Best genesis games of all time

Shining Force - 20 9. Sonic the Hedgehog 3 - 18 Castlevania: Bloodlines - 3 Streets of Rage - Rocket Knight Adventures - 6 Contra: Hard Corps - 4 LandStalker - 12 Ristar - 2 Phantasy Star II - 7 Vectorman - 6 Lightening Force: Quest for the Darkstar - 7 Dynamite Headdy - 11 Comix Zone - 4 Golden Axe - 98 3 Gold - 95 6 NHL Hockey - 94 6 Revenge of Shinobi - 93 3 General Chaos - 83 8 Shadowrun - 81 4 Alien Soldier - 80 6 Road Rash II - 77 3 Streets of Rage 3 - 76 1 Super Street Fighter II - 63 5 Kid Chameleon - 62 5 Mortal Kombat II - 56 1 StarFlight - 54 2 Zombies Ate My Neighbors - 54 4 Beyond Oasis - 51 2 Road Rash - 47 1 Crusader of Centy - 46 Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine - 46 2 Ghouls 'n Ghosts - 43 5 Earthworm Jim - 41 1 Mortal Kombat - 40 3 Mega Bomberman - 39 1 Disney's Aladdin - 38 1 Herzog Zwei - 38 3 Wonder Boy in Monster World - 36 El Viento - 35 2 Flashback: The Quest for Identity - 35 1 Virtua Racing - 35 Ecco the Dolphin - 33 OutRun - 33 1 Strider - 33 Yuu Yuu Hakusho: Makyo Toitsusen - 33 4 Golden Axe II - 32 Thunder Force III - 32 1 Although Mortal Kombat is currently an omnipresent name in the world of fighting games, its presence was notably subtler during the early to mids in the stage of its first few releases.

But what exactly brought such acclaim and popularity to this title so early on in the series history? Mortal Kombat 2, similar to many of the fantastic sequels on the Sega Genesis, is an embodiment of how to take building momentum from a first release and refine, improve, and expand elements that fans saw potential in. But even further than that, this sequel thoroughly expanded gameplay by adding multiple fatalities and new finishers e. Mortal Kombat 2 was the first title to include the continual series villain, Shao Kahn, who players must reach and defeat to save the realms of Mortal Kombat.

Serving as a chief influence for the reboot title in , Mortal Combat 2 is a title that newer fans can still enjoy in the present day. And at the time of its release, Mortal Combat 2 inspired a spin-off and a litany of copycat titles.

For its gameplay, narrative, characters, and combat system, Mortal Combat 2 is a clear classic that simultaneously encapsulates and transcends its era of gaming. But beyond that, Mortal Combat 2 is undeniably one of the greatest fighting games ever released, having permanently raised the bar for content and combat mechanics.

After the immense hype and critical acclaim of the film, the Ghostbusters IP began to divest into multiple forms of media. With the release of two game titles in the 80s, Ghostbusters began to become a household franchise. And so with the release of the Ghostbusters title on the Sega Genesis, fans, both old and new, were immediately drawn to the side-scrolling gameplay littered with references, jokes, and lovable characters. Ghostbusters provides players with the chance to experience the universe of a series they already loved so much.

After choosing between three characters — Egon, Peter, and Ray from the movie series — players have to rush around to protect this seemingly ghost-infested city after a disastrous earthquake. Similar to other side-scrolling titles, players have to fight and engage with enemies by running, jumping, crouching, and shooting.

One of the only drawbacks of this title is its limited amount of levels. However, although there are only six levels, players are free to play most of these levels in whatever order they prefer. This type of nonlinear gameplay is innovative for its time, and that sense of pioneering can still be felt while playing the game today. One of the most notable of these trends — which has since largely faded from the gaming space — is the direct adaptation of popular movies into video games.

Although this definitely still occurs in the present day, the level of adaptation and franchise fragmenting was noticeably larger, with franchise owners being much more lenient with the use of their IPs. In certain cases, however, this product push of novelty ended up creating extremely enjoyable and memorable experiences.

At the top of this list of titles, undeniably, is Aladdin. Aladdin is a fantastic game from start to finish. Its popularity is equally noteworthy, with the title having been re-released on all current-gen consoles. Following the narrative of the film, players control Aladdin in a number of side-scrolling environments as you battle your way through various enemies. In a lot of instances, film-adapted video games quickly lose their luster because of their proximity to more popular, pre-existing media.

But this Aladdin release is such an enjoyable and well fleshed out experience that it stands out as one of the only film-adapted titles to carry impact and value in the mainstream space, irrespective of its novelty. As one of the best-selling titles on the Genesis, Aladdin carries weight in the memories of longtime Sega fans. But some of the earlier Spider-man titles from the 90s directly influenced and gave way to the eventual creation of current classics.

In terms of games and films from the Spider-Man universe, we tend to view Venom and Spider-Man as opposing forces working for opposing or conflicting goals.

With this piece of information alone, you can tell that this title is far from the standard Spider-Man release. Players are giving the opportunity to play as both Spider-Man and Venom while fighting through side-scrolling environments. Although a variety of Marvel heroes appear in the title including Iron Fist, Captain America, Deathlok, and more , players will mainly be offered a window into the personalities and experiences of both Spider-Man and Venom like never before.

But the most exciting aspect of this title is the in-depth view that players and fans of Marvel alike are given into the worlds of Spider-Man and Venom. And although its predecessor truly laid the foundation for the genre, Streets of Rage 2 felt like a true realization of everything that its developers Sega, MNM Software, Shout! Designworks, and more aimed to create. Players are able to choose from a total of four characters: Blaze, Axel, Skate, and Thunder. Much like its predecessor and successors, one or two players can play while navigating the side-scrolling environments.

Fight through an endless onslaught of enemies as you learn all of the new combos and attacks that have been added to characters and via new characters. New special attacks and blitz attacks have also been added, ensuring that players can explore a multitude of unique combos and abilities. At its core, Streets of Rage 2 is a passionate amelioration of all the under-developed aspects of its predecessor.

Streets of Rage 2 joins the list of a select few of its fellow Genesis titles as a game that transcended its console, and its substantial influence continues to be reflected by its inclusion in best of all-time lists. Virtua Fighter 2 is a continuation of all the gameplay and visual elements that made fans fall so deeply in love with its predecessor, Virtua Fighter.

Originally released in , Sega designed Virtua Fighter 2 as an arcade-centric release. After its noteworthy and continued success, the title was then ported and remade for a variety of other consoles, including the Sega Saturn, PC, Mega Drive, and luckily for us, the Sega Genesis.

At its core, Virtua Fighter 2 was lauded for its meticulous implementation of visual prowess. Between some of the earliest running of a title at 60 fps, motion capture features, and 3D texture-mapped characters, this title was truly at the forefront of a multitude of graphical techniques that became mainstream more than a decade later.

However, a lot of these features were removed from the Sega Genesis port, due largely to hardware capabilities. But regardless of the exclusion of 3D features, this newer, 2D version of Virtua Fighter 2 still lived up to the pre-established glory. Though this difference in graphics is noticeable and impactful, all of the other in-game features feel equally engaging. Embodying all of the tactical difficulty of refined fighting titles from the 90s, Virtua Fighter 2 is a nearly flawless title with a long list of pros, achievements, and accolades.

Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine is an intriguing title that reflects antiquated trends of the 90s. When gaming companies' flagship IPs intellectual properties or series achieve early success, they often would take the gameplay of other popular titles and simply apply re-skins of the visuals with their own characters and features. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine is an example of this — with the game largely taking its gameplay and design from Tetris and Puyo Puyo — but Sega's dedication to reshaping the genre shines through in nearly every facet.

Mean Bean Machine serves as one of the only titles in the Sonic series where fans play as the antagonist, Dr. On a planet named Mobius, Robotnik hatches a scheme to kidnap the planet's people and transform them into a robot army that'll aid him in world domination and happiness dereliction. So although Mean Bean Machine's gameplay appears to be a mere re-skin of Puyo Puyo, its detailed backstory creates a more menacing, ominous gameplay experience.

Later on in the story, however, players will also have the chance to play against Robotnik, as 'bean people' who are trying to save his hostages. If you're looking for an original gaming experience, then Mean Bean Machine may let you down. At its core, it's a true-to-form re-skin of other falling block puzzle games. But on a deeper, more narrative-based level, Mean Bean Machine has a huge amount of lore and character detail to offer fans of the Sonic series.

This title feels like a gift for the diehard Sonic fans, but may feel like the awkward remnants of a time capsule to those unfamiliar. In its era of gaming, the Sega Genesis stands as a true tour de force via its influence on other consoles, and its extremely diverse and detailed library. In the present day, however, with Sega no longer playing a major role in the gaming sphere in terms of consoles , the most apparent remnants of the Genesis' reign is its library — specifically, the titles that gained the attention of millions of fans, and converted many of those fans into console owners.

But what exactly is the best route for you to find the best Sega Genesis games now, especially if you're looking to revisit the Sega Genesis in present day? Because of the respective era of gaming, there are particular factors that you should look for with Genesis titles. Factors like gameplay elements, visual style, and genre are more important than ever with these titles.

Here are a few aspects to keep in mind to ensure you find the best Sega Genesis games for you! One of the biggest factors for titles in the early to mids was the visual style.

Because video games were on the precipice of a graphical sea change, there's a fork between developers that focused on perfecting sprite-based visuals, and developers that worked to pioneer 3D or adjacent technology to push visual potential forward. So it's important to try and determine what type of visual experience you're looking for. Oh, the lengths to which western publishers would go to establish that their games weren't about criminality! Thus the stage is set for an exploration-heavy, stealth-centric series of heists whose gameplay would go on to underpin the likes of Metal Gear Solid.

Persistent split-screen means two players can team up for shared bouts of treasure-stealing, guard-tranquilizing fun. Released the same year as Sid Meier's Civilization, the title places a stronger emphasis on combat and martial supremacy. Making it from the dawn of time all the way through to the distant future of will require strategic resource-management skills, a watchful eye on the research tree, and the bloodthirsty will to slaughter unfortunate humans born into any civilization that worships a rival god.

The game usually ends with someone developing and launching nuclear weapons, at which point amazing speech synthesis declares camply 'we've been nuked! Happy times. Read more: The best Sega Master System games of all time. Players raised to believe that the Genesis was incapable of sophisticated 3D graphics must have pinched themselves at the sight of this fast-flowing, full-screen sim which mixes realistic physics with MacLeans trademark brand of offbeat humor.

Full games of snooker can be broken up by a showboating Trick Shot mode, mastery of which might just save you from having to buy the next round but probably not.

The sequel to Ghosts 'n' Goblins once again casts you as the knight Arthur, off to rescue the soul of his beloved Princess Prin Prin. Taking damage strips you of your armor, making you fight monsters in your underwear, just like in real life. With its spooky setting and infamous difficulty which often sees you trying to survive while transformed into a baby , you could call Ghouls 'n' Ghosts the Dark Souls of its day. As if to prove its brutal, unforgiving nature, you have to beat it twice in a row just to get a proper ending!

Comix Zone is the classic tale of a creator trapped within his own work. Sketch Turner, comic-book artist and freelance rock musician basically the man we all aspire to be , is pulled into the panels of his creation. The games comic-book aesthetic has dialogue bubbles and often lets you choose which panel you want to visit next.

The animation and sound effects are magnificent, pushing the hardware beyond its supposed limitations. It may imitate a 2D art form, but it's by no means flat. With the popularity of comic books these days, it's surprising no one has gotten around to remaking or knocking off this game.