Famous sega genesis games

Although the game only has two alternate endings, each level features branching paths, providing a higher replay value and variety of gameplay. Like most brawlers of the era, players must perform punch, kick and jump attacks within each panel to proceed, or solve a simple puzzle if they ever hope to move outside the frame.

Most people who recognize the name Game Freak only know it as the company behind the best Pokemon games. Long before Pokemon , however, Game Freak made its name with a little-known platformer called Pulseman for the Genesis.

Pulseman puts players in control of the titular character, a small cyborg who can use various electrical powers to navigate levels and fight enemies. In many ways, Pulseman seems derivative of the much more popular Mega Man , right down to the core conflict between a robot boy and an evil doctor.

Despite all the similarities, Pulseman sets itself apart with a greater focus on acrobatic maneuvers and unique level designs that transition between futuristic cities and cyberspace.

In the heyday of the Genesis, however, they were everywhere, and Streets of Rage 2 was one of the best. Similar to a fighting game SoR2 gives players an assortment of characters to choose from, each with a unique set of moves that can be executed. Players battle through a city overrun with criminals, using their fighting skills to bludgeon crime. The enemies are varied, and the different types have their own abilities that players must deal with. In addition to the knock-down, drag-out gameplay, Streets of Rage 2 has some of the best presentation ever on the Genesis.

The character sprites are all detailed and stand out well against the grimy environments of the city. The game is available on the Sega Genesis Mini.

An interesting quirk that separates video games from other modes of expression is that the limits of technology can render some games obsolete. The truly timeless games blend a clean art style with easy-to-grasp mechanics, and Gunstar Heroes is the perfect example of this.

The controls are responsive, which is good because the pacing is quick and any mistake can immediately result in death. To conquer the many difficult challenges, the game provides players with different weapons that can be combined to create more powerful attacks. Ecco the Dolphin , the first in the Ecco series, oversaw the time-traveling escapades of a bottlenose dolphin — not to mention his hostile encounters with a group of marine-life-abducting extraterrestrials.

Despite its childlike appearance, however, the title was one of the toughest on the console, offering little in the way of clues and helpful tips for spurring the initial storyline or navigating the maze-like crevasses spanning Atlantis to the Atlantic. The Appaloosa Interactive title follows players through the mysterious, dino-drenched Site B as they journey across the island to reclaim a radiophone to call for help. The gameplay is challenging and well-paced, spliced with a fair amount of strategy reliant upon your use of the tranquilizer, machine gun, rocket launcher and other weapons used in combating the myriad of dinosaurs and hunters constantly working against your survival.

The foliage and environmental hazards, though often comprising small sprites, are lush and detailed, and the boss battles and dynamic token system break up the otherwise straightforward gameplay. Publishers released wave after wave of derivatives and full-price updates, with the nadir being Street Fighter: The Movie the game , a video game based on a movie based on a video game.

In the beginning, however, the fighting game trend produced some truly exciting and inventive titles. Instead, Samurai Shodown set its battles in the storied past of feudal Japan.

Shodown took the core gameplay of the genre — i. As in a real swordfight, duels in Samurai Shodown tend to end quickly.

The game features a small but diverse roster of characters, including straightforward archetypes such as a wandering ronin and more oddball characters like Galford, an American cowboy turned ninja who can call his trusty canine into battle. Sadly , Samurai Shodown is one of the few classic fighting franchises that has yet to be revived, even if the first installment still holds up as one of the best in the genre. The formative fighting game, Street Fighter II established many of the conventions of the genre, particularly the idea of linking combos together to prevent your opponent from being able to react.

Street Fighter II also pioneered one of the most notorious trends in fighting game history: releasing several slightly improved iterations of the same game. Nonetheless, each iteration of the title introduced new characters and mechanics while tweaking older elements and retaining the core elements of the franchise.

Or will you be forced to fight the omnipotent count once more? Bloodlines gameplay employs adventure and platforming elements that visibly pioneered the genre s at the time of its release. Whether you're battling enemies, scouring levels for items and upgrades, or you're fighting a relentlessly difficult boss, Bloodlines offers more diverse gameplay than meets the eye for the avid Castlevania, Genesis, or platformer fan.

Bloodlines has since been released in a Castlevania compilation title, Castlevania Anniversary Collection, for a multitude of current-gen consoles. But there's something uniquely challenging and mystifying about the experience of the original release on its home console. Whether you're a fan of the Genesis, Castlevania, or the platforming genre, Bloodlines is a secret gem that deserves your attention and revisitation. Although the first Sonic the Hedgehog title was groundbreaking for the Sega Genesis, Sega, and gaming in general, its sequel was truly the title that laid the foundation of millions of Sonic fans' adoration.

Having achieved the accolade of being the second best-selling game on the Sega Genesis — right behind the original Sonic the Hedgehog — it's clear that Sonic the Hedgehog 2 was as popular as it was enjoyable to play. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is the first title where fans were able to meet Tails, Sonic's lighthearted, technologically gifted sidekick. The gameplay in this title is tight and fast-paced, with Sonic's speed having increased since the prior title. All of the side-scrolling elements have been updated and perfected in comparison to this title's predecessor , while the 2D visuals have also received meaningful and noticeable updates.

Stages are even more detailed and daunting, and it's up to you to figure out how to traverse and overcome different obstacles and terrains as you race to fight the main antagonist — Dr. In this title, Robotnik is searching for the seven 'Chaos Emeralds,' in hopes that they'll facilitate his world domination. With more levels and challenges than ever before, it'll take more than just sprinting to reach each boss battle. But in almost every regard, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is a perfect side-scrolling platformer.

Between its instantly recognizable soundtrack, its addictive and challenging gameplay, and its charismatic cast, this title truly cements itself as one of the best games of the golden age of gaming. It's no wonder that this game tops a multitude of best games of all time lists — because it's definitely the best game on the Sega Genesis. Although Mortal Kombat is currently an omnipresent name in the world of fighting games, its presence was notably subtler during the early to mids in the stage of its first few releases.

But what exactly brought such acclaim and popularity to this title so early on in the series history? Mortal Kombat 2, similar to many of the fantastic sequels on the Sega Genesis, is an embodiment of how to take building momentum from a first release and refine, improve, and expand elements that fans saw potential in.

But even further than that, this sequel thoroughly expanded gameplay by adding multiple fatalities and new finishers e. Mortal Kombat 2 was the first title to include the continual series villain, Shao Kahn, who players must reach and defeat to save the realms of Mortal Kombat. Serving as a chief influence for the reboot title in , Mortal Combat 2 is a title that newer fans can still enjoy in the present day.

And at the time of its release, Mortal Combat 2 inspired a spin-off and a litany of copycat titles. For its gameplay, narrative, characters, and combat system, Mortal Combat 2 is a clear classic that simultaneously encapsulates and transcends its era of gaming. But beyond that, Mortal Combat 2 is undeniably one of the greatest fighting games ever released, having permanently raised the bar for content and combat mechanics.

After the immense hype and critical acclaim of the film, the Ghostbusters IP began to divest into multiple forms of media. With the release of two game titles in the 80s, Ghostbusters began to become a household franchise.

And so with the release of the Ghostbusters title on the Sega Genesis, fans, both old and new, were immediately drawn to the side-scrolling gameplay littered with references, jokes, and lovable characters.

Ghostbusters provides players with the chance to experience the universe of a series they already loved so much. After choosing between three characters — Egon, Peter, and Ray from the movie series — players have to rush around to protect this seemingly ghost-infested city after a disastrous earthquake.

Similar to other side-scrolling titles, players have to fight and engage with enemies by running, jumping, crouching, and shooting.

One of the only drawbacks of this title is its limited amount of levels. However, although there are only six levels, players are free to play most of these levels in whatever order they prefer.

This type of nonlinear gameplay is innovative for its time, and that sense of pioneering can still be felt while playing the game today. One of the most notable of these trends — which has since largely faded from the gaming space — is the direct adaptation of popular movies into video games. Although this definitely still occurs in the present day, the level of adaptation and franchise fragmenting was noticeably larger, with franchise owners being much more lenient with the use of their IPs.

In certain cases, however, this product push of novelty ended up creating extremely enjoyable and memorable experiences. At the top of this list of titles, undeniably, is Aladdin. Aladdin is a fantastic game from start to finish. Its popularity is equally noteworthy, with the title having been re-released on all current-gen consoles. Following the narrative of the film, players control Aladdin in a number of side-scrolling environments as you battle your way through various enemies. In a lot of instances, film-adapted video games quickly lose their luster because of their proximity to more popular, pre-existing media.

But this Aladdin release is such an enjoyable and well fleshed out experience that it stands out as one of the only film-adapted titles to carry impact and value in the mainstream space, irrespective of its novelty. As one of the best-selling titles on the Genesis, Aladdin carries weight in the memories of longtime Sega fans.

But some of the earlier Spider-man titles from the 90s directly influenced and gave way to the eventual creation of current classics. In terms of games and films from the Spider-Man universe, we tend to view Venom and Spider-Man as opposing forces working for opposing or conflicting goals. With this piece of information alone, you can tell that this title is far from the standard Spider-Man release.

Players are giving the opportunity to play as both Spider-Man and Venom while fighting through side-scrolling environments. Although a variety of Marvel heroes appear in the title including Iron Fist, Captain America, Deathlok, and more , players will mainly be offered a window into the personalities and experiences of both Spider-Man and Venom like never before.

But the most exciting aspect of this title is the in-depth view that players and fans of Marvel alike are given into the worlds of Spider-Man and Venom.

And although its predecessor truly laid the foundation for the genre, Streets of Rage 2 felt like a true realization of everything that its developers Sega, MNM Software, Shout! Designworks, and more aimed to create. You can change your form into different animals by obtaining power ups, and special items can temporarily increase your power and size.

If you spend hours playing Candy Crush or some other offshoot on your mobile, then you have Columns to thank for being the original colourful puzzler. Columns differs to Tetris in that instead of slotting together coloured blocks, you have to match three or more gems of the same colour.

The gems drop down in columns of three hence the name and you can match up gems in any direction, including diagonally not to be confused with the Harry Potter street.

If you like games that require a little bit of thought but minimal button mashing, then this is the perfect title. The multiplayer is fun too, with players battling against each other to clear their screens first!

If a title based on alien rappers that crash land on earth sounds interesting to you, then ToeJam and Earl could well be one of the Best Sega Genesis Games to add to your collection. This game is funkalicious, with a cool soundtrack and regular boombox action to accompany our two unlikely heroes. Playing as either ToeJam or Earl, you must move through the various stages collecting pieces of your crashed ship think Silicon Valley but with funkier characters.

Critics loved everything about this weird and wonderful duo, including the fact that you could play as both characters in a co-op mode. I still remember cranking out the barn blaster for the first time and killing every enemy on the screen. I felt like a gaming god, though I suppose so did everyone else in the world.

Bringing Knuckles the Echidna into the mix was a great move too. In addition to a new character joining the fray, Tails can now fly and swim underwater, giving him much more of a pivotal role in the game. AND, there are some rumours that the music for this game was written by none other than M. J himself. Play through special stages with pinball machines and 3D levels for the first time, and funk along to the questionably M. J-esque music. Sorry, I just had a hard case of nostalgia there.

I spent hours on Mega Bomberman with my friends; it was the most addictive multiplayer mode on all of my Best SEGA Genesis games and still is today, with a whole host of playable characters from Planet Bomber that went on to star in another one of my favourite titles, Bomberman I like games where the unlikeliest of heroes end up becoming the star of the show. Long before Crash Bandicoot was spinning around to defeat enemies, Taz the Tasmanian Devil was kicking ass and taking names with his own brand of crime fighting in Taz in Escape from Mars.

Taz was a bit of a dimwit, but he took revenge pretty seriously. After first escaping and then, for some reason, returning, Taz seeks out Marvin to exact his revenge. Spin, jump, dig, breathe fire, and spit rocks at enemies as you make your way through the different levels in search of the final boss or the much-loved exit sign, where you can breath a sigh of relief and pat yourself on the back for surviving.

You might know it as Probotector here in Europe, and this spin-off of the Contra series went on to become a classic title that is still played by gamers today. You play as a task force called the Hard Corps, four badass soldiers who have replaced the original Contra heroes from previous titles.

Your task is to stop Colonel Bahamut and the terrorists he leads, recovering the alien cell he plans to use to improve his weapon arsenal in the process. The concept is simple; shoot everything in sight until it disappears as you move through each level.

Then, do the same thing to the massive boss at the very end. From invulnerable sliding moves to free shooting styles with gnarly weapons, this game is fast paced and oozing with firepower. I used to run back home to watch WWF Raw on tape every weekday morning after taking the dog for a walk, so I took wrestling pretty seriously. Seeing the undertaker riding in on a bike or Stone Cold running into the ring and smashing beer cans on his head; now that was something special.

In a similar way to playing Mortal Kombat or Street Fighter, I had to try and remember the special moves, signature moves, and move sets for my favourite player. All Rights Reserved. This feature was originally published on November 17, Previous Slide Next Slide.