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Sega Master System

Sega used to make game consoles back in the 80's and through the 90's. Their first was the Master System. Looking back it seems like most kids had an NES, but I didn't. I remember getting the Master System for Christmas.


This thing had the craziest peripherals. It had 3D glasses (that really worked!), a laser gun, and the games to go with it. Everyone else had Super Mario, and as jealous as I was, I had something that may be even better. Games like Alex Kidd in Miracle World, and Wonder Boy in Monster Land.


I remember that I never beat any of these early games. They were too hard, and I didn't care. Beating them wasn't the point. They were adventure games and activated something in my imagination for the first time. I wasn't playing games, I was actually in these worlds. As an adult, modern games can rarely pull this off. A lot of people know that feeling, and we wonder about it. But, I have learned one thing: graphics have nothing to do with it.


In some places in the world, especially in the Middle East and Asian countries, a lot of kids don't get "brand name" systems made by Sega or Nintendo. But they do get consoles that are capable of playing all of the name brand games. It's like how you can get pirated movies on burned DVD's sold in actual stores in those countries. These are like pirated consoles. They don't look the same. They're cheaper, but they work. The games, too, aren't exactly legit.


Like I said, I had a real Sega Master System as a kid, and one of the games I spent hours playing was Pickle Head. My Grandma brought it back from a trip overseas, as a present. It's probably still at her house in a box somewhere. The problem is, I was recently researching old games that I used to play, and I can't find this one online anywhere. No one else seems to have played it. It's like it doesn't exist. I suspect it was never released in the U.S. I can't be sure.

The game is about a doctor and a kid named Pickle (because his head is a pickle). The player plays as Pickle. You have to help the doctor fix your head and make you normal again. You find out that the doctor is the villain and is responsible for causing you to have been born with a pickle head. I mentioned that I never actually beat any of these early games as a kid, and it's the same with Pickle Head. I don't know how it ends, and don't remember much of the story. It's funny, but I guess in the end, the memories are what matter.


For me, the Super Nintendo came next, and it was on to Super Mario World. There was no looking back. But now, sometimes, I do look back. There was something special about the Sega Master System. I've never forgotten my adventures in Monster Land. The games, the world of Alex Kidd, and the crazy hours spent playing Pickle Head.

Those are some of the best memories of my life.

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