As children grow older, the magic of the Holidays fade into embers. Each one holds a different heartbreak when the wonders of myth are shattered by reality. The easter bunny never hopped, the tooth fairy never flew and Santa began as a marketing campaign by Coca-Cola. It's a crushing moment for every child when it's revealed that their parents have been lying to them for a lifetime. Fantastical tales lead way to mistrust during the inevitable tumultuous teenage years. But one fateful year in 1994, magic returned to Christmas for this teen.
I grew up an unabashed Nintendo fanboy since Santa got me the NES Deluxe set for the Christmas of 1987, at the tender age of 9. It had me transfixed from day one. The NES introduced me to Mario, Simon Belmont, Samus Aran, Erdrick, and a host of warriors, mages and heroes. I conquered King Koopa, Dracula, Mother Brain, and the Dragonlord with the help of my new friends. We spent countless hours together in my room, running through a seemingly endless stream of adventures. I thought the tales would never end, until high school approached in '91 and there was a new kid on the block. Sonic.That blue ball of blast-processing speed had me green with envy. He had a slick attitude no one could deny from his edgy spikes to his impatient toe-tapping idle animation, looking at me as if to say, 'C'mon, I'm waiting for you to get off your ass and give me some speed.' From my first glances of the SEGA Genesis at a demo kiosk at Sears, my head was filled with golden rings of possibility. Shortly later we went home together, and I quickly forgot about those old friends, I had Sonic on my side.
Years passed and my childhood wonder gave way to grungy indifference. Nirvana was on the airwaves, and I couldn't care less about anything. Apathy was cool and so was I, while outfitted in an effortless flannel and Doc Martins. It was fun to lose and to pretend. Meanwhile, secretly, I was playing games as ravenously as the boy I once was sitting cross-legged in the living room inches away from the console TV. But I wanted more. Myst had been released in '93 and I was hungry for the next-generation CD technology, which heralded an age of limitless potential for gaming. Video-integration, massive storage, more game than you could ever imagine, it was all too much for me to take. Without a PC in the house, the new horizon looked dim. Even in the darkest times, there was a glimmer of hope far in the distance. I read an article in SEGA Visions about the upcoming game Lunar: The Silver Star. It looked like an epic journey, greater than Dragon Warrior, more grand than Final Fantasy, more moving than Ultima. That sealed the deal, I had to have the SEGA CD.
Throughout '94, I showed every article I ran across in my GamePro, SEGA Visions and VideoGames magazines to my parents. "Isn't that cooooool?", "Real Interactive Video!", "Hot Animations!", "I could play Dragon's Lair at home!" My tactics were anything but subtle. My poor, poor parents, what I put them through with my boundless admiration of video games. Persistence paid off that year.Christmas morning of 1994, I popped out of bed extra early that day. The stockings were hung by the TV with care, and presents were wondrously wrapped under the twinkling lights of our douglas fir. My dad fixed eggnog in the next room and the house was filled with the sweet scent of nutmeg and cinnamon. My brothers filed in, wiping sleep from their eyes and took their places around the tree. Our living room was a Norman Rockwell portrait he forgot to paint. We all received a few rounds of gifts, socks, sweaters, and books.
Before we got to the bigger gifts, my mom handed out our stockings. I had one present within the oversized red fleece sock with my name emblazoned in gold glitter puff paint upon it. A bag of chocolate-covered espresso beans. Yum! I had recently developed a taste for these little sweet caffeine-rich confections, so I hurriedly opened the bag and popped a few in my mouth. Then it was the big moment. Our final gifts.
My Dad passed me a hefty box, and my eyes lit up brighter than the sun. Before he could say anything, I ripped into the package, and oh glory of glories, there it was, sitting on my lap. My next-level gen 2 SEGA CD! The side-situated one with the top-loading tray. I nearly leapt off the floor with excitement, and let out an extended squeal of girlish glee, to my older brothers' dismay. It came packed with Sewer Shark, which featured devastating digital video of live actors and explosive CD sound!!!! Sooooo cool!
Before I my heart could reach it's resting rate, my Mom handed me two smaller gifts. I feverishly destroyed the wrapping paper and beheld the wonder and majesty of Sonic CD and Lunar: The Silver Star. The whole reason I wanted the system to begin with was staring at me with glistening silver leaf detail on embossed lettering. True Role-Playing! A Boundless Love Story! An Epic Adventure! And Instant Classic! It was all too much for me to take in at one time. Through misty eyes, I endlessly thanked my parents, and retreated to my room where I began the real journey to the next level.
I closed my door, carefully extracted my future machine from it's box and gingerly placed it upon my throne of honor beside my genesis in my entertainment center. I turned on my franken-system and was greeted with a whole new experience, a menu screen with a satellite view of the Earth and the moon, and a pulsing rainbow-fill of the SEGA CD logo. Dazzled, I sat there and watched the logo flip, and rotate around the heavens. My buddy Sonic was the first one in the tray. My eyes melted as I beheld him rendered in full animation. Sonic boom, sonic boom, sonic boom, trouble keeps you runnin' faster. Wicked! After finishing off a couple of worlds, I remembered I had another present from my stocking that tempted my tummy, chocolate-covered espresso beans. Mmmmmm, rich, dark and delicious.Then I popped in Lunar: The Silver Star, which began one of my longest continual journeys in video games to this date. I traveled to Burg to meet up with Alex and Nall at the memorial to Dragonmaster Dyne. I met all sorts of companions along the way, talked to ancient dragons and watched with heartbreak as my hometown burned to the ground. It was an emotional roller-coaster fueled by caffeine-filled nuggets of perfection.
I couldn't rip my face away from the TV, it was one of the most fantastical tales I had ever witnessed. And I was enthralled by the real voice acting. Everything else faded away for those hours, I didn't speak to anyone, I did nothing but stare at the TV and pop beans. My mother would knock on the door every couple of hours, "Jay, lunch!", "Jay, dinner.", "Jay, breakfast.", "Jay, are you ok?". I was better than ok, I had reached the next level, and the view from atop was paved with iridescent CDs glittering in the sun.
Two days later, I had destroyed Ghaleon and saved Luna from his wicked mind trap. Sonic had travelled through time to destroy Dr. Robotnik once again. The sewers were clean of rodents and my boss had a few sparing kind words to say. My sleep-depraved eyes had grown weary and my controller slipped from my hands. I turned the knob on my TV to the off position and the screen disappeared into a single glowing dot. Then I nestled under the covers and took one last swig of my half-full Coca-Cola bottle sitting beside my bed as I drifted off to dreamland.
