Name: Amanda MacKay

Company: Game Trailers/Spike TV

Favorite Classic Game: Paperboy, Super Mario Bros. 3 & The Legend of Zelda

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Quote: “Super Mario 3 was huge for me. I was the first person in my family to finish that game. I can still feel the triumph that I felt over my cousins that day. (Another) classic game that may not be at the top of everyone’s list but that I loved was Paperboy. We actually bought it for my little brother for Christmas but he was young enough not to know so leading up to Christmas we would take it out of the pack and play. (Also) The Legend of Zelda, amazing, I think about it right now so I will always come back to those three.”

Name: Australian Retro Gamer

Title: Chief Retro Gaming Officer

Company: ausretrogamer.com

Favorite Classic Game: Double Dragon

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Why it is your favorite game: I’m partial to all types of gaming genres, but beat’em ups are pretty much at the top of the pile. Double Dragon was the first beat’em up to introduce two-player co-operative play. For this reason, it was great to have a mate with you beating up some baddies with either your fists, baseball bats, knives, barrels, whips, you name it, they could pick it up and use it. Also, who else could get away in a fight wearing sunglasses.

Name: William Lukas Black

Title: Art Lead (Mr. Gravity)

Company: Mr. Gravity

Favorite Classic Game: Donkey Kong Country

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Why it is your favorite game: I liked how the art in (Donkey Kong Country) popped out at the player. It was one of the first games I can recall that tried to combine 3D (style) characters into a 2D platformer. I also liked how varied the environments were in that game.

Name: Nathan Bradford

Title: Marketer

Company: Mr. Gravity

Favorite Classic Game: Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

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Why it is your favorite game:  The controls are simple yet addicting, there is a lot to explore in such an early game including lots of secrets that I’m still discovering despite having played through the game nearly a dozen times. There is a level system which makes me want to keep playing it rather than simply just going through it. There is more than one ending. Overall I feel it’s a very well made game for its time.

Name: Jeremy Heintz

Title: Lighting TA

Company: DreamWorks Animation

Favorite Classic Game: The Legend of Zelda

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Why it is your favorite game: Simplistic controls and challenging mazes – The Legend of Zelda challenges you in way that you don’t see in current generation games. The labyrinths are long a boss fight are epic.

Name: Casey Spencer

Title: Lead Programmer

Company: React! Games

Favorite Classic Game: Mega Man

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Why it is your favorite game: Each level was challenging and unique. Very rewarding when you finally beat it after hours of playing. The music for the game was awesome.

Name: Tiane
Company: Creative

What is your favorite classic game: Tetris

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Name: Andy Briggs

Company: Pwned

Title: Founder

What is your favorite classic video game:  Tetris

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Why is it your favorite: This is a tough question, I could of gone with a few games that I loved growing up, Mike Tyson’s Punch Out, Mario Bros., Skate or Die and countless other ones, Tetris is just one of those games that I can jump into at any time, play a quick game and bounce right out. I feel it still holds up today with gameplay. 

It’s not a very complicated game and the graphics might be big blocks, but to me, that’s the appeal of the game. To this day, I still play it as often as I can, maybe once a week or more if time allows. The reason why I love this game is because it causes you to objectively think fast. It’s just one of those games that I can be so emerged into that I don’t really care what’s happening outside, it’s nice to feel lost in a game that requires critical thinking.

One of the last reasons that I love this game is that you can never win playing Type A. It’s literally impossible to win. If you’re wondering what my highest score is, I can’t say I know the exact number, but I’ve gotten to level 23 quite a few times. I generally average about

19-21 after I’ve played a few rounds to warm up.

Name: Marc Georgeson

Title: CEO

Company: Addictive 247 Games

Favorite Classic Game: Rygar (Arcade)

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Why it is your favorite game: It’s the game that I loved to play in my local snooker hall when I was about 11! The graphics and sound captivated me and even though it was a really tough game I kept on putting coins in.

Name: Chris Kramer

Title: Managing Director

Company: DigitalMindSoft

Favorite Classic Game: Dune II / Herzog Zwei

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Reason: Both of them laid the foundation for modern RTS games. They are one reason why I always kept attached to the industry.

Name: Greg Moore

Company: Capcom

Title: Community Specialist & Liaison

Favorite Classic Game: Bionic Commando

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Why it is your favorite game: A great blend of fine-tuned action, adventure elements, and intense theatrics with a delightfully subversive twist on pre-established platform gaming norms.

Name: Brett Elston

Company: Capcom

Title: Online/Community Manager

Favorite Classic Game: Mega Man 2

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Why it is your favorite game: Though it’s the easy choice, to me, Mega Man 2 was and always will be a perfect game. Not a wasted second or sprite in there. Controls, graphics, music, design, everything is top notch and I think remains among the greatest games ever made.

Name: David Kudrev

Title: Founder/Writer

Company/Website: Retrospekt

Favorite Classic Game: Secret of Mana on the SNES

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Why it is your favorite: Not only the colourful graphics and amazing soundtrack presents itself as one of a kind in a jRPG, but also the storyline, and longevity of 3 days’ worth of gameplay nonstop. I should add, that the game has a multiplayer system that no other game has ever had (at least to my recollection), where it starts off as a single player game, but when meeting other main characters on your journey, your mates can then join up via Multitap and play as them with you as well.

Name: Greg Zesinger

Company: DoughMain

Title: Director of Game Development and Marketing Services

Favorite Classic Game: Quest For The Rings – Magnavox Odyssey2

Quote on why it is your favorite: I could have gone a few different directions here – Madden 93, Super Tecmo Bowl, Castelvania, Secret of Monkey Island, or Ultima, but went with Quest For The Rings which predated them all and helped spark my interest in games. The Odyssey2 was our first home video game system..before we even started regularly using the term “video games”. In our house, they were “TV games”. As a 7 year old, I would spend quite a bit of time and effort writing up and drawing “concept images” of games I’d like to see on my beloved Odyssey. Quest For The Rings was a gamechanger – one of the first games I can remember that included multiple levels with different environments tied together by a tangible boardgame-like experience that admittedly we didn’t use as often as just jumping into the game.

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Four character classes – the Warrior with his magic sword that could teleport lesser monsters (orcs and firewraiths) to a different part of the screen (and if you were lucky, you could get two of them to jump to the same spot and get stuck together, immobilized), the Wizard with his paralyzing power bolts capable of temporarily warding off the terrible Doomwinged Bloodthirsts and the nightmarish Spydroth Tarantulus, the Changeling who could turn invisible and sneak by the dragons, and the Phantom who could walk through walls…unless they were made of lava. Featured co-op play, truly a masterpiece for its time. Loved it and helped fuel my desire to get into the game industry. And while the folks at Magnavox rejected the one submission seven-year old Greg made to them (a Pitfall-esque adventure called Jungle Safari), their games like Quest For The Rings, Pick Axe Pete, Showdown in 2100 A.D. and Monkeyshines set me on my path.

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Name: Yuri Moskva

Title: Community manager

Company: Frogwares

Favorite Classic Game: Ninja Gaiden Trilogy (SNES)

Why it is your favorite game: Being a huge fan of karate-ninja stuff I was completely mesmerized when I first played this game. I was always concerned that this game is much more advanced in terms of gameplay and possibilities than any other SNES game.  And all the possibilities, weapons, skills and the atmosphere… Sorry, I have to go find my old SNES console.

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Name: John Master Lee

Title: Vp of Marketing

Company: Raptr

Favorite Classic Game: King of Kings

Why is this game your favorite: “It’s a rare turned-based strategy game that only came out in Japan. It was published by Atlus and Namco in 1988 on the Famicon. It was the first time I was completely absorbed into the gameplay in a way that went being just a fan. It got me thinking about game design,

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I learned Japanese (because I couldn’t read the text otherwise!), and I never went back to board games since. It was the first time that I realized how deep and complex a game can be back on the NES.”

Name: Derek

Title: Owner & Founder

Company: Polyclef Software

Favorite Classic Game: Gyruss & Zork

Why is this game your favorite: I’ll actually pick two. For classic arcade action, my favorite was probably Gyruss. Why? Because I thought tube shooters were cool…it was like Galaga, but in a circle! And I also really thought the electronica-style Bach music was cool.

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For the PC, the games I remember the most fondly were the Zork and Enchanter trilogies from Infocom. Text-based adventure and puzzle-solving games are obsolete now, but I really thought the blend of storytelling, puzzle-solving, and interactivity was very immersive and compelling. Myst was a great continuation of this style of game in graphical form, but I still have a soft spot in my heart for Infocom’s games.

Name: Robert Allen Peeler

Company: Square Enix

Title: Community Manager

What is your favorite classic video game: FINAL FANTASY VI

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Why is the game you chose your favorite: While not my first RPG, or my first FINAL FANTASY, FINAL FANTASY VI was just a great game overall that hit all the points that make playing the classics often superior to games today. The large well-developed cast, the amazing soundtrack, and the maxed potential of the SNES on this title are just a few things that helped it stand out above the rest. My favorite moment was just after the world changed and Celes spent her time recuperating on the lonely island with Cid. The game forcing me to relax after this cataclysmic event, when all I thirsted for was the next great battle, really matured my perspective on storytelling through video games.

Name: Kyle Kulyk

Company: Itzy Interactive

Title: Co-Founder/Lead Developer

Favorite Classic Game: Raid on Bungeling Bay

Quote on why it is your favorite: I just found out recently that this was Will Wright’s first game. I loved this game as a kid. It was one of the first games I played where your play area wasn’t confined to the immediate screen, and things happened off screen! Wait too long and fortifications were being built that would hamper your efforts. In the middle of a mission – too bad! Your carrier is under attack. It seems like nothing now, but at the time this was pretty revolutionary to me.

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Name: Erik Johnson

Company: Arcen Games

Title: A Valley Without Wind

Favorite Classic Game: Super Metroid

Quote on why it is your favorite: Open world, lots of exploration and different paths to choose from.

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Name: Bryan Davies

Tittle: VP of Public Relations, North America

Company: Wargaming.net

What is your favorite classic game: Deus Ex (Original) developed by Warren Spector

Why is it your favorite classic game: It was a groundbreaking game in the sense of crossing genre barriers, it was also really the first game that the gameplay and story truly changed based on your choices in how you play. 

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Name:  Sabre

Group: Frag Dolls

Company: Ubisoft

Gamer Tag: SabreFD (Xbox Live)

Favorite classic game: The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

Why?  This was my very first Zelda game, and I feel in love with it as soon as I started playing it. I can remember taking turns playing the game with my dad, and we’d work together to beat the mini-bosses and temples. It was absolutely amazing

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Name:  Pixxel

Group: Frag Dolls

Company: Ubisoft

Favorite Classic Game: Super Mario World

Quote: Super Mario World was my introduction into gaming. When I was about four years young, my mom purchased a SNES and this was my very first game for it. She would play this game with me for what seemed like hours on end and I feel like it really bonded us.

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Name:  Spectra

Group: Frag Dolls

Company: Ubisoft

Favorite Classic Game: Dr. Mario

Why is it my favorite: Because I was really really good at it. It was my very first video game addiction. I played it so much that when I closed my eyes at night I would see little pills falling. No other video games at the time appealed to me like this one did. It was the only game I was interested in playing. I played it over and over. I love Dr. Mario.

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Name: Johnathan Wendel
Company: Fatal1ty Gaming Gear
Title: Owner/CEO

Favorite Classic Game: Mortal Kombat

Quote on why it is your favorite: The game was the most brutal head to head skilled game.

Youtube Link:

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This post was submitted by Fatal1ty.