Genesis REVIEWS Report: 30-21

In this report of the top 30-21 Genesis games according to Retro Sanctuary, I have reviewed three games, most of which I enjoyed, except for Strider, which I don't think translates as well outside of Arcades. Again, most of these games seem to deserve their placement, which is something good to know at this point in the list. The most notable game on the list is Mortal Kombat II, which was a major advertisement coup against Nintendo's more family-friendly SNES console.

Shmups are strong on the Genesis, and there are two such games here. The rest are a nice mix of Action, Platformer, and even decent ports of PC games. My pick of the bunch is Crusader of Centy, a rather surprising game that reminds me of A Link to the Past.

Please enjoy my report:-

30- Disney's Aladdin (1993):

• Genre: Action Platformer.
• Publisher: Sega; Developer: Virgin Games.

Of the many Disney-licensed games in the 16-bit era, none is more famous or well regarded as the pair of Aladdin games on the Genesis and SNES. The fact that both games were considered good meant a comparison between the two always took place in the middle of the larger console wars debate.

Aladdin on the SNES was a good game, but Aladdin on the Genesis has some more obvious qualities that elevated it as the better game in the consensus. Even if not by such a large margin.

 

I still have not decided which of the two 16-bit Aladdin games I prefer. I know that I like both, and I know that, outside of their use of the license and the very good production value, neither is actually a very special game.

However, they are good games, and are very good examples of a license being used well. The Genesis Aladdin lacks the polish of the SNES version, but it makes up for that with Disney's own help in its production. 

 

29- Mortal Kombat II (1994): 

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

As one of the most infamous games of the 16-bit era, Mortal Kombat II is as much an important game historically as it is a fun fighting game. Due to its abundance of blood and gore, Mortal Kombat II was one of the best examples of representing Sega’s claim for the Genesis being the home of “mature” games, since the SNES version censored the blood by changing its color to green.

Beyond the appeal to the more “hardcore” gamers by doing what “Nintendon’t”, the game also attracted the attention of the United State congress and all the brouhaha about games causing children to get violent. Suffice to say, this led to the creation of the gaming rating board and a rather ridiculous career for Senator Joe Lieberman.

Aside from that, I honestly think that the game was one of the weakest 2D fighting games of its era, but it has a style that was unique to it, and was endlessly fun to play with others as a result.

28- Gley Lancer (1992): (Japan Only)

• Genre: Shmup.
• Publisher: List; Developer: NCS Corporation.

You are not wrong. The title for this game should be Grey Lancer, but the unfortunate linguistic dyslexia of the Japanese language led to it having the nonsensical name of Gley Lancer. Like many of the Shmups on the Genesis, this was a game with brilliant visuals, non-stop action, and even a soundtrack by the brilliant Noriyuki Iwadare of Grandia and Ace Attorney fame.

27- Earthworm Jim (1994):

• Genre: Action Platformer.
• Publisher: Playmates Interactive Entertainment; Developer: Shiny Entertainment.

As one of the most famous non-Nintendo and non-Sega platformers in the 16-bit era, Earthworm Jim doesn't need much introduction. With very little differentiating the Genesis and SNES versions of the game (with the SNES being slightly better), I didn't review the game since I already did for the SNES. So look forward to when I repost that review again.

 

26- Pirates! Gold (1993):

• Genre: Action-Adventure, Strategy.
• Publisher: MicroProse; Developer: MPS Labs.

This was a remake of the brilliant 1987 Sid Meier's Pirates!, which was released on both PCs and the Genesis. As such, despite the port undoubtedly being brilliant, Sega's console wasn't the best place to play the game.  

 

25- MUSHA  (1991):

• Genre: Shmup.
• Publisher: Toaplan, Seismic Software; Developer: Compile.

Here is another brilliant Shmup by Compile, who are the makers of the Puyo Puyo series, and now pivoted to making slightly pervy games as Compile Heart. As a non-expert on the genre, I am not sure where MUSHA sits in the list of Genesis Shmups, but I can say that having multiple endings was innovative for the genre at the time.

24- Crusader of Centy (1994):

• Genre: Action-Adventure.
• Publisher: Atlus; Developer: Nextech.

Crusader of Centy is probably not a very well-known Sega Genesis game. While originally published by Sega in Japan, the then little-known publisher Atlus was responsible for the North American version. Consequently, it didn't get as much exposure as it deserved.

While not exactly the Genesis's answer to A Link to the Past, CoC is a very solid game that manages to be a fun and unique lighthearted adventure. What it lacks in polish, it makes up for with charm.

Due to purely commercial reasons, Crusader of Centy was probably a little-known Genesis game. I say purely commercial because, in a gameplay level, it is a very good action-adventure game that should have had a decent following in its time.

While it doesn't nearly reach the height of A Link to Past or some of the Quintet games, it surely manages to exceed expectations.

23- Road Rash 2 (1992):

• Genre: Racing.
• Publisher: Electronic Arts; Developer: Electronic Arts.

By all accounts, this is one of the best Racing games on the Genesis. Nearly rivaling the brilliant motorcycle racing action of Sega's Hang-On, but with more content and the ability to attack other drivers, EA managed to make something special when it comes to 16-bit Racing games.  

 

22- Strider (1990):

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

Clearly, Strider is a very important game in its time. It tried, and to a great degree, succeeded in redefining the Action genre. It put emphasis on story and setting, not only on mechanics, and focused on being a unique game in its genre.

However, that success doesn't necessarily translate well when played now, unlike Super Mario Bros., for instance. Although Strider probably influenced the improvement of a lot of games in the genre, and in general, it is still trapped within the Arcade confines of the time. On the Sega Genesis, those confines were more limiting.

Because Strider is an influential game, it will probably always be considered a great game in its time. However, in its time, Action games sometimes had faults that are too obvious to ignore now. Faults that actively reduce your enjoyment of the end product.

In the case of Strider, I still enjoyed playing through it. Still, I wished it didn’t punish me as much in the end, and that the music had better quality.

 

 21- Mega Turrican (1994):

• Genre: Run n' Gun.
• Publisher: Data East; Developer: Factor 5.

The Turrican series is probably the only Run n' Gun series to properly compete against Konami's Contra franchise. With several different games across the two major 16-bit consoles, the Turrican games varied in quality, with Super Turrican 2 on the SNES being considered the best, and Mega Turrican closely following behind it.

Personally, I am more partial to the Run n' Gun style of games like Metal Slug and Gunstar Heroes, with Contra being the best of the more "realistic" shooters of its era. 

 

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.