My New Obsession Is... Sega
Filed under: gaming | Sonic the Hedgehog
I thought I’d revive this series where I talk about my latest obsession. Other obsessions have included Andy Cole and Luke Cage but my latest craze is Sega. I wasn’t fortunate enough to own any Sega consoles until I was in my 20s (or any at all until my teens) but my cousins did. It was the coolest thing in the world to be able to play Sonic 2 on the Sega Genesis and, 3 years later, NiGHTS into Dreams on the Sega Saturn. I always wanted a Game Gear but ended up with a Game Boy in 1998, which illustrates the longevity of Nintendo’s consoles and Sega’s downfall. My rare experiences with the Dreamcast didn’t hold the lustre of the Genesis and Saturn, despite being a superior device.
Sega now lives comfortably in the software business and even its mascot has warmed to its new surroundings, fraternising with the old enemy on a multitude of Nintendo games – you know, that plumber? With the increased popularity of the Raspberry Pi and emulation, it’s never been simpler to play old Sega games without the need to buy the consoles. But my immersion back into this sea of Sega blue has come through their amazing soundtracks. Richard Jacques was responsible for a lot of the brilliant compositions for the mid-to-late 90s Sonic games, including Sonic R which was criticised for its misplaced music for some peculiar reason. My passion for music has resulted in “digging” for video games samples and what better place to look than Sega and their famous Sound Team. Spotify have a load of their OSTs and I stocked up for inspiration last night. It was amazing, especially reliving the NiGHTS OST which still makes me cry 20 years on.