Getting a Genesis collection going

SMS, Genesis, 32X, Sega CD, Saturn, Dreamcast
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Dikdikvandik
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Getting a Genesis collection going

Post by Dikdikvandik »

I'm no stranger to the Genesis, while I never had one until a month ago, It's a model 1 of the model 1 possibly one of the first ones it has the ext port in the back, I got a wonderful JP21 RGB Stereo lead cable from Retro-Access.com to enjoy it though a Framemiester I got a year ago when this Actual Console project started.

I don't feel like my Genesis collection is as interesting as my Nes/Famicom Collection (I have an AVS) and not even close to being as interesting as the Stuff I have on my Super Famicom, it's the subject for another thread, but my Super Famicom collection is fan freaking tastic. Here is what I DO have for my Genesis

Sega 6 Pak
Battle Mania 2/Trouble Shooter Vintage (repro)
Cyberball (A game I confused for something else but can't put my finger on what)
Glaylancer (repro)
Light Crusader (with bad NV ram)
Ms Pac Man (Tengen curse doesn't work)
Mortal Kombat II
Rocket Knight Adventures
Shadow Dancer
Sonic 2
Sonic 3
Sonic and Knuckles
Sonic 3d Blast
Streets of Rage II
Super Monaco GP
Valis III

Currently on Order/enroute:

Ristar
Lightening Force/Thunder Force IV
Verytex (repro)

I don't know what it needs, Valis 3 and my Shmups are on par with some of the more interesting things I have on my Super Famicom. There's the obvious stuff, like Toe Jam and Earl,Gunstar Heroes, Truxton, High Seas Havoc, The Two Street Fighters, E-Swat, Bonanza Brothers, The better Konami stuff like Castlevania Bloodlines and Contra Hard Corps, Namco's stuff, Strider and so on. Oh and I need to Shout out El Viento and Alisa Dragoon too.

Rattle some stuff off, There's alot crap on the Genesis but it's also one of those systems chock full of hidden gems. THOSE are what I'm looking for. The obvious stuff will be added over time. Keep an eye out for this thread only for Nintendo stuff later on. My Famicom/NES collections needs some spice too but The Super Famicom Stuff I have just blows my mind and I can't believe how lucky I was to find some of those games. So yeah give me a day. But for not lets Talk Genesis.
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samsonlonghair
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Re: Getting a Genesis collection going

Post by samsonlonghair »

First of all, Welcome to the racketboy forums. Congratulations on your purchase of a Sega Genesis. This is a wise purchase, as Sega Genesis is the finest video game console in history. So good, in fact, that the first book of the Bible is named in honor of this game console... I’m pretty sure that’s how it works. :wink:

I can see that you’re off to a good start on your Genesis collection right now.

Take a moment to look up the “Hidden Gems” guide to Sega Genesis on this site. I wrote up the bit about Marvel Land - an arcade platformer by Namco with lots of charm and a respectable learning curve.

Since you asked about hidden gems, I won’t bother to tell you to buy Gunstar Heroes and Streets of Rage 2. Those games have already been lauded (and rightfully so). They will make fine additions to your collection when you decide to purchase them.

Here’s a couple great Sega Genesis games that you might not already know about:

Sub Terrania is an underground shooter with gravity-based mechanics similar to Solar Jetman or graviton.

Columns is a puzzle game similar to bejeweled with a faster pace. The later levels move so fast you may find yourself reacting on instinct rather than strategy. Very Zen.

Quackshot is a puzzle platformer with excellent animation and detailed character sprites. This is one of the NUMEROUS collaborations between Disney and Sega. There are a lot of surprisingly good Disney games on Genesis.

Ecco the Dolphin isn’t exactly a hidden gem, but it is sometimes overlooked. It’s not readily apparent what this game is really about. Ecco the Dolphin is somewhere between an action rpg and a puzzle exploration game. It’s atmospheric and moody. Think of Metroidvania underwater. Oh, and the music is excellent.

Ghouls N’ Ghosts is an excellent port of the notoriously hard Capcom arcade game. The unlimited continues definitely come in handy here.

Road Rash II is perhaps not the best racing game, but it’s one heck of a fun motorcycle combat game.

Earthworm Jim is another game that isn’t exactly hidden, but is sometimes overlooked. Earthworm Jim is an action platformer with solid controls, good animation, and a warped sense of humor.

The Ooze is an overhead action game with a couple unique gimmicks and a funky soundtrack. This one isn’t for everyone it’s intentionally a weird game. Try the Ooze out in an emulator before you buy it. You’ll either love it or hate it.

That should be enough games to keep you busy for a little while. Stick around the forums for a while, Dikdik. Meet all the good people here. Don’t worry about the grumpy ones. :lol:
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dunpeal2064
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Re: Getting a Genesis collection going

Post by dunpeal2064 »

Data East games on the Genesis rule. Vapor Trail, Atomic Runner, Two Crude Dudes, and Midnight Resistance are all super fun, and all have killer OSTs.

Gauntlet IV is a port of the arcade original, but is done so well that its, imo, the best version of the game to date. Remixed OST that slays, 4-player co-op via multitap, and a console-exclusive mode that plays out like a mini-RPG, complete with gear upgrades and multiple dungeons.

Toaplan has a ton of good stuff on the console. Grindstormer/V-V (US/JP names, both actually different games, both versions included on each cart!), Fire Shark, Hellfire, and Slap Fight MD are all really good. Slap Fight and Grindstormer are both Tengen carts, though, so if you buy genuine ones, make sure they work!

Ranger-X is a must, might be well known enough now to not need mention, but just in case, check this one out. Target Earth/Assault Suit Leynos is the other mecha game to check out.

Jewel Master and Mystic Defender are both really solid action side scrollers. They play more like 8-bit action games, so they are strict and tight, but more simplified than something like Shinobi III or Mega Man X.

Could go on about the system all day, but I'll save some for later.
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Dikdikvandik
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Re: Getting a Genesis collection going

Post by Dikdikvandik »

dunpeal2064 wrote:Data East games on the Genesis rule. Vapor Trail, Atomic Runner, Two Crude Dudes, and Midnight Resistance are all super fun, and all have killer OSTs.

Gauntlet IV is a port of the arcade original, but is done so well that its, imo, the best version of the game to date. Remixed OST that slays, 4-player co-op via multitap, and a console-exclusive mode that plays out like a mini-RPG, complete with gear upgrades and multiple dungeons.

Toaplan has a ton of good stuff on the console. Grindstormer/V-V (US/JP names, both actually different games, both versions included on each cart!), Fire Shark, Hellfire, and Slap Fight MD are all really good. Slap Fight and Grindstormer are both Tengen carts, though, so if you buy genuine ones, make sure they work!

Ranger-X is a must, might be well known enough now to not need mention, but just in case, check this one out. Target Earth/Assault Suit Leynos is the other mecha game to check out.

Jewel Master and Mystic Defender are both really solid action side scrollers. They play more like 8-bit action games, so they are strict and tight, but more simplified than something like Shinobi III or Mega Man X.

Could go on about the system all day, but I'll save some for later.


Slap Fight and Grindstormer I'm going to Everdrive. Of Course I want Legit, but anything Tengen I want to stay far away from. Kind of a shame too because Tengen brought their A Game to the Genesis. Gauntlet IV being among them. I do love me some Gauntlet, and really anything Atari games put out. Toobin and Rampage were my Jam as a kid. But yeah since Cave is made up mostly of ex Toaplan staff all the Toaplan games on the Genesis are on my radar in one form or another.

Ranger-X I dabbled in on Emulators under it's Japanese name Ex-Ranza it is a fantastic game and cheaper than I thought it was be.

Mystic Defender comes up and I confuse it with Elemental Master. Jewel Master I'm completely unfamiliar with and I'll check out.

I love Data East too so anything they did is a given, even the crappy port of Outrunners. ( I LOVE Outrunners it's a sin it wasn't ported to the Saturn)

I have Assault Suit Lynos' Remake on the PS4, Haven't played much of it but I like it.

samsonlonghair wrote:First of all, Welcome to the racketboy forums. Congratulations on your purchase of a Sega Genesis. This is a wise purchase, as Sega Genesis is the finest video game console in history. So good, in fact, that the first book of the Bible is named in honor of this game console... I’m pretty sure that’s how it works. :wink:

I can see that you’re off to a good start on your Genesis collection right now.

Take a moment to look up the “Hidden Gems” guide to Sega Genesis on this site. I wrote up the bit about Marvel Land - an arcade platformer by Namco with lots of charm and a respectable learning curve.

Since you asked about hidden gems, I won’t bother to tell you to buy Gunstar Heroes and Streets of Rage 2. Those games have already been lauded (and rightfully so). They will make fine additions to your collection when you decide to purchase them.

Here’s a couple great Sega Genesis games that you might not already know about:

Sub Terrania is an underground shooter with gravity-based mechanics similar to Solar Jetman or graviton.

Columns is a puzzle game similar to bejeweled with a faster pace. The later levels move so fast you may find yourself reacting on instinct rather than strategy. Very Zen.

Quackshot is a puzzle platformer with excellent animation and detailed character sprites. This is one of the NUMEROUS collaborations between Disney and Sega. There are a lot of surprisingly good Disney games on Genesis.

Ecco the Dolphin isn’t exactly a hidden gem, but it is sometimes overlooked. It’s not readily apparent what this game is really about. Ecco the Dolphin is somewhere between an action rpg and a puzzle exploration game. It’s atmospheric and moody. Think of Metroidvania underwater. Oh, and the music is excellent.

Ghouls N’ Ghosts is an excellent port of the notoriously hard Capcom arcade game. The unlimited continues definitely come in handy here.

Road Rash II is perhaps not the best racing game, but it’s one heck of a fun motorcycle combat game.

Earthworm Jim is another game that isn’t exactly hidden, but is sometimes overlooked. Earthworm Jim is an action platformer with solid controls, good animation, and a warped sense of humor.

The Ooze is an overhead action game with a couple unique gimmicks and a funky soundtrack. This one isn’t for everyone it’s intentionally a weird game. Try the Ooze out in an emulator before you buy it. You’ll either love it or hate it.

That should be enough games to keep you busy for a little while. Stick around the forums for a while, Dikdik. Meet all the good people here. Don’t worry about the grumpy ones. :lol:


The only system superior to the Genesis might be the Saturn, But the Saturn is expensive to collect for and I already got 2 games with Disc rot. One still playable the other not so much. I LOVE my Super Famicom as well I just got Cotton 100%.

Anywho I'm familiar with all of these including the Ooze which was in that Sonic Collection on XBOX/Gamecube/PS2. Columns is in the six pack and I play the hell out of it when I can.

I have never played Sub Terrania but I remember it plastered all over magazines back in the 90s and for some reason I associate it with Turrican. Seems I don't know, Amigaish?
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Re: Getting a Genesis collection going

Post by dunpeal2064 »

Sub-Terrania certainly has a Euro-vibe to it, but its rather solid. Also, its OST is by Jesper Kyd, and it is very good. Red Zone is also worth looking at, as its another Kyd OST, it pulls off some rather impressive feats on a stock Genesis, and even though it leans more into tech demo territory, I thought it was decently playable.

The 3rd Kyd-scored game, Adventures of Batman and Robin, is really good. It has some flaws, but I think the game is much better than it often is credited for, and it also shows off the console's potential really well. Killer game.

Oh, and I am positive you've heard of Alien Soldier, its another console-melting killer of a game.
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Re: Getting a Genesis collection going

Post by Xeogred »

Dikdikvandik wrote:I have never played Sub Terrania but I remember it plastered all over magazines back in the 90s and for some reason I associate it with Turrican. Seems I don't know, Amigaish?

Speaking of Turrican, the Genesis exclusive Mega Turrican is incredible. Months back I finally after all these years of being a fan of the SNES titles, hit this one up and it's amazing. Fantastic graphics, music, gameplay, and it's arguably got more content than Super Turrican. I think it's technically even the real third and final Turrican after the Amiga games.

I can second Earthworm Jim. I've always like the Genesis version more than the SNES one. It has more music and an additional level. Maybe grab Boogerman for the novelty but it's not as good haha.

I will second the Ecco the Dolphin games too, they are brutal though.

Flashback The Quest for Identity is also most ideal on the Genesis, I think it was initially designed for this console. Smoother animations and such.

Shinobi III Return of the Ninja Master is absolutely one of my favorites of all time.

TMNT Hyperstone Heist is pretty cool and different enough from Turtles in Time. This one gets overlooked.

The Lost Vikings has some extra music with the candy world, but the controls are cumbersome without a 6pad I believe. I prefer the SNES version here.

Castlevania Bloodlines and Contra Hard Corps are definitely essentials.

MUSHA is a top notch shmup.

Love the two Vectorman games.

Shining Force 1-2 rules.

Definitely get Streets of Rage 1 and 3 too.

Thunder Force III is no IV... but it's still awesome, just really really easy. I'm not a big fan of II though, it's got weird free roaming overhead stages in between the traditional horizontal scrollers, not a fan of the overhead stuff.
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Re: Getting a Genesis collection going

Post by pierrot »

So I didn't notice the "repro" part immediately when I read Battle Mania Daiginjou in your list. My eyes went pretty wide initially. Not that it would be a bad thing to have at all, it would just be a pretty strange place to start; Like if someone only had five games, and one of them was Eliminate Down.

This kind of topic is actually one of the reasons I wanted to create this thread: https://www.racketboy.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=52334#p1135909. Ideally I would hope that it can kind of serve as a bunch of curated groups of potentially related games. I have a fair number of games for the console, and it was the first game console I ever personally owned, but it's really only recently that I've sort of acknowledged that the Genesis might have the greatest library in the history of game consoles. Personally, I think I end up preferring the Saturn and Dreamcast libraries, but pound for pound, the Genesis library beats those two. I say that mainly from the perspective of what I've played on the console. There are a lot of games that I have been told are really good, as well, but can't necessarily vouch for one way or the other, because I haven't spent that much time with them, like Mystic Defender, Gauntlet IV, or El Viento.

Ranger X is amazing, though. Everyone needs to have that game. Also, while I like Jewel Master's music, and the demi-Castlevania vibe, I find it plays a bit strangely, and not in a way I particularly enjoy. The ring combining aspect is cool for a stage or two, but after that it feels kind of cumbersome. Also, lives and continues are at a premium, so having to start over from stage 1 should probably be expected.

Instead of Genesis games, I'm going to give you some Sega CD games to keep an eye out for. (you are planning on getting a Sega CD at some point, right?)

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Eye of the Beholder
Android Assault
Batman Returns
Battlecorps
Cyborg 009
Dungeon Explorer
Earthworm Jim
Ecco / Tides of Time
Eternal Champions
Final Fight CD
Flink
Game no Kanzume vol 1 and 2
Heart of the Alien: Out of This World Parts I and II
Illusion City (Requires considerable Japanese, though)
Keio Flying Squadron
Lords of Thunder
Lunar Silver Star
Lunar Eternal Blue
Might and Magic III
The Ninja Warriors
Popful Mail
Robo Aleste
Sengoku Denshou
Shin Megami Tensei (Same as Illusion City)
Shining Force CD
Sol-Feace
SoulStar
Spiderman vs the Kingpin
Starblade (with the Mega Mouse, it's great)
The Terminator
Wolfchild


A lot of people (quite problematically) assume that there's nothing good on the Sega CD, and that couldn't be farther from the truth. There certainly isn't a mountain of Sega CD games, and many of them are on other consoles, but in some cases the Sega CD version is definitive. (Mickey Mania is not one of those, though. Get that one for the Genesis.) It would probably help if Sega CD games weren't near US Saturn levels of expensive, though.
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Re: Getting a Genesis collection going

Post by GSZX1337 »

Since Disney games were mentioned I thought I'd mention Aladdin. It's a different game than the SNES game, but is just as good or better, but that might just be my nostalgia talking. 8)
Shining in the Darkness is a first person dungeon crawling RPG unlike the related Shining Force games, but it's worth a look as well.
No mention of The Revenge of Shinobi? :( Comix Zone needs a mention too.
Another Treasure game to look at is Dynamite Heady as it's quite unique compared to other platformers. If you wanna a Japanese Mega Drive game on your EverDrive then check out Pulseman, a platformer created by Game Freak before the studio made Pokemon.

If you're in the mood for RPGs, then look into the Phantasy Star series. I'm not into RPGs, but I like these for some reason. If you'd prefer some CRPGs, the classic DOS titles Starflight and Might and Magic II were ported over to the Genesis.

Xeogred wrote:
Dikdikvandik wrote:Speaking of Turrican, the Genesis exclusive Mega Turrican is incredible. [...] I think it's technically even the real third and final Turrican after the Amiga games.

The Amiga version was actually titled Turrican III: Payment Day, making it the third in the series to the chagrin of Commodore fans.
http://www.mobygames.com/game/amiga/mega-turrican

The fanbase was so disappointed that in 2004 a fan created an unofficial Turrican 3 that plays like its Commodore 64 prequels. I'm a Genesis guy, so I'll stick with Mega Turrican. :lol: Speaking of Genesis Turrican, if you wanna play the whole trilogy on the Genesis, Universal Soldier is a reskinned Turrican II.
http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/turric ... nal-fight/
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Dikdikvandik
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Re: Getting a Genesis collection going

Post by Dikdikvandik »

So on the Sega 6 pack cart I have
Sonic
Revenge of Shinobi
Super Hang on
Columns
Golden Axe
Streets of Rage

So the Sega CD...

I NEED Night Striker if I can get it working with Mega CD games YES
Hate the US Sonic CD soundtrack.

BUT I'd actually get a 32x first and grab Tempo,After Burner Complete, Space Harrier, Star Wars Arcade, WrestleMania, Mortal Kombat II, Kolbari, Cosmic Carnage and Knuckles Chaotic.

Pulseman is on the buy a Repro of list as is Treasure's Yu yu Hakusho game which looks like a Prototype Guardian Heroes.

Oh and I KIND OF have Thunderforce III in the form of Thunder Spirits.
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Re: Getting a Genesis collection going

Post by samsonlonghair »

Xero and dunpeal have good taste!

If you like arcade games, SNK released a batch of great games for Sega Genesis. Many of these games have since been ported to other platforms, but I still think they make cool additions to a Genesis collection.

Street Smart (1991)
Fatal Fury (1993)
King of the Monsters (1993)
Super Baseball 2020 (1993)
Art of Fighting (1994)
Fatal Fury 2 (1994)
King of the Monsters 2 (1994)
World Heroes (1994)
Samurai Shodown (1994)

I took this list from the SNK page on Sega Retro’s wiki. Of these, I think Fatal Fury 2 and Samurai Shodown are my favorite.
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