There is nothing like the first time you ever do something, the memory is often one we cherish and if we enjoy something enough it does not fade easily. This can be something as simple as the first time you taste a potato chip, to the memory of your first day of school, or often something people like myself cherish the first time we play a certain videogame. If we like a game enough the memory remains and never again can we get that feeling back from the first time and it is sad, so many games we love that we never can never re-experience. It is these times where I like to look back at the games I have loved and simply wish I could forget just so I could replay it, and here are my top five games I wish I could re-experience as my first time playing it.
- Journey
It goes without saying that Journey is amazing, almost anybody who has ever played the game can testify to that. This game is not fun but is exactly as the title suggest, it is a journey and what a journey this game was, for this game there was nothing like that first sight as you entered this world. As you looked around all that lay before your eyes was sand, it was stunning but also sad, what secrets did this world hide? What was the Journey? Who am I? These are the questioned I asked, and in the end I got an answer to two of these questions.
The secrets existed in the nature of this ancient civilization I was afforded the opportunity to explore, I never honestly worked out much in this world but trying to piece together the story was fascinating. Secondly the journey was one of the mind and body, to travel through this world to eventually reach my end goal of a mountain, this journey was riddled with emotion and is simply unforgettable for all the elements within and all that we experienced. It is easy to see why people are so attached to this game, Journey is magic and while the game is still a great truly emotional journey that redefines storytelling once more that initial feeling of wonder goes away once you have experienced it. Now I need a hammer to allow myself to freshly re-enter this world again.
- The Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword
Any good Zelda game is worth replaying but recapturing the feeling once the game is completed is impossible. This feeling can go forward for any Zelda game in my books, to re-love the seas of Wind Waker, perhaps actually love Ocarina of Time, or more importantly re-experience the best Zelda game I have ever played Skyward Sword. This particular Zelda game is special to me for multiple reasons, the biggest of these is that it made me want to start discussing games in a bigger way and the reason was simply the injustice behind this games criticisms.
The biggest reason I wish I could re-experience this game fresh was so I could enjoy the beautiful storytelling all over again, in all the Zelda franchise Skyward Sword has the best story as well as the most driven. There was nothing like it to me when I first played Skyward Sword in 2011, I was immediately drawn to the characters and the fantastic motion controlled gameplay which brought new life to the franchise. While this game is still fun to go back and play it does not have that same appeal I know the story and that is the games strongest element, don’t get me wrong it is still an incredible game but I need to forget it so I fall in love with the Zelda franchise all over again.
- Pikmin 3
The Pikmin games are pretty decent strategy games with the third installment in the franchise being the game that I felt was the best entry. Pikmin 3 is simply fun and has a plot that made sense to me and that had a more linear style of focus, the biggest issue with the game is the very nature of strategy and the style that this game uses. To put it simply there are multiple forms of strategy and some are still exciting no matter how many times you play the game, while others grow tired and predictable. Pikmin 3 falls into this latter category, based on the way you do things by collecting fruit and fighting bosses you learn the placements of fruit and the way you defeat bosses.
The first time you play the game the bosses you fight are a surprise and you worry and how you will defeat them, the same can be said for fruit which you search high and low to collect in the allotted time. After a single playthrough the concern is gone, and you no longer need to search as you know the placement of everything, this may help you beat the game faster and better manage your day and your Pikmin but that initial thrill and the reason I fell in love with the game in the first place are not as clear anymore. Pikmin 3 is not about the story but the gameplay and forgetting how I defeat bosses and where fruit is located, to replay this game for the first time would simply be wonderful.
- The Bioshock series
Hopefully this one you saw coming, those who see my things frequently know I love Bioshock and in fact I love all three games and I couldn’t pick which game I wish I could re-experience more. So with that I came to the conclusion that I had to pick the whole series, I will admit I have played each game multiple times over and each time I have still loved the game. The atmosphere of Rapture, the tension of seeing and facing down a Big Daddy, that feeling of awe as I rose to the sky and looked over Columbia, the heartbreaking choices, there is so much about these games that are great and even after multiple playthrough’s I still really enjoy.
But the saying is there is nothing like the first time you play something and for me Bioshock was my first foray into storytelling gameplay. I remember being surprised by Rapture and actually being fearful of everything while being equally intrigued by the game, this feeling carried over to Bioshock 2 and even Bioshock Infinite and it was because of how incredible the games were. While forgetting these games would be hard because of how much all three means to me I would love to just forget them and enjoy them like it was the first time, I wonder if all three would still mean the same amount to me?
Before we go to number one I would like to place in some honourable mentions for games that I would love to re-experience for the first time but missed out on my top five.
Kingdom Hearts 2
Pokemon Black and White
Fallout 4
Super Mario Galaxy
Rhythm Thief and the Emperor’s Treasure
- The Last of Us
This is another game that really would have been obvious to those that know me The Last of Us is a masterpiece of game design. The biggest complaint make about this game is that once you finish it there is no reason to return, this is argued because of how focused the gameplay and story are together. Honestly I disagree just to re-experience the story is still magical and there is always some kind of item or story detail that you overlooked, no matter how many times I have played this game it is the gift that keeps on giving.
Of course the Last of Us is just like Journey the way the story is presented is simply magic but the true beauty of the game can only be found in the first playthrough. I may play this game when I am depressed just because of how beautiful the story is but it does not mean I don’t wish it was still the first time I was playing the game, for two days I was glued to the television and I wish it could be that way again at least once more. The Last of Us is still incredible and makes for a great adventure to analyse but there really was nothing like the first time, oh to replay this for the first time would be simply incredible.
