This blog entry is not as much a review of Madden Football 92 for the Genesis as a recollection of personal events related to the game. Mind you (the reader), I played Madden 92 numerous times with my friends Ed and Tim (who are brothers), so this game is indeed 1HN (first-hand nostalgia) for me. But, what makes this game stand out in my mind is the circumstances under which we purchased it.
It was fall of 1991, and Ed and I were seniors in high school. It was one of those Saturdays when my mom and dad let me crash at Ed's house. There were many great things about crashing at his house: I could be loud if I wanted; his parents were very easygoing; Ed was simultaneously hilarious and mildly irritating; and, Ed had a Sega Genesis. In those days, I still had my NES, but had given up on it because, hey, I was in high school and I didn't have time for that "kiddie stuff." Having said that, the Genesis was certainly NOT kiddie stuff; this was a serious cutting-edge gaming console. I remember the day when Ed brought over the Genesis with Altered Beast to my house. I was blown away, to say the least.
Anyway, I was hanging out with Ed and his family when Ed started to scheme. See, he and Tim knew that Electronic Arts had released Madden Football 92 for the Sega Genesis and they were pooling their cash to buy it. They were a bit short on cash, but I had some. I think now that it was odd that I willingly contributed a share of cash to help them buy a game I couldn't play at my own home, but I quite enthusiastically offered to pay a third of the cost just so that they could buy the game that night. With sufficient funds in hand, Ed, Tim, their dad, and I piled into their dad's battleship of a brown station wagon and made the five-mile journey to some mom-and-pop video and game store.
When we arrived, I noted the dark-wooded trim of the mini-mall dating back to the late 1970s. After we parked, Ed made a beeline into the store where the game was located. I looked around inside the store and considered the relatively small space. There were videos and games lining the walls. I remember thumbing through some CD singles where I found "Nobody's Fool" by Kenny Loggins, which was the main theme from Caddyshack II. I put the single aside and turned to watch as Ed and Tim purchased Madden 92. Ah, our prize... Finally in our grasp!
I remember getting to hold it and looking at the blue-bordered front cover of the cartridge box. There was John Madden with his Super Bowl ring and microphone, mugging for the camera as if he had just finished some color commentary. I also recall going back to Ed's house and waiting eagerly as Tim inserted the cartridge into their Genesis.
Madden Football 92 for the Genesis was a wonderful pick-up-and-play football simulation that amounted to hours and hours of fun. Ed and Tim used to record statistics when they pitted specific teams against other teams. They even kept season standings as if they were NFL commissioners. I marveled at the stats they would keep and their diligence in recording those stats. I could never be so motivated to retain stats from a sports game like they did, though I would certainly fret over rosters in other sports games. In any case, Madden 92 represented for me how video games could bring friends together and, ironically, encourage social interaction. Ed and I used to spend hours playing or watching games, goading each other or laughing at the ridiculous plays that the Genesis CPU would conjure out of thin air. Did Ed ever pay me back, I wonder... Even if he didn't, it was worth the cash just to spend time with my friends.
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