What era of gaming did you grow up in?

[RyaNtheSlayA]

Playstation/Dreamcast era. And im 15 so I guess you could say I grew up PS2-next gen.

How did you end up on a retro site might i ask? Someone of your generation i thought wouldn't have known about how awesome games were in the snes/genesis ans saturn/ps1 era.

Im actually not to sure. I beleive it started out with me buying a couple barain compilation discs, went further to just reading wikipedia articles about the retro games in the compilations, found the Sega Saturn, read one of racketboys articles and bam here I am today.

[holaback]

Have you been sitting down and really enjoying these retro titles you hear about or do you just like to read about them?

[holaback]

Also the sega saturn coverage is what lead me to this site too.

[Original_Name]

Yeah, I'm not sure quite what the criteria here is, but my first system was the Genesis, which I got at the age of five (at the end of its lifespan in 1995). I spent my formative years playing the 6-Pak (my first cartridge ever, which had Sonic the Hedgehog, Golden Axe, Revenge of Shinobi, Streets of Rage, Super Hang-On, and Columns on it, which is a GOOD START.), the Ecco the Dolphin series, Vectorman series, Sonic series, Shinobi series, Ristar, Dynamite Headdy, Beyond Oasis and ToeJam & Earl in Panic on Funkotron. I've always found it strange how I managed to blindly pick really good games. I still don't quite understand it, as I picked them primarily based on cover art. You'll notice that those are almost all late-cycle games, except for the few classics which stayed on shelves eternally after they were released (Ecco the Dolphin 1 and Sonic 2 were three years old by the time I bought them, for instance).

I later got a Sega Saturn and played NiGHTS into Dreams, Fighters Megamix, Rayman, Sega Rally, Dark Savior, Three Dirty Dwarves, and Virtual On. My father had a PlayStation and I played Final Fantasy VII and VIII, Xenogears, Tales of Destiny, Metal Gear Solid, Tomb Raider and Crash Bandicoot on it.

I've spent more of my life playing the Dreamcast than any other system, though. I was 9, very close to 10 when that system came out. I played the Sonic Adventure series, Shenmue, Toy Commander, Powerstone, Soul Caliber, Crazy Taxi, Ecco the Dolphin: Defender of the Future, Fur Fighters, and Seaman on it relentlessly while it was still alive.

I'm not sure which era I grew up with, persay, but that's my pre-pubescent console history, sans my fun times with DOOM II, Quake II, and Half-Life on the PC.

[futuramaguy42]

The first system I played was the NES at my cousins house. My first gaming thing was the Gameboy Pocket, my parents got my sister a Gameboy Color but they weren't sure if I would understand it (I was very young) so they bought me the cheaper Gameboy Pocket. I loved it right away, I had one of the Kirby games and it was great. The first console I owned was the N64.

I got into the retro gaming scene when this guy at a flea market gave me a Dreamcast with around 7 games (most of them are awesome, like Quake 3, Zombie Revenge, Crazy Taxi and others) for 2 bucks and then I just bought any old consoles that I found after that.

[Marspants]

Woot Original_Name for being the same age as meee. I was raised with a Genesis controller in hand so Sonic 2 was a must, I was into the SNES a little but when the PS1 came out that's what really got me and most of my gameplay.

[Ack]

I was born the year the NES saw its release. My first coherent memory was being in a department store, probably a Sears, as my dad bought it. Not just Mario, but games like Duck Tales, G.I. Joe, StarTropics, all of that. But ultimately, the series that got me hooked has to be Mega Man.

I remember walking into my local Family Video rental store and always heading straight for their Mega Man games. There were awesome robots in that series, and if I couldn't beat one level, I could try a different one until I finally beat it! And passwords were easy to record, I just kept a piece of paper on the television. Imagine a kid, six years old, controller in hand, freaking out as he finally managed to dodge all the lasers in Quick Man's level. Oh man, it was awesome! After renting it over and over again, when I finally beat Mega Man 2, I was so proud of myself.

From there I tried others, eventually owning a copy of Mega Man 6 and playing through it again and again. I would go to the video rental place and check out different Mega Man games whenever I had the money and they were in. Meanwhile at friends houses, I would play Super Mario Bros. 2 and 3, Kirby's Adventure, Legend of Zelda, and many more. I didn't get a SNES until Middle School.

I really want an NES now...

[Thierry Henry]

First game I ever owned was a PC game by the name of 'Outlaws' back in '97. That was my introduction to video games.
First console system I bought was the PS1 sometime in '99. I remember I was watching a video rental of the movie US Marshalls starring Wesley Snipes, and as the credits at the end of the film had finished, there was a great 2 minute ad about the PS1 and it's games. The next day I went out and got me the bundle package they were selling here in South Africa which included the system together with MGS and Gran Turismo. Been hooked ever since.

[RyaNtheSlayA]

Have you been sitting down and really enjoying these retro titles you hear about or do you just like to read about them?

I enjoy about 50/50 of what I play but I enjoy most of what I read.

[DuManchu]

Grew up with a hand-me down Atari 2600 during the 3rd generation (NES, SMS...). I wasn't allowed to have a "Nintendo" as my mom would put it.

Played friends NES's and loved them, finally got my own console in 1992 with a Genesis 2 for christmas.

I obsessed about every 3rd gen console, wanted a Saturn (because everyone was shitting themselves over the PS1) but by the time I was old enough to save funds and buy one they were nowhere to be found (my first Saturn should arrive this Friday!!!!). Finally got an N64 in 1999 and joined the 5th generation.

I'd say I "grew up" during the 3rd through 6th generations, but consider the 5th generation the best and my favorite.