The Games That Made Us Gamers: Emily

As lifelong gamers, the staff here at Overclockers UK will jump at any excuse to talk about the thing we love most. Gaming. Throughout the year, we’ll be bringing you our nostalgia-fuelled series: The Games That Made Us Gamers. This month, we’re with Emily and the late 90s / early 00s games that shaped her love gaming.

Gaming has been with me pretty much my entire life. My dad would play the likes of Duke Nukem and was interested in the latest tech. So, me and my sisters were lucky enough to grow up with gaming. We spent many a Saturday sharing a game of Age of Empires over one PC or taking it in turns to try and best that weirdly hard level in the Finding Nemo PS2 game. (Seriously, why was it so hard?!) Looking back, I’ve picked five games I played in my formative years that have shaped the cosy gamer I am today.

5. Fuzion Frenzy

Gaming with my sisters was a big part of my childhood, from Eye Toy tournaments to winner-stays-on Tekken 3 matches. The game that will always stand out for me is Fuzion Frenzy, an Xbox party game first released in 2001. It was packed with minigames that I think were supposed to be skill-based, but it was honestly chaos and carnage all round.

You could choose to work your way through the forty-five minigames one at a time, or play through a dedicated tournament with a randomised selection and finishing arena battle. We played this game so often that at one point we had a dedicated high scores notebook, so we could lord our Twisted System mastery over each other. (Jump and duck minigame, pictured below.)

Best of all, it was four-player, so we could all play at once – no sharing and splitting play time between the four of us!

Fuzion Frenzy Twisted System game still from Xbox

4. Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance

Dungeons and Dragons has been a big part of my life, recently. Little did I know, I’ve actually been playing it in some way shape or form since the early 00s, thanks to Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance. This PlayStation 2-era RPG provided the perfect balance of hack-and-slash combat and adventuring to captivate teenage me.

Despite being barbarian in my fighting tactics, I always liked playing as the magic elf lady – sending poison arrows and fireballs onto the battlefield. Each level had a sprawling map, with plenty of winding paths packed with bad guys and treasure to find. What’s more, the gameplay holds up. I have replayed this within the last five years (still on PS2, mind you!) with my partner as my fellow adventurer.

3. The Sims (Specifically 2)

Considering my formative gaming years were the late 90s / early 00s, it should come as no surprise that The Sims features on this list. While I have fond memories of playing The Sims (sharing the PC with my sisters, once again), it is The Sims 2 which holds a special place in my heart. It took what I loved about the first game and gave us more.

From adding teens to introducing ageing and life goals, The Sims 2 facilitated a lot more freedom. I mean, in the first game once you could afford the mansion at the top of the neighbourhood, what else was there to do?

Even when The Sims 3 and 4 were released, I stayed with 2 because the format and style suited me. This is in part because I never really cracked gameplay on 3, so that when 4 released I wasn’t that bothered. I have since played The Sims 4 and do enjoy it – but, truth be told, I miss my Sims 2 legacy fam!

2. Harvest Moon

Now, I know what you’re going to say. How is Harvest Moon not in the number one slot?! I have my reasons.

Of course, Harvest Moon is the game that spawned my love of farming sims. You can plan for progression and advancement, but it’s all done at your own pace and time. You can fully throw yourself into the joys of living the simple life, wooing the local ladies with flowers, and seeing your farm go from a mess to a lush field with happy animals. What can I say? I love that cosy living.

Harvest Moon will always hold a special place in my heart because so much of my gaming time is spent on farming sims. (Currently binging Coral Island.) If it wasn’t for this random PS1 game that I swear just appeared in our house one day, I wouldn’t have discovered so many great games.

Harvest Moon: Back to Nature gameplay still

Honourable Mentions

If there is one stand-out theme from the games I’ve talked about so far, it’s that a lot of them were played with my sisters. Either as multiplayer or impatiently waiting for their turn to be over so I could get back on the PC. The multiplayer gaming always resulted in less fights (sort of), so for that reason I have to include Puzzle Bobble 4 and Crash Team Racing as honourable mentions.

In fairness, Crash Bandicoot 2 was another favourite in our household. Although, I had to hand the controller over to my older sister whenever I got stuck on a level. (Skills-based gaming is not my thing!)

1. Final Fantasy IX

Final Fantasy IX is my all-time favourite game. I adore this game. The story, the score, the battle system – there is not a single thing I don’t love about this game.

I played FFVII, VIII, IX, and X all around about the same time – and IX just struck a chord with me. It was bright, colourful and not centred on an angsty protagonist. Sure, it deals with some heavy themes, like mortality, identity, and purpose, but you can also go frog hunting, so…

Each of the characters has their own motivations and narratives, which all come together nicely with the main plot. Even with two white mages, they bring something unique to the team – so no one is neglected when levelling up. (Except Freya, but she goes missing for over a disc’s worth of the game!)

As I have played this game for over twenty years of my life, each playthrough feels a little like coming home. I certainly know the map well enough! I remember where all the weird Chocograph locations are. My favourite place to visit has to be Daguerreo, because why wouldn’t I love visiting the giant library?

Of all the times I have played, though, I still have never beaten Ozma. Maybe that should have been my 2025 gaming resolution!

The PCs That Make Us Gamers

While the games that made us gamers may be getting on, our current faves require the latest and greatest from technology. At Overclockers UK, we have an extensive range of gaming PCs and laptops just waiting to bring your latest gaming binge to life!

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