Muppet of a Man
Member
I had this one. Took it to school and played during recess.
Had a bunch of these over the years growing up.
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Generation X Discussion (Born 19651979) - We actually played with toys!
- Thread starter DarkJediKnight
- Start date
Had a bunch of these over the years growing up.
I had Mortal Kombat, Double Dragon II, and Ninja Gaiden II.
I had this one. Took it to school and played during recess.
...I was fairly spoiled growing up.
Since V was brought up, that was before my time, but I did discover it decades later. Never cared for the '09 remake.
sf2fanatic
Member
Sony Walkman, headphones. Listening to mix tapes. That was my lifesaver during middle/high school.
NeoZeedeater
Member
Memories overload in this thread!
Anyone remember the 1986 world's expo? That was amazing for a Gen X kid.
Anyone remember the 1986 world's expo? That was amazing for a Gen X kid.
GitarooMan
Member
I had Thunder Blade and Shinobi. Still have then around somewhere actually I think
When I was a kid I did not get a Sony. My parents got me some garbage Walkman that could not even rewind.
By the time I was a teenager we were making the Switch to cds and I made sure I got the discman.
My best friend had smarter parents and got a real ass Sony Walkman and I was jelly as fuck.
ThePrequelsSuck
Banned
I'd suggest that if you were born after 1982 (class of 2000, how Millennials got their name in the first place), but spent all or most of your chilldhood before 2007, you're a Millennial. If most/all of your childhood was spent in 2007 or after, you're Gen Z.
2007 was when "childhood culture" felt like it was shifting to Gen Z due to iPhones, social media, kids stopped playing outside as much, Chowder, rise of Reddit, rise of Facebook, rise of Twitter, Windows Vista, Moe Boom in anime, Flapjack, Big Bang Theory, iCarly, Cartoon Network (a staple of Millennials' 90s/early 00s childhoods) beginning to show live action shows, Great Recession began in December and Zers spent their childhood in the shadow of this, decline of physical media, card games like Yu Gi Oh going away,,etc.
2007 was when "childhood culture" felt like it was shifting to Gen Z due to iPhones, social media, kids stopped playing outside as much, Chowder, rise of Reddit, rise of Facebook, rise of Twitter, Windows Vista, Moe Boom in anime, Flapjack, Big Bang Theory, iCarly, Cartoon Network (a staple of Millennials' 90s/early 00s childhoods) beginning to show live action shows, Great Recession began in December and Zers spent their childhood in the shadow of this, decline of physical media, card games like Yu Gi Oh going away,,etc.
DarkJediKnight
Member
Does anyone remember this toy?
It was a tank game that was the shape of a gun. It pivots left and right and serves as a controller. The back of the gum had a screen where you could see your game.
It was a tank game that was the shape of a gun. It pivots left and right and serves as a controller. The back of the gum had a screen where you could see your game.
Nailed it. I think this is exactly what will happen as Gen Z starts to distinguish itself from the Millennials.
Earthbound64
Banned
Note that the new millennium started January 1, 2001.
(I was born in late 1982, and as such graduated in 2001 - although I was at college before then, because taking college courses to meet high school requirements was a much better use of time than wasting more time at high school).
ThePrequelsSuck
Banned
Most people seem to think of 2000 of the new millennium, though that's technically incorrect.
Born in 1978. We Gen-Xers got to experience the epic that was Transformers The Movie in theaters. I still remember watching some of my favorites like Ironhide, Megatron, and Starscream get gunned down or otherwise changed forever. Many unanswered questions too: where were the other combiners like the Combaticons and Aerialbots, and what ever happened to that 2nd Cyclonus?
Earthbound64
Banned
Yeah, most people aren't very smart.
And it's not "technically incorrect," it's just plain "incorrect."
forgeforsaken
Member
If you are Gen X and grew up around Boston in the early 80s, you always wanted to go to this place
Mr. Big Toyland. Sold imports of Japanese super robot toys.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCERFslrYr4
Always advertised during Force Five and Star Blazers. I still have some of the toys from back then such as my Grendizer. Also got a Transformer toy from there before Transformers existed as a show.
Mr. Big Toyland. Sold imports of Japanese super robot toys.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCERFslrYr4
Always advertised during Force Five and Star Blazers. I still have some of the toys from back then such as my Grendizer. Also got a Transformer toy from there before Transformers existed as a show.
Pilgrimzero
Member
I remember trading these and Garbage Pail Kids in the same sitting.
Loved these! I need to get on eBay and buy some.
Also, micro machines where a big deal on the playground back then.
wondermega
Member
I can't believe I'm talking about Mr Big Toyland on gaf! I must have gone there around 1983 or 4 (when I was like 8 or 9), probably right before the Transformers cartoon started airing. The woman behind the counter showed us a couple of Japanese versions of Gobots and it completely blew my mind. That store was a legend.
Growing up in the 80s was pretty amazing, media-wise.
I was born in 1980 and while most of my buds are Xer's (~ 5-10 years older) I really identify more with millennials in terms of technology use, education and social and world views. My childhood was very much that of a Generation Xer, I really think it was such a great and carefree time to be a child. I know my own child will never have the freedom I did.
Really cool toys ITT, I remember some of this!
Really cool toys ITT, I remember some of this!
sf2fanatic
Member
LookAtMeGo
Member
I was born in 84. I grew up playing with he- man toys. I feel a disconnect from my millenial bretheren.
I'm the same (except '79). Most of my friends were older, but I remember growing up and hearing about Gen-X like it was kids who were older than me. High schoolers in the 80's. Big hair. Smoking at the arcade. I don't really identify with it much, nor with millenials (who I associate more with cellphones). We had some of these games though. I was pretty into the NES. Mario 3. I'm not sure if that counts as playing with something.
Toys aside, I'm just glad that I hit the arcade era perfectly.. and at a time when I had freedom.
I would jump on my bike and head all the way across town to one of the arcades on a Saturday, and I didn't come home until it was dark. Somehow that was ok, despite the lack of cell phones and such. It was a great time to be a kid.
I would jump on my bike and head all the way across town to one of the arcades on a Saturday, and I didn't come home until it was dark. Somehow that was ok, despite the lack of cell phones and such. It was a great time to be a kid.
MidgarBlowedUp
Member
Muffdraul
Member
I totally remember the commercial, but I never went. In my area we had Camelot off the 91 fwy. Mini-golf, water slide, gokart track, huuuuge arcade. Heaven on earth.
I never saw this at the time but it was talked about so much. I didn't realize it looked so cheesy.
And I thought it was a rat - that looks like a guinea pig lol.
Henchmen21
Banned
That's because it is a guinea pig.
fluffydelusions
Member
This! I think the last arcade game I really got into was MK2. At around this time was when arcade games were becoming common place on console but still superior in the arcade.
Memories overload in this thread!
Anyone remember the 1986 world's expo? That was amazing for a Gen X kid.
My prized possession for a while was an Expo Ernie doll. I WENT to Expo 86!
But I mean, was it a guinea pig in the script?
DarkJediKnight
Member
Anyone remember these? They were super expensive but man they were detailed and was really cool to play with.
31GhostsIV
Banned
Born in '79 here, subbing!
Gen X deserves more love and attention.
Gen X deserves more love and attention.
bengraven
Member
Anyone remember these? They were super expensive but man they were detailed and was really cool to play with.
Had two deinonychus, a pterodactyl, and triceratops.
Hiss was the best villain, but a friend of mine apparently liked him more because he stole the figure when I was a kid and returned him when we were 20.
PHOENIXZERO
Member
Being in that weird place between Generation X and Millenials I prefer the "Oregon Trail Generation". >_>
cr0w
Old Member
It really was. I lived on an Army base up near Chicago from '91-'94, and being able to take my bike literally anywhere on the base was amazing. My group of friends and I would spend all day just exploring. A couple of us used to fish golf balls out of the creeks and shit by the golf course and resell them to golfers to get change for the arcade at the bowling alley, where we spent most of our time.
They had Pit Fighter, Primal Rage, TMNT and one other one whose name escapes me. Never had MK, we had to go off-base to Fuddruckers for that one.
After that, we moved to Oakland, CA to a base there, and their bowling alley had all the good shit. MK, etc. I remember going to an outdoor mall in Alameda and seeing the MK2 machine for the first time at a Corn Dog 7, I was so mesmerized by it that I walked into a fucking tree. Previously all I'd seen of it was an issue of GamePro that had a detailed walkthrough for every move in the game, which I obsessed over until the Genesis release hit.
If there's one thing I miss most about those days it was simply the sense of first-hand discovery that seems to be lost due to the ability to have any information you need in the palm of your hand. There's no more "lets just go and see what's around this corner" except for maybe Urban Exploration and shit but that's, again, mainly through YouTube and such. Everything is just so mundane now because every second is just saturated with information about anything you could be curious about. Games, movies, etc. I think the last time I was truly blown away by a game was on the Dreamcast launch day when I booted up Soul Calibur 2 on a brand new 27" Trinitron. If we'd had YouTube back then I would have already seen 75% of the game.
Hell, I remember my parents managing to keep the Super NES a secret from me for a good year after it launched simply because we were living in Mississippi when it launched and there was zero advertisement or places to buy it. When we moved up to Illinois and I saw a sign for one at a mall, I lost my shit. Had no idea it existed.
This one I can (sort-of) answer- the second cyclonus represented the troops under his command, of which there were several but they aren't seen any more in the film, but they do appear briefly in the 3rd series of the cartoon.
When Unicron says 'Cyclonus, the warrior, and his armada' it means he's reformed several of the dying decepticons into Cyclonus and his minions (that look just like him, just like the Sweeps look identical to Scourge) . They are an amalgamation of Thundercracker, Skywarp, Bombshell and the other Insecticons.
Presumably only the Sweeps appear in the film to keep confusion to a minimum when introducing lots of new characters- both of their sets of minions just provide generic cannon fodder for the autobots going forward.
Having said all that, there's loads of continuity errors, with some of the 'dead' decepticons appearing in the crowd at Starscream's coronation. Man, I was addicted to this film as a kid, I'd slow it down frame by frame when I had the VHS tape to work out who survived and who didn't, and even then it's not 100% clear.
How to traumatise a Transformers G1 kid- kill his hero in act 1 of the film. Along with most of his other childhood favourites. (Brawn, Ratchet, Ironhide were mine). Do it to introduce shitloads of expensive new toys that aren't as well made but cost loads more. Re-introduce that hero in the cartoon as a zombie. Have him briefly regain his character. Kill him again. Reintroduce again later on. As a new toy. A very expensive new toy.
AAA games devs these days haven't got anything on that fuckery, I was 8 years old in 1986 and still remember everything, I was in shock the next week at school!
Man you guys are killing me over here with all this nostalgia! Gen X'er here born in '73 and owned a lot of the toys posted above. My Robotech toys were my pride and glory! Other Toys/Gadgets I owned and loved:
and of course last but not least.....
and of course last but not least.....
That movie was so fucking epic.
I remember it blew my tiny brain at the time. Recorded it on VHS when it was shown on tv and since we are the true greatest generation I was able to get the whole thing with almost no commercials.
Must have watched that movie more than 20 times after that.
As a parent today I know kids today are never going to experience anything like that again. Our parents had no idea what they were doing so they let us do dangerous shit and allowed us to see as much violence as we wanted (no boobies though)!
Darth Pinche
Member
My Robotech/Macross contribution. I had skull1 and it was awesome.
Well If we're breaking out the Robotech....I still have all this and more. At the time I was old enough to know what I should keep.
We had good toys (before they were banned for being choking hazards).
Holy crap the nostalgia.
My birthday apparently puts me in the "millenial" discussion (Dec '82), but I was VERY MUCH a "generation x" kid.
I played with like 80% of the things in this thread. My dad was big on toys/tech/fun stuff. My brother and I had a few of those disc guns that resided at my grandmother's house. We would break them out and have wars with them. The discs were unpredictable sometimes and you could jump and dodge them as you shot at each other.
My first consoles were an Atari 2600 and Intellivision...and I had a ton of handheld games that my dad had bought for him/us and/or picked up for cheap in the early '80s.
I always was a fan of electronic games, like the Mattel Football and so on. But this one was my absolute favorite, Milton:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milton_(game)
The way it trash talked and had such a great personality.
"Hey Hey Hey, you turn me on! I'm Milton!"
Then came along the NES and I have been gaming since haha.
I did have lots of the same toys as others on here, but didn't see anyone post this yet.
Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors! I loved all the designs you could make!
Yes,Jayce
I had Drill Sargent and Saw Boss. Wanted that walker thing too.
It sounds like my childhood was a bit before yours (was playing Pac-Man and Tempest, etc instead of MK, etc) but the exploration element was the same. My grandmother lived in the country, in a really cool area. Years before there had essentially been a theme park of sorts built along a river. There were tons and tons of artifacts left from that era, plus many more things to explore. We used to explore that area for days on end.
Every time I have a few beers and get nostalgic, I pull that area up on Google Maps and ponder calling up the owners and trying to buy the property. They owned 5 acres or so.. and I have no need of it except for the memories.
FWIW edit: This park was located in and around the area I'm talking about, but was decades earlier.. so the remnants of this are still there, ravaged by time of course. https://joplinkayak.com/lake-side Early days roller coaster and everything..
Anyone remember these? They were super expensive but man they were detailed and was really cool to play with.
Dinoriders, right? I only remember the commercials, and not being able to afford the big ones. I had a sweet deinonychus though, and the figure that came with it was one of my favorites. Not sure why, but I think I played with him more than the dinosaur.
Temeculan3000
Member
What movies did you love as a kid?
Memories overload in this thread!
Anyone remember the 1986 world's expo? That was amazing for a Gen X kid.
I remember that.
I never went to an Expo, but it's amazing how it's not as big of a deal as it used to be. It used to get worldwide attention as one of the biggest showcases of progress, and now it's sorta "meh".
Ron Mexico
Member
1980 kid here.
Man that brings back memories. We used to hit those balls with an aluminum bat from the softball field in our development (affectionately referred to as Candleshit Park) on to the NJ Turnpike.
I think I still have one of those disc guns buried away somewhere. Next to the Ground Round sundaes in the baseball helmets.
As I got older, it was all about my 1992 Plymouth Sundance in blue, primer and rust. Figuring out how to loosen the seat bolts so I had a shock absorber for my walkman that required 6 AA batteries and finessing the cassette adapter JUST right. Don't think my Walkman cassette player ever saw the light of day after that.
Good times.
HamsterPackage
Member
I was born in 81. I'm surprised I haven't seen any Starcom toys posted. Loved those as a kid.
heavy liquid
Member
I grew up watching the original Hobbit and Lord of the Rings films on VHS countless times.
Henchmen21
Banned
I grew up watching the original Hobbit and Lord of the Rings films on VHS countless times.
I don't think I've ever seen the Baksi LoTR but I saw The Hobbit and from what I've heard, Hobbit fairs better in presentation.
Speaking of, I'm still waiting on Netflix to put up Flight of Dragons. They've had Last Unicorn on for a long while but no FoD
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