Topic: What does your favorite game mean to you?

I've been thinking of interesting things to ask to forum, and I think I've thought of something fun! What's your favorite game, and what does it mean to you? (While I'd like to keep it relevant to NintendoLife if possible, you can mention whatever game and platform you'd like.) It doesn't have to be anything too personal, I just thought it could serve as some interesting banter for us to express just how much our favorite titles mean to us. Maybe it's one that got you through a hard time. Maybe it's one that had a message or theme that resonated with you, and inspired you. Maybe it's something that reminds you of nostalgic times long past. Whatever the case may be, we're all here for the love of gaming, so I figured what better topic to post than one where we can show that love, and share some of that love with this little community. (THREAD NOTE: Also, friendly reminder to hide spoilers if you're going to mention them. The conversations wouldn't be as fun if we spoiled someone else's experiences unintentionally.)

I guess I'll start as an example. My favorite game is Super Mario Galaxy (and by extension 2, as it's more of the same.), as it reminds me of a time when I didn't care about any of the drama of adult life. Things were simple back then, I had more of a social life than I do now, and my biggest problem was dealing with end-of-semester studying. I remember staying up late, all summer long. I had the windows open, a nice summer breeze in the background. No nonsense, no worries, just me and Mario Galaxy. I remember being so amazed by how gorgeous the galaxies were, that sometimes I would just stop and take it all in. I felt no rush, no sense of urgency, just taking in the beauty of the vast cosmos. I remember the beautiful music back then always feeling a little...off. Gorgeous, and exhilarating, but with a twinge of sadness. In a strange way, as I've gotten older, that sadness resonates with me more. Almost as though the music was subliminally carving itself into my memory to be cherished down the line. I love the game so much that I make it a tradition every year, it's become so special to me. It was such a beautiful memory that, for a time, I was trying to find more games that could provide a similar sensation. I remember playing Odyssey and having an absolutely amazing time getting lost in such a beautiful world, and yet no matter how much technological advancements the series made since then, it felt like there was something about Galaxy that couldn't really be topped. I feel as though it gave me a greater appreciation for just how beautiful game worlds could be, and just how lost we can find ourselves in them even knowing it's all just smoke and mirrors. I owe that sense of appreciation to Galaxy, it may have been one of the first times in my life where I truly understood that games could be more than "just games", that they could be art.

While I'm technically still not an adult, my favorite game has to be Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (with lock-on, of course). Sonic 3 speaks to me in a way no other game does. Its stunning 3D-esque graphics, tight controls, and large zones truly speak to me about what Sonic was truly about with the method not even SEGA could figure out. Sonic 3 proves that Sonic was never about his speed. It was about exploration. Ever since Sonic 1, the series plays like pinball. Funny that Sonic 3 actually has a pinball bonus game. You use speed well in combination with the tight controls, you get the top path and rewards. You pull a game journalist and hold right, you fail. Sonic was always good, and Sonic 3 was the first game to show me, "Hey, this series truly is wonderful." I felt fast, yet achieved. Sonic 3 is a game I never get bored of. It's such a step up from the other two. More content, more secrets, more fun. If SEGA can give me an experience like 3 (& Knuckles) again, I will trust them. Sonic Heroes (my other favorite) is close, but 3K still remains at its peak. The music, the gameplay, the visuals. It's a masterpiece. No other game makes me feel as happy as Sonic the Hedgehog 3. It truly showed how games aren't just games. They're immersive stories. Thank you, SEGA Technical Institute for delivering a magical experience.

Great idea for a topic. I'd have to say my favourite game is still probably Xenoblade Chronicles 1. It was probably the first game to ever make think of them as pieces of art. The world, the story, everything was just so grand and yet really made me feel something on a personal level. The idea of grabbing your own destiny against all the odds is such an amazing feeling in that game and really resonates as a 25 year old still working to achieve my dreams now.
The characters are also all standouts, with Dunban and Melia growing to be my favourites along with Shulk. Melia is such an understated character in a lot of ways in the first game, really trying to prove herself to both Shulk and her father, before rising above all that in Future Redeemed in the Definitive Edition, and living for herself and her people.
Also the music - beautiful and sombre when it needs to be, and full of bombastic tunes to hype you up in battles.
Xenoblade is and probably will always be my favourite game, although the sequels improve on a lot and X is amazing too.

Oof, my favorite is Super Mario Galaxy too. Both games occupy the #1 spot for me, but the first just slightly edges out the second.

Super Mario Galaxy was a game I always loved, but I also kinda took for granted as a kid. It was one of my first 3D platformers, so it never really struck me how special it was. As time passed, I really began to respect just how endlessly inventive its level design is, how consistently incredible its boss roster is compared to the rest of the franchise, how well its distinctly ethereal visual style has aged, how strikingly it frames a tiny Mario against the vast expanses of space, the subtle moments of melancholy that permeates the experience, how beautifully well-composed its score is, and of course, Rosalina's story. As a kid, I actually found the storybook boring, but now, it punches me in the gut every single time. It's a miracle how Galaxy manages to simultaneously be one of the most creative and consistently fun platformers and one of the most touching games Nintendo has ever made, and I think it played a big part in defining my taste in games. Several other of my favorite games and series have a very similar blend of imaginative cartoonish fantasy with subtly dark undertones.

My favorite game is Metroid Prime, but the weird thing about it is that I'm not attached to the game in the way you'd expect I would be for my favorite game. It's more just a fact of life, via being the right game at the right time I decided "yeah its this one" at 12 and I've never had something definitively change my mind on this. Maybe if I vibed with Mario Galaxy's book themed storytelling at all or if Mother 3 was like 3% better it wouldn't be, I dunno.

My attachment to it is more to how back then it was the coolest, most advanced, most interesting game I had played up to that point and how to this day its still more or less held up well as an all time, impossibly high quality and fun masterpiece that even with 8 years between my 2nd to last and latest time playing my original Gamecube copy of it, the so called "awkward" or "dated" controls for a "first person shooter" is still one of the most effortless things to go back to enjoy.

For the longest time, my all-time favorite game used to be Xenoblade Chronicles. I first played it all the way back in 2011 when it first released on Wii in Europe and I immediately fell in love with it. From its story and characters to its magnificent world building, real-time combat and outstanding music,... everything worked together to create a magical whole. I don't think any of the sequels, nor Xenoblade X, has surpassed it yet.

However, I can't say XC has more meaning for me other than it being a great game. That's a whole different story with Pokémon Legends: Arceus though. That game came at exactly the right time for me. I was completely down in the dumps. Life held very little meaning to me. I had trouble enjoying my hobbies and my stamina was at an all-time low from doing nothing for months on end,... and then came along this little Pokémon game.

I played some of the early Pokémon games on GB as a kid, but I was never a big fan of them. And throughout the years, I tried one or two more of them on DS and 3DS, but none of them were able to hold my attention for long. Mostly because of random battles. Good grief, do I detest random battles, lol. But when I saw footage of Legends: Arceus I figured that might be the Pokémon game for me. And so I gave it a shot. Not right away when it was released, mind you. Rather, it was a good few months after its release before I finally took the plunge. Anyway, it took some time to grow on me but once it did, I couldn't let it go.

The reason why I love Pokémon Legends: Arceus so much is the freedom it provides in how you want to progress. Don't want to do a lot of Pokémon battles, like I do? Great! Just catch and study them in other ways to fill out the Pokédex. Don't want to continue the story just yet? No problem! There's a bunch of side quests to tackle and a big world to explore. Since I fell in love with this game, the anticipation for a possible sequel made me more excited about it than the next Xenoblade and I literally jumped out of my chair when Pokémon Legends: Z-A got announced. Because of this game, I've also started watching the anime from scratch, which I'm enjoying immensely.

I've also become way more active again. Somehow I wanted to extend the feeling Arceus gave me in exploring the world, enjoying nature and making new discoveries, into the real world. I'm enjoying my walks and bike rides in nature again, which I lost ages ago, and my stamina has been steadily increasing ever since. You might say this game gave me a jolt back to life, sort of speak. And because of that, and because I still very much enjoy playing it after hundreds of hours spent on it, I can easily say Pokémon Legends: Arceus has become my new all-time favorite video game.

Although not technically my favorite game, the game which resonates with me the most mentally is probably Tetris. Simply because I've played versions of it throughout my entire life from a tiny child to now. There are no other games where I can 'get in the zone' and simply bliss out my brain as much as Tetris.

For a deeper emotional impact, there have been a few games throughout my life which I played during serious emotional issues which helped soothe or distract me. Most recently Animal Crossing New Horizons and a couple different MMOs earlier in my life. These tend to be my favorite games for a while which I play for many 100s of hours and then they stay in my memory with a weird combination of nostalgia, happiness, and trauma.

My current true favorite game is Mario Maker 2. It basically represents all 2D Mario and 2D Mario has always been games I just take simple joy in.

My favourite games are ones that tell great stories and I’m blessed to have played a lot of them over the years. The three Xenoblade games aren’t my favourites of all time but 1 and 3 are absolutely in my top five, and so is the series as a whole. It may sound a little cliché but the core messages of the 3 main line games are incredibly profound.

Nicked these from a “hylian_likely” on a YouTube video, I have almost nothing to add to it, but as a largely empirical, atheist person I love the agency that these games give you. The whole concept of rejecting predetermination is something many can learn from.

Xenoblade 1: the future isn't predetermined, you have the power to change it.
Xenoblade 2: your past experiences don't have to define who you are today.
Xenoblade 3: don't become stuck in the present, you have to move forward.

I also found the three Persona games from 3-5 very rich in very similarly different ways, but that’s a story for another time.

My favourite games are the ones that make think about other aspects of my life or not think about life at all. The most hours spent in a game is still Skate 3. Escapism at is best for me. Just being in a world where there is no stress, but you can still get better at something (and because of the controls it really felt like I was the one doing the tricks). Now Disco Elysium, Celeste & Pentiment are my top 3 ever. Being part of those worlds made me feel different about my own life.

My favourite game of all time has to be a tie to either Zelda A Link to the Past or Super Mario World. As a kid in the early 2000's we weren't a poor family but for a house of 6 with 4 kids it can be difficult to afford the latest games and consoles.

So I always got retro games from my older siblings that they used to own. Whenever I play those two games it just reminds me that games are meant to be fun and joyful without a care in the world.

I remember when i played my all-time favorite game. My birthday was on the day Nintendo Switch released. Playing Breath of the Wild when I was 9 yrs old just hit so different.

Super Metroid 3

My first year of high school. A year before the PS1 arrived. This was peak SNES, Sega CD, and TG-16 time for me in the hobby. Coming off of the original Metroid and going into Super Metroid felt like it was best metroidvania I had played at that point in time.

Best level design, best audio design, battery-saved progress, in-continuity story continued from Metroid II, a little skill complexity with the wall-jumping, etc.

I even got a little misty-eyed when the metroid died protecting Samus.

I played the game so much I managed a sub-one hour playthrough before speed running was even a thing.

Some of my favorites, like Super Mario Bros 3, Mega Man 3, and Sonic 3 & Knuckles, I link to memories. They're all fantastic games regardless, but just turning these games on opens a door back to that time period for me.

Super Mario 3D World might just be my favorite game of all time. I've loved (and still love) the classic 2D Mario platformers, especially Super Mario World... and for a good while, SMW was my favorite game. 3D World took everything I loved about the classics, from the fun and creative levels, to the multiple playable characters ala Super Mario Bros. 2, to the many, many awesome power-ups/items that rival the amount of those in Super Mario Bros. 3. And you get to be a cat! The whole game is just filled with charm, and it features a truly fabulous soundtrack. It's everything I love about Mario, and then some! It came out at a good time too... I wasn't doing too well mentally during a good chunk of the Wii U era, and this game did help me out quite a bit. Such a wonderful adventure, and I'd recommend to anyone. The Switch version is great too, with online and a new side game, Bowser's Fury, which I also enjoyed.

I have maybe two…

The first Splatoon is one of my favorite Nintendo games (and probably one of my favorite game series) of all time. It was my introduction to shooter games, and I remember it being one of my most played games of all time. It had a unique setting, stylish visuals, fun characters, great gameplay, goofiness, and fun music too. I used to draw characters from the game a lot and even made original characters; it was so amazing to me at the time! I poured lots of time into Splatoon 2 and did play 3, but the Switch with my account transferred households, so I unfortunately didn’t get to put many hours into the third game. However, I still love the series, even though I don’t play it anymore. I appreciate the effort put into it, and it helped me get into a genre I was unfamiliar with. The memories of turning off the Wii U when I lost a match and turning it back on after… I was such a sore loser years ago lol

The second one is Conker’s Bad Fur Day, though this one gets a little personal…It’s an older game, though I played it for the first time last year. I started it at a time where I was busy and had to help my family a lot early in the morning to afternoon, though sometimes it was until nighttime. Whenever I got time off on weekends or after work, I booted the game up and tried to get as much time as I could into it before my routine repeated again. The game was raunchy and had some juvenile humor, but I didn’t mind; the intentional stupidity and quirky moments were entertaining and provided fun at a point in my life where I had little time for it. Bad Fur Day wasn’t long, but I spent two weeks on it from my schedule. Honestly though? I didn’t care about how prolonged my time was with the game; it made me happy and helped forget about the issues I had, not to mention I absolutely love the charm and feel Rare’s cartoony games exude.

The game does have a message at the end despite being lighthearted; the main character is greedy throughout the story and is obsessed with collecting money. He does help people, but only if he is promised money or something luxurious as a reward, and there was a line early in the game where he expressed how much he wants to be a millionaire. Once he and his girlfriend are enlisted by a mafia to rob a bank, his dream of being a millionaire does come true, but it does at the cost of his girlfriend, who dies right near him when she gets shot at by the mafia he and her were working for. On top of that, he is crowned king, something he never wished for, as in the beginning he was trying to get back to his girlfriend and home after a night of partying and alcohol. There’s a monologue at the end where he says something like “you’ll never know what you truly have until you realize it’s gone.” I think it’s a good message, being to appreciate the people around you and what you already have instead of wanting more of it; in his case, it was money, and even though he’s a monarch now, he realizes that having a near endless amount of cash won’t make him happy, now that his girlfriend and old life are forever gone. You could even say that his greed and want for money is what led to him getting in this situation, as it’s actually what also gets him distracted from his main goal of getting home.

I tend to act materialistic towards my possessions and want more of it. I say to myself that my items are more important than me and that I don’t have a meaning in life without them, but it does not make me happy at all and I’m faking it. It was worse in the past, as I would want to use my items more and not spend time with my family, so the game having a message related to an issue I have and showing what could happen with being super materialistic and how you might feel in the end by losing what you truly love really resonated with me.

Anyway, sorry for the huge wall of text and getting so personal at parts… these games mean a lot to me lol

Secret of Mana. I got it included when I bought the Snes 2nd hand around 1996 out of an ad in a local paper. I had zero idea about the game. Never heard of it before. What can I say? It was, and still is, my favourite game of all time. The simple act of naming your character with your name made it my adventure. The music, the combat, the exploration, how big and sprawling it felt. 3 player co-op. The story, which some may found slight, was astonishing to me. The big reveal of who the character's mother is was shocking. The friendship that develops between the three, the sacrifies. The ending made me cry.

9 year old me would take a stick and wonder around the woods pretending I was Randi. It inspired me so much in so many ways, I even spent years of my life making a live action web series out of it years later.

@Pastellioli Conker is also a special one to me. That is great it is so special to you. I agree, that last line by Conker when he is King is very very chilling and memorable. It is a great message actually.

I got it for my 13th Birthday about a month after it came out, even though I was told I wouldn't because it was an 18 (apparently the sales guy at CEX told my Mum it was a horrible game with lots of swearing and violence). I guess she changed her mind and went back and got it anyway! Ha Ha. As a 13 year old in 2001, this kind of game and humour was wild. It did have a lasting impact for me in many ways, especially with it being an N64 game with so much voice acting, as I voice Conker in a lot of fan animations, so it does mean a lot to me.

@Pastellioli Great Post, thanks for sharing. It's interesting to me, your discussion about family and possessions, 'cos it resonates with me. I don't feel much when it comes to family, and collecting and playing games over the past 10-15 years has been a really significant part of my life. To an extent, I feel like the games and the gaming world are a part of me in a way that I value, more so than I seem to value my family.

But of course, I am bound to reevaluate that if I find myself in a position where that family is not there anymore. Doesn't seem to change how I feel right now, but I acknowledge it's likely to happen. Que sera.

I should probably clarify, by family I mean parents, siblings, extended.

But I also have kids - I'm not referring to them above. It's different with my kids because we bond through games, among other stuff. Super Mario 3D World, Wii/Mario Party, TLoZ: Wind Waker HD, Mario Sports Mix, LEGO Star Wars (Wii), LEGO Lord of the Rings (Wii), Wii Sports Club (Bowling), Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, FIFA, Super Smash Bros., Fortnite, Animal Crossing: New Horizons. These games are where me and my kids have spent so much time together over the past 10 years. Irreplaceably good times.

There's been a few other games too (e.g. Halo, Project Gotham Racing, SEGA Rally with my bros, Sensible Soccer and Championship Manager in my youth), but those highlighted above are particularly special due to the connection with my kids. Raising a little family ain't all a bed of roses, so it's so great to have this many sources of fun memories.

On a more strictly individual play basis, there are three games that are special to me. Mario Kart 8/Deluxe, Breath of the Wild, and FIFA. These are the solo play games I've taken by far the most fun, excitement and inspiration from in my life.

Mario Kart 8 is just endlessly enthralling: its ability to throw in so many incredibly, butt-clenchingly, close race finishes is truly fantastic, and its just so beautiful to look at - the amount of time I've spent watching slow-motion replays is crazy.

Breath of the Wild... nothing may ever come close to the wonder of wandering through woods, over hills and snow-covered mountains, along cliff tops and coastlines. And then being able to climb and glide over it all... An incredible experience.

FIFA. What can I say? I love football and FIFA has done a better job of giving me that football buzz on Nintendo systems than anything else.

And I'll give one runner-up mention while I'm at it - Super Mario Galaxy - this was the game that pushed me into buying a Wii, which was the first time I bought a brand-new console, and its incredible sound design and visual flair will stay with me forever. I love those Star Bits.

And I s'pose I should also mention Wind Waker HD again. A game I overlooked during the GameCube era, but the unique art style is endlessly enticing in HD on Wii U. My first playthrough was a mixed experience, can't deny there weren't a couple of annoyances that I blew out of proportion at the time due to the frustration it caused, but returning to it to support my daughter's playthrough brought home how lovely an experience it is.

@Mana_Knight Yep, the monologue he gives at the end was chilling for sure! The voice acting was one of the best parts of it, and I can remember he had a lot of emotion when delivering those final lines. The coolest and most impressive thing about that game is that the voice cast consisted of the game director, as well as a developer and animator at Rare that both worked on Bad Fur Day; it’s really amazing how much range the three had when voicing the cast of characters. Usually, you get more than three voice actors and actresses for that!

I remember getting to that cutscene early in the morning in my dark bedroom and silently gazing at the screen as the credits rolled. It was sad, but the message the game had is important, especially to me, as it helped me realize how materialistic I used to act to years ago.

Also, I didn’t know you also did voice acting in Conker fan animations! That’s really cool

@gcunit I see! Thank you for sharing as well.

Despite what I said about how materialistic I am, I find that family is very important. Years ago, I was more secluded, wanted to be alone with my possessions, and never liked leaving home. Whenever my dad wanted to hang out with me, I always made excuses like “I don’t want to go out today” or “I’m worried I’ll get sick” just to hide how much I wanted to be together with the items I had. However, I outright said to him once that I wanted to be with my materials rather than him, and he got upset with me with how much I hurt his feelings. I deeply regret what I said at that time. Looking back, I was very selfish.

I kept forgetting that my family won’t be there all the time, and, one day, they will say goodbye forever to me. Like Conker in Conker’s Bad Fur Day, I also never realized how materialistic I was. I was too distracted with the items I had and wanted more of it to my own benefit. While my items do give me happiness right now, are they going to keep doing so even when my loved ones are gone? To me, I don’t think they can replace the love that comes with family, and if I don’t spend enough time with my parents and siblings, I’ll regret my decisions in the end.

Luckily, I’ve gotten better. Me and my family go out more often into the outside world and try doing so daily. I get so happy when I am not in my house all day… I can act materialistic sometimes, but I’m glad I’ve spent less time with my items and more with the people I’m closest to. We all used to bond over video games together, but we unfortunately don’t do so anymore, since almost all my family don’t play games or aren’t gamers.