Poll of the Day > The Sega Genesis had an incredibly underrated library

(+) Yeah! (+)

So many classic games no one ears about like Ristar, Dynamite Headdy, Toejam and Earl, Gunstar Heroes, Shining Force, and Phantasy Star.

Vectorman was the shit.

Arv didnt think they were underrated Arv thought the games were great so did other people from that time another great one x-men 2

kind9 posted...

Vectorman was the shit.

Vectorman was super fun.

The Genesis library is something I would think is worth exploring, but that would mean digging to find the hidden crap... I feel all the best titles have already been well talked about.

I mean, some games I liked are Chakan, General C.H.A.O.S., and Cyborg Justice (very underrated)

Mickey and Donalds World of Illusion

I never eared Toejam and Earl

Revelation34 posted...

I never eared Toejam and Earl

It doesn't really play that well, but if it had better gamefeel it's basically the the first neo-roguelike

I think the Sega Saturn is in a revival state right now.

Densetsu no Ogre Battle was just translated and Grandia. Also I enjoy having a Sega Saturn with the MODE because the system is so hard to emulate accurately.

Gunstar Heroes

Laser + Homing = Cheese

Barts Nightmare was really a nightmare to play, but still fun. Sonic 3D Blast was really innovative back then too really.

Buddyblade posted...

So many classic games no one ears about like Ristar, Dynamite Headdy, Toejam and Earl, Gunstar Heroes, Shining Force, and Phantasy Star.

kind9 posted...

Vectorman was the shit.

I've played many of those and seen others, and meh (except Toejam and Earl which is pretty unique)

Genesis Did what Nintendidn't

And yet, I'd still take the top 10 SNES games over the entire Genesis library

I loved Rocket knight adventures and the tiny tunes game.

Zareth posted...

And yet, I'd still take the top 10 SNES games over the entire Genesis library

You purchase the genesis library and I'll purchase 10 super Nintendo games and we'll trade?
Just kidding but you are overlooking a fantastic console. The only console that blends arcade and console better is the Saturn.

Still had the best version of Shadowrun after all these years.

Actually wanna go play that again lol.

Eh, I haven't been impressed by many of the Genesis games I've played, and I've tried a lot of the ones that are supposedly great. The Streets of Rage games are fun, and I got really into Sonic 2 for a while, but that's about it. In my opinion, most of the library has not aged well. I haven't tried any of the RPGs aside from Phantasy Star II, though (didn't care for it), so maybe some of them have held up better.

Do you feel most games of that era haven't held up?
I dig the cartoon look that genesis can pull off smoothly. It's only when I play something 2d and modern right after that I notice some age.
When I play my sports games, that console really starts to shine. When I wanna have some quick arcade fun, it feels perfect visually and in my hands.

yes.

pedro45 posted...

Do you feel most games of that era haven't held up?
I dig the cartoon look that genesis can pull off smoothly. It's only when I play something 2d and modern right after that I notice some age.
When I play my sports games, that console really starts to shine. When I wanna have some quick arcade fun, it feels perfect visually and in my hands.

The graphics of SNES and Genesis games have both held up amazingly. Certainly a lot better than the N64/Playstation/Saturn.

The Game Boy Advance had similar graphics. I think Pokemon graphically peaked with Firered and Leafgreen. The 16 bit look is timeless.

pedro45 posted...

Do you feel most games of that era haven't held up?

Not really. I still play quite a few SNES games and often try out ones I've never played before. Although I'll occasionally find that a SNES game regarded as a classic doesn't hold up well, that's pretty rare. As for the Genesis, the graphics really aren't a problem; I think a lot of games from back then, no matter which console they were on, hold up well graphically. It just comes down to not finding most of the games enjoyable on an individual basis.

Admittedly, I haven't really checked out the Genesis' library of sports games -- I don't go back and revisit old sports games for any console very often -- but I'd be willing to try out NHL '94 one of these days and compare it to the SNES version. Also, I'm not a huge shmup fan, but I do dabble in them occasionally, so I intend to try out some of the ones for the Genesis at some point just to give them a fair shot. By all accounts, there are some really great ones (MUSHA, for example). But I don't feel like most of the acclaimed Genesis beat-em-ups, platformers, run-and-gun games, etc., that I've tried have aged well.

I think part of it is that a lot of the games I've tried focused on speed, being technically impressive, and having a lot of stuff onscreen (for example, Gunstar Heroes) or having some kind of cool gimmick (like Comix Zone). That's fine, but 1) those things aren't as impressive when you go back 20-30 years later and play the games, and 2) I felt like many of those games focused on those elements at the expense of actually being fun to play. Despite the Sonic games supposedly being all about speed according to the old Sega ads, I didn't feel like the games really emphasized it very much. Instead, I found that they were all about platforming and exploring levels, and those aspects of the games were fantastic. So they weren't just flash over substance. (I primarily played Sonic 2 because I got it with the Genesis I bought about a decade ago, but I did try out the first and third games a little later on and thought they were good as well.)

Also, I have to admit that I don't care for the Genesis sound chip. I can admit when a Genesis game has a good soundtrack despite that, and it doesn't make or break games for me, but it's still a factor. Maybe that also has something to do with why I like the Sonic games and the Streets of Rage series more than the other games I've tried, since all of those games have soundtracks that are somewhere between good and awesome.

is there something with the genesis where the games are more zoomed in than the average game? whenever I think of a genesis game, I get a sense of "screen claustrophobia". the system can barely fit anything on the screen, for some reason. VectorMan is a good example of this where you can barely see anything and have to constantly look up and down to move the camera around since nothing can fit on the screen. maybe not all games are like that but it feels like a lot of them are. I suppose they were trying to max FPS or something.

The Genesis was capable of being quite visually impressive if the developers put effort into utilizing all it had to offer. The Adventures of Batman and Robin for example had a ton of impressive graphical achievements because the developers went all in on the line scrolling, paralax scrolling, sprite scaling and rotation and utilization of foreground objects and animation. Unfortunately they made the game so difficult many found it unplayable and missed out on a lot of it.

The Genesis was awesome. I liked games like Sonic, Columns, Paper Boy, those two Simpsons games, etc.

Not really, its actually considered one of the greatest of all time.

Sega CD and Sega Saturn? Yes underrated and was in need of the love they deserve. Sega Saturn I have a large collection for the US titles and boxes of the Japanese games for the Saturn. Its an amazing system that was overlooked.

Sega 32x can be avoided with the exception of the games Knuckles Chaotix and Kolibri. Its a novelty item at best if you want one.

Sahuagin posted...

is there something with the genesis where the games are more zoomed in than the average game? whenever I think of a genesis game, I get a sense of "screen claustrophobia". the system can barely fit anything on the screen, for some reason. VectorMan is a good example of this where you can barely see anything and have to constantly look up and down to move the camera around since nothing can fit on the screen. maybe not all games are like that but it feels like a lot of them are. I suppose they were trying to max FPS or something.

actually a lot of the Snes ports were cropped to look better while the genesis ports showed more

I feel like it was adequately rated.

AssassinFox posted...

Not really. I still play quite a few SNES games and often try out ones I've never played before. Although I'll occasionally find that a SNES game regarded as a classic doesn't hold up well, that's pretty rare.

Which ones?

HornedLion posted...

Gunstar Heroes

Laser + Homing = Cheese

Dont diss Force+ Force, thats my go-to build when I play on sega genesis classics collection.

faramir77 posted...

The Game Boy Advance had similar graphics.

The GBA is weird, it has a much smaller screen resolution than the SNES, but much more processing power and more vibrant colors, so games can simultaneously look better AND worse than the SNES...

Music_Rock_Cat posted...

Sega CD and Sega Saturn? Yes underrated and was in need of the love they deserve.

The Saturn, yeah, but not the Sega CD. Pretty sure there are less than 10 Sega CD games that aren't FMV trash.

Zareth posted...

The Saturn, yeah, but not the Sega CD. Pretty sure there are less than 10 Sega CD games that aren't FMV trash.

After learning about what the Sega CD was truly capable of and the limited amount of games that actually utilized its graphic and sound capabilities for real games instead of just doing FMV's makes it such a waste of potential. They really had a great system for the time that was severely underutilized because developers were somehow convinced FMV gaming was the future.

Ristar needs a Riboot

Metalsonic66 posted...

Ristar needs a Riboot

Yes

Light Crusader was one I tried out recently and ended up loving. Super fun. Tons of great genesis games though. Sonic 3D Blast was always a favorite with the other Sonic's, Shinobis, Phantasy Stars, etc.

Ristar 2 is currently a fanmade game being made

I should play Crusader of Centy. I never finished it but owned the cart as a kid. I played Landstalker too but years after I stopped having Genesis. I wonder why I never heard of the game when I was a kid.

Exile was good but the game seemed incomplete from the vague memories I have of it. It also had character portrait art for random NPCs.

Revelation34 posted...

I should play Crusader of Centy. I never finished it but owned the cart as a kid. I played Landstalker too but years after I stopped having Genesis. I wonder why I never heard of the game when I was a kid.

Crusader of Centy is worth ALOT of money. If you still had it you could get a few hundred for it.

Music_Rock_Cat posted...

Crusader of Centy is worth ALOT of money. If you still had it you could get a few hundred for it.

Nah those are long gone. Plus if I still have it it doesn't work. Also I edited my last post a bit.

The one I know I still have is Bucky O'Hare for NES which is apparently worth like $80.

Crusader of Centy is probably the best game on the Genesis that isn't typically included in collections.

Lokarin posted...

Crusader of Centy is probably the best game on the Genesis that isn't typically included in collections.

What's the best one that is included in collections?

Revelation34 posted...

What's the best one that is included in collections?

Sonic 3 and Knuckles, obvs

Lokarin posted...

Sonic 3 and Knuckles, obvs

Shining Force 2.

Lokarin posted...

Sonic 3 and Knuckles, obvs

Can never find that one. All 3 versions are great in their own rught.