Genesis REVIEWS Report: 90-81

Going down the Retro Sanctuary list into the top 90-81 games, we are seeing many rather forgettable platformers like Rolo to the Rescue and Zoro the Kamikaze Squirrel, but we are also seeing some rather solid Shmups and Beat 'em Up. Unsurprisingly, two of the games on this list of 10 have better ports on the SNES, which is something we will unfortunately find down the list as well.

With that being said, here is a quick report on each game on this list.

Please enjoy:-

90- ESWAT: City Under Siege (1990): 

• Genre: Run & Gun.
• Publisher: Sega; Developer: Sega.

Shooters in the 16-bit generation are a dime a dozen. First, we have the top-class tier like Contra and Metal Slug, then we get all the rest. ESWAT is one of the earliest 16-bit shooters, and as such, was not compared to the great advances those two series made to the genre, nor was it able to learn from them.

Even though this game is actually a fairly capable shooter, it could have been much better if not for a few serious shortcomings. ESWAT is a classic example of a game not recognizing its own strengths. If this game actually utilized the excellent jet-pack mechanic better, it would have designed its bosses and stages to accommodate that; it might have been a strong enough game to warrant a sequel. Even with a silly-sounding name like ESWAT.

As it is, ESWAT is merely a solid shooter in an overcrowded genre, one which could have been much better than it ended up being.

89- General Chaos (1994): 

• Genre: Real-Time Tactics.
• Publisher: EA; Developer: Game Refuge Inc.

General Chaos is probably one of the Genesis's most unique games, and probably the only one of its genre. It's a Real-Time Tactics game that involves commanding one squad of units in a battle against another squad.

A unique gem in the system, everything is great in the game, apart from it being as short as a tech demo. There are very few games like General Chaos. Personally, I have not played anything like it, and I enjoyed it very much. However, the campaign was woefully short, and it had no story element whatsoever. This meant that I needed to find other people to play with to properly enjoy the game.

However, the fact that it has such an amazing multiplayer component is actually strange. I wouldn't have imagined such a game to feature one, although it is much better with it. Recently, the designer of the game tried to revive the franchise on Kickstarter, but the funding fell short.

That is sure a darn shame.

88- Rocket Knight Adventures (1993):

• Genre: Action Platformer.
• Publisher: Konami; Developer: Konami.

I admit that I didn't give Rocket Knight Adventures a fair chance when I originally played it in the middle of my Genesis REVIEWS blogging series. When considering the fact that I played and reviewed games like Decap Attack, it makes no sense that I didn't continue playing this simple but still charming Action Platformer by the designer of the Contra games.

Still, despite my regret at missing reviewing the game, I would still most likely find it a middling game within the genre, but with more charm that some of the other platformers on this list. 

 

87- NBA Jam Tournament Edition (1995):

• Genre: Sport.
• Publisher: Acclaim Entertainment; Developer: Midway.

This was hands down the best basketball game on the Genesis, with a surprising level of graphical and mechanical details in the action. Yet, the SNES version of the game was significantly better than the Genesis version, making this one of the games on this list with a better port on a rival console.

86- Rolo to the Rescue (1993):

• Genre: Platformer.
• Publisher: EA; Developer: Vectordean.

I don't understand how anyone thought that an Elephant would make a good platforming mascot. Elephants are huge and heavy animals, and that was reflected in this rather slow game. Sure, Mario Wonder would showcase a brilliant use-case for the animal decades later, but the technology of the time couldn't keep this from being one of the slowest and most boring platformers on the genesis.

85- Zero the Kamikaze Squirrel(1994):

• Genre: Platformer.
• Publisher: Sunsoft; Developer: Iguana Entertainment.

Moving from Elephants to squirrels doesn't improve things much, with Zero the Kamikaze Squirrel not being much better despite being a bit faster and more engaging. One thing to note about the inclusion of this game by Retro Sanctuary is that there is not way it would have been inculeded in the SNES Top 100 list despite having a port for that system.

84- Marvel Land (1991):

• Genre: Platformer.
• Publisher: Namco; Developer: Namco.

This game, which has nothing to do with the Marvel comics, was Namco's attempt at making a Mario-like Platformer, and it mostly works. With decent mechanics, a good number of levels, and several surprises and twists to delight the player, it was an engaging early platformer on the Genesis that was gun, even if it couldn't hold a candle to Nintendo plump plumber.

83- Zombies Ate My Neighbors (1993):

• Genre: Run & Gun.
• Publisher: Konami; Developer: LucasArts.

This zany Run & Gun classic had a better port on the SNES, which is why I didn't review it on the Genesis. Since I reviewed it on the SNES, you will have to wait for my reposted review to read my thoughts about it.

82- Sub-Terrania (1994):

• Genre: Shmup.
• Publisher: Sega; Developer: Zyrinx.

This classic Shmup is one of the best-known Multi-directional shooters on the console, which means that the player must face threats from all directions in the screen rather than deal with enemies coming from a single direction. This, coupled with a constant gravity pulling the ship down makes it one of the most difficult Shmups to master.

Yet, for those that master the gameplay, they are in for something different, with excellent graphics and a brilliant soundtrack. Although I know I wouldn't have been good at playing this game, watching experts play it is enough on its own.

81- Splatterhouse 3 (1993):

• Genre: Beat 'em Up.
• Publisher: Namco; Developer: Now Production.

As the third in the Beat 'em Up Splatterhouse series, this game obviously had its fans and knew what it was doing. Elevating the formula away from linear levels, this game introduced non-linear exploration and multiple endings.

Still, this was still a Beat 'em Up game, and that's a genre I am not a big fan off, but I know that fans of the genre simply loved the game. 

This report is a consolidated review of the top 100 list by Retro Sanctuary. It features the reviews I made for the list, but also has a brief paragraph about each game in the list that I didn't review. For games without an official review, the opinions I express are purely based on general research about the game and its reception at the time.