The 12 Most Influential Games of My Childhood

I’ve been playing video games for as long as I can remember. Be it on my dad’s Atari 2600, my Super Nintendo, or any of the other consoles or computers I had growing up. 

I've seen folks making lists about the most influential games of their childhood and it got me wondering: what games have had the biggest impact on MY life?

So if you’ll indulge me for a moment while I'd like to be a bit introspective and pontificate on the ten the most influential games from my childhood. And keep in mind, these aren’t all going to be Linux games. I’ve been a gamer longer than I’ve been a Linux user.

Also note that these aren’t necessarily my favorite games (though they are all up there), these are games that I feel had the biggest impact on me and my understanding of what games can be.

Finally, this is just covering the games I played up until I was 10 years old. I'll do a follow-up of the most influential games I played as a teenager if you're interested!

#12 – Super Mario Bros. 3

1988 – Nintendo Entertainment System

This is the first game I remember ever playing. I was two years old when this game was released and I played it around that time with one of my oldest friends, Caleb.

The idea of controlling a character on screen was so awesome to me, and I can remember clear as day sitting on the floor of Caleb’s living room and staring at the overworld, then watching as he tackled the first level.

It clearly laid a foundation upon which I would understand and interpret video games for years to come, and I can’t think of a more fitting game to kick off my life-long passion for games.

#11 - Disney's Aladdin (SNES)

1993 – Super Nintendo Entertainment System

I know a lot of folks feel like the Genesis version is the better game, but I'm going to respectfully disagree. Disney's Aladdin comes from an era where the competing consoles were so vastly different that straight ports were practically impossible. That's why these are games built by two different teams and fully stand on their own as classics in their own right.

However, the one I grew up with (and that I believe has a more game-y feel) is Capcom's SNES version.

Aladdin controls in a much more athletic way, he can swing, leap, bounce, and glide his way to the end of each stage. This was also the first game I ever played where the main character was able to ledge grab.

Aladdin showed me that there could be more to a game than just straight platforming; that your avatar could be agile, and that the way you beat the stage was just as important as the victory itself.

It was also the first game I ever beat. Vanquishing Snake Jaffar was an amazing feeling!

#10 – Need For Speed III: Hot Pursuit

1998 – Windows 98

When I first booted up Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit, the game was a tour de force of graphical prowess. I remember being in awe of how realistic the cars and – in particular, the reflections – looked.

The drum & bass music was also eye-opening for me.

And the gameplay was a masterstroke. I'd never played another racing game where it made me feel like I was driving. Even if I was playing with all the (lack of) finesse that a keyboard provides.

I wasn't any good at NFSIII, but it was the first game that made me want a controller for my PC.

#9 – The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

1991 – Super Nintendo Entertainment System

A Link to the Past rocked my little world. My dad had an Atari, but the graphics were terrible and I never enjoyed playing with that crappy paddle. But then we rented a Super Nintendo with A Link to the Past and I loved it.

The world was so bright and colorful, the animations (especially the beginning intro scene) were mesmerizing, and I felt powerful as Link moved from screen to screen taking down baddie after baddie.

There was so much to explore, so much to discover, and the world felt as vast and as infinite as the sleepy little neighborhood I explored every day.

A Link to the Past proved to me that video games could be art while also being fun.

#8 – Rollercoaster Tycoon

1999 – Windows 98

The first time I saw my cousin Luke playing RollerCoaster Tycoon on his dad's HP Pavilion, I knew it was a game I needed to own.

That classic pre-rendered three-quarters top-down isometric look, the bright and customizable colors, the cute little people with their umbrellas and balloons... it all spoke to me. But I had already been playing SimCity games for years and found them absolutely enthralling. Plus, it helped that I loved going to fairs and theme parks!

RollerCoaster Tycoon showed me that games could be about anything and that there can be deep simulations hidden behind approachable design.

#7 – Super Mario 64

1996 – Nintendo 64

Super Mario 64 demonstrated to me that games didn’t have to follow a straight path to the goal. I realized while playing Mario 64 that I could go anywhere and approach levels in a variety of different ways.

Mario 64 opened my eyes to the concept of 3D environments, and I often find myself lamenting the dearth of true follow-ups to this game. The only true successor to this title is Super Mario Odyssey, and that took over 20 years to materialize!

Mario 64 gave me, as a player, freedom. It empowered me to explore a fantastical world at my own pace, find the McGuffins out of order, and showed me that a character can move in a precise and skillful way through 3D space.

#6 – Crash Team Racing

1999 – Sony PlayStation

I have been playing kart racers since Super Mario Kart on the SNES, but the one that made it on this list has to be Crash Team Racing for the original PlayStation.

Crash Team Racing was one of the first games I played for the PS One. It was so much fun to race, unlock, and defeat the CPU players and bosses.

But while CTR was a traditional kart racer, it also had several mechanics that build on and fleshed out the formula Mario Kart had established.

CRT taught me that games in an established genre can add depth, complexity, and maturity to their predecessors.

Also, CTR's multiplayer – and especially its battling – was (and still is) leagues better than Mario Kart.

#5 – Super Metroid

1994 – Super Nintendo Entertainment System

What can be said about Super Metroid? It's an absolute classic. It's a title I spent multiple years playing through to completion.

Every moment felt distinct and each area evoked its own unique sense of foreboding. Samus' arrival to SR388 was the first time I recall witnessing a cinematic cutscene in a game. The story being told appealed to my young sci-fi nerd's sensibilities, while the music and atmosphere contributed their own sense of titillating dread.

Super Metroid taught me that stories in games were most effectively told without a single line of text or dialog. Instead, simple things like the color palette, the enemy design, or the tileset could be enough of a cue to evoke powerful emotions in the player.

#4 – Unreal Tournament

1999 – Linux/Classic Mac OS/Windows PC

If you’ve been following my channel for a while, you probably know I love the Unreal Tournament series. If that’s news to you, it may also seem weird because of its connection to Epic Games. (It seems weird to me too, but there was a time when Epic was awesome).

I think the tongue-in-cheek nature of the games, coupled with the fierce competition, extreme skill, and elegant strategy of UT99 – and 2004 – are what make the games masterworks.

However, the reason the original game is on this list is two-fold: LAN parties and controls. This is the first game I ever played over LAN, and it was a transcendent experience. My brothers and I (there are four of us) would play this game for hours. One summer, the family garage was packed to the brim with our friends and their computers as we played Unreal Tournament (especially Assault mode) for literally days.

It was chaos with people screaming while furiously headshotting opponents, and actually punching other players in real life.

But the other reason I included UT on this list is the control. Unreal Tournament was the first game I ever played using the standard WASD controls. It was super weird at first as WAS and D felt so... arbitrary, but I trusted my friend’s suggestion that I change them. And I’m glad I did. Playing UT felt even more freeing than Super Mario 64, I could go anywhere, do anything, and justifiably slay my friends. It was awesome.

#3 – Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun

1999 – Windows PC

Now, I played every entry in the Command and Conquer franchise, up to C&C 3. But my favorite – and the one that truly stood out to me as a strategy game – was Tiberian Sun. I know that many C&C fans find Tiberian Sun to be the black sheep of the franchise, but I spent the entire summer of 1999 dialing in to Karl’s modem and playing Tiberian Sun over IPX.

I have many fond memories of listening to Matchbox 20, Goo Goo Dolls, and Dave Matthews Band while also playing Tiberian Sun… but that’s not why it’s on this list. No.

Tiberian Sun is the first game I ever modded. I download the rules.ini file from (I want to say) cheatcc.com and started hacking away at the NPCs, factions, buildings, and units.

Giving JumpJet Infantry 300% more DPS, setting the cost of the Obelisk of Light to just one credit. And later on in Red Alert 2, making chimps a buildable unit and able to throw lightining bolts.

Tiberian Sun proved that games can be a platform for your own creativity.

#2 – SimCity 3000

1999 – Linux/Classic Mac OS/Windows PC

It wouldn’t be hyperbole to say that, in my life, Will Wright is the most storied and prolific game developer. Ever. Beyond Satoru Iwata, beyond Miyamoto, beyond Sid Meier.

It's no surprise that I debated with myself over which Sim game to put on this list.

I spent the first two decades of my life playing his games. SimCity 2000, SimAnt, SimCity 3000, The Sims, Sims 2, and SimCity 4 were all contenders for this list. I have anecdotes about each of these games. And while SimCity 4 is easily the game that I spent the most time with. I think SimCity 3000 is the first sim title that I sunk hours into and elected to learn the mechanics of the game.

SimCity in general taught me that games can be a learning tool. A game can be an environment of experimentation. It can also be open ended and allow the player to set their own goals. But SimCity 3000 specifically really shaped my understanding of civics, playing it well into young adulthood, SimCity 3000 was a great example of the role of government, and the importance of planning and working to build something great.

#1 – Earthbound

1994 – Super Nintendo Entertainment System

I never actually played Earthbound legitimately until later in life. I can remember when I was a kid, staring at the big, beautiful Earthbound box sitting atop the Super Nintendo rental shelf at the Shop N’ Save in my town.

And I remember BEGGING my mom to rent it for me. But my family was incredibly poor, so I never had a chance to play it…

That is until my friend Karl showed me emulators. He was playing Kirby on his dad’s Power Mac and I asked “How can I get this on my computer?” I had a very specific game in mind: Earthbound. The game I never got to play.

And when I sat down to play this game for the first time, I learned several things; I learned that video game soundtracks can truly move you, that you can identify with video game characters on a profound and intimate level, and most importantly, I learned that video games themselves can be an emotional experience.

Earthbound, perhaps more than any other game on this list, has left an indelible impression upon my soul. How I understand the world, my sense of empathy, and my steadfast belief in the power of friendship were all informed by this amazing RPG.

It's the story of a young boy and his friends on an adventure to fend off incomprehensible evil through love and, most importantly, faith.

The moral principals of Earthbound have remained a guiding pole star throughout my life and it's something I will forever cherish.