Yearly Archives: 2016

First RPG Memories

dragonquest

I was browsing the internet this morning, as I so often do, and I came across a call-in show style podcast that were discussing first RPG memories. I found this to be a really interesting thing and so I sat down and really considered what my first experiences into the world of Roleplaying Games were. Outside of the digital realm, my first ones were books. It was a style of Choose Your Own Adventure book wherein you had a health pool, used a die and made decisions about your character and where you’d go. It was a more interactive CYOA book and frankly I fell in love with it quickly. The first few years of me having a Nintendo, I had no RPGs. Mario, Mario 3, Batman, Blaster Master, Kid Icarus, eventually I would have games like AD&D Dragonstrike, King’s Quest, and the like. But my first console roleplaying game?

Dragon-Quest-Battle

It was Dragon Quest 1, then called Dragon Warrior. It came free with Nintendo Power, which I had recently started receiving thanks to my Mother [and my begging], and before that one of my neighbors had given me their copy because they don’t like RPGs, and thought maybe I would. It was very simple visually, but I was still blown away. It was more than I had expected. Fighting cute Slimes, Drakee, Ghosts, Skeletons and even more! Huge golem made of Gold, Dragons, exploring dungeons, caves, wandering town to town with absolutely no clues or hints outside of Nintendo Power. There was no real Internet to look for an FAQ on. The game was insanely difficult and even with a Game Genie [yes, I had one eventually. . .] it was still a challenge. The first time I found the princess in the cave on the way to Charlock Castle I felt like a real hero! TImes were rough for us then, and it was a fantastic way to escape my situation and absorb myself in a fantastic world where what I did made a difference. It took me a good year or so to come back to it and eventually get to the Dragonlord, after finding all the necessary items to reach him [Ugh. Seriously. Ugh.] and spoke to the Dragon Lord. He gave me an offer to join him. . . And I’d accept. Half of the world? Why wouldn’t I want that? The game froze! I believe it said he stole my soul and the game just stopped. I had not saved in ages. . . It’d be at least another year before I came back and won. The next RPG was Final Fantasy II [IV] but that’s another story for another time.

What about you guys? What are your first RPG memories?