My life as a gamer began with a happy mix-up by my parents, who got me a Sega Mega Drive for Christmas back in 1991. I had asked for a Game Boy, but it was decided that my younger brother would be the one to get the Nintendo. Once my Dad had set my new console up, I popped in the game my parents had got me and turned on the power. As I raced through the Green Hill Zone of SonictheHedgehog, I knew right away that I was hooked.

For several years, I was a fairly typical Sega fan-boy. I remember playing some of my favourite games on my Mega Drive. Aside from the mainstream titles – such as the Sonic games, the GoldenAxe series and the StreetsofRage series – there were a special few which I have particularly fond memories of.

The Disney classics Aladdin and TheLionKing were especially excellent, most notably in their soundtracks. Simple platformers for the most part, I can still vividly remember their wonderful adaptations of their respective films’ music, setting the tone for each level. I’ll never forget the tension I felt when playing the “Rug Ride” level in Aladdin – being chased by a wave of lava, dodging up and down on Carpet, with the music trumpeting rapidly.

I also remember quirkier titles, like ToejamandEarl and RocketKnightAdventures. The former was the source of endless hours of fun, playing through level after level of weird enemies and even weirder “power-ups”. From rocket skates that would jet you uncontrollably across the landscape, to causing it to rain tomatoes, I never stopped having fun with that game. As for RocketKnightAdventures, though I only played it for a day or so at a friend’s house, I loved the way Sparkster would rocket around the room. Again, the music played a big part in endearing me to the game.

It might not come as a surprise, then, that my favourite game for the Mega Drive was World of Illusion. There were so many great things about this game, I couldn’t even begin to describe them here in appreciable detail. Suffice it to say, the levels were beautiful in both art and layout, particularly in their use of co-operative elements – I remember my brother and I struggling for ages to get past the mine cart section of one of the early levels. It was never the same game twice, either, since you could play as either Mickey Mouse or Donald Duck. Not only did they both have very different paths through the game, those paths could change again depending on player choice.

 

Each level brought back memories of different Disney films or cartoons, with just the right level of originality – not to mention fear, awe or wonder – mixed in to make it a unique experience. I keep coming back to the music, but I can’t think of any other retro game (except perhaps the Sonic or FinalFantasy series) that evoke such nostalgia when I hear their soundtrack.

It was only when one of my cousins moved into the same town as I live that I got the chance to experience other consoles of that era. My cousin owned a SNES; while I was initially sceptical, I soon began to enjoy the trappings of SuperMarioWorld. I remember being impressed with the Super Nintendo Scope as well, but my favourite titles were definitely the DonkeyKong games. My cousin and I would spend days playing all three titles, with him showing me the various secrets he’d discovered in other playthroughs and explaining how to do some of the more complex jumps. He also let me play TheLegendofZelda:ALinktothePast, which was my first real taste of an RPG. Back then, I didn’t really know what I was playing, except that it was different from just about everything else… and that I liked it.

For years, I was happy with my Mega Drive and occasional bouts of my cousin’s SNES – there were always games to be swapped between friends and replaying old favourites was never boring. I would wait until the Summer of 1998 before moving on to my next console: the PlayStation. With the seeds of RPG-love firmly planted in my mind, when I saw my friend’s older brother playing FinalFantasyVII on his PlayStation, I knew right then and there that I needed to own this game. When Christmas came around, I was not disappointed: I don’t know exactly how long I played it for, but certainly many weeks were spent in front of this new console, playing what remains to this day my all-time favourite game.

Of course, now that I knew I loved RPGs, I couldn’t get enough of them. One after another, I sought new games in this genre. Suikoden and SuikodenII, BreathofFireIII and IV, WildARMS, Grandia, TheLegendofDragoon; I played them all non-stop and loved every minute. To me, the PlayStation era was the golden age of RPGs; I still play all of these games every now and then, to remind me of this wonderful time.

I had some other experiences with consoles throughout those years, even getting an N64 for one birthday and thoroughly loving both OcarinaofTime and Majora’sMask. Moving on from that, however, we leave the bounds of “retro”, since I consider anything PS2-onwards as being close enough to current gen as not to make much difference. With the advent of high-quality 3D gaming came the end of the era of games that I was born into.

Though some may decry retro re-releases as companies simply money-grabbing, I praise them for bringing truly amazing games to modern consoles: backwards compatibility isn’t the guaranteed feature it once was. I love what games have become, but I can’t say that I don’t miss what they were.

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