My gaming love for the Sega Genesis video game console

If I was to be stuck with choosing one system to play for the rest of my life between my Atari, NES, Sega Genesis, Super Nintendo, N64, Gamecube, PS2, PS3, Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii, I would choose my Sega Genesis. I would know what games I would take as well. This is a pretty far fetched scenario but in discussing with fellow gamers and my gamer son, this would be my choice. I love many systems by the way but most of my teen years were spent primarily on the Sega Genesis. When the Sega Genny came it out it blew away the 8 bit NES system. For the next few years some of the best graphic games were produced at that time by Sega.

I'm a 2d gamer and some of you out there are thinking those systems are lame. Well, my young boys if they aren't playing the Wii will also choose the Sega over the SNES and N64 so it's not too lame. My middle boy loves Sonic with a passion. The Sega revolutionized my favorite genre of games which are RTS which means Real Time Strategy though I am a fan of many genres: action, shooters, rpg's, etc. Can we all say together Dune the Battle for Arrakis and Herzog Zwei? These games revolutionized RTS on a console system. Besides Sonic who doesn't love Double Dragon, Shinobi, Streets of Rage, General Chaos, Golden Axe. Those are a lot of good games but I'm not done yet: Contra Hard Corps/jeez that game was hard, ToeJam and Earl, Earthworm Jim, Mortal Kombat, Boogerman, Earth Worm Jim, Phantasy Star and the list goes on and on. Now there are a ton of good NES and SNES games but I can also list dozens of real crappy ones. With the Sega the games overall made for better gameplay with less duds.

Sega also had the best commercials. Cutting edge and cool. Off the top of my head the tagline was for many: "Genesis does what Nintendon't" They had the graphics to pull it off as well and you would have to be blind to not realize how much cooler the Sega was. I am not talking smack about the NES because that is the first system that I received and drew me into video games. Great memories of many games on the NES and SNES. So please no attack by NES/SNES lovers because I'm one of those as well. How cool was the top loading design? That sealed the deal for me. How many of us played our NES and for no apparent reason the game would freeze or just a little bump could freeze the game? You were almost done with Contra and wham, I remember yelling in gamer frustration when that happened. Getting the darn cartridge to work on the NES was another chore in itself, the blinking red light and blinking screen, aarrgghhh. Insert in this way, take it out and blow on the cartridge strategically, put it back in and maybe if I wiggle it to find the sweet spot it will play. Oh no, the game just froze up. With the Sega it was less blowing and less freezeups. You wonder why NES developed the toploader later on and the SNES was a top loader, lol. The controllers were heaven compared to the NES. Those little square controllers on the NES caused me to have corner imprints/blisters from their edges.

If I could choose only 4 games for the Sega they would be: Dune the Battle for Arrakis, Mortal Kombat 2, Battle Toads/Double Dragon and the Sega Genesis 6-Pak which has 6 games on it like Sonic, Shinobi, Street of Rage, Columns, Super Hang-On and Golden Axe. I cheated in a way because a couple of these games have more than one game on it but they are on one cartridge so it counts. Anyways, if you have a Sega Genesis take it out of storage and give it some gaming love. If you have never owned one it is a great for you to play as well as your kids. Cartridges are almost indestructible and not like the flimsy discs where they get scratched and snap easily. You can pick up a Sega online with a couple games for about 30 dollars. Sega Genesis games are also the cheapest, besides the Atari, as a whole in comparison to the NES and SNES. Enough about my love for the Sega, I hope you enjoy it as much as my family and I do.

All photos pictured are my own personal photos.

As a father I feel obligated to say that you must keep a handle on how much time you let your children play. My parents did and it was a reward to be able to spend an hour or two playing games. Homework first, kids. There are a lot of good gaming systems and as long as you have fun that is the most important part. Gaming can improve reading and improve your child's coordination and reflexes. Again, let them play age appropriate games. With the older games it is much easier because they pale in comparison to some of the graphic games today of sex, drugs and carnage. Side note, never neglect your spouse when playing a game because they will get mad and you do it too many times and you will be sleeping on the couch for the night, lol but seriously human relationships are more important than games. That is real life.

I'm an old school gamer but that doesn't mean I think newer games and systems are stupid. If the truth was to be told, I'm not great at the newer games. I have had a much harder time transitioning from 2d to 3d games. I love Super Mario Galaxy and Super Smash Bros, etc but I regularly get beat down by my son. Often the games of our youth hold a big sentiment in our lives and for nostalgic value we bond with a certain system or two. Games are more enjoyable playing with a friend or family member. Some of my fondest memories are playing Mortal Kombat/ Super Street Fighter 2 for the Genny and TMNT 2 on the NES with my best friend. But we grow up and become older gamers living in the past quite often with the games and systems that hold a special meaning to us. Those growing up playing the PS3/Xbox for the majority of their youth will probably feel about those systems as I do about mine 20 years from now.