Games that turned your attention to an unexplored genre

[Abhisara]

A few years back, I had lost all interest in driving games and avoided them completely, but one day I had a quick go on OutRun 2 and absolutely loved it. Now I have loads of arcade-style racing games - although I still haven't quite got the hang of some of the more realistic ones.

Final Fantasy VII did it for me too for Japanese RPGs. Before that it was a genre I hadn't really noticed. One day, I was looking for something different at a computer fair, and I saw FF7 for PC. At the time I was "out of the gaming loop" and so its reputation hadn't filtered through to me, but I vaguely remembered Super Play raving about FF games some years ago, so I picked it up on a whim.

I also didn't particularly enjoy 3D fighters much until Soul Calibur came along. I still prefer 2D fighters, but can now appreciate games like VF4 Evo.

[Kubrick]

Although not completely unexplored, I hadn't played any 1st/3rd-person shooters for an age (the last being Perfect Dark on the 64) untill I tried the F.E.A.R. demo on the 360.

It was an eye-opener to see how just much the genre had moved on since then so I immediately preordered the full game and have played and finished quite a few others since. Including G.R.A.W, which I didn't think I would like, but that's actually been one of my favourites.

I've tended to avoid "sandbox" games as well, but I really enjoyed Crackdown recentlly, so might try a few more.

[BaudAttitude]

Just this year I finally succumbed to the hype and played Beyond Good and Evil. Not only did it make me completely change my attitude towards stealth games, but it's changed the phrase "Zelda Clone" from a pejorative to "hey, I might want to check that out".

[Prophet Hero]

A few years back, I had lost all interest in driving games and avoided them completely, but one day I had a quick go on OutRun 2 and absolutely loved it. Now I have loads of arcade-style racing games - although I still haven't quite got the hang of some of the more realistic ones.

Very similar experience except OutRun 2 didn't turn out to be the saviour but rather Ridge Racers and RR6. I'm still put off by anything remotely simulation-like but I will at least now look at the coverage, read the reviews, etc, of such games to see if they might be worth a punt.

[AdamJW]

Final Fantasy Tactics on PS1 turned me into an SRPG fan.

[eastyy]

final fantasy 7 converted me to turn based rpgs

though ironically the dragons quest VIII put me off them

[dogen]

Final Fantasy X was my first RPG and made me take notice of the genre. I'd actually watched my flatmate play through and finish it before I even gave it a try. The whole time I watched him (despite how interesting I found the story), the random battles just looked irritating and didn't make sense.

But yeah, once he finished it, I dug it out one day I was off college and gave it a shot. First couple hours were a drag, but by the time I'd reached Besaid, I was a fan, and with time eventually finished it myself.

So now RPGs are always a option.

[Nisa]

Final Fantasy 7 was the first RPG that got me to start playing turn based stuff.

Parappa the Rapper got me addicted to music games and has consequently cost me a large amount of cash.

[Pilotwings]

I played football games but always thought i was crap at them so didn't really like them until the pro evo series came and after a while i new how to find the net and got addicted.

[JB@XL]

Never had any interest in rpg's until i gave vandal hearts a try on the playstation and was instantly hooked.Went on to play several rpg's on the P.C. including planescape torment and morrowind.

I have now went full circle and no longer have any interest in rpg's and find that shmups are my only choice of gaming entertainment.

[Shoju]

Diablo got me into real time action RPG's. It was a really addictive game with a great storyline and atmosphere and made action RPG's one my favourite genres. Id always associated RPGs with puzzle solving before and that had always put me right off. Zelda 2 on the NES played a part in that, I kept getting stuck and frustrated and didn't play a Zelda game again until the Gamecube arrived.

The first time I played a turn based RPG on the other hand I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Taking turns to hit each other while the computer takes over for your attack looks ridiculous. It's almost like a board game.

[buster_broon]

Final Fantasy 7 did it for me for RPGs

same here

and Goldeneye for 1st person shooters