A slightly different gaming nostalgia

Meet Jana. A girl who is a daughter of a programmer, so she knows the computer from her diapers. Well, it sounds amazing! She definitely must know a lot of great old games!

Of course, I know some amazing games. Such a Water Game. That was the real thing back then!

You could get this little cutie at every shop for a few crowns. And it had a super design! Why do you need real PS2P when you can have fake PS2P! Woohoo. And you know what, this console didn't even need batteries, so you could push the buttons insanely until the windbag under them had been destroyed, or the water had dried out. But that was nothing that your parents couldn't repair and return the game to its original state.

This was a hardcore game. Dark Souls is a game for kids. Getting all the rings on the sticks was hard af. Especially you should throw the game against the wall, and didn't care. Parents just went to buy a new one, and even they didn't care. That's how cheap the console was!

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Another inseparable companion was the Brick Game. It already had batteries, so it was packed in my backpack for trips only, and I couldn't play it at home. There were different versions. Some of them had more games, but Tetris was always present. I wasn't really a fan of Tetris. I preferred mainly formulas, Arkanoid and all kinds of shooters, but sometimes I ended up with Tetris and surpassed one high score after another. In those higher difficulties, it simply wasn't possible. You must have experienced it too. Those bricks were falling or moving at such a speed that the human eye just doesn't manage to process it and Game Over happened. I didn't win any game. Can it ever be won?

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Of course, I can't forget about Tamagotchi. I never had it, but I envied everybody who has it, so I bought it on a school trip in Italy. But the digi-pet usually didn't survive the next day because I had a deep sleep. Unfortunately, my parents didn't so Tamagotchi with my pet's corpse was confiscated by my mother. She put out its batteries in cold blood and tossed it into the closet.

I regularly went to visit its remainings. But as time went by, its box fall apart, and there was nothing left from it except memories. I hope they have taken good care of it at the Malešice incinerator.

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Already from the concept of my post, you can see what my game nostalgia would be about. Mainly about frustration and the fact that I don't have many gaming experiences. I really hesitated to take part in this competition. @yosuandoni persuaded me to try, so I would try to present everything I have.

The real gaming nostalgia

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That we didn't have a console at home? I don't care. The computer has always been part of our flat, but the only thing the Tamagotchi killer allowed me to play were educational games for kids.

Even though we got a CD-burning of Harry Potter game from my father's friend, I could just watch my mother play it or my father playing his shooters and strategies. I loved watching him playing Gothic, but when I wanted to play it a year ago, I found out that I don't know what to do. I'm used to the new RPGs with a map, quest markers, and other stuff that was missing in Gothic. But at least it will make people read dialogs and not just skip everything and follow the marker directly.

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In my childhood, I only got to games by Compedia Ltd. with the green monster Gordi, but my favorite game was Timmy's Sea Adventure because it had a story and it was truly a game. No counting, no shapes, no alphabet and no colors. Finally, I could play something without an educational purpose.

Half a year ago, I remembered this game and others, and I wanted to play it now. Yes, it is a game for kids, but why not. It might be fun recalling childhood memories.

Or finally, play a game my mother didn't let me play because I was too small for it. She strictly followed the recommended age mentioned on the cover. I'd be okay with it, but it was another game from Compedia just with movie studio theme.

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But as soon as I went to my relatives during the holidays, I could finally play something good. When I was only with my father, his laptop served as a bribe for me not to tell my mom he was partying with friends. Not that he was an alcoholic. My mother is just too prudent. So this is how I finally got to normal games.

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One of them was S.W.I.N.E. strategy game, where the pigs wage war against rabbits. You picked one faction and tried to win the level against your enemies. You had various tanks, mortars, and other military equipment you had to buy from a limited budget and schedule an attack. Well, I won't lie to you. I sucked at it, but I enjoyed the fact that the pigs were really pigs. They were burping and farting. That was something awesome for a little kid. But I've always liked rabbits more because I found playing them easier and their vehicles were colorful.

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But I spent most of my time with RPG Sacred. Thanks to it RPG is my favorite genre. I've played it a lot, and I even wanted to finish the campaign with all the characters. But if you play it again and again, you'll be tired of it. On the other hand, you already knew what to do and where were the dragons with some legendary loot.

And I also loved its cutscenes. Especially that ring. I would like to have one.

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Last but not least, I mustn't forget my troubles with Tomb Raider: Anniversary. I was a terrible noob, and this game was completely new to me, so it won't surprise you that I have downloaded playthrough instructions for this game. It was difficult for me. I remember how I couldn't figure out how to use a hook and how I spent a few hours with it.

Even every little bat gave me terrible damage, and I was stuck at T-Rex. At that moment, I read the instructions, so I managed to beat it, and so I gradually moved through the game to the stage I didn't make and quit the game.

It was probably the last chapter where you have to jump and climb in some shaft at the bottom of which is lava. It sounds really bad, but it was much worse! Every platform was a checkpoint, and all the rods, rings for the hook, etc. were activated by shooting into the target. But it awakened the gargoyle, or even two of them, who spitted fire and you had to kill them before they kill you and before the platform hide in the wall. Each hit put you on the ground, and the platform was too small to avoid them.

But that was still the easier part. After killing gargoyles, you have to jump to the next platform, but there was a terribly short time interval after which the rods and other stuff hide into the wall, so you fell into lava and had started over again. From those gargoyles. I was angry, I cried and had to quit the game. So Tomb Raider: Anniversary is the only game I couldn't finish because of the difficulty of the part described above.

So even though my game experience is more than poor, I can only agree with the claim that games were more difficult in the past. I can tell it myself on the Tomb Raider example. I was able to finish all the latest Tomb Raiders without any bigger problem. They really disappointed me with their simplicity.

No more dying when trying to get an artifact and unlock some additional content. Everything is on the map. No futile search for ledges and other jump and climb opportunities. You will see everything with some vision skill. Where is the challenge?

Windows Classics

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Even though I had these amazing games, I like to return to the classic Windows Minesweeper, Solitaire, and Pinball. These games are just legendary, and nothing is overwhelming them. You can play them inconspicuously at work or if you want to relax. Well, in such Minesweeper, you sometimes want to tear your hair off, but once you discover some strategy, you'll be able to win it at least once in the evening.

That was exactly my goal when playing Minesweeper. I played it until I managed to win it or until my eyes were too tired to play.

It is a shame that these games are no longer part of Windows. Well, Solitaire can be played within the Microsoft Solitaire Collection, but the best games like Minesweeper and Pinball, are missing. Fortunately, the internet is full of the works of their fans, and you can easily play these games even now.

After all, a few months ago, I was streaming Minesweeper session. Originally from a recession, but it was quite a success. Minesweeper rocks! I'm playing it time to time when I have nothing to do at work. The screenshot is mine.

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This is my entry for Gaming Nostalgia Contest hosted by @enjar and Archdruid Gaming Community.

There is still some time to join it. You can read more about it in THIS POST.

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May the seed be with you! :D