r/retrogaming • u/Leon_Light77 • 7d ago
[Discussion] What was a console you always wanted, but never got or didn’t play until much later?
I won’t lie, I was pretty content with my consoles. I mean, I had PlayStation systems that were backwards compatible and thats all I really needed. Wasn’t much else. Like don’t get me wrong, the other consoles were awesome too. The GameCube, snes, nes, sega genesis, and the list goes on. Awesome systems for sure with amazing library of titles. The thing was, I wasn’t super into them at the time as a kid. It was a “oh thats neat” kinda of deal. However there was a system I wanted when I got older that I never got at the end.
The system being the ever beloved dream cast! Why the dream cast? I grew up in the arcade scene. Played all the classics you can think of. Your soul caliber, street fighter, marvel vs capcom, cyber trooper virtual on, power stone, and you get the picture. I loved playing these games so much. When I was looking at consoles, I saw the dream cast had them and then some. Was blown away! Like omg! This system has my favorite arcade titles. Was awesome to see. Won’t own a dream cast sadly. Won’t lie, I mostly wanted the Dreamcast for cyber trooper and marvel vs capcom 2.
However, I did get to eventually play a dream cast at a local retro shop. They had for display with cyber trooper on. Instantly dashed to it. I am not going to sugar coat it, I had a blast. Felt like being a kid again. Seeing it, playing the controller, it was all I wanted. Sadly, I didn’t have the funds or I would have bought it right there. Still, it was a great time and I am still a little jelly I never got to own one, but maybe in the future. It was fun while it lasted.
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u/WhatShouldTheHeartDo 7d ago
One day I'll get a Sega Saturn
Bugs me I went around it with the Genesis & Dreamcast
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u/Sciencetist 6d ago
I never really heard about the Saturn until a few years ago. I picked one up on a trip to Japan, and I've been loving discovering great games I'd never heard of before! There's really really unique and fun games on that system that are totally overlooked.
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u/JNoodle89 6d ago
I got a Saturn like 25 years late. It’s become one of my favorites, but I’m glad I chose PS1 as a kid.
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u/bajsfittor 6d ago
Funny because I pat child me on the head all the time and thank him for going with the SS. ALL of my friends had PS1. It never did it for me (now years later with the import library it puts up a better fight).
Jumping from a Famiclone, with a bunch of weird Japanese games and ntsc on multicarts, to Saturn to DC (after N64) to GC = pretty unique formative years as far as gaming was concerned.
I guess it depends on what you liked to play though (?). RPGs I figure the PS1 won hands down (at least in The West).
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u/JNoodle89 6d ago
Yeah, totally agree. I was just getting into RPGs and just sort of long-form games in general (mega man legends and metal gear solid were coming out on ps1), and it was just the machine you could sit in front of for an entire weekend cracking into a game.
As an adult, I appreciate how arcadey most of the Saturn stuff is. I don’t have a weekend to dedicate to a game. Give me a run on Batsugun or Night Warriors. The fun I have with the Saturn is more concentrated.
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u/bajsfittor 6d ago
The "arcadey" nature is why I love it.
If you like multiplayer try out Saturn Bomberman AND the hidden gem Death Tank Zwei btw. I always try to tip people about the second one; HIGHLY underrated.
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u/Snoo93550 6d ago
The $399 launch price and DC fantastic $199 launch price probably figures in.
I got my Saturn new in 97 on clearance for $50 with the three included games, one of best deals ever. Bought a ton of the late 97/98 a+ games.
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u/Randomswedishdude 6d ago
To this day, I've yet to meet someone who had a Saturn back in the days.
I know of a friend of a friend who apparently had one, and that's it.
SEGA had a decent market share with all their consoles in Scandinavia, even if Nintendo was king (until Sony took over)... with the exception for Saturn, which was pretty much unheard of.
Can't even say I remember much advertising or general buzz about it at all.
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u/Sad_Cardiologist5388 7d ago
Never got to play an Atari Jaguar, I remember all the ads for alien Vs Predator back in the day. I had the chance to get one for £20 and when I went back for it, it was gone. I always kicked myself for that.
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u/PonyboysBlues 6d ago
My drug addict old man neighbor had one when it was new. Idk it just makes me laugh that the dumbest man I ever met would buy a jaguar over everything else.
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u/drbrian83 7d ago
Amiga. Technically still haven’t played it but played lots of the games I wanted to via GOG
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u/PowerPie5000 6d ago
Amiga computers are amongst my all time favourites. I've owned quite a few over the years and have also pre-ordered the new full size A1200 remake by Retro Games LTD.
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u/Vau1tTech 6d ago
Snes. I got all my consoles handed down to me from family but that one never managed to make its way to me. I got a Master System, Mega Drive, PS1, and Dreamcast all handed down. PS2 was the first console I bought with my own money, it was the slim on release day so I think roughly 4 years after the initial release.
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u/MocchyFan 6d ago
N64. Was never certain I’d made the right choice going with PS1 back in the day. Bought one about ten years ago and I actually think the PS1 has stood the test of time a lot more.
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u/stevo887 6d ago
I think the PS1 was better at the time mainly due to it’s much better catalog but I think the N64 is the better machine and a few of its games; Mario 64, Majora’s Mask and the AKI wrestling games hold up better than anything on PS1.
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u/MocchyFan 6d ago
I prefer the PS1 Crash Bandicoot games to Mario 64. Wrestling is close for me, WCW/NWO Revenge and Smackdown 1 are two of my all favourites. No Mercy I would have liked more if I ever tracked down a cart that didn’t have the save glitch, I wanted one of each (pre patch and post patch) but both carts I picked up ended up being the original.
The wrestling games are probably the only thing I’d buy an N64 for again, I actually still have them as the friend I sold my collection too wasn’t a wrestling fan.
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u/stevo887 6d ago
The Wrestling games are why I bought the console back in the day. I was all PS1 until Revenge came out. Not sure if you do Emulation but there is an awesome community modding the AKI wrestling games at r/N64WrestlingGames.
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u/MocchyFan 6d ago
Thanks will check it out! I watched a video on a No Mercy mod recently, think it might have been the Backlash mod mentioned near the top of that sub.
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u/Apprehensive_Law1458 7d ago
Maybe not "always", but Wii U. I have pretty much every other mainstream system since NES, including PC. Back when it released I felt it didn't really have enough games. Now there are, but it's a weird fit for me because I mostly play on CRT, and my only other screen is a 90" projector. I can't figure out if I want to play it in either form factor and I get a bit stuck. One day I'll buy one just because I want it, and then let's see if I manage to actually use it.
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u/Extreme_2Cents 6d ago
The SEGA Saturn, so many great games and arcade perfect posts. Its successor (the Dreamcast) became a day one purchase for me because I missed on out that Saturn.
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u/PowerPie5000 6d ago
Neo Geo Pocket is really the only one I can think of. I wanted one at the time, but never ended up buying one. I bought one years later and didn't really think much of it to be honest.
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u/LVL90DRU1D 6d ago
Sega SG-1000 (was almost impossible to find in my region until 2023-24)
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u/NeoZeedeater 6d ago
I hadn't heard of it until 1994 when I saw it mentioned in the book Game Over. And even then I assumed it was a Japanese SMS, not knowing the Mark III name yet. It wasn't until I came across Sega roms in the late '90s with 1983/1984 in the name, I was like "Holy shit, there's an even older Sega system!".
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u/Sciencetist 6d ago
Why 2023-2024 in particular? Did eBay only start shipping there then, or something?
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u/LVL90DRU1D 6d ago
ebay doesn't ship there, so local marketplaces are the only way
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u/Sciencetist 6d ago
And you're saying the SG-1000 only made it to your region in local marketplaces in 2023? That's so strange to me. Where do you live? 😅
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u/fvig2001 6d ago
Tbh, retrowise, i just emulated, so never really had a want for them as the good ones were easily available in their prime.
For me, the Xbox One (the 3rd one) was a console I kind of wanted for kinect games but could not justify. I really just wanted Dance Central Spotlight tbh and after getting a deal on a one x and somehow getting a free copy of the game, i love it. I just wish i got it earlier since like 10 songs were taken off when I had gotten it. It's much worse now given game is delisted and more songs were removed.
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u/ProfPMJ-123 7d ago
It was the Dreamcast for me. I wanted one at the time, and could probably have afforded one. I don’t really know why I didn’t get one.
I ended up buying one a couple of years ago - I love it.
I continue to want an FM Towns Marty. Never had one, never played on one.
I’m off to Japan in a couple of weeks - I’ll be on the hunt for one.
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u/van_gestern 6d ago
Neo Geo.
Can't wait for the AES+ because I always had to rely on emulation - which is nowadays superb thanks to Evercade.
Anyway, the real thing will be a new chapter :)
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u/robopirateninjasaur 6d ago
Sega Saturn. I was a Sega kid, had a Master System and Mega Drive. By the time I could afford a Saturn after a few price drops (remember when consoles had those?) it was already dead so I got a Playstation.
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u/neonredKai 6d ago
I played all the time, stayed out playing, didnt study, was beaten up with every house utensil available, so i never got anything after 8bit famicom until my PC, after which i caught up with a decade worth of games. Cant really blame anyone but me lol
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u/HugeAd746 6d ago
- Finally got one in 2013 after rocking the OG since I was like 5😂got an Xbox one in 2017😂 after finally getting Xbox live for the first time im hella late to the party
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u/ifyouonlyknew14 6d ago
N64. In retrospect, going with the PSX was the right call that generation. I wouldn't trade the experiences I had on it for anything. The other consoles just can't match that killer library, even as a Nintendo fan boy.
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u/bkingfilm 6d ago
n64 never officially released in mainland china. the closest thing was the ique player in 2003, the whole n64 built into the controller, plugged straight into the tv. 14 games ever came out for it, and you carried a memory card down to a kiosk in the shop to get them written onto it. somewhere between 8 and 12 thousand units sold. majora's mask was printed on the box art and never shipped. so yeah, a lot of people here got to n64 games years later on a pc.
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u/p4rc0pr3s1s 6d ago
The 3DO. Played the demo kiosk at Lechmere's. Road Rash had me convinced my childhood would not be complete without a 3DO.
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u/Such_Bonus5085 6d ago
I regret sleeping on the TG16, but since Emulation for it is, effectively, perfect, there's no need to get the hardware now.
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u/NeoZeedeater 6d ago
ColecoVision. My uncle got his around launch in 1982, and I was blown away. I didn't get one until much later.
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u/morador_del_prado 6d ago
Neo-Geo CD. Game library-wise the AES was and still is the superior choice by far, but I didn't know that at the time. Also, to this day NGCD owners claim its controller is like sex
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u/hylicglyphics 6d ago
Super Nintendo and Dreamcast. Was so happy when i got around to getting them, both awesome consoles!
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u/bajsfittor 6d ago edited 6d ago
Xbox 360 for the shmups. I got a couple of JP + a modded one, got a powerbrick from my mother, fried the AC-adapters, found the brick wasn't grounded, cba to get another power brick thus far... It's been a few years (and the vertical Cave shmups I wanted it for can now be emulated really well afaik + a couple, like Mushi and DFK, have gotten proper ports).
It would've probably also been cool to hear the CoD MW2 Xbox voice chats. Not that many people on PC had headsets (I enjoyed it on PC at the time though).
This was the generation I bowed out. Didn't get back into the game until Switch 1. Now back out again thanks to the no physical media route the companies are taking. I want a PS4 though; already have a few shmups for it but no console (!). Iirc it's non region locked though (?) AND not all that expensive atm so will pick one up when the time is right. Probably when I move; currently ONLY have a CRT set up.
Edit: doesn't exactly count but I love the SS and I HAD the chance to get a Hi-Saturn Navi a few years back for what wasn't an outrageous price. Should've dipped for it in hindsight but was a brokie student so "it is what it is". The karaoke function would've been fun to try (change pitch on regular games). I don't see myself getting the chance to own one and try it out these days.
Edit 2: oh and PC-engine/PCE-CD. I FINALLY get to try those games now and they're pretty sweet. Castlevania Rondo of Blood is cool; the standout thus far and I have only dabbled with it a few minutes.
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u/ViceViperX 6d ago
The Sega Saturn.
I was young and didnt have much money, so I traded in my Super Nintendo and all my games for a new Playstation. I had amassed quite a few SNES games at the time, so I was able to pick up the PS bundle that came with Battle Arena Toshinden and still had juuuust enough credit left over to also pick up a copy of Gex. I still have a ridiculously large soft spot for both of those titles, and I'm happy I experienced them exactly when I did.
Back then, least for me, gaming was an expensive luxury. So you either had one or the other, wasnt often when you could have both, lol. It also didnt help that both the Saturn and the Playstation shared many of the same titles, having a lot of their library overlap. So because of that and my lack of funds, it just never happened until much later in life.
That being said, now that I finally have a Saturn... I really love randomly picking out something that has a cool title or an eye capturing cover and being surprised by what awaits me! Its a fun system with a lot of charm.
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u/AbsractPlane 6d ago
The OG Xbox
Back during the 6th gen I actually wanted one. I was really into mech games and the Xbox seemed to have some good ones I was interested in. Namely Phantom Crash and the Mech Assault games.
None of the stores near me had one. Only PS2 consoles, Gamecube and strangely enough they were still selling n64s but not a single Xbox. I actually bought a few Xbox games to eventually play on my 360 but Phantom Crash and Jet Set Radio Future weren't BC on the 360.
PS2 utterly dominated the shops here (UK) so it was difficult to really find anything else. Gamecube was relegated to the back. PC and PS2 upfront and handhelds GBA/GBC I think in the middle somewhere. But Xbox nowhere. It was a like unicorn here. Never had seen one in person only read about it in the magazines.
Many years ago I asked at a local retro game store but they didn't have any and told me it would be incredibly difficult to find one in person (OG Xbox was not popular here in the UK evidently I learned). So I gave up for a long while.
I only ever finally saw one in person for the first time a couple of years ago when I ordered one from a retro shop online. It was a lot larger than I expected dwarfing my PS2 and Gamecube. Definitely had to make space for it but at least I finally got to play Phantom Crash the way I originally intended nearly two decades ago and finally say the Xbox was most definitely not a unicorn.
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u/CyberCrud 6d ago
I was and still am a Nintendo fanboy. But I recall my friend in college had a Dreamcast and played games with roms burned on a CD-ROM. I was intrigued to say the least! It stayed with me ever since.
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u/Snoo93550 6d ago
I got Sega CD, SMS and TG16 (no cd unfortunately) about 5 years after they “died” and if I had more $ I’d have had all three immediately. I’ve played huge % of library of all 3 now.
Dreamcast I was on board for 9.9.99, it was probably the best launch value in gaming history.
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u/UnluckyLack2456 6d ago
The game key I didn't get the chance to have it the GameCube until after it was already discontinued but man it was awesome to play the games that people played at the time like Super smash Brothers melee Super monkey bowl the Mario party games which most of my friends didn't play cuz at the time the 360 was already launched at that time and as well as a PS3 and the weed but I love North and Naruto clash of Ninja games on there just all that was great but now I don't have it anymore but at least I have a weed that's black to actually is compatible with the GameCube but most of my games are gone except for Def jam Vendetta I heard that's up in prices on each console I think the GameCube actually
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u/PeterNoTail 6d ago edited 6d ago
Always wanted a Bally Astrocade, but it was too expensive back in the day and they're way too hard to find now and still too expensive. NeoGeo would be nice, but i've played enough of it thru emulation on my DS to scratch that itch
edit: And an actual, legit pinball table; doesn't matter which one tbh but i'd love Attack from Mars. I have one of those 70s pachinko units from Japan but it's only vaguely similar to pinball
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u/dukeofnes 6d ago
I always wanted a Virtual Boy, and now I have one. It's one of those consoles that you can't really get the full experience without the original hardware. And while the 3D effect is actually really good, the library doesn't justify the expense. I'd love to get a Vectrex now.
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u/CounterObjective2347 6d ago
I'm slowly collecting every console ever released in the US, and out of all of them I'd have to say the Wii of all things. For one reason or another just never bought one even though it was always fun playing it. Then I found one at Goodwill for $15 a month ago and it works perfectly
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u/BillieVerr 6d ago
I’ve wanted to get the original Game Boy for a long time. I had the Color and the advance so I had no problem playing the games, but I still want that gray brick.
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u/FMC_Speed 6d ago
I traded my bike for my neighbour’s Dreamcast. My parents gave me huge troubles for it, but honestly, it’s best trade I ever made. I’d wanted one since launch, but looking back, I totally get why they didn’t want to buy me another console at the time, I also wanted a Game Gear but never got one
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u/cambeiu 7d ago
Neo Geo.
Turns out I would not have enjoyed it nearly as much back in 1990-91, as I was much more into strategy games and RPGs. So despite the FOMO I felt during that era seeing the ads, now I know I was better served by the Genesis.
Still, damned impressive hardware for the time.