Double the trouble!

I’ve been living in my new house for almost three months now and as a testament to my laziness still find myself partially living in and out of boxes. Sure all the required stuff is out of the box, such as cooking tools and my PC. For the most part though, things like my books and random gaming collectibles are still neatly packed away safe from the nasty dust monster.

Cast your mind back to the Monday just gone and I had just returned home from University. I did my usual dump my bag in a random and annoying place on the floor routine and ventured upstairs to look for a book to read. Two boxes later I find my book, but after picking it up my eyes glanced downwards and were greeted by a real trip down memory lane.

The item in question was my copy of Double Dragon for the Master System, still in great condition complete with all the manuals. It even has the old school advertising leaflets in it, this one being an invitation to join the Sega club.

At a time of year when we are now seeing quality release after quality release it struck me as a little nostalgic that this was one of the games where it all began for me. Back in the day when all the talk on the playground was comparing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to Transformers (Turtles for the record) or the good old Sonic Vs Mario (Mario hands down.)

Things were easier back then, simpler if you want. Sure the consoles of that day weren’t master pieces of engineering, sure you could get out of breath just from trying to get a game to work. On the whole  though it was a simpler time and a part of me wishes that maybe, just maybe, there was a bit more of that today, although I think that’s an entry for another day.

So, here’s to you Double Dragon and other games of your generation. Thanks for putting me on the path that turned me into the gamer I am today. I really couldn’t imagine a world without games where all I did in the evenings was watching some drawn out soap opera or some form of nightmarish reality show …for that I thank you!