Games that changed your life

OK, so it doesn't have to be QUITE that dramatic, but we've all got them to some extent - if games didn't leave an impact of some kind on us, we wouldn't keep playing them. So, what are some of the most influential games in your life, and why? Do you think you'll ever find an experience that can match - or even beat - these games?

Kirby's Dreamland - first game I ever played
Pokemon Blue - first Pokemon game I played
Golden Sun/TLA - first real JRPG I played
Radiant Historia - game that showed me that I'm not completely dead inside
Dungeon Lords - worst game I ever had to suffer through. I also hope nothing will ever beat it in that regard.

They'll probably not get beaten by others, but at least Xenoblade 2 is making a valiant effort to get included in a future list as well.

I bought Dissidia Final Fantasy because I recognized Zidane. When I learned about Cecil and Golbez, I played FFIV, which became one of my favorite games.

Fire Emblem: The Blazing Sword was my first strategy RPG, and got me engrossed in the series as a whole.

And of course, Pokémon Red version, which began a lifelong love for Pokémon.

Super Mario Bros.-First game I can remember playing
Pokemon Yellow-Would watch my great aunt's daughter play it.
Sonic Adventure DX:Director's Cut-First Sonic game I remember playing
Luigi's Mansion-One of the first games I ever beat! (It was quite an effort, too)
Blade Strangers-The first crossover fighting game (That wasn't Smash Bros) I ever played.

Pokemon is the obvious one, but other than that I'm going to list SSB Melee, Metal Gear Solid, Ocarina of Time, and Resident Evil 2.

Obligatory Pokemon answer. After all, it's what brought me here and lead me to meet some amazing people I've been friends with for nearing a decade.

Also, maybe, FFX and TLoU. Simply because, although I first played them years apart, they were the first games that really showed me video games as a powerful medium for storytelling.

Metal gear solid 3 : This is where i really learned to grind out a game 100%

Pokemon Ruby : most hours put into any game my whole like :400 ! 2nd being fallout 3

Kirby Nightmare in Dreamland - a game I replayed many, many times, a lot of them with my friend through link cable. it was so incredibly fun. we never got bored going through it together and using different powerups!

Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire - same deal as the above. replayed tons of times with a friend using different teams, mixed records into our main games to get the secret bases onto our main copy, rinse and repeat. it was so fun <3

Rune Factory 4 - I was insanely addicted. Spent literally every waking moment for a few months playing haha. the story and characters were amazing!

Harvest Moon- Friends of Mineral Town/ More Friends of Mineral Town. Got me into farming simulation games.

Golden Sun/ Golden Sun- The Lost Age. Got me into JRPGs.

the ones that come to mind rn are Pokémon (especially Mystery Dungeon), Sly Cooper, Epic Battle Fantasy, MapleStory and Mabinogi
i'm sure there are plenty more but those definitely :>

Toontown- First RPG I ever played (probably the thing that made me love them 2)
Chrono Trigger- Made me realize how phenomenal RPGs could really be
Jackbox Party Packs 2 & 3- got me so deep into Jackbox that there's no way out

Hi, Child Amnesiac, First blood game I ever played: Gta5

Pokemon is p obvious since it introduced me to RPGs! It wasn't my first video game, since I played tons of computer games as a kid, but Pokemon was my first handheld game. I have fond memories of when I first played Pokemon Diamond. Also, both Project Mirai DX and Love Live! School Idol Festival made huge impacts on my life. Both of them introduced me to rhythm games. Love Live brought me into the world of mobile gaming and...competitive tiering. It was my first mobile game that I stuck with and still play.

Rayman 2: my inspiration and imagination +10
Guild Wars: don't think I'll ever find a more brilliant online game than this tbh
Pokemon: got me into using forums, ofc

Oh! I forgot Kirby 64! That game made a huge impact on young Jo and began my unconditional love of all things Kirby!

Another big one that I forgot to list was Monster Hunter. I only began playing it much later in life (like 25 iirc - so by no means is it a childhood staple of mine), but it's left an impression on me nonetheless. It taught me that I can actually kick some ass and be really, really good at highly competitive games. Playing MH opened up a whole world of third person games for me that I never would have played because I believed I wouldn't be any good.

Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story

It reminded me of how much fun one can have with the idea of characters exploring and making changes inside one's body.

It also introduced me to a great villain; Fawful, whose Engrish and jokes are always a delight to see.

It also has some really good music, especially the final boss theme, which is awesome in every sense of the word.

Pokemon Ruby, but I wouldn't say that it "changed my life" - more like, kept it the same? Because I would've fallen out of Pokemon when it stopped airing on TV over here were it not for the games.
And keeping me into Pokemon was important, because the Ruby Destiny series would end up being a major influence for me. You can find my love letter to the series here, but the tl;dr: it got me into several other video game franchises, music as well as playing a hand in getting me into anime.

Pokemon Emerald without a doubt, that game was my childhood and really made me fall in love with the series that has stick with me for 15 years. It really did leave a massive impact on me and I don't think anything will ever come close to replicating that now. I've easily eclipsed 1000 hours in total in that game and just don't believe I'll have that experience again :(

Pokémon Ruby was the first game I actually tried to play and understand in English. Before then, that language was yet another school subject I didn't really care that much about. But playing a new Pokémon game one whole year before they translated it? Oh god now there were real stakes. Also I guess just Pokémon Blue because chances are my life would have been very different if I hadn't been swept out by the pokémania.

Otherwise, I'll just list the games that made me cry: Paper Mario TTYD, Super Paper Mario, Xenoblade 2, DKC Tropical Freeze, Ori and the Will of the Wisps, Okami.

Smash Brothers 3DS, it was probably the only reason I wasn't alone through high school.

I bought my DS up to a group of kids at lunch and we would play every day. We ended up connecting through that and sometimes playing after school. It also got me away from a friend who was particularly abusive. (Playing with them gave me the chance to get away from him, he was using the fact that I didn't have other friends as a means to do what he wanted with me).