swlovinist
03-12-2004, 11:40 PM
Sega CD
Of all the systems, funnily enough the Sega CD holds the most nostalgia for me. It was the one system that my senior high school friends and I played for hours on end, day and day out, in rotating shifts. The enjoyment I got wasn’t from hype, it wasn’t from popularity, it wasn’t from advertising, obviously. It was sitting down and looking beyond the reviews and actually playing the game thoroughly. Me, my neon green Nikes and DayGlo Hammer pants were in game heaven.
It was the height of my Sega phase, I was nearing the end of high school and I was completely satisfied with my Genesis. The Sega CD had been out for a while but was too expensive for me to buy. Then, suddenly, Toys R Us was selling one for $100.00; which was in my price range due to my first actual job. “Can I help you to your car with that, Ma’am?” Though I didn’t know at the time the price drop was in direct correlation with their disappointing sales figures, it didn’t matter, it was only 100 bones.
I didn’t get many games, but the ones I chose were again among the best. Of all the games to start with, Dark Wizard was a rather obscure choice, but one I did not regret spending a whopping 5 bucks on the copy sitting in the clearance bin. Over one hundred hours later, and several tardy warnings from my boss, I beat the game with my friends. I remember very clearly: going to work, getting off, going to my friend’s house and pulling an all-nighter on Dark Wizard. While I was at work my friends would play. This schedule would be repeated for roughly two months. The real question was, “what are we going to play now?” The answer was chosen by my friend, Mike; who thought Eternal Champions CD, a fighting game, would be a good repose from the RPG mayhem. I thought pulling the all-night game sessions was over, however, I couldn’t have been more wrong if I said the earth was flat.
My love for the Sega CD continued through the summer after graduation and into my freshman year in college. By now I was deeply engrossed in Shining Force CD, another turn based, strategy RPG that sucked my life from me. Presently, I noticed Toys R Us was having fewer and fewer Sega CD games; and the ones they did carry were, shall we say, sub-par. I did manage to score some gem titles like Sonic CD and Lunar at rock bottom prices, but, unfortunately, this was the last time I would see bright, shiny, shrink-wrapped Sega CD games in any large number. Part of it was that I wasn’t just playing my Sega CD. I was seeing my friends less and less, and the system had started to lose its appeal (which was greatly enhanced by multiplayer fun). I still liked the system, but my interests were branching off into other areas, such as college…and the ladies.
My recollection of how I got rid of my Sega CD is fuzzy, I can only assume the event was so traumatic to me that my subconscious purposefully blocked the memory. All I know is that I have bought and sold my Sega CD collection twice, but the third time’s a charm. Several years passed and I was working at my second game store. I was able to buy a Sega CDX and Sonic CD. It rekindled my forgotten love for the system and I was able to squeeze the blood from a turnip and clean the small town I lived in out of their Sega CD games. I even went as far as trading friends for their games that swore they would never get rid of them. I assured them they would have a good home, and I still have many of the actual copies I played in high school. I am now reaching the end of completing my collection; and, although many would laugh at the system, my memories of it are near and dear to my heart.
Of all the systems, funnily enough the Sega CD holds the most nostalgia for me. It was the one system that my senior high school friends and I played for hours on end, day and day out, in rotating shifts. The enjoyment I got wasn’t from hype, it wasn’t from popularity, it wasn’t from advertising, obviously. It was sitting down and looking beyond the reviews and actually playing the game thoroughly. Me, my neon green Nikes and DayGlo Hammer pants were in game heaven.
It was the height of my Sega phase, I was nearing the end of high school and I was completely satisfied with my Genesis. The Sega CD had been out for a while but was too expensive for me to buy. Then, suddenly, Toys R Us was selling one for $100.00; which was in my price range due to my first actual job. “Can I help you to your car with that, Ma’am?” Though I didn’t know at the time the price drop was in direct correlation with their disappointing sales figures, it didn’t matter, it was only 100 bones.
I didn’t get many games, but the ones I chose were again among the best. Of all the games to start with, Dark Wizard was a rather obscure choice, but one I did not regret spending a whopping 5 bucks on the copy sitting in the clearance bin. Over one hundred hours later, and several tardy warnings from my boss, I beat the game with my friends. I remember very clearly: going to work, getting off, going to my friend’s house and pulling an all-nighter on Dark Wizard. While I was at work my friends would play. This schedule would be repeated for roughly two months. The real question was, “what are we going to play now?” The answer was chosen by my friend, Mike; who thought Eternal Champions CD, a fighting game, would be a good repose from the RPG mayhem. I thought pulling the all-night game sessions was over, however, I couldn’t have been more wrong if I said the earth was flat.
My love for the Sega CD continued through the summer after graduation and into my freshman year in college. By now I was deeply engrossed in Shining Force CD, another turn based, strategy RPG that sucked my life from me. Presently, I noticed Toys R Us was having fewer and fewer Sega CD games; and the ones they did carry were, shall we say, sub-par. I did manage to score some gem titles like Sonic CD and Lunar at rock bottom prices, but, unfortunately, this was the last time I would see bright, shiny, shrink-wrapped Sega CD games in any large number. Part of it was that I wasn’t just playing my Sega CD. I was seeing my friends less and less, and the system had started to lose its appeal (which was greatly enhanced by multiplayer fun). I still liked the system, but my interests were branching off into other areas, such as college…and the ladies.
My recollection of how I got rid of my Sega CD is fuzzy, I can only assume the event was so traumatic to me that my subconscious purposefully blocked the memory. All I know is that I have bought and sold my Sega CD collection twice, but the third time’s a charm. Several years passed and I was working at my second game store. I was able to buy a Sega CDX and Sonic CD. It rekindled my forgotten love for the system and I was able to squeeze the blood from a turnip and clean the small town I lived in out of their Sega CD games. I even went as far as trading friends for their games that swore they would never get rid of them. I assured them they would have a good home, and I still have many of the actual copies I played in high school. I am now reaching the end of completing my collection; and, although many would laugh at the system, my memories of it are near and dear to my heart.