Genesis sports titles?

[guitargary75]

I remember thinking, back in the day, that Genesis sports titles were better on the Genesis than SNES. I have no idea why I thought this, but I did. Does anyone have an opinion on this one? Why were they considered better? Also, what happened to the online price guide Digital Press used to have?

[Greg2600]

At one point, after I had soured on the Genesis and moved to the SNES, I traded in every Genesis game I had except Sonic(s), Toe Jam & Earl, NBA Jam, and EA Sports games. The sports games were IMO more fun and easier with 3 buttons. Eventually, say around '95, the SNES EA games began to make good use of the extra buttons with different player moves. Plus back then most everyone I knew had a Genesis, so we played the sports games on that. I was never a fan of the Mode 7 SNES sports games, I in fact hated them, too slow. Genesis baseball games weren't very good though. World Series ('94) wasn't bad, but Ken Griffey SNES were more fun. But like I said, but 94/95 the developers were really making use of the SNES, and most of their sports games were better.

[Blanka789]

I always felt that baseball games were better on the SNES, but preferred basketball and hockey on the Genesis.

As for football games, I think it was about even. It also really depended on the game itself.

[HyruleHero]

I think Sega was the way to go with all the sports titles just bases on the fact that the SNES games were all slower than the Genesis. It's the clasic tale between Genesis and SNES... SNES looks great but slower...Genesis doesn't look as good, but faster. NHL games were great on Genesis, Maddens in my opinion were always kind of lame, blotchy and slow on both systems....(although classics)! How bout Joe Montana Football 94....that game looked and played great....don't forget about the fact that it was Sportstalk....I do agree with you guys though....there really weren't any good MLPA baseball games out there...I liked Tony Larussa growing upm but it is pretty much a piece of shit... However the Hardball seires looked and played good but I don't believe they were lisencsed.

[Greg2600]

You actually liked Joe Montana Football? I think almost ever version is lousy compared to Madden. Madden was great because it was so easy to play, it was simply fun. EA transferred that into great hockey and basketball games, and soccer too, but it didn't work well for baseball.

Tony Larussa baseball was not so good. It was always MLBPA only, but Larussa '93 had this fan heckling in an infinite loop. That transitioned into the Triple Play series, which was okay.

Hardball series was pathetically bad. Al Michaels provides the voice but the graphics are hideous.

[Gavica]

The Sports Talk series were pretty revolutionary for its time, even if the games weren't all that.
I had the baseball one and thought it was a pretty good game.

[Retro Legends]

I always liked sports games on the SEGA. Bill Walsh college football was nice. I remember Dieon Sanders game was pretty good. World Series baseball changed the way baseball games were looked at. Then you cant forget Mutant League stuff. Im still waiting for a remake on those. Wishful thinking huh

[jdheins]

Madden 93 Champ Edition, only came on the Genny

[T]

I always prefered Joe Montana's over john madden.

Madden felt like i was on ice and impossable catches happened
all the time.

I also preferred NCAA football over Bill Walsh's for the same reasons

[retroman]

i also always bought all of my sports games on the Genesis..come on EA on sega crushed the Snes ports and World Series Baseball for the time was outstanding..so besides crappy ports and Griffey baseball, what did the Snes offer in the sports dept.

[HyruleHero]

You actually liked Joe Montana Football? I think almost ever version is lousy compared to Madden. Madden was great because it was so easy to play, it was simply fun. EA transferred that into great hockey and basketball games, and soccer too, but it didn't work well for baseball.

Tony Larussa baseball was not so good. It was always MLBPA only, but Larussa '93 had this fan heckling in an infinite loop. That transitioned into the Triple Play series, which was okay.

Hardball series was pathetically bad. Al Michaels provides the voice but the graphics are hideous.



Like I said, the Maddens were classic games, I give them respect. But compared to the Joe Montana 94...it doesn't hold up. Turn on a copy of Madden when you get a chance, and if you have Joe Montana...do the same. THe players on Madden look very bulky, blotched and awkward. And even though it worked for the time and is somewhat nostalgic,the passing windows were extremely tideous and you could never really tell if your receiver was open or not. Joe Montana 94 all the way!

[bangtango]

Sports games released on BOTH the Genesis and Super NES generally followed these traits:

-Faster and smoother gameplay on the Genesis
-Better graphics and music on the Super NES.

Occasionally, one version of the game had slightly different features or options compared to the other.

For example, if you ever play Roger Clemens MVP Baseball (Flying Edge) on both 16-bit systems, you will notice one major difference. The Genesis version has an options menu allowing you to select two different control schemes for fielding/throwing the ball (the SNES version doesn't have this option) and the Genesis version also allows you to turn off fielding errors if you choose to do so, but you can't on the SNES.

I hated Joe Montana Football because play selection was a headache in each and every installment. The play menus were unnecessarily complicated, even compared to the Madden games, which wasn't good if you were running out of time at the end of the first or second half.

Sports Talk Baseball was ruined with the CPU opponent trying to steal bases with nearly every pitch and constantly trying to take extra bases if you simply throw the ball around the infield after a play is made. It just takes the fun out of it.

[chrisbid]

i am as big a genesis fan as they come, but i admit that the best game of video football is super tecmo bowl on the NES. the 16 bit games just went too far with the realism. cool to play with in its day, but ages ungracefully as soon as the next ultra-realistic games comes down the pipeline.

[chuckwalla]

I've got most of the Genesis and SNES sports titles (atleast for football, hockey, soccer, and basketball) and overwhelming favor the Genesis.

The primary reasons are better control, gameplay, and (generally) AI.

The SNES generally had improved graphics and sound over the Genesis but lacked the control and gameplay of the Genesis version.

Look at Madden '94 for both systems: typical improved graphics and sound for SNES but lacks the control and action of the Genesis version (the Video Game Critic hit it on the button when he said that when Reggie White can catch up to and tackle Emmitt Smith from behind you know something is seriously wrong!).

Madden '95: you can rack up scores (YOUR score) comparable to basketball games once you get the hang of the game on the SNES version (AWFUL AI on computer defense) but you'll get closer games on the Genesis (compared to the SNES atleast!).

The superior D-pad on the Genesis controller makes it much easier to move diagonally compared to the SNES controller, smoother gameplay on the Genesis, and SLIGHTLY higher computer AI on the Genesis make it the way to go for Sports titles.

[shinobimusashi]

Interesting look at the 16 bit Madden games: http://themaddenreport.weebly.com/

Here is my take on the Madden games

John Madden Football- Unplayable on SNES. Looks like crap, sounds like crap, plays like crap due to the choppy as hell frame rate. Plays great and looks great on the Genesis, with quick, smooth gameplay.

John Madden Football '92- Genesis exclusive, one of the greatest football games ever made.

John Madden Football '93- Still choppy on the SNES, improved graphics and sound, but still plays noticably slower, and choppier than the Genesis version. The Genesis version has a battery for tournament saves, the SNES uses a password.

John Madden Football '93 Championship Edition- Genesis exclusive, the same as 93, with Super Bowl teams.

Madden NFL 94- Much improved on the SNES thanks to Visual Concepts, flashy intro's, menu's, better music, cleaner scaling, and a nice rotation effect still can't hang with the smooth, more action packed(as previously mentioned) gameplay of the Genesis version. The Genesis cartridges have a battery for saving the season, while the SNES version still uses passwords.

Madden NFL 95-Visual Concepts Madden 95 is the best game in the series on the SNES, besides the previously mentioned AI issues, 95 on the SNES stands up well to the Genesis port. Better animation, and slightly more fluid gameplay. Not to mention better, more colorfull graphics(and finally a battery for saves). One advantage that the Genesis cart has is the NFLPA liscense for the use of actual player names from the 94 season, which the SNES port did not get.

Madden NFL 96-This is perhaps the most lopsided comparison followed closely by the first game. This is one of the 16 bit games that makes a case for the Genesis vs the SNES. Almost cd quality music and sound(thanks to Tommy Tallarico), blazing fast gameplay, much higher resolution graphics. The SNES port was developed by Tiburon, and its only advantage over the Genesis port is the better looking, more enjoyable Create A Player mini games.

Madden NFL 97&98- Who cares, go play the Saturn or Ps1 ports.

When it comes to Madden the Genesis clearly wins, Visual Concepts came close with 94 and 95 on the SNES though. Lets not forget the 3 Exclusive Football games that the Genesis got: Bill Walsh College Football 95, and College Football USA 96, and John Madden Football 92, the best American football games of the entire 16 bit era in my opinion.

American Football video games were a genre that was very, very important for the Sega Genesis in the 16 bit console wars of the 90's. Sega made sure that they had the market cornered with thier own Joe Montana/Sportstalk/NFL series.

Sega's first Joe Montana Football was a great, fun to play arcade style game, which is better than the first Madden game in my opinion. The Two Sportstalk games that followed were revolutionary but were not fun to play at all.

NFL 94, 95, Primetime, and 98 were some great games that SNES owners missed out on for sure, some excellent games. The SNES just didn't have the Football support like that. Football is the #1 sport in America by a wide margin, Sega's decision(can't remember which SOA CEo it was that fought tooth and nail with SOJ for money for Football games, either Micheal Katz, or Kalinske, whichever it was he was a smart man) to put emphasis on the genre combined with Sonic is the reason why Sega took so much of the 16 bit market share in the 90's. Without the two, The Genesis would have suffered the same fate as the Tg-16

Football games are better on the Genesis(except for maybe Tecmo Super Bowl III), Im pretty sure Hockey, and Basketball are the same way.

[DKTheArcadeRat]

Genesis also had the RBI Baseball series. All of those were great.

[Baloo]

Tommy 'Fucking' Lasorda baseball hasn't been mentioned yet? That's quite the game. As is Sports Talk Baseball. NBA Jam is also excellent, as is NHL '94 on SEGA CD.

[bangtango]

Tommy 'Fucking' Lasorda baseball hasn't been mentioned yet? That's quite the game. As is Sports Talk Baseball. NBA Jam is also excellent, as is NHL '94 on SEGA CD.


Lasorda is good, but I hate the unbalanced gameplay when you try pitching inside versus the computer pitching inside on you.

Pisses me off to get pitched inside by the computer and have my batters get jammed into slow ground balls while if I throw the same inside pitch to a computer batter in the same location they crack it into the stands.

Otherwise I enjoy the game.

[shinobimusashi]

Madden '95: you can rack up scores (YOUR score) comparable to basketball games once you get the hang of the game on the SNES version (AWFUL AI on computer defense) but you'll get closer games on the Genesis (compared to the SNES atleast!).



I recently played a season of Madden 95 on the Genesis with the Oilers and went 9-7, played some really close games, Philly and Buffalo are some tough teams to beat with a mediocre team like Houston on the Genesis port. Cunningham is a beast, and Buffalo runs the no huddle offense, which can catch you if you don't pick the right audibles. I did win the Super Bowl though, by getting revenge on both teams (Buffalo in the Conference Championship and the Eagles in the Super Bowl).

[bangtango]

I recently played a season of Madden 95 on the Genesis with the Oilers and went 9-7, played some really close games, Philly and Buffalo are some tough teams to beat with a mediocre team like Houston on the Genesis port. Cunningham is a beast, and Buffalo runs the no huddle offense, which can catch you if you don't pick the right audibles. I did win the Super Bowl though, by getting revenge on both teams (Buffalo in the Conference Championship and the Eagles in the Super Bowl).

Maybe the 16-bit Madden's are more of a cakewalk for some people but I never thought so. Evidently you seem to agree. I always thought playing defense sucked until the PS2/XBox/GC gen.

So like you, my games are pretty close on the Genesis versions.

I'm sure the AI back then was atrocious compared to more recent versions. However, it more than evens out because I think you have a lot more control on the outcome when playing defense in newer Madden games (mainly 2002 and up) than you ever had on the 16-bit systems where it just seemed like everyone was running in place.

In the newer games, I mostly let the computer control my safeties and cornerbacks. I'm ok at intercepting but tend to whiff on too many plays and the ones I make generally result in pass interference calls against my defense. Since I leave those secondary positions to the computer, I generally use a lot of Nickel and Dime formations and fewer plays that lean towards the run.

I typically control either the defensive tackle(s), one of the defensive ends or the middle linebacker. That's about it. So I mostly concentrate on blitzing or stuffing the run. Controlling anybody in the secondary, I'm just too inconsistent if I am doing it manually.

[Casati]

I had a Genesis in the very early 90s so played only the first Genesis Madden and maybe Madden '92. Playing the Genesis Maddens recently, the running game seems easier on the earlier editions, and probably the passing game as well.

But I'm not sure I like the passing game in Madden. All of the receivers always look covered in the windows and you can't tell how far down the field they've gone, not a good thing for third and long conversions. Also, the receivers just stand there with their backs to the quarterback and it can be difficult to move the receiver through a group of defenders to the reception zone (no "impeding the receiver's progress" calls by the refs). The average NFL completion % is around 50% but it's common for my quarterback to get 10-20%, even with auto receiving. I usually win against the computer though because they can't generate any offense. The later Maddens don't have the passing windows, but it seems easier to throw interceptions regardless, "the quarterback didn't see that coming at all".

I do like the 16-bit Tecmo Super Bowl better than the NES version, except the NES had a better season for team rosters. I also like Tecmo's 16-bit basketball and hockey because they have battery save and also because they display the player names at the bottom of the screen.

There are some good Genesis baseball games like Sports Talk Baseball, Tony LaRussa '95 and RBI 3. RBI 3 is maybe the best Genesis baseball, but it doesn't have a battery save or player stats.

[bangtango]

I had a Genesis in the very early 90s so played only the first Genesis Madden and maybe Madden '92. Playing the Genesis Maddens recently, the running game seems easier on the earlier editions, and probably the passing game as well.

But I'm not sure I like the passing game in Madden. All of the receivers always look covered in the windows and you can't tell how far down the field they've gone, not a good thing for third and long conversions. Also, the receivers just stand there with their backs to the quarterback and it can be difficult to move the receiver through a group of defenders to the reception zone (no "impeding the receiver's progress" calls by the refs). The average NFL completion % is around 50% but it's common for my quarterback to get 10-20%, even with auto receiving. I usually win against the computer though because they can't generate any offense. The later Maddens don't have the passing windows, but it seems easier to throw interceptions regardless, "the quarterback didn't see that coming at all".

I do like the 16-bit Tecmo Super Bowl better than the NES version, except the NES had a better season for team rosters. I also like Tecmo's 16-bit basketball and hockey because they have battery save and also because they display the player names at the bottom of the screen.

There are some good Genesis baseball games like Sports Talk Baseball, Tony LaRussa '95 and RBI 3. RBI 3 is maybe the best Genesis baseball, but it doesn't have a battery save or player stats.


I can complete over 70% of my passes in newer Madden games, even with rotten 3rd string quarterbacks and end-of-the bench receivers or tight ends. Granted, that doesn't mean I score touchdowns every drive and I occasionally throw picks. However, getting the ball into a receiver's hands in the recent editions has never been a problem for me.

But in the older Madden's, like you I have trouble completing passes consistently.

The Tecmo Basketball and Baseball games were both good in the 16-bit era. I also used to like the 8-bit version of their basketball game on the NES. Surprisingly good basketball sim for that hardware.

Can't agree with you about the LaRussa game, though. I paid $45 new for that piece of garbage in Walmart almost the same day it came out and wanted to strangle somebody after finding out how lousy that game was.

I do agree about RBI 3, however. :)

[Casati]

I can complete over 70% of my passes in newer Madden games, even with rotten 3rd string quarterbacks and end-of-the bench receivers or tight ends. Granted, that doesn't mean I score touchdowns every drive and I occasionally throw picks. However, getting the ball into a receiver's hands in the recent editions has never been a problem for me.

But in the older Madden's, like you I have trouble completing passes consistently.

What I meant by "newer" was the 96-98 Genesis Maddens, and at least the 'Auto' setting could have let someone of lower video gaming skill achieve a realistic completion %, for realism if nothing else.


The Tecmo Basketball and Baseball games were both good in the 16-bit era. I also used to like the 8-bit version of their basketball game on the NES. Surprisingly good basketball sim for that hardware.

These other Tecmo sports titles are underrated considering that they provided basically the Tecmo Super Bowl formula for other sports.


Can't agree with you about the LaRussa game, though. I paid $45 new for that piece of garbage in Walmart almost the same day it came out and wanted to strangle somebody after finding out how lousy that game was.

I do agree about RBI 3, however. :)

Woah, I wouldn't want to pay that much for LaRussa, but I actually like it after changing the view to batter. At least it has more accurate stats than alot of baseball video games. Accuracy of stats holds about as much importance for me as gameplay. I'd recommend RBI 3 for others though.

[bangtango]

What I meant by "newer" was the 96-98 Genesis Maddens, and at least the 'Auto' setting could have let someone of lower video gaming skill achieve a realistic completion %, for realism if nothing else.



These other Tecmo sports titles are underrated considering that they provided basically the Tecmo Super Bowl formula for other sports.



Woah, I wouldn't want to pay that much for LaRussa, but I actually like it after changing the view to batter. At least it has more accurate stats than alot of baseball video games. Accuracy of stats holds about as much importance for me as gameplay. I'd recommend RBI 3 for others though.


I used to do custom schedules with RBI 3 to ensure I'd play as close to an actual regular season as possible.

The game doesn't keep stats of course. However, I used to keep my box scores and track my stats on notebook paper. Pretty tedious stuff, but it was fun seeing how my Oakland A's did over a longer season than the game allows for. I did pretty much every type of stat except for the OBP & OBPS stuff. I was doing this in the late 1990's.

[Casati]

I used to do custom schedules with RBI 3 to ensure I'd play as close to an actual regular season as possible.

The game doesn't keep stats of course. However, I used to keep my box scores and track my stats on notebook paper. Pretty tedious stuff, but it was fun seeing how my Oakland A's did over a longer season than the game allows for. I did pretty much every type of stat except for the OBP & OBPS stuff. I was doing this in the late 1990's.

Why did you choose RBI 3 over RBI 93&94 which track game stats and have a regular season?

[bangtango]

Why did you choose RBI 3 over RBI 93&94 which track game stats and have a regular season?

I liked the rosters a little better and also it was the only RBI game I had at the time for the system.

[Casati]

I like the RBI 3 rosters better too, and they have more complete roster names for the past teams (plus better gameplay).

[bangtango]

I like the RBI 3 rosters better too, and they have more complete roster names for the past teams (plus better gameplay).

I was using the Oakland A's roster, which I always used in the RBI games. Sometimes I'd also use the Red Sox since I am from New England but 3/4 of the time I used the A's in whichever RBI installment I was playing.

[swlovinist]

I will answer the argument with the game that was an exclusive on the Genesis...

MUTANT LEAGUE FOOTBALL.

In all honesty I played a ton of sports games on the Sega back in the Day. Madden 92/93 mostly which both were well done and played better than their Snes counterpart. Later Snes sports titles seemed to get better, but early on Sega blew Snes games out of the water.

Snes does have a counter when it comes to sports games....Ken Griffy Jr. Baseball.