Advice on Sega Games

[SoulBlazer]

I could use some honest advice, people, and nothing from a list, but hopefully something where someone will listen and actually tell me some good stuff -- sort of like a advisor, if you will. LOL

The Gunstar Heros thread got me thinking -- there's a whole mess of systems I've never even touched. I grew up as a major Nintendo fan and never touched anything non-Nintendo until I got my PlayStation in early 1998. Since then I've bought a Sega CD/32X and a 3DO, picked up the Intelivision software releases for the PC, played the eariler Atari's, and still plan to get a Saturn and a Dreamcast at some point.

That leaves me with the Genesis, the Master System, and the Game Gear.

I'm trying to get some suggestions on what the 'best' games for those systems are, so I can check them out with my emulator, and since there are a LOT of games to go through I thought this was a good place to ask. :)

Here's the 'rules', if you will:
1) I'm mostly into RPG, Adventure, and Simulation only. I don't mind a shooter if it's a really GOOD one (the Contra and Gradius series come to mind) or a platform if it's also very good (Mega Man). I actually enjoy sports games a lot also, but nothing from a system THIS old can be any good anymore. :P Can't stand fighting or puzzle or racing games.
2) I'm interested in games that are eihter EXCLUSIVE to one of the three above systems, or has the best PORT of a game. Games like The Immortal and Mega Man Wily Wars come to mind.
3) I'd like a game that is still a lot of fun to play NOW. Sad to say many games that were fun if you played them when they were new 10-20 years ago are now junk and totally borring. I'd like to try games that are still fun to go through.
4) I actually have allready played SOME of the best games for these systems -- I've gone through all the Phantasy Stars, all the Shining Forces, and also think Strider for the Genesis is as much fun as the NES version is. Plus I've played the two games mentioned above -- and I THINK that's it. :)

Thanks in advance.

[Ze_ro]

Alright, here's my choices:

Sega's arcade ports (Genesis) (This include Altered Beast, Outrun, After Burner, Golden Axe, Space Harrier, Shinobi etc. There are SMS/GG versions too, but there isn't much point in getting them when you can get the Genesis versions. These games are the #1 reason to get a Genesis in my opinion)

Any Wonderboy Game (There are SMS and Genesis versions, and there's a game on the Game Gear called "Revenge of Drancon" which is Wonderboy with a different name)

Any "mainstream" Sonic game (They're all good really... Although the Genesis ones are FAR superior to the SMS/Game Gear ones. You might want to avoid games like Sonic Spinball, Sonic 3D Blast and such... some people like them, but they're nowhere near as good as REAL Sonic games)

Xenon 2 (Genesis) (I'm still looking for this one myself... it's a space shooter that I originally played on the Amiga, and I still consider it amung my favorite shooters ever)

Gods (Genesis) (A great platform game... another that I first played on the Amiga. There's a SNES version too I think)

Bonanza Bros (Genesis/SMS) (Two player cooperative platform game where you run around stealing stuff)

Star Control (Genesis) (Strategy/action space combat game. I originally played this one on the C64. Star Control II gets more attention, but the original is a classic)

Some other Genesis games include Vectorman, Dynamite Headdy, Atomic Robokid, Turrican, NHL 95, Streets of Rage, Contra Hard Corps (emphasis on HARD), Earthworm Jim, Virtua Racing (Get the 32X version instead if you can), Strider, Comix Zone and Ecco the Dolphin.

The only SMS/GG games I can think of would be Super Return of the Jedi, Pac-Man, Montezuma's Revenge, Golden Axe Warrior, and Golvellius.

I'm not big on RPG's, but you'll probably want to give any Phantasy Star or Shining Force games a try. (Edit: Whoops, I missed that part where you said you already played all of these... Well, Golden Axe Warrior and Golvellius are RPG's... and I've always wanted to try the SMS version of Ultima 4...(Edit2: Oh, and I've heard good things about Shadowrun (Genesis)))

--Zero

[GaijinPunch]

Go to my site and look around -- there's a lot of info there on the Saturn and Mega Drive (way more Saturn stuff). Personally, it's my favorite system... it's got enough good games to keep anyone busy for years.

[Raworrare]

I've always liked Landstalker and Crusader of Centy for the genesis. Also have you played Megaman for the game gear it's a good game.

[Daniel Thomas]

Hmm. Let's see if I can contribute something. Hopefully, I can suggest some games that haven't been suggested by everyone else. Here's what I think are some good Genesis games to start out with:

Herzog Zwei -- The original RTS from Technosoft, but I prefer this one over all others because you can control your own Transformer and get involved in the battles. My favorite Genesis game of all.

Sonic 1, Sonic 2, Sonic 3 & Knuckles -- Duh. It's Sonic. Every one was better than the last; faster, crazier, more inventive. Sonic 3 & Knuckles was my favorite , but they're all great.

Revenge of Shinobi -- The best version of Shinobi and one of the classic games of the 16-bit era. This whole game just shines with class, especially the Yuzo Koshiro soundtrack.

Ghouls 'N Ghosts -- Tough and vibrant port of the Capcom arcade; I'm sure you're familiar with Super G&G on the SNES, but for my money, this is just a little better. Hey, you get to shoot up and down!

Populous -- Good luck finding a copy of Populous (and an early-model Genesis to run it on), but it's one of the great thinking-man's games, and it still feels fresh.

Starflight -- An space exploration game inspired heavily by Elite. Assemble your starship and crew, and travel across the galaxy, visiting countless planets, dealing with various races, and mining for precious metals. It's very open-ended.

NHL Hockey, Madden, FIFA -- Is this obvious?

Thunder Force 3, Thunder Force 4, Gaiares, MUSHA, Fire Shark, Forgotten Worlds, etc. -- The classic Genesis shooters. These are all of my favorites of a terrific bunch, and every Genesis needs 'em.

Gunstar Heroes, Dynamite Headdy -- The Treasure games; again, obvious choices, brilliantly original games. Did anybody ever find all the "secret bonus points" in DH?

[Spoony Bard]

Genny RPGs (the ones you should really get are bolded):

Phantasy Star 2,4 - Excellent RPGs. 4 is a far more mainstream (read: closer to Final Fantasy) style RPG than 2. Both are excellent games though.

Phantasy Star 3 - I personally love this game (my first true RPG), but there are alot of people who don't like it because it has very little to do with the other games, and plays very differently as well.

Shining Force 1,2 - Excellent Strategy/RPGs.

Shining in the Darkness - A very good RPG. I don't have too much experience with it, but I enjoyed it.

Sword of Vermillion - Action/RPG, dated now, but if you like the old-school approach.

Warsong - Better known as Langrisser, another excellent Strategy/RPG.

Fatal Labirynth - Dungeon Hack, I enjoyed it.

Landstalker - The closest you'll get to Zelda on the Genny. Made by the same people who made Alundra on the PS1.

As far as SMS/GG RPGs go, get Phantasy Star 1 [SMS], Ancient Y's Vanished: Omen [SMS] (unless you have the TGCD version), and Shining Force - Sword of Haija on GG.

[Raccoon Lad]

Wonder Boy III

[c2000]

Golden Axe warrior (SMS)
Lunar 1&2 (SCD)


and some interesting Saturn ones you 'may have heart about' ;)

Shining Force III +[sc2,3) (SAT)
Panzer Dragoon Saga (SAT)
Lunacy/Torico (SAT)


Great site btw Gaijin, been visiting it for quite a while now..didn't know you hanged around here :)

[Barbarianoutkast1]

Some of my favorite games to play now are as follows....
Comix Zone
Boogerman
Dynamite Heady
Star Controll

[goatdan]

SMS
Safari Hunt This game is wrong in so many ways, but I think it is hilarious. Take your Zapper out and run around the jungle shooting monkeys and Parrots and other stuff you shouldn't be shooting. It's great Zapper fun!

Gen
TMNT- Hyperstone Heist In my opinion, the best Turtles EVER. The storyline doesn't make any sense, but it is easily one of the most balanced beat-em-ups ever.
Space Invaders '91 This game will reel you in for a few days and you'll just have to keep playing it and playing it. Once you get to a certain point though, you're just like "okay, been here, seen this." Excellent while it lasts.
General Chaos This game is just generally awesome strategic fun!
Maximum Carnage My second favorite beat-em-up ever, Maximum Carnage is an intense game that will keep you playing for days. It's sucked me in probably five times throughout my life.
The Mickey Games Mickey Mouse seriously rocks on the Genesis. I would suggest any Mickey Mouse platformer wholeheartedly. This was the first game I ever tried on a Genesis at the store, and I was floored by how pretty it was.
Toki: Going Ape Spit This is an insanely tough platformer game that I used to waste all my quarters in the arcade playing. This is easier than the arcade version, but it is still really good and quite the challenge.
Zoop This game was ported to everything and the best version is on the Jaguar, probably followed by the SNES, but I love it on any system and the Geni is no different!

Sega CD
Lunar series Awesome RPGs, probably the best on the Sega CD.
Dark Wizard Another RPG that I think is awesome. I don't think this one has been released on any other systems, but I'm not sure.
Jurassic Park AWESOME platformer, the best based on the JI license IMHO.
Sonic CD Perhaps the best Sonic game ever. Get this!
Final Fight An awesome side-scrolling beat-em-up. I'd go with the two Geni ones first though.

Sega 32X
Knuckles Chaotix A game based on the character from the Sonic series, Knuckles. Pretty sweet game.
Kolibri I think I like this game just because it is SO weird that it sticks in my mind. A shooter where you are a hummingbird.