The Sega Genesis/Mega Drive was one of the most important consoles of all time, and its battle against the SNES made for some great times. The console war between Sega and Nintendo Is in the Past though, and now Sega has brought a collection about some of the best games from the system to Nintendo Switch for us all to enjoy.
Some are missing, such as Wonder Boy in Monster World ( due to the rights issues not being clear) and Sonic 3 & Knuckles (due to soundtrack reasons), but with 50 games included, there must be some gems here, right?
As there are 50 games included, I will go over each one briefly. I will comment more on ones that stand out for good or bad, but most will be blitz reviews of the individual games.
….
We start off with a bit of a whimper with Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle. Poor controls, a bad layout and annoying boss fights take away from any enjoyment. Its very easy to see why Sega abandoned Alex Kidd, as the character and his games were not very good. There was no excuse whatsoever why this should be such a slow, plodding and boring game with poor controls and Sega realized this themselves and moved on from the series.
From bad to good though, as we get to Alien Soldier. This game by Treasure is absolutely amazing, as are most (but not all) Treasure games on the system. The game basically boils down to a challenging boss rush game and a key part of playing is memorization and patterns. It is incredibly fun, has excellent animation, and best of all, hard but fair. This is one gem on the collection so far, and one you will want to spend a lot of time with.
One Alien game leads to another with Alien Storm and it is….boring. A Run ‘n’ Gun game should never be boring but this is such a slow paced games that I cannot get any enjoyment out of it. Sluggish controls also hold it back. Another into the No pile for this collection.
Altered Beast is perhaps the most overrated Genesis game of all time. Widely held as a classic, the game is terrible. Slow, clunky and just not fun, it may have had a wow factor back in the day but that was then and this is now. It is a terrible side scrolling action game and not worthy of being considered a classic.
Beyond Oasis was one of several Zelda inspired games on the system. It stands out though, by virtue of adding new ideas such as jumping mechanics and a more refined combat system. The story is decent and overall the game is well balanced. I have to say that I was impressed with it, as it shows that Sega could sometimes innovate on Nintendo’s ideas.
Sadly Bio-Hazard Battle takes us back to the bad side. I love shoot em ups, but this one was just too disorienting to play. There were many great shoot em ups on the system and this one is not one of them.
Bonanza Bros. should not have been made for the system,. Genesis was capable of so much more and this game comes off as almost like an early NES game. A very generic title, I don’t have much more to add.
Columns is a decent puzzle game that merges the Match 3 genre with the Tetris formula. Perfectly fine and nothing to complain about here.
Columns III: Revenge of Columns is even better and has story, a compelling single player mode and better music. A very much improved game and that surprised me, given how attempts at sequels to this kind of game don’t usually end well.
Comix Zone is awesome. A brutally hard beat em up, it is set within a comic book world and takes full advantage of this to create a unique environment. I would love to see this concept done again, albeit with more balanced gameplay so that more people have a chance at getting further.
Crack Down is an overhead shooter and is again a boring title. I haven’t heard this game mentioned often when it comes to the Genesis and now I see why. There is nothing special here and it is just a waste of time to try and play.
Decap Attack is another mascot platformer game but not fun at all. I am not playing this from the perspective of someone in the 90’s but someone playing today. I have seen people praise this title, but aside from a gimmick of tossing your head to attack, there is nothing special here.
Dr, Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine was a Sonic themed reskin of the Puyo Puyo series…and it is amazing. Puyo Puyo remains an excellent puzzle series, so a sonic themed version just gives a new coat of paint to an already great game.
Dynamite Heady is another gem from Treasure (pun intended). Whereas Decap Attack tried to be a mascot platformer with a gimmick, it was ultimately generic. Dynamite Heady pulls it off however and gives us an action packed adventure that we can all enjoy. This is another game I would have loved to see a follow-up on.
ESWAT: City Under Siege is a side scrolling platformer/shooter similar to Data East’s Sly Spy. I don’t have any real complaints here. It is not a spectacular game, doesn’t stand out in terms of music and visuals, but is decent for a few minutes of gaming. If you want to try something different for a while, you could do a lot worse than this.
Fatal Labyrinth is a confusing game that throws you right in without giving you any explanation or idea of what to do or how the game works. I hated it when I played it before and I hate it now. Skip it.
Flicky just doesn’t feel like a Genesis game. IndieGamerChick has stated that this feels more like a master system title and I agree. It also has very floaty controls that hold it back from being anything special. Not sure what Sega was thinking here.
Gain Ground is a game you either love or you hate; I personally love it for how it blends the Gauntlet style of gameplay with strategy elements. This is a game Sega has occasionally explored since in re-releases and even a remake on the PS2 that was well received. I would love Sega to do more with this as its a brilliant idea and one you should check out. The music is pretty good to and overall is a thinking person’s action game. I recommend checking this one out.
Galaxy Force II is a neat shoot em up with a pseudo 3D perspective, but very poor depth perception. I wish I could have liked this more, but it just isn’t well made.
Golden axe 1-3 are all amazing brawlers, but if I had to pick one of the games that stands out the most, it would be Golden Axe 2. It has deeper gameplay, better characters and better music. To be honest though, all three are good games, even the third game with its weaker visuals is still a great experience. What you have here are three absolute classics that everyone should play.
Gunstar Heroes is the standout of the collection. An absolute masterpiece from Treasure, this run ‘n’ gun game is superior to both the Contra series and Metal Slug series. It has aged like a fine wine and plays better than many modern games. This is even more astonishing when you realize that this is the first game released by Treasure. Full of fast paced action, and with a welcome challenge, Gunstar Heroes has something for everyone.
Kid Chameleon is another game I do not understand the nostalgia for. It was a generic platformer with attitude, and has sluggish controls and boring gameplay. This came out well after Sonic 1 and just before Sonic 2, so I do not understand what Sega was thinking. Obviously they wanted to try and replicate Sonic’s success but failed in every way.
Landstalker is an isometric action adventure game and the one I spent the least amount of time with. I just could not get into this one no matter how hard I tried. It just didn’t click at all.
Light Crusader is a rare misfire from Treasure. Its an isometric action adventure game but nothing works right. The controls are off, and the perspective makes it difficult to get anything done. Well, I guess treasure is allowed an off game even with their pedigree,
…..
I will be brief about the Phantasy Star games and the Shining games here, because I plan on doing a lengthy piece just about these games later. I will suffice it to say that all of them hold up wonderfully and are worth checking out. The PS games are excellent JRPGs and the Shining games are some of the best RPGs period.
….
Ristar is one where I blame my disappointment on the collection. I have played the game recently on a Genesis and loved it, so I just feel it hasn’t translated well off the Genesis. It is a good platformer, but this port is not a good way to experience it.
I will cover all the Shinobi games at once to say that I am not a fan. People compare them to Ninja Gaiden, but Ninja Gaiden was much better. These games are just clunky in comparison. Shinobi III is the best of the bunch, but that doesn’t mean I like it that much. Sorry to Shinobi fans, but its how I feel.
Sonic is Sega’s mascot but if I am being honest, I feel the series didn’t get good until Sonic CD and Sonic 3&K. Sonic 1 and 2 are still decent games, but there is a reason that CD and 3&K are so beloved. I still enjoyed playing these and seeing where the series started and how Sega made changes along the way. They hold up okay, but not as well as many think.
Sonic 3D Blast……I do not hate the game. Its Sonic merged with Flicky and I just happen to like it. I prefer the Saturn version as it is a far better port, but this is okay. Its not an awesome game and definitely has flaws, but isn’t as unredeemable as many think. No, the unredeemable game is Sonic Spinball. I love pinball games but this is just bad, The game moves so awkwardly and slowly that it feels like Sega didn’t know what they were doing.
I have written about the Streets of Rage trilogy in the past, so I will just link my thoughts here. They haven’t changed at all.
Space Harrier II is an inferior sequel to the arcade original. The issue is that many of the launch Genesis games have aged badly because they were more like tech demos for what the Genesis could do. They were not optimized well, and it shows in this game.
Super Thunder Blade is a helicopter shooter with the same control scheme and perspective as Space Harrier II…and has all the same problems. Nuff said.
Sword of Vermilion is a decent action rpg but has a flaw of moving so slowly. I need to spend more time here but overall, I haven’t been impressed yet.
ToeJam & Earl is an awesome idea somewhat held back by the tech of the time. Both the original and sequel are very innovative games, but the sequel aged better in terms of gameplay. Both capture the feel of a distinct part of 90’s culture and to be honest, they make me excited to try the new game coming soon.
Vectorman and its sequel were run ‘n’ gun shooter/platformers with visuals inspired by Donkey Kong Country. The games were clearly made to cash in on the latter’s success, but are decent in their own right. They aren’t spectacular and the visuals haven’t aged all that well, but the action is fine.
I am going to admit something shocking. I kind of like Virtua Fighter 2 on Genesis. Its nothing like the Saturn game, but something about it gives off its own charm. I wouldn’t mind if Sega tried this style again in the future.
In addition to the games, there are new additions like online play, which works decently, a rewind option that is very handy, and a speed up option that proved to be a lifesaver when it came to games with long intro scenes and/or slow movement. For the price asked and the games included, there is a decent amount of value here. I suggest checking it out. If there is any major complaint, it is the lack of some of Sega’s racing games for the system.
Disclaimer: Sega provided us with a review code