Xmas 1994

The only christmases I remember specifically were the ones where I got the huge lego castle sets. Google searched them up:

Black Falcon's Fortress

Knight's Castle

King's Mountain Fortress

I also had some Forestmen shit too. Well pretty much any castle set I had. But building the castles on christmas morning was always a blast. I still have the black castle assembled back at home. One of the knights from it is my computer monitor mascot and is superglued to the top of it.

the only competition i ever won was an enormous lego castle set, ive never been so happy ever again.

i used to have a serious obsession with knex, i remember quite a few decembers were spent poring over the argos catalogue for hours, imagining how incredibly amazing it would be to have this badboy

I got this one year. It required a ton of maintenance.

I liked this one way more.

I frankensteined the engine on that train so much that I eventually couldn't take it apart and get the original back, but mine looked way more awesome.

I also had this badass beast.

Xmas '94 I got my first large lego set. I may have gotten two large ones actually, I can't remember.

In retrospect, I'm very thankful my parents bought me and my brother so many Legos. They were such a huge part of our childhood.

I can't remember what Christmas my first game console (Sega Saturn) came into my life. I remember opening it and being in awe.

Edit: Ohhh sheeit, we had a LEGO Soccer set too. It was really kick ass. Ended up disassembling the field rectangles for the sake of open spaces in our Lego city though. The city spanned two tables, it was a thing of beauty.

90s classic. I owned this album on cassette.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwqA_OMaUes

1994

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxF0uRmb_2c

I got nothing in 94 cause we were still poor immigrants by then. Actually I probably got something, just nothing memorable.

  On 3/19/2012 at 10:51 PM, Xyrofen said:

I also had this badass beast.

  On 3/20/2012 at 12:49 AM, Murveman said:

Edit: Ohhh sheeit, we had a LEGO Soccer set too. It was really kick ass. Ended up disassembling the field rectangles for the sake of open spaces in our Lego city though. The city spanned two tables, it was a thing of beauty.

Ditto! More fun than I expected, I should dig it up. Waiting for those balls to roll out of the corners was nerve-racking.

When my kids have legos I'm going to take pictures of everything they create from scratch. I remember building some pretty sweet helicopters and planes out of legos and k'nex (often with almost every last piece I could use) and they were usually way cooler than half of the lego magazine submissions I'd see. With digital cameras now, it shouldn't be a problem.

  On 4/3/2012 at 2:05 AM, Lindrum Larry Cocopipe said:

90s classic. I owned this album on cassette.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwqA_OMaUes

Used to have some probably now valuable Simpsons novelties as a kid. Searching online these days is like some kind of addiction to nostalgia, in which case this thread for instance was a huge "hit" for me. These diecast cars were neat, they had little viewfinders in them...

i think i got this, and thought it was just about the best thing ever.

Biker mice from Mars?

yeahhhhh son

Christmas '94 was my son's first Christmas...

  On 3/10/2012 at 7:10 AM, disparaissant said:

OH

super metroid and tie fighter

that was my 1994.

nerd 4 lyfe i guess.

super metroid was the best shit ever. EVER.

 

ALSO ffiii but im not sure if i actually got that in 1994 or 95. i think 95.

Arg, this thread makes me sad, but so happy in equal parts... Is there a word for that state? Life was so simple then; no money concerns, immigration, job, or really any of these adult distractions; just plunging deeper into the core of Zebes literally thrilled at the prospect of finding a new missle upgrade that I'd missed on my last time through. I'm not sure games will ever feel that good again. Mario 64 or Zelda: Ocarina of Time were literally my last mind-blowing gaming experiences (I know there have been a lot of AMAZING games since then, but those represented my favorite franchises moving into 3D; it was almost too much to handle at the time). Metroid Prime came close to doing that again for me, but there weren't enough hidden areas/items for the world to feel entirely authentic to me...

If this happens again it'll have to be something that turns the medium on it's head so it feels completely new to me again.

  On 4/4/2012 at 5:05 PM, Goiter Sanchez said:

  On 3/10/2012 at 7:10 AM, disparaissant said:

OH

super metroid and tie fighter

that was my 1994.

nerd 4 lyfe i guess.

super metroid was the best shit ever. EVER.

 

ALSO ffiii but im not sure if i actually got that in 1994 or 95. i think 95.

 

Arg, this thread makes me sad, but so happy in equal parts... Is there a word for that state? Life was so simple then; no money concerns, immigration, job, or really any of these adult distractions; just plunging deeper into the core of Zebes literally thrilled at the prospect of finding a new missle upgrade that I'd missed on my last time through. I'm not sure games will ever feel that good again. Mario 64 or Zelda: Ocarina of Time were literally my last mind-blowing gaming experiences (I know there have been a lot of AMAZING games since then, but those represented my favorite franchises moving into 3D; it was almost too much to handle at the time). Metroid Prime came close to doing that again for me, but there weren't enough hidden areas/items for the world to feel entirely authentic to me...

If this happens again it'll have to be something that turns the medium on it's head so it feels completely new to me again.

I think a lot of nostalgia for these old games and the seemingly magical experiences they elicited were due to having never seen anything like that before, and probably also being young and relatively care-free at the time. Games have changed so much since then, new concepts have been done and redone to death that nothing seems new or unique (and when it does, it's few and far between). Games are much better these days (visually), and offer more precise controls, etc. but it's all been done before for the most part, hence the loss of that magical feeling.

I dunno if kids get the same feelings for Dark Souls, Call of Duty, Tekkan or Gran Turismo as I got for Zelda on the Snes.

I think I got a gameboy with super mario bros. That might have been '95 though.

Good year.

  On 4/4/2012 at 5:05 PM, Goiter Sanchez said:

  On 3/10/2012 at 7:10 AM, disparaissant said:

OH

super metroid and tie fighter

that was my 1994.

nerd 4 lyfe i guess.

super metroid was the best shit ever. EVER.

 

ALSO ffiii but im not sure if i actually got that in 1994 or 95. i think 95.

 

Arg, this thread makes me sad, but so happy in equal parts... Is there a word for that state? Life was so simple then; no money concerns, immigration, job, or really any of these adult distractions; just plunging deeper into the core of Zebes literally thrilled at the prospect of finding a new missle upgrade that I'd missed on my last time through. I'm not sure games will ever feel that good again. Mario 64 or Zelda: Ocarina of Time were literally my last mind-blowing gaming experiences (I know there have been a lot of AMAZING games since then, but those represented my favorite franchises moving into 3D; it was almost too much to handle at the time). Metroid Prime came close to doing that again for me, but there weren't enough hidden areas/items for the world to feel entirely authentic to me...

If this happens again it'll have to be something that turns the medium on it's head so it feels completely new to me again.

I know what you mean. I think its really just about being a kid. The games could have been anything. When you play your console as a kid there is really very little outside of that moment to distract you beyond maybe your mum calling you for dinner. You can truly immerse yourself without the burden of responsibility and with all the power of a childhood imagination. Those times can never ever be relived. It makes me sad too but I just feel lucky I wasn't born a Fritzl.

  On 4/4/2012 at 8:53 PM, spratters said:

I dunno if kids get the same feelings for Dark Souls, Call of Duty, Tekkan or Gran Turismo as I got for Zelda on the Snes.

I don't think so either - but then again, kids aren't getting those feelings for Zelda on the Wii now, either

I remember that Christmas.

Every year I had received a bounty of Lego. I was conditioned to expect great things. There was one set in particular, the Ice Planet 2000 "Ice Station Odyssey" base, that I begged my parents for. It would be the pièce de résistance in a supercity I had built in my parent's basement. It's rocket technology would allow for exploration to other levels of the house. It was the future.

I was ten. This would be the final year where I could justifiably spend time with Lego. Magic the Gathering had appeared, girls were vaguely interesting, and the Mortal Kombat soundtrack would tease at a future spent in isolation listening to terrible non-music which would eventually lead to drugs, failure, and copious time spent posting on internet forums. It was, in some ways, the end of childhood.

I came downstairs to find a giant box waiting for me under the tree. It had to be Lego. I looked at my father. I asked him if I could open it first. He nodded, then looked to my mom, proud. I tore the wrapping paper off. My mind did somersaults. Some kind of pure, animal groan issued from my throat.

It was a Mega Bloks castle. Mega Bloks was a Canadian knock off brand that was sued by the Lego corporation throughout the 90's and 00's. No child deserved this. I would rather play with dolls. The castle was a giant hunk of plastic which you literally stuck the occasional brick onto. Where would my sleek, futuristic city find room for this monstrosity? Where was the neon? The little Mega Blok men weren't even the same species as Lego men. How would I explain this? It was a disaster.

For weeks, I attempted to integrate the castle into some spare real estate on the edge of my city. The denizens would tell stories of it being haunted, inhabited by genetically modified super soldiers. The refugee camp of Playmobil wouldn't go near it. Some said they stole Lego children in the night, but no one had actually seen a Lego child, which explained where they had all gone. They sent reconnaissance teams, but no one returned. People began to leave the city. The trade economy collapsed after my friend Matt stopped coming over. Islanders began to immigrate into the city, setting back technological progress by hundreds of years. Eventually, there was only one viable solution: nuke it from orbit.

A year later I was walking through the woods with my friend Rob, talking about video games. We passed a pile of bricks and yellow men. It was some kind of school diorama.

I stopped and stared at them. Rob grinned.

"Remember Lego?"

I looked off, wistful.

"Let's go, it's getting dark."

We walked on.

  On 4/4/2012 at 5:05 PM, Goiter Sanchez said:

  On 3/10/2012 at 7:10 AM, disparaissant said:

OH

super metroid and tie fighter

that was my 1994.

nerd 4 lyfe i guess.

super metroid was the best shit ever. EVER.

 

ALSO ffiii but im not sure if i actually got that in 1994 or 95. i think 95.

 

Arg, this thread makes me sad, but so happy in equal parts... Is there a word for that state? Life was so simple then; no money concerns, immigration, job, or really any of these adult distractions; just plunging deeper into the core of Zebes literally thrilled at the prospect of finding a new missle upgrade that I'd missed on my last time through. I'm not sure games will ever feel that good again. Mario 64 or Zelda: Ocarina of Time were literally my last mind-blowing gaming experiences (I know there have been a lot of AMAZING games since then, but those represented my favorite franchises moving into 3D; it was almost too much to handle at the time). Metroid Prime came close to doing that again for me, but there weren't enough hidden areas/items for the world to feel entirely authentic to me...

If this happens again it'll have to be something that turns the medium on it's head so it feels completely new to me again.

Are you having troubles with La Migra?

had these in ~'94

The LEGO town/city stuff was always my favourite. Until my son got too old to play with LEGO himself, we had loads of fun building my old LEGO sets (looked up the old instructions online) again.

  On 4/4/2012 at 9:40 PM, zaphod said:

I remember that Christmas.

Every year I had received a bounty of Lego. I was conditioned to expect great things. There was one set in particular, the Ice Planet 2000 "Ice Station Odyssey" base, that I begged my parents for. It would be the pièce de résistance in a supercity I had built in my parent's basement. It's rocket technology would allow for exploration to other levels of the house. It was the future.

I was ten. This would be the final year where I could justifiably spend time with Lego. Magic the Gathering had appeared, girls were vaguely interesting, and the Mortal Kombat soundtrack would tease at a future spent in isolation listening to terrible non-music which would eventually lead to drugs, failure, and copious time spent posting on internet forums. It was, in some ways, the end of childhood.

I came downstairs to find a giant box waiting for me under the tree. It had to be Lego. I looked at my father. I asked him if I could open it first. He nodded, then looked to my mom, proud. I tore the wrapping paper off. My mind did somersaults. Some kind of pure, animal groan issued from my throat.

It was a Mega Bloks castle. Mega Bloks was a Canadian knock off brand that was sued by the Lego corporation throughout the 90's and 00's. No child deserved this. I would rather play with dolls. The castle was a giant hunk of plastic which you literally stuck the occasional brick onto. Where would my sleek, futuristic city find room for this monstrosity? Where was the neon? The little Mega Blok men weren't even the same species as Lego men. How would I explain this? It was a disaster.

For weeks, I attempted to integrate the castle into some spare real estate on the edge of my city. The denizens would tell stories of it being haunted, inhabited by genetically modified super soldiers. The refugee camp of Playmobil wouldn't go near it. Some said they stole Lego children in the night, but no one had actually seen a Lego child, which explained where they had all gone. They sent reconnaissance teams, but no one returned. People began to leave the city. The trade economy collapsed after my friend Matt stopped coming over. Islanders began to immigrate into the city, setting back technological progress by hundreds of years. Eventually, there was only one viable solution: nuke it from orbit.

A year later I was walking through the woods with my friend Rob, talking about video games. We passed a pile of bricks and yellow men. It was some kind of school diorama.

I stopped and stared at them. Rob grinned.

"Remember Lego?"

I looked off, wistful.

"Let's go, it's getting dark."

We walked on.

best watmm post of 2012 so far

I was never given presents.

Just Jungle 2 would be better if featured the original versions.

DKC2 has the best music of the series.

Lego is great.