Lately, I have been getting into a mid-to-late 90s nostalgia craze. It started out rather small, but it has been growing on me for the last few months, especially after playing Sonic 3 & Knuckles from 1994.
I think what started it all is a series of Direct-to-Video cartoons based on Golden Book Characters, produced in 1999. The late 90s (1996 through 1999) were probably among the best times of my childhood. This is when I acquired the family Super NES console, and thus got into several games like Yoshi's Island, Super Mario All-Stars, and even Killer Instinct. As for those Golden Book cartoons, I never saw them back then. I didn't get them until a DVD release I bought last spring, but they have this charm that only the late 90s pre-school cartoons could bring... nice, beautiful animation and great stories, presented in a laid back manner that doesn't overload the senses. Similar series were 64 Zoo Lane, Pablo the Little Red Fox, etc. A lot of pre-school 90s series have this charm, at least to me. I had a chance to see 64 Zoo Lane on US TV back then, but I missed out on it. Same goes for PB&J Otter. I tried to watch PB&J last year, and Disney Jr yanked it after a few weeks... >.< I'm still a bit upset about that, but I digress...
As for technology, we got dial-up internet in 1999 along with our first Windows PC. Thus, I began to develop my immense knowledge of PCs and their hardware and software. I also got a rather wonderful toy that I wish I still had... a Tiger Game.com.
Yes, many of the Game.com's games were rather crappy and I didn't know that fact, but the device itself had a few ideas that were revolutionary for the time. A small device with a touch screen, PDA functions, solitaire, and additional games? I actually liked that one Christmas gift despite not knowing how poorly executed it was. My game.com was actually a pinkish colored Pocket Pro, and I was never able to find additional games for it.

The pinkish pocket pro became lost to the sands of time not long after I got a Game Boy Color in 2000. In the end, I might have to save up for a used game.com off eBay and at least some games.
How long will this 90s nostalgia wave last for me? I don't know, but after my father's death, perhaps it might stick around for awhile and I will try and acquire various games and cartoons from that era.
I love foxes, especially the one in my avatar.