how did you get involved with the 16bitter?

im a recent joiner of the boards - i always really enjoy reading up everyones thoughts, knowledge and opinions on my favourite console....

but ...how did you get into it in the first place?

one thing i have noticed on here is that lots of folk here are quite young....some in their early 20's - which, by a numbers game, more than likely counts you out of it from its heyday of 89 - mid ninetines... you guys are probably the PS1 generation, so how did you get into the megadrive / genesis?

i got mine back in 89 when i was about 10...cant believe it was that long ago..........*sigh*

its wicked to see theres still interest in it after all this time!!!

:)

I got my Genesis in Christmas of '93 when I was 9. I was definitely into video games prior to that, growing up on an Intellivision that was uncovered from the depths of the garage as well as having my own Game Boy and living vicariously through my friends' consoles, but it was the Genesis that truly launched my video game fanaticism. Once I first experienced a friend's model 1, it was hard to look at any non-Sega system the same way again.

As much as I love my Saturn and Dreamcast, it's those old 16-bit games I return to time and time again. Ridiculous as it may sound, the Genesis is like a part of me.

I've had a Mega Drive & CD since the 90s (I've a feeling it was 1993, but not sure; I'd've been 9 then) - still have my original machines, and they still work fine. :) I played the games I had every so often up until I went to college and lost interest for a while - a combination of seeing them for cheap in Gamestations etc, and loads of free time (uni) led to a fit of nostalgia, which morphed scarily into collecting / obsession, which still hasn't stopped. Yep.

X-mas 1992: Genesis & Sonic 2

Events that lead to this acquisition, love for Sega, and eventually here started before that point.

Summer 1992 had me stumbling upon some video game magazine and gazing at the corkscrew in the first level. Later that year I was originally asking for the "Classics" NES games (Zeldas, Metroid) but I changed my mind and asked for Genesis Core system and Sonic 2 instead.

Got it last spring because of building interest from discussions on this site, general rekindling of my retro-gaming/electronics interest, and playing games in Kega Fusion. ;) (youtube reviews contributed too -particularly MN12BIRD and Classic Game Room HD)

Through 1996 we only had a PC and NES (and Atari VCS I never saw set-up until ~2000), didn't get an SNES until Christmas of '96 iirc, used from a neighbor with about a dozen games. In fact, prior to that I don't think I'd actually played an SNES before, I think I saw it a couple times at a friend's and same for a Genesis, but never played it myself. (I think I might have tried a Genesis, but maybe not until later)
We had PC game though and I think I'd been playing X-Wing for quite a while by the time we got our SNES.

A friend of mine used to have a Mega Drive back in the early 90's. At the time I was mostly messing with 68k Macintoshes and MS-DOS PC's for my gaming needs. I used to play the MD a lot over at my friend's and we had loads of fun with it, so needless to say, I wanted one too. Sadly I didn't have the money for such luxury at the time, nor the parents willing to invest in one, so I eventually got my own Mega Drive II with Sonic 2 as late as 1995, when they were finally getting cheap. I was 11 at the time.

I've had my first MD for only about a year, before I traded it in for a PlayStation. In that year, I bought only 4 titles, the rest was all rented or borrowed. But it was enough for the MD to leave a lasting impression on me. I never regretted the transition from Sega to Sony, but I do regret giving away my MD instead of keeping it. Fortunately, I've more than made up for it now.

Can't really remember, we had one in the family as long as I can remember, but our original model had that box with something like comes with Sonic The Hedgehog on the front

At first I thought this thread was about the bitter forum member who used to post here.

I used to play Mega Drive at my friend's house back in the early 1990's. He had Sonic the Hedgehog and playing it was more awesome than losing one's virginity.

it was a christmas '96 or '97 i was 7, maybe 8. i saw a cool blue charachter running on tv. It was a spot of the Saturn i guess, and that running dude was Sonic in SonicR for sure.

So, my parents bought a videogame console for me and my brother. I think Saturn and PS1 were too much expensive, so they bought a Mega Drive. In that year i think it was much cheaper than them. I was happy for that christmas gift. i'm STILL happy for that :D

I lived in a country, where everything was wicked - electronics were mostly
imported by people themselves, not by companies. NES was never released,
we only had so called Famiclones (Dendy for the most part and Subor). Dendy
was quite a novelty even in the early 90s and Mega Drive was first available
in my town, I think, in 91-92. I got it couple of years later though.

I wanted a Mega Drive because I played Mortal Kombat II arcade machines and
knew there was a MD-version of the game : ) Mortal Kombat made me addicted
to video games and the Mega Drive is the newest console I ever owned. Since
then it was PC all the way and now I'm back to playing Mega Drive again.

My brother bought himself a Megadrive in 1989. I was about 5 then and the only other videogame console I (he) had, was a Gameboy, so this was my first time experiencing a video game in more than two colors (I didn't play a NES until a year later when I found out that one of the neighborhood kids had one).
I remember renting at least two or three games from the local video stores every week, since my brother never bought that many games. Which was cool, since it allowed me to play pretty much every game released back in the day.
I inherited his Megadrive when he moved out, along with all the games and still have them to this day.

I remember my Uncle had one when I was little and every time I went over I would play it. I remember my Mom asked me when I was little if I wanted a Genesis or a N64 I said Genesis because I loved playing it at my Uncle's and never heard of N64 at the time. I am very happy I picked genesis cause I still love it to this day.

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Originally Posted by cornacchia

I remember my Uncle had one when I was little and every time I went over I would play it. I remember my Mom asked me when I was little if I wanted a Genesis or a N64 I said Genesis because I loved playing it at my Uncle's and never heard of N64 at the time. I am very happy I picked genesis cause I still love it to this day.

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Word. For some reason, N64 games (and older 3d games in general) aren't nearly as fun to play today as games from the 8 and 16-bit era. Even though I've been totally hooked on games such as Goldeneye and Perfect Dark, now I just can't stand playing them.

It was Christmas '98. I got an awesome present: a Model 2 Genesis and Nigel Mansell's World Championship. I loved it. That's all I can remember

I got a MD somewhere in 1998 or 1999 form a dumpster, it had no games etc. in 2000 or 2001 I got some games for it (all pirate) and so things went... I also managed to use Kgen98 on my 486SX to play some MD games at 5FPS or so....

I've had a Genesis for about 3 years now, mostly got interested in due to SEGA-16, Classic Game Room & MN12BIRD, and memories of playing Ecco, Sonic, Toejam & Earl, and Streets of Rage at my friends house, I grew up w/ an SNES which I've had since '93.

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Originally Posted by TmEE

I also managed to use Kgen98 on my 486SX to play some MD games at 5FPS or so....

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Ahh, the good old days... ;)

I knew about the Genesis from video game magazines which my friends and I had gotten into for the tricks/cheat codes. I received my first Genesis as a Christmas gift shortly after it launched.

My first exposure to anything Sega and Genesis was the Sega PC line-up, including Sonic & Knuckles Collection, Garfield CITA, Sega Smash Pack Vol. 2 and Sonic CD. Those were some goooooood times... I remember playing Sonic CD on Windows 98SE via Virtual PC on Mac OS 9. It was pretty slow most of the time. I did play these games on a real Windows PC too, but sometimes I had to settle for the Macintosh.

Many years later, when I was really getting into older games, more so than I use to, I remembered the Genesis and bought a Model 2 with Sonic 1, 2, 3, Knuckles and Spinball. I'll always have not-so-fond memories of playing S&K with an RF switch AND a crappy video encoder. At the time I just figured the Genesis didn't do well on RF, so I just put up with it.

Many dozens of games, two add-ons and a lot of time later, here I am now. A very satisfied Sega convert who is staying for good. I own games for every US released Sega game system except for Pico (I don't own a real SMS, but I have the Genesis and Game Gear converters). :D

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Originally Posted by Guntz

My first exposure to anything Sega and Genesis was the Sega PC line-up, including Sonic & Knuckles Collection, Garfield CITA, Sega Smash Pack Vol. 2 and Sonic CD. Those were some goooooood times... I remember playing Sonic CD on Windows 98SE via Virtual PC on Mac OS 9. It was pretty slow most of the time. I did play these games on a real Windows PC too, but sometimes I had to settle for the Macintosh.

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My first exposure to anything Sega (hell, the very first game I ever played) was the Sega PC version of Daytona USA. Me and my brother loved it so much, and my dad even made us a steering wheel (complete with pedals and buttons) to play the game with it (I believe we also used it for a short time with Midtown Madness too)

Sega PC rules M4R14NO94. :D

Midtown Madness is also awesome, but that's off topic.

^
For sure, if it wasn't for Sega PC it wouldn't have been until recently that I had any significant time playing classic sonic titles. ;) (plus garfield and BUG!)
We didn't have daytona though.

My Mum and Dad took me into WHSmiths for my birthday is 1991 and said ive got £150 what do I spend it on Snes or Megadrive..I chose megadrive.

Before that I first played it in 89 because my nan was in charge of marketing etc for said WHSmith stores so they bundled a group of kids together in london to play with various toys and give them our rating...I was on the Sega from the time I got in too the time I left, everyone else was off playing hungry hungry hippos :D

*p.s.*

I was never normally that spoilt, but id been banging on about the megadrive for 3 years

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Originally Posted by Guntz

Sega PC rules M4R14NO94. :D

Midtown Madness is also awesome, but that's off topic.

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Yep. Other Sega PC games that I grew up with were Virtua Cop 2, Sega Touring Car Championship (I still have it, alongside my original "NOT FOR RESALE" copy of Daytona. It came with the very first PC I had. Daytona, that is), Sega Rally 2 and Manx TT Superbike (although they were the demo versions, but I still loved them)

And regarding Midtown Madness, both the first and second games are awesome. The third one I don't know since I haven't played it. Has anyone played it? If so, is it any good?

I was young, but a very prolific game player. I probably played my first game at 3 or 4 on my cousin's NES and got my own NES in Christmas of 1990 at the age of 5. My cousins got a Genesis around 93 or so and I played it every time I went over to their house. Pretty much any time I was there I would disappear for hours playing Streets of Rage 2 or Sonic 2 and occasionally other games (they had ALOT of shitty games) like Terminator 2: The Arcade Game or Spiderman/X-Men Arcade's Revenge. At the time, everyone told me SNES was just plain better, so that's what I requested sometime in 94 when I FINALLY got to upgrade my system. I have to say, SNES was the better value if you were a kid at the mercy of your parent's whims since the SNES games I happened to get were very long and usually even had battery save. Genesis, on the other hand, usually had shorter arcade style games that only work well if you can afford several and rotate around a little bit. I don't regret getting an SNES, but I'm glad I finally took another look at the Genesis after reading an article about how the Genesis was capable of faster animation.

Played Vectorman in a ToysRUs display in late '94. Begged for one every Christmas until '97. Picked one up in a pawn shop for $15 with Shadowrun in '08. History.

^ Youngsters...

I was in my teens when I got my hands on the system of my dreams: Atari VCS.

Now to the Genesis. My stepson got one for Christmas around 1993 timeframe. Hence, I played many two player games for it with him. Did not see anything special about it then. Fast forward, and I picked up a model 2 at a used game store around 2005 time-frame. I have since collected about 60 or so game carts. I still do not see the draw in the Sonic games even though I own them all...

Since as far as I can remember (very early '90's), whenever I went to visit my aunts and uncles, I'd always stop by their neighbors' house. My extended family and their neighbor are still live in the same place and neighborhood after 20+ years. Their neighbor is cool, and have pretty much become a part of the family.

The neighbor has two sons, who owned an NES & Genesis back then. They appeared to be early owners of the console, as they had "Altered Beast", "Tommy Lasorda Baseball", "Ghouls 'N Ghosts" and other pre-Sonic Genesis titles. I visited their house for years throughout the early '90's, always playing whatever Genesis games they got their hands on. Sonic 1 & 2, Streets of Rage 1 & 2, Lakers Vs. Celtics, Shadow Dancer, Target Earth, NBA Jam.......a lot of the hot games of the time.

Then, in the fall of '95 I FINALLY got my own Genny: a used TMSS Model 1 w/ a used copy of Sonic 1 (NOT FOR RESALE), which my pops bought for $65. I didn't care if it was dusty and whatnot, I was stoked as hell. Up until then, I owned an NES which I inherited from my brother, which I immediately disconnected and stuffed in a drawer. Over the next seven years (on-and-off), I was introduced to several classics while re-visiting many which I'd previously played during the early '90's.

Even though my Genesis library currently consists of Kega Fusion and a GoodGEN set (:D), I still have fond memories of those days. The Sega Genesis is the console which I've re-bought most and which I've owned the most games for.

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Originally Posted by Aarzak

Up until then, I owned an NES which I inherited from my brother, which I immediately disconnected and stuffed in a drawer.

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That's criminal...

I got mine for my 15th birthday in May of 1992. "High Definition Graphics" model 1 packed with Sonic The Hedgehog. Never got a SegaCD or 32X until the last few years. I got a Genesis because my best friend had recently bought one and I fell in love with Sonic. My other favorite games back then were Golden Axe, Starflight, and Buck Rogers: Countdown to Doomsday. I didn't play a lot of the popular games back then because I didn't really have money to buy them and I didn't read any gaming magazines because I didn't have money for that, either. So stuff like Streets of Rage, Shinobi, etc. I didn't get to play until my college days. I was also really into computer games back then (early 90's were the golden years of DOS gaming) and I could get the games for free from friends, so my PC got more attention than my Genesis. Even so, it is still one of my favorite consoles of all time, and I play mine several times per week.

Chris

I got my first Genesis from a store called Ames in NY, dunno if that store exists anymore sadly...

My best friend Jim and I went in 50/50 and got the one with Altered Beast. It was $159.99. I'll always remember that. :)

The Genny stayed at MY house though!! ;) This was I believe 1989, so that would make me 15 or 16 at the time. I moved my Master System and NES to my bedroom and the Genny stayed on the living room tv for the longest time.....

Good times.

Back when the Genesis was in its heyday ('89-'95) I had no interest in 2D gaming. In fact, I thought the Genesis was crap. In 1995, I had a Genesis only because I wanted to play the 32X add-on for the newfangled 3D polygon games that were starting to come out and replace the primarily sprite-based 2D systems. For years I only wanted the newest consoles with the latest technical advances.
Then in 2001, I saw Metal Slug X being showcased on the PS1 in a Gamestop. I was blown away how cool a 2D game could look and play. I thought this must be the tip of the iceberg concerning 2D games. I must have missed out big time by passing over the 2D games of old. This led me to acquire not only a PS1 copy of Metal Slug X but also a Neo-Geo AES so I could play its sequel Metal Slug 3. For years, I enjoyed the Metal Slug series snatching up their compliations on the PS2.
In 2003, I fell in love with another genre in 2D gaming, the beat 'em up, in the amazing title Viewtiful Joe. I loved the smooth side-scrolling action and began to research the genre on the internet. Time and time again, I saw that many considered the Streets of Rage series to be the very best beat 'em ups in existence. I hesitated believing this because it was on that ancient system I disliked called the Genesis. ;) However, because I was so hungry for more games in the beat 'em up genre, I finally bought a CIB copy of Streets of Rage 2 off Ebay and a Genesis at a local gamestore. At the time, (2006) I thought I was crazy for giving the Genesis a chance.
At first I was very disappointed with SOR 2. Quite frankly, after playing the latest stuff on Xbox 360, the game looked ancient to me. (Appreciating the look and feel of Genesis games was an acquired taste for me). I put it aside for months and was on the verge of selling it when I decided to give it just one more chance on my big screen TV. This time things clicked in a major way. The gameplay was smooth and the graphics looked a crapload better on the big screen. From then on I was hooked soon picking up and enjoying its sequel SOR 3.
After this I started doing research on the Genesis libraray of games on Youtube, watching gameplay videos and gradually becoming impressed with other titles like Strider, Rocket Knight Adventures, Sparkster, Dynamite Headdy and Two Crude Dudes. However in January 2009, the floodgates of my passion for the Genesis really exploded. From then until now I've acquired some 100 CIB Genesis titles off Ebay and a local gamestore. I've been a hardcore Genesis/megadrive collector ever since and I'm still riding the crest of my enthusiasm for this awesome system.

Great read, great post!

:cool:

I remember having a 3D0 that I bought from a kid outside the Electronics Boutique in the mall. ha I gave him $40 for the GoldStar model and about a dozen games, among them Killing Time! :D

I must have owned dozens of Genesis' over the years, and hundreds of games...great system and great (drunken/stoned) memories...:)

I remember my father buy me a imported megadrive from japan in early 1989, i dont remember if was a pack, but it come with altered beast

In 1992 i shell the megadrive to a friend, and buy a new one, that come with sonic (maybe a japanese sonic pack megadrive...)

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Originally Posted by Mark Robert

Back when the Genesis was in its heyday ('89-'95) I had no interest in 2D gaming. In fact, I thought the Genesis was crap. In 1995, I had a Genesis only because I wanted to play the 32X add-on for the newfangled 3D polygon games that were starting to come out and replace the primarily sprite-based 2D systems. For years I only wanted the newest consoles with the latest technical advances.
Then in 2001, I saw Metal Slug X being showcased on the PS1 in a Gamestop. I was blown away how cool a 2D game could look and play. I thought this must be the tip of the iceberg concerning 2D games. I must have missed out big time by passing over the 2D games of old. This led me to acquire not only a PS1 copy of Metal Slug X but also a Neo-Geo AES so I could play its sequel Metal Slug 3. For years, I enjoyed the Metal Slug series snatching up their compliations on the PS2.
In 2003, I fell in love with another genre in 2D gaming, the beat 'em up, in the amazing title Viewtiful Joe. I loved the smooth side-scrolling action and began to research the genre on the internet. Time and time again, I saw that many considered the Streets of Rage series to be the very best beat 'em ups in existence. I hesitated believing this because it was on that ancient system I disliked called the Genesis. ;) However, because I was so hungry for more games in the beat 'em up genre, I finally bought a CIB copy of Streets of Rage 2 off Ebay and a Genesis at a local gamestore. At the time, (2006) I thought I was crazy for giving the Genesis a chance.
At first I was very disappointed with SOR 2. Quite frankly, after playing the latest stuff on Xbox 360, the game looked ancient to me. (Appreciating the look and feel of Genesis games was an acquired taste for me). I put it aside for months and was on the verge of selling it when I decided to give it just one more chance on my big screen TV. This time things clicked in a major way. The gameplay was smooth and the graphics looked a crapload better on the big screen. From then on I was hooked soon picking up and enjoying its sequel SOR 3.
After this I started doing research on the Genesis libraray of games on Youtube, watching gameplay videos and gradually becoming impressed with other titles like Strider, Rocket Knight Adventures, Sparkster, Dynamite Headdy and Two Crude Dudes.

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Wow. That's a pretty interesting perspective and experience. Quite unique and cool :D Pretty different than most of us.




Oh, and nice sexual innuendo there ;)

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However in January 2009, the floodgates of my passion for the Genesis really exploded.

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I got my genesis during christmas of 91, it was the model 1 with sonic the hedgehog included as a packin. before that I had only played nes and the original gameboy, after playing sonic for the first time I was addicted to the genesis and still play it to this day.

I was introduced to gaming from one of my cousins back in 89, and my cousins were total dicks because they would never let me anywhere near their NES. So one day my sister got sooo fed up with them that she grabbed me and took me down to the nearest Toys R Us. Once we got there she said she was gonna buy me my first real console and to choose as many games as I wanted. Once there one of the employees told me that Sega had just released the most amazing console ever and directed me to the Genesis and completely fell in love with it at first sight. So at that point my sister was like its your and I proceeded to pick up Ghouls 'n Ghosts, Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle, Thunder Force 2, Space Harrier 2, and Last Battle. I also got a second controller, and the guy there helped me pick out the Master System converter, with Master System controllers and 5 more games also an extra Genesis controller. Since then I have only stuck with Sega and to this day even if I own PS3 I still go back to my faithful Genesis and use it more than any other system.

Did you let your cousins play it?

Chris

I was 15 when I purchased my first Genesis system back in 1990. I read all the major magazines at the time and when the news of Sega's 16 bit machine started entering the pages along with photos of the different launch games, I was hooked. I loved the arcade and many of these games looked as if Sega had plucked them from their particle board cabinets and somehow shoehorned them into a cartridge. Unfortunately, my family just moved to a new town and jobs were slim pickings at the time (at least, ones that wouldn't shaft teenage workers and find ways to skirt around child labor laws) so I couldn't get a machine at launch.

When the summer of 1990 rolled around, I became a grounds keeper at a local resort. My parents never liked me "blowing" my money willy-nilly on stuff (like most teenagers do) but I had told them I was going to use my last paycheck of the season to buy a Sega Genesis along with Golden Axe. This is what I wanted and they accepted that. End of August came about, good paycheck landed and it was off to the store. I was thoroughly blown away when I got home and hooked the system up to my TV. I even played with headphones plugged into the system to get that stereo sound Sega touted. Thanks to a video store in the next town renting Genesis games, I was pretty much set. I enjoyed the system so much that I even got a Sega CD a couple years later and paid full price with my tax money.

Over the years, my interest in the little black box would go up and down like a roller coaster. In the years since I've owned and sold about 8 systems (including a CDX) along with 3 or 4 Sega CD systems. My collection would also be sold off only to be rebuilt later. Currently, I've got my "original" set up again-a Model 1 original Genny with a Model 1 Sega CD and all the games I liked the most and I don't intend on getting rid of them this time.

My parents had my Genesis before I was born. I used to watch my dad play whatever games I had. The original six were Sonic 1, Sonic 2, Risk, Warlock, Wheel of Fortune, and New Horizons. Then, we got a PlayStation and the Genesis faded into the attic.

I still played many video games. Then, a few friends got me into retro gaming. It started with Nintendo, and then a Super Nintendo. Then, one of my friends talked about Herzog Zwei and how it was rare. I told him about New Horizons, and then I learned of its rarity. After searching through a crowded attic for a month, I found it and all of the games I had for it. Then, I started collecting.