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Games you had no idea what to do in as a kid
- Thread starter Phediuk
- Start date
Hydlide on the NES. The problem was by the time I had played this game I had already played Zelda and since this looked like a similar top down action adventure game, I thought it would be the same. Rented it, which means no manual, and could not figure out what the fuck to do. I remember getting really frustrated that I could not attack anything with a button and after dying like 8 times I begged my dad to take it back to the rental store to get something else.
A Boy and His Blob on NES was another one but I had fun screwing around with the jelly beans so that wasn't as big a deal.
A Boy and His Blob on NES was another one but I had fun screwing around with the jelly beans so that wasn't as big a deal.
Tetris. There was no such thing as tutorial back in the OG gameboy days. Sears used to have demo kioks and at one point (decades ago, jesus) they had a demo gameboy with tetris you could play. I could not figure out what you were supposed to do, I just tried making the blocks reach the top of the screen as fast as possible.
Torneko: The Last Hope
I was 10 years old i think when i got this game. Didn't have a memory card on the PS1 so i had to start over every time i wanted to play, and let me tell you, the intro is VERY long. I couldn't read English all that well so i had no idea what was going on. It was also my first RPG so i wasn't familiar with any RPG mechanics.
I was 10 years old i think when i got this game. Didn't have a memory card on the PS1 so i had to start over every time i wanted to play, and let me tell you, the intro is VERY long. I couldn't read English all that well so i had no idea what was going on. It was also my first RPG so i wasn't familiar with any RPG mechanics.
On the flip side, getting games with no manual meant you had to get really good at learning game mechanics on the fly and for me has been a major factor in being able to quickly pick up and learn new skills both in games and in the real world.
Dragon Warrior (Dragon Quest 1) on the NES. When I was kid I had no idea what was going on in that game. It soured me on JRPGs for years.
Oh boy this on is embarrassing. I was probably 8 or 9, I had asked my parents to buy Jedi Knight on PC after I saw in the shop and knowing nothing about, I imagined I was in for some quick lightsaber action with my new controller. Instead it turned out to be an FPS (I had never played one before) and I couldn't make my controller work with it. I had literally no idea what I was supposed to do right from the beginning, after shooting a couple of enemies in the first room if I recall correctly. I wandered aimlessly without finding anything to interact with. And to top things off, I didn't even have a friggin' lightsaber.
Eventually I found on my keyboard the button to open the text console, and I thought I could use it to talk to the NPCs, so I walked to an NPC and actually typed in a question, asking them what I was supposed to do T_T
I actually remember reading the game manual on my way home and being so excited with all those force powers and weapons. Boy was I disappointed.
I returned the game a couple of days later, thankfully the shopkeeper agreed to exchange it for another game. Years later I played through Jedi Academy, but I never got back to Jedi Knight. I guess I will never know what was beyond that first room.
Eventually I found on my keyboard the button to open the text console, and I thought I could use it to talk to the NPCs, so I walked to an NPC and actually typed in a question, asking them what I was supposed to do T_T
I also asked where I could find a lightsaber T____T
I actually remember reading the game manual on my way home and being so excited with all those force powers and weapons. Boy was I disappointed.
I returned the game a couple of days later, thankfully the shopkeeper agreed to exchange it for another game. Years later I played through Jedi Academy, but I never got back to Jedi Knight. I guess I will never know what was beyond that first room.
Possibly. Trying to figure out the strange game you rented was actually quite a brain teaser that a kid could stick to for quite awhile once it was clear you we're going back to the video store.
i remember to this day how confused i was about this game...
I also had issues with this one. Had no idea until many years later that you had to spray paint the purple objects.
lol, I played this on a black and white TV, so yeah, never did get past that level!
The Legend of Zelda NES.
My dad rented it to me because he heard it was great and the gold cartridge was difficult to ignore but I remember clearly having no idea what I was supposed to do and neither did he.
Back then if a game wasn't about walking from left to right chances were I would get lost. I didn't play my first RPG until 1996's Super Mario RPG and I didn't beat my first Zelda until way into the N64 days sometime in early 98 when I asked a cousins to lend me his copy of Link to the Past so I could see what all the fuss was about because everyone were losing their shit over Ocarina of Time previews.
Playing games in the 80s without instruction manuals was almost impossible and even with them they were impossible. My hat's off to anyone who legit beat back then Zelda 1, 2 or Metroid 1 on NES.
My dad rented it to me because he heard it was great and the gold cartridge was difficult to ignore but I remember clearly having no idea what I was supposed to do and neither did he.
Back then if a game wasn't about walking from left to right chances were I would get lost. I didn't play my first RPG until 1996's Super Mario RPG and I didn't beat my first Zelda until way into the N64 days sometime in early 98 when I asked a cousins to lend me his copy of Link to the Past so I could see what all the fuss was about because everyone were losing their shit over Ocarina of Time previews.
Playing games in the 80s without instruction manuals was almost impossible and even with them they were impossible. My hat's off to anyone who legit beat back then Zelda 1, 2 or Metroid 1 on NES.
Bubba and Stix
Bart vs The Space Mutants
Unfortunately owned Bart but luckily B&S was a rental. Both very weird and confusing.
Bart vs The Space Mutants
Unfortunately owned Bart but luckily B&S was a rental. Both very weird and confusing.
Eternal Eyes.
It was my first Strategy RPG (Final Fantasy Tactics type) so I couldn't comprehend how the battle system worked. Limited movement, attacks can only be in a certain ranged.
Ended up loving it when I went back to it a year or 2 later.
It was my first Strategy RPG (Final Fantasy Tactics type) so I couldn't comprehend how the battle system worked. Limited movement, attacks can only be in a certain ranged.
Ended up loving it when I went back to it a year or 2 later.
Civilization 1 for Amiga.
My friends told me about all the stuf you could do. Build cities and roads, conquer countries, advance from the stone age to our time.
Sounded bloody fantastic. When I got it I was ten. Couldn't believe how filthy liars my friends turned out to be. There eas nothing epic about moving a square around a bland map. And how did you even do stuf? Major dissappointment.
As a teen I got Civ 2 and realised my friends were right all along. I put hundreds of hours into that game.
My friends told me about all the stuf you could do. Build cities and roads, conquer countries, advance from the stone age to our time.
Sounded bloody fantastic. When I got it I was ten. Couldn't believe how filthy liars my friends turned out to be. There eas nothing epic about moving a square around a bland map. And how did you even do stuf? Major dissappointment.
As a teen I got Civ 2 and realised my friends were right all along. I put hundreds of hours into that game.
Atari 2600 Basic Programming was way over my head when I got my hands on it back in 1979.
It was a really nice package that came with a set of unique keypad controllers (w/ unique overlays), but I was just too young to get it.
Kinda unfortunate 'cause the game was really ambitious for the time and had "powerful" programming tools. If I'd only been a few years older I likely would have run with it and gotten some early rudimentary skills in programming that might have shot my educational trajectory in a completely different direction.
Death Duel
I found it in a bargain bin or a boot fair, no box, no manual, just the game cartridge so I had no idea what I was getting into.
A first person aim on a Genesis/Mega Drive controller is already hard enough to deal with, only scrolls left and right, tournament system like that of Punch-Out! sounds good to me even today. Alas back then, I had no idea that it was a system in which you need to damage specific parts of your enemy before you can really to kill your opponents and I of course had no idea about any of that. I had no idea what weapons to buy at a store that were actually any good and the game didn't really tell you what worked against what, and it was easy to not make enough money off your last fight to even be able to afford the right weapons or enough ammo to even survive in the next round.
Years later I finally figured out what to do, and it's worth trying out today, but back then, just a bizarre and frustrating mystery to me.
I found it in a bargain bin or a boot fair, no box, no manual, just the game cartridge so I had no idea what I was getting into.
A first person aim on a Genesis/Mega Drive controller is already hard enough to deal with, only scrolls left and right, tournament system like that of Punch-Out! sounds good to me even today. Alas back then, I had no idea that it was a system in which you need to damage specific parts of your enemy before you can really to kill your opponents and I of course had no idea about any of that. I had no idea what weapons to buy at a store that were actually any good and the game didn't really tell you what worked against what, and it was easy to not make enough money off your last fight to even be able to afford the right weapons or enough ammo to even survive in the next round.
Years later I finally figured out what to do, and it's worth trying out today, but back then, just a bizarre and frustrating mystery to me.
I'm surprised anyone has posted anything after 16-bit era. Though I guess it has to do with age. I guess an RPG would be confusing if you'd never seen anything like it, still between better manuals/internet/in game tutorials etc. the 32-bit era and beyond was much (much) more user friendly and less obtuse (outside of the occasional Artdink game).
There were certainly some Atari and NES games that were confusing due to poor documentation/translation, primitive graphics, and a handful of SNES/Genesis games (especially ones that were ports of PC games).
I guess language barrier could also be an issue too. I remember trying to play pokemon red/green back when they were new and having a lot of difficulty due to my poor Japanese skills at the time (I remember being so confused at the beginning of the game).
There were certainly some Atari and NES games that were confusing due to poor documentation/translation, primitive graphics, and a handful of SNES/Genesis games (especially ones that were ports of PC games).
I guess language barrier could also be an issue too. I remember trying to play pokemon red/green back when they were new and having a lot of difficulty due to my poor Japanese skills at the time (I remember being so confused at the beginning of the game).
I use to REALLY love pokemon games as a kid and I had 0 english understanding, so literally I would be stuck for days- weeks to solve simple task required (acquiring hm - waking snorlakes up - bringing tea to the old guy etc....) the moment I learned english I felt like be stabbed in the back from how easy those tasks were.
I remember Zelda Majora's Mask feeling particularly obtuse as a kid (and I finished Ocarina of Time). I eventually returned to Majora's and finished it nearly 15 years later lol.
In first Tomba I didn't understood that you need to use tornado from inventory to proceed in beginning.
In FF Tactics I didn't know that you can put additional party members beside main characters on the field. I think I was able to proceed up to 5th battle at best.
In FF Tactics I didn't know that you can put additional party members beside main characters on the field. I think I was able to proceed up to 5th battle at best.
A submarine simulator for the 8-bit and 16-bit computers. It felt really immersive and i really wanted to play it properly. I think i managed to launch torpedoes couple times!
http://www.atarimania.com/game-atari-st-silent-service_21063.html
http://www.atarimania.com/game-atari-st-silent-service_21063.html
OP took my answer. Raiders and E.T. on the 2600 were the first things to come to mind. I was absolutely clueless about what I was supposed to be doing in those.
Quest For The Rings on the Odyssey2 was another one. It was a really elaborate setup with a game board and a bunch of little tokens. I'm pretty sure we never played it the way it was supposed to be. We usually just ran around killing monsters, and each other.
Quest For The Rings on the Odyssey2 was another one. It was a really elaborate setup with a game board and a bunch of little tokens. I'm pretty sure we never played it the way it was supposed to be. We usually just ran around killing monsters, and each other.
Vagrant Story... I was getting my ass handed to me early in the game because I didnt understand the equipment mechanics as a kid. Even now, I still only kind of get it.
The Battle of Olympus for Gameboy : i hadn't no fucking idea how to progress in the game when i was kid
I beat Hydlide and I really don't remember having any idea what I was doing. But it must have made sense to me on some level for me to finish it.
Good lord, this. I remember playing this at my cousin's house when I was like five. Hadn't really ever played videogames before and I had absolutely no clue what was happening.
i remember to this day how confused i was about this game...
We didnt have internet back then to look stuff up.... either you paid for a guide/hotline or knew a friend who heard some tip from a kid at the arcade
yeap yeap . Colossal waste of time with both. in Metal Gear, you get in a truck and it transports you to another place you have no clue what to do. At least metal gear had cheat codes but Rambo was the worst. Let me add Final Fantasy Tactics to my list. A friend had lent me a copy and it was like Chinese to me.
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A ton of Commodore 64 games were like that, and at the time I just accepted that's how games were. You were completely at the mercy of whatever the developer assumed of their audience. Seeing the actual 'end' of a game was a mind-boggling concept.
Casino Kid.
I was 5 in 1995. My cousins were about 5-10 years older than me and they had a NES. All my Aunts and Uncles on my Moms side fetishized the casino and gambling lifestyle. So naturally Casino Kid stood out among the crowd. It felt just like what I imagined. Problem was I didn't know the game, blackjack. So I was just clicking buttons.
Funny how life works, now I am MrNewVegas on a forum, been to Vegas about a dozen times and have spent 1000s of hours playing poker in casinos.
I was 5 in 1995. My cousins were about 5-10 years older than me and they had a NES. All my Aunts and Uncles on my Moms side fetishized the casino and gambling lifestyle. So naturally Casino Kid stood out among the crowd. It felt just like what I imagined. Problem was I didn't know the game, blackjack. So I was just clicking buttons.
Funny how life works, now I am MrNewVegas on a forum, been to Vegas about a dozen times and have spent 1000s of hours playing poker in casinos.
Yup.. I remember i got pretty far with collecting the dino eggs.. Was that the objective? I still don't know
And the worse part of it all was there was no save feature. Couldn't tell you how many times i had to start that game over
Metroid was one of the first games I ever played. I don't know how old I was... 4 or 5. I just went all the way up without going in the side areas, reached the top, and quit. I had my mom take me back to the store so I could exchange it for something else. There were probably others in those early NES days but that's the one that sticks out.
Bart vs the Space Mutants. I found a small handful of things to spray, about it.
Never could beat level 2 of Bubba'n'Stix on CD32.
Woah.
Never could beat level 2 of Bubba'n'Stix on CD32.
Woah.
