Every game I remember getting a lend of when I was a kid
Every game I remember getting a loan of when I was in primary school (ages 5-11).
Temporarily swapping games was a good way to access stuff you normally wouldn't get the opportunity to experience, but very few were willing to offer the a-tier titles.
Temporarily swapping games was a good way to access stuff you normally wouldn't get the opportunity to experience, but very few were willing to offer the a-tier titles.
18 Games
This was the big one. There were rumours that someone in our class had a game about a skateboarding dinosaur. That sounded too cool to exist, so everybody had to get a loan of it before we'd believe it existed. Everyone was that guy's best friend for a week, and went back to not really talking to him immediately after the loan.
Being a younger brother, I was unlikely to get games based on cartoons, as my older siblings would likely see them as lame. Lending opened the door to a whole world of crap platformers.
Likewise, swapping was an opportunity to play stuff our parents would never buy for us.
I've still got a pretty positive impression of this. Tried to do the whole SMB3/SMW thing with an overworld map and optional levels. Kind of hinted at what Mega Drive guys were missing out on.
I can't remember who we got this off, but I know I thought it was great at the time, and I'm sure I'd think it was crap now. I haven't come back to make sure.
Folk can't believe that The Simpsons didn't air on British terrestrial television until 1996, but it's true. The wait was painful. All we knew was this was supposed to be the funniest TV programme ever, and it was "American" (read: exciting and cool). Any hint of it that kids without Sky TV could get was eagerly gobbled up. Bubblegum, stickers, comics. Virtual Bart's a stinker.
I couldn't tell you anything about where this came from, but I do know that Street Fighter II was in our house for a while. I thought the characters were cool, but lost every fight against my brother. If I got a hit in, he would be quick to explain there was something wrong with his controller.
I remembered this as a highlight of the Mega Drive library. I've gone back since, and I can't figure out why.
A treat. We had Mega Games 1, which was composed of Super Hang-On, World Cup Italia '90 and Columns. It blew my mind that they were able to put together a package of games that people might actually want to play.
Sometimes swapping games with people meant agreeing to trade with someone who had universally shit games. It was either this or Toki.
This was a treat, but I was naive about the character renaming system. My friend's dad was outraged when the game was returned to them with names like "FATSO" and "POOOOOP", and he had to cross-reference magazines to research the defaults to meticulously re-enter.
I think about half my knowledge of American wrestling comes from the week my brother brought this home. It was shite, but in early 1997, it was between this, Fade to Black, single-player International Track & Field, and however far we could get in Resident Evil without a memory card, so we were happy to have it.
This was the Mario 64 moment for me. The point where I thought proper 3D games had finally come. Tomb Raider II quickly shot to the top of my Christmas list.
I remember my dad getting really angry at me for spending so much time on this during the summer holidays, when I should have been out in the sun. I've resentfully held onto the memory of that summer as a glorious one.
My dad was much kinder to seeing me play Abe's Oddysee, remarking on my patience as I waited for a series of swinging logs to line up correctly. A compliment that I took to heart. I loved the game, and jumped at the chance to get my own copy for free with a subscription to the Official UK PlayStation Magazine.
It must have been my brother who brought this home, as I'd never accept a football sim, but I recall being surprised by how much I enjoyed it. Bringing up the game in conversation since has had others tell me it's the only FIFA game they like. Maybe there's something to that. I'm yet to get curious enough to return to it.
Known as "Wu-Tang: Taste the Pain" in Europe. Adapted from Thrill Kill, which was cancelled for excessive, sexualised violence. I remember liking this a lot when I was 11, but I suspect it's rotten to the core.
There was a bad boy in the year below me who lived near me, and would walk the same route home after school. He'd try to impress me by walking on the road, into traffic. His big swing for my approval was lending me GTA1, which was banned in our house after the BBC's ludicrous coverage of the game. We'd play it illicitly, only when there was no chance of my parents' seeing it. Eventually, they did see it, and took no notice of it. I don't recall seeing the kid again after the game was returned. I'm sure he was either arrested or killed by cars.
