Any oldschool gamers here?

[NoGiantRobots1983]

Definition of "Oldschool": Anything before the Playstation 2.

Seems like most Bronies are only into newer games--a lot of fanfics I see are peppered with references to Fallout and Halo--but I can't be the only one who got his start with the NES, knows what a Neo-Geo is, and loves ponies. Especially as there's an NES-themed pony out there.

So, old-schoolers, speak up!

(also, if there's a bro or a pegasister out there who gets the classic gaming references I dropped in Chapter 5 of Surprise Days, I want to friend you, right now)

[Haseo]

You can count me in as an oldschool gamer. My very first 'console' was my good 'ol GBA (BRICK edition). I never did own a NES, but I always did play it at my friends house. Fondly remember playing SMB3 and Bubble Bobble. My first true console was the Sega Genisis, came along with TMNT: Hyperstone Heist. I owned few games due to me family being on a strict budget, but I played TMNT like there was no tomorrow. Even when I got Sonic 1-3 + Sonic&Knuckles (THAT CARTRIDGE WAS INSANE!) I always went back to TMNT.

My favorite song when playing TMNT:

Edit: I forgot what the level was, but it was when I was out to sea on a hover board this song always played. BEST SONG in the game EVER!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGWmplLZqFg

[Volt]

I've... had my infamous moments I believe.

I still remember how much fun it brought to own Commodore 64 and Commodore Amiga 1000, before switching to Atari. Though then I went for Windows already.

I've already managed to forgotten all the classics I've played on this...

Maybe except Spyhunter, Cannon Fodder and some few different games with Santa Claus/Astronaut stuff lol.

I think those were the very first games I've ever played in my life.

Later came Golden Axe, Street Fighter, Contra, Virtua Fighter... The usual.

Although I cannot remember well the period in between those 4 games and Red Alert. It's like I don't recall what I've played between those oldies and Red Alert.

[DeepBass]

Sega Genesis Brony checking in.

[RarityDash]

First gaming I ever remember was done on some old Atari system. I don't think I played it much on account of being a toddler. I more got my start when we got an NES, and I definitely remember playing some of the games on that but I was pretty young then too. I have much more vivid memories of my SNES and Genesis; I was never more in love with gaming than in that era. it's where most of my game-related nostalgia lies.

I'm actually less of a gamer now than ever before. Most modern games just don't interest me and fewer games that do interest me seem to be made.

[NemesisPon3]

I use to play the sega megadrive ( or genesis as it was called in the US and such ) Sonic the hedgehog 1, 2, 3, S&K, Tazmanian devil, streets of rage 1 and 2 ( but never had 3 ) and a few other games which I just cannot remember...

I still have Sonic 1 which was the first ever game I played.

[Volt]

I'm actually less of a gamer now than ever before. Most modern games just don't interest me and fewer games that do interest me seem to be made.

We're just old Phil... just await the moment we'll have to start using cane to walk. Just few more years, and we'll land in the antique shop. Mark my words...

[leodylandy]

i played oldschool games best game ever was chrono cross

[GreenshotApple]

Checking in cause I still enjoy playing McKids, Mario Kart SNES & DinoCity

[flutterscotch]

Oh my goodness.

Here's a short history of my childhood in games.

First system: Atari 2600, inherited from my uncle. I kind of was only good-ish at centipede.

Then: Moved 6 blocks from the Keansburg Boardwalk in NJ...which had loads and loads of video games, and in fact when I was around 10 my mum, to get rid of us, would just hand us a roll of quarters or dimes and tell us to go away.

Next was system that I didn't exactly ask for but got anyway: Atari 5200. I'd asked "Santa" for a NES. I could flip the score on Dodge-em.

Got the NES in 1989. Got a whole bunch of ****py games like Monster Party, Q*Bert, Taboo and Fester's Quest, in addition to Dragon Warrior (Dragon Quest), and rented Zelda every chance I got. My brother and I only one time in our lives pooled out Christmas money together to buy something we mutually agreed upon: SMB3. My dad randomly found the Adventure of Link (and why yes, I did drop my copy on the floor to see it the game would glitch and fill item slots, many many times. That Death Mountain cave system was HARD) and SMB2 in a vacant apartment he was cleaning out, so gave them to us (a sub to this is that my dad was inexplicably good at any NES game you threw at him. Still is. It is very weird.)

Because I didn't have Nintendo Power, and the internet wasn't really a thing that was as useful as it is today, I made this:

Got a Genesis a few years later. Still liked the Nintendo better. After that found a used Commodore 64 in a thrift store. Years of entertainment. I still hate Cauldron 2. You can play it here and share my frustration (100% legit site, I am glad they made it freely available: http://www.cauldron-2.com/ )

In college we would have these parties where people would come to my house around Halloween and we'd play every incarnation of Castlevania start to finish, on all systems, continuously. They would be 3 day long parties, where at all times someone was at the controller. We had plans to gut all the cartridge-based systems and put them on a board that sadly never came to fruition because I broke up with my boyfriend at the time. Our (4 year, mind you) relationship ended with a high five and a Ms. Pacman battle to see who got to keep the Gamecube.

More recently: I spend a lot of time in the arcade near my house. I am not any better at PacMan (even thought I have a strategy guide) or Galaga than I was in 1987, but it is fun to play. I also love to go to the arcade in Salisbury beach which has an expanded selection of games, and Funspot, in New Hampshire, which is the largest arcade in the world. Am I stoked they have copies of Krull and Dragon's Lair there? Yes, yes I am.

My husband and I still have Bubble Bobble and ExciteBike wars. I play The Adventure of Link on average once every two years just to prove that I can. I can tell you where every warp whistle in SMB3 is without batting an eye even though I haven't touched it in almost 20 years. I still get the Pacman Cereal (She's got a shocking pink bow! OH!) and Nintendo Cereal system (NIN-TEN-DO, it's a cereal now! NIN-TEN-DO wow!) commercials stuck in my head. I am also obsessed with this video game store near me that still carries TURBO GRAFIX 16 games.

My coffee mug at work is this (well, almost this, it's the ghosts chasing packman and not blue):

I made these for my friend last Christmas:

My husband and I have agreed that when we buy a house and get it paid off, the first thing we are buying is a Ms. PacMan cocktail table.

Why, yes, I like old school video games!

[Corsair]

My first game system was a Sears Arcade. That's an Atari 2600 with the Sears name on it. Still have it too, and it still works, (even though some of the wires were chewed on by a pet rabbit we had.) I also had an Atari XE, which was kind of a half breed of a game console and a computer (Yes, Atari made actual computers at one point.) I still have a working NES (But I stupidly got rid of most of the games I had), and a Game Cube with the Game Boy attachment. I also have a collection of Game Boys: the original, a Game Boy colour, a Game Boy Advance, and 2 GB Advance SPs. I did at one point have a Super Nintendo, but it and all the games I had were stolen.

[Imagination]

1985 OG, son

Even though I was born in '90.

But yeah. NES, Super Nintendo, N64, Sega Genesis, Sega Dreamcast, Atari... I had it all. Loved em all.

Who needs sunlight? I sure as sugar don't!

I even still have Super Mario 64, the original Paper Mario, Yoshi's Story (<-go here for acid trip of your life) and Starfox 64 on my Wii.

Duck Hunt was my first game ever. Then Super Mario Bros. Both on NES, but it had to be thrown out when I was little. Sad panda.

[NoGiantRobots1983]

I am really feeling at home here.

First of all, so many people have fond memories of Bubble Bobble. You might almost say you all have

*gets hammered for making such a terrible pun*

And someone mentioned the TurboGrafx. I think I'm in heaven now.

Okay, here's my own chops:

Technically the first consoles I owned were an Oddysey2 and an Atari 2600, although I was a baby when I had those and they don't leave much of an impression on me now. The NES was where I started to really get hardcore into gaming. Favorite NES games: Bubble Bobble, Legend of the Ghost Lion, Might and Magic, Contra, Super C, Bionic Commando, Dragon Warrior 1 and 2 (haven't played 3 and 4 yet), Final Fantasy, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Totally Rad, and a metric ton of platformers. Oh, and Burgertime.

During the 16-Bit wars I was split between the Genesis and SNES. I ultimately favored the SNES, but these days I'm more of a Genesis fan. I wanted a Sega CD back when it was new but never got one until just recently.

Favorite SNES games: Chrono Trigger, Secret of Mana, Final Fantasy IV, VI, and Mystic Quest, Super Mario World, Skyblazer, Actraiser, Soul Blazer, Illusion of Gaia, Kirby's Avalanche, Super Mario Kart, Super Metroid, Pac-Man 2 The New Adventures, DBZ Super Butoden 2, Earthbound.

Favorite Genesis games: Sonic 1-3&K, Contra Hard Corps, Castlevania Bloodlines, both Ecco the Dolphin games, Super Hydlide, Pirates Gold, Might and Magic 2, Crusader of Centy, the Valis series, Scooby Doo Mystery, Shadow Dancer, Shinobi III, the Thunder Force series, the Shining Force series, Landstalker, Light Crusader.

Favorite Sega CD games: Lunar 1 and 2, Silpheed, Vay, Hook, Prince of Persia.

I gotta admit that originally I didn't like the Playstation One very much, but it grew on me. Originally I chose the Nintendo 64, but I kinda felt like that was a mistake afterwards because there weren't many good games for it, and all the high-profile stuff was for Playstation.

Favorite Playstation games: Resident Evil Director's Cut, Resident Evil 2, R-Types (compilation of R-Type 1 and 2), R-Type Delta, Lunar Silver Star Story Complete, Ogre Battle, Saiyuki Journey West, Parappa the Rapper, King's Field 1-3, Metal Gear Solid.

Favorite N64 games Doom 64, Zelda Ocarina of Time, Wave Race.

Also I wound up becoming a PC gamer and discovering a lot of classic PC games retroactively.

Favorite PC games Pretty much anything by Sierra On-line (Space Quest, King's Quest, Quest for Glory etc.) Warcraft II Tides of Darkness. Elder Scrolls Arena and Elder Scrolls Daggerfall. System Shock 1 (but not 2). the Ultima series. Doom, Heretic, Hexen. Amber Journeys Beyond. the Journeyman Project Turbo. The Chzo Mythos.

I tried games on the Gamecube and the Playstation 2 but to be fair I mostly only enjoyed retro compilations (except on the latter console, I loved Metal Gear Solid 2 and the Devil May Cry trilogy). So then I went back and discovered consoles I had missed the first time, like the TurboGrafx (also known as the PC-Engine), the Sega Saturn and the Dreamcast. Also I don't technically own a Sega Master System, but I own an adapter that lets you play SMS games on the Genesis.

Favorite TurboGrafx (and PC-Engine) games the Ys series, the Valis series (again), Devil's Crush, Bonk's Adventure, Galaxy Policewoman Legend Sapphire, Cho Aniki, Splatterhouse, Military Madness.

Favorite Sega Master System games Phantasy Star, Ys, Rastan.

Favorite Saturn games NiGHTs into Dreams, Galactic Attack (actually a home port of Ray Force), In the Hunt, Capcom Generation 2 - The Ghosts n' Goblins Trilogy, Street Fighter Collection (contains Super Street Fighter II, Super SFII Turbo, and a "gold" version of SF Alpha 2)

Favorite Dreamcast games Craaaaaaaazy Taxi, the Resident Evil games, Marvel vs Capcom, King of Fighters Evolution

Oh yeah, and portable systems:

Favorite Neo-Geo Pocket colour games ALL OF THEM

Favorite Gameboy/colour/Advance games Qix, Operation C, Final Fantasy Adventure, Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo.

I also have a PSP and again I mostly enjoy it for retro compilations (specifically Gradius Collection and King of Fighters: the Orochi Saga)

Favorite retro games discovered through compilations or emulation the Fatal Fury series, King of Fighters, Art of Fighting... I might as well just say "anything on the Neo-Geo" at this point. Bubble Bobble's various sequels, the Ghosts n Goblins series (and for that matter pretty much everything thats in the Capcom Classics Collection, but a special mention must go to Eco Fighters--I thought that game was gonna be stupid due to its name, but its actually awesome and has a

), the afformentioned Gradius. And I'm actually sure there's a lot more.

Quite clearly, you and I will have a lot to talk about.

[TheInvisiblePony]

Oh dear, let's see. Some of my earliest memories come from gaming it up on my computer with ones such as Age of Empires, but I didn't get into consoles until much later. I suppose I also was into a bit of hand held gaming, such as pokemon: yellow. Actually, now that I think about it, I truly loved that one - my very first encounter with pokemon as a franchise was from that game. I missed the lack of pikachu following you around in later games, really.

But aside from a few, I didn't play a lot of games circa year 2000 until I discovered a program called Mame, which emulated hundreds of old school arcade games, which I then proceeded to adore. I played all kinds of games on that, from Pitfall to Pacman, and all kinds of other great games. Sadly, I ended up forgetting the names of many of my more favorite games, but I certainly still have memories of some of them.

For example, one of my favorites was an old arcade game called Avenging Spirit, in which you played a ghost, floated around, possessed your enemies and proceeded to wail on foes and bosses alike using their own unique skills and weapons.

Oh, and I had about a month long obsession with text-based gaming once, as well.

[MyLittlePonyTales]

I did not play a lot of games when I was younger. I think the first system I played was the SNES, follow by the Sega Genesis. However, as I've gotten older, I've bought some of the old gaming systems. Picked up an SNES from a church yard sale. Someone I knew donated it, so I snatched it up with a few games. Bought an N65 originally for a friend, then decided it was too cool to keep. She only had a couple games, if I remember right, and I think already owned an NES. The husband of a friend said he had his brother's old Sega in his garage, asked if I wanted it. He said it wasn't sure if it worked. So, took it home. Had to buy the tv connector cord for it, but it seems to work fine! Ever since I read about Atari's in a video game history book, I have been wanting to play one. I don't own many games for the old systems I have, but I have a wishlist.

[korok132]

I had a SNES and N64 for a while, as well as a PSone, but unfortunately it was at an age where I couldn't really appreciate the games I was playing. For example: I had Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Little did I know that it would go on to be considered the golden standard for future Zelda games, yet whenever I played it I would start the game completely over, enter the Great Deku Tree, get the Slingshot, then... stop. The next time I would boot it up, delete my old save, play up to the Slingshot again, stop, and restart.

Of course, later (see: earlier this year) I finally sat down and played the entire game through, as well as other old classics (Super Mario World, Donkey Kong Country 1-3, Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, etc), but unfortunately not on their original consoles. I am not ashamed to say that I "cheated" and used emulators to play these games, but I will say it was **** worth it. Although I do have a bit of a preference for newer games, I can't deny the fact that the old school is what got me to keep at it to this very day.

[NoGiantRobots1983]

Using emulators isn't really cheating, unless you use like save states and the like.

Today I picked up another Dreamcast game, Grandia II. Don't know anything about it, so it'll be an all-new experience for me.

By the way, I read recently that there are ways to play MAME over the internet with multiplayer. I would love to play co-op Bubble Bobble, Bubble Symphony or Bubble Memories sometime. Who thinks they'd be up to it?

... and hey, what old-school games do you guys think the Mane Six, Spike, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders would like?