Easy Games for a Beginner Gamer

Pylis

Pylis

CAGiversary!
My girlfriend has recently started to take an interest in video games, mostly because of me and my ultra geeky habit. The problem is that she is completely new--I started her off on the original Super Mario Bros. because of its simplicity (this is the game I learned on when I was 5), but since it was the first time she had ever held a controller she promptly died at the first goomba. Twice. Other retro games didn't work either; Pac-Man, MegaMan, Mario... she always freaks out and dies almost instantly.

It's no big deal, she's learning, so to help ease her in I had her play Final Fantasy: Mystic Quest (not a great game by any means, but it was my first RPG and still pretty fun). Though she still hasn't gotten used to the controller (she can get past the first goomba on Mario now, but can't finish the first stage), she actually managed to finish the game with minimal help from me.

So now I'm trying to find another game for her to play. I foolishly started her on Chrono Trigger, but I think it's too hard for her (though she loves the first two hours she's played so far). A platformer like MegaMan is still probably way too tough for her, too. Any games that you guys can suggest to break in a newbie? I'm thinking another easy RPG, but I really don't know where to start. Any suggestions?

P.S.
(Sorry for the long winded post. It's 2 AM here, so I tend to talk too much when I'm tired.)
 
Try a puzzle game like Tetris or whatever, those should be easy to help get a grasp of the controller and move her onto maybe some easy platformers.
 
Find a game that she likes and she will learn to improve her skills on her own.

Also make sure she really likes playing games and doesn't just play them cause you want her to.
 
Katamari Damacy. It's impossible to die and even if you don't beat the stage you have a blast. The controls are kind of weird, but they are weird for everyone at the beginning so she won't be at a disadvantage.
 
Tetris (any system), Baku Baku (Sega saturn tetris clone where u feed animals food), Mario Kart (Snes or n64 versions), Dr.Mario.


RPG wise, I would find Rhapsody(PSone) as quickly as possible for her ^^ Thats what grabbed my wife's attention as a new gamer. Now she plays all types of games. Another easy RPG game is Lunar Legend for the GBA

Best of luck to you.
 
[quote name='Scrubking']Find a game that she likes and she will learn to improve her skills on her own.

Also make sure she really likes playing games and doesn't just play them cause you want her to.[/quote]

I think she's actually interested. After finishing Mystic Quest she started asking me for new games to play, and I never initially tried to get her into games to begin with (she knows I enjoy them so she wanted to give them a shot).

So far, she's enjoying the RPG games I'm showing her, so I'll probably stick with those for now. And Tetris is a good idea: she plays it on her computer a lot, so it might work to break her into the controller since she already knows the concept. Katamari Damacy's probably a fun place to start, too.

Thanks for the suggestions.
 
Katamari Damacy is awesome for anyone, no matter what age or skill level. As an alternative to Tetris, Bust a Move is also great. 3D platformers should be real easy, since most of them walk you through and help you learn the controls. If you like DDR, that also may be fun to play together. Animal Crossing or Harvest Moon are easy enough, though HM has more of a learning curve. You might also try Kingdom Hearts as the next step up. I'd say just let her try different things from your collection till she gets more into it, then see if she'd like to try out the new Eyetoy : Intercourse Game. Its a blast in nightvision mode :wink:
 
i second katamari, and dont be bound with just tetris (as great as it is) girls like puzzle games, bust a move, puyo pop, dr mario, throw some puzzle fighter in there if you can too
 
[quote name='CouRageouS']Katamari Damacy is awesome for anyone, no matter what age or skill level. As an alternative to Tetris, Bust a Move is also great. 3D platformers should be real easy, since most of them walk you through and help you learn the controls. If you like DDR, that also may be fun to play together. Animal Crossing or Harvest Moon are easy enough, though HM has more of a learning curve. You might also try Kingdom Hearts as the next step up. I'd say just let her try different things from your collection till she gets more into it, then see if she'd like to try out the new Eyetoy : Intercourse Game. Its a blast in nightvision mode :wink:[/quote]

Good call on Kingdom Hearts, I second that
 
Katamari and Bust-a-Move are great for beginners. Paper Mario is a pretty fun RPG that not too advanced. And of course, there is Donkey Konga!
 
Going with the RPG was a good idea since that gets her used to the controller without requiring any skill. I'd suggest following that theme and trying to have some variety by bringing in other stuff with different styles like 'Escape From Monkey Island' and other SCUMM games or ones with similar layouts like the Discworld and Scooby-Doo games. There are also more PC-like adventures to be found such as the 'Broken Sword' series.

You might also try some of the dungeon games that bring a 'shopping' element into it, where there are many things to acquire that aren't necessary to finish the game. Azure Dreams, which also has a bit of a dating sim built-in, too, so that might score big. A stereotype but some things predictably play better to some players than others.
 
You might let her try Soulcalibur 2 on Easy. It's a game that you can usually beat computers on by button mashing, while slowly memorizing some of the moves.
 
I think I might be able to help you. My Fiance is an avid gamer. When we first started dating, I was interested in video games like CTR on the playstation and Mario Brothers on original Nintendo. That was all I knew about video games. I really wanted to take more of an interest so that my Fiance and I would have more to do together. The easiest game for me to get started on was Animal Crossing. I find that a lot of the Gamecube games are much easier for girls. Animal Crossing is a very addicting game and it really got me interested in other games. Harvest Moon is fun as well as Mario Party. My Fiance bought me Skies of Arcadia on the Gamecube. I love this game, but it takes a lot of time to play. My only other advice would be DON'T ALWAYS BEAT HER in games. Let her win a few without her knowing you let her win. This will help her stay interested in the games. Hope this helps!
 
Crazy taxi is great for new gamers, try to find games that you don't die but have a time limit. Or you could find some 2 player button masher games.

It's hard for some new gamers to get into the big titles since you have to know what your doing to reach farther in todays games. All the joysick/buttons can be very overwelming for new players.

Like others said try to get her used to the controller & the locations of all the buttons to start off with and she'll eventually come around.
 
Don't most female tend to love Pikmin? So I'd say that since I enjoy it a bit. Also nowadays GTA is fun to just run around and Crash Bandicoot ^^. Sounds somewhat easy ish.

Might I ask is this just for any system?

And getting her to use to the controller .. although.. it might sound really stupid.. test her out a bit like "Press A" "Press B" or combine it "Up A" something around that.
 
Maybe some co-op games where you can help her and show her the ropes at the same time. Dungeon crawlers/Hack'n'slash games would be good for that. And if she's an anime fan at all, maybe the Inuyasha RPG, while not the best game, it had a pretty simplicstic combat system and I didn't find all to difficult.
 
my girlfriend was not into games at all when she met me, but over the last 3 years she has played more and more. for the most part she doesnt like to play games, but the ones she loves to play are the sims and animal crossing, and she occasionally asks to play mario party 6 and donkey konga. those are all good ones that should be easy enough to get ahold of, and simple enough to play. she was worried that the gamecube was too complicated with all the buttons, unlike the nes, but nintendo makes plenty of games that are simple enough for beginners to get into, and are easier than most nes games i own.
 
[quote name='bowmanarmy']Metal Slug or Gradius[/quote]

God, I can't even make a dent into Gradius and I have made Ninja Gaiden (the new one) my bitch thorougly. People talk as if that is a hard game, but they have no idea.
 
[quote name='1SwtDeception']Might I ask is this just for any system?
[/quote]

Yup. Mostly retro stuff like the NES since there are far fewer buttons, but newer games are definitely an option, too.

Thanks for all the suggestions, everybody.
 
EDIT: Just NES?
Let me start over....
Tetris (I still have the two-player bootleg)
Gauntlet
Gyruss
Lifeforce
Contra
Klax

Most of the women I've been able to get into videogames enjoy a mental challenge of some sort and aren't impressed by beat-em-ups.
 
[quote name='The Truth']EDIT: Just NES?
Let me start over....
Tetris (I still have the two-player bootleg)
Gauntlet
Gyruss
Lifeforce
Contra
Klax

Most of the women I've been able to get into videogames enjoy a mental challenge of some sort and aren't impressed by beat-em-ups.[/quote]

Eh, by no means just NES. I was using that mostly because it's simpler, but I'm more than welcome to suggestions for any system.
 
I agree with two player hack and slash games. My wife and I enjoyed playing Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance 1 and 2 together. You can just button mash and they're both pretty easy.

EDIT: Before those we played through Gauntlet Legends and Gauntlet Dark Legacy. Now I remember we got the BG:DA games because reviews compared them to Gauntlet :)
 
For newer games, you can play Mario Kart Double Dash on Co-Op. Also, everyone loves Wario Ware. I don't know if either game is very good for developing skill, but they're both tons fun [for everyone]. Heck, Mario Kart might be more fun with someone that doesn't know the game.

"Shoot!"
"What's shoot?"
"Anything! They all shoot! And bring me those blue sparks!"
 
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