Best Genesis games

[Shark Sandwich]

I agree with everything you said!
gotta edit my post though I said 3d instead of 2d...long day lol.

LOL. I sure hope Gunstar Heroes 3D never happens. That would most likely join the hall of fame with such greats as: Earthworm Jim 3D, Contra 3D, Castlevania 3D, Metal Slug 3D, and Sonic Adventure (ok it's not bad, but nowhere near as cool as oldschool sonic).

 

[Bad_Boy]

LOL. I sure hope Gunstar Heroes 3D never happens. That would most likely join the hall of fame with such greats as: Earthworm Jim 3D, Contra 3D, Castlevania 3D, Metal Slug 3D, and Sonic Adventure (ok it's not bad, but nowhere near as cool as oldschool sonic).

Yeah they should keep it 2d if they ever decide on remaking it (or 2.5D at the most like UGnG or megaman on the psp). I would love for them to bring it out on consoles though. Hell, they could just keep it the same, just up the resolution and maybe add online co-op and I'd be one happy guy. I actually never played the GBA version, I'll have to try that one day.

 

[Blade]

LandStalker.

Never forget.

 

[Dr. Meaty]

I remember running down that big hill in level 2 in Strider, and thinking, "This is it...the plateau beyond which video game graphics must cease to evolve... the absolute pinnacle of..", actually, I probably just said "Holy shit, I'm not going to basketball practice today".
Then I probably ate a fruit roll-up.

 

[Corwin_B]

For people feeling Gunstar Heroes love, don't forget there's a pretty good handheld version available on the GBA.

As for my personal Megadrive picks :
1) Phantasy Star 4 is simply amazing, with great characters and storyline and superb graphics (for the time)
2) Revenge of Shinobi. That game was simply great, expanding on the simple sidescrolling formula of Shinobi, without being a simple rehash like Shadow Dancer.
3) Flashback. Another great game, spiritual followup to Another World. Amazing animations, and lots of clever puzzles.
4) Sonic the Hedgehog. I prefer the first one, but that's very subjective. I guess the "whoooaa" factor given by the insane speed dulled a bit after Sonic 1.
5) Thunderforce 4. One of my favorite shooters of all time, with a very "cinematic" feeling in a lot of scenes. Great soundtrack and graphics.
6) Castlevania : Bloodlines. That one was a bombshell when it was announced, since it had traditionally been a Nintendo exclusive. 2 playable characters, many clever special effects, and some of the best designs for environments in the Castlevania series. I consider this title the pinnacle of "traditional" Castlevanias (not counting the excellent "Metroidvania" games like SotN and the GBA/DS opuses)
7) Quackshot. Because shooting plungers is fun.
8) Streets of Rage is still to this day one of my favourite beat'em all, much more fun than Final Fight.

And of course, Zero Wing. Great dialogs in this game.

 

[tuna]

To update my orginal post on behalf of Vysez's request.

Gunstar Heroes
Easily my favorite genesis game ever. To summerize why I love this game...
-Great multiplayer game, two player at it's finest. Shooting everything up, Throwing your buddy around, etc.
-Customizable weapons, matching and mixing your weapon before the game or on the fly by pickups.
-Boss battles, very orginal styled boss battles with lots of character and style.
-Levels, its like if sonic levels and megaman levels had babies. Not to mention multi-tier'ed and levels with gravity changes.
-Mini game, theres a built in board game for 2 player fun thats kinda hard to explain, but it must be played to be understood.
-Audio, lots of explosions and great sound effects that were awesome for its time.

boy would i love for sega to bring this to ps3 as DLC. id definately pay for that. (make it online co-op mp!)
Arguably the best 2d action fighter of its time.

Gunstar Heroes is available on the PS2. No online co-op though....

 

[DieH@rd]

How about COMIX ZONE, one of best games for Genessis!

Comix Zone is a 1995 arcade-style action game for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis. Gameplay involves defeating enemies with punches, kicks, holds, and combos of the three, managing your inventory, and solving puzzles.

The game's most remarkable feature is that it is set within the "panels" of a comic book. Each level consists of two "pages" and secrets are discovered by shredding the "paper" and revealing items. Dialogue is rendered within talk bubbles with the typical comic font. Sprites and backgrounds possess the bright colors and dynamic drawing style favored by superhero comics. Although many comic-themed games have come out since it release (most notably XIII and Viewtiful Joe), none has ever been like Comix Zone's implementation of the theme.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comix_Zone

 

[Bad_Boy]

Gunstar Heroes is available on the PS2. No online co-op though....

O_O why wasnt i informed! I gotta grab that asap, would love to play it on the ps3 (BC).
thanks for the info.

edit:
oh yeah, +1 for comix zone. That was a really cool game, good story-good music-good gameplay, just a bit hard at times. I still have my copy of that game somewhere around here.

edit2:
http://ps2.ign.com/objects/758/758674.html
is it japan only?

 

[Zeross]

I never owned a Genesis/Megadrive, I was more a Super Nintendo guy but thanks to a friend that lent his console to me I have played it a lot. My favorite game must be Sonic 2, I think it is the most balanced Sonic on the system, the addition of the Spin Dash was clearly an invaluable advantage over the first episode. Moreover I prefer the graphical style of Sonic 2 compared to the one used for Sonic 3 or Sonic & Knuckles that is a little too "messy" in my opinion.

Another cool game even if it is not well known is Kid Chameleon, a great platformer except it was insanely hard. I've had a great time playing World of Illusion with a friend too, it was the first platformer with such a level of collaboration between the two players and it was great looking. Streets of Rage and Streets of Rage 2 were fun too but I never had a chance to try the third episode.

One game that I would have loved playing was Silpheed on the Sega/Mega CD.

 

[blakjedi]

So basically, Gunstar Heroes is Contra on crack. Anybody who hasn't played it is missing out on perhaps the best 2D side-scrolling action game ever.

If not one of the greatest games ever... it actually ranks number 1 on list of games.... you guys know what you're talking about..

 

[darkblu]

speaking of treasure and their timeless creations, can anybody provide a reasonable explanation

[size=+1]why the heck are those epitomes of console SW of so darn shamefully low print quantities?![/size]

i'm not even sure if i ever managed to see in person a copy of the GBA gunstar heroes in a store! i think i might have some surreal recollections of peripheral-vision glimpsing it once. for all i can tell, treasure's titles are generally more ellusive than cheese from the elusive venezuelan beaver, for pete's sake!

 

[poopypoo]

oh goody!

my favorite Genesis game is actually also my favorite game of all time, as well, so this is easy. Well, I suppose there were some others... perhaps I'll never decide which was #1. But not game filled me with awe and wonder like Uncharted Waters 2: New Hozrizons. I've heard some people compare it to Pirates as the same but less fun, but these people are dumb. Also, if they said it to my face I would eat them just to see them as my poo, and laugh! the setting is the Age of Exploration, and you are one of 6 intrepid boat captains, who, some due to debt, and some due to wanderlust, and other reasons, set out to explore the "New" world. I cannot describe to you how horrifying it was to encounter my first hurricane after spending my last gold bullion on a new boat. I've gone back and played it again and again, and although the sense of challenge is gone (I cant' forget all the great trade routes), the sense of mystery remains. again, the map is just so large and so confusing at times, even though it's regular old Earth! It seems like India will never come, and the Indian Ocean is not very safe! MobyGames link

...unfortunately i could not find any Genesis screenshots. They are almost the same as the SNES version, and similar (yet both better and worse) than these DOS version screens. Aside from being very cute and conveying an unusual amount of information for a console game, the graphics really preserve the sense of SCALE missing from other games. your boat is large, as a regular tile (making it effectively as large as a city), but the world is GINORMOUS. and the projection of the map is such that you can even get lost exploring Europe, to say nothing of the arctic circle.

 

[22psi]

Anyone remember these games?

- MUSHA
- Vectorman
- Columns
- Shining Force
- Sword of Vermillion

Good times!

 

[Ty]

Wow, the Genesis, my favorite game console ever! Probably due in part to it being the first console I ever had but sentimentalitality was always a weakness of mine.

1. MUSHA! Heck ya! One of the best vertical shooters ever available!! Still got it in my collection.
2. Thunderforce IV was quite a decent shooter too.
3. I liked Target Earth, not great looking but challenging. Still got it in my collection.
4. Gunstar Heroes, wow, a true gem. Still got it in my collection.
5. Sword of Vermillion - loved some of the music on this. Still got it in my collection.
6. Phantasy Stars were pretty good (I only remember 2 and 4).
7. Revenge of Shinobi - some of the best music in a game IMO - hell, I have remakes and originals on my MP3 player. Yuzo Koshiro if I remember correctly - something like that, he also did the at least one of the Oasis games, this time as lead designer I believe. Still got it in my collection.
8. Herzog Zwei, wow, that's old school. One of the first games to come out for the Gennie. Still got it in my collection.

Man, I'm forgetting so freaking many I'm sure!! I need to pour through my collection (still have about 30 I think) and get all teary eyed.

Oh yea, and screw SNES, Genesis was the best! (Up until SF2 made it out on the SNES, then it was worth getting).

 

[LogisticX]

Am I reading wrong or does nobody have love for Aladdin? That game was unbelievable for its time and also incredibly fun.

I remember Kid Chameleon as it was the second game I ever owned.... unfortunately I traded it in for the purchase of Aladdin I just couldn't get around the difficulty. It was damn hard!

Streets of Rage 1 - 3 of course. Amazing titles.

Earthworm Jim was great though multiplatform. I must say I preferred the Genesis version.
Sonic and the usuals like Gunstar Heroes.

 

[deathstar121]

My favorite Genesis game,

 

[xatnys]

ECCO: The Tides of Time is likely my most favorite Genesis game. Fantastic music and a capturing story weaved together and supported through unique gameplay. I can't recall a game that's been able to match the experience.

More information can be had at http://www.ecco-darksea.com/index.php

 

[TheChefO]

ESWAT! - Great game concept that I would love to see a modern remake of.

Revenge of Shinobi - as others have said.

Afterburner - good to see a remake - hopefully it does the series justice.



You know, in seeing people's response to this thread I'd love to see a classic 2d revival but pushing next gen systems. All sprites no polys!

How would a full high quality 2d game compare dev cost wise to a next gen 3d game? I'd imagine quite a bit cheaper and there are plenty of us "veteran" gamers who enjoy the genre and gameplay style but don't want to play the same old games and also don't want to buy half-assed low(no)budget 2d platformers.

Thoughts?

 

[NBK-Steve]

So many...

Stryder
Altered Beasts
Ghouls & Ghost
Shinobi series
Earthworm Jim
Sonic(s)
Golden Axe
Flashback

The list goes on.... Genesis..great system.

 

[Deepak]

I owned my Megadrive for few months only.

Contra: Shattered Soldier - I was always a fan of Contra since arcade days.

Comix Zone: Really amazing concept and execution though I wish we had save sytem in those days.