Great Moments in Video Game History

[VideoGameCritic]

I've been thinking about putting a special page together about this for years. The great moments you experienced in video games that surprised you, made you laugh, or just made you smile. Video game magic!

It could range from using the "secret dot" to access the hidden room in Adventure (Atari 2600) to making an opponent's head bleed in NHL 93 (Genesis). Maybe a surprise ending like at the end of Metroid when Samus reveals herself to be a girl. Or maybe it's the first time a game let you do something cool. Could be something simple like when the bullet passed through your neck in Berzerk (Atari 2600).

I really need to gather my thoughts but maybe you guys could chime in and provide ideas from your personal experiences! Have at.

[Stalvern]

Running on the top of the screen in World 1-2 to get to the Warp Zone would be insane in any era but is practically supernatural in a game from 1985. It's such an institution that people take it for granted, but the original Super Mario Bros. is a fascinatingly strange game in a way that none of the sequels approach. The Easter egg in Adventure is a cute secret, but Super Mario Bros. has elements that are set up to make you feel like you're actually breaking the game by using them. It's the kind of thing that a latter-day indie game would make a smug song and dance over but just happens without a care here. It almost feels like an equivalent of Tristram Shandy in that regard.

[jon]

To me it's right when Super Mario 64 starts and you walk through the bridge to the castle. Being able to jump on anything like the railings was nice.

[Herschie]

MLB 12: The Show. I was so blown away by it.

[Voor]

Being helpless as you watch Mother Brain prepare to kill you with the final laser shot, only to have the baby Metroid attack and presumably kill her, but then watch her wake up as the metroid is refilling your health, watch it get attacked and finally sacrificed, powering you with the “hyper” beam that allows you to finally kill her, and then escaping the exploding planet (with the option to rescue your animal friends) is something I’ll always remember. (Super Metroid).

[ActRaiser]

then escaping the exploding planet (with the option to rescue your animal friends) is something I’ll always remember. (Super Metroid).

https://kotaku.com/super-metroids-creat ... 1818880901

Mind blown

I had no idea...And I've had that game since it came out...

[Retro STrife]

Grand Theft Auto III really changed our perception of what 3D games could be. From the go-anywhere sandbox, to running over pedestrians and punching random strangers on the street. It was the first time we really felt like we were living in a realistic present-day world inside a video game, and had the choice to do whatever we wanted.

I'll always consider it the most important 3D game ever released (and Super Mario Bros. as the most important 2D game).

[DrLitch]

I had played the first Legend of Zelda as a kid and while I generally felt detached from it, Link to the Past turned that upside down and finally we had the living breathing Hyrule we deserved. The moment the Triforce symbol appears on the screen a masterpiece was manifest before my eyes. I am not the biggest Zelda fan and never will be but Link to the Past is one of those childhood defining video game titles. Along with Mario III where you are treated to a living and breathing Mario universe.

[Voor]

then escaping the exploding planet (with the option to rescue your animal friends) is something I’ll always remember. (Super Metroid).

https://kotaku.com/super-metroids-creat ... 1818880901

Mind blown

I had no idea...And I've had that game since it came out...

Yeah, seeing their little ship (tiny!) fly off makes me feel good. Lol. If you ever watch SM speedruns at ADGQ, the “save versus kill” debate is hotly contested.

[CaptainCruch]

I love two moment in BioShock 1: 1) when you enter Rapture in the submarine-elevator like thing (while Andrew Ryan says "Welcome to Rapture!" and all that speech) and 2) the first you encounter a Big Daddy in that game.