10 Games You Played Because You Owned The Wrong System

By Matthew Byrd / September 19, 2019

For most 90s kids, owning a single video game system was a luxury that only other, richer people could afford. Owning more than one was a ridiculous fantasy, so decisions had to be made: a console war born of necessity raged. As a result, there were some brilliant games that all of us missed out on simply because we owned the wrong system.

Maybe you got lucky and knew a neighbour that owned the console you didn't have, but for the most part, seeking the lost experience meant plundering our own game libraries for an adequate substitute for what we couldn't play. Which is precisely why developers ripped each other off so casually. The process was a slippery slope, of course.

Sometimes you were rewarded with a hidden gem, but more often than not you got burned on a blatant knock-off that could never match the real thing. Like video game Mockolate. But one way or another, these games still left an indelible impact on your childhood gaming memories.

10. Golden Axe Warrior

The Game You Wanted - The Legend Of Zelda Nintendo€™s revolutionary take on the adventure genre that launched a franchise and set a new mark for greatness. The Game You Played - Golden Axe Warrior Sega€™s twist on an old franchise consciously designed to capitalise on the success of the Zelda series. Was It A Worthy Substitute? Given that it is pretty much Legend of Zelda with a new paint job, the answer has to be a resounding yes. Golden Axe Warrior may have lacked some of Zelda's charms, but it made up for it by giving players more content than the Nintendo classic. The graphics were a significant step-up in quality, there were more items and weapons to play with and the game even incorporated more traditional RPG elements (most notably in-game towns) before Zelda would do the same. In many ways, Golden Axe Warrior served as a more appropriate sequel to The Legend of Zelda than the ambitiously quirky Adventure of Link ever could have.