Introduction
High Score episode 4 out of 6. I said it several times in the article, but thank goodness for episode 3. It renewed my faith in the series that I thought was going to end up being a one hit wonder. I know that sounds harsh, potentially jettisoning a series because of only one episode.
I mean, there’s precedent for such a thing. I stopped watching Walking Dead after a particularly violent opening scene. I think it was the season premiere for season 3. I’m not entirely sure. But, I haven’t been back since. It’s worth noting that I did the same with the comic. No, not Glenn. I stopped long before Glenn. Like most of this “shock factor” entertainment, it just becomes too much at some point.
Nintendo – “The 900 lb Gorilla”
So, I mentioned in the Nintendo episode review (that’s the one that was so bad that I thought I’d have to avoid the rest of the series, or at least endure it simply to talk about how bad it was) that they never mentioned Sega. I think I said something at the time about them wanting to give Sega their own episode.
Now, of course, I know that part was true. I also understand that it might have been a conscious decision on their part to set it up that way. For those of us who didn’t care much about market share, we had no idea that Nintendo was the “big bad” in the scenario. To have mentioned Sega in their episode would have been punching down. More on the console wars later.
Sega Guy – “Rock the Rock”
I made the mistake of calling the Nintendo World Champion “Nintendude” and it’s not just because there’s a contemporary streamer named that today. He just wasn’t much of a “dude”. His whole story had the antiseptic feel of the rest of the episode.
Not so for Chris Tang or his conquest of “The Rock”. True to form, Segga went over the top for their championship. It was held on Alcatraz. MTV was there with Bill Bellamy and Daisy Fuentes. I watched with bated breath at the thrilling conclusion. Our hero was the underdog in the final round! What isn’t there to love about Sega? More on that in a bit.
Gordon Bellamy – “True Gamer Inspiration”
In keeping with both underdog stories and, “Hey, I know that name!” recognition, I present the story of Gordon Bellamy. The story started with Trip Hawkins, a name that most from the 90s will recognize. I never played the original Maddens on consoles. It wasn’t until the Playstation that I discovered sports games. I did play Madden on my Commodore 64 (yeah, any of you who question my OG gaming credentials can kindly Eff off) and discovered a glitch that allowed me to score a touchdown every time I touched the ball.
Okay, enough of that. Let’s talk about Gordon Bellamy. He basically got his job by annoying the developers at EA until they gave him a chance. He repaid them by changing video game history for the better. He introduced alternate skin colors into Maden so that all of the players weren’t white anymore.
Sonic the Hedgehog – SEGA!
During the great console wars of the 1990s, I was a definite Sega guy. Sure, Nintendo always speaks to the child inside of me. But, Sega screams at the reckless teenager. Let me start by saying that I’m generally unimpressed by marketing.
However, watching the plan that Sega put together to “take down” Nintendo and then watching that plan unfold before my eyes was pure nostalgic bliss. I know that people think there are console wars these days and there are. But, it’s mostly just fan boys screaming at each other on message boards. Sony and Microsoft feel like co-conspirators in the whole charade. Yes, get off my lawn.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rh5eis0sMHI
For some reason, it won’t let me embed, but I did go into Quinn’s room to scream “Sega!” at him, so marketing does work on some level.
The Verdict – “High Score episode 4 is awesome
The subtitle is the TLDR of this one. Sorry it took so long to get around to it. But, it makes it no less true. High Score episode 4 is amazing. It reaches the lofty heights set by episode 1 and makes me excited for the rest of the series again. Join me in a couple of days for episode 5.