StarCraft: My First RTS Experience | hungrygoriya

Spoiler warning: some story spoilers for Brood War are discussed here. Please consult the timestamps for which section to avoid.
I've always been incredibly intimidated by the idea of playing real time strategy games, but StarCraft, as well as its expansion Brood War, were an overall positive experience. While the expansion jacked up the difficulty to nearly impossible heights for a newcomer like myself, the vanilla game was fantastic. It eased me into its mechanics while introducing me to the genre, helped me build up my skillset throughout the game's many missions, all while providing one of the most compelling narrative experiences I've had in this media form. I can't recommend this game enough, whether you're new to the genre or a veteran lover of RTS adventures. 🍖
I'd also like to give a big shoutout to my husband. Without his gentle encouragement, I wouldn't have even considered playing this. He also heavily contributed to many aspects of the video like the intro re-edit and its sound design, the CRT photography, some of the writing, and keeping this massive video endeavour moving forward at all times. His efforts elevated this project to something beyond what I'd ever be able to do on my own. Thank you so much! 💜
0:00-1:30 Claws Encounters
1:31-8:51 Introduction
8:52-10:52 The First Mission
10:53-12:22 Controls
12:23-14:46 Story and Instruction Manual
14:47-15:59 Music
16:00-19:21 Characters
19:22-22:29 Gameplay and My Strategies
22:30-23:44 How I Got Hooked
23:45-26:16 What I'd Do Differently
26:17-32:44 Faction and Unit Preferences
32:45-36:11 Brood War
36:12-40:25 SPOILERS: Brood War
40:26-43:25 Conclusion
Twitter: @hungrygoriya
Collecting Blog: hungrygoriya.wordpress.com/
Twitch Channel: / hungrygoriya
Video Game Collection: vgcollect.com/hungrygoriya
Patreon: / hungrygoriya
#retrogaming #starcraft #pcgaming

[@timmyrd9610]

Playing through most of Brood War with no RTS experience is incredibly impressive. Hats off

[@hungrygoriya]

Hey thank you! It was a long-fought battle but I'm glad to say I made it to the end.

[@Danthrax81]

I'll never mistake the Faxanadu town music. Nice intro

[@hungrygoriya]

I try to put a little Faxanadu into every video. It deserves the love!

[@cook1tj]

My goodness! The lady I go to for fun JRPG videos is posting about the most influential RTS of all time. Exciting!

[@hungrygoriya]

Glad you don't mind the change of pace. I didn't know a thing about StarCraft or how to play an RTS when my journey with this one began.

[@TheReNesance]

This intro was phenomenal hahaha.. well done, dude!

[@hungrygoriya]

Thanks very much! I wish you could see where it started and where it ended because it had a huge evolution over the few weeks we were working on the project.

[@AB0BA_69]

At first I thought that "H.G Entertainment" was the new splash screen and was sad, but then I realized you're just paying homage to the original intro. Very well done! ❤

[@themblan]

StarCraft had it all: great music, great voice-acting, cutting-edge visuals for the time, free online multiplayer, an interesting story, and 3 playable factions, which was not usual. This was peak Blizzard, the GOAT of PC-gaming.

[@hungrygoriya]

All true and all part of why this game's so well-loved. I'm glad I finally got to play it for myself!

[@ttarproject]

40 minute hungrygoriya video life is good

[@hungrygoriya]

Awww thanks! I hope you enjoyed it.

[@gaetan4164]

A new video from Hungry Goriya ? On a rainy Sunday ? ABOUT AN RTS ? IT'S HOW LONG ??? Oh yes. *gets coffee*

[@hungrygoriya]

I hope you enjoyed the video. Thanks for the enthusiasm!

[@KCUFyoufordoxingme]

*Pint of rum raisin folded into a pint of black walnut.* Yep, imma do this special in occasion ware.

[@donaldporr9682]

My first RTS was Warcraft: tides of Darkness.

[@Pepperoni421]

You are the best❤ ​@@hungrygoriya

[@__lim494]

The way you got used to the game reminded me of my childhood. I used to read the game manual until it ripped. :) I love your honesty and calm narration. New sub here!

[@hungrygoriya]

Hey thanks for taking a chance on the channel and stopping in. Anything's achievable with practice and perseverance, so it was only a matter of time until I got through. There were some very tough parts though!

[@hemangchauhan2864]

Anecdote - I used for live off on demo CDs and online flash games in 05/06. I also got pirated music CDs from local shop. So, while playing the StarCraft demo, I used to blast Bollywood songs while stomping on Zerg.

[@hungrygoriya]

Sounds like some good times!

[@That_Lady_Charlie]

The intro is not only the best I've ever seen on this channel, but one of the best I've ever seen on any KZbin video ❤

[@hungrygoriya]

Awww thank you very much!

[@exodous02]

Me and my younger brother used to use the map editors in both Warcraft II and Starcraft and make our own sagas. We tied them together too, like the orcs evolved into the Protos in the far future, re-encountering the humans after millions of years of being wiped out off of their home world to take revenge on the humans. It was really fun. There were hacks where you could edit units so we would make our own champions also, if they survived a map they would get stronger for the next. I wish we both saved the maps and wrote down all the story, we would set up the continuing story and scenario verbally so none of that was written down. I'm probably remembering it a long more grand of a story than it actually was, we were in grade school at the time, but it would be fun to see all the books/TV/movies we ripped off for our sagas.

[@hungrygoriya]

That sounds awesome! I love how you made a point to work from both games and connect them like that. I really enjoyed creative writing as a kid and feel like I would've really enjoyed the freedom to create my own story like that. Sounds like you two had an absolute blast doing it!

[@Retro_Royal]

Star Control II 3 seconds of fame

[@hungrygoriya]

I just got a 3DO recently so I might eventually sit down and play some of that. It looks awesome!

[@Retro_Royal]

@@hungrygoriya it is my all time favorite

[@japanimationman4442]

3DO Star Con 2 is a very good port of a very fun game. I highly recommend it. You might want to try out Star Control 1 first, just for context. It has a solid Genesis port if the PC version isn't as easy to get running as Starcraft was.

[@PatGunn]

I have so many memories with StarCon2 (and 1, although it's way more forgettable apart from that stupid rotating starmap)

[@Retro_Royal]

@@hungrygoriya combat needs a second to get used to. Challenge your husband in 1v1 battles to get an idea what ship has which abilities and have fun in the process. :)

[@estefencosta1835]

Back when Blizzard put out bangers on the regular. The segue between SimCity 3000 and Starcraft was curious to me at first but ended up making perfect sense. I had been using the mouse and keyboard setup since I was a grade-schooler so it had never occurred to me that this kind of interface for a video game would feel alien for some. I think my ex would have liked your channel. She seemed to have loads of fun playing video games but oftentimes her sense of embarrassment about not having games growing up and feeling like she didn't know how to play them lead her to not play. I think hearing someone else talk through their frustrations about not knowing how to make the game work so to speak would have been a nice thing.

[@hungrygoriya]

I missed out on Blizzard's golden era, but better late than never! And yeah, I didn't do much PC gaming as a kid minus the four games I showed: King's Quest VI, Fable, Twinsen's Odyssey, and Curse of Monkey Island. I didn't really play anything action-based with a mouse and keyboard until much later in life. I'm glad the videos feel like they'd resonate with people that might lack some confidence in trying new things. I grew up gaming but didn't get to try a lot of different stuff back then. It took a lot for me to try something brand new and eventually muddle my way through, but I'm glad I did. I have a great sense of satisfaction from being able to say that I got through the majority of the game and the expansion on my own merits.

[@estefencosta1835]

@@hungrygoriya Yes, I think hearing someone else talk about things like the controls and other stuff that people who have been playing every kind of game since they were tiny don't think about would be helpful. It's kind of eye opening for me to understand why a control scheme might be intimidating.

[@AggelosKult]

I've never played starcraft and watching your video, coming from a gamer with similar tastes as me (RPG, platformers, poimt and click adv) made me really interested!

[@hungrygoriya]

I hope you'll give it a try. It's definitely not easy by any means and you may spend a lot of time scratching your head about what to do next, but when things actually work out, it's such a good feeling. Good luck!

[@AggelosKult]

@@hungrygoriya Will try for sure!

[@inkwolf77]

Your description of the gameplay as an ever-accelerating assembly line is quite apt! I enjoy playing StarCraft, but it definitely made me feel like Lucy working at the chocolate factory. I recall the stress of those final levels; I can’t imagine trying to do that on stream. And after getting through StarCraft and Brood War, you have NOTHING to fear from tactics RPGs. At least none of the ones I’ve played. Go have some fun with the Fire Emblem series! And great video as always! Keep them coming! :)

[@hungrygoriya]

Haha I know exactly the clip of Lucy you're talking about, and that sums it up well. It was definitely tough on stream while trying to be active in chat, but people really seemed to enjoy my triumphs as much as my struggles. It was a good experience! And thanks for the encouragement! Since this video, I've played through Final Fantasy Tactics and really enjoyed my time with it. I'm looking forward to trying out other games like that too.

[@Blinkoom]

What a great conclusion to a great series of stream. Thanks for this HG!

[@hungrygoriya]

My pleasure, Blink! Thank you for taking the time to watch!

[@Xeinok]

What a wonderful video, this channel is a treasure!

[@hungrygoriya]

Awww thank you very much! I'm glad you enjoyed :)

[@joshuasmith6414]

This made my sunday! Thank you! 😊

[@hungrygoriya]

Glad you enjoyed! Thanks for watching :)

[@danieldoherty420]

There were some wild multiplayer maps on Battle Net that weren't even about StarCraft. We played stuff like DnD, Turret Defense, and Resident Evil maps, all made in that map editor. People made that game do things it should never have been able to do.

[@hungrygoriya]

I wish some of those had been preserved! They'd be so neat to see.

[@solring5721]

Hey Goriya, I know I'm late to this party, and you may already know, but there is more to the conclusion of starcraft's story than what you saw. There is a secret level in the game, spacifically in the zerg brood war campaign. In the mission where you have to kill the matriarch, if you are able to destroy the protoss base in less than 15 minutes, you'll unlock a secret mission where you play as zeratul. This is, in my opinion, the "true" ending to starcraft as it answers some question about what has happened and shows what's coming. I highly recommend you either replay it to get the full story of brood war. Fantastic video by the way.

[@hungrygoriya]

After I finished Brood War, some nice folks actually told me about that mission being available and I did get a chance to play through it. It did answer a few questions but not everything I wanted a conclusion for! And thanks so much for the kind words about the video! I really enjoyed making this one!

[@pretzelthedude]

SO happy to finally see this video come to light. More happy that you ended up enjoying it so much. Can't wait to see what you tackle next!

[@hungrygoriya]

Awww thanks for the enthusiasm about it! I had a blast with StarCraft and Brood War, even if the latter was a really tough thing to get through for my skill level. Next up will be something short and sweet in contrast to this beast of a video, haha... thanks so much for stopping in!

[@liammogan257]

It's always a great day when I see you upload a new vid!

[@hungrygoriya]

Yeah, it's been a long while. This video took a lot of planning so it was a bit delayed. Thanks for the kindness!

[@RPGFort]

Goriya, this was a great video! It was nice seeing something a little different - and your effects and transitions game has definitely leveled up!

[@hungrygoriya]

Awww thank you! My husband's been helping a bit with some of the visual edits and design (he did the entire intro!), so that's really been kicking things up in terms of production quality. I'm glad it's been an enjoyable change.

[@DrMooCowz]

Great video with a unique perspective as your first RTS! I enjoyed this take on it and echoing others about the intro, too! :)

[@hungrygoriya]

Awww thanks so much! I'll let my husband know you enjoyed the intro since it was all his brainchild. We had a good laugh as it came to be.

[@Xameel]

Yay!!! One of my very favorite games… the Terran escape mission is still one of the most memorable gaming experiences I’ve had. Wonderful to see you back!

[@hungrygoriya]

StarCraft was an amazing experience. Thanks for checking this out! I hope to upload a new video either tonight or tomorrow, so stay tuned!

[@sevencastleforest]

Great video, and I can tell you put a ton of time and effort and thought into this one. It was the perfect cozy video to watch during a long bus ride. I’m glad you enjoyed your first foray into this genre!

[@hungrygoriya]

It took a very long time to get all my thoughts on this one out of my head in a cohesive way. And my husband had way too much fun making the intro, haha... thanks for taking the time to check this out.

[@dmsparacording7983]

Outstanding review of a monumental RTS title! Thank you!!! ❤

[@hungrygoriya]

Hey thanks for checking this out!

[@zeliardforty-two4692]

I was one who played through this game when I was young. It was probably one of those games that made me love Sci-fi and RTS games. It sort of Game me Warhammer 40k vibes which I love! Unfortunately I only ever played through it once. There was a problem with the disk I had and it glitched out during the last map! So I made it too the end but could not see the ending 😞 I never picked up the game again after that. It was fun watching your play thru! Reminded me why I loved this game and maybe one day actually get back around to beating it The other Sci-Fi RTS I played a lot was “War Winds”. An interesting story about a four way world war between the different races of an alien planet. Each race has different bonuses and weaknesses which gives them different tactics and missions. Anyone reading this who wants a different experience, it’s worth a look! Awesome intro btw! Gotta love that early 3D look 😂

[@hungrygoriya]

Noooooo :( I'm so sorry that you never got to see the end of this one. I think the classic version is free on Battle Net if you're wanting to revisit it without the need for the disc. War Winds eh? I can't say that I've heard of it before, but I'll make a note and have a look into it sometime. Hopefully some other people will give it a try. It sounds interesting! And thanks about the intro! I wish I could personally take credit for it but my husband's entirely to blame for its quality and humour.

[@chewygad7899]

Great video. So dang solid. Also this channel does wonders for my anxiety

[@hungrygoriya]

Thanks for checking this one out! StarCraft was an awesome experience and I'm glad to have pushed myself out of my comfort zone to play and finish it.

[@HitoriSanzo]

Fantastic as usual, thank you ^w^ ♥

[@hungrygoriya]

Thanks for checking this out!

[@civrev]

Don't forget about Starflight!

[@hungrygoriya]

Noted!

[@StephenWilds]

Nice video, good kick of nostalgia.

[@hungrygoriya]

Glad you enjoyed! This video was fun to put together.

[@Retrofun69]

I love your channel so much.

[@dogmeat7486]

I'm so glad to see you enjoy this title. It makes me truly happy.

[@hungrygoriya]

I really did! Even if it was practically a vertical climb to the end, it was all worth it.

[@hisoj]

I am compelled to watch all of this video right now.

[@hungrygoriya]

I hope you enjoy it!

[@Finalzero]

@08:15 Command & Conquer actually tells a fictional war between a UN-funded military organization and a cult. The second part of the series plays far in the future, where Earth is almost unrecognizable, so it feels more like playing in an alien world. I recommend that you check out Red Alert 2 if you want to expose yourself more to this genre. In my opinion, it is the best the series has to offer and is also one of the best RTS games ever made. While it takes place on Earth in the 70s, the story doesn't take itself too seriously, and the cutscenes are entertaining to watch. The game also offers one of the most creative arsenal of units to command I have ever seen in a video game, like the chrono legionnaire, who can teleport around the whole map and erase units and structures from history.

[@hungrygoriya]

While C&C covers a fictional story, the worldbuilding is filled in with present-day settings and technology. It feels like it would still hit a bit too close to home, especially considering that Earth locations are used as battlegrounds. I'd be happy to try the games in the series that are a bit more dissociated from our Earth as we know it, but I'll have a look into Red Alert 2.

[@ejhockey]

Love all the SC unit name dropping in the beginning. And your save game: "A Kerriganless life...." haha poor Jimmy.

[@hungrygoriya]

Yep, I was so sad when she was taken away. I felt so bad for her! And thanks about the writing. My husband helped me craft a very punny intro!

[@AB0BA_69]

The lovers-turned-enemies relationship between Raynor and Kerrigan was much too personal and very unusual to see in an RTS game in the 90s for me so it really stood out and was very memorable. Which is why I never liked the resolution to that story in SC2 games. The resolution was way too "Hollywood perfect". War, much less real life, just isn't like that.

[@Hasekbowstome]

New HungryGoriya video? 45 minutes? On Starcraft? The game that I still watch professional matches of with some regularity? "All right, bring it on!"

[@hungrygoriya]

I hope you enjoyed my foray into RTSes! StarCraft rules!

[@Drewbe821]

A pleasant surprise. Ty HG😁👍

[@hungrygoriya]

You're welcome! Thanks for stopping by!

[@BurstError]

another great HG video! my first RTS was Warcraft 2, and this inspired me to dig that out sometime :)

[@hungrygoriya]

Oh nice! I've heard such interesting and good things about the Warcraft games. I'd definitely like to try them out sometime, though I might skip the first one. Thanks for checking this one out!

[@miroslavzima8856]

This was genuine shocker! I already knew from your manner of speak you are tough, but really didn´t expect you have a knack for strategies! Way to go! :)

[@hungrygoriya]

I'm glad I gave something new a try.

[@nipulkradmsinatagras8293]

*Love that cool intto!* ❤

[@hungrygoriya]

Thank you!

[@fireislow7270]

As a longtime Starcraft player, this was awesome to watch. I was surprised how similar your sentiments of the plot were to mine. The original game had such incredible storytelling and characters, but Brood War is the start of an unfortunate trend where the plot of Starcraft just goes down the toilet. (you might not enjoy the starcraft 2 plot even more if you're like me XD) One thing I like to tell a lot of first time players is that by being clueless, they get to play the game the way its meant to be played. For a "tryhard starcraft vet" the campaign is incredibly boring because most of missions require almost no meaningful thinking or decision to beat. The deep strategic thinking and analysis that went thru your head as you tackled each mission is the ideal/intended game experience, which is completely gone for people like me. It always fills me with joy seeing someone pick up the campaign for the first time and learning bit by bit every intricate piece of Starcraft, because that experience is the heart of this game.

[@hungrygoriya]

This was an incredibly thoughtful and kind comment to read this morning. These first-time experiences are incredibly special ones that I'm really grateful to be able to share with all of you here. Thank you! I'm sure being a veteran StarCraft player might come with other types of fun like really challenging yourself (excluding certain units, no death, etc.), if you're into that kind of thing of course, but I can understand that feeling of never getting to experience the story fresh again. I feel like that about some really epic RPGs I've played where I now know all the twists and unless I put them down for 20 years before replaying them, the shock value's gone now. It's unfortunate that there was never more done with the story that sounds good, especially beyond what I've already played. I wonder if it would've been worse to play this when it was new and be hoping for some kind of resolution for the characters I like, or if it's worse knowing now that there just is none and having to move on from that wish.

[@AB0BA_69]

Asking your husband for help beating the last mission is so sweet 😊

[@hungrygoriya]

He was glad to help and did so well. I watched him play a few of the missions I finished since he'd occasionally pick it up while I was working through it. Totally different play style, haha

[@japanimationman4442]

Wow, that opening! Nice job! I've never played Starcraft, since I mostly stuck to console gaming. Though I did play a lot of Heroes of Might and Magic 3, and the first Age of Empires. I also played the hell out of the console ports of Star Control (cool that you referenced that series in the video). I also never played Sim City 3000, only Sim City 2000, which was still a lot of fun. But my first RTS was Herzog Zwei. Learning how to play that game without the manual as a kid was quite the challenge. But maybe that's why I have such fond memories of it. Herzog Zwei is often cited as the very first RTS ever made. The creators of Dune 2 and Command & Conquer both used Herzog Zwei as inspiration for their own games. Of course with any such bold claim there is bound to be some disagreement, but it was undeniably a very influential game for the genre. As a prototype of RTS games, Herzog Zwei is vastly different from its descendants. It's a much more arcade style experience, where you control your main unit directly like a typical action game, and you will infinitely respawn if you die. There is no story, just two identical factions with 8 maps, there's only one resource, and you can only give orders to one unit at a time. But that also lends it a sense of breakneck pacing and excitement with low stakes and low commitment. And the fact that it works as well as it does using only a 3 button Genesis controller is a testament to how well made the game is. It never ceases to amaze me that such a PC centered genre had its foundation in a home console release. Anyway, I didn't mean to ramble so much. I just want to say: Welcome to RTS games! I don't play them all that often, but sometimes I just get this hankering for a good strategy game, either real time or turn based. The last one I played was Stellaris, which I forced myself to stop playing so that I could get back to all the other games I was neglecting.

[@hungrygoriya]

Herzog Zwei was the very first of the first? I do have it on the Genesis and should probably try to get around to that sooner than later. Low stakes and low commitment sounds like it might be an interesting thing to try now that I've played something that feels like the complete opposite. And thank you for the warm welcome! I think there are many aspects of these games that I absolutely love like the base building and resource allocation, and it all feels like one big puzzle-y experience trying to get it just right. I'm definitely keen to try more in the future! As always, you're welcome to ramble on as long as you like. It's always nice to hear from you! Thanks for taking the time to check this one out and leave a thoughtful comment. I appreciate it!

[@japanimationman4442]

Well, if Wikipedia says it, it must be true, right?! Depending on how much you want to stretch the definition of RTS there are some older games that are close, but not quite there. Bokosuka Wars is the big one that I remember. It never left Japan, but you can easily check it out on a NES emulator if you want to see how weird it is. Funny enough, if there is an older RTS it might be the first Herzog game, which was only on home computers that were never sold outside Japan. I watched some footage of it and felt it wasn't quite an RTS, but maybe I just didn't see enough of it. And in case you were wondering, Herzog Zwei is German for Duke 2. Sadly, they never made a Herzog Drei, though there is a fan inspired game called Air Mech (I think). I intended to get it, but for some reason I never got around to it.

[@thehalcyonblog]

I used to play through the Starcraft campaigns at least once a year, before I kind of fell off the RTS genre. Like yourself, the RPG elements were the most enticing for me so Starcraft and Warcraft III eventually became my transition into tactical RPGs. I never did get into the PvP. I am so glad you spoke about the music, though. That OST has stuck with me so long, whenever I find something that sounds similar it immediately becomes replayed into oblivion. Lovely view into a novices exploration of an intensely popular video game, I really enjoyed this! Cannot wait to see what you dive into next.

[@hisoj]

I started to believe I just didn't like RTS games after not playing any for the past 10 years, until I replayed Dawn of War a few months ago. I am more entry level when it comes to RTS but a lot of them do not factor new players into their designs.

[@thehalcyonblog]

@@hisoj Dawn of War is still so good. Top notch RTS.

[@hungrygoriya]

Hey thanks for saying so! I was so reluctant to play this game or even share the experience with others because it was something I was so unfamiliar with, but I'm so glad I took the plunge. Something like Warcraft III seems like it'd be right up my alley, especially since I love that swords and shields fantasy stuff. The music in StarCraft was so good. Protoss and Terran music were my favourites without a doubt, and I would've loved to use it in the video, but I can't imagine Blizzard would've allowed that without copyright claiming it. We did a test upload of some intro clips and they even got flagged so I was really hesitant to put any of the music in. I've been listening to the music a lot since finishing the game though!

[@littlemixer7522]

That intro was something else, what a way to get started! The first thing that really popped out at me was that you played in a more conservative style, which I did as well with both RTS and turn based strategy games. It's a good style I always thought, because running out resources was a game over in a lot of cases. Some missions force extreme amounts of resource management, and trying to get the most out of each unit really pays off, which is as you described, makes playing Terran really difficult until you get the medics going, they were a game changer and I knew you'd enjoy having them for sure! Micromanagement of certain units I couldn't agree more with you. A big pile of easier to manage units that worked out really well against everything was great in most cases vs the CPU. Your strong usage of siege tanks/science ball baiting the enemy to chase you techniques in some Terran maps was awesome, and really killed their defenses! Guardians were just the best at killing buildings at range, and your Archon play was just devastating with Protoss. The micromanagement of the specialized units in this game(Defiler, Queen, etc) felt far more advanced than their counterpart units in Warcraft, and I too just enjoyed assembling a big group of Hydralisks to just handle everything in a more efficient manner. For me much like yourself, I also enjoyed the Protoss overall for raw power, since they were both durable and high damage. Plus playing as them, you usually didn't too often have to face CPU Protoss and their insanely accurate usage of psionic storms, which were so frustrating for sure! Playing against my high school friend, I preferred Terrans due to him being especially vulnerable to a massive stealth Wraith attack, which always caused him to yell in disgust at me from down the hallway, which I believe was a common thing at LAN parties as you touched on in the conclusion, haha. You did a marvelous job with this game overall, and I really enjoyed both your entire playthrough and this excellent review and your thoughts on all the different aspects of the game. I'm very much looking forward to you eventually finding other tactical games to try out on both console and PC, as this opened the door for you for all kinds of stuff!

[@hungrygoriya]

It sounds like we have a lot in common in the gameplay style department, which doesn't surprise me since we both also hoard all the items in games as well, haha... thanks for sharing more about your gameplay style. I honestly can't wait to see you play some WarCraft and watch what someone who really knows what they're doing can do with this kind of game. Your story about playing with your friends and destroying them was definitely an inspiring thing for the conclusion of the video. I came away with this one feeling a little closer to everyone else that's had this game under their belt for decades now. It feels like I'm finally in on the big secret, and I love that! The only person I got to yell at with this game was SG when he loaded up a versus match against me when I wasn't even at the computer one night and came back to find myself being attacked by probes. Too much fun! Thanks again for being there during the streams and for taking the time to watch my videos. It really means a lot to me!

[@isturma]

I'm 6 minutes in and already loving the way you're Dragoon-ing all of this little callouts in. It vexes me because I want to breathe deep and yell out "show me the money!" I have returned after watching the video, and BECAUSE you said that you want a narrative resolution, i'd really love to see you play Starcraft 2. The story picks up AFTER the events of Brood War, and Jimmy is front and center for the first bit, with Kerrigan front and center for the second. I know you typically do retro games, but I think you'd really enjoy this.

[@hungrygoriya]

I felt it was good to build up to talking about the actual game since I feel like I managed to live under a rock my entire life in regards to it prior to actually playing it! And good to know that there might be some resolution about the people I'm particularly interested in in the sequel. I'm glad to know that there's still hope to see what they got up to after all.

[@isturma]

@@hungrygoriyaI followed you on Twitch specifically to see if you end up playing, my best memories of it come from late Saturday nights playing with my friends across the LAN. I saw you're playing FF Tactics, and that's another beloved game from that era. I think I still have my disc somewhere around here...

[@RufusKyura]

Starcraft 2 IS a retro game now. Anything older than 10 years is retro.

[@isturma]

@@RufusKyuraExcept there's still multiplayer matches being made, and unofficial tournaments because Blizz couldn't keep their Shhh together long enough not to mess up the "official" ones. Technically there's still a large Brood War scene overseas.

[@Grogeous_Maximus]

She has returned. My goblin sense tells me you will hit 100k this year !

[@hungrygoriya]

I have returned, just like a good Dragoon. 100k would be amazing, but I'm honestly just happy anyone watches. Thanks for the encouragement though!

[@GlerpidyGlarson]

I'm glad I missed this so now I can watch it now. It's like a late present. You deserve way more views than you get.

[@hungrygoriya]

Awww thanks for checking it out and for your kind words. I hope you enjoyed the video!

[@bazdaniels7420]

That' was a fun review! Starcraft is such a great game, I got completely absorbed & couldn't be bothered to do literally anything else. Even using the bathroom or getting something to eat were completely annoying, almost unacceptable distractions. After about 2 weeks of this, I forced myself to quit because the rest of my life was falling by the wayside.

[@hungrygoriya]

I can imagine how much this one could draw someone in like that. I felt like that when I played Diablo II for the first time back in 2012 for a while. It was all-consuming!

[@BB-pn2qv]

Glad you gave it a shot :) never let fear get in the way of trying something neat and fun!

[@hungrygoriya]

I needed a good shove in the right direction to be brave enough to try with this game, but I'm glad I did. I've rarely been disappointed trying something new in gaming.

[@BB-pn2qv]

@@hungrygoriya what is next on the list of super new but a bit intimidating still?

[@friskygato]

Like many people, my first RTS was Dune 2. While that game and others like it lacked the QOL improvements StarCraft had, they were also more manageable. Micro consisted of clicking on one unit at a time to move and attack. From Dune 2 there was Warcraft and then Warcraft 2 that ramped up the complexity of the games. The fact that you jumped right into StarCraft kinda shocked me. Tackling the complexity of that game at a first go was impressive, but I wasn’t surprised you managed it. What did surprise me was how much you enjoyed it. While you say your like the comforts of routine and the familiar, I was pleasantly surprised to see you embrace a totally new genre of gaming at such a high difficulty. GG

[@friskygato]

Also. Great editing. I think we have a new intro screen for the rest of your KZbin videos. Jk =P. Video had the typically awesome HG touch. I liked how you gave your gaming background and setting the stage for this video to be a review from a person without any experience in this genre. The narrative journey you took us on from beginning to end as you improved was a great summary of what it was like to peak in from to time watching your progress. A great watch. Thank you and for all the hard work you put into these videos.

[@hungrygoriya]

I suppose StarCraft was like getting thrown into the lake headfirst and being forced to swim with all its complexities. I'm definitely curious to see what some earlier RTSes are like now that I know the ropes of a more complicated game. It might be easier to go backwards now! And I did really enjoy this one. Sometimes it just takes having someone that knows you shove you out of your comfort zone, and that's what SG was able to do for me here. I would've never had the confidence to try StarCraft without his gentle nudging. I'm really grateful for that! Thanks for the GG!

[@hungrygoriya]

Haha imagine if we just recycle that one StarCraft intro for every video going forward? My husband is entirely responsible for the space cutscene intro at the beginning, and we brainstormed a lot about how to introduce the video. I think the perspective that I have as someone brand new to the genre was a unique one that we really wanted to put across clearly. I'm glad you enjoyed it, and thank you so much for taking the time to leave a thoughtful comment. I appreciate it!

[@MotherKojiro]

I love all the Dune 2 music here; Frank Klepacki is a genius! I haven't played this, because my brain is just not wired for real-time multitasking like this, and also because I'm way too much of a bulldozer for most Strategy titles, Real-Time or otherwise, but I do enjoy stuff like this, because it brings me to a world I otherwise couldn't visit.

[@hungrygoriya]

I loved listening to the Dune 2 soundtrack and trying to pick good tunes for this video. My husband played the Sega Genesis version with his cousin growing up and was really excited to revisit that game a bit while we were working on the video. I'm still not sure I'm completely sold on the pressures of real-time strategy, but it felt like it pushed me right out of my comfort zone into something brand new. I never really excelled at this game but it was still really fun when I got a win. I'm glad you gave some of these kinds of games a try just for the excuse to go somewhere new. That's great!

[@aaronkraus7649]

Starcraft, countless hours of my life consumed over the last 26 years.

[@hungrygoriya]

I can just imagine. Did/do you play competitively at all?

[@aaronkraus7649]

@hungrygoriya I have, but never could get the fingering down. It's the same reason I'm not a musician : )

[@Seikent]

Awesome intro! Congrats on 30k subs too! Thanks for the spoiler alert regarding Brood War storyline; I beat the base game many years ago, but never got to play Brood Wars and as you mention, the difficulty is already ramped up, so it's a bit hard to just go straight to it after years without touching the game. The story is pretty good, so maybe I should give it a try :). Regarding the intro section and Tactical RPGs, my impression is that they are much more similar to old JRPGs compared to RTS, though the genre can be diverse too. For example, Final Fantasy Tactics is mostly combat driven (with story segments in between) and combat itself is quite similar to JRPG combat, but with a big focus on terrain. A similar entry-level game of that kind is Mario + Rabbids (which is quite cheap on sale). Then you have Heroes of Might and Magic and King's Bounty like games which have a focus on drafting troops and resources, additionally to combat. Ogre Battle / Advance Wars have a focus on strategy, rather than combat. Anyways, most of these games are relatively accesible in my opinion (Heroes of Might and Magic is probably the hardest to learn, though you may like its exploration component), so you should be fine trying any one out :). A separate not that related point, have you checked out "The CRPG Book"? It's a beautiful free (digital version) book about the history of CRPGs. It's really cool to see old games that you may have played and forgotten or games that you may want to play.

[@hungrygoriya]

Hey thanks on both fronts! The 30K just kinda crept in on me. The channel's growth has mostly been a slow burn so it was a pleasant surprise to see it finally happen! And no problem about the spoiler alert. I hate getting games spoiled for me, especially the story. It's way more fun playing completely in the dark, especially when the narrative's so good like this game's was. Thank you for the suggestions on some new games to try. I was actually thinking about the Mario + Rabbids game recently because I picked it up pretty cheap a while back but was also intimidated to try it out for all the reasons I mentioned here. Heroes of Might & Magic is a series I've heard spoken about a lot but have obviously never tried out. I really do enjoy those kinds of fantasy worlds so that's the one that speaks to me the most out of what you've mentioned, but I've also seen some Advance Wars and Ogre Battle over the years and wondered about them too. King's Bounty's totally new to me. I think I perused the CRPG book a very long time ago (it's older, right?) and meant to get back to it, but never did! Thank you for the reminder!!!

[@Seikent]

@@hungrygoriya , about the games: King's Bounty is like a simplified version of Heroes of Might & Magic, but I'm not sure if I would recommend it to you as it takes out some of the aspects you'd probably enjoy the most. Anyways, there's probably a line from RPG to RTS like 'RPG - Tactical RPG like FF Tactics - Tactical RPG like HOM&M - Tactical RPG like Ogre Battle / Advance Wars - RTS'. All options are good :); if you feel more comfortable with RPGs, maybe FF Tactics (or Mario + Rabbids which is in the same category) would be a good starting point (for what's worth, FF Tactics isn't hard to learn, it's very fun, but it has some difficulty spikes in my opinion). Regarding the book, yes, it's some years old, though it has been updated over the years. Something I really enjoyed from the book is that it focuses on what made each game stand out when it was released, so you get an idea of how the different systems have evolved over the years.

[@MeanderBot]

I don't have a whole lot of multiplayer experience; I was too young to be a part of LAN parties and I'm generally not a competitive person. However, I do have a pretty amusing memory of moving around a Terran base onto an island, plopping down a few surface to air turrets and essentially creating a stalemate out of a loss. At least, that's how I remember it. They probably wiped me eventually, haha. Thanks for the video. It unlocked some nice memories.

[@hungrygoriya]

I'm glad it's not just me that missed out on the LAN party experience. I love that you thought of that island strategy. It's brilliant!

[@PragmatikReviews]

Happy to hear you stepping outside of your comfort zone. I think ill enjoy this game through you still! Though if youre still craving some RTS type stuff, id recommend 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim! I do appreciare how in depth the story is! But I still dont know if I cah make that leap!

[@hungrygoriya]

Good to know about 13 Sentinels. Thanks for putting something new in my ear! And yeah, it's a pretty huge commitment to start up StarCraft. Definitely do it if you want to dabble, but if you're in for the long haul, it might suck you in and consume your life for a while, haha

[@Riena_punx]

I myself grew up with computer games and had some fun with rts games also. I think my favorite childhood rts series was Settlers, that emphasizes more the city building and infrastructure side of things. You might like that series, the second game is favorite of many. (It's more known in Europe) Recently I played the first three Command & Conquer games, had only played the first previously. I was impressed how well they managed to immerse me. There is something wonderful in the world building and using live action cut scenes. I haven't played Starcraft, but funny to see you playing it and as your first run in rts.

[@hungrygoriya]

If Settlers leans more on the building stuff side of the coin, I think I'd really enjoy it. Base building logistics was hands down my favourite part of StarCraft. It's cool that you got to play some Command and Conquer games and that you had a great time with them! Maybe I'll be brave and jump into those sometime. I've heard they're very good, but I'm not sure I'll enjoy the themes and story if they're so Earth-connected. We'll see though!

[@chaospoet]

Thank you, KZbin, for waiting 2 months to show me this. This one I'm nostalgic for as this was the end of an era for me personally. In either 89 or 90 I played the Turbografx game Military Madness which was my introduction to strategy games. I was obsessed with them. While M.M. is grid and turned based, it had elements such as capturing enemy bases to expand your army and saving or healing your troops in bases. So it was kind of like a cross between something like this and Shining Force but before all of them. Just to name a few I played in the 90s on PC: Command and Conquer, Warcraft 1 & 2, and Dune 2000. As someone who was familiar with these types of games even *I* was overwhelmed with the multitasking in this game and how quickly things can happen. So do not feel bad about that at all. Even we veterans had to adjust. That all being said this was the last of these types of games I played when they were new as not long after I graduated from High School and just didn't have the time to sink endless hours into something like this. But from like 90-99 these types of games were what I was playing the most by a landslide.

[@hungrygoriya]

I'm glad KZbin finally showed you this and that it's reaching people that appreciate this one. It's awesome that you had the chance to try out things like StarCraft when they were new. This whole genre is something I think I would've really liked if I'd been exposed to it in a positive way back then, and it sounds like there was a lot to choose from and enjoy. My husband also played a lot of the games you mentioned here too and was (and still is) totally in love with the genre to this very day. StarCraft being one of the last games you played at that time in your life is definitely something special. Thanks so much for sharing your memories with me!

[@chaospoet]

@@hungrygoriya Just a quick FYI at the time I'm writing this. If you have a Steam account, there's a RTS game from this era on sale for $1.50: Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds Saga. Might be worth getting if you're interested in more of these games from the 90s. Just thought I'd give you a heads up if you are curious.

[@hungrygoriya]

@@chaospoet Thanks so much for the info!

[@seekerrsa8275]

You will notice that RTS expansions are always much smaller production than the original, often sourced out to other companies, but they are essential for multiplayer as the added units and balance are a must. Judging by what you wanted resolved from SC, You are gonna love SC2. Not to mention the epicness from Metzen in WarCraft III, once you get to it. (WC1 and 2 are not required). Since you did SimCity3 as well, I would like to mention Anno. It sits between Sim and RTS. The year in the title like Anno 1404 or 2170 denotes the time the specific game plays off in. The scale of what you control is massive, but really manageable. Around 20, the first place I lived in after my parents, me and my neighbor bought a 100metre LAN cable and ran it over the wall. We played one game of Empire Earth for a week and left it running while going to work during the day. We divided the biggest World map in 2, started in the stone age and ended in WW2, with a non aggression armistice except for units wandering into each others territory. Basically the only resource that is finite is wood, so I figured the person getting the most wood might win eventually. So one night when he slept I built a concentration camp with walls around the area where all his workers were chopping wood so that they couldn't get out. The winner? The game got so choppy that the Pentium 4 power of the time decided a no-result lol! Me and the same 6ish friends still try to make a weekend once or twice a year for a LAN party and Command & Conquer 3, Company of Heroes, Age of Empires, LOTR Battle for Middle Earth II and SC still gets some love.

[@hungrygoriya]

I'm really curious to see what StarCraft II's all about someday. I need a bit of a break from RTSes for a bit, but that's definitely something I'd like to see through someday down the line. And Anno you say? Never heard of it! Thank you for putting it onto my radar. Oh man... what a LAN experience that must've been! That's so funny that you ended up sneaking a should've-been win on him. Too bad the computers wouldn't hand over victory to the rightful winner! That's so cool that you still get together with your pals to enjoy some RTS fun. I bet it's a really meaningful thing to do with one another after so long. Way to keep connected!

[@adamblue2980]

You've inspired me to pick up an RTS for the first time in 3 decades of gaming 🙂

[@hungrygoriya]

Good luck! I hope you'll report back sometime and let me know how it goes. If I can do it, so can you!

[@chroniclesofguyver7888]

I've always been a console gamer without much interest in anything on PC except for RTS games, which are miserable to play without a mouse and keyboard. Sadly, a lot of my old favorites are gone now, for one reason or another no longer playable. My best memories actually come from Warcraft 2. Laptops were just becoming affordable for the common man and my friends had started playing one on one LAN matches. I knew that sooner or later I was going to get drawn in and I had seen how fast and brutal online tournament play was. The day finally came where I was challenged to a match and I was so nervous about being beaten and looking like a noob. And I absolutely destroyed them. Like steamrolled over them all like they didn't exist. XD This later carried over in Starcraft and Warcraft 3. Maybe I should have been one of the tournament players. Who can say. I did see some of your Starcraft streams and the thing that really struck me was hearing you talk about your strategies. If I just had the audio to go by I would have guessed you were playing a puzzle game rather than an RTS. This was interesting to me since it's not at all how I think about these games. Completely different from my own thought process. I don't really have a point here, it was just interesting to find out how completely different another person's approach could be.

[@hungrygoriya]

I don't know that I'd ever really want to try an RTS on console, but I wouldn't be opposed to at least seeing what it was like. StarCraft is still available to play for free on Blizzard's website if you're wanting to revisit this one, but I'm not sure about the Warcraft games. I love that you wrecked all of the competition when the time came. That's hilarious that you crushed them all. I think there's still lots of competitive play online, so it might be fun to dust off that game and get training, hmmm? And thanks about the streams! I know I didn't really approach the game in a conventional way from many different angles, but it was really fun trying to put it together. I'll blame it on not really having ever played a game like it before. The problems were brand new to me and I had no idea how to even start approaching them. I'm glad it was entertaining though!

[@jasonmckinney3523]

Hun has stepped the game up!😂❤

[@hungrygoriya]

Do you mean some of the editing? I have my husband to blame entirely for the intro, haha

[@adamblue2980]

This video should have ten times the views!

[@hungrygoriya]

Awww thanks! I really enjoyed making this one.

[@pikaporeon]

huge fan of this video, as someone who plays SC2 competitively and grew up with SC, and command and conquer (whos music was a nice touch here as well) if you ever go back to the Starcraft 1 well, the remaster is almost entirely graphical with the gameplay so well preserved that remaster and original owners can play multiplayer together

[@hungrygoriya]

We listened to the C&C soundtrack a couple of times during my playthrough, especially during the Zerg campaign where there wasn't really much music to take in sometimes. It was pretty good! And I had no idea that the remaster was purely graphical! It's cool that old and new players (or old players wanting a fresh coat of paint so to speak) can enjoy the game like that. Right on!

[@HeiligerGrimmnir]

Not only was SC:BW my first RTS. It was the first computer game I ever played other than Oregon Trail and Number Munchers. I loved it so much I ran out immediately and bought my first computer an AMD K6-2 333Mhz. From 1998 - 2001 I was absolutely addicted to SC:BW. Clan Wars, Channel Wars/Botting on Battle Net and such. What a great time to have been on the internet.

[@hungrygoriya]

It must've been awesome being a part of those games when they were brand new. I'm glad you got to experience that!

[@MaitreMechant]

great vid! Starcraft was one of the first game I had on the PC when I was 12 and I was so bad at it lol (well, I still am actually), I remember some fun lan parties tho

[@hungrygoriya]

Hey thanks! And what a game to start with! The people who seem to be good at StarCraft are really good at it, and then there's the rest of us. I'm just glad I got through the game and lived to tell the tale. Lan parties sound like they were the best. I never really had friends that did that sort of thing or I might've been into it back then!

[@MaitreMechant]

@@hungrygoriya haha yeah, it actually made me realize I liked more the base building part than the fighting so I went to try city builders after that, Caesar 3 was my first one after that, it was a blast :D And it's not too late to have Lan parties as adults with few friends, especially now you can bring a laptop instead of the whole computer and screen and stuff.... I didn't participate in a lot of them but the few ones were a logistic hell haha

[@murphiverse]

Great video! I think you are really going to enjoy Star Craft II when you get around to it. They upped their storytelling in that one. I love the old 90's Blizzard games but their later releases definitely eclipse them.

[@hungrygoriya]

I sure hope so! Story's pretty important to me and I'd really like to see what happened to some of these people. Thanks for taking the time to check this one out!

[@seriousshuck3484]

Starcraft is one of the greatest games ever made. I cant wait to watch this video!

[@hungrygoriya]

I hope you enjoy!

[@seriousshuck3484]

@@hungrygoriya Watching you play through StarCraft for the first time reminds me of my first playthrough all those years ago. I also had to slow the game down at many points in the game. I firmly believe that 1998 was the greatest year for gaming still to this day, as we got so many other great games that year. Ocarina of Time, Metal Gear Solid, Half-Life, Unreal, Baldurs Gate, Final Fantasy Tactics, Spyro and more.

[@CappnRob]

Ah, Starcraft, a game that defined my early teens. I was late to the party by a few years, getting into the game in 2003, but it hooked me immediately there on out. I made a TON of custom maps, even my own story campaigns with my own and my friends Original Characters, even trying to make new "stories" out of the Starcraft base by renaming units to other things and making my own universes. None of them were terribly GOOD mind you (though I did pride myself on becoming quite adept at knowing how the trigger system worked for doing tricky little "cutscenes" with units in game), but its the memories that mattered the most. And I downloaded a ton of killer custom games then too. A Day At School was hilarious, The Thing maps were Among Us before Among Us, there were about 2 million Lord of the Rings and Dragon Ball Z RPG maps (and 2 million more Helms Deep defense maps), and of course the MONEYMAPS, Fastest Ever etc, where you could get tons of resources super easily with hacked mineral veins. Good times all in all. I'm sad to hear you didn't like the story of Brood War, though! I personally think its fantastic. Starcraft is a bleak, awful universe where almost all power structures are totalitarian and fascistic in some way or another. The UED basically erased all forms of culture and reduced humanity's identity to a grey sludge; the humans in Kroprulu are super militarized as well and you basically topple one dictatorship to put another one in power, the Zerg are at best mindless feral monstrosities and are at worst mindless feral monstrosities used as weapons for an all-consuming intelligence, the Protoss are religiously dogmatic not only to the point of alienating their own kind but to the self destruction of their entire species because they'd rather fight and die as proud warrior guys than face facts. Brood War shows us the totality of such a setting. Kerrigan's been betrayed or used by almost everyone, and she plays all their bigotries and hatreds against one another. Brood War isn't just because its a war for control of the Zerg Broods between the UED, Kerrigan and the New Overmind, but also a literal brooding grudge as Kerrigan plays everyone for fools and either directly or indirectly causes their destruction. Aldaris, one of the traditionalist protoss who is trying to open his mind, sees through the ruse early on, but because of how things are set up, seem like he's rebelling and he's killed for it. The UED mosey in like they own the place and wipe the floor with Mengsk's petty little hegemony but completely underestimate the Zerg and what they represent. Jimmy is like the only good guy out in the world and he's one man against heaps and heaps of oppression and evil. So like, its a bad ending for sure, but the universe is bad. It's all bad. The only allies are enemies after all. Just, uh, stay away from Starcraft 2 if you're upset about Jimmy not being able to take out his vow to kill Kerrigan.

[@hungrygoriya]

I'm much later to the party if it's any consolation! It sounds like you got a very good run out of StarCraft with its story mode and the editor. I imagine there must've been quite a bit of finesse required to get things really perfect in the scenario building mode, and it's great that you have so many memories doing that sort of thing. I'm not sure how many custom levels other people made for download back then, but I imagine there must've been tons and tons. I'll see if any of these ring a bell to my husband. That would be pretty funny! You raise some good points about the story in Brood War. I suppose I just found the characters in StarCraft a lot more compelling than those in the expansion, so maybe I didn't give it as much of a chance as I should've. When you put it all down like this, it sounds pretty good! And oh noooo... others have been saying StarCraft 2 will provide some resolution but maybe it's not the one I'm looking for... uh oh...

[@CappnRob]

@@hungrygoriyaVanilla Starcraft is, on its own merits, a much more satisfying space opera epic, and Tassadar, Raynor and Fenix are top tier likeable protagonists, and Brood War does put them in the background to focus on newer, much less enjoyable protagonists (save for Artanis, he's a pretty cool guy). As for 2, it's honestly a weird mess of peaks and valleys. Wings of Liberty is a really fun romp that ultimately doesn't actually go anywhere until the very end? So you get lots of good Jimmy fun at least. Heart of the Swarm is fucking awful and has some of the worst writing I've seen in any of Blizzard's stuff, and I play World of Freakin' Warcraft. Legacy of the Void is a fuckin 9/10 for me that gives the Protoss a great arc and probably comes the closest to what you were wanting out of the Brood War story conceptually, but it is oh so stained by the Epilogue missions which are not only just boring to play, but also just kind of bring out the worst elements of all three of SC2's installments and puts them on display front and center. It's such a fucking whiplash after Void surprised me (as I went into Void expecting the worst after Swarm burned me so bad).

[@johnnyw4life]

I remember playing BGH and UMS games on dial up in my parents basement lol. Good times

[@deepstothepeeps]

That glimpse of Twinsen's Odyssey! You should do a video about that series.

[@hungrygoriya]

I haven't played Twinsen's Odyssey since I was a kid. It'd actually be pretty fun to revisit that someday.

[@chasonlapointe]

It's always great to hear when someone discovers a new series or genre of game, one of my everlasting shames as a gamer is my complete inability to play RTS games... Particularly the Blizzard ones since their lore and stories were always so good. The closest I ever got were the official tabletop RPGs (Alternity for Starcraft and D&D 3e for Warcraft) and the novels. I dipped my toes into World of Warcraft and was sad when Starcraft Ghost died as a 3rd person stealth entry to Starcraft would have been my Jam. Thanks for the great video.

[@hungrygoriya]

I don't think there's anything wrong with not clicking with a genre. I'm horrible at shooters of all kinds as well as fighting games. I don't have the patience and I'm not coordinated enough to avoid all the stuff on screen, nor do I remember controller button combos well under pressure. I'd say play what you love! It'd be great if StarCraft Ghost or something like it eventually did come out. I understand people were very excited for it and it's a shame that it didn't ever see the light of day.

[@PatGunn]

I'm not interested in Starcraft. But I'm always interested in what Hungrygoriya has to say. You could make a video about almost anything and we'd be here for it.

[@hungrygoriya]

Awww I appreciate that! I know I won't catch everyone with every video, but I played this game for four months and had a lot to say about it. Thanks for checking it out anyway!

[@MrDowntemp0]

Well this is unexpected. But I am so elated to see you start covering PC games!

[@hungrygoriya]

I've covered a few on the channel before like Fable (the point and click adventure from 1996) as well as SimTower, but this is my first real deep dive into one. Thanks for taking a chance on something new with me!

[@hpph7133]

It was funny how often custom maps had any number of scammy tricks built in only for the host of the anonymous fight to laugh at your misfortune. I did enjoy a style of map. I forget the name, but it was a silly map in which it was meant to encourage people to fight forever without consequences. It would spawn low tier creatures (usually zerglings), and all players would duke it out in the middle. Some variants allowed for upgrades based on performance (although more often than not, due to built-in scams from the host in their favor). There was an informal rule in most that when a player typed, "mass middle!" all players would join in the center with all available units. Some variantions had a script that forced all players to go in the middle when one player arrived at a beacon (by move instead of attack), so there was that strategy as well.

[@hungrygoriya]

I wish some of those custom maps had survived until nowadays so I could've experienced some people's creativity. The scenario you've described here sounds like absolute chaos and I would've loved to try that out for myself. Thank you for sharing!

[@lurkerninethousand2591]

I loved both SC 3K and SC. I remember playing them and Dungeon Keeper 2 a lot. I'm glad you enjoyed this game it's a lot of fun. I'm also glad you enjoyed using lurkers I think one of them was talking about meat sticks and Bubsy at the Lurker Den. Most of the mission failures in SC are either wrong unit type or not enough or one other which you didn't mention so I won't. I wonder if you'd ever consider trying that mission again you couldn't complete now with some reflection, I think you could do it. I'll admit more than once I said "not enough units HG" aloud but not in chat. I hope you play SC2 one day. Thanks for another great video and a great time in the streams HG.

[@hungrygoriya]

I'm sure you were yelling at the screen an awful lot during my playthrough, haha... thanks for hanging out with me during the streams. I'm glad you enjoyed the playthrough despite my skill level. I might retry that one mission sometime, but for now, it feels okay to just let it be. And I would like to try SC2 one of these days too. I wonder if I'll like it since it seems so different from the first! Time will tell!

[@GunstarHeroes777]

Been wondering when a new HG video would appear!

[@hungrygoriya]

This one definitely took a while to get together. I hope you enjoyed!

[@Dwedit]

Snoman Gaming did two videos about his introduction to turn-based Tactics Games. One of the videos is specifically about Wargroove, and the other video is about the genre as a whole. I would recommend those videos.

[@hungrygoriya]

Thanks for the info. It's amazing how many gaming channels exist that I've yet to stumble upon.

[@st1ka]

I love this game so much! If you get the chance, I recommend trying an RTS game called homeworld. I believe it launched only a year after Starcraft

[@hungrygoriya]

Ohhhh I haven't heard of this one. Noted!

[@Molandria]

33:52. to be fair, you were playing through Statcraft AND Brood War as your learning experience. For us at the time, when Brood War came out, we had been playing Syarcraft for quite a while now. Our strategies and stules refined, then Broodwar added in new units changing the dynamics. You on the otherhand had more new units to learn which honestly, is easily able to overwhelm anybody! Its a lot of units to remember. By the time of Broodwar, My Mouse and Keyboard Hot Keys were second nature to me. Yiu effectively learned one game amd immediately went on to completely change the dynamics of what you had just learned. I never thought how difficult that would be before.

[@hungrygoriya]

It was very tough in many ways for me to push through Brood War. I hadn't really thought about it this way either until you mentioned it, but you're absolutely right. There was so much to remember and not so much experience with refining strategy on my part.

[@Molandria]

@hungrygoriya Mmm i should also add, i wasmt the biggest fan of what happened to Kerrigan either. I always hoped she'd wake up, be more who she was before being so, consumed. Kind of a redemption story, over the, sequel bate. 2 was boring to me lol.

[@TheIndieOcean]

That intro! XD You've really excelled yourself with the editing and little references this time. Also, it's nice to see the horse make an appearance (include a horse, reference a horse).

[@hungrygoriya]

The intro was my husband's entire brainchild. I'd hear him cackling downstairs as it developed and grew into what it is. Bubsy in hot pursuit of some space explorers turned out to be perfect to ring in this massive project! The horse clip was so memorable for me! I loved Ultima V but good LORD were the keyboard commands hard to get into my brain! I'm glad StarCraft was more lenient with me and my gooey memory.

[@redmageviewer]

Ah, the humble RTS. While I did dabble in Starcraft in my youth. Had the shareware version of the game from my cousin and my dad refused to buy it because he would only buy a PC game if he was going to play it. So I had Age of Empires(both 1 and 2) to fall back on. I never really went through the story of Starcraft as a kid since on the shareware version I had you could only play through the Terran's campaign and that was it. But I did eventually played it about 8 years ago now just because I was curious what actually happened in the plot. Protoss have always been my favorite of the factions to play, carrier spam! Quick edit: loved the intro!

[@hungrygoriya]

Awww, well better late than never! It's nice that you eventually got to try out the game in full. Go team Protoss! And thank you very much about the intro! My husband took the reigns there and we had a great laugh as he put more and more of that together. He's just getting into video editing and I'm really proud of what he accomplished there.

[@musselbug7583]

It was such a treat catching you streaming this game and hearing your thoughts as someone who felt initially intimidated by RTS games but found so much to love in their first one. I grew up with the Age of Empires series, which had a lot more beginner friendly settings (easier AI difficulty settings, skirmishes with multiple allies, non-combat victory game modes, etc.) that allowed me to ease into the challenges of RTS gameplay over many years. Super impressive that you managed so well after jumping into the deep end with such a challenging classic RTS. If you're in the market for another classic RTS experience with just as much depth but far greater quality of life and a more relaxed vibe, I'd highly recommend giving Age of Mythology a try, as it also offers a great campaign with a continuous story, cool factions/units and excellent mission designs. If you want to try something even more interesting albiet a bit more challenging, I'd also recommend Impossible Creatures: a game where you design your army by splicing various animals together in awesome and often hilarious ways, and which has a very enjoyable story-driven campaign with a 1930s pulp-science adventure vibe.

[@hungrygoriya]

Awww thanks for saying so! I really did enjoy playing through StarCraft and Brood War, even when it was squeezing me for all I had in terms of my patience. I'm still not sure how I managed to squeak by some of the hardest missions, but I feel like Brood War trained me up to come back to StarCraft one day and really do a better job with it. Age of Empires seems like a really cool series. I've watched my husband play that a little bit and before I played StarCraft, I never had any idea what was going on! I think it's the "our world" stuff that prevented me from wanting to play it myself. Age of Mythology and Impossible Creatures eh? I'll look into those! Anything a little more relaxed might be fun now that I've put in some time with a difficult adventure in StarCraft. Impossible Creatures sounds like what I know of the game Spore, but instead you're making horrible armies of evolutionary misfits, haha... the mental picture I have about it all is great! Thanks for the recommendations and for the kind comment!

[@bazdaniels7420]

Ha! great intro :)

[@hungrygoriya]

Glad you liked it! My husband did a great job with the edits.

[@theycallmejojo6090]

Age of Empires 2 was my introduction to the RTS genre, it was probably my first major PC game after growing up with the SNES and N64. I found it an oddly zen experience just building houses and creating units but yet again I never really played competitively so I never felt the stress of finding the right build order or learning hotkeys. I was mainly focused on making my kingdom look nice before the AI shows up. It was that play style that made me gravitate towards city builders like the older Sim City games and City Skylines but I still boot up Age of Empires 2 every once in a while to get that nostalgic fix.

[@hungrygoriya]

Right on! I haven't tried any Age of Empires games, but I've watched my husband dabble in it, as well as Medieval. I'm not sure how connected those two series are, but they look indistinguishable to me when I see him playing and always get them mixed up. I feel like you and I are kindred spirits in the creation/base-building aspect. I looooved that part of StarCraft as well. Just sitting around placing buildings, seeing my little workers doing their jobs and hoping that the enemies wouldn't come and raze everything I made. I'm glad I'm not the only one that enjoys that aspect so much! I'd really like to revisit Sim City 3000 and start a new city sometime, but I think you may have inspired me to give Age of Empires 2 a try as well. If it has lots of that, it might end up being super interesting to me.

[@JGreen-le8xx]

Goriya!❤❤❤❤❤❤😄

[@David_Alvarez77]

This was a very good video! It kind of brought me back to when I played through the game back in the day. I think you are correct about the weird turn the characters and the narrative took in the expansion. I was kind of disappointed that most of my favorite characters were dead and many of them through betrayals that you could see coming a sector away or else, as you observed, by my own hand. I started out pretty sympathetic to Kerrigan and some of the more flexible minded characters, but by the end it all seemed as though maybe Judicator Aldaris was right all along.... Probably not entirely, but still. I think that there is no reason to not give turn based tactics games a try. Final Fantasy Tactics is very, very fun and while somewhat challenging, it will reward you if you give its systems a thoughtful try.

[@hungrygoriya]

Thanks so much! I hoped my experience would be a relatable one, and I'm also glad to hear that you're in agreement about the direction of the expansion's story. I've been told StarCraft 2 covers some of what I was hoping to learn about my favourite people, but I think I'm a long way out from playing that game. I've actually played Tactics since this review and adored it! I feel like my StarCraft experience translated really well to turn-based combat, and it was a huge relief actually having time to think!

[@Nextliar]

I love starcraft so much

[@hungrygoriya]

Me too! I think having been through Brood War now, I could go back to the regular game and do a lot better.

[@davidklein8608]

I find it kinda funny that you described "Desperate Alliance" as the mission that got you hooked on Starcraft and gave it praise, whereas speed runners hate that mission and I've heard it described as the worst mission in Starcraft. Starcraft also has many cheat codes. Using them can be helpful when learning the game as you can practice different strategies or just keyboard controls quickly. It also makes the game more approachable as you don't need to find a friend if you can't beat a level.

[@hungrygoriya]

If I got stuck there, it might've been a different story. I can see why speedrunners would hate it since they'd have to wait. Totally different! I wanted to try to finish the game without cheating since I don't normally use codes or skips when I play through games for the first time. I only play with what information I have from the materials supplied with the game, but that's a good point for others that might want to pick this up and not linger so long on some of the harder missions.

[@mastermaniac1911]

StarCraft's Siege Tanks are *really* satisfying. That heavy, bassy *thwooom,* and watching your opponent's buildings just disappear... exquisite! As much fun as StarCraft can be, I have a hard time keeping up with RTS games. I prefer pauseable real-time and turn-based strategies. On that note, if you've a hankering for more strategic fare, I heartily recommend the original 1994 X-Com, which has been modernized and plays like a breeze thanks to the OpenXcom source port. It's still my favorite game all these years later and I'm sad to say there's nothing else exactly like it, despite how many people have tried to recreate it.

[@hungrygoriya]

I loved that noise whenever it was coming from my side! The worst was hearing siege tanks creep up on me and destroy everything I built. I don't think I ever got used to the "stress" of StarCraft and would enjoy something a little slower paced too. It was still fun though! I'm glad I did it! X-Com you say? I should really have a look into it. My husband really enjoys the sequel, which I think is a tactical RPG? He surprisingly hasn't mentioned much about the first game. Thanks for the heads up about it!

[@mastermaniac1911]

@@hungrygoriya Yeah, the later "XCOM" games by Firaxis are pretty good for sure. The original one's a different sort of beast, though. It's a two-tier strategy, with a global map and base management, and ground-based missions in which you throw your team of guys and gals against the aliens. It's the perfect blend of complexity and simplicity. It's never overwhelming, but there's always something to think about to keep you feeling engaged. Mostly, "which cool new thing do I want to unlock next," or, "all those scouts flying around in Australia probably means there's a base there and I'd better do something about it." The newer games don't really have those simulation elements, and while not everyone misses them as much as I do, I think they're definitely a great addition to the game. If I recall, the lead designers were pushed to add them to the game because of the success of the publisher's Civilization series. Luckily, this case of executive meddling turned out great!

[@MM-gk1tm]

WORLDS COLLIDING. I had way too many emotions about these games and their plots when I was 15. After the Human and Zerg campaigns the Protoss campaign and its geometry and soothing blue light were like easing into a bath.

[@hungrygoriya]

I loved settling into the Protoss routines. I was actually really sad that they were the end of SC and the start of BW because I wanted to be able to look forward to playing as them again.

[@johnryder4577]

"... now that we've got the money for it... then we can start making some carriers OH MY GOD" The true nature of starcraft right there.

[@hungrygoriya]

Those ultralisks snuck up on me!!! You think I would've heard them coming or something, haha

[@jenniferjohnston4187]

Next up is watching recasts of the greats! If Protoss is your favorite race Snow is an amazing player to watch! Probably the best in the game right now

[@hungrygoriya]

I haven't actually watched any pro level StarCraft stuff yet, so this is a great place to start! Thanks for the suggestion!

[@jenniferjohnston4187]

@@hungrygoriya ASL 17 is currently going on so you could probably catch some recasts of those matches. Snow is absolutely dominating, I'm a Terran girl but Snow has never won ASL before so I'm really pulling for him to win. ArtosisCasts is a really good channel to watch and Falcon Paladin as well.

[@Molandria]

Hahahaha!! Im Warcraft 2, clicking the cows repeatedly resulted in them dying. So when i clicked those things in Starcraft, and they BLEW UP, I had the exact same reaction you did!

[@hungrygoriya]

I'm glad I'm not the only one that feels bad about exploding innocents. I had no idea what would happen and it hurt my feelings, haha

[@YTKeepsDeletingAllMyComments]

And here I was modding Command and Conquer Red Alert 2 so that if you killed the cows they blew up like a nuke.

[@Molandria]

@CH-cc4lf hahaha, do that in Diablo 1. hahaha. "Yep that's a cow alrig..." BOOOM

[@hisoj]

if you like this game but feel the units are too expendable you might like Homeworld. each unit lost is like a gutpunch, but the game is otherwise very newb friendly so it's extremely satisfying to play. the remaster also includes a lot of features to make micromanagement easier.

[@hisoj]

people might get angry for me saying this but Starcraft 2 also does a better job at helping players micromanage by giving you more autocast abilities. definitely worth trying.

[@hungrygoriya]

Ohhhh... I'll make a note of this! Thanks for the suggestion. Those features make it sound nice and beginner-friendly, which is what I'd love to dive into.

[@toolman4745]

I devoured StarCraft when it first came out. Then Brood Wars. Then loved StarCraft 2 even more. I've played it a few times. Fantastic games. I won't give blizzard money anymore but back in the day I bought anything they made. Great video! Loved seeing this through fresh eyes and your videos are always so well done.

[@hungrygoriya]

I think the original StarCraft is free on Battle Net if you want to play but aren't interested in supporting the company directly anymore. I've played a bit of the Diablo games and enjoyed those a lot. They really knew how to work magic back then!

[@toolman4745]

@@hungrygoriya oh for sure. Back in the day they could do no wrong

[@mikedl1105]

Star Craft was my first RTS, too. I'm still impressed with how they managed to balance 3 completely different factions. Compare to WarCraft 1 or 2 which are essentially Sprite swaps between 2 very similar factions

[@hungrygoriya]

That's what my husband was telling me. You have two essentially even factions that really don't have an edge over the other. I'm not sure how you're supposed to win unless your guy shoots first!

[@AB0BA_69]

@@hungrygoriyaIn single player WC2 you almost always win surviving long enough to: 1. Make a murder ball of 9-18 OgreMagi or Paladins 2. Using your race's magic unit for tactical wins Bonus: Spam the dwarven/goblin sappers to asplode everything. WC2 is enjoyable for mission variety, story, and world building. It's not as tactically engaging with its combat as SC2.

[@Stoonk]

Starcraft is a game I admire but find so hard to play. I bought the remastered a year ago but got filtered by the campaign, its so foreign to any other game I played. You have encouraged me to give it another shot. I do want to git gud at it and play some Koreans online

[@hungrygoriya]

Good luck with the revisit! I had a heck of a time getting to know the mechanics, but if this is your first RTS experience, there's lots of hope for you. The fact that I was able to get through the expansion (save the one mission I couldn't beat myself) is a testament that anyone can do it. I believe in you!