Describing Beyond Oasis as a Zelda clone is doing it a massive disservice! It's by Yuzo Koshiro's team and has combat with multiple weapons and melee combat that has echoes of Streets of Rage. Plus a fantastic soundtrack. Incidentally what I would actually describe as "Sega's Zelda" is Crusader of Centy, although that's also a brilliant game in its own right!
You want a true rip-offs of Zelda you need to look no further than the turbografx 16 games Neutopia and Neutopia 2. That shit is shameless lol That said they are exceptionally well made Zelda rip-offs. If you want some games more in line with the original Zelda they will definitely scratch that itch.
Beyond Oasis was fantastic, my only gripe is it's only sequel was a bit of a pseudo-sequel, and that greatly disappointed me, would've LOVED a 3rd game.
I’m with ya Ian! Part of loving the Sega Genesis is knowing the history of what Sega had to do in order to overcome the iron grip Nintendo had on the video game industry which ultimately led to publishers and developers expanding & providing incredible games like never before regardless of what console they were on. Nintendo (I also love) may have revitalized the industry but Sega made it better for all of us. Just my opinion
They overstated the shortness of Hyperstone Heist. It did have less levels than Turtles in Time, but the levels were much longer. Hyperstone Heist is about 15 minutes longer than Turtles in Time. But I do agree with Ian, the movement and control of the turtles is so fluid on Hyperstone Heist, more so than Turtles in Time. However, I prefer the level variety of Turtles in Time.
*@Learned Elders of Teemo* Incorrect. SNES TIT played, looked and overall was 10x better than HH. The Sega g couldn't even handle it so they got the boot leg version of TIT. HH also recycled bosses sadly which imo was lazy. Its fun but tit for snes is better honestly. Plus the snes version of tit was so close to thr arcade its insanely awesome. Easily one of the best home ports of an arcade game ever made.
@@learnedeldersofteemo8917 Sorry, facts aren't wrong lol😂😂you are lol as that's not what I'm talking about lol TIT was superior on SNES than HH overall being my point and I'm not even talking about licensing issues lol... talking gameplay, specs, colors, levels, closer to TIT Arcade etc Either way Konami made an altered version because they also couldn't handle it due to weaker specs as well lol besides. You can look it up there's vids explaining it. If you Don't believe me look at TMNT Tournament Fighters, literally same game but far worse on Sega compared to SNES version. That game is different on all 3 versions of it NES, Sega Genesis and SNES. At any rate, to each his own I prefer TIT on SNES since it's super close to the arcade port. HH is a good hybrid game of the 89 game and TIT taken stages though for Sega Fans.
Hyperstone Heist is like the dessert of a three course TMNT meal next to Turtles in Time, TMNT 3 Manhattan Project, and TMNT The Arcade. Kudos to Ian for bringing the Genesis thunder!!!
Ecco the Dolphin does not get enough love. The Sega CD versions of Ecco the Dolphin and Ecco The Tides of Time are easily my favorite games on any Sega console ever.
@@acelyag8594 wow! I’ve always wondered why everyone complains about the game’s difficulty. I only played the Sega CD versions when I was 11, and I beat both of them. I remember them being challenging, but far from impossible. Now I understand that it was Genesis versions that were the stupidly hard ones.
Sonic the Hedgehog Trilogy, OutRun, Shadow Dancer, Phantasy Star 4, Street of Rage, Vectorman 2, Ristar, Columns, Golden Axe 2 and Thunder Force 2 amd 3 are my most favorite Genesis Game on my opinion
Damn... Pat's never even heard of Gain Ground before. He really wasn't kidding about not being a Genesis guy lol cus that game is pretty much legendary among Sega fans. Every true Sega fan in existence knows of that game.
Shining Force II is my number 1 game on this system. I seriously can't find anything else that is like it. Fire Emblem is NOT like it because its not open word where you can walk around. I LOVE this game! I need more games like this.
Yeah, when I played for the first time I found it "short" but then I realized if it was longer it would have become a chore to finish, so the length is spot on
@@avideogamemaster as a kid tho i explored every nook and cranny which took so long but now the only reason it can take so long is because RNG gods hate me when I'm done leveling and heading to the next boss lol
Crusader of Centy is my pick for the best Genesis game. Very good story and great music. To top it all off it is gorgeous to look at. Such an amazing game. My second-favorite would be Elemental Master.
Great list. To me Gunstar Heroes is one of the greatest on the system. also, Gain Ground does have coop, and tends to be more methodic than other shooters, so that's a bonus.
I went from the NES to the Genesis in my younger days. My favorite games on top of my head are: Sonic 2, Sonic & Knuckles, Mortal Kombat Ultimate, Kid Chameleon, Earthworm Jim 2, Streets of Rage, X-Men, Risk and NBA Jam TE.
Browsing the PSN store on my PS3 so many years ago, I saw Moster World IV in English and immediately bought and downloaded it, as I'm a Wonder Boy fan. And oh man, what a port it is, I fell in love with Asha and Pepelegoo, it was just so fun and impressive, can't believe we didn't get this game in the U.S., it's so innovative. Still waiting for my super edition of the PS4 remake from Strictly Limited Games to ship.
Not my favorite Genesis game, but the Adventures of Batman and Robin. There's this amazing run and gun game hidden in there behind the insane difficulty that hurts the game.
As a Raphael player, that instant manual run button on HH made all the difference! It played faster than TiT as well. Both TMNT games were great. Tournament Fighters is a whole other story. The one time I wanted the same game as the SNES version, and ended up getting something MUCH worse! The only thing great on the Genesis version was the music! Konami was stuck with puny 4Mb carts in the beginning run of their Genesis titles so they could've turned out a lot better - which explains the crummy port of Sunset Riders. Then again, Tiny Toons Buster's Hidden Treasure was also 4Mb and that turned out great! -Rocket Knight Adventures is incredible! Easily my top 5. -Thunder Force 4 was amazing. One of the best OSTs of all time! -Bare Knuckle 3 should be there based on the gameplay improvements and hidden stuff alone! Great list, Ian (...and Pat, of course)!
I'll never forget seeing the Genesis demo unit at Kiddie City back in the day. I heard about the headphone jack and brought my own pair of headphones with me. Thunderforce 2 was in the console and the music blew my freaking mind. I got it that first Christmas after it came out and was a Sega fan boy ever since. Favs are Thunderforce IV, Sonic 2, Streets of Rage 2, Revenge of Shinobi, NHL 94, Golden Axe, Gain Ground, Gunstar Heroes, Target Earth, Ranger X, many more
I have had a Mandella effect for the game World of Illusion. I remember as a kid going to my cousins house, who had an SNES, and I still remember playing World of Illusion and loved it. Come to find out, the game was only on Sega Genesis so that has always threw me off. I remembered that game probably 15 years ago and went crazy trying to find a Mickey Mouse SNES game where you have a cape as a weapon and there are Alice in Wonderland characters in the first stage and I could never find it.
He's also a guy who speaks with authority on a gaming podcast, and has for years. He's in his 40s now, he's had time to play them. I don't think he really enjoys gaming. Even his twitch streams are all about old commercials.
@@hey_you or he falls into the same thing I do. I fall back more on old nes/snes/n64 games than I do sega. He doesn't have rose tinted glass/nostalgic sentiment like Ian does for sega.
I have too many to pick from so my top 2 would be AD&D Warriors of the Eternal Sun... and my fav of all time.. Might and Magic 2 Gates to another world.. Love the lists!!!
Rocket Knight Adventures is one of my favorites, I've gotten all the way up to the final boss before, but I've never been able to beat it completely. It's a very satisfying challenge.
As for games I played back in the day, my list is pretty short as I was a little young for the genesis console. I mostly played it in the late 90s- early. 00s at a friends house. But we put a lot of time into: Gunstar Heroes Vectorman PAC man 2 (really) TMNT tournament fighters.
Ian's analysis of these games is SO ON POINT! TMNT Hyperstone Heist I also agree is a great game but my one criticism is also that it's just too damn short & repetitive because of the cut levels & moves compared to the SNES version. It needed more levels, more enemies & more moves as the enemies were more repetitive & the combat was more basic. There are moves missing such as the screen throw which honestly I see no reason at all why that move was cut or why the Genesis would be incapable of reproducing that effect. In the SNES version the screen throw only consisted of a few frames of animation as the enemy came towards you. Surely they could have made that work on the Genesis. The one thing it has over the SNES version is the game plays a bit more fluid & responsively, probably a side effect of the speedier CPU in the Genesis. Some ppl don't know that the Genesis CPU was actually more powerful than the one in the SNES, however the SNES had the more powerful GPU aka the chip that handles the graphic rendering as well as a more advanced sound chip. That's why the games on the SNES tended to sound more rich & looked a bit prettier & more colorful, although the devs made good use of what the Genesis had & did a good job with it's limited color palette. The SNES was quite the graphical powerhouse for the time but with a slow unimpressive CPU, while the Genesis was using a beast of a CPU but not so impressive graphics hardware. The X68000 CPU used in the Genesis was actually a freaking powerhouse & was used in a lot of arcade machines in the 90's believe it or not. It was far more powerful than the weak CPU in the SNES.
My Genesis Top 10 (11): Castlevania: Bloodlines Crusader of Centy Gunstar Heroes MUSHA Phantasy Star IV Pirates Gold Rocket Knight Adventures Streets of Rage 2 Thunderforce III/IV Just missing out are Haunting Starring Polterguy, Quackshot, Shadowrun, Shadow Master, Shinobi III, Sonic 3, Splatterhouse 2/3, Streets of Rage 1, Trouble Shooter, World of Illusion
Sonic 2 is kind of like Mario 3, it was just a huge step up from the 1st game & just blew everyone's mind at the time. It was the reason I had to get myself a Genesis back in the day. It's a true masterpiece of a game & has some of the best levels music & gameplay of any Genesis game. It was a true system seller.
Beyond Oasis is amazing. Enough Said. Play it if you get the chance. Part top-down fighting game(combos), Part Zelda, Some Puzzles. I would love to see an modern re-telling of this game.
@@opaljk4835 agreed!! As with all of the wonderful titles that we did get on the system, i do think there is still plenty of room for modern titles to continue to be released in the indy space for this system.
Was a Nintenkid growing up but had a friend who was a Genisguy so was able to play a bit. Not sure if the best, but I enjoyed most (and added to my collection as an adult) : Castlevania : Bloodlines Aladdin General Chaos Alisia Dragoon Streets of Rage 2 Sonic 2
Monster World 4 is freaking incredible! It is a travesty that game never came out here in the States & was exclusive to Japan for so long. It would have been an absolute gem among the Genesis library. It's my absolute favorite game in the Wonderboy series, even better than Dragon's Trap imo.
Hell the graphics in Streets of Rage 2 were a big step up from the 1st game. 1 was a great game but 2 is better in literally every way. Streets of Rage 2 is without question the best beat em up game of all time imo, & it's not even close. I have never played a beat em up as fun to play in 2 player Co-Op as this one. Even my non-gamer friends love it. It's the only game I can get most of my friends to play with me.
If Ian’s a big shooter guy, Wings of Wor is great. Creeeeepy art, fun, great music. Though, I never understood why Wor was spelled that way. It was my first ever home console game (had a GB first), got it for Xmas with my Sega and I loved it. It’s actually now worth some uncommon game money. Good eye , mom.
I think Sonic and Knuckles was intended to be a part of 3 all along but Sega decided to split it up because of some McDonalds promotion having a strict deadline.
THANK YOU! I had the Sega Channel as a kid. And i bought some of the games i liked off of it (I think SNES was WAAAAAY better than genesis, but I still ended up buying a few genesis games even though I "mained" the SNES). And Gain Ground is the game I never remembered the name of and had been looking for the name for YEARS and no one ever knew what I was talking about. i was starting to think I had made it up ha-ha. I put that in my top 5 Genesis games for sure :) Gain Ground, Land Stalker, Shadowrun (not as good as the SNES one), Toejam and Earl, Beyond Oasis would be my top 5 i think? Genesis just had too many of its big games like Comic Zone, Vectorman, Ecco, Sonic, etc that I thought looked great and had cool concepts, but i thought they sucked or were too hard after playing them a bit. And their counterparts on SNES were just better (Megaman vs Vectorman for example). I hate Sonic, ive never liked a Sonic game.
Phantasy Star IV is my most favorite game of all time! I'm literally designing a Phantasy Star IV setting for the Starfinder roleplaying game as we speak! Ian, you *need* to play Phantasy Star IV!!!
Absolutely loved the Shining Force games growing up. If only we had the Fire Emblem games in the states, man I would have LOVED them to death! The 1st one we ever got aka the self titled Fire Emblem game for the GBA is to this day one of the best games I have ever played. I was HOPELESSLY addicted to that game for years!
I remember trying to connect sonic and knuckles to just about every game I owned lmao, if it's not a recognized game it just lets you play the special zone
@@bennagins I think if you put in Sonic 1 there's also a code to unlock an infinite amount of stages, which you can't do with the other unauthorized games.
Good thing this is according to Ian and not Pat the "Sega's Not Your Friend" Punk P.S. I didn't get a Genesis of my own until last year and only to play the Mega Drive port of _Sailor Moon_ and _Rolling Thunder 2,_ both via an Everdrive MD
Hyperstone Heist is also missing the mode 7 stuff from TiT so you can't throw foot soldiers into the screen and the neon night rider level isn't there either.
Would love to one day see a Homebrew of Hyperstone Heist where the levels & content from Turtles in Time is added back into Hyperstone Heist. How cool would that be?
Agree strongly with Gunstar Heroes and can't really disagree with the others as they're all strong games. Right up near the top for me is Mega Turrican and another that I doubt many would call a "great" game but I really like Ex-Mutants.
I *definitely agree* with Gain Ground👍👍👍👍 Also, would have liked to have seen Midnight Resistance and Shadow Dancer (Revenge is suitable replacement, can't stand Shinobi 3.) Even Jewel Master would be a top game
@@theguru1974 I don't like the double jump and wall jump. That just feels like it's the entry where Sega went "OK, let's be like every other ninja game." Also, it's too easy but the cheap parts are really cheap. I prefer Shadow Dancer and Revenge.
It really is a shame Mr Contri detests Sega so. He would absolutely love games like Bayonetta and Alien isolation but I'm sure he doesn't know they exist
Describing Beyond Oasis as a Zelda clone is doing it a massive disservice! It's by Yuzo Koshiro's team and has combat with multiple weapons and melee combat that has echoes of Streets of Rage. Plus a fantastic soundtrack.
Incidentally what I would actually describe as "Sega's Zelda" is Crusader of Centy, although that's also a brilliant game in its own right!
You want a true rip-offs of Zelda you need to look no further than the turbografx 16 games Neutopia and Neutopia 2. That shit is shameless lol That said they are exceptionally well made Zelda rip-offs. If you want some games more in line with the original Zelda they will definitely scratch that itch.
@@devilmikey00 Also Golden Axe Warrior on the Master System is pretty shameless!
Beyond Oasis was fantastic, my only gripe is it's only sequel was a bit of a pseudo-sequel, and that greatly disappointed me, would've LOVED a 3rd game.
OK it's a BAD Zelda clone, let's be real
I’m with ya Ian! Part of loving the Sega Genesis is knowing the history of what Sega had to do in order to overcome the iron grip Nintendo had on the video game industry which ultimately led to publishers and developers expanding & providing incredible games like never before regardless of what console they were on. Nintendo (I also love) may have revitalized the industry but Sega made it better for all of us. Just my opinion
Agreed
My favorite Genesis game is Pirates Gold; a true hidden gem. I also enjoy both Splatterhouse games.
They overstated the shortness of Hyperstone Heist. It did have less levels than Turtles in Time, but the levels were much longer. Hyperstone Heist is about 15 minutes longer than Turtles in Time. But I do agree with Ian, the movement and control of the turtles is so fluid on Hyperstone Heist, more so than Turtles in Time. However, I prefer the level variety of Turtles in Time.
Hyperstone heist also has Tatsu as a boss. Yes Tatsu, isn't hard to beat but from a turtles fan standpoint, it's a cool nod from the movie. 🙂
*@Learned Elders of Teemo* Incorrect. SNES TIT played, looked and overall was 10x better than HH. The Sega g couldn't even handle it so they got the boot leg version of TIT. HH also recycled bosses sadly which imo was lazy. Its fun but tit for snes is better honestly. Plus the snes version of tit was so close to thr arcade its insanely awesome. Easily one of the best home ports of an arcade game ever made.
@@learnedeldersofteemo8917 Sorry, facts aren't wrong lol😂😂you are lol as that's not what I'm talking about lol TIT was superior on SNES than HH overall being my point and I'm not even talking about licensing issues lol... talking gameplay, specs, colors, levels, closer to TIT Arcade etc
Either way Konami made an altered version because they also couldn't handle it due to weaker specs as well lol besides. You can look it up there's vids explaining it. If you Don't believe me look at TMNT Tournament Fighters, literally same game but far worse on Sega compared to SNES version. That game is different on all 3 versions of it NES, Sega Genesis and SNES.
At any rate, to each his own I prefer TIT on SNES since it's super close to the arcade port. HH is a good hybrid game of the 89 game and TIT taken stages though for Sega Fans.
It’s way more satisfying hitting people on hyperstone heist than turtles in time.
@@christoph1246 Hitting is the same though lol
Disappointed that Herzog Zwei didn't get more than just the mention on the online list. Still to this day my favorite game
Just got the hang of the game a few months ago. Very good game, but much better with a buddy to play.
Aladdin, earthworm Jim, Micky mania, Contra hardcore.
Hyperstone Heist is like the dessert of a three course TMNT meal next to Turtles in Time, TMNT 3 Manhattan Project, and TMNT The Arcade. Kudos to Ian for bringing the Genesis thunder!!!
Phantasy Star IV is great, it's one of my all time favorite JRPGs. It is a long game but it never feels like it drags.
The only jrpg to ellict a emotion response as a 8 year old
One of my favorites. The comic book style story telling was excellent.
I own it but haven’t played it maybe that’s what I’ll do this weekend
Easily the best 16 bit RPG imo.
Ecco the Dolphin does not get enough love. The Sega CD versions of Ecco the Dolphin and Ecco The Tides of Time are easily my favorite games on any Sega console ever.
The soundtracks to those games are stellar
@@HiNRGboy how is Kolibri compared to Ecco? I was thinking of buying a 32x just for Kolibri, but is it worth it? Is Kolibri as good as Ecco?
@@acelyag8594 wow! I’ve always wondered why everyone complains about the game’s difficulty. I only played the Sega CD versions when I was 11, and I beat both of them. I remember them being challenging, but far from impossible. Now I understand that it was Genesis versions that were the stupidly hard ones.
My Top 5 would probably be:
- Shining Force 2
- Phantasy Star 4
- Streets of Rage 2
- Sonic 2
- Aladdin
Ian had some solid choices for sure, Genesis had so many great games, it's impossible to make anything smaller than a Top 100, at least for me.
Sonic the Hedgehog Trilogy, OutRun, Shadow Dancer, Phantasy Star 4, Street of Rage, Vectorman 2, Ristar, Columns, Golden Axe 2 and Thunder Force 2 amd 3 are my most favorite Genesis Game on my opinion
Yes! So happy you listed Sonic and Knuckles III. That was my absolute favorite growing up.
X-Men 2 never gets any love but I still play it on the regular🤷🏻♂️
Damn... Pat's never even heard of Gain Ground before. He really wasn't kidding about not being a Genesis guy lol cus that game is pretty much legendary among Sega fans. Every true Sega fan in existence knows of that game.
So I'll add in a few of my favorites that few people mention. X-Men 2 Clone Wars, Gaiares, Buster's Hidden Treasure, Air Buster, Fatal Fury 2.
Shining Force II is my number 1 game on this system. I seriously can't find anything else that is like it. Fire Emblem is NOT like it because its not open word where you can walk around. I LOVE this game! I need more games like this.
Phantasy Star IV isn't too long, Ian. In fact, I'd say that its pacing is one of its best qualities. Highly recommended.
The level pacing is better to say final fantasy 6 lol
Yeah, when I played for the first time I found it "short" but then I realized if it was longer it would have become a chore to finish, so the length is spot on
@@avideogamemaster as a kid tho i explored every nook and cranny which took so long but now the only reason it can take so long is because RNG gods hate me when I'm done leveling and heading to the next boss lol
Crusader of Centy is my pick for the best Genesis game. Very good story and great music. To top it all off it is gorgeous to look at. Such an amazing game. My second-favorite would be Elemental Master.
Why dioes Pat always seem to be proud of having not played certain Mega Drive games?
Sega Genesis is the greatest console of all time.
Genesis does what Ninten-don't.
Exactly (for all systems not named SNES).
it's not the 1900s anymore
I prefer the Saturn of the Genesis. Saturn is an EXTREMELY underrated console if you get access to the Japan library...
Sega was really fantastic, Genesis and Dreamcast were my favorite consoles I owned.
Great list. To me Gunstar Heroes is one of the greatest on the system. also, Gain Ground does have coop, and tends to be more methodic than other shooters, so that's a bonus.
Phantasy Star IV and Shining Force II😌
It’s adorable how Pat is clearly a veteran of the console wars
Same here, we're in that same age bracket, so we still have a lot of PTSD and old grudges that pop out from time to time.
I went from the NES to the Genesis in my younger days. My favorite games on top of my head are: Sonic 2, Sonic & Knuckles, Mortal Kombat Ultimate, Kid Chameleon, Earthworm Jim 2, Streets of Rage, X-Men, Risk and NBA Jam TE.
Browsing the PSN store on my PS3 so many years ago, I saw Moster World IV in English and immediately bought and downloaded it, as I'm a Wonder Boy fan. And oh man, what a port it is, I fell in love with Asha and Pepelegoo, it was just so fun and impressive, can't believe we didn't get this game in the U.S., it's so innovative. Still waiting for my super edition of the PS4 remake from Strictly Limited Games to ship.
Kid Chameleon and Shadowrun
Pirates Gold is an excellent console translation of Sid Mier's Pirates
Not my favorite Genesis game, but the Adventures of Batman and Robin. There's this amazing run and gun game hidden in there behind the insane difficulty that hurts the game.
As a Raphael player, that instant manual run button on HH made all the difference! It played faster than TiT as well. Both TMNT games were great. Tournament Fighters is a whole other story. The one time I wanted the same game as the SNES version, and ended up getting something MUCH worse! The only thing great on the Genesis version was the music!
Konami was stuck with puny 4Mb carts in the beginning run of their Genesis titles so they could've turned out a lot better - which explains the crummy port of Sunset Riders. Then again, Tiny Toons Buster's Hidden Treasure was also 4Mb and that turned out great!
-Rocket Knight Adventures is incredible! Easily my top 5.
-Thunder Force 4 was amazing. One of the best OSTs of all time!
-Bare Knuckle 3 should be there based on the gameplay improvements and hidden stuff alone!
Great list, Ian (...and Pat, of course)!
I love how when Ian named a game Pat's response was almost always just "I haven't played it" lol this was a great topic though 👍
If it isn't a NES game he hasn't played it pretty much.
Ian's list of great Genesis games: aka games I may need to add to my modded Genesis Mini.
I'll never forget seeing the Genesis demo unit at Kiddie City back in the day. I heard about the headphone jack and brought my own pair of headphones with me. Thunderforce 2 was in the console and the music blew my freaking mind. I got it that first Christmas after it came out and was a Sega fan boy ever since. Favs are Thunderforce IV, Sonic 2, Streets of Rage 2, Revenge of Shinobi, NHL 94, Golden Axe, Gain Ground, Gunstar Heroes, Target Earth, Ranger X, many more
I have had a Mandella effect for the game World of Illusion. I remember as a kid going to my cousins house, who had an SNES, and I still remember playing World of Illusion and loved it. Come to find out, the game was only on Sega Genesis so that has always threw me off.
I remembered that game probably 15 years ago and went crazy trying to find a Mickey Mouse SNES game where you have a cape as a weapon and there are Alice in Wonderland characters in the first stage and I could never find it.
I had almost the same experience only with a friend and with CASTLE of Illusion, strange.
How in the world has Pat, a life long gamer, not played Sonic 3 or Castlevania Blood Lines?
He's a nes punk not Sega punk.
He was a Nintendo/PC Gamer. The only reason i had a genesis cause my cousin who was 7 years older didnt touch it anymore and i only had 15 games
He's also a guy who speaks with authority on a gaming podcast, and has for years. He's in his 40s now, he's had time to play them. I don't think he really enjoys gaming. Even his twitch streams are all about old commercials.
@@hey_you or he falls into the same thing I do. I fall back more on old nes/snes/n64 games than I do sega. He doesn't have rose tinted glass/nostalgic sentiment like Ian does for sega.
I mean he did say why.. but a life long gamer doesn’t mean you’ve played EVERY game! He’s more of a collector anyways.
I have too many to pick from so my top 2 would be AD&D Warriors of the Eternal Sun... and my fav of all time.. Might and Magic 2 Gates to another world.. Love the lists!!!
Castlevania bloodlines is an amazing game! I totally agree with Ian!
Rocket Knight Adventures is one of my favorites, I've gotten all the way up to the final boss before, but I've never been able to beat it completely. It's a very satisfying challenge.
I agree with Rocket Knight Adventure and will add Sparkster: Rocket Knight Adventures 2 for the Genesis
Shadowrun FTW!
Contra Hard Corps is not just a great genesis game but a great contra game
As for games I played back in the day, my list is pretty short as I was a little young for the genesis console. I mostly played it in the late 90s- early. 00s at a friends house.
But we put a lot of time into:
Gunstar Heroes
Vectorman
PAC man 2 (really)
TMNT tournament fighters.
Sonic 2 & Streets of Rage 2 are GOATs 😍
I think my all-time favorites for the system would have to be Super Fantasy Zone and Vectorman
Ian's analysis of these games is SO ON POINT! TMNT Hyperstone Heist I also agree is a great game but my one criticism is also that it's just too damn short & repetitive because of the cut levels & moves compared to the SNES version.
It needed more levels, more enemies & more moves as the enemies were more repetitive & the combat was more basic. There are moves missing such as the screen throw which honestly I see no reason at all why that move was cut or why the Genesis would be incapable of reproducing that effect. In the SNES version the screen throw only consisted of a few frames of animation as the enemy came towards you. Surely they could have made that work on the Genesis.
The one thing it has over the SNES version is the game plays a bit more fluid & responsively, probably a side effect of the speedier CPU in the Genesis. Some ppl don't know that the Genesis CPU was actually more powerful than the one in the SNES, however the SNES had the more powerful GPU aka the chip that handles the graphic rendering as well as a more advanced sound chip.
That's why the games on the SNES tended to sound more rich & looked a bit prettier & more colorful, although the devs made good use of what the Genesis had & did a good job with it's limited color palette. The SNES was quite the graphical powerhouse for the time but with a slow unimpressive CPU, while the Genesis was using a beast of a CPU but not so impressive graphics hardware. The X68000 CPU used in the Genesis was actually a freaking powerhouse & was used in a lot of arcade machines in the 90's believe it or not. It was far more powerful than the weak CPU in the SNES.
I agree with many of your picks, especially Shining Force 2. I also love the strategy games like Pirates Gold and Dune Battle of Arrakis.
Love Warriors of the Eternal Sun, one of my favorite Genesis soundtracks.
Bio Hazard Battle!!!
It made me so happy to hear that Ian and I enjoy the same Genesis games!
Can't believe Pat has a sealed copy of Bloodlines yet hasn't played it 😳 play the game Godammit
With perfect emulation no need to open games anymore, or collect them at all!
I remember playing Shining Force on emulator it's a pretty underrated series that's for sure
My Genesis Top 10 (11):
Castlevania: Bloodlines
Crusader of Centy
Gunstar Heroes
MUSHA
Phantasy Star IV
Pirates Gold
Rocket Knight Adventures
Streets of Rage 2
Thunderforce III/IV
Just missing out are Haunting Starring Polterguy, Quackshot, Shadowrun, Shadow Master, Shinobi III, Sonic 3, Splatterhouse 2/3, Streets of Rage 1, Trouble Shooter, World of Illusion
Sonic 2 is kind of like Mario 3, it was just a huge step up from the 1st game & just blew everyone's mind at the time. It was the reason I had to get myself a Genesis back in the day. It's a true masterpiece of a game & has some of the best levels music & gameplay of any Genesis game. It was a true system seller.
Awesome list, there's so many great games not mentioned. Adding to IANs list Kid Chameleon and Robocop vs Terminator.
Great list Ian
THUNDER FORCE 4 HAS TO BE THE BEST SHMUP ON THE GEN.
LETS NOT FORGET ROADRASH
OR CHAKAN.
WARSONG ALSO🤟
Beyond Oasis is amazing. Enough Said. Play it if you get the chance. Part top-down fighting game(combos), Part Zelda, Some Puzzles. I would love to see an modern re-telling of this game.
One of the very best
@@opaljk4835 agreed!! As with all of the wonderful titles that we did get on the system, i do think there is still plenty of room for modern titles to continue to be released in the indy space for this system.
@@toronaldaris it’s so addictive, I still need to play Legend Of Oasis, but I haven’t found an especially easy way to play Saturn games
Was a Nintenkid growing up but had a friend who was a Genisguy so was able to play a bit. Not sure if the best, but I enjoyed most (and added to my collection as an adult) :
Castlevania : Bloodlines
Aladdin
General Chaos
Alisia Dragoon
Streets of Rage 2
Sonic 2
Michael Jackson moon walker is a guilty pleasure
I think the Zelda on Genisis Pat is referring to is Crusader of Centy that Norm(OIL UP AND HIT THE GYM WITH ME) did a video on.
Monster World 4 is freaking incredible! It is a travesty that game never came out here in the States & was exclusive to Japan for so long. It would have been an absolute gem among the Genesis library. It's my absolute favorite game in the Wonderboy series, even better than Dragon's Trap imo.
Hell the graphics in Streets of Rage 2 were a big step up from the 1st game. 1 was a great game but 2 is better in literally every way. Streets of Rage 2 is without question the best beat em up game of all time imo, & it's not even close. I have never played a beat em up as fun to play in 2 player Co-Op as this one. Even my non-gamer friends love it. It's the only game I can get most of my friends to play with me.
🎵se-ga🎶
Every time I turn on any console, I say whatever its name is just like that.
If Ian’s a big shooter guy, Wings of Wor is great. Creeeeepy art, fun, great music. Though, I never understood why Wor was spelled that way. It was my first ever home console game (had a GB first), got it for Xmas with my Sega and I loved it. It’s actually now worth some uncommon game money. Good eye , mom.
I think Sonic and Knuckles was intended to be a part of 3 all along but Sega decided to split it up because of some McDonalds promotion having a strict deadline.
I also thought it was because it would have cost too much to get a cartridge big enough to fit it all.
THANK YOU! I had the Sega Channel as a kid. And i bought some of the games i liked off of it (I think SNES was WAAAAAY better than genesis, but I still ended up buying a few genesis games even though I "mained" the SNES). And Gain Ground is the game I never remembered the name of and had been looking for the name for YEARS and no one ever knew what I was talking about. i was starting to think I had made it up ha-ha. I put that in my top 5 Genesis games for sure :)
Gain Ground, Land Stalker, Shadowrun (not as good as the SNES one), Toejam and Earl, Beyond Oasis would be my top 5 i think?
Genesis just had too many of its big games like Comic Zone, Vectorman, Ecco, Sonic, etc that I thought looked great and had cool concepts, but i thought they sucked or were too hard after playing them a bit. And their counterparts on SNES were just better (Megaman vs Vectorman for example). I hate Sonic, ive never liked a Sonic game.
Phantasy Star IV is my most favorite game of all time! I'm literally designing a Phantasy Star IV setting for the Starfinder roleplaying game as we speak! Ian, you *need* to play Phantasy Star IV!!!
Pat just saw you are coming to Sourheast Game Exchange can't wait to finally meet you
Genesis is my favorite console of all time! Love Sonic 2 & Aladdin!
Absolutely loved the Shining Force games growing up. If only we had the Fire Emblem games in the states, man I would have LOVED them to death! The 1st one we ever got aka the self titled Fire Emblem game for the GBA is to this day one of the best games I have ever played. I was HOPELESSLY addicted to that game for years!
Gain Ground at the Arcade was my favorite. It's 3 player for arcade .
This podcast is so chill to watch.
As far as zelda-adjacent games go, I was much more into Landstalker than Beyond Oasis. Love that game. It was from the same company as Shining Force.
Its crazy to think that, for the 16-bit era, Nintendo made 71 games whilst Sega made 232, more than the triple!
I think the dominatrix is the main reason the Alisia Dragoon video got over 500K views...
My list:
1. Golden Axe 1
2. Mickey Mouse - Castle of Illusion
3. Donald Duck - Quack Attack
4. Sonic 1
5. Tiny Toons - busters hidden treasure
6. Batman
7. Dick Tracy
9. Scitchin
10. Alien 3
as a nintendo kid I appreciate the heck out of this and will be checking out all of these great games
I remember trying to connect sonic and knuckles to just about every game I owned lmao, if it's not a recognized game it just lets you play the special zone
Every unrecognized game gives you a unique level, which is neat. I wonder what game gives the absolute hardest out of all of them.
@@THENAMEISQUICKMAN I never noticed that before haha, that is pretty cool. I was never good at the special zones so for me it could be any of them :)
@@bennagins I think if you put in Sonic 1 there's also a code to unlock an infinite amount of stages, which you can't do with the other unauthorized games.
I can give a top 5, with some nostalgia bias and based on titles I’ve played.
1. Gain Ground
2. Batman
3. Valis III
4. Sonic 2
5. Splatterhouse 3
My favorite was the original Streets of Rage, but I played it on the Sega Classics Arcade Collection on the Sega cd.
Steel Empire was a great steam punk shooter
Bloodlines is the best castlevania... i play it constantly on expert lol
Good thing this is according to Ian and not Pat the "Sega's Not Your Friend" Punk
P.S. I didn't get a Genesis of my own until last year and only to play the Mega Drive port of _Sailor Moon_ and _Rolling Thunder 2,_ both via an Everdrive MD
I absolutely agree with your selection Ian. Solid Konami selections!!!
Hyperstone Heist is also missing the mode 7 stuff from TiT so you can't throw foot soldiers into the screen and the neon night rider level isn't there either.
Would love to one day see a Homebrew of Hyperstone Heist where the levels & content from Turtles in Time is added back into Hyperstone Heist. How cool would that be?
Some good choices. I still need to try Alisia dragoon. I'd throw in truxton...pretty good arcade port.
Agree strongly with Gunstar Heroes and can't really disagree with the others as they're all strong games. Right up near the top for me is Mega Turrican and another that I doubt many would call a "great" game but I really like Ex-Mutants.
1. General Chaos
2. NHL 94
3. Mutant League Football
I have to comment cause not many people know general chaos. Great co op game.
Really these uploads brighten my day
No certain order.
1. Two Crude Dudes
2. Saturday Night Slam Masters
3. Truxton
4. Beyond Oasis
5. Phantasy Star IV
I *definitely agree* with Gain Ground👍👍👍👍 Also, would have liked to have seen Midnight Resistance and Shadow Dancer (Revenge is suitable replacement, can't stand Shinobi 3.) Even Jewel Master would be a top game
Why don't you like Shinobi 3?
@@theguru1974 I don't like the double jump and wall jump. That just feels like it's the entry where Sega went "OK, let's be like every other ninja game." Also, it's too easy but the cheap parts are really cheap. I prefer Shadow Dancer and Revenge.
Rocket Knight Adventures!
"Crystal Pony"
Ian is a freaking Chad.
It really is a shame Mr Contri detests Sega so. He would absolutely love games like Bayonetta and Alien isolation but I'm sure he doesn't know they exist
Great Games! Chakan the Foreverman GOAT 16 Bit game noone talks about
QuackShot
Did not expect a Thexder reference today
SoR2 and Shining Force2 are amazing!
7:50 so that's what that is I didn't know what that animal was🤣
ian: 'sonic and knuckels 3'
pat: at camera death stare.
Dynamite Heddy was an amazing title ❤