Happy 20th to the Genesis

In case you didn't know, the Sega Genesis released in North America on this very day 20 years ago. This is the kind of event that really dates you, the kind where gamers all around the internet who remember Sega's halcyon years say "damn, 20 years? I'm old." That's kind of how I felt at first, but it isn't until you sit down and think about it that it all feels natural, like it really was 20 years ago when you enjoyed most of its best games in their heyday. A time when you could only choose one console because your parents thought you were crazy for wanting two, and when you engaged in battle on the playground and either defended its reputation against diatribes from the other guys who felt the Super Nintendo was the better package.

People tend to remember the 16-bit era so fondly because it was a time of innocence, so to speak. Developers were free to experiment on and with multiple genres without much consequence thanks to low development costs. It was when gaming was primarily a nerd's hobby, both to its benefit -- lower budget games appealing to people who really didn't need a lot of pizazz to go with everything -- and detriment -- because god forbid you run into someone that wasn't engrossed in the hobby, especially at school. But even with its setbacks, it was a time when we were all forced to experiment with every title we received since, unlike today, we didn't have the benefit of going to the internet to look for tips to everything at a whim.

Developers and publishers sure kept us busy with a steady stream of good games to enjoy in our free time, too. The Sonic the Hedgehog games were all pretty good for people of all ages to enjoy (excluding a few of them), there were also more niche favorites like the Phantasy Star games, the Shining Force series (including Shining in the Darkness), Ristar, the Vectorman games, the Shinobi series, Gunstar Heroes (and probably every other Treasure-developed game), and plenty more. Most of us couldn't possibly mow enough lawns to afford all of that! Yeah, feel free to envy anyone who had both a Super NES and Genesis and could afford most of the games they wanted on it.

But you shouldn't! That's because there are plenty of ways to play all of the old games you missed back then. Sega has been preserving the legacy Genesis established by releasing compilations that include most of their best published titles. Sure, some of them don't include all of the best titles (and have some rather dubious inclusions), but they preserve the third best experience of them, especially if you're playing some for the first time. The second best is buying them from the Wii Virtual Console because of typically better emulation, with the best being, well, hooking the Genesis back up to the television. Though you may want to use an older TV for the last one there. This is all because you can envelop yourself in a sense of faux-nostalgia when you're playing the games from the computer via emulation (or another method), because you likely didn't play them that way when you were younger.

Sega of America also apparently didn't forget that this day was coming; they have a poll on their website to vote for what you think the next Xbox Live Arcade Genesis title should be. The choices are....well, they're interesting. Personally I'd like Toejam & Earl to win it, but I'd also take Wonder Boy in Monster World or Revenge of Shinobi (which I assume they've settled the rights with, since Spider-Man is in it). Unfortunately, Earthworm Jim is winning, which breaks my heart. Not to say that Earthworm Jim is a bad game, but I'd like to see the superior Saturn version of the game rather than the merely OK Genesis version made available. Bummer.

Man, there are a lot of great anniversaries this year, and they're all in rather close proximity to each other. Of all of them, this one is by far the biggest in gaming because of its impact on the industry back then as a whole, though it's a close call with a lot of other consoles having their birthday between this month and next month. It's a pretty great time to be in if you're a fan of nostalgia; of course, it would be ideal if the manufacturers realize this every time as well. Yeah, I'm talking about you, Nintendo.