Games of Christmas past: A look back in time

I’m sure if you are reading this the odds are pretty high that you have a game under your tree this year or put one there for someone else.

I sometimes think back to games I was given at this time of year as a kid, and I’ve decided to share some of those memories today.

– Frogger (Commodore 64) – This was on cassette. Yes… cassette. Took 32 minutes to load, too… and I was ok with that. Spare me your load time remarks today.

– Fraction Fever (Commodore 64) – This was a game with a stick figure on a pogo stick, jumping around on various floors in an effort to find matching fractions and zap them. I guess my dad thought it would teach me about fractions, but I didn’t learn spit from it. I’d get to the top floor then jump off, watching my guy die in one epic multi-screen fall to his death.

– The NES Max Controller (NES) – Not a game. That’s why I’m including it here. The same Christmas where I got my NES saw me get one of these from an aunt who “thought it was a game.” She bought it because it was the cheapest thing on the shelf, I guarantee ya.

– Ultima: Exodus (NES) – I must have put three dozen titles on the list this Christmas. This was one of them, and my parents made sure to let me know they picked it out because of the promise on the back of the box that it had “over 100 hours of game time.” I beat games too quickly back then I suppose. I beat this one in 20 hours.

– Bases Loaded (NES) – My favorite baseball game of this era. Paste was a damn beast.

– Dr. Mario (NES) – I was encouraged to play with pills on Christmas when the highly addicting Dr. Mario came home with me from the family gathering at my uncle’s house. Of the select games I’ve mentioned so far, this is one I’ll still play pretty often to this very day.

– Madden NFL 94 (SNES) – Starting my still-alive obsession with the Madden series, I lived vicariously through this game at the time. If my Dallas Cowboys had a rough week, I’d make up for it by obliterating the computer in this game. If I’d known what it would be like to be a Cowboys fan in the years since I wouldn’t have been so mad at opposing teams back then.

As I said… this is just a few of ’em. I could go on all day, and I’m sure you could, too. What are some games YOU got in past Christmases that you might wish to recall today?

Next up013 – Fish-related Games

Patrick Scott Patterson

Patrick Scott Patterson is a video game personality and historian, gaming since 1981. A fan of the history and culture of all eras in gaming, Patterson aims to help preserve the full industry history and improve its reputation to the mainstream. You can learn more about Scott on his site, patrickscottpatterson.com.

See all posts by Patrick Scott Patterson

16 comments

Newest | Oldest

DarthMan

After receiving the NES on Christmas Eve in 1988 (YES!) I was lucky enough to receive two games on Christmas day from my aunt and uncle and grandparents. Top Gun and Mike Tyson's Punch-Out. Waiting for everyone to finish opening presents felt like it look 37 hours, but during that time I was able to read both instruction manuals.

No other Christmas comes close to the excitement of getting two games for my very first console--the NES.

Bigjoe91

Two stories:

When I was starting out on the PSX, I probably bought FFVII 5 times in rental money. When my mom told me I could rent a game for the Christmas, I asked for it. She told me I could really choose another one since I rented that one pretty often. What subtlety mom.Then there's the time I received Yoshi's Island. I was turned off by the snapshots and didn't really want the game that much. I got it the same year as a huge RC racing track. When my family was almost done setting up the track, I was at the first stage of World 4. I don't know if I tried the track before finishing the game...

smearedink

Sorry to post a second one, but... well, there are lots of Christmases. This one's about a Christmas gift for my mom, technically, and deserves a brief preface.

I played Final Fantasy III pretty much all the time and was obnoxiously obsessed with it. My mom sometimes played adventure games on the computer like King's Quest (understandably!) but she'd always say things like "How can you feel anything for those little blobs on the screen? They don't even look like people!" Eventually I got that rather bad PC port of Final Fantasy VII since I'd opted for an N64 rather than a PlayStation (but that's another Christmas) and I managed to convince her to play that. She certainly had no trouble connecting with those blobs of polygons! This was followed by her playing Final Fantasy III, Chrono Trigger, Zelda games, etc., and when she ran out of games I had, she started playing RPGs on an SNES emulator. I got a PlayStation in time for Final Fantasy VIII, which of course she played, and she also bought tons of RPGs for it. Way more than I ever played.

So, when Final Fantasy X was coming out, I believe the deal from her was "I'll buy a PS2 if you get me Final Fantasy X." That seemed more than fair to me! I always thought of the PS2 as mine, but I'm pretty sure she thought of it as hers.

Sadly, my mom died five years ago. She got to finish Final Fantasy XII, at least, which frankly I think is one of the all-time high points in the RPG genre. I now have this insane collection of PSX and PS2 RPGs, most of which I still have never played. I just replayed FFVII, and now I have a rekindled taste for PSX RPGs. I'm thinking of giving Lunar a shot one of these days... but I think maybe Vagrant Story first. I don't remember anymore, but I probably gave at least one of those to my mom for Christmas.

the_valerie

@NintendoLegend linked me to this article via twitter, with a reference to an old Toys R Us commercial. Their commercial was basically saying that having to get a raincheck for something for your kid was not cool, but don't worry, because they'll have what you want in stock. Well, the year of that commercial, one of the items highest on my wishlist was Pokémon Yellow. & what was waiting for me under the tree? A raincheck from Toys R Us, for Pokémon Yellow! Ahhhhh, good times. We had a few laughs re-enacting the commercial. (& of course I had lots of fun with my game when I finally got it!)

...I will also mention that the very first game I ever wanted for my very own (as opposed to just playing my brother's) was Harvest Moon, which I had read about in Nintendo Power. That was a great Christmas gift as well.

Chronoslinger

Two games in the same series. In '94 I asked for Donkey Kong Country for Christmas (as any self respecting SNES owner should) and after I tore off the paper and my smile stretched from ear to ear my dad told me that it was the last copy of the game from Toys 'R Us, I felt so lucky! Fast forward to Christmas '96 and I once again asked for a Donkey Kong Country game, this time #3. On Christmas morning I eagerly opened all of my presents hoping to find the coveted game, but it was nowhere to be found. My parents asked if I liked my presents, and I said "Yeah" but I couldn't help but be a bit disappointed at no sign of DKC3, and just when I thought i wouldn't ever see the game my Dad reached up on top of the entertainment system and pulled down a brand new copy of the Donkey Kong Country 3. My kid heart soared.

ericmhunter

For me, the year when the Xbox 360 came out, I walked in on my mom (wait for it...) wrapping the 360 box up for Christmas. It was laying on the bed and when I opened the door she leaped over to the bed to shield the box from my line of sight screaming "get out! get out! get out!" After everything calmed down, I told her that I didn't want a 360 I wanted a Wii for Christmas instead (duh!). But after receiving the Wii from my parents that year, I quickly saw the severity of my decision. Ended up selling it for a 360 only three months of having it. Thanks for nothing Mom! Gawd!

OcarinaOfTom

One Christmas when I was a kid, I came out for Christmas morning and got through all of my presents, with not a single game among them. I had gotten a few toys, sure, but no games? My father must have seen the look of disappointment on my face because he then with a smirk asked, "Aren't you going to finish opening your presents?" He had hidden my presents that were NES games all around the house and actually made a game of finding them. That year saw me get, among others, both Bases Loaded II and Captain Skyhawk, which are still 2 of my favorite games of all time.

smearedink

When Donkey Kong Country came out, I got it from my dad on Christmas Eve. He said "act surprised when you get that Super Nintendo tomorrow." The following year, I got what we then called Final Fantasy III. A good couple of years.

NintendoLegend

Two video games I got on separate Christmases as a kid with much anticipation were Clayfighter 2: Judgment Clay (ah, 16-bit fighting games!) and Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, which remains among my all-time favorites. I talk a little bit about both stories on episode 8 of the podcastle -- /2012/11/008-rocket-pants/

chibiforte

Last year was a great Christmas for games, but not in the same way as Christmases before. This was the last Christmas I would get to spend with my family before getting married, graduating from college in January, and moving to South Korea. My parents kept on asking me what I wanted as a gift, but I repeatedly told them that I did not need much. Finances are tight as it is in this current economy, so there's no reason to spend their hard-earned money on gifts for me.

Finally, I finally told them that if I could have anything for that Christmas, I wouldn't mind having a 3DS. But I prefaced that by saying I don't need it, it's not that important, don't get it (I really wanted it, but didn't want them to have to buy it for me). I didn't tell them any games because I figured that was my one guarantee that they wouldn't go out and get it. My parents had never really shown interest in my gaming hobby, so they didn't know which games were which, and the only thing I ever spoke openly about was Pokémon (which isn't on the 3DS yet). I figured that, without knowing what games to buy, they wouldn't try getting it.

Lo and behold, come Christmas morning, what did I find under the tree? A black Nintendo 3DS. But not just a 3DS, but a 3DS with both Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D AND Super Mario 3D Land AND a point card I could use on the Nintendo eShop. These were pretty much the only games I wanted to play on the 3DS at the time, so for my parents to show that they investigated which games I actually liked and purchased the two perfect games for the console that I wanted... well, that was a show of love. It might seem unimportant in the grand scheme of things, but for them to show an interest in a hobby that they knew absolutely nothing about just so that they could help make me happy... it shows how blessed I am to have parents that actually care about my personal life. It was very touching and reassuring to me, and that is a Christmas memory I won't soon forget.

Paul Potvin

When the PS3 first came out, I wasn't really using the household PS2. My father said one day in September or October that the PS2 died. That Christmas, we both asked for a PS3.. That alone isn't allthat special I suppose. Flash forward to the fall of 2009 when I bought a house. I bought my own PS3, and I complained that I needed a PS2, since the PS2 was broken and the new PS3 was not PS2 compatible. My father mentioned I should "doublecheck" the old "dead" PS2 to see it if's really "broken". It 'may be ok". hmmmmmmmmmmmm. Sure enough, it was fine. I figured out what he did. Well played, dad. I had no idea.

smearedink

@nesnintendonerd As a kid, I only knew Top Gun as an NES game, not a movie.

NintendoLegend

@the_valerie The commercial is still hilarious -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZLgbgQ1y18

NintendoLegend

@Paul Potvin Ha! Nice one.

smearedink

@NintendoLegend @the_valerie That was great, I'm surprised I have no recollection of seeing it before.

Chronoslinger

@NintendoLegend @the_valerie Love the AOL keyword, hahaha.