Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic 2

Note the "Not for Resale" stickers

Sega CD Summer is out! This is the first entry in the Sega Tote Series

The Sega Tote Series kicks things off with Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic the Hedgehog 2 because, honestly, that's where my Sega Genesis journey started.

When Sega released Sonic the Hedgehog 2, the company offered a great deal: you could get the game free by mail if you bought a new Sega Genesis. As I'm always on the lookout for a good deal, I decided that was the time to get a new system.

My Sega Genesis Model 1 came from Target back when Richmond, Indiana, actually had one (my mother still mourns the store's departure to this day). Sonic the Hedgehog was the pack-in game. A few weeks after I bought the system, Sonic 2 arrived in the mail.

Williamsburg, Indiana, is a small town. For a long time, my house didn't even have a street address and all mail went to the local post office. No one delivered our mail; we had to pick it up every day ourselves. Even the street number assigned to our house wasn't our legal address; it was there simply so first responders could find us in case of an emergency. Our legal address is our P.O. box, which has caused all kinds of problems over the years, wreaking havoc on my mother's ability to order things online.

But one day, a package arrived for me in the mail. There are few things more exciting as a kid than anticipating the arrival of something in "four to six" or "six to eight" weeks. As an avid G.I. Joe collector in my youth, I'd gotten plenty of action figures after mailing in Flag Points. And when Sonic 2 arrived in a cardboard box, it was pretty darn cool.

A confession: I've never finished a Sonic game. I've almost finished one a few times, but many levels exist that I've never seen. If the game had a password or save function when I was a kid, this probably wouldn't be the case. I played both games a lot and probably preferred Sonic 2 because of the spin dash and the Casino Night Zone, which I thought was a blast.

I made it as far as the Star Light Zone in Sonic 1 and the Metropolis Zone in Sonic 2. I definitely have an affection for the Sonic games, although I never bought Sonic 3 or any of the spinoffs until Sonic Mania came out a few years ago. I also had Sonic 1 and Sonic 2 for the Game Gear, although those were entirely different games from their 16-bit counterparts.

To the great shock of many Sega CD fans, I never owned Sonic CD and only played the mobile version once. While I liked platformers and enjoyed playing as Sonic, sports and action games were more my style, and I played them with such great enthusiasm that the Sonic series got left behind.

That said, sometimes the theme from the Chemical Zone pops into my head. On another day, it may be the Star Light Zone theme. Maybe it's time to go back and give it another try...

Meet the Characters: Tommy Guggenbiller

Sega CD Summer is out! This is the first entry in my Meet the Characters Series

Tommy is the main character in Sega CD Summer and the book is told in first-person from his perspective.

Let's just get this out of the way: yes, Tommy shares a lot of similarities with the author. He lives in the same small town of Williamsburg, Indiana, plays baseball during the summers, loves video games and Star Wars, and has a paper route. He also enjoys hanging out with his friends.

Tommy is a little younger than the author would have been in 1994. He's 12 years old during the events of the summer and his birthday month is left nebulous. My birthday falls in July; I felt a birthday celebration would've unnecessarily derailed the narrative, so let's just say he had his birthday earlier in the year.

Tommy doesn't mind working hard, although he doesn't enjoy baseball as much as the author (or as much as his father). That's one of the most significant differences between the author and the character. I loved playing baseball during the summer and while practices sometimes wore me down, I generally enjoyed taking batting and fielding practice.

I'd say Tommy has above-average intelligence for his age. He's a decent kid at his core, although he's susceptible to the same human foibles as the rest of us. He tends to trust people, which can backfire with anything that comes out of Mr. James Glad's mouth. The poor kid also has an overactive imagination, which is why he's gullible enough to believe some of the things Mr. Glad says, especially those pertaining to a particular outbuilding on this property.

Tommy would appreciate it if everyone got along. He adores his older brother and is constantly seeking the approval of Craig aka Craig the Baseball Prodigy. He doesn't believe he'll ever match his brother's prowess on the baseball field. 

While Tommy loves video games, he isn't a highly skilled player when it comes to action games and fighters. His friends routinely dust him in head-to-head competition, although he can hold his own in any sports-related video game, much to the chagrin of his friends.

Unflinchingly polite, Tommy plays it straight with people and is one of those "sir" and "ma'am" types. He assumes most people are more competent than him when it comes to things he doesn't understand. Loyal to his friends, he's reluctant to make enemies and struggles to let go of his friendship with Ryan Davis, a former best friend with whom he had an inexplicable falling out.

A voracious reader and consumer of pop culture, Tommy lives to discuss TV shows, books, and movies with his friends and family. His brother doesn't share many of these interests, however, and is only interested in sports video games. And while his father loves going to the movies, a disconnect often exists between father and son when it comes to the details of such movies.

You get the sense that Tommy is a good kid who wants to keep his family happy and will do just about anything to convince his parents to get him a Sega CD. He works hard and has a fierce competitive streak that really only comes out during baseball games (or when he's playing video games against his brother). 

Really, he's just a small-town kid trying his best to understand his place in the world.

Unlocking the mysteries of the Sega Tote

As I ramp up for the release of Sega CD Summer, I'll be writing about the Sega Genesis and the Sega CD in a series of blog posts.

The Sega Genesis played an outsized role in my childhood. I cut my video game teeth on the Mattel Intellivision. For much of my childhood, other kids didn't believe that system actually existed because almost everyone else had an Atari.

In the days before "playing Nintendo" was a thing, people "played Atari."

We sold the Intellivison during a garage sale one year, earning enough money to buy a Nintendo Entertainment System. So, yes, we eventually "played Nintendo." The NES was truly a great system, but when I was ready to upgrade in the early '90s, I chose the Sega Genesis instead of the Super Nintendo.

I sold the NES through a classified ad in the Palladiun-Item and used the money to buy a Genesis. 

When it came time to upgrade to the Sony PlayStation, I kept the Genesis. I simply couldn't part with it. Heck, I even had the Sega CD and the Game Gear.

For years, the Sega Genesis Model 1 and Sega CD Model 2 and their various games have been stored away. They still work, according to intermittent tests from over the years!

I loved that system. I even liked the Sega CD a lot, even though I realize no one consistently tapped its great potential. I discovered the Sega CD was pretty unpopular when the games started getting big discounts just a year or so after I bought it (Future Matt wishes Past Matt would've grabbed that copy of Snatcher he saw in the bargain bin at Sears).

Today, the Sega Genesis and Sega CD sit in a blue tote with their various games. I have about thirty games between the two systems. In the weeks leading up to the release of the book, I'm going to reflect on the different games with mini-reviews.

Please join me as I unlock the mysteries of the Sega Tote:

• Sept. 27: Sonic Boom
• Sept. 29: Sports Talk
• Oct. 3: A Long Time Ago in a Galaxy Far, Far Away...
• Oct. 5: Maximum Mutant Avengers
• Oct. 7: Stroll Through the Park
• Oct. 11: One-Timer
• Oct. 13: One by Space, Another by Air
• Oct. 19: Shark Attack
• Oct. 20: Plasma? Groovy!
• Oct. 21: Rip His Spine Out!
• Oct. 31: Boomshakalaka!
• Nov. 2: Hoopster Doofus

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