We’ve gotten some new readers lately, people who don’t know me in real life. These people don’t know a lot about me, so I’m going to take this opportunity to let them get to know me a little better. A big part of my personality is that I like things that are rad, and also things that are awesome. Something that is both rad AND awesome is Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing, which I picked up over the weekend.

It’s no secret that I love Sega. I sided with the Genesis during the Console Wars of the early 90s, and I love my Genesis and my Dreamcast dearly to this day. I love Mario games, but I’ve always preferred Sonic as a character (that is, until his fans start writing fanfiction… gross). Sega’s roster of superstars might not be as recognizable as Nintendo’s best, but with Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing, Sega may have just out-Mario Karted Nintendo.

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This past Valentine’s Day, I received the most romantic gift ever: A boxed Sega Game Gear with a copy of NBA Jam and a rechargeable battery pack. I’ve known for a while that I was marrying the right woman, and this is just another example of the choir being preached to.

The Game Gear is a handheld system, but I wouldn’t call it “portable,” even by early 90’s standards. The thing is comfortable in your hands, but it’s still bulky and there’s no WAY this thing would fit into your pocket, especially considering how tight everyone wore their pants back then (well, everyone except MC Hammer).

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I didn’t wind up buying the Game Gear. It was missing one of the battery covers, and the other battery compartment had honest to God cobwebs in it. It was a real shame, too. I love “rescuing” old hardware.

I was at the mall today for GameStop’s Pokémon event (don’t worry, I didn’t buy anything) and I stopped in the comic shop we frequent. They have some used games, all older titles, since they only want to carry what GameStop doesn’t. There’s been some cool stuff in there, but today I found a Sega Game Gear for $15. I love collecting old games and systems, and I am a huge Sega fan, so I’m going back tomorrow to get it. The only reason I didn’t buy it today was because we were in kind of  a rush and the comic store had one guy working and he was running around doing a million things already. Anyway, I was immediately reminded of this commercial, which I am now aware stars Ethan Suplee:

I was a Sega Kid. I had an NES, but when the 16-bit wars kicked into high gear, my best friend already had a Super NES, so I got a Genesis so we could play everything. Then he turned into a jerk and we stopped being friends, so it was just me and my Genesis. Of course, you had to talk a lot of smack back then so I loved the Sega commercials and ads that ripped on Nintendo.

My, the times, how they change.