Genesis REVIEWS Report: 40-31

In this report of the top 40-31 Genesis games according to Retro Sanctuary, I have reviewed four games, most of which I enjoyed, except for the disappointing Quackshot. Overall, the majority of these 10 games are well-regarded in their time, including solid ports of Lemmings and Puyo Puyo, along with one of the best classical Castlevania games.

Other than the presence of another disappointing platformer game, I am not sure there is much to criticize about the positioning of these games. 

Please enjoy my report:-

40- QuackShot (1991): 

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

The first thing I thought when I started playing QuackShot, a game starring Donald Duck and using the same title font as DuckTales, was whether the game would actually be as good as the NES DuckTales game.

It turned out that QuackShot could have been better, but it unfortunately lacked the ambition to be anything more than a technically good licensed platformer. DuckTales on the NES had a lot of ambition behind it, and as such, it managed to become a classic. 

 

In many ways, QuackShot could have been the DuckTales of the Genesis, but it simply did not have the depth, and I would argue, the inclination to be more than a licensed game. As a result, we have a good-looking game that could have been much better than it ended up being. 

 

39- Shadowrun (1993): 

• Genre: Action RPG.
• Publisher: Sega; Developer: BlueSky Software.

This is another case where I assumed two games released with the same name for both the Genesis and SNES to be functionally the same game. In fact, two different Shadowrun games were developed for each console, each with different publishers and developers, and both were well-regarded games.

 

While the SNES game was a traditional isometric Action RPG, the Genesis game had a more innovative, non-linear structure. Both games are set in the titular Shadowrun world, which is a futuristic cyberpunk-fantasy setting that inspired many later games, such as the Fallout franchise.

38- Castlevania: Bloodlines (1994):

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

Most games that were released in both the Genesis and the SNES were similar in terms of surface, but clearly better on one console. With Bloodlines, we have a Castlevania game that is very different from Super Castlevania IV on the SNES, but is just as good.

In Bloodlines, we have the rare example of a franchise delivering a very good game in both parties on the 16-bit generation.

Previously, I thought Super Castlevania IV would easily be the pinnacle of the early Castlevania games. However, with Bloodlines, I am now undecided.

Easily one of the best games on the Genesis, Bloodlines actually benefits from having little of the competition Super Castlevania had on the SNES. It could have been better by simply being longer. But that's a praise for any game; simply wanting more of it. 

37- Virtua Racer (1994):

• Genre: Racing.
• Publisher: Sega; Developer: Racing.

What the hell is a Virtua game doing on the Genesis? 

If you are familiar with your gaming history, then you would realize that the Virtua moniker was used by Sega for several unrelated franchises with one thing in common: all of them heavily utilized 3D polygonal graphics. So was the Genesis capable of producing such graphics?

Not natively, it could not. Instead, each game cartridge included an additional "Sega Virtua Processor" chip that increased the price of the game by more than 30%. The result was a 3D experience that wasn't available in any 16-bit home console at the time. Still, you were better-off visiting the arcades at the time.  

 

36- Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine (1993):

• Genre: Puzzle.
• Publisher: Sega; Developer: Compile.

This is a Western release of the famous Japanese Puyo Puyo puzzle game with a Sonic-inspired coat of paint. Of the falling block puzzles, Puyo Puyo is one of the best, giving Tetris and Dr. Mario a stiff competition. 

 

35- Eliminate Down  (1995):

• Genre: Shmup.
• Publisher: Soft Vision; Developer: Aprinet

For a system known for its hardcore Shmups, it takes something special to be considered one of the hardest, and that's the case for Eliminate Down. In an already difficult genre, I am not sure this game deserves such a high place compared to other Shmups on the list, since it's not as well-regarded by fans as other games in the genre.

34- Alien Soldier (1995):

• Genre: Shooter.
• Publisher: Sega; Developer: Treasure.

When you read those memes making fun of early 90's game translations, all those grammatical disasters and unintentional comedy gold, it is games like Alien Soldier that are usually featured. Starting with a grand story that crumbles with the slightest knowledge of grammar and sentence structure, Alien Soldier nevertheless manages to be a grand game in its own right.

The chaos in its opening story can never be put to order, but if you can master the chaos in its gameplay, then this can be a deep and fulfilling classic shooter.

Mechanically, Alien Soldier is a very good game. Unfortunately, its setting is weird and uninteresting. Hence, you might have fun playing the game, but the game struggles to be memorable.

Some games are not as mechanically good, but due to their setting, they are probably more highly regarded. Still, if you can ignore the garbled mess that is its story, Alien Soldier's gameplay might just captivate you. 

33- Lemmings (1992):

• Genre: Puzzle, Strategy.
• Publisher: Sunsoft; Developer: Sunsoft.

This is the Genesis port of one of the most famous strategy puzzle games of all time, and as such, it is naturally a great game. Without anything to differentiate the Genesis port, there is little to recommend this port beyond other consoles.  

 

32- Ghouls 'n Ghosts (1989):

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

Known as one of the most difficult games in its time, the Ghouls 'n Ghosts series is unfortunately not remembered often for being technically impressive as well.

With Ghouls ‘n Ghosts on the Genesis, we have a great-looking action game that is hard as nails but also fair in its difficulty. I like a decent challenge. Initially, with Ghouls ‘n Ghosts, we see that this might not be an entirely fair task. Arthur has many enemies, and his armor is made by an incompetent blacksmith. However, we soon realize that the game's mechanics are simple and that we have every tool at our disposal to go the entire game without getting hit once.

We also see that it's a lovely-looking game, and that we might want to get hit just to laugh at Arthur trying to save everyone in his boxer shorts.

 

 31- Kid Chameleon (1992):

• Genre: Platformer.
• Publisher: Sega; Developer: Sega Technical Institute.

Made by Sega's US studio, also known as Sega Technical Institute (STI), Kid Chameleon was one of many platformer games that tried to ape Nintendo's Mario series without ever getting either the charm or mechanics quite right. Without the charm and technical excellence of Sonic, this game frankly just joins the mountain of mediocre platformers that were published on both the Genesis and the SNES.

 

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.