Genesis Questions

[Cardkeeper]

Hey guys I juat picked up a Genesis at the flea market and now I am really interested in building a Genesis collection. I am a completionist so I love how i can deal with cases and not cardboard boxes for once lol, however, I had a few questions regarding that. I never had a Genesis growing up, so I wouldnt know, but it seems there's 3 different Genesis cases. Black, Red and Cardboard. Did they come out at different times in the system's life span? How many games were released in the cardboard cases? Any info would be great as well as any tips on how to collect for the genesis or games are of "need to get" status for the system (besides the Sonic trilogy of course) Thanks in advance.

[profholt82]

There are plenty of guys much more knowledgeable than myself on the matter, but the black cases were used for the first few years of the Gen lifespan. They started using the red cases in 1993 I believe. As for the cardboard boxes, those were used at the very end of the Gen's lifespan, most likely to cut costs. Some of the games with cardboard boxes can also be found in hard cases though, Castlevania Bloodlines immediately comes to mind. Anyway, this is all just a general rule of thumb, as there are many exceptions.

[Mr Smith]

Do not eat, sleep, drink or post on here until you have a copy of Ecco the Dolphin. That game is like injecting pure awesome into your arm.

[Sysop]

Do not eat, sleep, drink or post on here until you have a copy of Ecco the Dolphin. That game is like injecting pure awesome into your arm.
If I'm perfectly honest, I didn't really enjoy playing Ecco the Dolphin, Eternal Champions on the other hand...

[Oldskool]

On the flipside - the cardboard Sega CD cases were the first of the Sega CD games, then it went to the hard cases.

Ecco is good, but there are PLENTY of better games to start with. What kind of games do you prefer to play? RPG's? Shooters? Platformers? Ecco will frustrate you to no end more than likely.

Some good games that come to mind.

Outrun
Golden Axe I and II
Road Rash
Galaxy Force II
Battletoads and Battletoads/Double Dragon
Mickey Mania, Castle of Illusion, World of Illusion, Fantasia
Earthworm Jim 1 and 2

Some shooters:

Thunderforce II, III, and Lightening Force
MUSHA (MUST have)
Vapor Trail
Gaiares (MUST have)
Phelios
Arrow Flash
Hellfire
Herzog Zwei

Action and RPG:

Beyond Oasis
Crusader of Centy
Phantasy Star II, III, and IV (IV is a MUST own)
Arcus Odyssey
Landstalker
Shining in the Darkness
Shining Force I and II (MUST owns)
Pier Solar (MUST own)
Decap Attack
Valis (any of them are MUST owns)
Y's III


Sports:

NHL 94
Madden (any of them are good)
2020 Baseball

Those are just a few off the top of my head, there are TONS more that are excellent.

[Iron Lizard]

On black games the smaller the hump the newer it is.

[allyourblood]

On black games the smaller the hump the newer it is.

What "hump"? And what constitutes a "black" game?

[Oldskool]

Yeah I am not sure about this hump you are referring to either?

Just thought of a few other excellent games you should try and pick up.

Castlevania Bloodlines
Contra Hard Corp
Rocket Knight Adventures
Sparkster

If you had a Sega CD there are a ton of other great games for that too! I suggest finding one cheap if you can, the model 2 CD is usually a fairly cheap console.

[Iron Lizard]

Black as in black grid games and the hump as in where the title goes. It got smaller as the years went by , at least in the US.

Oldest

http://image.allmusic.com/00/agg/cov200/drg000/g025/g02526jvj6j.jpg

Newer

http://image.allmusic.com/00/agg/cov200/drg000/g061/g06181q69vp.jpg

Newest

http://image.allmusic.com/00/agg/cov200/drg000/g067/g06772exwtv.jpg

[Cardkeeper]

Thanks guys so much for the info so far. I love Platformers and RPGs, as well as a few Racers and Fighting games (such as Street Fighter or Super Smash Bros.) and ocassionally a shooter. I really don't like Sports games to be completely honest. All I have at the moment is Risk (like the board game), Jurassic Park and Columns (tetris remake) so yeah. I want the Gold Axe games pretty bad. What kind of game is Ecco the Dolphin? Is the PC a Dolphin? How does that work? lol

[Enigmus]

If you don't have either NBA Jam TE, Road Rash 2 or Cool Spot, may Sanshiro disown and/or smite thee.

[The Coop]

As had been said, the black clam shell cases were used for the first few years of the Genesis' life, then around '93-ish, they switched to the red striped clam shell cases, before going with the cheapy cardboard boxes a year or two after that. Or course, EA started out using cardboard boxes, then switched to clam shells, while virtually everyone else went the other way around. Weird.



Anyway, time for my recommended games list text bomb. Hang on to something...

Adventures of Batman and Robin (Run 'N Gun)
Alisia Dragoon (Action Platformer)
Alien Soldier (Run 'N Gun) *
Air Buster ( Shmup)
Arcus Odyssey (Action RPG)
Atomic Runner (Run 'N Gun)
Battletech (Action Strategy)
Beyond Oasis (Action RPG)
Batman (Action Platformer)
Bio-Hazard Battle (Shmup)
Blaster Master 2 (Action Platformer)
Bubsy (Platformer)
Castlevania: Bloodlines (Action Platformer)
Contra: Hard Corps (Run 'N Gun)
Cool Spot (Platformer)
Comix Zone (Action)
Desert Strike (Action Strategy)
Dragon's Fury (Pinball)
Dune: The Battle for Arrakis (Real-Time Strategy)
Earnest Evens (Action)
Earthworm Jim (Action)
Earthworm Jim 2 (Action)
Ecco the Dolphin (Action Puzzler)
Ecco: The Tides of Time (Action Puzzler)
El Viento (Action)
Elemental Master (Shmup)
Eliminate Down (Shmup) *
Fire Shark (Shmup)
Forgotten Worlds (Shmup)
Gaiares (Shmup)
Gargoyles (Action Platformer)
Gauntlet IV (Action)
Ghouls 'N Ghosts (Action Platfomer)
Gley Lancer (Shmup) *
Gods (Action)
Golden Axe (Hack 'N Slash)
Golden Axe 2 (Hack 'N Slash)
Granada (Shmup)
Gunstar Heroes (Run 'N Gun)
Hellfire (Shmup)
Herzog Zwei (Real-Time Strategy Shmup)
The Immortal (Action Puzzler)
Jungle Strike (Action Strategy)
Kid Chameleon (Platformer)
Landstalker (Action RPG)
Light Crusader (Action RPG)
The Lion King (Action Platformer)
M.U.S.H.A. (Shmup)
Master of Monsters (Turn-Based Strategy)
Mazin Saga (Action Fighter)
Mega Turrican (Action Platformer)
Mercs (Run 'N Gun)
Midnight Resistance (Run 'N Gun)
Monster World IV * (Action Platformer RPG)
Mystic Defender (Action Platformer)
Outlander (Action Driver)
Phantasy Star II (RPG)
Phantasy Star III (RPG)
Phantasy Star IV 9RPG)
Phelios (Shmup)
Populous (God Game)
Puggsy (Action Puzzler)
Pulseman (Action Platformer) *
Raiden Trad (Action)
Ranger-X (Action)
Red Zone (Action)
The Revenge of Shinobi (Action Platformer)
Ristar (Platformer)
Robocop vs The Terminator (Action)
Rocket Knight Adventures (Action Platformer)
Sagaia (Shmup)
Shadow Dancer: The Secret of Shinobi (Action Platformer)
Shining Force (Turn-Based Strategy RPG)
Shining Force (Turn-Based Strategy RPG)
Shining in the Darkness (Dungeon Crawling RPG)
Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master (Action Platformer)
Skeleton Krew (Action)
Sol-Deace (Shmup)
Sonic the Hedgehog (Platformer)
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Platformer)
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (Platformer)
Sonic and Knuckles (Platformer)
Sonic 3D Blast (Action)
Sprakster (Action Platformer)
Splatterhouse 2 (Action)
Splatterhouse 3 (Action)
Spot Goes to Hollywood (Platformer)
Star Control (Action RPG)
Streets of Rage (Beat'em Up)
Streets of Rage 2 (Beat'em Up)
Streets of Rage 3 (Beat'em Up)
Steel Empire (Shmup)
Strider (Action Platformer)
Subterrania (Shmup)
Super Fantasy Zone (Shmup) *
Sword of Vermillion (Action RPG)
Target Earth (Action)
Task Force Harrier (Shmup)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Hyperstone Heist (Hack 'N Slash)
Thunder Force II (Shmup)
Thunder Force III (Shmup)
Thunder Force IV * (aka Lightening Force in the US) (Shmup)
Tinhead (Platformer)
ToeJam and Earl (Action)
ToeJam and Earl: Panic of Funkotron (Action Platformer)
Traysia (RPG)
Turrican (Action Platformer)
Twin Cobra (Shmup)
Twin Hawk (Shmup) *
Undead Line (Shmup) *
Urban Strike (Action Strategy)
Valis III (Action Platformer)
Vapor Trail (Shmup)
Vectorman (Action Platformer)
Vectorman 2 (Action Platformer)
Verytex (Shmup) *
Viewpoint (Shmup)
Warsong (Turn-Based Strategy)
Whip Rush (Shmup)
Wings of Wor (Shmup)
Wonder Boy in Monster World (Action RPG)
Zero Wing (PAL version) (Shmup)
Zombies Ate My Neighbors (Action)

* = Japanese

[The Coop]

Edit: Never mind. Looks like it got approved. See there ^^^

[Atariguy]

Outside of the Sonic games, Rocket Knight Adventures is the best platformer on the system, and it's really a must own. That one shouldn't cost you much. The two Shining Force games are excellent strategy RPGs and some of the best games on the console. The second one is a bit hard to come by, but the first is pretty common.

[villahed94]

Putting apart Sonic series, you should really really get Rocket Knight Advertures. Such an awesome game.

[Guy Bramsworth]

Thanks guys so much for the info so far. I love Platformers and RPGs, as well as a few Racers and Fighting games (such as Street Fighter or Super Smash Bros.) and ocassionally a shooter. I really don't like Sports games to be completely honest. All I have at the moment is Risk (like the board game), Jurassic Park and Columns (tetris remake) so yeah. I want the Gold Axe games pretty bad. What kind of game is Ecco the Dolphin? Is the PC a Dolphin? How does that work? lol

Google and Youtube cover Ecco pretty well, if you wanna have a look... ;)

Really, I don't get why people ask questions like this. You're paying for your internet connection for a reason. Use it instead of waiting for someone else to come along and tell you when you coulda searched on the net yourself in a few seconds. :|

[HappehLemons]

Play light crusader :)

[Emperor Megas]

Really, I don't get why people ask questions like this. You're paying for your internet connection for a reason. Use it instead of waiting for someone else to come along and tell you when you coulda searched on the net yourself in a few seconds. :|I don't get why folks say things like this whenever people ask questions about game suggestions.

"Searched the net"? This IS the net. He's doing the research here, by asking a community of veteran gamers for their suggestions and impressions. Isn't that what forums like this are for after all? To discuss video games? :|

[The Coop]

"Searched the net"? This IS the net. He's doing the research here, by asking a community of veteran gamers for their suggestions and impressions. Isn't that what forums like this are for after all? To discuss video games? :|

I thought this was just a spot to take a break while searching for porn. You know, sort of a truck stop on the information superhighway?

[knicksfan89]

try to get el viento and valis i or iii not syd of valis though, and any sports game made by EA oh and dont forget the sonic series those are my tips and oldskool is right on the money with most of those games

[Mr Smith]

What kind of game is Ecco the Dolphin? Is the PC a Dolphin? How does that work? lol

In essence it's a platform game. The less you know, the better the game will be.


If I'm perfectly honest, I didn't really enjoy playing Ecco the Dolphin, Eternal Champions on the other hand...
Worse post ever! Eternal Champions is poor mans Street Fighter.

http://www.megadrivechamps.org/banned_poster_digital.gif

[Bloodreign]

Putting apart Sonic series, you should really really get Rocket Knight Advertures. Such an awesome game.

Quoted for truth, RKA is a phenomenal game, it's sequel Sparkster isn't bad either though some won't agree with me there (hey I finally found myself a copy of it, got Sparkster too). Can't forget about a couple other nice platformers like Ristar and Dynamite Headdy, beautiful games and they aren't too expensive.

[profholt82]

Ecco the Dolphin is for little girls. Grow a pair Smith.

[Oldskool]

Only problem is that little girls nor seasoned gaming veterans can probably beat it. Not sure if I mentioned it but Decap Attack is a good hidden gem of a platformer on the Genesis. Also Eternal Champions has waaaaaay deeper gameplay than SFII and its actually a decent game but I do recommend the CD version for the better music.

[Sysop]

Worse post ever! Eternal Champions is poor mans Street Fighter.

Not really, I find that it's quite a good alternative to Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter, as long as you have a 6-button-controller.

[marumari]

The Coop's list is pretty comprehensive; not much to argue with there. I can't recommend enough picking up a second controller and a copy of Toejam & Earl. Been gaming some 25 odd years now and it's still my favorite two-player local co-op game.

The only game I didn't see on the list was The Lost Vikings, which is another pretty fun co-op game if you have two six-button controllers. I wouldn't recommend it with the three button controllers; it just makes my brain hurt. It's possible that TLV is better on other platforms; I'm just familiar with it on the Genesis.

[The Coop]

Only problem is that little girls nor seasoned gaming veterans can probably beat it.

I've beaten them both, and they're not really that difficult until you reach those final few levels. Most of it is just knowing when to take your time and search, and when to hurry to reach something to get back to the air pockets. But those final levels... holy hell are they a bitch.

[yuleeyahoo]

Hey guys I juat picked up a Genesis at the flea market and now I am really interested in building a Genesis collection. I am a completionist so I love how i can deal with cases and not cardboard boxes for once lol, however, I had a few questions regarding that. I never had a Genesis growing up, so I wouldnt know, but it seems there's 3 different Genesis cases. Black, Red and Cardboard. Did they come out at different times in the system's life span? How many games were released in the cardboard cases? Any info would be great as well as any tips on how to collect for the genesis or games are of "need to get" status for the system (besides the Sonic trilogy of course) Thanks in advance.
See this thread for a fairly comprehensive list of cardboard titles:

http://digitpress.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9494&highlight=genesis+cardboard

[Mr Smith]

Ecco the Dolphin is for little girls. Grow a pair Smith.

A shallow view of Ecco the Dophin. Sure on the surface it might seem like a game for girls, but be man enough to plug it into the console and you have to face all sorts of masculine challenges.

Eternal Champions is the other way around. It seems like a man's game, but it designed for children. I overheard two children who were playing Eternal Champions the other day, one said to the other "I think we're a bit old for this tosh."

[The Coop]

Manly men play Ecco, Robot Unicorn Attack and My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic (if the last one had a game that is).

[chrisbid]

there are actually four types of cases

black grid
red stripe
cardboard

and between the black grid and the red stripe era, there was a year or so when sega didnt have any particular style. major first party titles include sonic 2, streets of rage 2, art alive, and the menacer 6-in-1 game.

on top of that, companies like EA never followed the standard box (or cart) protocols. so the genesis ends up being similar to the 2600. the way to make a genesis collection look best on a shelf is to organize them by publisher and box style

[portnoyd]

Genesis collecting is easily one of the easiest and best systems to collect for. Here's some reasons why:

Volume - With 700+ titles, you won't run down on games to collect any time soon. ith such a size, the viability of large lots lasts considerably longer as well.

Cheap - Absolutely the largest system with the least amount of average value per title.

Flat Value Over Time - Genesis prices have more or less been the same for the past 10 years with little fluctuation. This way you can collect without too much worry about a rare title becoming out of reach. Recently, prices have seem to gone up which means the time to collect Genesis is now.

Boxes - Thanks in part to the clamshell design, Genesis games are found boxed as much as they are loose. Because of this, loose Genesis games are even more dirt cheap. Also, the red box/slipcover format in the latter half of the system life allows you to swap a squashed box for a fresh one as long as you have an intact slipcover.

Playability - With 700+, you'll get a little bit of everything you need whether by genre, good or bad.

Sega CD & 32X - Once you finish Genesis, you can still collect Genesis technically (Yo dawg, I herd you like Genesis...) and expand by collecting for these addons.

[Aussie2B]

If I had to make a top 5 that everyone should play (in no particularly order), I'd say:

Castlevania: Bloodlines
Rocket Knight Adventures
Shining Force
Shining Force 2
Monster World IV

[jammajup]

I agree with the above,but if you want to get every one of the 700+ games i wish you the best of luck lol
The games for this system seem reliable too,okay you get some that need a little clean but i see very few that are truly completely dead.