Last night, I pulled off what I had never thought I would actually do, despite the numerous opportunities that were granted me in the past: I bought the Sega Genesis game cartridge for John Madden Football 93 (or Madden 93). Several months ago, I had spotted it in a local retrogame store; believe it or not, there is a store dedicated to retro video game cartridges in my town! Feeling a bit down about my prospects of an X-Wing Miniatures Game match being shattered as my sparring partner comforted his distraught friend, I ventured to that store and, for seven measly American dollars, I acquired that once long-lost gem for myself. To be honest, though, it wasn't really "long-lost," as much as it was destroyed in a fit of anger. I shall elucidate...
During my second year of college, I purchased a Sega Genesis Model One from KB Toys in Los Angeles. At the time, the Model One Genesis was on sale for $129 or something like that, and I knew that this was a great deal. I had wanted a Genesis for some time, having been the owner of a Nintendo Entertainment System which had been long outmoded by then. Throughout my high school years, my friends Ed and Tim owned a Genesis. We used to spend evenings playing various games, especially Madden 92 (I wrote a post about that). After acquiring that magical piece of 16-bit hardware, I meandered home and plugged it into my old CRT television with the provided RF adapter. I inserted my first game cartridge, Sonic the Hedgehog, and fired up the console. Sure enough, the Genesis was as fun as it was during my high school days.
I don't remember exactly when I acquired Madden 93, but I know that by 1994 (when I acquired the Genesis), it was an older game. Nonetheless, I bought it and played it numerous times with Ed, who was one of my roommates at UCLA. One of my all-time favorite video game memories was playing alongside Ed as the 1985 Chicago Bears. We may a simple rule for ourselves to enhance the challenge of playing against the computer: we could NOT score on offensive plays. We could score after an interception, a fumble, a punt, a kickoff, or as a result of a safety; otherwise, we had to punt the ball. We experienced some hilarious scenarios. One scenario was after we would intercept the ball, run it to the opposition's 4-yard-line, and then get tackled; because we couldn't score on offense, we had to punt, so we had to angle our punt to the sidelines AND kick with as little power as possible to move the ball to the 1-yard-line! Another funny scenario was trying to rush the quarterback at the same time only to have both of our sprites dive past the fortunate quarterback. We used to shift the defensive line off to one side and rush from other other side. We also got really good at batting down passes... I don't know if we could win in a modern football game in this way, but I can say with certainty that doing so wouldn't be as delightful as it was with Madden 93 on the Sega Genesis.
Anyway, as my second year of college came to a close, I moved out of the apartment I shared with Ed and moved into a studio apartment with Chris. To summarize very briefly, Chris and I were like oil and water; we didn't mesh very well. In retrospect, I recognize that he was a very nice guy and was more selfless than a lot of college students, but our senses of humor were very different to the point where his sarcasm offended me to the core. Because he was my roommate, he would sometimes challenge me in a sports game on the Genesis; usually it was NHL 95 or Madden 93, which I was still playing despite my owning Madden 94 (in my opinion, the game quality got worse between Madden 93 and Madden 94). During those games, Chris was highly proficient at mind games. For instance, if he were losing, he would say, "Oh, I had to scratch my arm, so I messed up that play," as if my winning were accidental; conversely, if he were winning, he would tout his video game greatness. It used to wear on me like the proverbial nails on a chalkboard. One day, Ed visited me and made an off-hand comment about Chris. For reasons I still do not fully understand, I was enraged at being reminded of Chris, so I proceeded to smash my beloved Madden 93 cartridge with a hammer and threw the entire package down the garbage chute.
Thus, I destroyed the cartridge. That was 24 years ago.
For years, I regretted my rash actions. It was very counterproductive for me to annihilate my own property, but to do so with a game I thoroughly enjoyed was an especially poignant regret. Up until the end of my college days, I had a problem with anger that occasionally drove me to destroy things. Even as a born-again Christian now, I am still plagued with this rage, but I do not wreck things as I used to do. It is a tendency that I endeavor to eliminate in my character.
Fast-forward to last night. After I purchased Madden 93 for the second time, I feel as if I have corrected a past mistake. I know that God is not concerned with wrecked cartridges or video games, but I would like to think that He chose to bless me with it again. I vow to care for this cartridge and enjoy it again with Ed, as well as my sons.
By the way, regarding the game itself, it is one of the easiest football games to learn in the world of video games, especially compared to Madden games on the XBox or PlayStation. With three buttons and a directional pad, Madden 93 on the Sega Genesis is fun, fast, and readily accessible. Also, you receive the benefit of learning about American football. Of course, you would have to accept that in 1993 there were no two-point-conversions, Texans, Ravens, or Titans. Set those differences aside and you're in for a night full of entertainment.
To quote John Madden: BOOM! He'll remember that number!
