As a person enters adulthood, you can look back and laugh at the things that once terrified you. Sure, the adult world contains a lot more horror than that, but at least we gamers can look back on the digital scares of our youth with a contented smile, know that we have overcome our childish fear. Right?
Mainly that. We are sure Sonic drowning countdown music will forever spark an instant, sweaty panic attack whenever we hear it. However, in the sections below you’ll see Team NL discuss some of their childhood gaming traumas – moments in the game that once gave them absolute will, but now. they can handle, no problem (at least).
So as we continue to enjoy this long Halloween weekend, let’s take a look at some of the games and moments that especially hit our kids’ minds…
Kate Gray, Screenwriter
I know this will sound like a big deal to me, and that’s okay, because I am, but… for me, the thing that gave me nightmares as a kid was . .. just the wind.
Not in one “huh, thought I heard something, musta bin the wind” somehow. Realistic sound of wind, in Ocarina of Time. It’s scary to find out that you’ve been transported into a horrible, post-apocalyptic future in your pretty little adventure game, and then you find out that the town is full of zombies, and that too. quite bad. But for whatever reason, going to Ganondorf’s Castle, and standing in front of the lava lake, surrounded by ash and rubble – that was the scariest thing to me.
And with that wretched scene there was no music, no sound, just the wind blowing across a ruined, burned Hyrule. Now, what you have to know is that at the time, I didn’t really have much experience. I am a child. It’s the wind sound effect? For me, it was a sound effect, and nothing more, until I heard it in real life on a camping trip. I lived on a small village! We don’t get those spooky wind noises! But when I heard the wind blowing through the bare trees for the first time in real life, I didn’t sleep.
I’ve had a lot of nightmares related to Ocarina of Time, mostly about the Return of the Dead and the horrors of the Well, but somehow, it’s the wind that scares me the most.
Alana Hagues, Screenwriter
Look, Banjo-Kazooie It’s a strange game. Even ignoring the abduction to spoil and experiment, the toilet humor, and some brutal deaths between the two N64 games, there are some other moments that are truly terrifying, especially the for children. No, I’m not talking about Snackers, but I to be Talk about another shark you met – and ended up befriending.
Being a bit ignorant I found my way around the N64 controller and overall success with one of the best N64 games ever I finally unlocked the world game’s third, Clanker’s Cavern. I’m used to swimming in the game thanks to the previous level, Treasure Trove Cove, but this murky and immersive water setting makes me feel a little more uncomfortable. It’s not a feature of the game, so I just kept going, diving underwater and into the main chamber… only to be greeted with teeth. Rows of sharp metal teeth, rusty face and majestic eyes. And I ran out of the room.
I only turned around after I heard the dead music – which was also etched into my brain – but the big Clanker absolutely terrified me. When I tried to enter the level again, I did it through crossed eyes, trying to avoid looking at marks like carcass and flesh on the garbage disposal.
I could barely get through the level, let alone unleash the Clanker or go inside him, without pausing every few minutes. And that night I couldn’t sleep because all I could think about was this giant metal shark chewing on me. But it turns out, he’s really, really friendly. And, by the time I returned to the game a few years later, I loved him.
Mr. Patch from Banjo-Tooie However, I still have the upper hand.
Ollie Reynolds, Screenwriter
This is an easy game for me and even though I’ve played it on PS1, its availability on N64 and GameCube makes my pick valid (that’s it!): Resident Evil 2.
It wasn’t a specific moment that gave me nightmares, it was the whole game. From the opening moments exploring ravaged Raccoon City to evading the Tyrant’s (Mr. X) devastating attacks, I’m pretty frank that twice scared won’t be able to wet itself. . However, if push comes to shove and I have to pick a specific point in the game, it would be the opening encounter with Robert Kendo, the owner of the Kendo Gun Shop.
After a brief exchange, Leon turned to leave the room – but what was it? – you spot some delicious shotgun ammo just lying on the counter nearby, so of course you take it. When you turn around, however, you hear the shop’s window banging, triggering a cutscene in which Kendo is torn apart by a zombie.
It’s infinitely more visceral than anything shown in the first RE game; you can actually see Kendo’s body turning red because the blood is pouring out. It left me scarred more than I care to admit.
It was true that I was only 9 years old at the time. Maybe that’s the problem.
Jim Norman, Screenwriter
I’ve always been easily intimidated by video games, it’s really a surprise that I’ve maintained a passion for them for so long. I want to quickly thank my mom, who I often ask for a particularly creepy part of the game when I leave the room. She may not necessarily beat every task I give her, but her fortitude in the face of my childhood fears has always been the best.
For the moment that scares me the most, I’ll have to make arrangements with Kate here and also pick someone from Ocarina of Time (strange how many people scarred by that game grew up). However, my first part was quite confusing in the story. If I wasn’t specific, I would say the entire Inside of the Deku Tree is my scariest video game location of all time. The weight of knowing you’re on top of something, Deku Shrubs scoffed, seeing Queen Gohma’s gaze on the ceiling for the first time – wow, that level really baffles me.
I’ll be more specific, because it’s very easy for me to do. What freaked me out was (and still is) the clack of Skulltulas. It’s a huge credit to the sound design that such a simple repetition was enough to keep me awake at night, but hey, it worked.
So far, hearing that sound makes me shiver.
Gavin Lane, Editor
I could have brought something from Zelda, but let’s go back a little further. This is not a scary ‘moment’ and more of the horror that I experience whenever I set foot in Transylvania in Quackshot. It’s only the third level (well, you can get earlier but you need items from earlier levels to progress), but I found it difficult as a kid.
Looking back now, it was all a messy twee and no threat! But the ballooning bats and globe-sized balls caused me grief at the time. I never really understood what the bubble was supposed to be, or how it seemed to ‘dissolve’ the bricks in Dracula’s castle. After Duckburg’s bouncy, creepy music, and setting come together to create an alarming, mind-blowing mental block that I’ve been trying to overcome for years – long after I’ve learned the skills needed to pass the level. I remember going back and finishing the game about a decade ago and wondering how the hell I built it so much in my mind.
Then again, is there anything scarier than a vampire duck?
A small selection for you there, some more silly than others, but all enough to play with a child’s mind. What moments from video games scared you as a child? Share your fears below…
