Games I Was Stuck With as a Kid

We all went through it. Being at the mercy of someone else buying our games for us. These games are some of my most vivid early memories of going to the store and haggling with my parents for the best game. Often it would mean pulling games that were heavily discounted, and that meant it was almost always a crap shoot.
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Thanks for watching!

[@chadhigdon1386]

awesome you are releasing videos more often. i cant get enough of this channel. this makes 3rd shift tolerable

[@stepheng8061]

Chad Higdon hey bud I work second shift this week and I've been binging sega lord x during the day when I'm home alone

[@princegroove]

Lol I keep myself entertained working that shift, too.

[@royoncelluloid4813]

Lol

[@scramblesthedeathdealer]

Me too. Working 6 PM to 6 AM seems to go so much faster. Unfortunately, a lot of the time I'm forced to just listen to the audio, as I'm running machines, but it's still entertaining and informative. Now I just gotta go through each video and leave a like for whichever ones I wasn't able to with my phone in my pocket.

[@cheesybread6135]

I kinda got lucky as a kid, I was allowed one game a year for christmas and in '91 my parents bought me Sonic(bundled with console), Streets of Rage 2 in '92, X-Men in '93, and WWF Raw in '94.

[@SegaLordX]

Not a bad line up at all.

[@dougr.8653]

Three videos from Sega Lord in a week? YES!

[@Prizrak-hv6qk]

I got "stuck" with Revenge of Shinobi as my second Genesis game (after Sonic). Knew nothing about it, but the box looked so cool at a pawn shop and I convinced them to let me trade 3 NES games for it. The game ended up being a lot better than the box and is still one of my favorites!

[@miamiheat33162]

Awesome background music again. Revenge of Shinobi, China Town theme! 👍👍👍

[@SegaLordX]

Gotta rock those tunes everywhere.

[@marcusgreene8434]

This video came at the right time as I was getting ready to get off work. You were not the only one that got Bargain Bin games: Pac-man, Popeye, Pitfall my only 2600 games. That video definitely took me back to my childhood!

[@SegaLordX]

Yeah, those early days were tough. Bargain bins or bust according to my parents.

[@dannys1392]

When my parents finally got me my Sega Genesis from an electronics store chain called Adrays, it was the happiest day of my then childhood. It was the one bundled with Streets of Rage 2 and funny thing was that was the only game I ever owned for my Genesis when I was a kid. I grew up same as SLX so I feel the pain man lol

[@goatbone]

Great topic. I feel like so many gamers have had a similar experience. I got my NES after the SNES was released but I discovered so many great games in second-hand stores.

[@spartansfan1026]

Your Atari story reminded me of my mom's. She said that my grandpa bought the family a VCS for Christmas 1979. He played it a bit at first, but it ended up being shared between my mom and my aunt and uncle for over a decade. They were working class, so they didn't get many games (getting a console at all was almost unreal for them) and had to choose wisely, rotating between themselves to make a selection. Of course, it was basically always a guessing game trying to find one that didn't suck, and whoever chose poorly wouldn't hear the end of it until the next game was purchased. They also lived far outside of any town or city, so visiting arcades or renting games was extremely unusual for them. In any case, given how simple the games were, they were treated as more of a diversion than anything, like playing Donkey Kong for 15 minutes before going to work or school. It certainly wasn't a great console but my family has a lot of memories associated with it.

[@Thor-Orion]

There are a handful of games that are addictive and solid time sinks if you wanted them to be. Space Invaders and Berzerk are well regarded.

[@Lhead88]

Keeping this short but, I was fortunate enough that my dad played games and was the one who got me into them. I was lucky growing up for it. We did have a Sega master system as well and he got it on clearance only knowing Atari prior. It was great we did have about 15 games zillion 1/2 fantasy zone and the maze Astro warrior a few more. I was the only kid besides 1 other that had a few systems thanks to my dad. Unlike today's internet age with information at your Access whenever. In the 90s nobody knew of the SMS really all my friends except for 1 knew of a sms. They all assumed the Genesis was the first.

[@Lhead88]

@John F30 alot of dos games where great we did get an IBM 286 back in like 94 but, It was used and had windows 3.1 still useful but compatible games where harder to find. Most games that ran higher end couldn't do sound so it wasn't untill years later that I realized games like bio hazard it's an old apogee game like Duke nukem had music and such I could only run it with sound effects.

[@jacksonsignal170]

My poor grandmother purchased so many LJN games for my cousin and I

[@weston407]

no joke!! same here!! Jaws? that was a great movie, must be a great game!!!

[@darthv72]

2600 still holds a special place in my heart and collection. I'm 46 now and I still like to look in the bargain bins from time to time. Some games just want to be played.

[@VBshredder]

Great topic! One of my favorite bargain bin pickups was Final Lap Twin on TG16. Was expecting a mediocre racing game, and got a mediocre racing game but with a really cool RPG that i spent tons of time enjoying!

[@tcgamingtimes999]

Though in a different era, I empathize with having few games as a kid. It's interesting how well we adapt when we're young and play stuff endlessly because we have to. This was great, SLX--I would love to see more videos focused on circumstances like this

[@jeremycline9542]

It was always exciting, in the early eighties, when we piled into the station wagon for the 20-mile trek to Toy'r'us in Waterbury, Connecticut. Our objective...Atari games. Nine times out of ten, they sucked and were barely played ever again. A few years later, my dad and brother took care of most of the choices when it came to buying Master System, then Genesis, then Sega CD games. And for the most part they chose well. The Sega CD was particularly disappointing at first with the horrible FMV launch titles, but, little by little, my brother built up a collection that included Time Gal, Lunar, Ecco, Sonic CD, etc., and it was destined to become one of my favorites of all time. So much so that I don't call Sega CD an add-on, but a "system".

[@lurkerrekrul]

Connecticut? Me too! Not Waterbury though. :)

[@jeremycline9542]

Let me guess: Lurkville, near Himtoo Falls?

[@lurkerrekrul]

Actually, Bridgeport when I was little and Milford, ever since. I'm on the lower edge of the state, probably less than a mile or two from the beach.

[@caseyhayes4590]

If you had good taste, Sega CD had 10-20 games just as good as SNES or Genesis best all on its own.

[@youisiaint]

I had Sonic CD, Final Fight CD (which was an exact arcade port), and Popful Mail. Popful Mail to this day is one of my favorite games of all time and it's the only Sega CD game I still have.

[@jamesmandahl444]

One of the few game channels that saw it and played it as a young man. Good shit homie. Not many others like you out there. Keep it up!

[@ravagingwolverine]

I was mesmerized by video games at a very early age when I was given access to the 2600. I didn't love a lot of the games, just like you, but I loved the concept of video games even then. But it was the NES and Master System that started to deliver great experiences. I got a Master System years before a NES, but ended up stuck with some games as well, for various reasons. I had Pro Wrestling as well. It played so oddly, but I figured out how to enjoy it. I even learned how to deal with the harder modes where to computer always used that fast running body attack. I also had Altered Beast. It was a consolation prize after seeing it on the Genesis when it first came out. I was also too young to realize how poor it was, so I really loved it and got good enough to beat it at will. It was probably one of the earliest games I ever beat. Your story with Rygar is cool. It wasn't easy to stumble onto a game that turns out to be worthwhile in such a scenario. I remember when Beyond Good & Evil came out, it was marked down to 10 bucks a few weeks after it came out and I jumped on it for Gamecube. That's probably the closest experience I had, though the context was quite different.

[@SegaLordX]

I got so good at Pro Wrestling that I would just lure the CPU out the ring, beat him until he was counted out. Next match.

[@Slamgod]

Wow! You hit home with this one. Played a lot of Atari at friends, and my sisters places, but the NES was my first console, and I pretty much roasted it on 3 games. Two of them borrowed! But I was lucky enough to borrow Castlevania, and that’s were my story starts. I am assuming this is some of the older content you described in the 10,000 subscriber vid because their hitting so quick. Enjoying the hell out of them! 😃👍🏻. Again, love the down to earth, no holds barred content, man. Rocking all things Sega, and loving it!!! Keep up the great work, and “I WILL catch you next time!” Now to go find me a shirt.

[@SegaLordX]

Yeah, I have a little more free time atm to finish up vids that have been languishing in the "almost finished" state.

[@akalyx]

love this channel so much... i grew up poor and my brothers and i had to make the best of what we had. sometimes it kills me to hear reviews of games that i have fond memories of, not because the game was "good" but because the company of my brothers made it good.

[@scatalabad]

Awesome video. My birthday was in January so I was able to get a game just after Christmas. My first console was the Master system, so I got golden axe that january. I grew up with the Zx spectrum, so this was an amazing upgrade. Shortly after I sold everything I had to get an Amiga 500, this would allow me to be creative and my dreams turned towards being an artist working on games. My first game that I would work on was Pete Sampras 96 on the megadrive. I ended up a few years later working for Acclaim and found out that the game NBA Jam TE (Genesis version ) was made in my home town of Middlesbrough.

[@jcchaconjr]

As much as many people bash the Atari VCS (yes, this was before the name "2600" became commonplace), I actually enjoyed mine as a kid. I bought my own in 1978 after a Summer of mowing lawns, and between the money left over and my allowance, was able to get a few more games. For what the VCS lacked in visual prowess, it really made up for decent gameplay when the designers got it right. I could never get enough of Breakout and Night Driver, which were two of my early purchases, along with Basketball. Of the three, Basketball was the one I played least, becasue of how basic the one on one gameplay was. For their time, the other two looked and played a lot like their arcade counterparts. Heck, you could even say that Breakout looked even BETTER, since it was in color. For what it was, Adventure's gameplay was actually quite clever. It's with good reason that the game is endearing, even to this day. Of course, there is probably no game in my Atari library that I played more than Space Invaders. You probably had to be there; it truly was a system seller at the time - and again, as big and blocky as the aliens were compared to the original, they truly nailed the addictive gameplay. Other games I enjoyed immensely: Dodge 'Em (a port of Sega's Head On), Missile Command, Asteroids, Super Breakout, and Circus Atari, and still liked games like Indy 500, Human Cannonball, and even Combat when friends came over. So yeah, my library was small, but I enjoyed the hell out of it... I went so far as to re-acquire a heavy sixer a few years ago in fantastic shape with 9 of the 11 original gatefold releases - all at the epically awesome sum of $80. I even managed to get back the library I so fondly remember. I know - it probably wasn't for everyone - but I enjoyed it for what it was, and got many hours of entertainment out of it, until my next purchase. My Sega Master System!

[@SegaLordX]

The 2600 wouldn't come into my life until I was 8 or so, and I had already been in love with arcade games. Having had an arcade a block away growing up spoiled the hell out of me, and the 2600 just wasn't an acceptable substitute. Many kids weren't so lucky, so I totally understand how the 2600 impacted their life radically different.

[@jcchaconjr]

Oh, I used to go to the local Bowling Alley with my Dad on his league night every week (which had a pretty up to date arcade), so I was well aware of how awesome arcade games were... But I guess I was a philosiphical kid. I mean, if it cost me $200 to get the Atari VCS (not counting the games), then I figured that the arcade machines had to cost a Bajillion dollars each to look that good, lol. So, I just appreciated what I had on its merits, and had plenty of fun along the way. :)

[@jcchaconjr]

DejaVoodooDoll I’ve got to agree - I still remember vividly how amazing and colorful the bricks in Breakout looked.

[@phillipmartinez2436]

The 2600 is great but some of us got the 2600 as a hand me down. Street Fighter 2 had come out in arcades when I got it. I was supposed to be great full. Being made fun of and seeing everything being better than what you where stuck with can scar a kid.

[@mr.vidjagamez9896]

The 2600 is a great social system, even now a days if you and your chums can appreciate the games on it. You may not be glued for hours with a lot of the titles if you are playing solo, but stuff like Combat and Outlaw can make for surprisingly long game play sessions with other people, especially if you are all particularly competitive. Even 1 player stuff is quick enough that passing back and forth for hi-score tournaments is good fun.

[@AlexEinherjar]

This one hit close to home since I wouldn't get many games as a kid for similar reasons. Also congratulations on the narration, I think this video was nicely scripted and I'll be watching more of your content.

[@bananonymouslastname5693]

So many similar stories swarm in my brain that are just too long for a comment box... great stuff. I loved Rygar so hard on the NES, and even played through it again as recently as this last Tuesday night. One of the best things I did to improve my enjoyment of the Atari 2600 was to build an arcade stick with real arcade stick and buttons for it. The improved responsiveness over those spongey stock sticks gave games like Solar Fox a new life.

[@SegaLordX]

The 2600 controller definitely sucked, so I can see that helping immensely.

[@slamjackson2137]

Surprised to hear your take on the 2600. It was my first walk with video games as well (born in 1990, it was a wedding gift for my parents in the early 80s lol). We eventually got a second hand SNES for Christmas of 95 (Donkey Kong Country, Aladdin, Mario All Stars, F Zero), which was a dream come true, but man my nostalgia for the 2600 is strong. It was my humble introduction to the world of video games and left a MAJOR impression on my young psyche. I’m still very nostalgic for things up to my early teen years but the early 90s is about as deep and heady as it gets. Still collect games for it. Thanks for the video.

[@adewilson132]

wow you were way behind the times if you were playing atari 2600 and you were born in 1990. Im only 2 years younger than you and the first system i played was N64.

[@saysbadman]

This would make a pretty good series. One game I remember being stuck with was Time Lord for the nes. I played it for a month, and I never knew what was really going on

[@CasperEgas]

Cool subject for a video. I started with a Commodore 64 and had lots of games for it (they were cheap). Later I got a Master System and the games were much more expensive, and as a little kid, I had to stick with a small library and ask my brother for tips on which games would be fun (and weren't full price anymore). I had Alex Kidd in Miracle World, Shinobi, Sonic, Sonic 2, Dragon Crystal, Super Tennis, Golden Axe, Golden Axe Warrior, Miracle Warriors, Populous and Heroes of the Lance. I think in hindsight we picked really good games.

[@SegaLordX]

You made em good regardless. Enough playing will make you appreciate most games as long as they aren't completely broken.

[@viewtifuljoe99]

Ahhh the bargain bin. I think you struck on a few things people forget about: having poor options due to either the bargain bin or being a fan of a system not carried in most stores. I personally grew up in a family with parents that refused to ever buy me a video game. Because of that I stayed a generation behind and would buy old copies at the local rental store they were removing in preparation for the n64/ps2/etc with my own money.

[@SegaLordX]

That's why I wanted to do this episode. Everyone's experience is so different with games, and those experiences always dictate how one feels about things. Those stories are often as interesting as the games themselves.

[@lurkerrekrul]

My grandparents were the first in the family to get a video game console, which was the self-contained Atari Video Pinball. Since they always lived below us, I could go down and play it any time I wanted. Eventually my parents got one too. It was the only video game system my father ever played and that was only because it was a novelty at the time. Then my grandfather got a Sears brand Atari 2600 and for months, I played Air Sea Battle against him. He slowly bought more cartridges for it, like Combat, Street Racer, etc. The following year my parents got me my own Atari 2600. We weren't rich, but they always managed to get me a few games each Christmas and my birthday. After a few years with the Atari, I got a C64 for Christmas. I only had the tape drive for the first year, but I had a few games on cartridge. Once I got a disk drive the following year, I was able to start copying games from other people. That trend continued to the Amiga a few years later. I saw my share of crappy games, but I really don't remember having all that many really bad ones. And even the bad ones provided some entertainment. I didn't have much to compare them to because there were no arcades close to my house and I only rarely got to play arcade machines. They were typically older ones in department stores, or at the local miniature golf course.

[@MisterDozer]

Wow thanks for talking about and showing Demon Attack! I totally forgot I used to have that game, the sound effects sparked that memory.

[@SegaLordX]

Those sounds were unforgettable.

[@KevinRodriguez-cm7uh]

As always thank you brother for another awesome video.....always learning somethng new!

[@TheExistentialNerd]

I have a HUGE soft spot for the old Atari VCS/2600. I have built up a reasonable collection over the years. Your choice in games for this video are among my favorites. Most of mine came from yard/garage sales due to everyone upgrading to the NES. We would literally have about 5 2600's hooked up through the house because they were dirt cheap. And yeah, we had a slew of crap games, but we also had a HUGE selection of great ones.

[@mellecompte4163]

That KayBee discount table! For a teen nerd like me, twice a month I'd be there hunting down 2600, 5200, and Coleco games. Found some great stuff. Memories :)

[@j.goggels9115]

Started with Donkey Kong, ended up as Sega Lord X. Cause - Consequence 😂

[@sonicmario64]

I totally understand how you feel about not having many video games when you were a kid, since my childhood was pretty much the same way, and I was only able to play what I could get. The only games on the NES I ever owned as a kid were "Super Mario Bros + Duck Hunt", "Dr. Mario", and "The Adventures Of Lolo".

[@SegaLordX]

Yeah, we made do though. You played, borrowed, rented, and traded to get the best you could get.

[@imyanigmw]

Man, you brought back some memories. Being born in 1980, the Atari 2600 was my first console too. My brother and I ran Jungle Hunt, Real Sports Boxing, Pinball, ET, Mario Bros., Endure, Joust, Kangaroo, Defender, Asteroids, Journey Escape, Tank Combat, Pac-Man and alot of other bullshit into the ground until we finally got a Nintendo, which by that time, the Genesis would damn near be released. Good times though. Growing up on those early consoles and having to beat games before save state features really make you appreciate what's out now.

[@bigmacok]

When I saw Demon Attack on the intro screen I was about to get angry. I loved that game and I recommended it 2 weeks ago to a couple looking at Atari games. I was glad to hear how much you and your father enjoyed it.

[@ACLMSC]

Great segment! I purchased Rygar from Toy R Us. The front of the box looked stupid, however, the back looked great. I took a chance and got one of the best games for the NES.

[@ofonruiz]

Dude, you had it really though. I was lucky enough to get all kind of games since the Atari 'till the genesis while dependent of my parents due to rentals and exchange with friends.

[@poncho828]

I will definitely be supporting you on patreon. I have been a long time subscriber and I know you work really hard to put out the great content you produce. I know you your channel has grown a lot since I first found it, but already you are one of my favorites and I am subscribed to many other channels.

[@SegaLordX]

Thank you. I'm really trying to take the channel to a new level as of late. Everything helps that happen.

[@poncho828]

@@SegaLordX I am now a proud patreon supporter of sega lord x!

[@WickedElement]

My dad and I started with the atari 2600 and the Intellivision. We had a ton of games for both because of the crash. Good times. Love your vid and can totally relate. Luckily, I had a lot of older cousins that had the latest consoles growing up so I got to try the SMS, Genesis, tg16, SNES, sega cd, before I gifted or bought my own later on. :)

[@DreamcastQ]

Another fantastic video, great content as always! Man I hear you about Demon Attack, growing up in the 80s/90s I always wished my dad would try video games, he wasn't interested. We always used to bond over NFL but suddenly now he refuses to watch it because "Murica" :\ I grew up a huge Niners fan, met Joe Montana and he signed my jersey, hanging on the wall now!

[@SegaLordX]

Living the dream, brother. I wish I could have met Montana. Still my favorite player ever. Nobody could top Joe Cool.

[@DreamcastQ]

He was very laid-back and friendly. Great times watching him win! He always made it look easy.

[@TheRealElJugo]

I too was limited by cash as to what games I ended up owning. Games like Ka-ge-Ki, Two Crude Dudes and Insector X were the games I was stuck with. Also kudos to the Rygar shoutout. A fantastically underrated gem that doesn't get the love it deserves. Luckily I also lucked into a cheap copy of Shadowrun Sega, and I got a ton of replay out of it.

[@ronindebeatrice]

This is a great idea. I loved my 2600. Everything I owned until my Genesis was chosen for me from flea markets.

[@SegaLordX]

Haha, yet we persevered.

[@Fattydeposit]

Ah Jaws on the NES. The contract game made by Westone without which there might never have been the later Wonderboy games or Aurail arcade cabinet. I could never hate out of principal.

[@pferreira1983]

You control Lance Guest. By default it's an awesome game.

[@ryzmaker11]

I like Space Harrier II! I discovered the game only circa 2010 but still had a blast with it. Awesome pixel art and soundtrack, OK gameplay plus I like the fact that they kept the same unmistakable checkered floor as the original game. People do a mistake when they compare it to the arcade (but even when doing so, it's not bad) because it must be compared with Space Harrier on Master System instead and now you realize what it's supposed to be, the genuine qualities of the game as well as the technical gap from 3rd gen ("8-bit era") to 4th gen ("16-bit era"). I mean, Space Harrier II was one of the Mega Drive two launch titles, we're talking about 1988 stuff here so as such, it's quite impressive. And talking about this, this is something that I love and which particularly stands out with Sega's consoles: the complementarity between those. Space Harrier on Master System and then Space Harrier II on Mega Drive, The Lost Vikings on Mega Drive and then The Lost Vikings 2 on Saturn... this kind of complementarity that makes going from one game to another, from one generation to another, even more enjoyable! And sometimes you have some huge generation jumps as with Elevator Action on SG-1000 and then Elevator Action Returns on Saturn... btw that Pro Wrestling game on Master System seems pretty fun, I gonna try it.

[@lvitntnmrcls]

I’m so glad I found this channel!!!

[@ProBreakers]

I had Rygar. Loved that game, one of the first I remember beating as a kid.

[@sheep83]

Necro-ing an old vid here but just catching up on your excellent content. As a UK based gamer, we were kinda lucky as everyone had 8-bit micros like the c64 and Spectrum, with the odd weirdo having an Amstrad CPC. Even full priced new releases were within reach at £9 or £10 and, because they were cassette based, once one of your friends had it, you all had it. Consoles here didn't really take off until the Megadrive, by which time I was financially independent.

[@princegroove]

Your dad was a gamer? Nice! My mom didn’t game but she would gladly buy me new games. Dude, you had the best games as a kid!

[@yellowblanka6058]

One big advantage to only owning a small collection of games as a kid is that you tended to play the shit out of those games, really got to know them inside and out, and getting a new game was really appreciated and a special treat.

[@SegaLordX]

Very true. I was grateful every single time a new game came my way.

[@caseyhayes4590]

I was pretty lucky with gifted games as a kid: NES Baseball Stars, Final Fantasy, Dragon Warrior, Mario Paint. Every other game I got either was paper route money I bought myself or right off the wishlist I put together for Christmas. Getting those four games out of the blue I hadn't asked for, and every one of them was A+...just amazing as a kid. Final Fantasy was pretty much my entire 12 year old summer.

[@BHGMediaGroup]

I got a bargain bin story for you. As kid of the 80's i was into ninja's so i had to have every ninja game for the NES. Well out of the bargain bin i get Shingen the Ruler, with it's awesome Samurai art, i get home and it's some kind of strategy game. I cried, literally cried to my mother to let me take it back but she said no. Well, i kept that game, I learned to play it, and it's one of my favorite all time NES and all time strategy games.

[@davidkennedy1077]

Well said about the 'piss poor' Atari. I'm 44 now but before I had a console my dad got numerous Pong type consoles (he used to work next door to an elctronis firm) that he used to repair after they'd been thrown out because he was an electrician. Then around 1984 our family got an Acorn Electron home computer, my friend had the 2600 and my computer was so much better. Even as a kid I always thought the Atari looked and played terrible!!!

[@davidkennedy1077]

The Master System sold really well in Europe (I'm English) and my brother had one. They were a great console and here we were never short of games. The complete reverse is true of the NES which were overpriced for the console and games and sold badly. I've always been a Sega fan and used to have a Megadrive and I class it as my favourite console.

[@davidkennedy1077]

@Karl Burnett yeah the Pong rip offs we had were a bit dire too haha!!! But as a kid you still play the living daylights out of it don't you. Before we had any video games I used to watch people play Space Invaders and (please don't mock me!) draw a game on plain paper making all the sound effects and drawing explosions haha!!! My children haven't got a clue how good they've got it nowadays!!!

[@davidkennedy1077]

@Karl Burnett congratulations and good luck (believe me, you need all you can get haha) I've got a son (7 years old) and 2 daughters (10 and nearly 3) and they all game, even my youngest on her little rubber armoured Fire (highly recommended, as she's thrown it across the room and onto a concrete floor and it's still fine) The others have Android tablets, 3DS and my Xbox but it is great having gaming in common with them and you will have the same connection.

[@davidkennedy1077]

@Karl Burnett my kids have played Megadrive, NES, original Xbox and N64 and love them, so you'll easily get them into the Retro side. Congratulations again!!!

[@davidkennedy1077]

@Karl Burnett it's a life lesson isn't it haha!!! You can never start a kid gaming soon enough and he'll love it guaranteed, plus if you're playing they play along. Good times!!!

[@dougr.8653]

The games I have most enjoyed as a kid with the Atari VCS were Enduro, Hero, Pac-Man, Bobby's going home and Snoopy's Red Baron. The ones on Master System were Shinobi, Alex Kidd in the Miracle world and the fantastic Castle of Illusion. I was too young at the time to enjoy RPGs and I didn't understand very well Phantasy Star. Years later I played it and loved it.

[@SegaLordX]

I remember Snoopy and the Red Baron. It was a pretty decent game.

[@dougr.8653]

My first console was an Atari 2600 Darth Vader version (all black plastic). After 2 years I got an NES. The difference between both was grotesque. It was a quantum leap in graphics and sound. I still remember playing Super Mario for the first time.

[@grayfox1471]

The Atari 2600 was also technology that was almost 10 years older than the NES. It should be a quantum leap after that much time passes.

[@SegaLordX]

I think ones perception of the VCS/2600 changes depending on when you actually spent time with it originally. The closer you were to the launch of the NES/SMS, the less you cared for it. The closer to its original launch date, the more.

[@grayfox1471]

That's fair and probably accurate.

[@PutlerHuyIo]

well, PS3 and PS4 are not that much different

[@GRNDZA108]

My family wasn't super well off either. I already knew that getting an Amiga like my friend around the block had was out. But the year I asked for an NES like my other friend across the street (and most of the kids at school) had, only to open up an Atari 2600 on Christmas morning, drove home that we didn't have what other families did as much as anything else. But that system was all I had, so I learned to enjoy Commando & Wrestling. Eventually I got Joust, an arcade favourite (I was so excited when I saw the 2600 version had a title screen that I ran downstairs & told my family before I even started the game, because in my mind that made it more like the games on current systems). I also snagged a couple of other really good games like Solaris, Missile Command, Defender & Asteroids. Because of course, 2600 stuff was on clearance everywhere by that point, even I could scrounge an occasional game for it. At my birthday the next fall my parents seemed to have learned from the disappointment I tried to hide the previous Christmas, and I finally got my NES. ...Which of course was right when the kid across the street got a Genesis. I thought I'd finally caught up to the rest of the kids, lol. I don't think I'd ever even heard of it. Still, the NES library could hold its own, and Batman, Ninja Gaiden, Dragon Warrior, Metroid, Tecmo Super Bowl, Destiny of an Emperor & Ninja Turtles made up some of the best memories of my childhood.

[@DrGonzo-jl9wq]

Rygar really was unknown and amazing. I’m surprised bionic commando didn’t make this list

[@erick103]

Lucky you got out of the bargain bin early on in that era. I was bargain bin hunting until 98. My entire Turbograpx and Sega library consisted of $20 games. But I gotta say I found some gold in there sometimes!

[@happyspaceinvader508]

“Bank Panic” on the Master System. The first and last video game my parents ever bought as a Xmas present. Oh how my brothers and I tried to pretend it was the greatest game we’d ever seen... but I’m sure my parents saw through our fakery. Like you, my parents were not well off, and with 3 younger brothers, Xmas presents would frequently be shared. The guilt I feel now over Bank Panic is so strong, I still play it occasionally now.

[@justin188541]

I had a Commodore 64 in lieu of a NES, Donkey Kong and PAC MAN rocked, and I got games pirated for whatever my digital "dealers" asked, which was usually like five dollars a game. Plus I got hooked on INFOCOM, as well as Uridium and Impossible Mission, Koronis Rift from LucasArts, and lots of others. I did buy some in-box games as well.

[@jacklazzaro9820]

8:03-8:09 That statement is backed up by the fact that NoA used what should be considered as *ILLEGAL* business practices.

[@SegaLordX]

They were in full force in my town. Like 2 stores had SMS games, and they were always just a handful.

[@quesocoatl21]

Yep Nintendo basically won the 8-bit wars by screwing everyone else over with monopolistic practices.

[@paulclinton6414]

@@quesocoatl21 If Sega had made Super Mario Brothers, the Master System would have sold far better.

[@pferreira1983]

@@paulclinton6414 Nintendo didn't want Sega to have anything. That was the problem.

[@williamdrum9899]

They stopped doing this after 1989 or so because it was deemed illegal iirc

[@JamesChessman]

Ooh that Chinatown song is soothing my soul, lol

[@CINNDIRELLA]

I remember when I was a kid playing the arcade version of Rygar with my brother in Argentina =)

[@teddym2808]

I'd love a remake of demon attack with power ups and killer sound track.

[@bigmacok]

You and me both! I'd pay for the kickstarter.

[@kellyashfordtrains2642]

It was the early 1990s when my sister and I got hold of Mega Drive and Master System Games. We came to kind of the same conclusion as you, except the games we had were affordable and great to play. I agree that not every SEGA game is peasy as pie to complete, but even though games like Bubble Bobble and Road Rash were a little difficult to complete, my sister and I enjoyed playing them. I'm still rubbish at racing car games: no good at taking corners without hitting the side, useless at drifting. I always laughed at my own mishaps. No use crying over spilt cartridges. I also owned the GAME GEAR console, yet it only gave me a year's worth of enjoyment. After that, it stopped working altogether. As the years went by, I got into Playstation games. I built up a collection of 14 disc games, two of which I loved a bit more than the rest. The two Playstation games I loved most were Crash Bash and Spyro: Year of the Dragon. I've got Spyro: Year of the Dragon back on the Nintendo Switch. Crash Bash hasn't made a reappearance.

[@JP-ur3pk]

Sweet another episode from one of my favorite KZbinrs

[@wilkiedriver]

Within the first few weeks we got our SNES for Christmas '92, we stumbled upon Cybernator for $20 new at Babbage's. My brother and I were stunned how cheap it was, but my mom was hesitant that we would spend our money for a game that might be cheap for a good reason. We couldn't resist ANOTHER game for our new console so we took risk on what was a blind buy. Great game, hard as hell.

[@SegaLordX]

You know, I think I got Cybernator myself for cheap. Good game.

[@BabusGameRoom]

Awesome. Leaving the bargain bin because you got a job. I love a good underdog story!

[@nileriversoftware4070]

I was stuck with Shadow Dancer and Atomic Runner for Sega Genesis, which I found in a bargain bin. Now I'm happy to learn they're considered hidden gems.

[@yellowblanka6058]

I have vivid memories of playing "Super Demon Attack" on our Texas Instruments TI-99/4a computer as a kid. IIRC nobody else was ever really interested in it, but I played it a lot.

[@JavierBaires1]

Jaws was my third purchased game too. Right after Mike Tyson’s Punch Out and Top Gun. I can absolutely relate!!!!

[@andrewsegers7942]

My first console was a sega genesis with sonic 2 and tazmanian devil, A yard sale find. I still play that same genesis today... but I dont play those two games much anymore.

[@miaouew]

Rygar arcade was AWESOME. the NES version was pretty cool too even though it was different. I lived near a convenience store (this is before every one of those was Pakistani or Korean owned) and the owner was a huge fan of He Man and Conan etc. He had Boris Vallejo art up on the walls of this one room off to the side next to the fridge wall and in that room were Golden Axe, Rygar and Tecmo Knight. I spent soooooo many hours in that convenience store.

[@kemy6775]

OMG Rygar. I had been looking for the name of this game for years. My cousin owned it when we were kids and I’ve always wanted to go back and play it.

[@Smokydoggg]

I understand where you’re coming from because I grew up poor. I got my NES in 1989 when the price had dropped a bit with SMB/Duck Hunt. I played the crap out of both and memorized every level, to this day you can show me any screenshot of Super Mario Bros. and I can tell you what level it is. Luckily later on in the early 90’s they opened several competing rental stores around my city with special deal days so I was able to expand a bit and play a nice variety of games thanks to rentals.

[@SegaLordX]

Yup, so many of our stories are similar. It was a hell of time to experience.

[@BobbyHo2022]

I still remember my childhood. Having maybe 30 games total. And only being able to beat a small percentage of them. Thinking the rest were just impossible. Then using Game Genie years later after owning them just to see levels I could never get to.

[@catsaregovernmentspies]

I still remember my childhood, too. Nice.

[@stinkypinkeee5085]

Rygar was my first game, as well! Tecmo had earned a positive rep with the arcade Ninja Gaiden, so I risked being stuck with trash for months (We were pretty broke) just on a developers reputation...Rygar is one of the most underrated games for NES, and it's a shame that more people don't simg its praises...

[@drhoads08]

I also was stuck with Jaws and had to learn to enjoy it. I was just excited to have a game I could actually beat! Oddly enough I have more fond memories of Jaws than of Gradius or Castlevania because those better games frustrated me so badly.

[@lexhazuki6538]

A Sega fan AND a WCW fan, thought I was the only one. Great taste my dude 👏👏

[@SegaLordX]

No way dude. WCW/NWA was the core of television for me in my youth.

[@Scott89878]

I like seeing these kinds stories

[@sega_kid4288]

I think I got ya beat Lord, we got a 2600 in like 88, when everyone else had NES or Master Systems. 😎. But being poor my brother was a bit of a wheeler dealer and made some awesome trades so eventually we got to "borrow" someone's NES and we got to play some great games. I said borrow in quotes because I don't think that kids parent was too happy with deal and anyway you know it goes,lol. BTW I also had a bit of a sweet spot for Jaws. So I feel there too. Great vids as always, nice to see someone else knew the struggle !

[@SegaLordX]

Where there was a will, there was a way. No matter the cost. ;)

[@Ronsilk-pu5hr]

I'm 53 years old and I have seen the entire video start to crash to reborn. I didn't ever like anything I seen till my friend got a Sega Genesis for his birthday. We were both 20 years old at that time. 16 bit was amazing and then on got better and better

[@magman6756]

Love the channel, keep up the good work

[@SegaLordX]

Thanks man. :)

[@vlcjorge1977]

Cheers from Portugal!

[@DarthOeron]

Aaaahh that batman soundtrack at the end, daaamn good. My first console was the Game Gear and stuck with Shinobi, what a great game.

[@SegaLordX]

GG Shinobi 1&2 are some of my favorite portable games. Awesome stuff.

[@neobogard]

space harrier 2 was ans is still awesome.

[@FollowingChrist44]

We could not buy too many games because they were so expensive. But with our Sega Genesis my sister and I had Sonic the Hedgehog 2 which was more than enough for us. Later on I also got Barkley Shut Up and Jam which was a lot of fun. From time to time my Mom would take me to the video store and rent a game as well.

[@robmason5799]

When I got my nes of Christmas of 88, I ended up buying from a friend Wwf wrestlemania. I later got cobra command followed by Friday the 13th and spelunker. I borrowed Mario 2 from a rental store so much i ended up buying it. Thank god I traded for Zelda. That game was my dad’s favorite. From there I ended up doing chores to buy games from a store who sold games for ten dollars.

[@Guitarhero1000]

I was stuck with Altered Beast and Super Hang on for my Genesis for a LONG time. The next game I ended up with Were Michael Jackson Moonwalker which I mastered and could beat every single time. I think I only ended up with 4 or 5 games. I usually ended up renting the games I wanted to play because my folks refused to buy me a 40-50 dollar game.

[@SegaLordX]

At least you were stuck with a Genesis. I had friends that had an Atari 7800 in 1989.........

[@Guitarhero1000]

@@SegaLordX haha Ouch. You are slightly older than me though . My first console was an NES. My memories of the Atari were adults telling me not to touch their Atari when I was about 5 or 6. Dad got me my genesis in 1989. I had that console for the entire lifetime of that era. My next console wasn't until 1995. I read about the PlayStation 1 in magazine about a year before it released in the USA. I saved every last penny I had to buy one on launch day for 300 smackers. I couldn't afford any games for it so I played that demo disc for like 2 months. The local video rental store didn't even have PlayStation games yet. Ahhh. Such good yet hard times.

[@yellowblanka6058]

@@Guitarhero1000 to be fair, adjusting for inflation, games were quite a bit more expensive back then. Especially considering that many of the action/arcade/platform style games that were popular could be beaten in a long afternoon. I never actually owned a 16 bit console growing up, though I would play them in department stores/at friends etc. We got an NES fairly late, then instead of console gaming we had several different 386/486 etc. PCs and I played a lot of PC games like King's Quest, Wolfenstein 3D, Doom, X-Wing etc. - though the nice thing was that these were well beyond what the consoles could do at the time (even the PS1/N64 ports of Doom for example were imperfect with omissions due to system memory/storage space etc.). I did have an N64 though, few years after that came out, and several other consoles.

[@Guitarhero1000]

Oh yeah. I loved my 486. When Doom hit the market I was hooked.

[@lightdark28]

The first games I played , and the ones I played for quite a few years were games that were on my grandparents' computers (put there by my uncles). The good thing is that they had good taste with games like Prince of Persia, Dune2 , Warcraft, Golden Axe, Aladdin , Wolf3d and Doom. Eventually when I got my own PC at the age of 8 I could start asking for some games of my own (mostly for birthdays)

[@SegaLordX]

I didn't own any form of a computer or PC until my early 20's. The things were just too expensive where I was.

[@lightdark28]

I was the opposite, I didn't have a console until I was about 10 , though I did go to the arcade sometimes. The PC (specifically DOS) was a very different beast from the consoles at the time. The hardware was extremely different, and games which worked well on one, didn't always work well on the other (one had alot of RAM and relatively high res , the others had hardware scrolling). Things are obviously quite different now.

[@FinalStage4L]

I just subbed your videos are great can't wait to watch more

[@Sinn0100]

Wow, you remind me of...me. Before the Genesis my family struggled as well. I had a,step father that was actually abusive and a medical condition that kept me indoors most of my youth. I would cling to the games I had and many times during the Nes days (it got better with the launch of the Genesis). I remember being stuck with Back to the Future for the Nes for 3 months straight...yuck. Finally, I got some relief when I traded a pompas ass Back to the Future and Jaws for Castlevania 2 Simons Quest. He actually called me stupid..."two games for one and they work, moron." Three days later and he wanted to trade back....nope.

[@Rayofficial13565]

I liked Space Harrier II! And the soundtrack!

[@ryzmaker11]

Same here and I discovered the game only circa 2010 but I still had a blast with it. Awesome pixel art and soundtrack, OK gameplay plus I liked the fact that they kept the distinctive checkered floor. People do a huge mistake when they compare it to the arcade (but even when doing so, it's not bad) because it must be compared with Space Harrier on Master System instead and now you realize what it's supposed to be, the genuine qualities of the game as well as the technical gap from 3rd gen ("8-bit era") to 4th gen ("16-bit era"). I mean, Space Harrier II was one of the Mega Drive two launch titles, we're talking about 1988 stuff here so as such, it's quite impressive.

[@katherineberger6329]

@@ryzmaker11 I'm not even sure that Space Harrier II stacks up favorably to the Master System entry. The Master System version is reasonably faithful to the arcade given the hardware's limitations, and even the four-channel soundtrack is pretty decent. My experience with SH2 is that it's just a mess.

[@SharifSourour]

Nice. Thanks for sharing!

[@LowKeyTired-q7d]

You are a funny fella with an interesting knack.

[@joshuamackey2326]

Other than that I love ur channel and the games u cover good job

[@orlandolopez7568]

I had working class parents too and meant I had to make due and be happy. One key Christmas though I had begged and asked for Donkey Kong 64, but it was likely $90 new and instead got two cheaper games. I was pissed and sad that morning but quickly learned that Rayman 2 and the gameboy Donkey Kong game were much, much, much better than DK64. Still not sure how my Mom picked those but I’m grateful to this day.

[@rodmunch69]

For me a kid it was digging through the Zayre's $1 bin of Atari 2600 games after the video game collapse, then we moved out into the middle of nowhere and Zayre's went out business.

[@houseoftheted637]

Enjoyed this video a lot. I had a commodore 64 as a kid. I remember enjoying double dragon at the arcade and wanted to play it at home. I'm sure you're aware the C64 version is beyond terrible, but, as I didn't have many games, I played the heck out of it, and actually quite enjoyed it.

[@SegaLordX]

My high school girlfriend introduced me to C64 gaming. Enjoyed quite a few games on that one.

[@houseoftheted637]

@@SegaLordX and the games were super cheap. Only 2 or 3 pounds normally

[@wesgeorge4112]

Rygar is epic. Soundtrack is the best. Jaws is good too!

[@dannys1392]

Hey SLX :-) another great video my friend! Had never heard of Rygar until you mentioned it just now, looks like a super fun game I'll have to look out for. Also, love the hoodies you got for sale. I'm gonna be asking the gf for one for Christmas and if I don't get one, then I'm buying one anyway lol

[@SegaLordX]

Thanks. Appreciate the support.