When I was a wee toddler, I hadn't known much about video games at the time, I never got to play the Atari 2600, The Commodore 64, anything prior to the '80s market. And by the tail end of 1989, the only consoles my family had owned were the Nintendo Entertainment System, and a Sega Genesis. While my parents didn't want more than two consoles in our home, it still gave a sense of variety, and with their own exclusive titles to choose from, what could go wrong? Today I'll be giving out my own memories of the heated NES/Genesis console war.

Growing up in my trailer park neighborhood, it seemed that I'd made a few friends who were divisive about which system had the better games. Heck, I even had a classmate in those days who was a major Nintendo fan, but thought of Sega as like the bane of their existence. As for me, I liked both consoles. One of the most interesting parts of the NES library was when TENGEN, an offshoot of Atari, began putting out their own cartridge games.

I dunno what it was about those Tengen carts that made them so intriguing. Being so young at the time, I wasn't even aware they were unlicensed. I thought they were some new cartridge design for the future or something. But one of my friends had them, and I really liked the artwork that was used.

Because the Sega Genesis had the superior graphics at the time, my parents had it being the console that was in the living room, while the NES was in my bedroom. And with the Genesis having those arcade ports, I could imagine it being the most played by my siblings. After all, we had Altered Beast.

As some time passed, the Super Nintendo was soon in development and magazines like GamePro would give little glimpses showing what they could, making some gameplay hard to make out. But when it came time to actually see higher quality images as the games were close to release, it led to hype of just how much more power it had compared to its older brother.

A handful of the SNES launch titles showed off the new "Mode 7" effect that was possible on the system, not only giving the illusion of 3D, but some stellar rotating effects as well. Super Castlevania IV even took advantage of this with its iconic "rotating room". Because of these eye popping effects, I would frequently make visits to my friends' houses and even sleeping over, just to be mesmerized by what could be done.

I wouldn't get my own Super Nintendo for several more years, but I did still get some heavy mileage out of my NES and Sega Genesis. Even more so with the Genesis, because of some unique add-ons that would come out for it in an attempt to push Nintendo back.

The Sega CD had its ups and downs in terms of the library, but because of the high retail price at launch and the lukewarm reception it got, Nintendo would still come out on top. That didn't keep me from enjoying it however, and for a time, I had a good handful of games (yes, even the campy Sewer Shark).

As hardware was advancing and the third generation of gaming was on its way, I at least got to hold onto my Sega Genesis until the Sega Saturn came along. The NES on the other hand would see its way out the door from my home to make way for the N64. Eventually I had my own SNES too, courtesy of my stepdad's niece. Even as the years had passed, I was still open to playing any console I could get my hands on, regardless of company rivalries. Mario was hopping and jumping into a new dimension of the Mushroom Kingdom, and Sonic had his own home, and would eventually make a decent comeback on the upcoming Dreamcast.

But in the aftermath of substituting older consoles with new ones, it was interesting to see both companies pump out new consoles with their own identities of game releases, and one of the biggest highlights of the 1990s in my opinion. And that, is my story of experiencing those early console wars.

What memories did you have alternating with playing different video game consoles? Leave a comment, and see you next article!