10. Super Fantasy Zone The first Fantasy Zone game not made by Sega turned out to be a massive winner. I'd been a fan of Fantasy Zone since the first on the SMS, and I remember going from store to store in 1991 on my birthday looking for the sequel (and eventually finding it at a Toys-r-us where they had one copy in stock). Super Fantasy Zone isn't my favorite in the series (that'd be the incredible Fantasy Zone II DX released in 2009) but it's still a solid entry. It has great music, and the last level is the Assembler level from Space Harrier (marking the second time a level from space harrier has appeared in the series). 9. Contra Hardcorps While Castlevania Bloodlines was a great primer to Konami's output on the Genesis - taking a classic Nintendo-centric franchise and twisting it up for a Genesis release - I would never call it the best in the series (Rondo of blood takes the cake for me). When Konami brought Contra to the Genesis, however, they produced the greatest contra game in the series -- to this date in fact. Neither Contra 4 nor Rebirth can touch this game. Piling on an amazing amount of special effects for a Genesis game, as well as branching paths and probably the most wicked difficulty in the series, this stands as one of the best games on the entire series. 8. Toejam & Earl The prototypical rouge-like, I can't even begin to estimate the thousands of hours I spent with my neighbor playing this game. One of the few games I'd ever describe as infinitely playable due to its randomized nature. As a single player game, it's merely good (and the reason it's not higher on this list), but it really shines in multiplayer. For years, this was probably the best 2-player game in existence. If you've never had the chance to play Toejam & Earl properly with two players, I feel bad for you. 7. Dynamite Heddy You knew a treasure game was going to appear on this list, and while most would point to Gunstar Heroes, Alien Soldier, or perhaps even McDonalds Treasureland Adventure as their favorite Treasure game, Dynamite Heddy reigns supreme for me. The mix of humor and balls-hard gameplay makes this one of the absolute best platformers on the system. It's a damn shame this game is so overlooked when examining Treasure's classic output. 6. Tiny Toon Adventures: Buster's Hidden Treasure This is the closest the Genesis ever got to Super Mario World, and man does this game ever come close. From the classic Konami team which brought us so many of their great Genesis hits, I suspect most people don't give this game the time of day currently because of the property which is attached to it (although anybody who hates Tiny Toons is obviously not human). This is a great game that starts off easy and gets monsterously hard near the end. I 100%'d this game as a kid, finding every exit, and I know I could never, ever do that again. 5. Beyond Oasis I never owned this game until maybe 6 or so months ago. But I played the shit out of it on Sega Channel. Some people will point to Crusader of Centy as the Genesis answer to Zelda, and to be sure that's a great game as well (but not top 10 great IMO). Rather, I'd always champion Beyond Oasis, a game which took the Zelda gameplay and mixed it in with something that felt like Streets of Rage. Great game. I only recently beat it - I was very, very far in the game when I was playing it on Sega Channel (like the last dungeon) and then the month rolled over and they changed the game. Wonderful game, although Legend of Oasis on the Saturn is a bit better. 4. Thunder Force III Thunder Force IV is probably better known, but I like Thunder Force III better. The difficulty curve is a bit more managable, and it was much more impressive for its time. The line scroll effect in the Venus Fire stage, along with the music, blew me away in '91. It has a killer soundtrack that could only be done on the Genesis at the time (the SNES "port" has some of the worst music I've ever heard). This is my favorite game in the entire series. 3. Pier Solar Probably a weird entry into this list, because it's such a recent release. Pier Solar is everything that is great about the Genesis, including the homebrew scene. Masterfully coded, it fully takes advantage of the hardware, including the 32X and Sega CD. It's a wonderful example of just how great collaboration on the internet is, and how impressive homebrew can be. It's also a damn great game to top it all off, and it pulls off just about every trick ever thought possible on the Genesis (and some thought impossible). 2. Phantasy Star IV Probably the first RPG that I really "got" despite playing PS and PSII prior, PSIV was incredibly epic. It pulled me in and never let me go. Though we ended up with a gimped version compared to the Sega CD version they originally envisioned, this has to be the best RPG of the 16-bit era IMO. And that includes Final Fantasy III, Chrono Trigger, etc. 1. Wonderboy in Monster world This game would top my top 10 favorite Genesis titles even if we threw Sonic into the mix. I've been a wonderboy fan since the very first one on the Sega Master System. I grew up with the series, and bought every release in the series as they came out (with the obvious exception of Monster World IV). My all-time favorite game on any system, ever. It narrowly edges out Wonderboy III as my favorite in the series because it feels more like Wonderboy in Monster Land, only with Wonderboy III's mechanics. Superb game. I could list out so many more Genesis titles without ever touching Sonic. Most people think the Genesis had Sonic and nothing else, but those people obviously didn't have Sega Channel. Consider the games I didn't even get to in my top 10 - Castle of Illusion, Shining Force II, Monster World IV, Quackshot, Landstalker, Ranger X, Rocket Knight Adventure, Shinobi III, etc.
After reading the first 2 pages of this topic I was like "woah, am I the only street fighter fan here?" Luckily there was someone on the third page who mentioned them that made me real happy as the mega drive version of street fighter II was considered the best console port and it was the main reason (along with Sonic) that brought me to buying a Mega Drive instead of a SNES. My top ten, in no particular order: • QuackShot - I loved this game, it was long enough for me and gave me quite a hard time finishing it. • Street Fighter II - The reason I bought my mega drive: finally I could play it without putting loads of money on the arcade! I remember playing one game before going to school every morning. Good ol' times. • Super Street Fighter II - Hell, the first time I saw it in the arcade I felt like "OMG what is this??? I must play it!!!" and I've put something like 20 coins in it. When I saw it for the Mega Drive at a shop I did what every children used to do to convince his mother in buying it: beg her and then start crying hysterically so that everyone around would turn and make my mother feel embarrassed to death. Good job children Luca, mission accomplished. (that was a whooping 150.000£ - italian Lire, ~150€ today). Awesome game nonetheless, I still play it from time to time. • Mickey Mania - lovely, lovely graphics, smooth and enjoyable. Great tunes as well. • World of Illusion - same as above. Dreamy. • Chiki Chiki Boys/Megatwins - Great port of a great arcade game. • Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 - Giant roster! • The Jungle Book - Loved the movie. Great game. • The Lion King - same as above. • Michael Jackson's Moonwalker - I really enjoyed it and introduced me to the works of MJ. Actually there are a lot more but these are the games I've grown up with, so they have a special place in my heart.
In no particular order, and havent played some of these for a very long time, but: Cool Spot Earthworm Jim 2 Streets of Rage Ristar Golden Axe Street Fighter II World of Illusion Micro Machines Turbo Tournament 2 James Pond 2 T2: The Arcade Game
Oh Shi-. Only 10? Since I have seen other people do it I may try to cram a whole series of games into 1 slot. completely unordered: Ristar - Anyone who has played Ristar would know why. And if you haven't played it, Play it now! James Pond (Mainly 2 & 3) - Now only because of the novelty of a James Bond character parody but because each James Pond game is a good solid game which is so different to the previous that it could barely be called a sequel. Yet each game seems to get everything just right. Streets of Rage (All 3 really) - Just an awesome beat em up, fantastic soundtrack, brilliant gameplay. Yuzo Koshiro remains one of my top Composers. Quackshot starring Donald Duck - Had this game when I was a kid and it was one of my favourites then. Just an awesome adventure platformer that just has nice variation and gameplay. Castle of Illusion starring Mickey Mouse - Another nice platformer. It took me years to pluck up the courage to play it on normal mode because the music to the Clocktower scared the shit out of me as a kid. Micro Machines (The whole lot) - Fun, addictive racer that can be played 4 player, just absolutely perfect for parties. World Of Illusion - The spiritual sequel to Castle of Illusion (and Quackshot, kinda). Donald and Mickey together in one game. Different paths depending on character choice or whether it is a 1 or 2 player game. Just really really fun. Road Rash - A good motorbike racing game where you can punch people off of their bike. Can't really get better. Plus toward the end of the games when you get better bikes which are really hard to control, hilarity ensues. Ecco the Dolphin - Firstly, I would like to say I never got past the Undercaves (like, level 2, or something) as I was terrified of drowning. That said, it took me until last year when I was watching a playthrough that I realised just how good a game it was. The storyline is gripping and the soundtrack is just fantastic, really pushes the Megadrive to its limit. Cudos to the composers. (Especially check out the tracks Ice Zone from Ecco 1 and Tube Of Medusa from Ecco 2. Pure fantasm). Puggsy - Fun, bubbly gameplay with an interesting physics engine which results in hours of fun. I remember I loved the Redwood Keep levels of this game. Just such an awesome game.
1. Ristar 2. Crusader of Centy (Soleil) 3. Sparkster 4. Batman Forever 5. Quack Shot 6. World of Illusion starring Mickey and Donald 7. Wonder Boy in Monster World 8. NBA Live 97 9. Dragon Ball Z Bu Yuu Retsuden 10. Street Fighter II Champion Edition Several 2P co-op games in the list because I used to play them with my brother and it was a lot of fun.
In no particular order: ~ F-15 Strike Eagle II ~ Super Hang On ~ Premier Manager ~ Comix Zone ~ World Cup Italia 90 ~ Sensible Soccer ~ Columns ~ Streets Of Rage ~ Mortal Kombat ~ Golden Axe
I struggle to put these in any particular "top 10" order so I'm going to just list them in a rough chronological order of playing them. Expect a load of platformers: - ToeJam & Earl The co-op is always fun, with the Random World giving me a new challenge every time. It's also my mum's favourite Sega game. - Mickey Mania Got this one as a present at some religious party when I was little and it's one of the most fun and challenging Disney games I've played. - World of Illusion A co-op platformer with different stages depending on the number of players and character choices? Yes please! - Columns Love it or hate it, this game gets a mention because it had me and my mum hooked for years. Got it as part of Mega Games I. - Ristar Obvious choice. Been playing this platformer ever since I unlocked it on Sonic Mega Collection on GameCube. - Earthworm Jim Okay so I saw the cartoon on TV when I was little, but it took me a long time to get round to playing this game (I didn't do so until it came out on the VC around my 18th birthday) and boy I missed out on a fine game. - Super Fantasy Zone Got this one when I was getting into Fantasy Zone and discovered that it had a European release. I like this one, but not as much as FZIIDX. - The Lost Vikings Got the Mega Drive version of this game after a friend of mine showed me Nakateleeli's LP of the game. Fun puzzle-platformer, and the best version of the game because of actual 3-player support, extra levels and music from Matt Furniss. - Puggsy If that Wario bootleg hack of the game that was dumped here some time ago got more people to play this game then it'd be safe to say that I'm one of said people. It had a unique physics system which made for some interesting puzzles. The graphics and effects are outstanding for a Mega Drive game. - Monster World IV The most recent one on this list. I found out about this game while I was looking for a translation patch for Panel De Pon, so I got the fan translation and enjoyed it enough to compell me into trying out the rest of the Wonder Boy/Monster World series. Then when M2 translated this game I started having more appreciation for the game now I was able to play an authentic version in my native language.
These are no particular order. Dynamite Headdy Gunstar Heroes Super High Impact Bubsy 1 Bubsy 2 Ristar Road Rash 3 Streets of Rage 1 Streets of Rage 2 Streets of Rage 3
In no order: Dynamite Headdy Ristar Toejam & Earl M.U.S.H.A Devil Crash M.D Streets of Rage 3 Battle Mania Daiginjo Rocket Knight Adventures Super Shinobi II Monster World IV Only one of these I don't own, you can probably guess. Too expensive! ;_;
1 Streets of Rage II 2 Mônica no Castelo do Dragão (Wonderboy in Monsterland) 3 Castlevania Bloodlines 4 Ayrton Senna's Super Mônaco GP II 5 Roadrash 6 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - The Hyperstone Heist 7 Thunder Force IV 8 Street Fighter II Champion Edition 9 Shinobi III 10 Flashback Hard list to elaborate... EDIT: corrected Monster World game name
In no particular order and includes 32X games. * Gunstar Heroes - very fun, very intense, visually impressive, chaser+lightning is almost completely OP except that it likes to lock onto non-damaging targets but it still makes the game 8x easier than it should be. * Ristar - The swinging mechanics are great, it's pretty, the level design is excellent, it has a water level that you can completely enjoy because Ristar moves better than normal in it, it's excellent. * Ranger X - Probably the best mech sidescroller I've played. Actually uses the 6 button controller and isn't a fighter. Amazing visuals. * Streets of Rage 3 - I haven't played enough of 2 to comment on it, but 3 is quite fun, one of my favorite beat-em-ups * Shadow Squadron - Much much better than Star Wars Arcade, only issue is the energy meter makes clearing later levels very hard. Some of the coolest flat-shaded action around. * Castlevania Bloodlines - Mostly because it's the one Castlevania I've played the most. * Musha Aleste [aka M.U.S.H.A.] - Very, very good shoot-em-up. Can be painfully easy or brutally hard, the shield powerup makes things really easy, your hitbox is pretty big though. * Kawasaki Superbike Challenge - Polygons. Remotely decent framerate. On the Genesis. Fucking yes. Also, a legitimately good racing game. * Virtua Racing Deluxe - I do like the sense of speed that the SVP version delivers with its low framerate, but VR/32X is the best home version. The PS2 version can fuck off with how odd it handles. VR/32X looks good, plays good, it's good. * Thunder Force IV - Fucking hard, but so impressive. All that parallax. I didn't mention Street Fighter or whatnot, because there are better ways to play it [also, I'm an SNK guy through and through :v: ]. There's no reason taking up a slot for a game that can be better enjoyed elsewhere. Honorable mentions: * Adventures of Batman and Robin - So damn pretty it hurts. Fantastic soundtrack. Very hard. However, can drag on with how repetitive the enemy formations are, having the same 3 guys thrown at you 7 times in a row isn't interesting. Still, quite enjoyable. * Alien Soldier - Brilliant game, too fucking hard. Control feels weird. * Rocket Knight Adventure - It is probably just me. It's a neat game, I just don't rank it so highly. * Dr. Robotnick's Mean Bean Machine - It's Puyo Puyo. It is not a Sonic game at all. It is amazing and is my favorite not-Tetris puzzle game. The Sonic branding kind of bothers me though.
I don't think I'd be able to work out a top ten, but here's 10 I loved anyway. Probably all repeats. Alien Soldier - Was awesomely arcadey and the higher-than-average challenge was carried perfectly by its consistency, quick controls, and boss after boss after boss. It's the first game I think of when a question or thread like this is raised. Shining Force 1 & 2 - To this day Shining Force 1 & 2 remain the only non-action RPGs I've really enjoyed. Could not tear myself away from either game. Phantasy Star 2, as much as I love its oldschool style, had all but destroyed my opinion of the genre already. Toejam & Earl - Didn't really get into #2, and #1 really took some getting used to. But once I did, I loved how unique and tense it was. Virtua Racing - Just loved it, that's all I can say. This was $200 on release here. I picked it up years later for $10. Earthworm Jim 1 & 2 - Challenge was done well, humour and character done excellently. Can't think of any other platformer so unafraid to go with whatever bizarre ideas the devs felt like, and pull it off so well. James Pond 3 - #2 just went too kiddy for me, but #3 really filled the Mario gap. Huge, lots of gadgets, 2 very different characters, fruit suits, and the gravity gimmick. All good stuff. The music was cute but maybe the game's weak point (or even the visuals for that matter). Vectorman - Another series where I couldn't get into one of them. But the original Vectorman was pretty funky. Might not make this list if not for some of its music... LOVE the ocean theme. Thunder Force IV - The genre has evolved into better games, but TF IV was still great. What's even better is that it knew it; nice deep stages and tough bosses. Lots of character in the game that isn't so common to see. Especially the halfway point: big boss, all your mates getting taken down, big powerups, then kick-some-ass music as the next level fires up. Micro Machines series - So simple but so fun, especially in multiplayer. Lemmings - Oh frick I almost forgot! Yeah I know it was just a port but the 2 player mode, god damn could I have any more fun with a game? Ack that's already ten. Ecco should be in there. I am always reminded that I missed out on Ristar's time. Street Fighter felt too widespread to throw in this list. Road Rash almost made it, then I remembered Saturn Road Rash... which just blows away all competition. Really I'm sure I've missed some other epically fun games. Great thread.
Really sad to see no one appears to have mentioned (or maybe even played) Skitchin, one of my (if not my all time) favourite MD game. If you like Road Rash, give it a go, its built on the same engine, and I believe has the same basic premise.
I guess I'll throw my opinions in here... 1. Ristar 2. Bonanza Bros. 3. Vectorman 4. Pac-Man 2: The New Adventures 5. Ecco the Dolphin 6. Vectorman 2 7. Flicky 8. Boogerman (There's a reason it's #8) 9. MegaMan: The Wily Wars 10. Virtua Racing But still, that's just my opinion. Really, it doesn't matter, but it's my personal list.
