I turned 13 in late May of 1995. For the occasion, my girlfriend got me a computer game called Chop Suey (playable online for frees here now) that she said reminded her of us a little. It was an atmosphere-driven, point-and-click exploration game about a pair of sisters superbly named Lily and June Bugg and their various, Harriet the Spy-style escapades around their small, working class Midwestern American town after they eat too much chop suey and fall into a daydreamy haze.

The girls explore the bedroom of their aunt Vera (who they absolutely love because she's so full of life) and try on her "glamorous" outfits and makeup, pretend they're angels and fly to New York, and discover items that tell of her past as a Rockette on Broadway (including a particularly hilarious video clip where the video quality is so bad that the various Rockette's upper and lower bodies appear to shuffle onto one-another). You meet her son Dooner, get to hear his music and read his diary about his relationship to his girlfriend Monica, explore the carnival, step in shit, and visit an awesome shop called Cupid's Treats run by a tattooed biker-looking type who has, among other things, a live human hand in a jar. You also get to clothe Mud Pup the dog, listen to a bunch of legits amazing songs (my favorite being the one sung by the trio of pickles), read fortunes, play bingo, and get stalked by a black cat who turns out to accompany a witch at the edge of town who's baking a guy. Stuff like that. It's pretty funny and clever. It's a simple, anarchic slice-of-life type game with no real sequential order of events or traditional gamey challenges, but lots of personality and loads of stuff to click upon and explore, stress-free, for the simple sake of curiosity. It dares kids...and adults...to be imaginative and take risks. That's essentially what it's about.

We spent about an hour on it that evening. We went back to it several times thereafter in 20-ish minute plays whenever we'd visit one-another's houses. Just under a month later, her family moved away. I never saw her again. That's how it is in the town where I live: over time, people tend to leave. They don't move in. The game's lead creator, Theresa Duncan, killed herself 12 years later.

That all strikes me as sort of like the mood of Chop Suey itself: bittersweet. The characters in the game, and indeed the town itself, have problems (like Aunt Vera, for example, has three ex-husbands all named Bob), but there's also an aura of joy amidst the pain. Like my real-life town, Chop Suey's is one that doesn't seem to be doing so great, but who's residents find happiness nonetheless. I love my town in that same sort of way too. Chop Suey reminds me of my first love, and of the end of that love at the same time, and helps me put my relationship to my past and to my community back in perspective a little by reminding me to find the joy that's there in the midst of the suffering that life entails, like you did when you were young. And to always stay curious about life.

Edited by Jaicee
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We used to play Stunts with the kid from our neghbor, and we would take turns at it. While one of us played the other commentated on it like it was a real TV broadcast.

 I also remember fondly playing through Doom and Doom 2 with the same kid, taking turns each time we died.

And my other fond memory is playing Toca Race Driver with my school classmates, in 3 or 4 way splitscreen, but we didn't race, we used to have this unique competition where the goal was to break the others rear window, and whoever had their rear windshield intact last was the winner.

Also when my parents have bought a second computer so they could use it because I basically made the former family PC my private one, my freinds would come over and we'd play all kinds of player over LAN. Anyone here remembers, coaxial network? Before the time of UTP, yeah we  used that.

Edited by m76
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One of my favorite memories was when I opened TMNT on Christmas day. It was the same day I think I got Jurassic Park on VHS. Sadly it's one of the only X-masses I remember back at my old home. 

I also fondly remember my dad helping me play Gyromite, since I didn't have the ROB robot to utilize it. So I had to use a second controller. I think he used the second controller to open doors for me. 

Also, gaming with my mom and sister, as they were actually gamers back then. I remember always going to my sis or mom whenever I needed help in SMB3 or any NES game we had at the time. I know I asked my sister to help with TMNT back then. She almost got through those annoying water levels with the grass that shocks you. Yuck, I hated that level. 

Other than that, I think another childhood memory I can remember is coming home from elementary school with my friends and playing some TMNT 2 the arcade game. And then we'd go outside and play fight until the point we actually do fight lol. 

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On 1/30/2021 at 8:56 PM, StaceyPowers said:

Do you have fond memories of gaming from your childhood? If so, what are a few of them? I didn’t really get into gaming until I was a teen.

Personally, I would never forget my childhood gaming experience with my SEGA console playing the Punisher. It was an amazing experience for me. 

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I didn't really get into gaming until I was in college, but I have fond memories of watching my dad play the original King's Quest by Sierra on our chunky desktop computer when I was a child. Internet was still dial-up in those days, so it was easier for him to consult me for help than to find an online walkthrough, since I was sitting right next to him. Climbing that beanstalk was harder than any boss fight.

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Finishing the original Mortal Kombat and defeating Shang Tsung - also finishing Donkey Kong Country on the hardest mode. Finishing the original Metal Gear Solid game for the PlayStation is also on my list of proud accomplishments because of how difficult the game was.

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My best gaming memory was as a Child. It was spending countless Friday afternoon's playing Minecraft in School, during my lunch hour. There was a Minecraft Club with about 30 other students, and this is what originally got me into the game as a kid. One of the best memories.

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On 1/31/2021 at 7:13 PM, Patrik said:

Days back when i had my own PS1 for the first time, playing in Sundays mornings without stopping was the coolest thing i remember so far

Before I got my own Playstation 1, I used to skip school just to stay at my friend's house and play all day long ; then get punished when I get to school the following day. 

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