The Sega Genesis is a venerable piece of equipment in my house. Like many though, my system and its games often rest in a sealed plastic container to keep it free from dust and other threats. Even though contemporary games garner most of the attention of consumers these days, rightly or not, it is always a thrill go back to the games that you grew up on. From time to time, I set up the Genesis and play a few games with my brother and it brings back great memories. While the emulation of these games on programs like GENS or Kega Fusion would suffice and roms are plentiful, they do not give the full experience – the original controller in your hands and a mind numbingly dull Sanyo television bolster the experience immensely. Nostalgia for the console has gotten to such a level that new games on cartridges have even come out in the last few years. The following games are such fun that they force me to turn on the Genesis regularly because they stand the test of time.

ToeJam & Earl

Toejam and Earl is perhaps one of the strangest games on the system.  The idea of funk-loving aliens crashing to earth and then having to work together to find lost pieces of their spacecraft is not one that appeals to everyone.  There is even a mode where you can “jam out” to a beat with Toejam and Earl, where pressing either A, B, or C will act like a sampler.  But when this simple storyline was combined with comedic enemies and peculiar items that could be used, the game became hilarious and players would find themselves enmeshed in helping the aliens with their cause.  It should be mentioned that this game was perhaps the most polarizing on the console with as many people loving it to those who despised it.  With two players the game was at its best, having the two aliens throw tomatoes at the boogie-man or dancing with hula girls.

Zombies Ate My Neighbors

This is a game that I came to relatively late as I thought it would be nothing special despite my friends saying otherwise. Even today the love for this game continues and remains a favorite. But to those nostalgic Genesis players who have not given this title a chance, I strongly suggest trying it. Yet again, the premise is simple: zombies are taking over so Zeke and Julie must protect the uninfected – a tried and true method harkening back to B-level horror films. The player yields a variety of weapons to destroy the zombies and does so in multiple environments which are fine graphically and creepy at times.

NHL ’94

NHL 94 was a hugely popular game, especially in Canada, and has even been shown in film. While the graphics and music were fine at the time, NHL 94 shines with its gameplay. The gameplay could be accessible for newcomers as only two of the three buttons were really needed to shoot and pass, while at the same time the gameplay could be very competitive and deep allowing for one-timers, slick passing plays, and hard hits. In addition to this, each real team and its players from the NHL, including Wayne Gretzky, were represented and you could customize your lineups if desired. Coming back to NHL 94 these days and playing with a friend, perhaps during a Toronto-Montreal intermission, makes you realize that this game has not lost a step. Today the game lives on, apart from yearly iterations, with updated teams and player stats through emulation.

Comix Zone

Near the end of the Genesis’ life cycle, this gem was released. It will forever be remembered due to its interesting aesthetics and combat. As the main character, you are sucked into a comic book and your character appears on screen as if in a comic book – jumping from panel to panel and page to page to progress through the story. Combat was fluid, responsive, and varied, enabling the player to take on the enemy without feeling hampered. Environments can be interacted with and the enemies are animated very well and pose a real challenge to the player. In fact, the challenge of the game was often so much that it caused players to quit the game early and permanently.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Hyper Stone Heist

Like the Simpsons, the Ninja Turtles seemed like they were everywhere during the ‘90s. It was routine for young boys to play as Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, and Michelangelo during recess at school. When the turtles came to the Genesis then, the game was like a lightning rod for these kids. Thankfully, the game offered decent beat-‘em up action and incorporated many of the most popular enemies. The frenetic action on screen was fantastic and the two players would often compete to see how many of the Foot Clan they could each dispatch. The design of the game is rudimentary, especially levels and bosses, but was great fun and is one of the better of this genre on the Genesis.

Earthworm Jim

Earthworm Jim is another one of those titles that people were slightly confused about at first but unlike Toejam and Earl, the humor and concept caught on faster and could be found in more collections. As a worm in a bodysuit, wielding a big red gun, and using his head as a whip, the platformer featured bizarre environments, strange humor such as cow launching, and wild action. Some of the situations in the game are just hilarious such as in the level “Snot a Problem,” where Jim must go head-to-head with a big green ball of snot and sever it from its bungee cord while in use. Everyone should revisit this extremely fun and quirky game.

Road Rash 2

Road Rash 2 was more than just a racer as you could beat down your opponent with chains and bats if they threatened your position. Where this game truly shined was with two players as racing often became secondary to bloodletting. Finally connecting with a bat to a biker’s back was hilarious and only inspired that player to seek revenge. Apart from the combat aspect, racing was serviceable and frantic at times having to weave in and out of traffic and overtaking other racers. As this premise has not had great success in contemporary games, it makes Road Rash 2 an excellent choice to go back to after many years.

Gunstar Heroes

Gunstar Heroes attracted people initially because of its incredible special effects and graphics but the game quickly was found to be deeper than that. With challenging yet fun gameplay akin to Contra, but not nearly as difficult as Contra, Gunstar Heroes became a must play for Genesis owners and it is still a title that is certainly worth revisiting today. Intense battles with a seemingly endless horde of enemies to deal with caused the player to choose their weapons and targets wisely, or fail. Continuous action, the ability to choose from a variety of weapons, and a respectable storyline gave the game a high level of replayability. It really is incredible how well the game and its run-n-gun action stand the test of time.

Out of this World

Out of this World is an adventure game that I plan on revisiting. When I first played this, I did not have the patience for its gameplay so it eventually became buried in my collection. Some years later I came back to it and found this game’s visuals to be very appealing especially for the time it was created. Add to this the feeling of immersion that the player feels for example, during the second stage when the player is trapped in a hanging cage. Nothing happens until you begin pushing left and right on the D-pad, eventually causing the cage to fall and break open. From there, you go on with an imprisoned alien to escape from the building. It is a rather interesting game, but with its annoyances, that is sure to please those that stick with it.

Blackthorne

I have most recently revisited Blackthorne, although it is for the 32X add-on. I merely stumbled upon this game by accident and found it to be thrilling, engaging, and disturbing. In the first level, the character is trying to escape a sort of dungeon containing humans chained to the wall and guarded by large orc-like monsters. Sickly, you have the option of killing these chained prisoners or leaving them to rot. While venturing through the action platformer and killing powerful enemies in various ways, there will also be some simple puzzles. Your character is a shady Hell’s Angels sort and carries a shotgun that suits him well. The art style is very dark to say the least but looks stunning. I will definitely be returning to Blackthorne sometime soon and encouraging others to do so as well despite the 32X’s reputation.

Which Sega Genesis games are you nostalgic for?

Other games that I look forward to revisiting:
Herzog Zwei
Jungle Strike
Flashback: Quest for Identity
Beyond Oasis
VectorMan
NBA Jam TE
Street Fighter 2
X-Men
Sonic the Hedgehog series / Spinball

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