What is the most 'charming' game you have ever played?

[Flippy8490]

This is an odd question, i know, but it just randomly popped into my head tonight and I thought it was interesting. You know those games that you play that just have a nice feel and atmostphere about them. The best way I can describe it is the feeling you get when you boot up your favorite game to play for the 7 millionth time, but even though you have played it over and over, it is still just as fun to play this 7 millionth time as it was the first.

For me, this game has got to be Super Mario Bros. 3 (i know, generic). It's not even the nostalgia of my childhood, though. The entire game just leaks a special atmospheric quality that I have found in very few games since that (a few of the original megaman titles and NSMB Wii have got this for me)

What about you?

[kedawa]

The first game that pops into my head is Actraiser.
I rented it when it was new, beat it twice, and still asked for it for xmas.
I've played through it countless times since then, and never get tired of it.

[Cryomancer]

Earthbound for sure.

[Wraith Storm]

Bullet Witch.
I bought the game before I had a 360 and It was the first game I played and beat when I got a 360. Then I waited a few weeks and beat it again. I hadn't played it in a quite a while while because I have been playing some other games. So just the other weekend I beat it twice in a row! I don't think I have EVER done that with any other game. Sure there are games that I come back to all the time. But I have never beat a game and then after it was over started the game again and then beat it again. The game certainly "Charms" me!

Nights Into Dreams
This game is just filled to the brim with Charm! No matter what kind of mood I'm in I can always play Nights. The simplicity, beauty and music create an atmosphere that's always inviting. At its core its a racing/time attack game, but when you loose your suit, you are penalized with... Freedom?! The game actually opens up more and you can freely explore the world and find things you would never see playing the game properly. Its such an odd yet effective game mechanic and keeps the game fresh and charming with every play through.

[bunnybum]

Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge (the Amiga version) . This game holds a dear place in my heart. The overall athmosphere of it, the story, and the awesome music has me hooked even today.
I have fond memories of spending the whole day with my mother playing it back in the day (Yeah, she's a gamer too ), and even at 29 I still pull it out of storage every now and then to give it another go and relive the memories playing through it for the Nth time.

I'm still hoping for a Monkey Island: The movie.

[Arkhan]

Bullet Witch

I thought I was the only one who liked that game. Wanna join the fanclub!?

as far as charming, I think Little Nemo for NES is the most charming game ever

and Parasol Stars for TG-16

and secret of mana and chrono cross

those are some lush games.

[garagesaleking!!]

LOTR Battle for Middle Earth II, Everytime you load up the game you go to the moving image of the river with the statues of men on each side and have epic lotr music playing.

[j1e]

Mine would be Crystalis and Maniac Mansion both for NES.

[Dirkfunk]

Parasol Stars for Turbo Grafx-16 is the most colorful and charming game I have ever played. Truly joyful in every way. With that said, Rainbow Islands and Bubble Bobble also carry some of that same charm.

Even though it was everywhere. Sonic The Hedgehog is an extremely charming game and a really lovable character. I think as more games in the series continued, the charm fell off a bit.

In terms of atmosphere, Castlevania IV is pretty great. I've beaten that game more than any other and just love the overall look and feel of it.

[kedawa]

Now that I've had some time to think on it, I've always had a strange fondness for Monster Lair, Buster Brothers, Castle of Illusion, and Jumping Flash!

[Jehusephat]

Kickle Cubicle for the NES always makes me smile. It's incredibly simple, fun, and has cute graphics that somehow don't make me feel like less of a man.

Shenmue is incredibly charming, too. I sometimes play it without regard to the plot, just to pretend I'm living in some alternate universe for a while. I wish they'd make a new version of Shenmue completely devoid of sailors or forklifts, with towns hundreds of times larger and more detailed, in which the whole goal was just to relax, wander around exploring other people's houses, play arcade games and buy stuff.

[scottw182]

The first game that popped into my mind was Secret of Mana. It's such a beautiful, incredible, 'charming' game. I've played it so many times, and every time it feels like the first again, and it's always a great experience.

Honerable mentions go to FFVI and Super Mario Bros. 3.

Edit: Completely forgot about handheld games. Link's Awakening and Pokemon R/B are up there too, I played the crap out of those games when I was younger and it's always so nostalgic when I start them up again.

[MissingNo_1231]

I guess for me there's a few. Though I'm not sure if I'm confusing Charming with Nostalgic, or if they kind of go hand in hand or what.

Galaga was the first game I ever played in a laundromat as a kid. Always nice memories with that one.

Donkey Kong Country is my favorite game and I just always feel good when I play it.

Pokemon Red, Blue, and to a lesser extent Yellow, were such a massive part of my childhood that I could never forget those.

Luigi's Mansion, though it seems to have one of the smallest fan bases ever, is a game I really love. I've beaten it about 4 times so far, which is probably the most times I've actually sat down and gone through a game from beginning to end.

And lots of other games I used to play on quiet Sunday afternoons after church. Paper Mario, Pikmin, etc.

I've probably gone on for too long as it is.

[Videogamerdaryll]

What is the most 'charming' game you have ever played?

Wow,this thread really got me thinking..
..The game/s that I instantly think of off the top of my head that I feel have a 'charming appeal to me..

...I just can't choose one.


NES
Super Mario Bros(I'll just let it run and run on screen watching it..I do this often

PS2
Ico
Shadow of the Colossus

PS
Klonoa
Heart Of Darkness

Saturn
Tomb Raider

N64
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

Xbox ...Halo ....the intro music just does it to me.

GC
Zelda Windwaker.

Radiant Silvergun/IKARUGA

Wii
Wii Sports >Bowling.

PS3
Little Big Planet

Neo Geo MVS
Samurai Shodown,Neo Turf Masters.


.................................................. ...............
And Nights Into Dreams....YES!!!!!

Luigi's Mansion..Wow,So true....I loved playing this game,,I gotta play this game through again..

[Ravenswood]

Dragon Warrior. I crack a smile everytime I read "A Slime draws near! Command?".

[skaar]

Katamari Damacy and the first sequel would do it for me. There's something about those games that you could feel the love the dev team had for it - they were just having fun!

For 360, Eternal Sonata was beautiful, relaxing and just plain enjoyable. Not the challenge people were looking for but for me it succeeded beautifully as a game.

I could probably think of more...

[kupomogli]

Brigandine the Legend of Forsena

Other than almost all the stage based Castlevania titles and the original Final Fantasy, this is the game I have played and beaten more than any other that I own.

In Brigandine you have six countries. Norgard, New Almekia, Caerleon, Iscalio, Leonia, and Esgares Empire. Each country has the main story characters, characters who aren't greatly involved in the storyline but have some story parts when paired with other characters, quest characters, etc. Every single character in the game also has a lengthy bit about them in their status screen. No matter what country you choose there are a lot of characters you're going to like for those countries.

Then the gameplay itself never gets boring. I could start a new game and replay Norgard over and over, which sometimes I do, and still really enjoy the gameplay. Each Knight getting a single turn in the world map to either move, attack, or go on a quest. With all the different levels, status attributes, rune stats, etc, you can also greatly customize how you're going to use each character(not too much, but cross classing helps.) When going on quests there are random story events that sure you might have seen this same event four times in the game, possibly more depending on how much you quest, but regardless they're nice to see as they break away from the gameplay as the storyline in the game is fairly infrequent and it's always awesome getting a powerful weapon, piece of armor, or a potion to change that Seraph class monster you have into a Lucifer, or a Satan into a Lilith. The storyline is usually only there within certain months of the game or a specific amount of months after an event, except when specific characters meet on the field of battle which has a mini story event.

Dryst's ending sums up the amount of replay value to this game. After taking over all of Forsena, each character takes what was left of the other countries and they start the war all over again. Obviously you can't do this, but it would have been a nice bonus.

[acem77]

ecco all ver
fantavision ps2
rayman all ver
flower ps3
ico ps2
apprentice cdi
kolibri 32x
little big planet ps3 psp
kameo 360
klonoa psx
clock work knight 1+2 saturn
panzer dragoon all ver

[Cornelius]

Katamari Damacy and the first sequel would do it for me. There's something about those games that you could feel the love the dev team had for it - they were just having fun!

For 360, Eternal Sonata was beautiful, relaxing and just plain enjoyable. Not the challenge people were looking for but for me it succeeded beautifully as a game.

I could probably think of more...

I'm surprised we got this far without Katamari Damacy mentioned. That's the first game I thought of. Bubble Bobble gets a nod for being charming, but that's heavily influenced by the nostalgia of spending whole days playing it with my sister.

Ico and SotC come to mind, too. Ico has such great characters that I really have sympathy for, and SotC is just full of melancholy.

And although I've never played it, Flower comes to mind. Going to have to pick that one up at some point.

[Fuyukaze]

I'm surprised we got this far without Katamari Damacy mentioned. That's the first game I thought of. Bubble Bobble gets a nod for being charming, but that's heavily influenced by the nostalgia of spending whole days playing it with my sister.

Ico and SotC come to mind, too. Ico has such great characters that I really have sympathy for, and SotC is just full of melancholy.

And although I've never played it, Flower comes to mind. Going to have to pick that one up at some point.

You beat me to it. Every time I play it I always smile. The game just feels so fun to me. We love doesnt do the same but that's ok.

[ButtonMasher123]

Parasol Stars for Turbo Grafx-16 is the most colorful and charming game I have ever played. Truly joyful in every way. With that said, Rainbow Islands and Bubble Bobble also carry some of that same charm.

Even though it was everywhere. Sonic The Hedgehog is an extremely charming game and a really lovable character. I think as more games in the series continued, the charm fell off a bit.

In terms of atmosphere, Castlevania IV is pretty great. I've beaten that game more than any other and just love the overall look and feel of it.

I like the way you think. Parasol Stars is one of best games I have ever played and barely anyone knows about it compared to it's more popular big brother Bubble Bubble. The themed worlds in it are very orginal and fantastic to look at as well. It's definitely one of those games that makes you feel like a kid again everytime you fire it up.

I would also say Little Samson for the NES has a very charming quality to it as well. I always loved the fact that it told the whole story through the animations of the characters rather than using text on a screen.

[NerdXCrewWill]

The Adventure of Willy Beamish (talkie version, PC) is the most charming game I've ever played. It perfectly captures the feeling of being a little kid in the US in the 80s and 90s. The characters and dialogue are hilarious. The voice acting is the best I've ever heard. The art is totally charming too. Everyone who grow up in the last thirty years should play it. Skip the Sega CD and floppy disk versions though.

[123►Genei-Jin]

Metal Slug and Tobal 2 for me.

[TonyTheTiger]

When I think of "charming" I think of something like The Wizard of Oz with that kind of happy go lucky aesthetic. Like early Dragonball where it's this fun romp through a fantasy land. Where even when the shit hits the fan it still feels like some whimsical adventure you just know is going to turn out ok.

So, for instance, while I love a game like Mass Effect I wouldn't really call it "charming."

But using that definition?

Chrono Trigger
Lunar 1 & 2
Magic Knight Rayearth
Super Mario
Mega Man
Early Sonic The Hedgehog
Dragon's Lair
Crash Bandicoot
Jak & Daxter
Popful Mail
Zelda
Donkey Kong Country

I'm sure there's more but that's what I can list off the top of my head.

[deathafterkarma]

Charming?

Guilty Gear X2 #reload(xbox)
Something about this game just kept bringing me back. Maybe it was the awesome rock soundtrack. Maybe it was just originality behind the characters sprinkled on top with music references.
Being the first in the guilty gear series that I played. It was a fun and enjoyable experience that still like to whip out ever now and again.

Metal Slug(neo-geo and the many spinoffs on other consoles)
This game was eating my quarters since I was 8. I think it was the fact that every time I got to another stage. I ended up pumping more money. The fact that I still can't beat this game brings me back.
Also every time I see a remake of this cult classic. It just brings back the memories of the good old days of what arcades were all about. Something this new generation of gamers is missing out on.

There is a lot more but those two come to mind at the moment.