93. Battletoads & Double Dragon (1993) Battletoads is a name that strikes fear into the hearts of the less skilled games among us. The iconic SEGA Genesis console that defined a generation of gaming returns in a slick, miniaturized unit. On paper,Gunstar Heroesis just another run-and-gun game, but thats a bit like saying that The Raid is just another martial arts movie. Just as the NES had its blockbuster platform game moment with Super Mario Bros. 3, Sega's console . A kind of cross between the old arcade game Snakeand an action adventure,The Oozecasts the player as an amorphous blob whos on the hunt for 50 DNA helices that will turn him back into a human. Monster World IVs main twist is Pepelogoo, a little blue sidekick who assists Asha wherever she goes. In contrast to Nintendo's NES and SNES hardware, the Genesis was the cool system. Here's a look at 15 standout titles from the Genesis library. So, sit back and enjoy the best Sega Genesis / Mega Drive games coming to Nintendo Switch Online. Between those two dates were over 900 ROM-based cartridge games, 210 games released on CD-ROM, and 40 that used the 32X. Phantasy Star Online 2 New Genesis Free to play online action RPG Official Website. A love letter to traditional RPGs, Phnatasy Star IV didn't stray too far from the established formula of the genre, but everything felt perfectly polished. Clothing matters aside,Stormlords an absorbing, strangely claustrophobic game, in which you control a bearded chap intent on rescuing the motionless fairies dotted around the landscape. A tremendous sequel to a cult-classic RPG, Shining Force II is still fondly remembered to this day by Sega's most devout fans. Game developer Compile SEGA Enterprises Ltd. Game publisher Streets of Rage 3. 2 Truxton. Couple the varied and relentless gameplay with some great, cartoonlike graphics and meaty 16-bit gunshot sound effects and youre left with one of the best action games on the Genesis. Free to play Streets of Rage 2 Streets of Rage 2 TAKE 2 THE STREETS // ALL OVER AGAIN! This unusual game from Technosoft was one of the earliest attempts to create a real-time strategy game for a console. With a big enough television, the latter can offer hours of bickering and cajoling. Best Sega Genesis Games (Updated 2021) By Michael Beckles Updated Apr 27, 2021 Editors choice Street Fighter 2 See On Amazon Premium pick Castlevania: Bloodlines See On Amazon Best value Sonic the Hedgehog 2 See On Amazon Mortal Kombat II See On Amazon Ghostbusters See On Amazon Summary List 9.99 /10 1. A considerable amount of focus is required to switch between these two perspectives sinceDick Tracys vulnerable to attack from enemies in the foreground while hes shooting those in the distance and vice versa. The central character a diminutive robot with heavy feet and big eyes is an adorable creation, and the whole game is handsomely designed from beginning to end. By way of consolation, you can downloadMega Turricanfrom the Wii Virtual Console for just a few bucks. Although described as a tank game,Granadais far brisker than other games of its type from the 80s and 90s, like Tengens unfathomably slowVindicators. But unlike some collectible games for the console,Alien Soldieris a masterpiece of design rather than merely a low-print-run cult oddity. Find games tagged Homebrew and Sega Genesis like IRENA : Genesis Metal Fury (SEGA Mega Drive / Genesis), Devwill Too MD (mega drive / sega genesis), Devwill Too Prologue (mega drive / sega genesis), Mega Q*bert, Unstoppable Knight Genesis on itch.io, the indie game hosting marketplace Treasure pitches the player headlong into one bizarre encounter after another. Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, Steam, Xbox One, Xbox Series X Out now The SNES port was forced to omit certain content, making this the definitive 16-bit iteration. The running, jumping, and shooting is time-worn stuff, but Treasure injects the game with so much energy and sheer invention that it never feels anything less than fresh. The Japanese developer Vic Tokai got an unusual amount of mileage from this platformer, which appeared in different guises on the Nintendo Entertainment System (asKid Cool), Sega Master System (asPsycho Fox) and finally the Genesis. Titles listed do not include releases for the Sega CD and Sega 32X add-ons. In the late 80s and 90s, Sega enjoyed a golden period of success. Plus, it was the first game built for the Genesis multitap, so you know what that means. The US launch of the Sega Genesis, on 14 August 1989, probably didn't seem like a huge deal outside the video game industry. Castle of Illusionwas an early hit on the Genesis, yet 1992sWorld of Illusionfailed to gain the same kind of attention maybe because it had to compete with the all-conqueringSonic the Hedgehog 2,released around the same time. Splatterhouse 2. Further Reading: 10 Best Castlevania Games. Quite possibly the most 90s game ever made, with its backward hats, chunky sneakers, and other period fashion accessories,ToeJam & Earlremains a delightful curio. As well as dealing with the bad guys waiting for you on your journey across each level, there are more enemies lurking in the windows and doors further in the distance. Sonic 3D Blast. This. SEGA Genesis 1994. A fresh break from the past, Contra: Hard Corps dialed the action up even more, amped up the difficulty, and added new selectable characters. The first release was held in Japan, the name of the console was Mega Drive, a year later it came to the United States under the name Genesis, and a year later released . The Legend of Zelda: The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom will be released in May 2023. The system takes a while to get used to, but the efforts worth it: once mastered,Bio-Ship Paladinoffers a hint of strategy along with its traditional shooting. A less familiar name than Contra, Midnight Resistances release on the Genesis appeared to be relatively low-key, especially in the west. So, while this spinoff follows the same basic platformer template as other early . Only released in Japan and Brazil,Makyo Toitsusenis the very definition of a cult item and is now highly sought after by collectors. #shorts. Further Reading: 20 Games That Deserve Remakes. Driving down a post-apocalyptic road to nowhere, you have to shoot oncoming vehicles and collect the fuel orbs within, all while staying on the tarmac long enough to reach the finish line before your petrol runs out. Editors choice: Street Fighter 2 9.10 /10 2. Released to the rest of the world asMagical Hats Turbo Flight! Those lucky few who could get their hands on the game though, were in for a treat. A scene where you fight a colossal alien-helicopter hybrid on the roof of a moving train has to rank among the most spectacular boss moments in any Genesis game. Better known for his home computer adventures, The Oliver Twins ovoid hero, Dizzy, got a rare outing on the Genesis in 1991. It had a consistent stream of quality titles and its digitally-sampled audio made for sublime soundtracks, even if some of its hardware components were inferior to Nintendo's SNES. Long before Metal Slug was making a name for itself with anarchic gunplay, that signature blend of action was perfected in Gunstar Heroes. SEGA US Merch . The products discussed here were independently chosen by our editors. The franchise is full of medieval elements and has three admirable heroes named Gillius Thunderhead, Ax Battler, and Tyris Flare. While the single-screen, trap-the-monsters action may have seemed old hat at a time when Sonic was tearing through levels like lightning,Wani Wani Worldhas aged quite well. You can probably guess which option is the most entertaining not to mention controversial at the time. ! Its a strange tagline for an unusual game, a platformer where you play a thief who sneaks into buildings, steals all the loot, and sneaks back out again. Zero lag. This resulted in a low number of titles created for the service.[58]. It's beautiful, the action requires you to be quicker than the crack of the whip, and the experimental approach to gameplay elevated above its predecessors. Its handful of fresh ideas really stand out, too. Some classic Genesis games include Sonic the Hedgehog and Michael Jackson's Moonwalker. The Genesis version ofTokiis a bit different from the arcade original, yet it remains a quirky and challenging platformer. This is a comprehensive index of commercial role-playing video games, sorted chronologically by year. Further Reading: 25 Best Game Boy Advance Games. SEGA Genesis(Mega Drive) Emulators. Sega Genesis classic game Console with 81 classic Sega games built-in, including Sonic series, mortal Kombat, virtua Fighter 2, altered beast and phantasy star. SEGA Genesis 1994. Dick Tracyshakes up the predictability of theRolling Thunder/Shinobiplatform shooter with a brilliantly-realized machine gun mechanic. Includes 2 wired Controllers so you can game with your BEST friends and family. Readers of a certain age may rememberStormlordcoming out in the late 1980s. El Vientomay desperately want to be aCastlevaniabeater, but its more akin to a 90s straight-to-video movie, which oddly enough, is actually a recommendation. and a mode that records you as you race through a dungeon. On their Retro Game Corps YouTube channel, Russ Crandall recently demonstrated the Analogue Pocket playing Genesis games including Sonic the . Even when played today,Alien Soldierfeels refreshingly modern and slick. There are gigantic amalgams of screaming heads, pistons, and arteries. This decent yet unremarkable shooter is livened up by some of the most bizarre and downright brilliant creature designs youll see on the Genesis. "Genesis does what Nintendon't." The Sega Mega Drive (called Sega Genesis in the US for legal reasons) is long known as the SNES' rival. This curious side-scrolling brawler responded to the topic of animal welfare in the same way Eugene JarvisNarcdealt with the drug trade: with rocket launchers and extreme violence. The range of power-ups and things to collect keeps things interesting (the crocodile hero appears to have a worrying addiction to fruit machines), and some of the monsters are endearingly strange. Toejam and Earl were a pair of aliens who looked like a . If youre into collecting things, the box looks great, too. Thanks in part to a young scholar named Junos, master of the elements, these foul followers of Gyra were banished into the dungeon below King Lorelei's palace. Sega originated in 1940 as Standard Games, a coin-operated game company in Hawaii. Obviously inspired byR-Type, Cryings enemies are all exotic, biological things that look like sea creatures or insects even the four-player ships you can choose from look like something youd find lurking in a deep part of the ocean. Further Reading: 25 Underrated Video Game Soundtracks. The first title from the now legendary developer Treasure,Gunstar Heroescontains everything the studios fans associate with its output: a quirky sense of humor, frantic action,and graphics that push its host platform to the breaking point. Although billed as a top-down shooter, the aim of the game goes beyond just firing at things: to complete each level, you have to leave explosive devices in predefined positions on the map, and then get to the exit before the digital timer ticks down to zero. The machine was launched in Japan the year before under . It gives the player two paddles to control instead of one the first only able to move left and right, the other able to move forward and back as well as from side to side. Theres also a clever two-player option, where one player flies the ship while the other controls the movement of the aiming reticle. The Coming of the Genesis. Clear, icon-based controls make the surprisingly complex process of winning battles easy to get used to, andHerzog Zweirepresents a refreshing change of pace from the pure action titles commonly found on 90s consoles. Oddly,Turrican IIwas rebranded asUniversal Soldieron the Genesis (tying it into the Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren action movie), though the quality of its gameplay was still high. No download required. In many ways, its theZeldagame that Genesis owners could otherwise only dream about, with a dash influence possibly taken from the Super NintendosLink to the Past,except without its iconic characters and music. Tightening up every single gameplay nut and bolt that the first game had placed, Shining Force II confidently dips into strategically deep fantasy to deliver a tactical experience that was unique for the Genesis at the time. . The tiny, somewhat bland graphics arentCrack Downs strongest aspect, but like so many old games, its addictive action more than makes up for the packaging. Smoothing over the rougher parts of the first game's design, Streets of Rage II nailed a perfect balance between style and substance as you worked your way through various gangs that were looking to punch your lights out. Games likeBatman: The Caped Crusaderhadtoyed with similar ideas years earlier, butComix Zonedoes things that could only be dreamt about on the ZX Spectrum, like the sequences where Sketch rips through the white space between panels to get to the next scene.