Before the years of Generation X, video games were little more than toys that were kept in the closet with the rest of the kid’s stuff, if they existed at all. Not only did video games explode in the years between 1965 and 1981, but Generation X was also the perfect age to witness the rise ofNintendoin the early 1980s.
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Boomers were mostly too old to get hooked on video games, at least back in the 1970s and 1980s when cable TV and VHS were the new and exciting things for grown-ups. TheAtariwas always lurking in the background, however, and when the console wars began the following decade, the digital genie was out of the bottle and never going back.
8Duck Hunt (1984)
The genre of the first-person shooter was one of the most popular types of video games in the 1990s, but it all started withDuck Hunt. Plenty of early Nintendo gaming consoles included a light gun back in the day, so most Boomers bought this completely by accident for their Gen X kids.
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What followed was a surprise hit that took a satirical and funny take on the concept of hunting games. Even at the highest difficulty setting it was an easy game, and the sound of that dog laughing is a sound that almost all Gen Xers recognize.
7Super Mario Bros. (1983)
The kids that had a copy ofDuck Huntthat included the light gun, Rob the Robot, and two more games, one of which wasSuper Mario Bros.Older Gen Xers would have recognized that this was a sequel to a popular two-player arcade game, Mario Bros, and this one had some similar features. One important difference is that a second player was optional as opposed to a requirement.
This colorful, exciting, and strange video game made Nintendo a household name and brought terms like"sidescroller" and “2D platformer"into the English lexicon.
6Ghosts N' Goblins (1985)
An early example of the horror genre,Ghosts n' Goblinspaved the way for titles likeCastlevaniain later years. It took most players' by surprise with its unforgiving level of difficulty, simple but exciting plot, and truly frightening design and setting.
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For those that noticed or even cared about the plot, it was about the brave Sir Arthur and his fight through a hellscape filled with zombies, demons, ghosts, and other monsters to reach Astaroth, also known as Satan or Lucifer. Another bit of interesting trivia is that once a player beats the boss at the end, they’re sent back to the beginning because the first run is an “illusion.” That’s a true story and it happens.
5Asteroids (1979)
Generation X got the best of both worlds when it came to video games. There weren’t just consoles and home games likePongto enjoy but alsothe selection in the arcade, a holdover from the Boomer years when video games were something you left the house to do.
Asteroidswas one of the games that were ported to the Atari home consoles, and it was the type of game that didn’t need a storyline, a main character, a soundtrack, or even different colors. Its simplicity was addictive, and its unique design of a stationary point that needs defending as opposed to an offensive position would continue with other games likeGalagaandCentipede.
4The Legend Of Zelda (1986)
Almost every MMORPG or standalone fantasy video gamecan trace its roots back toThe Legend of Zelda, and Generation X was the first to play it. It had some RPG elements but it was mostly an adventure game, and it worked so well that a massive franchise of books, maps, and a whole library of Zelda and Link’s adventures would spring from this humble root.
It wasn’t just the collection of weapons and gear or exploring the vast and mysterious forest where players would find themselves with little or no backstory. Players who took the incentive to read the rather thick manual learned some of the lore of Hyrule along with the reasons and history behind some of the wacky names and strange locations scarred throughout the forest.
3Castle Wolfenstein (1981)
Most people think ofCastle Wolfensteinas the predecessor toDoom, but that’s only where the storyline is concerned. Both games are concerned with infiltrating Nazi strongholds and stealing or discovering powerful artifacts, but one is a pure FPS while the other is a stealth game.
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The originalCastle Wolfensteinwas one of the first games in the stealth genre. It was a paradigm shift for players that were used to space shooters or point-and-click adventure games. Its legacy would continue with other games that used the element of stealth in the gameplay.
2Hero’s Quest (1989)
Computer games were catching up to their console counterparts, and with some exceptions, PC gamers were the ones playing puzzle, stealth, and point-and-click adventure games. These would evolve into much more complex games, like those in theElder Scrollsfranchise, to include professions, crafting,and other ways to customizeeach character.
Hero’s Questwas inspired by the first drafts of tabletopDungeons & Dragons, in which players could choose between the classes of Fighter, Mage, or Thief. The class of the main character determined their skills and talents and also affected how the storyline was going to unfold.
1Final Fantasy (1987)
Fans of this popular franchise still look for ways to play the very first game in its original form, despite its age and primitive design.There are plenty of remastered versionsof the old games and some of them were never released in North America, but everyone who had an NES in 1987 had a chance to play the very first one.
What has evolved into one of the biggest and most profitable franchises in the media universe started withFinal Fantasy. It was one of the very first turn-based RPG games that let players build characters and was released late enough that some of the Millennials got to experience it as well.
