It's no wonder why I'm such a good driver (ie road rage maniac) since a lot of my favorite toys were driving ones. This one had a little screen that you had to guide the car through without crashing. This was no good to practice parallel parking though since it had every gear but reverse. Unless you parked head first. Costanza be damned.

Git 'Um!! Git 'Um!!

This was my absolute favorite TV show as a kid until "Hart to Hart" hit the airwaves in 1979. Kikaida was a Japanese import about Jiro, a human-like robot built to protect his creator and his family. The villain was Professor Gill who used his flute to render Kikaida helpless as his soldiers in Converse shoes attacked him. Monsters and poorly staged action abound. But to a 6 year old, it was the greatest thing put on film. It was very popular in Hawaii, but if I were to ask my Asian counterparts on the mainland, they've never heard of it. I watched every episode and the only thing I ever learned was that "tsu tsu gu" is Japanese for "to be continued". Oh, that and "Kikaida" is Japanese for "kick ass TV show"!

And the best part? The very catchy opening theme song. Go go go!

The ankh!! Where's the MFing ankh?!!

From the archives of my beloved Atari 2600 comes this game based on 'Raiders of the Lost Ark'. This game was a mystery adventure like Aztec (remember that Apple IIe fans?) or Tomb Raider (Atari could not have pulled off a buxom heroine back then with square block graphics). You moved through different rooms and repetitive music, picking up weapons, tools and clues along the way. It was so challenging that I even had to cross-connect my 'neighborhood best friend' with my 'school best friend' in order to exchange hints and solutions. It felt like I was cheating on someone.

Best part of this game...I didn't even own it! But it remains one of the most memorable video games of my time. If that's not a testament to it's greatness then I don't know what is.