this post was submitted on 09 Oct 2025
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For 90s kids, there's no need for explanation. For others, well, pokemon was a phenomenon. It was everywhere, on TV, in magazines, toys, stickers. You could trade pokemon at the school excursion on the bus.

You felt alive in this world, pokemon gen 1-2 were the pinnacle of pokemon for me. And in gen2, finishing the game, and lo and behold, there's a whole other region (kanto) waiting for you to explore it. The night cycle in the game blew my mind in ways that I have been chasing ever since.

I know it will never be reached again, but the memory will remain as powerful as it was that evening of the early 00s. What is your greatest gaming high, that you know will never be topped again, and that you have been chasing ever since?

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[–] intentionallyBlue@lemmy.world 1 points 5 hours ago

For me, Baldurs Gate 2. So much story to immerse yourself in, companions to learn about. And on top of that really fun fighting; a good amount of tactical thinking needed, but not too much.

[–] BeardedGingerWonder@feddit.uk 1 points 5 hours ago

Beating halo final level with wife in co-op

Sonic 2 all emeralds, no deaths Metal Slug in the arcade

Any clutch ending

[–] quinkin@lemmy.world 2 points 7 hours ago

Ark Survival Evolved.

Waking up on the beach, getting insta-murdered by a raptor.

Managing to meet up with your mates, building a hut, thinking you are doing ok and carno eats you and your hut in the night.

Taming your first T rex, stomping about monching everything, thinking you are doing ok, then suddenly giga eats you and everything you love.

Wish I could recapture that feeling.

  1. Super mario galaxy, portal and mass effect 1. Rip that feeling i will never again exeperience
[–] Jumi@lemmy.world 2 points 9 hours ago

The first time I made it through Winter in Rimworld.

[–] tacosomuch@lemmy.world 1 points 8 hours ago

Great thread! My moment comes from Deus Ex. There was a mission near versalife in Hong Kong, and I took the wrong door at some point and veered off path. I did not have to do it, but I got lost and I did, i cleaned all security from the entire building. After I got out, i read on one of those news screens.. it had an article about a terrorist attack massacre on the versalife offices 97 dead… I realized they wrote about me - clever bit of cause-effect-scripting there!

[–] Tollana1234567@lemmy.today 1 points 8 hours ago

black and white, and HSGSS, SINCE i never had a PC to own until late 2000s, then it was WC3/SC1 BROOD war, then off and on rs.

[–] AmanitaCaesarea@slrpnk.net 1 points 8 hours ago* (last edited 8 hours ago) (1 children)

Man a lot of recent games have been amazing. God of War 2018. The return of Kratos in a whole new setting and gameplay style.

Elden Ring as my first souls game. Being an absolute souls noob, my build was shit. Every boss defeated truly felt amazing. The journey was long and hard to become Elden Lord. The environments, enemy design, it is truly and outstanding game.

Kingdome Come Deliverance 2. Has to be one of the best RPGs. It commits to what it is, and I have probably learned more about Bohemian history from the game than in school.

Baldur's Gate 3 as my first Baldur's Gate game. Nothing needs to be said about this absolute master piece. Except Laezel > Karlach > Shadowheart.

The Bayonetta franchise. What an amazing over the top experience. Especially Bayo 1 has this early playstation 1-2 vibes that tickles my monkey brain.

So many more games that I wish I could erase out of my mind to experience again for the first time.

[–] SaraTonin@lemmy.world 2 points 6 hours ago (1 children)

If we’re specifically doing recent games, then Outer Wilds really is a once-in-a-lifetime gaming experience. Which, if you’ve not played it, you really want to play with as few spoilers as possible. It’s genuinely one of the most profoundly moving experiences I’ve had while consuming any media.

[–] AmanitaCaesarea@slrpnk.net 1 points 5 hours ago

Will check it out, lots of people praise it. I have a certain love for Starbound. Very different kind of game, but also on the vain of Space Exploration. So i'll give it a go soon!

Right now playing through Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon. If u need something to hit that Elder Scrolls spot then u should try it!

[–] Underwaterbob@sh.itjust.works 1 points 8 hours ago

I (horribly inefficiently) figured out a puzzle in Prime Mover last night that took me four hours over two days. It was a real hallelujah moment.

[–] Naz@sh.itjust.works 6 points 16 hours ago (1 children)

I lived and breathed Morrowind.

But I've got optimistic insane news for you all

IT'S HAPPENING AGAIN

I'm playing a game called Kenshi and it feels like it's 2003!

I'm at the verge of tears. Chase that gaming high, YOU'LL FIND IT!!!

[–] mikedd@lemmy.world 1 points 10 hours ago

Are we soulmates!? I lived and breathed Morrowind too! I've got Kirkbride's concept art tattooed all over my body, hehe.

[–] QuinnyCoded@sh.itjust.works 1 points 11 hours ago

seeing the world of DOOM Eternal. It's just so detailed and SO DAMN FUN!!

[–] ClassifiedPancake@discuss.tchncs.de 7 points 18 hours ago* (last edited 18 hours ago) (1 children)

I want to feel that time again when we ran a mod-packed Minecraft server with friends and we built a whole city with really creative and elaborate structures and cool tech. Everyone had their speciality and it all came together perfectly.

Nowadays none of us have the time anymore to get lost in games for weeks and months like that. Also it’s hard to get back into it after such a long pause. Everything has changed so much.

But going more retro, it would probably be starting up my new N64 and jumping around with Mario in this crazy 3D environment. Holy shit that was amazing!

[–] Charzard4261@programming.dev 2 points 5 hours ago

Aww man, the memories of making a garden base for Botania outside my friend's Thaumcraft witch tower, across a river where your could see a Buildcraft quarry running next to someone's industrial complex... Good times!

Tried playing Cobblemon with the idea to make our own themed towns but just like you there doesn't seem to be time for it anymore :(

[–] djdarren@piefed.social 6 points 18 hours ago* (last edited 3 hours ago)

I'm forever looking for a game that'll affect me emotionally as much as Arthur's last ride in RDR2. I still can't hear that Daniel Lanois track without feeling all of the feelings, and it's been a good few years since I played it.

Absolutely remarkable experience.

[–] Atomic@sh.itjust.works 6 points 21 hours ago

From 5-13 I had a PS1 and PS2, fantastic games were made. But that one night in maybe 2010, I was maybe 14, had a new computer I'd saved up for and built, I looked at piratebay and saw "Fallout 3" lots of seeders, cool, let's try it. Must be good if so many are seeding.

It was leagues above anything I'd ever played before. The graphics were stunning! The open world was breathtaking. I get to choose my own dialog!? I don't think anything will ever manage to compare to the day I played Fallout 3 for the first time.

[–] Kolanaki@pawb.social 3 points 19 hours ago

Nothing has ever topped Ultima Online for me. The right amount of complexity, with the right amount of players who actually immersed themselves in the game and acted like their character made it a true alternative world.

[–] Nalivai@lemmy.world 11 points 1 day ago

Morrowind. Playing it, modding it, breaking it, trying to fix mods, writing new mods, all of it. Morrowind was so fun, for some time it convinced me that Bethesda might be a competent company

[–] JigglySackles@lemmy.world 3 points 20 hours ago (1 children)

Xenogears. It was a life-changing game for me. The concepts and philosophy it introduced to my teenage brain tangibly altered my world view over time. It broke me out of a mold I didn't even know I was in. Nothing compares to it for me. As a game, it's well made, but has it's share of sticking points. But it did for me something no other game has.

I've had similar feelings of wonder and awe in other games but not the same life altering impact to my world view.

In a more light-hearted "omg such game, much amazing, very nostalgia" category though, Doom, Duke Nukem 3D, Quake 1, HL1, Stalker, Morrowind, and Oblivion all hold special places in my memories.

Three more modern games that really brought a sense of wonder to me are Nier Automata, Mirror's Edge 1, and Outer Wilds.

[–] samus12345@sh.itjust.works 2 points 19 hours ago* (last edited 19 hours ago) (1 children)

As an aside, Xenogears is awesome with a higher resolution and widescreen. It's BS that it can be done emulated, but they've never bothered doing it officially (or even re-releasing it at all, for that matter). Uh, we'll just pretend the second disc never happened, though...

[–] JigglySackles@lemmy.world 2 points 17 hours ago* (last edited 17 hours ago)

I wish it'd get a proper remake, with the second half fully fleshed out. I'd even take a remaster with the second disc content fleshed out. Lol

[–] pasdechance@jlai.lu 4 points 21 hours ago (1 children)

Probably winter 91 or spring 92. Not sure when, but I saw the ads on TV and I needed to get Metroid II: Return of Samus.

I was 7.

I asked. I begged. And for Christmas or a birthday it came.

Every day when I came home from school, I played. Sometimes I took it with me and played at lunch.

Nobody else played that game. Nobody knew what I was talking about. I took the booklet with me and tried to draw the creatures.

I was stuck at one point. It lasted weeks. Maybe longer. One night before dinner I made some progress. My mother actually let me keep playing until I got to a save point.

Whatever feeling I had at that moment, I'm not sure I'll find it again, but my expression must have been enough. I made it to the save point.

Eventually I beat the game but I'd look forward to getting home to try and speedrun it 100% And eventually I could consistantly beat it under 3 hours with 100% items. I haven't had a game since that I've enjoyed as much except maybe a few shmups.

[–] JigglySackles@lemmy.world 2 points 20 hours ago (1 children)

That was far and away my favorite gameboy game. I think my fastest time in my late teens was something like 2 hours? Maybe longer. Whichever hour marker it was that got you swimsuit samus at the end 😂

[–] pasdechance@jlai.lu 2 points 19 hours ago

Anything under 3 is the swimsuit ending :)

[–] Seasm0ke@lemmy.world 7 points 1 day ago (1 children)

The first two weeks of Pokemon go were like peace on earth. Everyone was friendly, excited, and walking around outside together, chatting with perfect strangers was actually a blast for once. We shared tips and locations, exchanged numbers, metup after work, cops were largely unmotivated to do anything about it because of how many of us and how wholesome it really was. Honestly best 2 weeks of my life

[–] LemmyThinkAboutIt@lemmy.zip 1 points 5 hours ago

I was trying to think of an answer and when I got to yours, I found myself remembering that time and that gaming high that game collectively gave everyone. And then they took away the step tracker, and while I still played daily until 2018, taking that away really took some gas out of the game. I don't know what else to call it so hopefully you understand what I'm referring to. The thing that helped you find the pokemon and whether you were going in the right direction or not.

[–] Tilgare@lemmy.world 4 points 22 hours ago (1 children)

I think it's a pretty easy call for me - World of Warcraft raiding was some of the most fun I've ever had gaming. The pinnacle was probably when my guild got Realm First! Fall of the Lich King (25-man heroic). We spent MONTHS grinding away at it - we had the 10-man realm first achievement as well and could clear heroic with a variety of group comps, 2 or 3 groups per week would run on off-raid nights. But for 25-man heroic, we could clear the rest of the raid in 2-3 hours as I recall, so we'd take some swings at him on night 1 and then we'd spend 2 full raid nights on The Lich King - the final boss of Ice Crown Citadel raid and in fact the final boss of the Wrath of the Lich King expansion.

For SEVEN months we did this. He was tough af. He had a number of abilities where a single person fucks up and either the whole raid wipes immediately, or it rapidly snowballs out of control otherwise. So after a month's long uphill fight, and with competing guilds just as close as we were, it was an INSANE moment when we got our realm first kill. It was such a ridiculous high, everyone screaming with relief and excitement. The realm second kill happened that same night, too - so we just narrowly managed to earn our server first kill.

We continued with realm firsts in the Cataclsym expansion on Sinestra, Ragnaros, and Deathwing. I got my first and only legendary weapon - Dragonwrath this expansion. And finally the Mists of Pandaria expansion was the beginning of the end for our guild as a lot of long time players like myself started falling off, so after earning #1 for the first raid tier, things slipped from there. I had a ton of personal victories in game too - after earning Dragonwrath, the most esteemed of all was earning the achievement Insane in the Membrane.

And yet - none of those other victories remotely compared to that first kill of the Lich King. It was truly a special moment.

[–] Godric@lemmy.world 3 points 22 hours ago (1 children)

My first Wrecking Ball achievement is probably the peak of WoW for me. Orc warrior SMASH

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Playing the Mass Effect Trilogy for the first time.

Sure the ending was a bit disappointing, but the ride was absolutely phenomenal.

[–] Cordyceps@sopuli.xyz 2 points 20 hours ago* (last edited 12 hours ago) (1 children)

Vampire the masquerade bloodlines (god, what a mouthful of a title) is still the best rpg ive played to date. Troika games created a masterpiece here, even if it needed an unofficial community patch to be playable. The story is engaging and it is very easy to get immersed into the game world. It is a shame it does not get mentioned more often.

As for a more mainstream fantasy rpg, yeah I am with everybody on Oblivion. The first time you exit the dungeon, with the whole world right there for you to explore, was truly magical.

Halo : CE was the first game I split screened with my dad, and we spent hundreds of hours on it together. I remember the first time we beat the game on legendary, that final car ride was really something. Only wish I can someday share that feeling with my offspring.

Edit: typo, must have been thinking of Requiem as bloodlines 1.

[–] samus12345@sh.itjust.works 1 points 19 hours ago* (last edited 19 hours ago)

Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines 2 comes out this month (and is guaranteed to be nowhere near as good as the first one).

[–] SleepyPie@lemmy.world 2 points 20 hours ago* (last edited 20 hours ago) (1 children)

Siralim Ultimate

You like Pokémon but could leave the anime? You like building decks in Magic or some such tinkering?

This might be the last game you need to buy for years, and it’s like $20ish.

[–] BlueMagma@sh.itjust.works 1 points 9 hours ago

I wanted to get sucked into it so bad when I heard the pitch. I played for a couple hours, but unfortunately it didn't happen for me.

[–] SaneMartigan@aussie.zone 3 points 22 hours ago

Gaming my consciousness with shrooms and ket.

[–] douz0a0bouz@midwest.social 4 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Being a 90s kid I feel that there were many mind blowing moments seeing the games evolve.

My first one was playing Shining Force 2 on the Sega Genesis with my dad.

Next was gen 1&2 Pokémon, I'm with you.

Next one was probably FF7 on the ps1. Remember having to switch disks while the game was running? 🤯

Next one was The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

Kinda burnt out on games now. Adulting sucks

edit: The gb

[–] Denjin@feddit.uk 19 points 1 day ago

After dragging my long suffering mum around every shop that might possibly still have a copy of The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time and finally getting what must have been the last one anywhere.

We then have to go and do a whole load of other things all afternoon while I read the manual from back to front about a dozen times in the back of the car, getting more and more excited.

Then we finally got home but I had to help with dinner first and then eat all the while jabbering incessantly about how amazing it was going to be while I'm sure she just rolled her eyes and said "yes dear" and then I was finally allowed to put the N64 on and I then sat glued to it for hours in a state of wonder and amazement.

Truly the best experience I've ever had gaming.

[–] Siethron@lemmy.world 2 points 22 hours ago

The first time I beat the final boss of Sekiro. It was a culmination of everything you learned in that game and perfectly paced. Felt like being part of a well choreographed dance and like everything you had gone through to get to this point of the game was paying off.

[–] samus12345@sh.itjust.works 1 points 19 hours ago

Dragon Quest Builders 2. I'm not entirely sure why, but that game was crack to me from start to finish. I pretty much never bother platinum-ing games, and I went out of my way to for that one. It's especially funny since I'm not a fan of Minecraft at all. The game just had all the right ingredients to inject dopamine straight into my brain for the duration. The lack of a 3 sucks (and I tried the first one but didn't really like it that much).

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