Madden 93: 1HN Hammer Redemption

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!

Madden Football 92: 1HN Friend Cash Pool

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.

Madden 2004: 1HN Cheesy Skill Levels

Here is a link to an article I wrote a few years ago about Madden 2004 on the PC:

A Treatise on Madden, Madness, and Cheesy Skill Levels

In short, though Madden 2004 is manageable at the Rookie level and a lot of fun, it becomes inordinately hard the higher you set the difficulty: you can't throw across the middle or run anywhere but UP the middle, and linebackers suddenly develop awesome hands for interceptions. This game was a far cry from the fare to which I was accustomed from my Genesis days. That said, Madden 2004 had much to offer and is playable on Windows XP or Windows Vista without a hitch.

Anyway, if you can get it cheap, I'd recommend it, but for nothing more than $5 or so.

Top Ten First-Hand Nostalgia Sega Genesis Characters (6-3)

Yesterday, I offered up the 10th through 7th best 1HN (First-Hand Nostalgia) Sega Genesis characters based on my personal experience with Genesis games. As I stated in that post, I only included characters or in-game depictions from games that I have played, so a lot of classic characters didn't make the list, like Earthworm Jim, Knuckles, and others. Let's continue the list from number six:

6) Barry Sanders (Madden 93). You could probably include any Barry Sanders from any Madden or non-Madden football game on this list because Barry Sanders always had superhuman speed and quickness, but I must include the Barry Sanders from Madden 93 for one personal reason. If you select the Pro-Form formation when you are cycling through offensive plays, and then pick (and the name of the play escapes me) a play in which the right H-Back (Barry Sanders, in this case) goes into motion to his right, streaks up 10 yards or so and then goes to the post, you would be running one of my favorite all-time plays. With good hands and awesome speed, I could pass to Barry Sanders almost every time and gain major yards. Oh, and pitching right from Pro-Form was effective with Sanders, too. Anyway, Madden 93 was an outstanding entry in the Madden library, and Barry Sanders was a money player.

5) Frank Showtone (PGA European Tour Golf). Already, you can see that EA Sports games figure prominently on my list; that's because I was a huge EA Sports guy, which I've stated ad nauseum. Anyway, I was such a big EA Sports fan that I even bought PGA European Tour Golf, which is actually a solid golf game for the Genesis. Now, there were many great European golfers in that game, like Seve Ballesteros, Bernhard Langer, and Colin Montgomery, so why do I mention Frank Showtone? And... what the hay, who on Earth is Frank Showtone?! If you can't find him on the Internet, it's because he was created by my friend Ed, who was one with whom I had many of my Genesis adventures. To make a very long (but interesting) story short, Ed was on a "Frank Showtone" kick, like he was some lounge singer or something, and he decided to use that name for his in-game avatar. As it turned out, Frank Showtone took on a life of his own, won a few tournaments, and the legend grew. Of course, Frank Showtone has a new distinction: he's the only user-created character on this list. The legend continues!

4) John Madden (various). John Madden was not a playable character, but an in-game non-player character that, much like his real-life counterpart, added color commentary to any Madden football game. Quotes like "Boom!" and "He'll remember that number" would be repeated at least three or four times in a course of a twenty-minute game. The amazing thing was that (also like his real-life counterpart) John Madden's voice NEVER got old. After a while, hearing his sometimes ill-timed quips took on a surreal, humorous quality and often punctuated playful trash-talking. Ed was especially adept at goading me by pointing and laughing at me right after one of his defenders laid the boom on my running back for a loss. BOOM!

3) Brett Hull (NHL 95). When I first started playing the NHL franchise of EA Sports games in 1993, I became a fan of the St. Louis Blues. Why? Well, for the lamest reason possible: I liked the color blue. As I played NHL 94 more, I became not only a bigger fan of the Blues and of ice hockey in general, but also of Brett Hull, who was the sharp-shooting right-winger. In NHL 94, he was excellent, but when I graduated to NHL 95, Brett Hull was absolutely spectacular because one-timers were especially effective in NHL 95. To get the most out of Hull, I used to put him at center on my top line, Brendan Shanahan on the right wing, and Tony Amonte (who I had to acquire from the Blackhawks) on the left wing. With that line, Hull would score three to four goals per game with alarming regularity, and the strategy was simple: streak up one side of the ice with Amonte or Shanahan with the puck, and then with Brett Hull trailing, pass the puck across to him and tap C to shoot just before he received it. The one-timer animation was triggered, and Hull would top-shelf the puck into the net. NHL 95 was THE high point for Hull on the Genesis because EA Sports did something to NHL 96 to weaken the effectiveness of the one-timer. This is why I cite Brett Hull from NHL 95 as my third-best Genesis "character" ever.

Keep an eye out for number two in the next post!