Gaming
My Top Five Most Nostalgic Games
If it weren’t for these games I played as a kid, I wouldn’t be playing the modern masterpieces I am playing now.
Purpose of the Story
In this story, I’d like cover my most nostalgic games for the Playstation 2 and Nintendo DS. I’ve been playing computer games since I was a little kid.
My father always got new games for me since he knew it helped develop my young mind. Most of the time, I played games on my Playstation 2 and Nintendo DS. Later, I got hooked into PC games.
Here are my five nostalgic games.
1 — Need for Speed: Underground 2
The first game is called Need for Speed: Underground 2. This game was released in 2004 and developed by EA Black Box.
Like modern Need for Speed games, Underground 2 was an arcade racing game. It is the eighth installment in the Need for Speed series and a direct sequel to Need for Speed: Underground.
Underground 2 was the first racing game to include tuner culture in a racing game. Tuner culture was just starting to catch up outside Japan in the late 90s.
Fast and Furious has just hit the big screens, which got a lot of fans like me to “fangirl” over these Japanese tuner cars.
Need for Speed: Underground was an excellent game since it introduced the tuner scene in a racing game. But the sequel was way better.
It included many Japanese tuner cars, including those in the Fast and Furious movies. It was also one of the first open-world racing games unheard of at this time.
Not only did it have incredibly in-depth car customization, but it was also a very immersive career progression system with sponsors, special events, and almost RPG (Role Playing Game) like unlocks and upgrades.
For its time, Underground 2 was a significant success. Because of this game, I fell in love with the racing game genre and now play modern racing games such as Forza and the new Need for Speed games.
Because of this game, I became very interested in tuner car culture and hope to buy one later in my life.
2 — Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.
The second game is called Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. This game was also released in 2004 and developed by Rockstar Games.
Similar to the popular game Grand Theft Auto 5, San Andreas was an action-adventure game following the main character in his criminal lifestyle.
It was the fifth main entry in the Grand Theft Auto series, following Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.
The story follows former gangster Carl “CJ” Johnson, who returns home after his mother’s murder. He is drawn back into his former gang and re-enters the life of crime.
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas was the main Grand Theft Auto game that got me into the franchise.
Following this game, I visited Grand Theft Auto games earlier, but it just didn’t itch the scratch that this game gave me. It was a very iconic game, and I still revisit it occasionally.
Recently Rockstar Games released the Definitive Edition of Grand Theft Auto. It included a remastered version of Grand Theft Auto III, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.
Re-playing the remastered version of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas was a nostalgic blast. It was a fantastic experience to play the game again with modern graphics but the same classic storyline.
Because of this game, I played later Grand Theft Auto games such as Grand Theft Auto IV and Grand Theft Auto V.
3 — New Super Mario Bros. for DS
The third game is called New Super Mario Bros. for DS. This game was released in 2006 and developed by Nintendo.
This was my first taste of Super Mario games in general, and it did not disappoint. I would take my Nintendo DS everywhere I went so that I could play this game.
I was so attached to this game that I never missed out on every Super Mario game that came afterward. I still play Super Mario games to this day, specifically on my Nintendo Switch, because of this classic Mario game.
Here’s a short introduction if you don’t know what Super Mario Bros. is.
Super Mario Bros. is a platformer game following the main character Mario in a quest to save Princess Peach from the evil character Bowser.
The gameplay consists of various levels Mario must pass to catch up to Bowser and defeat him to set the princess free. Super Mario games were a massive part of my childhood and are the reason I am a huge follower of modern Nintendo games.
4 — Pokemon Diamond
The fourth game is called Pokemon Diamond. This game was released in 2006, developed by Game Freak, and published by Nintendo.
It was initially released alongside Pokemon Pearl.These are the first installments in the fourth generation of the Pokemon video game series.
Much like other Pokemon games, Pokemon Diamond follows a young Pokemon trainer as they train and battle Pokemon.
If you aren’t familiar, Pokemon are creatures who come in all shapes and sizes. They live in the wild or alongside their human trainer.
Trainers can catch wild Pokemon in a Pokeball and tame them. They can then summon whichever Pokemon they need during a battle against wild Pokemon or against other trainers.
Pokemon Diamond can be described as a role-playing game with adventure elements. It was introduced online play through wifi, improved gameplay mechanics, and added over 100 new Pokemon.
Pokemon Diamond was the first Pokemon game I ever played, but I quickly became obsessed with catching every Pokemon.
Even though I didn’t succeed since there were so many different ways to catch them, I still thoroughly enjoyed the game.
Pokemon Diamond was the reason I became obsessed with Pokemon. Soon after, I became interested in previous Pokemon games and the Pokemon animated TV series.
I still play the newest Pokemon games released on the Nintendo Switch.
5 — Spider-Man 2
The final game is called Spider-Man 2. This game was released in 2004 and developed by Treyarch.
If you haven’t put it together already, Spider-Man 2 was based on a Marvel movie with the same name.
The original Spider-Man movies were a massive part of my childhood; to this day, he is still my favorite superhero. So you can understand my excitement when I found out about this game.
I’m not sure why but I actually didn’t know about the original Spider-Man game at the time. But when I heard about the Spider-Man 2 game, I rushed to my parents, asking if they could buy it for me.
This was the best game I had ever played in my young mind.
The gameplay follows Peter Parker as Spider-Man in a third-person action-adventure video game.
The story is set two years after the first Spider-Man game, where Peter Parker is struggling to balance his civilian life and his duties as Spider-Man.
This game was the main reason I continued playing superhero games such as the Batman: Arkham collection and Injustice.
To no surprise, when Playstation announced a new Spider-Man game for the Playstation 4 in 2018, I was beyond excited. It reminded me of the times I played Spider-Man 2 on my Playstation 2 when I was a kid.
Final Words
There have been many games from my childhood that have shaped me to become the person I am today.
And modern games, which were derived from earlier games played in my childhood, give a sense of nostalgia which drives me to enjoy modern games a lot more.
If it weren’t for these games I played as a kid, I wouldn’t be playing the modern masterpieces I am playing now.
I’d love to read about your nostalgic games in the comments section.
Thank you for reading my story. I wish you a prosperous life.
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