{"id":18119,"date":"2018-07-27T00:01:47","date_gmt":"2018-07-27T00:01:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/?p=18119"},"modified":"2018-07-18T02:32:16","modified_gmt":"2018-07-18T02:32:16","slug":"the-games-of-sega-genesis-classics-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/2018\/07\/27\/the-games-of-sega-genesis-classics-part-2\/","title":{"rendered":"The Games of SEGA Genesis Classics Part 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Last week we looked at some games on the SEGA Genesis Classics collection out now on consoles.\u00a0 But there were so many games on this collection, that I had to split it into two parts!\u00a0 So here are the second half of the games found on this massive 16-bit collection.\u00a0 Do be sure and read the first part, too, if you haven\u2019t already!<\/p>\n

Gunstar Heroes<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yet another Treasure game.\u00a0 Run and gun stuff like Contra, but with some neat ideas and graphical effects thought not possible on the Genesis.\u00a0 Some say it\u2019s one of Treasure\u2019s best games and one of the best games on the Genesis entirely.\u00a0 While I think it is pretty good, I don\u2019t think it\u2019s any better than say, Contra 3 on the SNES.\u00a0 Actually I think I read somewhere that before Treasure was founded, the employees worked at Konami and helped make games like Contra 3 and Super Castlevania IV.\u00a0 Have you ever played the Gunstar Heroes sequel on the GBA?\u00a0 I like that one because it has a lot of SEGA references to other games, like Thunder Blade, After Burner, and even Flicky!<\/p>\n

Kid Chameleon<\/strong><\/p>\n

This is a pretty decent hop and bop platformer similar to Mario, but its story is so 90\u2019s it\u2019s cringe-worthy.\u00a0 A virtual reality game is actually a front by aliens kidnapping kids, and it\u2019s up to the raddest kid in town to play the game and save the day.\u00a0 You can get power-ups that turn you into other things, like a sword-wielding Samurai or a cleaver chopping Jason clone.\u00a0 I guess that\u2019s where the Chameleon side of the title comes in.\u00a0 It\u2019s not a perfect 2-D platformer, but I didn\u2019t think it was that bad either.<\/p>\n

LandStalker<\/strong><\/p>\n

You play as a guy and a fairy out seeking for treasures in caves in this action puzzle adventure.\u00a0 But it\u2019s the perspective that makes the game unique, as it\u2019s all in a 3-D isometric view.\u00a0 Of course this also makes jumping onto platforms harder, as it\u2019s hard to tell where things are in this perspective.\u00a0 I think later on, they made a sequel called LadyStalker featuring a female protagonist.\u00a0 Both games were made by Climax.\u00a0 What else did they make?\u00a0 They sound familiar.<\/p>\n

Light Crusaders<\/strong><\/p>\n

And speaking of games with a 3-D isometric view, this one does the same thing and also plays very similar to LandStalker.\u00a0 Except this one is more \u2018serious\u2019 and less cartoony.\u00a0 It also controls better and plays smoother and it\u2019s easier to tell where you are when you jump thanks to a shadow underneath you.\u00a0 But this game was made by Treasure so that may be why.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t know Treasure made this game, too, so I learned something new with this collection.<\/p>\n

Phantasy Star 2, 3, and 4<\/strong><\/p>\n

Through emulation and past collections, I\u2019ve dabbled a bit in the Phantasy Star games before.\u00a0 The first game on the Master System really blew me away graphically as it\u2019s miles ahead from NES RPGs like Dragon Warrior and Final Fantasy.\u00a0 Unfortunately, the first person perspective in dungeons really turned me off of this game.\u00a0 I wasn\u2019t too much impressed with Phantasy Star 2 and 3, as I felt they really didn\u2019t do anything better than the RPGs on the SNES at the time, like FF4 and whatnot.\u00a0 But Phantasy Star 4 is a different story.\u00a0 I remember when I first played this game, it felt on par with something like FF6, which is saying a lot since FF6 is one of my top five favorite games of all time.\u00a0 If I had a Genesis in high school, I definitely would\u2019ve been into this game a lot.\u00a0 I wish I had more time to play it, as I feel that I could really sink my teeth into Phantasy Star 4.<\/p>\n

Ristar<\/strong><\/p>\n

So as I said earlier, back in the 16-bit days I was more of a SNES man.\u00a0 And I felt that, for the most part, SNES games were better than Genesis ones.\u00a0 But there were a few exceptions where a Genesis game really surprised me.\u00a0 This is one of those times.\u00a0 I missed out on playing it when it first came out, but I remember reading about it in magazines and people freaking out that Ristar would replace Sonic as SEGA\u2019s mascot.\u00a0 Well I kind of wish he did, because I feel that gameplay wise, Ristar is a much better game than Sonic.\u00a0 You play as a star with stretchy arms that can grab onto things.\u00a0 You can use your arms to defeat enemies and bypass obstacles. Graphics and sound are great, too.\u00a0 I heard that the gameplay idea for Ristar is what they originally wanted to do for Sonic, but have him be a rabbit who grabs things with his ears.\u00a0 This is also one of the games on this collection that you can play both the US and Japanese version, as they both have noticeable differences and changes.\u00a0 Anyway, I really like this game and I even came up with an idea for a sequel, so send me a message if you want to hear my idea for it.<\/p>\n

Shadow Dancer\/Shinobi 3\/The Revenge of Shinobi<\/strong><\/p>\n

This is actually 3 games, but they\u2019re all Shinobi games and play similarly so I lumped them all into one paragraph.\u00a0 Shinobi games play a lot like Rolling Thunder, just with ninjas instead of secret agents.\u00a0 But as Shinobi and Rolling Thunder were developed around the same time, it\u2019s hard to know who copied who.\u00a0 That was a common practice for arcade game makers to do back then.\u00a0 Sometimes SEGA copied Namco, sometimes it was the other way around.\u00a0 Anyway, I\u2019m not sure which one is Shinobi 2, Shadow Dancer or The Revenge of Shinobi.\u00a0 I distinguish Shadow Dancer because in this one, Shinobi has a dog, and I remember seeing it in arcades, too.\u00a0 The Revenge of Shinobi says that Yuzo Koshiro did the music for it.\u00a0 However, I think Shinobi 3 is the most playable, as by that time, SEGA realized that making games for consoles is a bit different than munching quarters at an arcade.\u00a0 Also in Shinobi 3, the hero has a horse.\u00a0 And that\u2019s all I have to say about Shinobi!<\/p>\n

Shining in the Darkness<\/strong><\/p>\n

So you know how I was saying before how I didn\u2019t like the first Phantasy Star\u2019s first person dungeons?\u00a0 Well this game is all that.\u00a0 So no thank you.\u00a0 And you know how I was also wondering what else Climax made besides LandStalker?\u00a0 Well it looks like they made the Shining series, too!\u00a0 And I can tell, as they all have a similar cartoony graphical art style.<\/p>\n

Shining Force 1 and 2<\/strong><\/p>\n

I wonder if these were considered spin-offs of Shining in the Darkness?\u00a0 They both look like early 16-bit RPGs, even though they were released later in the Genesis lifecycle.\u00a0 But the battles are more strategy oriented, and remind me of Fire Emblem.\u00a0 The sequel has a slightly better story and graphics, but otherwise they look the same.<\/p>\n

Sonic the Hedgehog 1 and 2<\/strong><\/p>\n

While I agree that Sonic was a turning point for SEGA, I never really understood why everyone liked the first game so much.\u00a0 Even back then, before it was hip to hate on Sonic.\u00a0 Sure it looked better, but every time I would play it at a demo station in a store, I would think to myself, \u201cThis is better than Super Mario World\u2026HOW?!?\u00a0 The sequel was a little better, as it added Tails, my favorite Sonic character.\u00a0 But it wasn\u2019t much better.\u00a0 I\u2019m kind of surprised and disappointed they didn\u2019t include Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles on here.\u00a0 Sonic 3 is one of the few Sonic games I really like, and also one of the few times the Genesis really impressed me.<\/p>\n

Sonic 3-D Blast<\/strong><\/p>\n

And speaking of Sonic games I really like, here\u2019s another one.\u00a0 A lot of people hate on it, but since I like Marble Madness and Flicky, and Sonic 3-D Blast basically combines those two games together, well, I like it!\u00a0 The Saturn version is a little better, but the Genesis port is no slouch.\u00a0 Did you know that Traveler\u2019s Tales, the same folks who do the LEGO games, did this one, too?\u00a0 Many of the tunes from the Genesis game also made it into the first Sonic Adventure!\u00a0 Surprisingly, the analog stick works well on 3-D isometric games like this, LandStalker, and Light Crusaders.<\/p>\n

Sonic Spinball<\/strong><\/p>\n

When I first played Sonic 2\u2019s Casino Night Zone, I thought to myself, \u201cMan, they could make a game out of this!\u201d\u00a0 And they did!\u00a0 So yeah, this is another Sonic game I actually like.\u00a0 Sure it\u2019s not a good Sonic game, but it is a good video pinball game, if that makes any sense.<\/p>\n

Space Harrier 2<\/strong><\/p>\n

I never played Space Harrier much in arcades because the bigger kids would hog the machine.\u00a0 It is pretty fun to play, but it\u2019s also arcade hard, too.\u00a0 But oh my gosh this Genesis game is awful.\u00a0 So choppy!<\/p>\n

Streets of Rage 1, 2 and 3<\/strong><\/p>\n

So I think I\u2019ve made it clear by now that I preferred the SNES over the Genesis.\u00a0 It\u2019s just my personal opinion that SNES games were better.\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t mean that I\u2019m going to ridicule you if you liked the Genesis.\u00a0 In fact, I think it\u2019s cool that you saw something in the Genesis that I didn\u2019t.\u00a0 But as with Ristar, there were a few times that I was truly impressed with some Genesis games.\u00a0 I was WAY late to the party with Streets of Rage.\u00a0 In fact, I didn\u2019t even play it until one of the early SEGA collections on the Dreamcast.\u00a0 But once I did, I was blown away on how good the series is.\u00a0 Streets of Rage 2 is the best, but the other games are great as well.\u00a0 They certainly ripped off Final Fight, but while Final Fight failed on consoles, Streets of Rage bloomed because they made it for consoles, not arcades.\u00a0 And since Yuzo Koshiro did the music, the tunes are pretty darn amazing.\u00a0 You can play the Japanese versions of 2 and 3, and they\u2019re called Bare Knuckle over there.\u00a0 Can you guess who my favorite character is?<\/p>\n

Super Thunder Blade<\/strong><\/p>\n

I remember Thunder Blade was pretty big in arcades. The Genesis version just looks horrible, but at least it plays better than Space Harrier 2.\u00a0 But not by much!<\/p>\n

Sword of Vermilion<\/strong><\/p>\n

This is an action RPG where you visit towns in an overhead perspective, but when you get out into worlds and dungeons you view things in a first person view.\u00a0 But when fighting enemies, you go into a single screen top down view again to battle in real time.\u00a0 It kind of reminds me of some Falcom games, just without the charm.\u00a0 And hit detection is awful, so it\u2019s needlessly hard.\u00a0 You know what action RPG I wish was on this collection?\u00a0 Crusade of Centy.\u00a0 It\u2019s such a Link to the Past ripoff.\u00a0 I hear it\u2019s really rare now.<\/p>\n

Toe Jam & Earl<\/strong><\/p>\n

This game seemed really big back in the day.\u00a0 I love the designs of the alien characters, like something out of a cartoon.\u00a0 But boy were the colors and graphics garish.\u00a0 You could tell this was made in the early 90s!\u00a0 A lot of people spout how creative this game is, but if you look at it closely, it\u2019s really just a cleverly disguised dungeon crawler.\u00a0 It\u2019s not bad, just slow.\u00a0 They made a new game in the Toe Jam & Earl series on Steam a year or so ago.\u00a0 I wish they\u2019d bring it to consoles.\u00a0 It looks and plays a lot like the original.<\/p>\n

Toe Jam & Earl: Panic on Funkitron<\/strong><\/p>\n

A lot of people bashed this game because it\u2019s such a huge departure from the first one.\u00a0 While the first was a somewhat creative game, this is just another 2-D platformer.\u00a0 But you know what?\u00a0 I don\u2019t think it\u2019s THAT bad.\u00a0 The animation and graphics look really nice on the Genesis, and there is some fun to be had.\u00a0 The bonus stages in the new TJ&E game are based on this title.<\/p>\n

Vectorman 1 and 2<\/strong><\/p>\n

So when Donkey Kong Country came out, SEGA had to scramble to make a game with pre-rendered graphics, too.\u00a0 So they clumped a bunch of green balls together to make a human shape and called it Vectorman.\u00a0 When I was a kid I just laughed at that and wondered how SEGA would think that would compete with Donkey Kong Country.\u00a0 As run and gun platformers go, it\u2019s pretty average.\u00a0 I do like how the sequel has lighting effects, illuminating the dark caves in the first level when you fire your weapon or your jet boots.\u00a0 Pretty neat effect for the Genesis.\u00a0 Honestly, though, if I wanted to play a run and gun platformer like this, I\u2019d just go play Earthworm Jim.<\/p>\n

Virtua Fighter 2<\/strong><\/p>\n

You know these last few games almost didn\u2019t make it on my list.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t notice there was a third shelf in the game room menu until I first started writing this article!\u00a0 So I almost missed these!\u00a0 I wonder why SEGA even bothered making a Genesis version of Virtua Fighter 2.\u00a0 They took a 3-D fighter and made it 2-D, and everyone sounds like they\u2019re underwater.\u00a0 And it\u2019s the most sluggish fighting game I\u2019ve ever played.\u00a0 Can you guess who my favorite Virtua Fighter characters are?<\/p>\n

Wonder Boy 3: Monster Lair<\/strong><\/p>\n

The connection with Wonder Boy and Adventure Island is an interesting one.\u00a0 They\u2019re both made by the same company, but Wonder Boy sequels mostly ventured into Metroidvania territory, while Adventure Island was more straightforward platforming.\u00a0 I won\u2019t go into it anymore than that, but you can read about it on the internet if you\u2019re still interested.\u00a0 But Wonder Boy 3: Monster Lair is totally different!\u00a0 It\u2019s a side scrolling shooter, essentially.\u00a0 It does have some platform elements, mostly borrowed from Wonder Boy\/Adventure Island.\u00a0 Like you have to make sure not to trip over rocks and eat food to fill your depleting energy bar.\u00a0 But despite it being totally different, it\u2019s still a pretty fun, arcadey kind of game.\u00a0 So if you want a shooter with Adventure Island themes, here you go.<\/p>\n

Wonder Boy in Monster World<\/strong><\/p>\n

This wasn\u2019t the game I thought it would be, but I think I was thinking of Monster Land, not World.\u00a0 I could see myself getting into this 2-D platform adventure.\u00a0 It\u2019s a lot like the Dragon\u2019s Trap remake that came out last year that was really good.\u00a0 I wish that Monster World 4 was on here.\u00a0 Yeah I know it didn\u2019t make it to the US, but man that game is good.\u00a0 I can\u2019t wait for the next Wonder Boy sequel called Monster Boy.\u00a0 It should be out soon!<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s all the games!\u00a0 Let me know what you think of this collection, and tell me your favorite Genesis games!\u00a0 Later!\u00a0 –Cary<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Last week we looked at some games on the SEGA Genesis Classics collection out now on consoles.\u00a0 But there were so many games on this collection, that I had to split it into two parts!\u00a0 So here are the second half of the games found on this massive 16-bit collection.\u00a0 Do be sure and read […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":18104,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18119","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-game-reviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18119","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18119"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18119\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18121,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18119\/revisions\/18121"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18104"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18119"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18119"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18119"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}