Proof '90s kids playing video games are cooler than kids today

Polygon: We asked for gaming photos from your childhood. The response was more adorable, touching and nostalgic than we could have hoped. Below are a collection of tweets from readers who were willing to share their memories of gaming as a kid.

[Metallox]

The nostalgia attacks me, even if I never had a system from the 4th and 5th gens xD

[fardan85]

I feel ya, those pics brought me so many memories.
The long sessions playing MegaMan trying to beat that game. Damn, it was hard for kids, but we didn't give up on it. I still remember the good times in the arcade playing Street Fighter, and running away from Nemsis in Resident Evil, doing speed run in Mario game on NES, trying to figure out the way in the original Tomb Raider.

Sometimes I wonder, why kids these days decides to trolls or becoming fanboys instead of just enjoying games and creating memories. We didn't need to argue about 1080p/60, we only needed to know if the game is good or not.
Cheers to gamers.

[BVFTW]

So much truth Fardan85, my cousin and I were accustomed to exchange systems for a weekend from time to time (Genesis, Snes, Psx, N64) games were magical back then, most of the titles nowadays feel so clinic, like an executed job or always going for the grand cinematic experience, thanks god for the indies that are pretty much striving for the gaming of yore and pushing for new expiriences as well, our real gaming warriors.

[fardan85]

@BVFTW

Can't agree more. Same situation here too, we used to exchange games and consoles all the time. Speaking of Indi I'm looking forward to No Man's Sky, I wanted to get Oddworld, I got unlucky with lots financial burden, I barely preordered TLOUR from psn.

[camel_toad]

Well said bubble+ particularly about just being able to enjoy the games.

[BVFTW]

@fardan85
No man sky seems like a real treat man, I'm on a tight budget as well but with Ps+ backing me up plus some sweet deals on the PC front I'm still in the game! I've my eyes on "Apotheon", "A hat in time" and "Hyper light drifter" (just for the cool name alone deserves a medal) and maybe "Lobodestroyo" (I'm still not sure on that one)

[fardan85]

@camel_toad
Thanks mate.

@BVFTW
I've been away from PC gaming for along time, I want to play Gone Home, and Star Citizen. I gotta spare some time for'em.
PS+ is awesome, it saves me some cash every year. I'm waiting for their next sale, I hope Injustice price matches the one in Super Hero Sales in USA psn.

[NarooN]

Much truth. Back then, the only thing that mattered was whether or not the game was fun. None of this trolling on the internet complaining about how this game has 50 less pixels in the framebuffer than this game, or PC vs. console BS. Everyone was just happy to be a gamer. Nowadays, it's just a nonstop trollfest. I really don't know how that came to be, but I'll never forget the 90's.

[Army_of_Darkness]

I'm one of the 90's kids, so it's true. We are cooler😉😉ԅ 21;;-)

[Mr Pumblechook]

I'm not a fan of Polygon or Plant's writing because of what I perceive their blatant bias. However this article is such a great idea, showing gamers as kids in front of their home computers and games consoles, very sweet and shows how we get gripped by this wonderful hobby from an early age.

[marloc_x]

☆VECTREX☆
still own my original. Parents hid it for me hunt it down on my birthday♡

[mcstorm]

Fandan85 your spot on. But like I've posted on N4G before we were seen as geeks when we were your for playing games but now its the cool thing to do and as soon as something becomes cool the mine is better than yours start.

Look at smart phones or tablets. Until the IPhone and Ipad come along tablets and smart phones were classed as uncool but now they are cool but do less than the old smart phones and tablets and people now go on and on about who has the best one.

Technology is a great thing in my eyes and working in the tech industry I get to see what's going to happen in the next few years and how the World will start to use it which is great but the so called cool people don't see any of that all see is a great marking program and that's it they are hocked and telling everyone how what they have is the best thing ever made but don't really have a clue what else is out there.

[Lennoxb63]

You get a bubble for that well said comment. If all fanboys could see this comment they would much rather be doing that, making memories. I think that trolls go so hard over their consoles because this console war; oddly enough, is linked to their self esteem. So if you attack their preference in any way its like attacking them. When in reality, we're sharing the same experiences no matter what res or fps.

[Magnes]

@fardan85 So why do you feel the need to poke a sleeping giant with a stick? Your first paragraph was excellent the second well you had to go there.

[Concertoine]

Im only 17 and i honestly feel more affection for the 80s and 90s than any time after. I can't see much from this decade or last really maintaining cultural status. Like you see stuff from that era remaining relevant, but i can't see much from 2000-now that'll be on a t-shirt 10 years from now you know?

[dcj0524]

Halo splitscreen was pretty fun....... oh and some indie games stand out.

[Muzikguy]

Goldeneye split screen was awesome! Timesplitters was a blast! Halo too. Then you have all the amazing RPGs from back in the day... Great times! I've thought the same thing about decades. I love 80s music, 90s rock, movies and games from the same time. There hasn't been much in the last 20 years I think I'd like to come back to later on like I do 80s 90s stuff. So much passion back then in our media IMO. Now it's just "how can we make a buck" and "let's make DLC or an INCOMPLETE game then charge double"

[3-4-5]

90's gaming was awesome, and yes for some reason the peace sign was a "cool" thing to do for a few years.

[ITPython]

Oh those were the days, I got started up on a SNES (had played other consoles prior, but never had one until the Super Nintendo). I still remember playing it on a tiny 5" black and white TV, mostly playing Mario Kart, Killer Instinct, Street Fighter II Turbo and getting my butt handed to me by my older brother. And of course heavily playing the other classics like Donkey Kong Country, Star Fox, and Super Mario World (plus a lot more that I can't remember).

And of course there was games like Jurassic Park, where you couldn't save so you had to leave the console on 24/7 in order to eventually finish the game, and boy did that console get HOT! And I think we had to start the game completely over if we lost all our lives. Man that sucked!

And anybody remember getting really excited to be renting a game from BlockBuster? (N64 days). lol. Those sure were good times.

[Castle333]

I remember playing videos games in a 10 inch screen tv, hahaha. I also remember going to blockbuster every weekend to get a new game. I would spend at least 30 minutes reading the back of the box just to know i picked the right game. Because that was the only game i was going to play for 1 week straight, so it had to be the right choice. I missed that from the 90s, now days i buy games and i do t even finish them :/. I miss the 90s! great times.

[Magicite]

these were times when kids didnt care about specs or consoles, they just played the games they had, exchanged them and played more.

[nirwanda]

People have always argued over specs from c64 vs spectrum vs amstrad, or snez vs megadrive, ST vs Amiga.
Saturn vs ps1 vs n64.
In those days it was just as bad even the adverts for consoles encouraged it.

[Hellsvacancy]

Miss my old Mega Drive, I killed weeks and weeks playing games like Road Rash, Desert Strike and Micro Machines 3D

[herobyclicking]

Ohhh! Micro Machines, so good.

[christian hour]

I spent my lunch money on the way to school every mornign by stopping in to my local video store and playing Caddilacs and Dinosaurs! Until I seen the photo in this article I thought I was the only person who'd ever played it! Used to LOVE the show.

So many of these photos are like re-enactments of my childhood. It's scary. And I kinda miss how the world used to look pre-internet, I wanna live in all the houses on display here, TAKE ME BACK! DAT INTERIOR DECORATING!

First game I ever played was some game i cant remember the title built in to an amstrad my brother got for christmas 88, had to type a weird boot command to get it to run.

First console game I played was Super Mario bros on the Nes :D First console i "owned" was a sega Master System with Alex the Kidd BUILT IN TO IT! Then we upgraded to the Sega Mega Drive (Genesis for you westerners).

Was never fortunate to have a nes/snes of our own but my next door neighbours had one and we swapped all the time. What console wars? Didnt matter. It was the games that mattered. And that's how it still is for me.

Wish it was like that for everyone and we could avoid all the drama on gaming websites from fanboys and trolls :( Oh well!

[DragoonsScaleLegends]

Super Mario World on the SNES was the first game I remember playing. I played it in 1998 when I was around 4. Donkey Kong Country was another one I played the crap out of on my snes.

[Vantage]

I liked the picture with World of Warcraft the best.

I miss pre Cataclysm.

[PurpHerbison]

Molten

[Relientk77]

Sega Genesis, and all those great PS1 games

<3

[iNFAMOUZ1]

yup 90's kids are best

[MonstaTruk]

If you mean 90's *GAMERS*, then I'll give you a "F*ckin' Right!" :-D

[TheOneWhoIsTornApart]

Come on man all kids were gamers in the 90's.

[Barnaby-Jones]

Dreamcast master race!

[Thatguy-310]

=. ( it actually brings tears to my eyes. Damn we had a great child hood. Games, shows, movies etc the 90's was an amazing time to be a kid.

[Dante81]

That would be the 80s for me. Don't get me wrong, I loved most of the 90s too.

Edit: I'm not the one who disagreed with you.

[Muzikguy]

I agree 90s had awesome movies and games. I liked 90s rock but not much else, music wasn't great then IMO other than that. It really was a good time to be a gamer. I'd like to have been in the 80s more for music but then wouldn't have had the games

[Castle333]

Music in the 90s was horrible, but games, tv ahows, and movies were the shit.

[Back-to-Back]

Power Rangers + Ninja Turtles + VideoGames = Awesomeness

[nevin1]

The games were better too.

[Dante81]

I agree. The 90s had the most incredible videogame library.

[TheFirstClassic]

Late 90s were the golden age of games imo. So many genre defining classics. I will never forget first playing mario 64 as a kid. Was just an amazing experience.

[gamercologyst]

90's for Life

[True_Samurai]

Sweet Home Alabama 1993

[M-M]

Playing NES while waiting for my brother to come home from school, and playing Bomberman 64 on sunny, Saturday mornings are the times I'll always remember.

[Hazmat13]

ok we get it the 90's happened.... its over, get over it. haha

[Imalwaysright]

Shush. Let the adults speak.

[Hazmat13]

I was born in 94. I'm sick of seeing all this 90's crap. Yeah it was fun doesn't mean you gotta talk about it every 6 seconds.

[trenso1]

I'm ashamed to be in the same class year as you

[LightDiego]

Cool article. 90's for the win.

[kenmid]

Of course we are cooler....

[Ghanja]

I.

[WeAreLegion]

As much as I enjoyed the 90's, there are several reasons many people enjoy the things they grew up with more than the things they experience as adults.

[ginsunuva]

Are you suggesting nostaligic memories might be misleading by only making us remember the good things and forgetting out the bad, as if there were some rose-tinted spectacles in front of our eyes?

[DragonKnight]

Oh yeah? Well 80s kids playing video games are cooler than both 90s and today's kids.

[Qrphe]

We all know this comments section is just an ageist circlejerk. 00's kids are as "good" as 90's or 80's kids.

[DragonKnight]

Y2K Kids? PFFFFFFFFFT! You wish you could be as cool as 80s and 90s kids. 80s kids had the dawn of the rebirth of gaming and the best music, 90s kids had the SNES and the best cartoons, 00s kids can't top that.

[Shakengandulf]

"87" here, with ya all the way.

[e-p-ayeaH]

90´s had kids experimenting early 3D polygonal graphics and eternal classics like Tomb Raider(96), Resident Evil, Super Mario 64,Virtua Fighter,Virtua Cop, etc.

mid 90´s was the start of all the great games we have today even tough games in general used to be more fun before imo but that´s another story.

[e-p-ayeaH]

-double post-

[MCTJim]

I have been a gamer since the FIRST home version of pong. I have had the pleasure of playing and owning every single console from the 70 ' s to current gen. So many countless hours spent playing video games.

[Imalwaysright]

Of course we are. Those were THE days.

[TheTowelBoy]

Gameboy Color, Super Nintendo, Ps2.. all defined my tastes in gaming. Gawd, SO MUCH HORIZON STARING

[Castle333]

Pokemon on gameboy color all day everyday! i dont know how many batteries i went through.

[ElementX]

I was born in '80 and have been gaming since my dad's Atari however I prefer today's games. I do like the advancements in AI, controls, and graphics.

[CPTN MITCHELL]

40 year old right here

[Jsoc]

Wow I still remember getting my Artari VCS 1979 witch got renamed the 2600 , I was 11yrs old.... Now I'm 46yrs old and love gaming more than ever since then I have almost every console system ... And I still have them and always go back to them to remember when it all started...

[Remy_Chaos]

The 90s were the best! I remember my dad got me the SNES that included Killer Instinct and I also got Super Mario Kart. So many fun memories (and wasted time lol) but the best thing thinking about gaming then was that games were actually complete! I feel bad for kids born during the mid 2000s and later,they'll never know the golden age as any 90s kid or before (after the crash of course) did.

[Ocsta]

Agreed. I feel bad for my 21 year old brother who wants to puke when he sees me playing Mega Man on an emulator. F***ing heathen.

[Sadist3]

Born in 81, been gaming ever since I learned how to read. Atari, Intellivision, can't forgot Contra, Trojan, Rad Racer on the Nintendo with the BS 3D glasses. Final fight, Comix Zone, Road Rash, Streets of Rage...those were the days.

[Ocsta]

Lunar lander on Atari in 1988 was my first. Then I discovered arcade games, and I became the gaming whore I am today.

[HumanatPlay]

Double Dragon, Streets of Rage, Mario, Shinobi, Golden China (LMAO)....man we didn't give a shit back then! It was pure, pure, pure fun. I feel so sorry for my brother in laws son (9), he has to grow up on games like Watch Dogs...sigh...Anyway we will always have our golden memories :D

PS: Golden China was a console with the "100 in 1" kinda games lmao. Also don't forget Duck Hunt!

[e-p-ayeaH]

There´still some chinese stores selling those consoles out there they even sell cartridges full of games.

[kingPoS]

Games like the Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection are a retro gold mine. Every kid should play at one game from it before they even touch (lol) a single smart phone game.

Gateway MT6706 2008

[Jihaad_cpt]

:) Takes me back. Damn I'm old :(

[e-p-ayeaH]

I had a PS1 back in summer 97 with test drive 4 still one the best of the series imo!

Im also remembering the good old days with cool stuff like tamagochi´s and gameboy color with pokemon red/blue good times.

[ginsunuva]

Yup, everything in the 90s looked and felt ugly.

[dboyman]

With games like Donkey Kong Country for the SNES? I think not

[sebzhd]

Like it,so good time 90' Megadrive, 32X, Saturn Dreamcast PS1 and PS2

[PaulFiend]

I remember playing my Famicom, Sega Mega Drive 2 (Japanese), Super Nintendo (NTSC-U) in the first half of the 90's. Great times, everything was so new and unexplored. :)

[Tross]

I was a Genesis kid until late '96, then I was a Playstation kid. Actually, was is the wrong word, since I've owned every Sony system since then. My friend across the street was a Nintendo kid, and we played each other's systems all the time, so it wasn't so much a fanboy thing as a practical thing, to get the best of both worlds(and bond while we did it). While I can't claim to have played it all, I grew up with both Mario and Sonic, and Link, and Crash Bandicoot, and more. All this talk makes me want to dust off The Ultimate Genesis Collection. Yeah, I don't actually have my old Genesis anymore.:(

[Tross]

Double comment. Not sure how it happened.