Gaming Happy Place

[Gambit]

Hello new Fami-ly,

gaming has always been a part of my life, as it probably has for many of us.

But there are special games that we turn to and return to in moments of sorrow or moments of triumph.
I am curious, which games are your gaming happy places?

Do you have any?

Different ones for sorrow or triumph?


I have to say that 2D Mario games are a go-to happy place for me that rarely fails to deliver.

2D games in general work quite well for me, probably because I grew up with the SNES.

The Donkey Kong Country Trilogy works wonderfully as a happy place.



My latest discovery, a shocking one at that, is Bayonetta 2.
I finished it back on Wii U, and later on Switch.

On a whim I put it on again lately and the combination of style and gameplay works wonderfully, too.



So, please share your happy places

Spoiler: today's reason for visit to happy place

Triumph!

I successfully defended my dissertation today and acquired my PhD after a long journey

 

[randomengine]

I wish I had certain gaming delights, gaming comfort food. Gunstar Heroes maybe. Some of the old action games from the 16-bit era. Binding of Isaac maybe......


Oh no....I know what it is - Picross! If I am playing nothing else, I am playing Picross.

 

[E.Gadd]

Booting up WaveRace 64 and just following that dolphin is always a good one for me for both occasions.

Playing Final Fantasy IX and just wandering around in general was also some good comfort gaming to me this past year.

 

[randomengine]

Booting up WaveRace 64 and just following that dolphin is always a good one for me for both occasions.

Playing Final Fantasy IX and just wandering around in general was also some good comfort gaming to me this past year.

I used to love starting up Ecco the Dolphin and jumping around and swimming in the water. So relaxing. Needless to say I don't think I ever got far in the game.

 

[Ramune]

I find Stardew Valley quite comforting, though replaying it recently it also made me a little sad. Same with Phoenix Wright. Kooky misadventures aside, those people have their lives together and are going somewhere!

SNES platformers also feel quite comforting for the same reason as you, they remind me of my childhood. Depending on how they hold up, the N64 3D platformers may have the same effect once on NSO.

Starting but not finishing a replay of a classic JRPG is also more accessible than therapy.

 

[E.Gadd]

ooh yeah Stardew is perfect for this sort of thing.

I used to love starting up Ecco the Dolphin and jumping around and swimming in the water. So relaxing. Needless to say I don't think I ever got far in the game.

Ha ha same.

I was objectively terrible at that game but it didn't bother me.

 

[Leica]

FFIX is one for me too, extremely nostalgic and it still holds up well, love the music too.

Also it always comes over as some weird flex but the original Dark Souls is really zen to me, transports me back to when I first played which was a pretty good time in my life + it demands just enough attention from me to make time fly by, while having played it enough it's not frustrating anymore either. Firelink Shrine + the Undead Burg are really something special to me.

 

[Benzychenz]

Kingdom Hearts 1, the atmosphere of that game is just a joy to return to. So nostalgic.

 

[Brofield]

Pikmin was my first Gamecube game along with Super Smash Bros Melee, and I'm in the process of replaying it, somewhere in the double digits by now. It's all muscle memory and I still play by the strategy laid out in the Nintendo Power guidebook I got, but damn that music is still cathartic to me along with all the colours, environments, and even the enemy designs.

 

[Sejes]

congrats on the dissertation!

right now my happy place is playing Metroid Dread. just having a straightforward metroid game, analyzing a new map for optimal routes and destinations. it really doesnt get better than that.

 

[Rika]

Anything like Animal Crossing, Story of Seasons, etc.

 

[NarohDethan]

Final Fantasy XIV

 

[A. G. Cook]

I have a few that stand out off the top of my head...

TMNT The Arcade Game, lots of memories of playing this at Chuck E Cheese when I was a kid. Always wanted the cabinet but it's so expensive, so I ended up getting the 1up Arcade model when it was released. Now they're quite rare, glad I picked it up when I did.

Super Castlevania IV, this just screams Halloween and SNES launch to me. The music still gives me chills to this day, and it's such a perfect 2D action adventure game that nothing has ever lived up to it in my gaming experience.

Super Mario 64, being a kid when 3D was taking shape after playing 2D Mario for years was quite the revelation. From the Toys R Us demo units to actually having a console and game in my home, I spent many long nights playing that game and getting 120 stars. The nostalgia overload when Nintendo 64 turned 25 this year made me feel so old, and also look back at those days of gaming innocence with happiness. Glad I got to experience it all.

Panzer Dragoon series, also another special place in my heart. From when the Saturn launched to the launch of Saga, this series is quite unlike anything out there and I long for the day when Saga gets a proper treatment. I have fond memories of playing the original at my best friends house, not a care in the world.

 

[Phosphorescent Skeleton]

Dragon Quest games just making me purely happy like no other piece of media can. Like a nice warm blanket.

 

[menx64]

Congrats OP!

I love playing outrun and Mario kart 8 when I am tired of playing other games.
Love those games.

 

[Shroomy]

For me, it’s Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance. Whenever I start it up and hear Successor of Fate (first area theme), I get a small smile on my face and go from there.

 

[ImpendingFoil]

I often find myself coming back to Super Mario Bros or some version of Mario Kart when I just want to play something to zen out to.

 

[Timefire]

Congrats OP!

It might be weird but... Playing Dark Souls 3 is, like another poster said, a weird zen-like experience. I know the game like the back of my hand but it has a lot of happy memories associated with it.

Plus, I can always think up some stupid challenge run to amuse myself, like when I played with "inverted hands" (weapons equipped on the shield hand and shield equipped on the weapon hand) or maybe my most reocurring challenge run, called "this faith build will finally actually be good"

or I'll try to kinda "roleplay" a character from another game. (Like my Uchigatana + Master's Attire + pants for a Fire Emblem myrmidon inspired build/character)

Just talking about it is giving me an itch to do it again so I'll stop lol but yeah that's for sure my happy place game

 

[Soul Skater]

Hopping around out here

 

[Gambit]

So many fantastic answers and new ideas already.

Dragon Quest games!
Gunstar Heroes, TMNT Arcade, and how on earth could I forget Wave Race?!

Even reading the name made me think of racing around that beach in the sunset.


I'll be sure to play those again.


Since I have not played the Dark Souls games, the first playthrough would be too stressful to have it work as a happy place.

But I love that even such difficult games can become that to people intimately familiar with them.

Maybe I can kinda see that with Sekiro. I just liked running around in that world.


Speaking of running around, I just thought of another one:

Doing sidequests in Xenoblade 2. Going from Titan to Titan with the wonderful music in the background is soothing (Gormott) or rousing like the incredible Mor Ardain (Day) music.

congrats on the dissertation!

right now my happy place is playing Metroid Dread. just having a straightforward metroid game, analyzing a new map for optimal routes and destinations. it really doesnt get better than that.

Congrats OP!

I love playing outrun and Mario kart 8 when I am tired of playing other games.
Love those games.

Congrats OP!

It might be weird but... Playing Dark Souls 3 is, like another poster said, a weird zen-like experience. I know the game like the back of my hand but it has a lot of happy memories associated with it.

Plus, I can always think up some stupid challenge run to amuse myself, like when I played with "inverted hands" (weapons equipped on the shield hand and shield equipped on the weapon hand) or maybe my most reocurring challenge run, called "this faith build will finally actually be good"

or I'll try to kinda "roleplay" a character from another game. (Like my Uchigatana + Master's Attire + pants for a Fire Emblem myrmidon inspired build/character)

Just talking about it is giving me an itch to do it again so I'll stop lol but yeah that's for sure my happy place game

Thank you very much. I wonder when it'll sink in that it's actually over.

 

[Helix]

for me it's probably roaming around in Kamurocho or Ijincho in the Yakuza games. being in that world gives me a strange yet welcoming comfort!