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Games of Christmases/Holildays Past

Master Thrasher

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I might have started one of these threads years ago.

The first game I remember getting for Christmas was Donkey Kong Country. It was a really sharp looking game that had these awesome computer graphics and great soundtrack. I rented before Christmas and asked for it and ended up getting it from Santa.

I believe a year later I asked for the sequel and ended up getting that. It's probably my favorite SNES game.

A few years later I asked for a Nintendo 64. It had just come out and was a hot item. My dad put his name on a waiting list at Toys R Us and ended with one. He didn't buy a game with it but rented Mortal Kombat Trilogy so I had something to play. Weeks later I bought Mario 64 and a memory pak because I thought the game needed one.

When Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time came out, I played the demo of it in front of my parents. I ended up with that under the tree.

A few years later when I got my Playstation, I got a Dual Shock, Gran Turismo, and the Crash Trilogy.

I got a Dreamcast for Christmas when it came out. I got NBA 2K, Soul Calibur, Sonic Adventure, and Hydro Thunder with it.

The last memorable thing was the Wii and that came out of nowhere. I didn't ask for it but I played Wii Sports. I think I got a year after it came out.


Anyway, I try to play Donkey Kong Country, DKC 2, Sonic Adventure, and LoZ OOT for nostalgic purposes.


I figured this thread could be used to share memories like this.
 

SFH

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Still have my Super Mario 3 with my name in blue paint to distinguish it from my friend's brother's copy when I'd go visit.

I was never happier for a Christmas present than for that one. This year I just purchased a complete in box copy for display.

Other Christmases I got an SNES. I received Primal Rage a few Christmases later for that system. My Nintendo 64 Christmas 96 or 97 was wrapped in grocery bag in a shoe box - pawn shop purchase. It still works to this day.

Other than the occasional bicycle as I grew that's the only Christmas presents I remember as my parents took the approach of "what do you need?" or "what we THOUGHT you'd like" as opposed to "what do you want?" (even though they had us do lists anyway...) So I had many mornings of socks, underwear, robe... or a wood burning kit that I used to burn everything BUT wood.
 

BorneAgain

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Tons of happy Christmas game related memories, though one of the most notable times was for a game that didn't turn out so great.

I was stoked to play Donkey Kong 64, having been a ridiculously huge fan of the SNES Country trilogy and when I got it for Christmas 99, I dove right in.

Within about an hour I started to sense this wasn't quite the followup I expected. The atmospheric aesthetics, deep music, and great platforming of the DKC series had been put away in favor of a Rare Collect a Thon with a Donkey Kong skin. While the range of characters was fun at first, and moving the Kongs around a 3D environment was a novelty, the excitement of playing never quite reached the excitement I had prior to getting it. It might be to date the biggest Christmas gaming disappointment I had. I've been pretty lucky otherwise.
 

BUTT

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I grew up lower middle class so I often had to settle for discounted, old or budget-priced games. We got an NES in '88 when I was 3 and the Christmas games I remember are:

1991: Disney's Adventures in the Magic Kingdom (I did not ask for this shit nor had I ever heard of it prior to receiving it nor was I even a Disney fan. Years later I saw an old catalog and learned that this game was priced cheaper than most of the other NES games, so that explains it), Shadowgate
1992: We got a TurboGrafx-16 when it was on its way out. I think my parents paid $60 for it. I was under the impression that Bonk was the pack-in but on that Christmas morning we learned the system actually came with a subpar side-scroller called Keith Courage in Alpha Zones, along with a "mystery game" which turned out to be the absolutely terrible China Warrior
1993: We finally got an SNES with Super Mario World (the free copy of All-Stars came in the mail two months later)
1994: My brother got Mega Man X and I got SHAQ-FU. It was cheap, OK? I found the game to be at least playable and I certainly don't think it's one of the worst games ever made. But I let a kid down the street borrow it and I never asked for it back.
1995: F-Zero. It was four years old at this point but again, it was cheap.
1996: NBA Hang Time for SNES. I don't even know why I got this, because unlike when I got Shaq-Fu by this point I had given up any pretense of being a basketball fan. But this was the spiritual successor to NBA Jam and I thought it would be fun. It wasn't too bad. Also, it was cheap. I wanted Mario RPG but I guess that was out of our price range.
1997: I kinda checked out of games at this point as SNES was on its last legs and my parents weren't going to shell out for an N64. I got a guitar (a crappy Telecaster knockoff) which I never learned how to play
1998: My brother bought an N64 with the money from his summer job, but we didn't own any games at first. We rented games and he borrowed Goldeneye from his friend. Miraculously we received Ocarina of Time as a joint gift (I suppose it would have been too expensive for either of us on our own) and we got a second controller so we could play Goldeneye head-to-head
1999: My mom announced that she would not get us any video games this year. I don't remember why. I suppose I could have pushed it but I didn't really care that much. I don't remember anything I got this year aside from the End of Days soundtrack on CD.
2000: I wanted Majora's Mask but my mom said no because it required the Expansion Pak, which we didn't have, effectively bringing the game's price to $90. So we went with my brother's choice, No Mercy. It was a lot of fun obviously but we already had Wrestlemania 2000 and I didn't see it as a massive improvement.
2001: My mom opened up the wallet a bit and got me a Gamecube with Rogue Squadron 2. Not gonna lie, I was quite excited to see full-motion video on a Nintendo console for the first time. I was very easily impressed.
2002: I got a keyboard this year (which again I didn't learn to play) and so there wasn't money in the budget for a $50 game. Instead I had to settle for a $20 option so I asked for EA's Freekstyle, a motocross game featuring future Al Franken sexual harassment victim Leann Tweeden. This game was actually incredibly fun, so of course it was the only EA game of that generation to not get a sequel.
2003: Rogue Squadron 3
2004: 007: Everything or Nothing and Spider-Man 2
2005: There weren't any big Gamecube releases this fall and I didn't have my DS yet, so I asked my brother for Super Smash Bros. Melee, which I had rented countless times but had yet to own up to this point. I think that was it
2006: I wanted a Wii but I couldn't get one in time for Christmas. My parents told me that if I managed to buy one after the holidays they would reimburse me for it, and in early January I was lucky enough to walk into Walmart and buy one along with a copy of Twilight Princess. I may have got Mario Kart DS this year but I don't remember
2007: Super Mario Galaxy, Metroid Prime 3, Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, Contra 4
2008: I think I got the new Castlevania and Ninja Gaiden for DS

Ever since then I've mostly bought games during the holiday season.
 

909

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I got too many games at Christmas, but the most notable times were:

My dad trading some weed for a Sega Genesis and a shitload of games. I only realized in the last year or so that this guy probably took away the Sega from his kid.

Someone I knew stole a crate full of Playstations and passed them around to everyone. Everyone also got Twisted Metal 2 and Croc. I have no idea why it was those two games.
 

Brocklock

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I remember getting Mortal Kombat/Super Street Fighter 2 for the Genesis in 95, Super Mario Kart which I think was purchased at a garage Sale for the SNES in 96, and Tekken 3 for the PS1 in 98. I usually got toys, movies, or action figures more than video games for X-Mas. Video games were usually a birthday thing.
 

Kahran Ramsus

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I got an Atari 2600 (with Pac-Man, Starmaster, and Keystone Kapers) for my third Christmas and I've gotten games pretty much every Christmas since to this day. That little faux wooden box got me into gaming. In terms of systems, the Game Boy, Game Cube, and Nintendo 3DS were also Christmas presents. I didn't ask for or expect any of them. My parents were (still are really) very good at buying games.

I tend to get more games than anything (other than maybe movies/tv shows), so I'll likely be back here in a couple of weeks with this year's crop. Some of the more memorable ones in the past include Super Mario Bros 2, Castlevania III, Mega Man III, the Capcom Disney Afternoon Games, Super Star Wars Trilogy, Donkey Kong Country, Ken Griffey Jr Presents Major League Baseball, Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Metal Gear Solid, Final Fantasy IX, Suikoden III, Tales of Symphonia, Persona 3 (I never even heard of the game before I got it and ended up loving it), and Uncharted 3.

I don't even buy games much anymore (unless it is really cheap on a digital sale or something) because I know I will get some at Christmas.
 

Angle-plex

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Saints_Fan_H said:
Still have my Super Mario 3 with my name in blue paint to distinguish it from my friend's brother's copy when I'd go visit.

I was never happier for a Christmas present than for that one. This year I just purchased a complete in box copy for display.

Other Christmases I got an SNES. I received Primal Rage a few Christmases later for that system. My Nintendo 64 Christmas 96 or 97 was wrapped in grocery bag in a shoe box - pawn shop purchase. It still works to this day.

I learned there was a Primal Rage 2 after just looking it up. Never knew that.

Only gaming system/games I can remember getting was PS2 with Madden and SSX
 

SFH

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Angle-plex said:
Saints_Fan_H said:
Still have my Super Mario 3 with my name in blue paint to distinguish it from my friend's brother's copy when I'd go visit.

I was never happier for a Christmas present than for that one. This year I just purchased a complete in box copy for display.

Other Christmases I got an SNES. I received Primal Rage a few Christmases later for that system. My Nintendo 64 Christmas 96 or 97 was wrapped in grocery bag in a shoe box - pawn shop purchase. It still works to this day.

I learned there was a Primal Rage 2 after just looking it up. Never knew that.

Only gaming system/games I can remember getting was PS2 with Madden and SSX
Fun game at its core but what the fuck was up with the button combinations for the special moves? And then Chaos had a finisher in the arcade version that was censored at home. Let down.
 

Kahran Ramsus

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Saints_Fan_H said:
Angle-plex said:
Saints_Fan_H said:
Still have my Super Mario 3 with my name in blue paint to distinguish it from my friend's brother's copy when I'd go visit.

I was never happier for a Christmas present than for that one. This year I just purchased a complete in box copy for display.

Other Christmases I got an SNES. I received Primal Rage a few Christmases later for that system. My Nintendo 64 Christmas 96 or 97 was wrapped in grocery bag in a shoe box - pawn shop purchase. It still works to this day.

I learned there was a Primal Rage 2 after just looking it up. Never knew that.

Only gaming system/games I can remember getting was PS2 with Madden and SSX
Fun game at its core but what the fuck was up with the button combinations for the special moves? And then Chaos had a finisher in the arcade version that was censored at home. Let down.

I never played the home version, but was it the pissing one? That was the best finisher in the game.
 

SFH

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Yep, when you type in the combo a red forbidden circle (Right To Censor) popped up.
 

TheSSNintendo

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I remember getting Super Mario Bros. 2 for Christmas one year.

1994 - Mortal Kombat 2 for SNES. My brother picked up Final Fantasy III.
1995 - Mortal Kombat 3 for SNES. My brother picked up Chrono Trigger.
1996 - Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 for SNES.
1998 - Madden '99. Also found a complete version of Tecmo Super Bowl III (SNES) at Wal-Mart.
1999 - Final Fantasy Anthology
2000 - Final Fantasy IX. You can sorta count Lunar 2: Eternal Blue Complete, even though it was delayed for a few months.
2006 - My sister bought me Smackdown vs. Raw '06.
2007 or 2008 - The Simpsons Game for PSP from my sister.
2017 - Xenoblade Chronicles 2.
2018 - Spider-Man PS4 Bundle. Tried to keep it away from myself until Christmas. One month later, and I'm 88% of the way through the game.
 

HarleyQuinn

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A lot of my favorite games were a result of Christmas including: Tecmo Super NBA Basketball for SNES (featuring Michael Jordan!), Tecmo Super Bowl for the Sega Genesis (I loved this more for the weather, teams, playbooks, etc.), Cool Boarders 1 & 2 and Jet Moto 1 & 2 for Playstation; and Goldeneye, WCW/nWo Revenge, WWF Wrestlemania 2000, & WWF No Mercy for N64.

I remember being crushed when the No Mercy glitch was found and I ended up getting hit with it a couple times. Never bothered to get the replacement copy from THQ since I had moved on to other games by that point.
 

Epic Springs

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I posted this in another thread a few days ago but here it is:

I'm just thinking of all the consoles I got for Christmas as a kid. I fell off the video games world in 2002-2003 but it was really amazing how many I received:

1993 - Sega Genesis w/ Sonic the Hedgehog
1994 - Game Gear w/ Sonic the Hedgehog 2
1996 - Sega Saturn w/ Virtua Fighter 2, Virtua Cop, and Daytona USA (bundle)
1997 - Sony Playstation w/ Tomb Raider 2
1999 - Sega Dreamcast w/ Marvel vs Capcom
2001 - XBOX w/ Halo

In the years where I didn't get a console, I likely just got games from the system I previously received. For example, in '98 I got Tomb Raider 3 (I was a MASSIVE TR fan back in the day) and Crash Bandicoot: Warped. Compare that to my brother who got Game Boy, SNES, N64, and Game Cube all at various holidays. Even my sister got in on this when my mother actually bought her an Atari Jaguar the Christmas it was released. She only had one game, Cybermorph which has been parodied numerous times.
 

BruiserBrody

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[quote author=BRODY link=topic=7317.msg606823#msg6
I know I asked for fighting games one year, and my budget conscious mother got me Shaq-Fu.

When I was 11 or 12ish I got a cologne box from my Momma. I was mortified that she bought me cologne (I was embarrassed to be maturing or some dumb shit I can't justify) and sat silently. Mom asked me what was wrong since she expected me to pop. She said open the box. It was a Game Boy game I had asked for.

My brother is 12 years my senior and he delivered each year on a great SNES game. Maybe he knew my parents were cheap and wanted me to be happy? I think I can credit him for Mortal Kombat 3, Link to the Past and Super Punch out for sure.
 

BUTT

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Just remembered that I got Ultimate Spider-Man for GameCube in ‘05. That game ruled.
 

Epic Springs

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I also remember getting Final Fantasy IX in '00 (I was also a huge FF fan and was upset I was never able to beat VIII) and Smackdown: Shut Your Mouth in '02. The last video game I recieved as a Christmas gift must have been Smackdown: Here Comes The Pain in '03.
 

909

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Epic Reine said:
The last video game I recieved as a Christmas gift must have been Smackdown: Here Comes The Pain in '03.

Goddamn man that sucks.

I get at least one every year even though I'm now in my 30's.

I got RDR2 this year from my parents and bought myself Final Fantasy 6, 7, and Tactics for iPad.
 

Aero

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Probably the most memorable for me was in 94 or 95, when my parents got a small collection of about 8 games or so and packed them into a single box for my brothers and me. Included were Donkey Kong Country (which had just come out), Super Metroid, Starfox, and a bunch of older, cheaper games.

The other one that stands out was the first Christmas that N64 had been out. At this point, my brothers and I each asked for a specific game and got them: MK Trilogy, Wayne Gretzky's 3D Hockey, and Killer Instinct: Gold. In hindsight, probably could have chosen better games, but still had fun with them. Taking turns playing the games on Christmas was the real hassle.
 

Haws Bah Gawd

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The wife gave me the PSVR Bungle with some mouse in the woods game, and a space robot game. Also got the Batman VR and Paranormal Activity VR games with it.
 

SFH

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Got WWE 2k19, from my parents, which was a surprise. (They also got me a man purse so let's not get carried away)

Going to try it out as soon as I"m not inundated with honey do lists.
 
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