GamerSushi Asks: Gaming Muscle Memory

water temple

Welcome to “GamerSushi Asks Friday”.

Like a lot of you guys, I’ve played many, many video games throughout my life, but no matter how many more I play or how much time has passed since playing certain games, there will always be aspects I can remember once I get my hands on a controller.

Recently I was watching my girlfriend play through The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D when she got to Jabu Jabu’s Belly and got stumped at some point. Having played Ocarina of Time quite a bit I thought I could tell her how to get passed the puzzle, but unless I am holding the game in my hands, I can’t remember. If I’m playing the game, then I have no problem. The same thing happened recently when I was feeling a little nostalgic and put in Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3: I could recall where every SKATE letter was and where all the secret tapes were, and I had no problem chaining together massive combos.

I guess it’s kind of like riding a bike in that you brain just never forgets when something is ingrained into your memory like that. Do you guys have any games where no matter how many years it’s been since you last played, you can pick up the controller and instantly be a pro at it?

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mitch@gamersushi.com Twitter: @mi7ch Gamertag: Lubeius PSN ID: Lubeius SteamID: Mister_L Origin/EA:Lube182 Currently Playing: PUBG, Rainbow 6: Siege, Assassin's Creed: Origins, Total War: Warhammer 2

7 thoughts on “GamerSushi Asks: Gaming Muscle Memory”

  1. I’m like that with Fallout 3. I had that game down to a science from playing it and replaying it so much, and it was great, because when my mom and my sister each started playing they’d constantly ask me what perks to take, what skills to boost, what the different chems did, what to expect at certain locations, good armor rankings, where to find parts for schematics, all sorts of things, and I could give them an answer. My mom would actually text me during my high school classes asking for help, and I could give her a straight answer just from memory. It’s one of the few games I was at a near-Rain Man status with. I wasn’t totally obsessed with it, but for some reason I just had this encyclopedic status with that game.

  2. Although, I completely ditched the topic of the post. Muscle memory for me would have to be Ocarina of Time. That game came out when I was 5, and I did beat it at some point, but with little to no memory of actually playing it. Years and years later when I picked up the game on the Virtual Console, I knew exactly what I was doing (except for the goddamn Water Temple, obviously) and exactly how the game controlled. I could barely even read when I first started playing that game, and I was doing alright with it. For some reason, it just stuck with me: the exact items you get, great fairy locations, dungeon layouts, even how to defeat the bosses. I just knew. I still can’t explain that, really.

  3. Happens to me whenever my friends and I are playing the original Legend of Zelda. I’ve pretty much dominated the game, but when they’re playing I’ll try to direct them to the dungeons but completely forget where they are unless I’m controlling Link myself. It’s weird, really.

  4. For me that game is counter-strike. I remember playing it religiously when I was a kid, now not so much. Jumped into source and GO and I can still awp whore like a champ

  5. Funny this should be brought up, I literally just completed Metroid Prime again there now. It took 9 hours and 15 minutes. That’s 30 hours shaved off of my first playthrough. My skills at the game all came back to me the moment I started playing. It’s crazy how comparatively little challenge the game posed, except the last boss, that was pretty fun up until I ran out of power bombs. Contemplating whether or not I should start Echoes now or leave it for another time. It was much harder than the first as I recall.

    Ocarina of Time 3DS was an interesting game as the lack of changes made the visit to Hyrule comfortably familiar, if a little stale. That, I suppose, can be attributed to the amount of times I’ve completed it. At least once every two years I’d say. Master Quest added that challenge and system shock I so needed. I would like to see Master Quest equivalents in re-releases/HD remakes.

    I’ve been playing my old games recently so I want to see what else fills me with the same feelings and enthusiasm. And to see what stands the test of time. 10 years on, I’ll still recommend Metroid Prime.

    I may post again if I come across anything in my old collection which I can still play like in the ol’ days.

  6. Games like Jak and Daxter, Mystical Ninja starring goemon and Most if not all the Legend of zeldas are burned into my memory.

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