| LCD HandHeld Games (dedicated systems) |
Once upon a time, a long time ago, the idea of a miniature, handheld device capable of running software code beyond that of a basic desktop calculator was something of a pipe dream, a Science-Fiction wet dream, or every kids wish. Before Atari came up with the Lynx, or Gunpei Yokoi's team at Nintendo created the Game Boy, we had dedicated, handheld, LCD screen electronic games. Basically, Calculator technology facsimilies of various games you could buy on a console or play at the arcade. And that's ALL we had. These little monotone, beepy, bleepy plastic AA battery eating monsters were how we passed the time when the parents kicked us out of the house and told us "it's a nice day outside, maybe you should go out there!", and when pretty much every house in the neighborhood in your mind had that figurative "X" on it meaning you could not go inside because you and all your friend's parents kicked you out. So what do you do to get your digital fix in the 80's-90's.....
You popped out your Tiger or Acclaim LCD handheld and spent time laid up underneath a tree - that's what you did. So this is a page of my experiences and reviews of various LCD Electronic games I've owned and had up to present. It seems when I run out, more come back to me.Knight Rider (Acclaim) 
Knight Rider was one of those TV shows that I heard about as a kid but never actually had access to to watch. This game was based on the Acclaim/Beam Software programmed release based on the TV show where Michael Knight (David Hasselhoff) drove around in a Sentient A.I. equipped Trans-Am known as the "Knight Industries 2000" or "KIT" solving mysteries and crimes. There was a NES release of this I also rented from Blockbuster and played around the same time, but I honestly liked this handheld version better strangely enough, and out of the three I had, this was a favorite - when it was not pissing me off by going off in my backpack as soon as I got to school.
Bigfoot (Acclaim)
Bigfoot, as you well know, is the original Monster Truck created by Bob Chandler as a promotional tool for his 4x4 and performance shop in St. Louis known as Midwest 4-Wheel Drive and Performance Center. He just kept upgrading the truck and it eventually became a promoter's dream as it started to perform exhibitions at races and other events, eventually growing into a motorsport in and of itself. Around 1987-1993, monster trucks were huge, and Bigfoot was considered by all (and still is) the King of the Monster Trucks. So of course there was an NES game, and a LCD handheld release by the same company.
I think one of the biggest challenges for Acclaim was what constituted a GOOD Bigfoot game. This game seems more like it's some kind of racing game where you drive around a circle track jumping hurdles. Basically, you steer and use the Jump button to jump over "obstacles" - ie Hurdles. I swear, this should have had a different backdrop painted and the truck replaced with an Olympian Runner. When Jim Kramer runs over cars, he does not need to press a button on Bigfoot's dashboard to jump them, so why the heck do we need to play Super Mario Bigfoot with Bigfoot #5. I, as a kid, so badly wanted to like this one, but to be honest the NES game was waaaay better. I think they could have done much better on this, maybe by, instead, having Bigfoot drive over cars for points against an opponent of some kind, or something like that. Not have Bigfoot #5 invade the Olympic Hurdles while equipped with Bump'n'Jump's jumping ability.Total Recall (Acclaim) 
Ah yes, Total Recall, my wife saw the movie back in the day, but I did not. I had no clue what the heck this game was about. All I knew is it was annoying, kind of pointless, and seemed a clandestine for a LCD game. Basically, you run around, grabbing some kind of cartridge, and then have to use it on this other thing, that gives you another thing, that cauuses this other thing to happen, so you can do this other thing, and beat the game. It's that complex for LCD. I honestly think my mom bought this for my birthday because either I said I wanted a flat-top like Arnold Schwartzenegger at the time....or because we did have Total Recall on VHS and she liked it (though I think as a kid I was more into making fun of Johnny Cab, LOL).
Super Mario Bros. Handheld Keychain Game (Nintendo) 
Aka, empty platformer, the game. Back when I still let other people work on my truck, this is what I'd play while waiting for Grady's Auto Care to finish my oil change. It was a little green facsimilie of a Game Boy that played some kind of platformer that was basically a skeletal platformer at best. You basically jumped mario from platform to platform for high score without missing, that was it. No enemies, not much to go wrong. An inveterate time waster while waiting fo my car. I don't remember what happened to it at all. Probably still in my childhood bedroom somwhere under a cabinet or in a closet I'm willing to bet. Don't really care much, it was just me being a Nintendo fanboy at the time.
256-in-1 Handheld Keychain Game 
I got this for my 39th birthday in 2022 from some friend's in Seattle. This is basically a repackaged version of this infomercial/Fingerhut "exclusive" LCD game that had like, 256 games built in, and all of them use the same building block elements, and the only different elements are the scoreboard and the Tetris-like layout (because Tetris is one of the games and that's what they sold this on the back of). Not a bad little unit, good for Incognito gaming at the clothing store while my wife tries to decide with garments to buy, but otherwise, just another time-waster like all the other stuff on this page. Honestly, if they could cram a GameBoy that played low-res 2600 or NES games on something this small, I might actually consider it more often than just poking around Kohls.
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