Pretty much any gamer between the age of 25 and 35 can point to one of two franchise leaders – Sonic or Mario – as the reason why they fell in love with gaming. Before the console war revolved around PlayStation and Xbox, the heavyweight battle was fought between Nintendo and Sega. The former’s main draw was a small Italian plumber, while the latter’s was a blue hedgehog. I’d have loved whoever sold those ideas to Nintendo and Sega to have swung by my house at the time and explained to my parents why I needed more pocket money.
I was very much a Sonic kid right off the bat. The Master System and then Genesis formed almost all of those initial gaming memories. However, from time to time, I would have the chance to play a Super Nintendo. The console I didn’t own became such a novelty than when the next generation arrived, I had my heart set on an N64. The PlayStation, which I had never heard of, taking the place of a Sonic-led console also played a major role in that switch of allegiance.
Went Out For A Plumber, Came Home With A Rabbit
However, my grand plan to become a Nintendo kid was turned on its head by the guy working at the game store; a guy who would unknowingly play a major role in the next 20 years of my gaming life. He explained to my dad – and to me, I guess, although I was only eight at the time – that the PS1 was the far better choice. He convinced my dad which, in turn, convinced me. Instead of heading home with an N64 and a copy of one of the most well-loved Mario games of all time, Super Mario 64, I returned with a PS1 and Jumping Flash.
I quickly became obsessed with Jumping Flash, despite having never heard of it. Knowing nothing of this brand new console, I assumed that Robbit the robot rabbit was the PlayStation’s Sonic/Mario. Little did I know that flag was already being flown by Crash Bandicoot. I even recall playing the first Crash game at a friend’s house soon after. Even though I loved it, it never occurred to my young brain that Crash was the leading man and that Robbit was three rungs below what might be considered a bit-part player.
Cowboys > Dragons
I became acquainted with Crash, Spyro, and even Abe, but for some reason, PS1’s lesser-known heroes continued to pique my interest. After Jumping Flash, I got a hold of a game called Lucky Luke. As much as I rack my brains, I can’t remember where it came from or who gave it to me, but I loved it. It’s a pretty basic cowboy game, and even now I prefer a simple game that is done well than an over-complicated one that makes my head hurt. I told people at school about my new game, and no one else had ever even heard of it. In fact, one classmate argued that it didn’t even exist and I had made it up.
A quarter of a century later and some of the more iconic PS1 games are getting remastered and re-released, such as Crash, Spyro, and Final Fantasy VII. I enjoyed them all back then and I have loved playing the remakes, but no matter how deep remaster culture becomes, chances are it will never delve deep enough to warrant reviving Lucky Luke. No developer is pitching an idea that would appeal to that one kid in the UK who loved the game. Then again, Alex Kidd in Miracle World is getting remastered, so maybe the cowboy who helped shape my video game tastes will be dragged into the 2020s by the one other person who loved the game as much as I did.
