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[Gormless Noodle]

It was my first 3D game, I don't think I need to collaborate about all the positives of this game since it's been said by everyone and their dog by now, but I'll always cherish this game.

 

[Acorn]

First? Super Mario 64 but GTA3 blew my mind even more.

Both for the same reason sorta "I can go over there? Shit whats that over there now, I wonder if I...Yup"

 

[R3TRO]

Oblivion, When I walked out of the sewers for the first time and saw how expansive it was I hated it because I didn't know where the hell to begin; I eventually loved it though.

 

[Laranja]

I remember being completely blown away when I noticed the wheels on the cars in SEGA Rally actually turned when I pressed left or right.

 

[Forsaken82]

Doom

It was what got me into PC Gaming.

I remember seeing it for the first time at a friends house after school one day and have been hooked on the FPS genre since.

 

[block tower]

ether Super Mario RPG Legend of the Seven Stars or Donkey Kong 64. SMRPGLSS was the first rpg i ever played, and DK64 was the first ever 3D game i ever payed. both were challenging at the time for me to understand how to play.

 

[Goro Majima]

I was blown away at several points..

Super Mario World (16 bit graphics were an insane upgrade...that sound too!)

Final Fantasy II (4) The first real "plot" in a game that I played

Romance of the Three Kingdoms 2 SNES - First non-linear game that I ever played...led me down the path towards Civilization, Hearts of Iron, etc.

The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind on PC - While everyone was freaking out about the "open world" of GTA 3, Morrowind was something truly open and special. The thrill of stealing, exploration, and everything else was awe inspiring. I really felt like I could go and do anything and that my actions had consequences.

Doom 3/Half-Life 2 on PC: One of the very few times in gaming that I really noticed the graphics "jump". Doom 3 was actually a really great game....

I think out of all of these Morrowind was the biggest "holy crap" moment in gaming for me. That game was such a masterpiece.

 

[InfiniteNine]

When I was randomly looking through games at blockbuster with a friend we picked some stuff things we haven't heard of and we ended up staying up all night to beat it.
It was fast and of the most engaging 3D games I had played at the time and is still one of my favorites! I greatly prefered 2D games at the time since I believed them to pretty much be superior in terms of control and speed, but this changed my mind.

 

[Man-is-Obsolete]

Final Fantasy 7. I put what felt like an eternity (compared to other games I typically played prior) into Midgard and was absolutely blown away when I saw the world map and realized that Midgard was only a fraction of the game.

Really glad I was young and didn't follow gaming like I do now and had that moment spoiled for me. Like I seriously thought Midgard was going to be the game.

 

[ValeYard]

Thunder Blade (Sega) in the arcade, the sit down machine with a stick. For my eleven year old self, the combination of genuine looking hardware like the flight stick and quick gameplay with changing perspectives (behind and above the helicopter) was very exciting. Also, the speakers were really close to your head I think so it sounded awesome. That game started me on the path of gaming for sure.

Unfortunately, the Genesis/Megadrive version wasn't half as good.

 

[Jacobi]

Jet Set Radio for the Dreamcast. So fresh, yet so refined and so much awesome stuff in the game. The art, the music, the graphical style, the awesome graffitis, awesome characters. So sad we don't have stuff like this nowadays anymore.

ShenMue for the Dreamcast. Shit I was in 1987 Japan!!! Felt so real. You could visit all the shops, something like that had never been there before (and I really never saw something as cool again).

Silent Hill for the PSX. This is my favorite one of the series, just had SUCH a great atmosphere, had so much weird shit going on. Awesome music. And it was relatively novel that you could walk through a city in a PSX game alone I think.

 

[TyrantGuardian]

Devil May Cry.

I completely despised 3D games at the time, and wanted stuff to stay as colorful sprites forever. Then this game showed me how you can make an action game that was even deeper than the old classics of the genre due to how 3D expands the combat mechanics. That was the turning point for me where I actually "got" it, so to speak.

Also, dat atmosphere/art style/every-fucking-thing.

 

[Marjar]

Can't really think of any from my childhood, but Deadly Premonition's story completely blew my mind. It was definitely the first game that proved to me that a story can carry a game.

 

[OriginX]

Being at Gamestop playing the Ocarina of Time display. Running around Kokiri Forest doing absolutely nothing hooked me. I had to have my parents buy it for me for Christmas.

 

[infiniteheteroskdasticity]

OG God Of War on PS2. The Hydra boss battle remains one of the most impressive moments in Gaming. To this day it still manages to impress me. I can't wait to see what SSM has lined up for the PS4.

 

[SolidSnakex]

Probably seeing Virtua Fighter 3 for the first time. It was unveiled before the N64 launched, and looked lightyears ahead of anything that would appear on consoles during that generation. It was hard to believe that it was even real visuals from a game when you'd be playing games like Tekken or Virtua Fighter 2 on the PSone and Saturn. That was back when arcades were so far ahead of consoles, or really anything else, in terms of tech.

Here's the tech demo that they were showing off in 96 for it

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTBeGAhk79I

 

[NotLiquid]

Nothing comes close.

Nothing.

 

[Acrylic7]

GTA3, Mario 64 and FF7

 

[Cyborg]

Medal of Honor on PS1: When you threw a hand granade and a nazi picks it up and trows it back to you..... I was like ''Whaaaat''

 

[ChaosXVI]

Easily, the answer is Super Mario 64, it was completely insane moving in 3D for the very first time in a Mario game...I can't even think of a game since that has blown my mind as much, except maybe Metroid Prime.

 

[De-mon]

Daytona USA. That graphics near an Outrun arcade was like "OMG this is the future!"

 

[Kain]

FFVII. I saw it for the first time in my cousin's house, he just got a PSX with the game and mind you, my entire gaming world up to that point was fighting games, platformers and beat-em-ups, I had never ever seen an rpg in my life.

So there goes this guy with the huge sword running around and talking (WTF) with the other guy with the machine gun in his arm and I thought "Cool, this is a Contra in 3D, awesome!". Yeah, imagine my excitement going down when the screen does this strange twirly thing and they enter the combat mode. "OMG WHATIS THIS????" "THE CHARACTERS ARE MORE DETAILED!!!!! WHAT MAGIC IS THIS???" (I swear I said one of those phrases out loud for sure). And then the nail in the coffin: you couldn't move the characters. You couldn't jump (I clearly remember asking my cousin why in the hell they couldn't jump, he shrugged it off). You couldn't attack. I didn't understand. What was that game? All the hype went down and I was so confused. Then, the menus. There were menus in the middle of the battle mode. Why? Menus where for the option screen at the beginning of the game, not IN-GAME. In-game you beat the shit out of the bad guys! Then he pushed the button of "attack" and the purple guy with the huge sword went and sliced in half some strange robot. Oh, and in the next turn he sheathed his sword and hit the other bitch with LIGHTNING O_O

Soooo that was how I discovered than games were more than mashing buttons, that there could be amazing stories buried in games, that 3D graphics were cool and that rpgs would be my favorite genre for years to come. No, FFVII is not even in my top10 list anymore, but at the time it blew my mind alright.

 

[BajiBoxer]

The first was probably Street Fighter 2. It was the first deep competitive multiplayer experience I came across, and it had such an amazing complete package of graphics, sound effects, music, and responsive controls. Being able to do such a faithful recreation on SNES and play on my home TV was pretty amazing as well. I was the only kid in the neighborhood who had it, and we would have people crowding around my tiny 13 inch magnavox TV in my home playing this game for hours (and sometimes devolving into actual battles away from the game... my closet door still hasn't been fixed from being thrown into it, lol.)

The most mind blowing gaming experience I can recall though has to be Mario 64. Experiencing those 3D polygonal visuals, the analog control, and the sheer scale of that game was like stepping into the future. Even with the now archaic camera, that game still holds up. That's impressive for any of the early 3D games.

 

[Sanctuary]

Probably the Star Wars arcade game. The graphics, and feeling like (somewhat) I was flying around an X-Wing (the controller was awesome too) was unparalelled when I was a kid.

Shadow of the Beast on the Amiga was probably the next game. It just had such incredible graphics for its time.

Out of This World was probably the next game, and one that had the most emotional impact. The rotoscoped technology and truly cinematic experience (without being on rails) was simply amazing.

Street Fighter 2 was one that left the longest lasting impression though. It's what started the fighting game revolution, and I was lucky enough to be old enough to appreciate that experience. I also actually met a few of my best friends through our shared experience and enjoyment of fighting games.

Kings Field on the PSX. Such a left-field experience, and one of the first RPGs on the PSX when there really were not that many. Had a very unique, and dystopic atmosphere that hasn't been matched yet, although the Souls games do contain a similar sense of isolation and oppression.

I share similar sentiments as others in regards to Mario 64, but for me it was more about a game that "blew my mind" within a specific era. All of the games above left an impression.

 

[vermadas]

+1 for DOOM. The first person perspective blew my mind. It also helped that the game itself was brilliant and well designed.

 

[Epcott]

Edit:
I'd like to change my answer to Atari's Star Wars Arcade Game.

At the time it was amazing, like actually reliving the movie. I'd never seen anything like it in the arcades at the time, so when I saw the famous trench scene recreated, OMG! Vectors or not, the game drew crowds and my young mind was in awe.

 

[djplaeskool]

Streets of Rage 2
The game was great, but my god, the music.
This was the first time I had ever kept a system running in the options menu just to use the music in the background.
Dreamer especially.
The Genesis had no right to sound that good.

Runner up:
Mechwarrior 2

The intro was just freaking awesome back in the day.
The first time I ever really got nose deep in simulation.
Everything about this game, especially moving from the original to GBL to Mercs was amazing.

 

[Mdot]

Already been said, but Mario 64 by far. Just absolutely stunned when I finally had my hands on it. Mind blown.

 

[FreshCakes]

SOCOM: Confrontation just cuz I was mind blown at the fact of how broken this game was when it launched.

 

[Currygan]

gotta be this

although the Transformers C64 game might have blown my mind earlier than this, but cant be sure of it

 

[legacyzero]

Final Fantasy VII.

When that train first pulls into the Midgar station, and Cloud jumps off, I was waiting for a loading screen. I just stood there for nearly a minute, when my buddy says "Uhhhmmm.. You can go now.."

And I was like "Seriously?? THAT WAS A VIDEO THAT JUST PLAYED AND FUCKING TRANSITIONED INTO GAMEPLAY!!"

MIND.BLOWN.NET

 

[adamantypants]

Metal Gear Solid. That game was on a different plane of gaming altogether.

IMO it still holds up today, once you get over the outdated controls.

 

[legacyzero]

gotta be this

I'll never understand the idea of games and movie posters that have the hero pointing his game in random directions and arbitrarily firing.

 

[Nekki]

I remember back in the SNES days DKC blew my mind along with Megaman X-2. Later on Mario 64 and OoT. Then the Legacy of Kain series would do it again on the PSX. Good times!

 

[Megadragon15]

Dragon's Lair in the arcade. It looked better than all the other games in 1983. Unfortunately, it wasn't much of a game and it cheated with those graphics since it was literally an animated cartoon.

 

[ashecitism]

Half-Life. Still remember the day my brother's co-worker brought it over. We had our jaws on the floor throughout the intro to the resonance cascade. Was so different compared to the other shooters I played back then. Hell it was different to other type of games. You experienced everything from your PoV, real time. The way the narrative and scripting was handled. Showed a new potential to gaming.

 

[Sepp]

Half-life 1. It was revolutionary at the time. The sequels were kind of meh.

 

[FMbarbarian]

Shadowrun for the Genesis. I was a lowly console kid and had never played an open world rpg before. I loved that you could go into pretty much any building and talk to anyone that was a round. Getting missions from Johnson's and running them any way you'd like was a new concept to me when most console games had set goals and linear missions. The character upgrades, the weapon selection, the weapon upgrades, the spell selection, THE MATRIX! All of these options were overwhelming to my young mind. It was the first game that I played that expanded my idea of what a game could do.

I now know that pc games had being doing these kind of games for awhile, but as a young console gamer who only really played platformers and fighting games Shadowrun was a revelation.

 

[espher]

If we're excluding the first reaction to video games, the first time one really wowed me would either be this or Star Control II.

 

[Ahasverus]

Soul Reaver without a doubt. I came from 8 bit platfformers (never had a SNES/Genesis) to a shakesperean dark gothic tale in a full 3D open world with vampires. I said, what?.
It single handedly made gaming my hobby.

 

[doctorblurg]

I'd say MGS 1. I was really young around four or five and had never played anything other than gameboy or SNES. Then one day my brother comes home with a PSX and metal gear solid and I was in awe because everything was in 3d, had actual voices, and wasn't focused on just killing everything in sight.

 

[Ocaso]

DOOM. E1M1. I knew then that things would never be the same.

As much as I'm tempted to agree, I have to give the mind blowing honor to Wolfenstein 3D. I still remember seeing it running on some random PC at a flea market and marveling at how you could play a game while looking through the character's eyes! Mind blowing.

 

[B_Spooky13]

Donkey Kong Country.. Super Mario 64.. Then Shadow of the Colossus.

Shadow of the Colossus was just the open spaces and shear scale of the bosses that really blew my mind

 

[zeroroute]

MvC1 (first fighting game I ever played)

I had no clue you could have all those bells and whistles on-screen simultaneously in a video game.

 

[ComputerMKII]

Final Fantasy VII

 

[Solid Samus]

Super Mario 64. First I thought the game would revolve around the area near the castle and what not, but then I jumped into that first painting. Holy shit, I was mindblown.

That game delivered over and over]. Blowing minds was its specialty, almost every stage achieved genuinely novel and new experiences for 3D platforming. I still remember playing it as a kid and how, even though I had never even played a single platformer that wasn't 2D or hella linear up to that point, the shit intuitively guided me to learn to play and experiment with everything. By the second hub I took one look at the empty hallway and knew there was a map there, because it was the kind of shit the game would pull. And it still blew my mind when I jumped at the wall and yeah my intuition is immediately rewarded with one of the most creative and expansive in 3D platforming history. Nothing else ever delivered quite like that game

 

[stump sock]

Super Mario Bros in 1986. we had an Atari 2600, and seeing something run that smooth (with scrolling!) completely blew me away.

 

[Arkain]

Ocarina of Time or Final Fantasy VII, I don't remember which blew my mind first.

Ocarina blew my mind when I entered Hyrule Field, and FF VII when I left Midgar. The openness of both games impressed me, I mainly played 2D platformers before these games as a kid.

 

[Exploding8]

Half Life 2. Them physics blew me away.

 

[Superflat]

Shadow of the Colossus significantly changed how I viewed video games. You could tackle a giant boss by actually climbing on it? I've never done that before! Why couldn't any other action hero I played do that?? The sprawling desolate landscape and peaceful moments punctuated by adrenaline-fueled one-on-one titan fights worked perfectly together. The orchestral musical score was really impactful to me, since I had mostly been used to edgy or super synthy music.

Not only that but it was one of the most beautiful games I'd ever played at the time, and the narrative was emotionally resonant, despite the cryptic details and simple delivery.