Today is the 25th Anniversary of the Megadrive/Genesis!!!!!!

[dogman91]

I hated the Genesis when I was a kid. Wasn't until I was an adult and picked one up as a curiosity that I realized I had really missed out.

That's thanks to me having Altered Beast to compare to Donkey Kong Country and only having known/played Sonic on Windows 98.

[retrosportsgamer]

The Genesis (Model 1) was the first console I purchased during its active lifespan (I had found a NES lot at a flea market a couple years prior). I remember getting my Mom to take me to a FuncoLand and buying one used. It was pretty beat up and the a/v connector was kind of shoddy but it worked. Madden '94 and NHL '93 FTW. My neighbor ended up giving me his Model 2 shortly after (I don't remember the trade at all) and I have that system to this day.

I've probably logged more hours on the Genesis than any other system.

[bacardipr05]

The details are a bit sketchy in my memory. Roughly a year after the Genesis launch I wanted one. Yea i was one of those the kids that had to have it. A friend of mine ( Andre) knew someone who had a boxed Genesis. I sold some stuff games, i think my gameboy and had some money. It was one of those things where we had to meet him at his location at his given time. We both where two 14-15 yo dumb kids. I remember he wanted me to go alone and I said no way its your "friend". I just wanted it and i didnt care. We made the exchange if memory serves me in the guys bedroom ( he was in his 20's i believe). I also faintly remember him saying that i cant tell no one where i got it from. So off I went at night carrying the hottest gaming system at the time by myself at night. My friend said he couldnt walk me he had to be at home. It was about a 20 minute walk. Mind you i lived in a very dangerous area referred to as the badlands. I made it home with my Genesis. At first my parents didnt notice. Then my mom started to ask questions. I told her i bought it from a friend. She said was it stolen i told her no. Honestly, i didnt know but years later i always wondered if it was or not. I still actually have it.

[samsonlonghair]

That's a pretty cool story.

[bacardipr05]

That's a pretty cool story.

Thanks, i will always remember it to...

[Exhuminator]

Got my first Genesis circa 1990. Altered Beast blew my mind and all my neighborhood friends' minds. Much fun was had with various games and we thought we'd seen it all... then Sonic came. That was when the system "grew the beard". I still love the Genesis and have tons of fond memories.

[dunpeal2064]

I randomly happened to buy a pretty rad Genesis bundle from someone on craigslist the very same day of their anniversary. Must have been fate, and now I am hopelessly addicted to the system yet again.

Since we are getting nostalgic, I'll share some of my childhood memories:

I never had a Genesis, first console was the SNES, and I loved it. Less than a month after getting the console we moved into a house, and I met our neighbors, a couple in their mid 20s. They wanted kids, but were having difficulties with that, and so were pleased to have me over there just about every day. I was happy to go over there for two main reasons; They were much closer to my age and tastes than my parents, and they had a Genesis... with the Sega Channel. I would spend hours over there, playing games with Brett (The guy of course). And since it was an ever-changing list of games, I ended up more familiar with the Genesis than my own console. Sonic, Streets of Rage, Golden Axe, Comix Zone, Vectorman, Boogerman, Mortal Kombat... it was overwhelming. I maybe owned 3 games for my system. One particularly fond memory I have was of Jolynn (The girl) inviting several of her mid 20s girlfriends over, at which point they found some fascination in telling me that there were "Nudalities" in Mortal Kombat. Of course, I tried and tried, and pestered them all day to show me, only to get the ol "You are too young" routine.

I think my most nostalgia-driven games for the system have to be Toejam & Earl, and Kid Chameleon. When someone points out the flaws in the games, its hard to refute, but both games were just mystical to me as a kid. I remember the first time I walked off screen from player 1 in Toejam and GOT MY OWN FUCKING SCREEN. No more Tails woes, I had the full damn game right there at the bottom half.

The Genesis always has a warm place in my heart, and could very well be my favorite console of all time. In fact, I will be playing my newly-acquired Genesis when I get home, and may have another one in the mail this afternoon.