Which game would you like to forget everything about, so you could play it for the first time, again?

[FelixSH]

I'm bad at short titles.

Anyway, I remembered how much I would love to play Persona 3 again, without remembering anything about it, or Persona 4. I played it during a summer, between university semesters, and I had nothing else to do, so I played every night, from 9 PM to 3 AM. I still remember the excellent atmosphere, how moody everything was, and how big the school felt, the first time. How free-form everything felt in general, before I realized the way the game was structured. And then, replaying it immediately, with a guide, to complete all the social links.

For some reason, replaying it doesn't work. Dunno, I just have too much knowledge of how this game works. I will likely try again, but I feel like this one will not work for me again, which makes me very sad. I had such a good time with that game.

 

[Kazin]

Final Fantasy VI for sure - I first played it so long ago and adored it, I'd love to discover it all over again. Ditto Pokemon Gold/Silver/Crystal.

 

[Lokii]

All of them tbh

 

[YangusKhan]

Probably, uhhh, fuckin'... Xenogears??

 

[Aleryn]

Another vote for Xenogears. Probably Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy VI, IV - heck even Undertale as loaded a pick that one is. Still, there is another one I can't quite remember. This sure seems like some of the highest of praise a work of art can get.

 

[WildcatJF]

Portal. I want to be blown away by that mechanic again.

 

[Bongo]

Can't think of a one. I almost always enjoy games more on a replay, books more on a reread, movies more on a rewatch, etc. Having the full context improves my appreciation of the artistry involved.

 

[ThornGhost]

I actually don't think I'd want to forget any of my favorite classics. There's no way any of them would have such an effect on me now, having played their sequels or games they inspired. Can't imagine Chrono Trigger would hit the same way in 2021 at the age of 39. Then I'd just be down a fond memory.

So in that vein, maybe something recent that I really enjoyed? FF7:R perhaps? No, Breath of the Wild. Definitely BotW.

 

[Vaeran]

I'm going to cheat and pick two. In terms of gameplay, probably Breath of the Wild. As a child I was awestruck by the vastness of the open world presented to me in the original Legend of Zelda, and since then few games have managed to recapture that feeling, but BotW absolutely did, and even surpassed it. I'd love to experience that again for the first time.

In terms of story, it's Telltale's The Walking Dead Season 1. I can't think of another game that affected me emotionally on the level that this one did. I'm not normally a fan of kids, but I got instantly attached to and very protective of Clem to a degree that startled me, and I absolutely bought into every beat of this story. I was full-on sobbing by the end of episode 5. Media that can get under my skin like that is rare these days.

 

[Octopus Prime]

Super Metroid springs immediately to mind

 

[SabreCat]

I'll second the Portal mention. I had over-the-shoulder puzzle help the first time I played, which took a bit of the "eureka" out of the experience!

 

[nijhazer]

A few years ago, I played Suikoden for the first time. That is a game with its own unique charm, which also speaks loudly with the voice of its era. When I played it, it was as if I were transported back in time, and was experiencing that game through the eyes of a mid-90s me.

If I could feel similarly transported with any game I’ve previously played, by virtue of some magic beans or some such, then I would choose Alundra. So rare is it now that I ever hear this game mentioned, but it was one of the best gaming experiences I ever had, and in the years since I never found anything that felt quite the same.

 

[Sarge]

Chrono Trigger. Symphony of the Night. Dragon Warrior IV. Kirby's Adventure. Basically anything that I gave a 9+ to, so a lot. But then there are games that I now give 9+ scores that took me time to learn and love, so I wouldn't want to forget everything from, say, Contra or Jackal.

 

[Violentvixen]

Portal is a great choice. I'm a little nervous about how some other games I like would fare. A lot of them are just not as streamlined to play as modern games and I don't know if I'd still enjoy them as much as I did so many years ago.

 

[LBD_Nytetrayn]

These days, I'm worried that if I forgot everything about a game, I wouldn't get to play it as extensively to fully enjoy it as I once did.

 

[Yimothy]

I think my enjoyment of a lot of my favourites is tied up with my memories of my life at the time I played them. Wouldn’t want to forget them and then play for the first time and go “meh”.

That said, I think Link’s Awakening would probably hold up. Imagine coming across that knowing nothing about it.

Another might be Psychonauts, a game I remember as surprising me throughout. It’d be nice to reencounter the Milkman Conspiracy for the first time.

 

[Adrenaline]

I am going to echo the idea that my memories of my favorite games are cherished and I wouldn't want to risk them in the hope that I would have the same response to them today as the changed person I am. Anything in the last few years is probably fine because that's less time for my tastes to change. Half-Life Alyx and Breath of the Wild come to mind.

 

[gorha]

The Witness. The sense of discovery both in terms of the puzzle mechanics and the world itself was wonderful, and replaying it is a very different experience. I wouldn't really want to do this unless I would also somehow get back the time I spent playing it, though. I guess if I had to pick one and knew I wouldn't be getting any extra time, I might also go with Portal, because it's shorter.

 

[Torzelbaum]

I am going to echo the idea that my memories of my favorite games are cherished and I wouldn't want to risk them in the hope that I would have the same response to them today as the changed person I am.

Besides this there are also the memories of sharing and discussing the games with other people which I don't think I would want to give up as part of this bargain.

 

[Falselogic]

I'd love to be as shocked and surprised and scared through Subnautica again

 

[conchobhar]

Flower is my top pick here; the game was a great experience that I've since enjoyed but never quite repeated on a replay. I would say Journey, too, for similar reasons, but the game's online elements gave rise to a couple of very specific interactions that not only shaped my experience, but are probably unlikely to recur— so I'll keep those memories.

Demon's Souls would be thrilling to experience for the first time again, but only if I can also wipe the subsequent FromSoft action games from my memory, too— Demon's was the first one of them I played, so it'd be an entirely different experience if I went into it with knowledge of the later games this time.

 

[Kirin]

I'm thinking Symphony of the Night. I picked up a copy second-hand and I'm pretty sure I already knew about the inverted castle. It'd be pretty dang cool to discover that organically.

Flower is a good one too,though.

 

[WisteriaHysteria]

Since you've forgotten you played these games, you've forgotten their existence so you don't even know that they were good and worth your time to begin with so you end up never experiencing them for your whole life instead.

 

[Kirin]

If I hadn't played SotN, I'm pretty sure literally the whole forum would be yelling at me to play SotN already.

 

[WisteriaHysteria]

I've managed to avoid playing it thus far

Maybe I already wished to forget I'd played it?

 

[JBear]

I already feel like I've forgotten SotN every time I play through it, because I inevitably find some cool amazing easter egg that I had no idea existed. I am constantly playing that game for the first time.

Anyway, since forgetting things is my magic power, I forget all of the games that I've played constantly, and I hate it, so none, I guess? Probably something with a good 11th-hour plot twist, since I'm a sucker for that sort of thing, but nothing is springing immediately to mind.

 

[Oathbreaker]

Okami. I love the hell out of it, I own it on every platform it's come out on. But knowing some of the repetitive stuff that happens in the back half is a huge bummer and always stalls me out. I'd rather go in blind all over again every time.

 

[estragon]

I am in the reject the premise of the question crowd in that I don't want to lose my memories of any game I really like. So much of my experiences with games are about being in the right place at the right time, and who knows if that could be recreated.

But, if given this ability, I would want to use it in an experiment by forgetting my memories of a game I don't like very much, Final Fantasy IV. I'm curious to know if I'd like it more coming to it fresh now, and I don't think I'd be losing much by letting go of my old memories.

 

[Violentvixen]

But, if given this ability, I would want to use it in an experiment by forgetting my memories of a game I don't like very much, Final Fantasy IV. I'm curious to know if I'd like it more coming to it fresh now, and I don't think I'd be losing much by letting go of my old memories.

Oooh, that's an interesting twist on this. I didn't have a Playstation when FF7 came out and the fandom soured me on it, so even when I got around to trying it years later I was just kind of annoyed about the whole thing. Removing all that and being able to experience that game without knowing so many memes and such would be interesting.

 

[MrBlarney]

Estragon indeed brings up a good point. I haven't really done many replays of previously-completed games lately, but when I think of doing so, it's often driven by the positive emotions from completing the game, and the mastery achieved from that previous playthrough, or playthroughs. I've done games with shorter play times on the Switch's retro consoles, and the SNES mini, but I haven't replayed longer games, like RPGs. For some of those longer games, only the youthful rose-tinted color remains, with many years of personal change in between, and so a replay might as well be like playing for the first time.

Perhaps the closest game that I've recently played through multiple times was Heaven's Vault, and that was an immediate replay to try and gain more perspectives on the story, the world, and the language. That's a game where knowing about it really helps inform the second run.

But to answer the original prompt properly, I think I'll have to be a bit cliché and choose The Outer Wilds? After you gain mastery of the 3-D movement controls, the game is all about knowledge and learning. The game left such a strong impression on me, and the web of information so intricate, that I find it hard to believe that I'd soon forget so much to bring back the same joy of experiencing the game for the first time. Still, that experience of playing through the game also makes it just about as joyful to see other people playing through the game. Everybody gains insights into the game at different rates and in different orders, and having the game work across all those different approaches... that's a special game, right there.

P.S. - I saw The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild mentioned a couple times above. That's another game where the openness gives a unique experience that can't really be replicated on a replay. Oh, but it might well be time to give the game another playthrough, it certainly feels like a long enough gap since release. I just need to find the time to play...