I spend a lot of time wondering if something I use to love has held up to the test of time; if I would still watch, read, or play it. Sometimes you remember something as being awesome (Land Before Time movies?) but when you revisit it again it makes you want to gouge your eyes out. On the other hand, sometimes you check out something from your youth and it turns out that you love it even more now. That’s the idea behind our new series Retro Rewind.

I’ve been on a bit of a retro gaming kick lately and have been trying to remember what games I played a lot as a kid. I wasn’t able to buy a lot of games when I was younger, but I rented them all the time. There are a few games I remember renting a ton of times, and Chase HQ II for Sega Genesis is definitely on that list.

It seems like an obvious game nowadays, but back in the 90s, chasing down cars and ramming them into submission wasn’t a cliche yet. It’s surprising I’m a decent driver after a childhood filled with playing tons of games involving violence and driving.

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The Sega Genesis stands as one of the all-time best video game systems. Don’t believe me? IGN ranked it number five in its countdown of the 25 best. PC Mag picked it number four. Only the almighty Nintendo Entertainment System, Sony PlayStation 2, and Atari 2600 outweigh Genesis’ cultural and commercial significance.

Sega Genesis (a.k.a. Sega Mega Drive outside North America) was introduced in 1997 and sold around 40 million units in its lifetime. It even spawned two mildly successful add-ons, Sega CD and 32X, as well as the Sega Nomad handheld player. There was even a Sega Channel offered by some cable TV companies that would download games to your system.

The console is often compared to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System but Nintendo’s 16 bit game was introduced a full two years after the Genesis. Even at the height of the battle between these two legendary systems, Genesis/Mega Drive was able to maintain a lead in most markets.
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There’s no shortage of ways to enjoy retro video games these days. Most people these days pay to download games on their game consoles or play digitally acquired ROM files with emulators on their computers. Either way, it sucks playing retro games with a mouse, keyboard, or any game controller that wasn’t designed to play that game.

I’ve seen plenty of USB adapters that allow you to connect your NES, SNES or Genesis controllers to your computer, but the Retrode is a unique gadget. It has slots that take SNES and Genesis game cartridges, as well as plugs for controllers. If you have emulators on your computer, you can plug it in and play the games from the cartridges via the Retrode’s USB interface. At first I didn’t understand the appeal, if you still need an emulator, what’s the point?

I guess the Retrode is a tool for people who still have lots of retro games and hardware laying around but don’t want to rely on a 25 year old console to keep enjoying them. One of the best things about the Retrode is how it doesn’t need any drivers to work on your computer.

The Retrode is cool, but it will run you $85. If you’ve got some old controllers and copies of Yoshi’s Island or Comix Zone laying around, it might be a cool gadget to try out.

Not only did the Dick Tracy movie spawn all sorts of fun toys, it also had it’s fair share of video games. In 1990, Tracy invaded our homes and our pockets with NES, Sega Master System, and Gameboy games. Most of the time I associate video game nostalgia with the 8 bit era, but when I actually fire up NES games and then play a SNES or Sega game, I wonder why. I always forget how limiting NES games were, with their simple graphics and gameplay. I grew up a hardcore Sega fan.

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I was talking to someone about Boogerman and ended up looking this ad up. I just had to share it.