Hello, this is SuperAsurada77.

Back in my middle and high school days, my friends always had the high-end gear: the Sega Genesis, Super Nintendo (SNES), TurboDuo, and the Neo Geo.

At my house, we had the trusty 8-bit NES. It was a powerful machine in its own right, but I couldn’t help but feel envious of my friends.

I remember the visual shock of seeing the protagonist transform into a wolf in Altered Beast on the TurboGrafx-16. I was floored by the fact that you could play Fatal Fury 2 and Art of Fighting 2 right in your living room with the Neo Geo. I gasped in awe at the intensity of Goku’s special moves in Dragon Ball Z: Super Butōden on the SNES. And the flashy animations on the TurboDuo? They blew my mind—I couldn’t tell if I was watching an anime or playing a game. It was pure chaos in the best way possible.

I used to save up my allowance to buy gaming magazines, playing the games in my imagination just by staring at the screenshots. Sadly, all those magazines I collected vanished somewhere along the way—lost while I was away for military service. But they remain precious memories to me.

I remember making a vow to myself while playing Art of Fighting 2 at the arcade. “Just wait! When I grow up and make my own money, I’m going to buy every single 16-bit console and arcade game out there.” That was my wish.

Time flew by like an arrow. We shifted from the analog age to the digital era. I went from a student to a middle-aged man. I’ve built a family, I’m raising kids, and I’m busy living in the present. But sometimes, the nostalgia hits, and memories of those games suddenly come rushing back.

And then, I remembered that old wish.

Wait… realized that my wish actually did come true! Haha.

Whether it’s during my commute or lying in bed after tucking the kids in, this handheld retro game console in my hands is exactly what I wished for.

Inside this tiny portable device lives every console my friends had and all those games I wanted. I can pull it out and play whenever I want! My dream really became reality.

I guess I should thank my younger self for making that wish.

Hey, kid… thank you!!!

Original article in Korean: [link]