Opinionation: What's Your Most Valued Game?
This week's GayGamer Podcast brought up an interesting question that had me thinking long after podcast ended. A reader named Shawn asked Fruit Brute and Tiny Dancer about what game in their collection they value the most. Noting that the word "value" has many meanings, our podcasting duo was asked if their favorite title was a rare ebay-tacular collectable or a relatively "common" game with deep sentimental value. Fruit Brute used it as another opportunity to spread the word of Rapture by talking about Bioshock. Our petite performer reminded us non-glamorous types that people in Manhattan don't exactly have a whole lot of room for collecting games, but did divulge that there are a few titles that stick around with him (at least for a short time), including Bioshock and Dead Space. Hearing our boys talk about picking just one or two titles as the games they value most got me wondering what I would pick and what games you dear readers would choose as well.
I realize that I'm a bit of an obsessive collector with a library in the 1000's (why else would I still have that rig for Steel Battalion?), but looking at the highlights of my collection I found it extremely difficult to pick a few games for just one system, let alone one to rule them all. How could I value games that have shaped me as an artist and designer (Rez, Metal Gear Solid) over titles that I have spent hundreds of hours with (Capcom Vs. [whatever], Super Smash Bros. Melee), or games that remind me of the people and places from my past (such as my copy of Space Channel 5 Part 2, acquired when I was in Japan, or Geist, the first "real" I worked on)? It never escapes me how much games as a whole mean to me personally, but I never realized just how many individual titles have such strong and deep personal value to me. Just briefly looking at my shelves, numerous titles would instantly remind me where I lived, what I was doing, and who I was as a person at the time they came into my life. But after taking a trip down Memory Lane, I found "the game." The one that I knew deep down I valued more than any other...
The story of how I purchased it isn't entirely unique, but still one that stays with me today. Back when I was little, I begged and pleaded with my folks for this game to no avail. Never passing up an opportunity to teach one of their children the value of a dollar, my parents told me I needed to earn it myself. Now, most normal stories like this end with the kid raising the money themselves through massive amounts of hard work and chores (and that's exactly what happened), but my then-cruel caretakers made the earning/waiting process that much more excruciating by purchasing the game the first day it was available and sat it atop the living room mantle, as a constant reminder that I was so close, yet so far from gaming bliss.
For months I would sit and stare at the box sitting in the living room in a daze. Between my errands I was sometimes even be allowed to hold the game and read the description on the back of the box to the point that I memorized it word for word. My mind would race with the seemingly endless possibilities that were contained in the tiny cartridge until I eventually earned the all the money necessary to buy the game from my folks... And let me tell you, playing Super Mario Bros 3 for the first time lived up to and exceeded every single one of my expectations!
I still have that well earned, well worn cartridge today. I may have had to replace it's original box and lost instruction booklet with another, but it's a game I care for with a feather touch and one I could never, ever part with.
Surely I cannot be the only one like this. Some of you dear readers must have games that you cannot part with for collectable or not-so-collectable reasons. Feel free to share your own stories in the comments.
Game-Boy
Posted to Miscellany, Video Games on 22 October 2009
· Comments (17)
Other stuff like this: child slavery, collections, games, opinionation, rare, retro, value
Xenogears! Hands down. Xenogears.
Second game? Probably my set of Shadow Hearts games.
I love this question! Asking for a 'most valued game' opens the question up to a variety of interpretations and stories, such as the one you've posted!
For me, my most valued game if Final Fantasy IV, and I'm actually going to play a little bit with the terms 'valued' and 'game'. For me, FFIV's value comes from the huge amount of memories it brings me and the joy I have every time I play through its amazing story. There's a lot of sentimentality that would take forever to describe. As for 'game', there's no one version of FFIV I would describe as the superior version. The original SNES cartridge has a charm that the later iterations can never match. The GBA version adds on a lot of interesting content and a new script. The DS version adds voices, new graphics, and ups the aural ante. So when I say FFIV is my most-valued 'game', I mean all of the iterations of the game taken together as a single entity.
I know this may be blasphemous, but I'm not a hardcore gaymer. I love rpg's so I don't often replay them, at least not all the way through. So most valuable to me kinda means most memorable. The first game that came to mind was Ico. That was lifechanging for me. I never knew games could be like that! FFX, katamari and God of War did the same. I love games that really change it up and bring something new. I'm sure there are others, but Ico comes right to mind along with SotC. Can't wait for the next one!
My most valuable game is probably Panzer Dragoon Saga.
My most cherished game though would the complete sealed copies of Shining Force 3 (all 3 scenarios and the Premium Disc). Shining Force 2 is my absolute favorite game of all time, and so when I found out there was a Shining Force 3 I wanted it more than anything. Unfortunately my parents bought an N64 instead of the Sega Saturn I wanted so badly, and so it wasn't until much later that I was able to buy a Saturn and the games I had always wanted. But I was struck by a problem: Shining Force 3 was split into 3 parts, only one of which was ever released outside of Japan. I played the first scenario in English, and loved it, but it wasn't the complete game. 2 years ago at an anime convention I saw a table selling import games and to my amazement they had all 3 Japanese scenarios, as well as the limited edition Premium Disc, all in perfect condition. I don't even remember how much it cost, it didn't matter, I had to have it. I still haven't opened or played any of them, and I'm not sure I ever will. It's just been something that I've desired for so long that they've been built up on a pedestal that I'm not sure any game can ever really achieve. The fact that I can't actually speak Japanese only adds to impenetrable loftiness of the games. But in my collection, Shining Force 3 is the game I value the most.
Mine is Condemned: Criminal Origins. I played that game so many times that I can remember everyline all the characters say.
The Misadventures of Tron Bonne/MegaMan Legends and Chrono Cross. I remember counting down the days for Chrono Cross and Tron Bonne and calling Gamestop every hour on the release dates to the point of pissing the one cashier off. I bought the guide for Chrono the day it came out and read the hell out of it, and eventually a friend of mine got me the 'Missing Piece' artbook off eBay.
MegaMan Legends was the first game my brother and I got for our PS1, and we'd spend hours playing it together, exploring the ruins, killing Reaverbots and thwarting the Bonnes at every opportunity.
Those three games are my most valued. Besides the SMT/Persona games, I haven't really found a game on any other console that I "value." I've played the crap out of Bioshock and loved it, but it has more of a monetary/quality value to me than personal/nostalgic value.
It's funny, there was a game I wanted back when I was about 16 years old. It looked like it would be the most amazing game to ever come to the N64 because it had everything I wanted: tactical gameplay, squad-based teamplay, modern weapons. Yes indeed, Rainbow Six offered so much.
Then I got it for Christmas and boy was I disappointed. That game was so slow. It played almost as slow as the book read.
It wasn't until November of 2007, some 8 years later, that I discovered my favorite game which was everything Rainbow Six promised yet failed to deliver: Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.
Yes, my most cherished game, that I've ever played, would have to be that one. This includes a 1 year addiction to FFXI (a close runner-up) and hours upon hours of time logged on Donkey Kong Country and various Mario games as an elementary schooler. Even Turok 2, which had my bloodshot eyes begging for sleep on many occasions. Nothing has delivered on every level as much as CoD4 for me.
What can I say? I'm an action junkie.
Xenogears and Super Mario Bros 3 for me.
Xenogears, Chrono Trigger and Valkyrie Profile. Not even a contest.
Unlimited SaGa. Spent a whole summer in that world and never got bored once. It was fantastic and I still value it as the best game I own. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone else, but to me it was everything and more.
Um, I will never give up my original copy of Harvest Moon for the SNES. I grew up with that game, and it just, it just...it's my baby.
Maybe it wasn't as fun as Fall Out 3 is now, or The Sims 3; but back then it was my second reality. God I love it. xD
Really is a tough question to answer. I guess in my collection there are two games that do stand out with pride. One being the most valuable as it did cost the most is a near mint condition Suikoden 2. The other who has 3 disks though managed to get disk 1 signed is FF7 with Nobou's signature on it.
Then there are the games that I hunted down to get my hands on before I became as net savvy as I have. The Misadventures of Tronne Bonne took me 3+ bloody years to find in a gamestore.
As for the game that I have bought the most times. More due to being a clutz and having broken a disk and lent a copy to a friend. I just couldn't go without American McGee's Alice. Mind you though am gay. I have an obsession with Alice. Still wonder why?
This is a lot harder to answer than I'd thought it would be. My answer comes in three parts for various reasons. My favourite videogames/most valuable videogames are Faxanadu (NES), Secret of Mana (SNES), and Final Fantasy Tactics (PS).
Faxanadu is one of my first memories in my career as a gamer. I was born in 85, and became attached to my dad's NES when I was 4 years old (It subsequently became MY NES). Faxanadu is one of the first games I really played that I REMEMBER first picking up. I remember playing Mario and whatnot, but opening Faxanadu and playing it for the first time is a very vivid memory. This is why it's one of my favourites.
Secret of Mana is a favourite of mine simply for the memories. My grandfather had a Super Nintendo for any of us kids to play when we visited. Being an amazing guy, he devoted time to playing videogames when we WEREN'T there just to be able to play them with us when we WERE there. Playing Secret of Mana with my grandfather is one of those memories that I cherish.
If I had to have a FAVOURITE game, gauged by things such as likability, replay factor, etc., then Final Fantasy Tactics would be my favourite. It was odd that it wound up being my favourite, because I actually bought it, then sold it because I HATED it, then bought it again 'cause I wanted to give it another shot. And I am glad I did. I fell in love with the story (Despite the fact that you REALLY had to try to piece it together to make any sense of it when it was translated the first time..), the characters, the music.....everything about this game was just amazing to me. I still own my original copy, as well as the port for the PSP, and I play BOTH with a degree of regularity.
My most valued game, even though it has been left at my parents' house for 'safekeeping' was the first one I ever bought with my own hard-earned money. Spiderman 2: Enter Electro on the PSone. I played that to death and still am a massive spidey fan.
It's funny you ask, I just recently moved and ditched a small stack of old NES games I had lying around for no reason, but I couldn't bring myself to let go of childhood favorites Mike Tyson's Punch Out, Life Force (an offshoot of the Gradius series), and Star Tropics.
I wish I had more of a collection but being in the minimum wage world causes me to have to trade in games to save money. One day, if i ever get a real job, I'll go back to collectivizing.
Panzer Dragoon Saga. But it' hard for me because all of the games that came out for the Saturn near the end are dear to me. Panzer, Burning Rangers and Shining Force 3 all mean a lot to me. I still hold on to them even though my Saturn stopped working years ago.
It's in my icon and name, Quest for Glory IV: Shadows of Darkness. The entire series meant a lot to me for so many reasons, among them its rather neatly blended RPG and adventure game elements. To hear Lori Cole describe the thought pattern was that she hated adventure games and how they pigeonholed you into a particular mode of thinking, so created an adventure game that offered more options, more solutions, and allowed you to do something else if you could not right away figure out the puzzle to advance the plot (go kill a few goblins for training, cast your spells for practice, earn money, et cetera).
Therefore, the fourth game sets both the perfect tone and is the nadir of the series, where many things culminate (you learn of Erana's fate, for instance), and where the stakes, personally, are higher than before. Add in a healthy love of Lovecraft lore, and you have stolen my heart.
There's also the summer I played the QFG series 1-4 four times each, with each character class, to have my exported characters ready for Quest for Glory V: Dragonfire.