What are your fondest iOS gaming memories?

Discussion in 'General Game Discussion and Questions' started by diffusion8r, Jan 30, 2017.

  1. diffusion8r

    diffusion8r Well-Known Member

    Dec 21, 2008
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    I'd love to hear about your fondest or favourite iOS gaming memories - whatever stands out to you as that one moment that truly sold the platform to you and is the reason why you're a member of our excellent community, or perhaps the one recently that has made your jaw drop and realise the full potential of the App Store as a gaming platform. I'd love to potentially turn this into a front page article as well, so please go into as much detail and nostalgic reminiscence as you want!

    For me, it has to be the very first time I played Tap Tap Revenge on my dad's iPhone 3G. I know now the game seems absolutely dated and has a billion clones on the App Store, but being able to download a game for free and it responding to the touch of my finger on the capacitive screen (as opposed to the clunky DS stylus at the time) was truly revolutionary.
     
  2. exskypixy

    exskypixy New Member

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    I fondly & sadly remember spending a year & a half building my beautiful creation on Tap Zoo (Pocket Gems). While it's still around, upgrading, carrier changes, &, admittedly, just plain ignorance of the whole "mobile, iOs, iPhone, etc. workings", sadly, my beloved, labour of love is gone...out in cyberworld, perhaps, hopefully, being admired by other beings. :)
     
  3. Adams Immersive

    Adams Immersive Well-Known Member
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    #3 Adams Immersive, Jan 30, 2017
    Last edited: Jan 30, 2017
    Shout out to ngmoco's Dr. Awesome Microsurgeon M.D.—the Qix game that convinced me tilt could be a precise and fun control scheme. The patients' names were pulled from your Contacts.

    Special mention of Snail Mail and iDracula. To my shame, I also got into Epic Pet Wars for a time :|

    EDIT: Snail Mail still runs on iOS 10! :) "It burns!" You can't buy it, but I just played it!

     
  4. Colton

    Colton Member

    Sep 27, 2016
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    Truck vs Grenade was the best!

    I'm pretty sure the first ios game i ever played was truck vs grenade. And gosh was it a horrible game (look up youtube of it :D)

    Me and my brother had just gotten our hands on our families IPod touch. And for some reason the first game to catch to eye was Truck vs Grenade! it had i think 3 stars, and was probably the entire reason for Console/PC gamers not taking IOS seriously. Still, it used the gyroscope and we had a great time.

    Some games that actually stayed on our device are the ones i really have fond memories of. Two games in particular (i cant remember the names but i think they basically just explained the game) one was probably called rooster hunter. (flat 2D sprites) just appeared on the screen, and you had to tap them to kill them... and that's it, if you took too long you lost. Mainly we played it because me and my brother could work together to slay hundreds of 2D roosters!

    And the other was probably called stick man defense. there were 3 stick man at the bottom of the screen, and you would swipe them to have them shoot. it was actually a decent game, and me and my brother would try beat all the waves for hours.

    Anyway! thanks for reading.
     
  5. Dankrio

    Dankrio Well-Known Member
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    Long or short answer? Let's go for the first one. hahhahahhaa

    Two games got me into mobile gaming (snake and tetris don't count): Temple Run and Jetpack Joyride. Simple, addictive and very fun to play. These kind of things were forgotten in consoles (before the indie rise) most of time.

    In fact, I was a long-time lover for handhelds. The idea of carrying around games anywhere and the lack of need for a TV always amazed me. I loved mini-games, gameboys, Game Gear and later Gameboy Advance, DS and Vita. Sadly I lacked money to buy one, which only has changed around Gameboy Advance time. I got one with Pokemon and some games and, man, I had a great time! Lying on bed and playing immersive games was unmatched. There I have played some of my all time favorites like Final Fantasy VI. Then, I got a Nintendo DS and got even more stoked. Mario 64, Chrono Trigger, Phoenix Wright, Mario Kart... I was over the moon. The stylus and dual screen were a great addition. And I had fun. Lots of that. Pure, simple and plain fun. Gaming, for me, is all about that.

    Then I ran into the afore mentioned games from Iphone. Some google searching and I found Touch Arcade. For some time I was just voyeuring and later got registered. Man, I found some truly gems. On my phone, I found great games from genres I love: RPGs, Adventures (Point & Click was alive again, for God's sake!), Gamebooks (man, I loved those books) and much more.

    I was amazed by the fact that publishing a game became so simple and that we got a lot of experimental stuff that would never, otherwise, be available on consoles. Where else would I be able to play something like Device 6? How about The Room? Those are gold. And I got port of some of my favorite games ever, like KOTOR and GTA SA. Man, a game from PS2 era on the palm of my hand. Who would have thought so? The future was so promising... This feeling was maybe my fondest memory of gaming. EVER. Of any platform.


    I truly believe hat I had the "perfect" and ultimate gaming platform on the palm of my hands. It was so obvious that I would have all my favorite games there forever and would never bother with another platform (Playstation? Xbox? Who needs that? lol) Until people refused to pay for games and Apple shoved updates for force upgrades on devices, in which ever minor ones broke older game. Yeah, the dream was over.

    Don't take me wrong. I still love iOS gaming. I am just jaded and not fond at all of Apple's policies. Even so, I have on my backlog more games than I can play on several lifetimes, including many gems. I still think it is the best platform for me, despite all the issues. It even brought to life one of my childhood dreams. Many years ago, I friend of mine led me to believe that was a "Final Fight" (my favorite at time) colored mini-game, that played exactly like the Arcade. Man, how I would dig that idea! Well, it is sitting on my phone, even if I don't like much the game anymore. lol

    On another note, Shaun and his column became something the holy grail of gaming, since RPGs were a favorite of mine. I have fond memories of reading RPG reloading and bringing back many joyful memories. He writes so well and has great insights on games, which is fantastic.

    On iOS I found a new love for roguelikes game (I despised Permadeath, which has changed with Wayward Souls) and that became one of my favorites genres (if the term is as vague as RPG). Rocketcat, Simogo, Inkle and Telltale became some of my favorite devs ever, on any platform and any time.

    And Touch Arcade is also part of fond memories about gaming. And I hope it still this way for many years to come. In fact, I am gonna use the opportunity to share my part on Patreon, on this very second!

    Thanks, guy, for your existence!
     
  6. OrangutanKungfu

    OrangutanKungfu Well-Known Member

    Dec 29, 2015
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    Great question, Rob. I had a PSP and PS2 already lying around the house when I got a 3GS, so gaming on my phone wasn't really on my mind to begin with. I got Rolando free with it, which seemed cool but was no LocoRoco. Really, I thought the phone was just for casual games like Angry Birds or Doodle Jump, which were enjoyable but nothing that pulled me back.

    The first indication for me that I actually had something that could be my primary gaming device was when Final Fantasy popped up on the App Store. I wasn't that in tune with the iOS scene, so didn't know there were already plenty of great long-play games out there, but Final Fantasy was something I did know. It was incredibly exciting to play a high quality JRPG on a freaking phone. Watershed moment for me. I've never looked back.

    And now we have FFIX, DQ8 and KOTOR on iOS. And originals, like Crashlands, Sorcery and The Room, which are just as good. Honestly, for me, it doesn't need to get any better than this - but it will anyway. Which is just awesome.
     
  7. Intendro

    Intendro Well-Known Member

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    #7 Intendro, Jan 30, 2017
    Last edited: Feb 1, 2017
    My most memorable early iOS experience is Cave's shooters, my first experience with relative touch controls in shooters. And my first "bullet hell" games.

    But the very first such game I played was a Touhou game which now crashes halfway through a certain stage, and it also isn't available now. "Touhou Fantasy Night." (Originally titled "Touhou Imperishable Night"?)

    I do not want my games to break. :(
    They should make a compatibility mode or something.
    BioShock was a disaster. Apple needs to make iOS not feel like a gamble... even on the "permanent" purchases. ☹️


    ...My username is the name of the "Nintendo" company in Game Dev Story.
    That said, no points for guessing my favorite video game company. :p
    I think I should have picked a less obscure name. *shrug*
     
  8. RHess00

    RHess00 Well-Known Member
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    Final Fantasy did it for me too. I didn't even have an iPhone but my wife got a 3GS. I didn't no what the App Store was until I was playing around with her phone and tapped on the app. The first thing I saw was Final Fantasy and within a month or two I had a 3GS. Before that I was happy with my flip phone.
     
  9. HaraKiri82

    HaraKiri82 Active Member

    Jan 30, 2017
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    The two that come to mind are Clickie Zoo and Unblock Me

    Clickie Zoo came out recently but had so much more depth and character than I expected out of an idle game. It's ridiculously addicting despite how simple it is

    Unblock Me was one of the first mobile games I got hooked on. Still remember how many times this distracted me from doing my school work.
     
  10. Kenan2000

    Kenan2000 Well-Known Member

    Nov 25, 2013
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    The Quest+expansions for it,Pocket God,ngmoco's games like Rolando,Foursaken media games like bug heroes,old gameloft games like Backstab which I still miss.
     
  11. HelperMonkey

    HelperMonkey Well-Known Member

    Dec 16, 2009
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    Wow. I just scrolled ALL the way back in my purchase history.
    There's Pocket Tanks right near the beginning for my iPod. Soosiz, Hoggy, GeoDefense...
    This thread is a good idea. It's fun to delve into those memories. I'll have to do so when I've got some time.
     
  12. Jayg2015

    Jayg2015 Well-Known Member

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    Actually mine was when I first discovered this forum.
    I was downloading games like a normal drone here and there and not knowing the full potential of the App Store:
    I would play what everyone else was from the commercials on tv.
    I was looking up clash of clans and this site popped up.
    I visited a couple times and the third time I went through a few pages of the iPhone games section and discover their were so many people talking about all of these other games I've never heard of and it got me to download some.

    So thanks to a huge popular free to play game I discover this community and a world of awesome games and gamers
     
  13. While I can remember all the way back to 2009 and the early games I was playing on iPhone 3G, I think what really sold me on iOS as a gaming platform was when I first played N.O.V.A. on a display iPod Touch. As soon as I got home I downloaded it and it played it through. I couldn't believe that a near console quality FPS could be played on my phone!

    The App Store makes gaming so accessible to people now and I am just looking forward to a time when game developers can justify sinking big money into the development of mobile games like they do on console. Lets hope that future isn't very far away.
     
  14. HaraKiri82

    HaraKiri82 Active Member

    Jan 30, 2017
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    Additionally, KOTOR was a amazing port to mobile. I was surprised that it was essentially the same game it was on PC
     
  15. Adams Immersive

    Adams Immersive Well-Known Member
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    I played NOVA on a bigger screen (iPad) but it did sell me on the idea that FPS controls/aiming can work great on a Touchscreen. (Though I think they used a few too many "other buttons.")
     
  16. GiHubb

    GiHubb Well-Known Member
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    #16 GiHubb, Jan 31, 2017
    Last edited: Jan 31, 2017
    I think the first game that got me addicted was the excellent Solomon's Keep - I still haven't found a twin stick shooter that has that level of control (Isaac - I'm looking at your imprecise virtual controls!).

    Other notable games of old are GeoDefense which was a brutal and fun tower defense game, the wicked Tiny Heroes, and then there are the likes of Hoggy, Gravity Guy (we played way too much same device multiplayer at the office, and a single player campaign which I had to finish), Orbital (same device multiplayer again) and DrawRace 2 (the first iPad game that sucked me in), to name a few notables for me. And one has to include Flight Control, Canabalt and Doodle Jump in any history discussion. Another favorite that was pulled is the original Puzzle Quest, may it resurrect some day.
     
  17. vectorarchitekt

    vectorarchitekt Well-Known Member

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    Despite the thousands of iOS games I've played and watching the platform grow and grow,
    The moment I could play Sonic CD on my phone blew my mind. I played that game incessantly back in the day.

    Also when I magaged to snag a *ahem* NES and SNES emulator that was cool too.

    But all the great indie games and the touch screen friendly dungeon crawlers and clever card game variants have turned me into a full fledged iOS gamer.
     
  18. diffusion8r

    diffusion8r Well-Known Member

    Dec 21, 2008
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    Some fantastic replies here guys, exactly what I was looking for! Glad my impassionaied rant resonated with so many people, and that so many of you have such strong and fond memories of the history of iOS (great to see some recent events also come up as well!) - but the fact you all are so enthusiastic is why the community here is so strong, so I'd expect nothing less! Will try and use as many as these in a future article as possible, but if for whatever reason you don't feature, a massive thank you from me for contributing to what I perceive as a vital task to create a mythos around iOS that other consoles seem to receive by default.
     
  19. OrangeKnickers

    OrangeKnickers Well-Known Member

    Dec 17, 2013
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    I joined the mobile gaming scene rather late, I think in the summer of 2013.

    Not wholly surprisingly, my first foray into gaming was Game Dev Story, but the fondest memories of those early days I definitely had with Pocket Academy. I mean, there was a large treasure chest of games I didn't even know existed beforehand, so the whole appstore appeared as a sparkling treasure chest before my eyes, each day offering up some new gem I could enjoy, much to the annoyance of my social life at that time.

    But Pocket Academy definitely stood out there. It brought back memories of classics like Theme Hospital, SimCity 2000, and other games that enriched my gaming life roughly a decade earlier, but added to that a vague flair of Japanese gaming culture I could not really describe. Creating a beautiful and effective school environment for students with strengths and weaknesses, preparing them for their future, and thereby unlocking new subjects, teachers, buildings, structures, and more really captivated me for at least two months, until I had really seen and experienced everything.

    By then I thought I was burned out by Kairosoft, only to discover Dungeon Village a couple of days later and falling into the same trap yet again. I think the complete last half of 2013 has been strongly marked by Kairosoft and I really love to think back to that time, even if by now the company's formula really cannot ignite my gaming passion anymore.

    Furthermore, I share Jay's experience that he writes about a couple of posts above. Discovering TouchArcade is a fond memory all of its own. The weekly roundups, editorials, and reviews quickly became a beloved routine of my daily life and the app still is one of my most used ones, outside of gaming, on my ipad. I have discovered hundreds of cool games through it, love to read other people's opinions of games, and check back everyday.

    I have also been happy to read other gamer's experiences, a lot of them being part of mobile gaming right from the beginning, thanks for that!!
     
  20. neca

    neca Well-Known Member

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    I got Super Monkey Ball on the very first day of the app store... a wonderful experience on my old 3G.
     

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