Dirty Gaming Secrets: Gaming Classics I Missed Playing

Confessions of a Long Time Gamer

Gaming Classics Featured

Super Mario Bros, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Tetris; These are games that if you haven’t played, you aren’t considered a “gamer”. At least, that’s what some people want you to think. There are those games that are considered to be the “holy grail” of video games, and for one reason or the other you may have not had the pleasure of experiencing said game. Personally, I think it’s time stop being embarrassed and reveal the top three games I have always regretted, and haven’t liked to mention, not playing! Hopefully, by talking more about these gaming classics, I will be inspired to finally jump in and right these wrongs in my gaming resume!


Super Metroid – SNES – March 19th, 1994 – 8,378 days since release

There is no doubt that this is one of the greatest games of all time. The term “metroidvania” is so iconic because of games such as this masterpiece. Except…I’ve never played it.

I am a huge fan of the Metroid franchise and loved the games for Gamecube, Gameboy Advance, etc. and can not wait until we see the next iteration of this series. In all honesty, I really don’t know why I never got around to this one, for it came out when I was 6 years old and was starting to become the gamer I am today. Playing Mario, Kirby, and all the other incredible games on SNES was a glorious experience, yet this one just fell by the wayside.

While I missed this one, I always picked up the entries following Super Metroid. Metroid Fusion is one of my favorites and being able to play it again on 3DS because of the Ambassador Program was very cool.

Maybe when the Switch finally receives the Virtual Console, I will begin this epic journey.

This now brings me to the next game that I have to admit to never playing, and it’s pretty funny that I mentioned “metroidvania” before, because…well…I’ve never played…


Castlevania: Symphony of the Night – PlayStation – March 20th, 1997 – 7,281 days since release

Oh yes, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. This is one that I’ve always been meaning to try.

All I hear of this game is that “It’s the greatest game of all time!” or “It defined a genre and changed gaming forever!” I can’t say that I would disagree, I just wouldn’t know.

From what I’ve read and seen, this game changed Castlevania for the better. It offered a more open-world style of gameplay, RPG elements, and of course the whole inverted castle that just made this game a one-of-a-kind treat.

There really is no excuse for not playing this game. I plan on purchasing it on my Vita to FINALLY experience it and see what all the hype is about.

I loved my PlayStation and played so many hours on that incredible system, which makes it very strange that this one never made the list. It’s probably because I spent somewhere in the range of 1,000,000 hours playing all the Final Fantasy games…well, most of them. That fact alone makes the last game all the more painful.


Final Fantasy VI – SNES – April 2nd, 1994 – 8,364 days since release

This one hurts the most. Final Fantasy VII is one of my favorite games of all time. I have beaten that game more times than I’d like to admit and recently achieved the Platinum Trophy in the PS4 version. This franchise has taken up more of my game time than any other and I’ve loved every moment of it.

Which makes it that much stranger that I’ve never played it, what some consider, the greatest Final Fantasy of them all. From all I hear of the opera scene to the suplexing of a train, people praise this game more than any other on any platform.

I’d have to say the reason I’ve never played it was because FFVII was my first exposure to the franchise. Since then, I’d just wait until the next entry and sink my life into them.

I have recently purchased this title on my Vita and hope to right this wrong very soon. I can’t wait to experience these moments and get invested in this world I’ve been meaning to visit for quite some time now.

Honorable (Dishonorable?) Mentions

Persona 4 Golden
Half-Life
Left 4 Dead
Silent Hill 2
Resistance 3

So, there you have it. I’ve made my peace and now it’s time to move on and fix the mistakes of my past!!!

What are some of your dark gaming secrets? Don’t be ashamed!! The way I look at it, these are games that you have yet to experience. The people giving you grief are just jealous because they aren’t as fortunate as you to still have these games to play!!!

Let me know what games you haven’t played and feel ashamed to admit? Let’s get it all in the open! You may find that there was one you didn’t even realize you should be playing!

Adam has been writing about and playing video games for as long as he can remember. He is an aficionado of all things Chipotle, Disney, and Hibachi related and is the founder of Extra Life Columbus. He truly believes there is nothing better than playing games and healing kids! His favorite games include Final Fantasy VII, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Mass Effect 2, and Super Mario World.

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