Sega Genesis Classics

You can always count on Sega to spread their classic library across a new platform. Through the Sega Genesis Collection and the Sega Ages line on PlayStation 2, The Wii’s Virtual Console, Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, M2’s wonderful 3D conversions on 3DS, and the Sega Forever service on iOS and Android, the game space has rarely been without the opportunity to play a modest selection of Genesis games.

For their latest compilation, Sega teamed with d3t Limited to deliver 53 Genesis titles under the banner of Sega Genesis Classics. Nostalgia and age may determine whether a number that high represents either treasure chest of childhood favorites or an insufferable assembly of dated and agonizing software. $30 is the price assigned to mitigate the latter interpretation, and, if you want to be especially generous, it’s helpful to remember all of this would have cost $2600 in early 90’s dollars. Sega Genesis Classics is worth the money. Whether or not it’s worth your time is a more relevant question.

It’s critical to note Sega Genesis Classic’s lineup exclusively composed of games Sega has published. Without Konami’s support it’s missing Castlevania: Bloodlines and Rocket Knight Adventures. Capcom’s absence removes MERCS, Strider, and Contra: Hard Corps. Mortal Kombat can’t be present without Warner Bros.’ involvement. EA’s exclusion removes Road Rash and Mutant League Football. Obscene licensing costs demolish any chance of seeing Aladdin, Cool Spot, TMNT Tournament Fighters, Quackshot, every sports game, and McDonald’s Treasure Land Adventure. In the minds of many—especially when our minds were very young—publishers were invisible and these Genesis titles felt like Sega games. This is, however, a $30 package and not a full-priced release.

Sega Genesis Classics aims to present a more modern take on 16-bit software. When The Disney Afternoon Collection debuted last year, it came with a feature new to console emulation: the ability to rewind the game and instantly erase mistakes. Sega Genesis Classics comes equipped with both rewind and fast-forward features, diminishing the trial-and-error processes and blazing through RPG dialogue. Does this compromise the original experience? You bet it does! It also provides a comfortable option for people to play games however they like. Sega Genesis Classics isn’t taking away your ability to play a game as it was originally designed.

Correction: Sega Genesis Classics comes very close to letting you play games as intended. The emulation is not quite up to the standard set by Digital Eclipse with the first Mega Man Legacy Collection and the aforementioned Disney Afternoon Collection. Input lag and delayed sound effects are occasionally present across the board. Pieces of Streets of Rage 3 and Mean Bean Machine, in particular, sound “off” at best and terrible at worst . I am willing to bet games I am less familiar with experience similar issues. These shortcomings don’t matter much, but it’s disappointing that Sega Genesis Classics doesn’t strive for accuracy. Quantity (and the price you’re paying) trump quality.

The most understated addition to Sega Genesis Classics is the option to choose between different regions for a handful of games. Most people will never care about this while others will profoundly care about this. Playing Streets of Rage 3, for example, as it was originally intended is a gift we’ve been waiting for for decades. Same goes for Dynamite Headdy.  Landstalker’s risqué content (which is hilarious by modern standards) can now be revealed in either French or German. While not as dramatic, Alien Soldier, Beyond Oasis, Ristar, and Streets of Rage 2 also have region-switching options.

Sega Genesis Classics also offers a variety of graphical tweaks and adjustments. Bilinear filtering will blur pixels together for that trash RF adaptor aesthetic. EPX scaling will quadruple the available pixels to slightly adapt chunky graphics to a modern television. scaling “smooths diagonal lines and curves, anti-aliasing the output.” XBR does the same thing and adds “a two-stage set of interpolation rules, better handling complex patterns.”

Here is what Sonic 2 looks like normally, then with bilinear filtering, EPX scaling, HQ4X scaling, and XBR scaling. Independent of these filters is the ability to add scanlines and simulate the curved screen of a CRT television. Also available are options to turn off sprite limiting (which seems weird!), the ability to mirror every game, and the potential to stretch the default 3:4 picture to widescreen, an action only performed by monsters.

Other adjustments round out Sega Genesis Classics’ features. Five save slots are available to save progress, at any time, in each game.  A bunch of special challenges are present, loading-in save states that, for example, task the player with beating two minotaurs in Golden Axe 3 without using a continue or defeating the Crab Nabber in Beyond Oasis with only a dagger. Leaderboards are available for games where scoring is relevant and online play is an option for the 21 titles that offer cooperative or competitive action. More weird challenges would have been appreciated, but Sega Genesis Classics otherwise does well to conform to the way people play games in 2018.

Sega Genesis Classics’ presentation is a well-intentioned mess. Rather than a simple list of games, it presents a model of an early 90’s kid’s bedroom, complete with a super soaker, a Streets of Rage poster, one of those cups, and a Sonic rug. The lighting in the room even changes with the time of day. It’s cool! But it all looks super cheap! After the period of discovery wears off it’s all an inefficient and disorganized way to move between Sega Genesis Classics’ games and options.

More puzzling is the deep suspicion that Sega Genesis Classics was designed and localized for Europe and no one bothered to adjust it for North American audiences. The blue Mega Drive logo attached to Comix Zone poster decorates one of the walls. The spine, cartridge, and box art for every game deviates from familiar models. Even iconography, like the art designed for Sonic 3D Blast, opts for the Euro logo over the North American logo. This oversight seems like something a corpulent and insufferable YouTube personality would scream about, but it also feels like no one on Sega’s side either noticed or cared. This isn’t what these games looked like and it’s dispiriting for those searching for accuracy inside of their retro compilations.

All that’s left is a rough summary debating the quality of Sega Genesis Classics’ individual games. Instead of doing that, and because I love you, here’s a paragraph about every single one with a letter grade at the end:

Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle (1989) – Alex Kidd’s Genesis debut illustrated the dire necessity of Sega’s arcade ports in the Genesis line. With Dreadful Paper, Rock, Scissors matches, unfavorable animation, slippery jumping mechanics, Enchanted Castle, even at the time, was a miserable platformer. Any Genesis collection needs this one—Alex Kidd was the face of Sega before Sonic—but any appeal is purely academic. D+

Alien Soldier (1995) – Treasure’s work on the Genesis was legendary, and, while Gunstar Heroes was more famous, Alien Soldier was their most accomplished 16-bit title. A run ‘n gun with a six (of eight!) different firepower options, huge character sprites, menacing bosses, and a kinetic pace – Alien Soldier, even with twenty-five stages, was an adrenalized wake up call for those who may have been drifting off to the PlayStation and Saturn. If its presence in North America weren’t confined to the Sega Channel service, perhaps more people would have been listening. A+

Alien Storm (1991) – A Genesis port of an arcade side-scrolling beat ’em up. “Like Golden Axe, but with neon, clay-like aliens” provides a strong summary. Some neat cabaret sequences and a good roll mechanic help shake off the monotony of game originally designed to eat your quarters. C

Altered Beast (1988) – Sega thought so highly of Altered Beast that it was the Genesis’ first pack-in game. Rise from your grave! is an iconic phrase in gaming lexicon. This is all that is worth remembering about Altered Beast, a tortured beat ’em up that was impressive in the arcade and significantly less so in the form of a $50 home conversion. It’s a classic, but not one that merits revisiting without the benefit of nostalgia. D

Beyond Oasis (1995) – Ancient’s answer to A Link to the Past was a late arrival on Genesis, but its diverse melee combat, top-tier animation, and dreamy world design forgave its tardiness. It masqueraded as an adventure game but behaved like a top-down arcade brawler. Along with its Saturn prequel, Legend of Oasis, it’s part of the legion of riffs that looked to build and innovate upon Zelda’s perfect foundation. Of course it wasn’t as good as A Link to the Past, but neither was anything else. B+

Bio-Hazard Battle (1992) – A horizontal shooter that capitalized on the 90’s insistence on gross-out toys, Bio-Hazard Battle was…pretty good? One of four organic ships can select between four secondary weapons. Those weapons than can be powered-up by collecting like-colored seeds. A living world helped Bio-Hazard Battle feel closer to Life Force than its mech-heavy peers. Shooting giant bugs was also a welcomed relief from aliens and non-descript metal crafts. Obviously Bio-Hazard Battle is not going to compete with M.U.S.H.A. but it provides a satisfactory take on a shoot ’em up. B-

Bonanza Bros.  (1991) – Bonanza Bros. is a unique two-player arcade game about robbery and various method of stealing shit. Confined to a 2D-plane, it’s full of simple puzzles to evade security and action opportunities where you can murder seemingly innocent people. It’s goofy though! Bonanza Bros. represents a style of game that hasn’t been remade to death in the modern era, and its breezy attitude over high crime is a weird throwback to the arcade days when the social commentary of videogame somehow didn’t matter. A-

Columns (1990) – Tetris was the biggest game on the planet. Sega was not licensed to allow Tetris on the Genesis. Both of these two facts likely combined to help produce Columns, a falling block puzzle game with a match-three-colors mechanic. Columns remains a great game, but, a decade into half of all mobile games requiring players to match three colors, its edge has dulled. B-

Columns III: Revenge of Columns (1993) – Columns III (Columns II never came to the Genesis, hand-waving away that question) is Columns with an isolated focus on direct competition. The crush bar and special flash jewels are new mechanics designed to increase the tension of battles with human and AI opponents. Columns III is a puzzling entry considering Columns already had a serviceable versus mode but it seems silly to complain about more games. C

Comix Zone (1995) – One of the more wildly ambitious concepts of its time (and still unique today) Comix Zone sought to literally translate the tactile sensation of reading a comic into an action game. Sketch Tuner would hop in and out of highly detailed page panels as the story progressed, a process composed of melee attacks and light adventure game elements. Comix Zone is the aesthetic of 1995 distilled into a videogame and while playing it is kind of dreadful, it merits a look based on distinctive enthusiasm and style. B+

Crack Down (1991) – No, not that one. This Crack Down was from the school of Alien Syndrome, a top-down run ‘n gun where you blast through maze-like levels loaded with bad guys. Crack Down’s spin stated this must be completed with the objective of placing bombs and under the stress of time, a process made significantly easier by a second player. Like any arcade port, it’s not especially attractive to play sessions where you’re not investing quarters. C+

Decap Attack (1991) – Sequel to the often forgotten Master System classic Psycho Fox, Decap Attack dropped the cutesy aesthetic and replaced it with the crude demeanor of horror and gross-out toys. It makes sense for a game where you play as a headless mummy named Chuck who extends his head as an attack (his head is lodged in his stomach). Decap Attack gets bogged down in levels that are a bit too long and fodder enemies that are too cheap, but inventive boss battles and weird-ass art make it worth a look. B-

Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine (1993) – It’s Puyo Puyo. Enjoying a brief resurgence in 2017, Puyo Puyo found its way back into our hearts with Puyo Puyo Tetris and a surprise boss battle in act 2 of Sonic Mania’s Chemical Plant Zone. As falling block games go, it places a premium on planning and foresight. Linking four colors together is easier said than done but, oddly, luck can take you pretty far too. It’s a great, time-tested puzzle game. I’m terrible at it. B

Dynamite Headdy (1994) – Treasure strikes again with another kinetic, imaginative action game. Dynamite Headdy is a true platformer with the creative hook of switching special moves by switching out Headdy’s…head. So many ideas are at play (seventeen heads!) that it results in manic instability and punishing difficulty (which was somehow amplified for the North American release), but it’s stabilized by its constant need for reinvention. Bright and boisterous, Dynamite Headdy remains one of the most valuable titles on the system. A

ESWAT: City Under Siege (1990) – Think of ESWAT as a run ‘n gun mixture of Rolling Thunder and Shinobi. This one isn’t a direct arcade port, but rather a clever remix of the game suited toward the Genesis’ weaker power. ESWAT was disarming because it withheld its mech suit until the player finished the second level, which, in turn, restricted offensive firepower and general capability. Trusting gamers with that much patience was a huge risk in 1990 (and a similar one in 2018 amid a collection of 49 other games), but it pays off into a nice action game. B+

Fatal Labyrinth (1991) – While Fatal Labyrinth serves as a model of a classic roguelike, its performance is akin to a monotonous slog through a rat infested basement. Random items, random dungeons, random enemy placement, random power-ups (or power-downs), it’s all here! But it’s also a harrowing look at the quality-of-life updates roguelikes have received in the last three decades. Fatal Labyrinth is a history lesson for those that want it and museum relic for everyone else. C

Flicky (1991) – Flicky is a classic arcade game that can only be justified as part of a larger collection. You’re a tiny blue bird who must bounce around 48 simplistic 2D mazes, avoid enemies, and collect even smaller yellow birds. At the time, the effect of a giant dangling trail of yellow birds was impressive, a facet of Flicky that will certainly be lost with 2018 eyes. Still, there’s innocence and purity to it, and it directly inspired the primary mechanic of Sonic 3D Blast. B-

Gain Ground (1991) – Gain Ground, as the name implies, is all about pushing forward. Players must move through single screen levels in pursuit of an exit. The exit is guarded by stationary enemies, necessitating an equal amount of action and strategy from the part of the player. Gain Ground has this raw need for survival that transforms solitary obstacles into dangerous threats, and its premise still hasn’t really been reproduced. In 1991, games had to find creative means of expression without the wealth of tools and power developers enjoy today. Gain Ground made the best of its limitations. A

Galaxy Force II (1991) – Galaxy Force II, next to Power Drift, was the most visually impressive of Sega’s pseudo-3D arcade games. It felt closer to what would eventually become Star Fox than its own origins in Space Harrier. Unfortunately the Genesis port literally isn’t up to speed. The outdoor sections are fine, but they couldn’t figure out how to handle interiors and rendered these sequences into bland boxes with rotating colors. The shooting, while imprecise and not quite as chaotic, is still intact. C

Golden Axe (1989) – Sega’s second-best beat ’em up series introduced arcade players to the wonderfully named Gillius Thunderhead, Ax Battler, and Tyris Flare, all of whom combine forces to seek revenge upon Death Adder. Hokey names aside, Golden Axe accented standard beat ‘um up rules with potent magic options and the ability to ride wild beasts. It also capitalized on then-popular fantasy properties like Conan and He-Man. It’s less interesting than its sequel but, like Alex Kidd, Golden Axe better be included in any Genesis collection. C+

Golden Axe II (1992) – Golden Axe II skipped arcades and went straight to the Genesis. Each of the three characters, with some changes to their magic abilities, return from Golden Axe. Back attacks, better rationing of magic, and throws were also added. Tailored specifically to the hardware, Golden Axe II looks a lot better and has a wider range of high-fantasy environments. The dueling mode is slightly more fleshed out this time, but don’t expect it to compete with contemporary fighting games. B-

Golden Axe III (1995) – Golden Axe III, to complement its new roster of characters, increased the variation between their abilities and even included fighting game-inspired super moves. Branching paths and a regressive magic system balance a positive with a negative, but the net result of Golden Axe III is below average. When it finally made it to the Sega Channel service in 1995, games had moved far away from 1989’s model of a beat ’em up. With that in mind, Golden Axe III perhaps holds up better today than it did upon release. Time blends them all together.  C-

Gunstar Heroes (1993) – Treasure’s strike at Contra exceeded expectations and remains one of the run ‘n gun genre’s premier models. Combining weapon power-ups worked in tandem with light melee abilities. Sliding attacks and a perfect jump mechanic made movement just as fun (and important) as firepower. Bright colors, screen-filling bosses, minimal 90’s attitude, best-in-class animation; Gunstar Heroes exceeds its platform and remains one of the best of its kind. It’s not hard to find out why it tops many Genesis best-of lists A+

Kid Chameleon (1992) – Kid Chameleon started a trend that would lie abandoned until Kirby’s Adventure; fill your platformer with a ludicrous amount of ability-shifting power-ups. Ten different helmets could transform Kid’s persona and grant him fresh offensive abilities. Filtering all of that through 100+ levels provided a wealth of content in the you-get-three-games-a-year era 90’s children generously endured. Kid Chameleon is almost arduous by modern standards, but it’s easy to overlook when the art is also the zenith of early 90’s culture. A-

Landstalker (1993) – Landstalker’s isometric camera was attractive in its time but, like Sonic 3D Blast, with it came an acute lack of precision. An absence of action verbs—sword swinging rarely gets more complex than sword swinging—also harms its appeal. Action-RPG’s weren’t exactly prevalent on the Genesis, making Landstalker unique in its time, but tedious in the modern age. It’s easier to appreciate it as a classic rather than commit to actually finishing it (some people will see this observation as heresy; Landstalker is generally well-liked) B-

Light Crusader (1995) – Light Crusader, another isometric action role-playing game, is one of Treasure’s more understated releases. This likely due to its preference for putting presentation ahead of control; Light Crusader features awful jumping sequences and weird position-based attacks. The appeal of the isometric camera may be forgotten from a modern point of view (ha), but its pseudo-3D effects, especially in the year of 32-bit systems, created a tricky competition in its time. Light Crusader is no one’s first choice on this collection. It’s probably not their 25th choice either, but it’s…fine. C

Phantasy Star II (1990) – The follow-up to the best game on the Sega Master System, Phantasy Star II still holds up after all these years. The game sports large dungeons, memorable characters, including some character deaths, while also bringing one of the best RPG experiences to date. You will have a lot of hours invested with this one. The game also provides one of the most unique endings that will certainly leave you wanting more.  –Nathan Stevens

Phantasy Star III: Generations of Doom (1991) – You don’t get that “more” with the third installment in the series, rather you only truly get the essence of the previous two games and the choice to get hitched and have kids. Nothing screams “I feel so guilty” like rejecting a cartoonish pixelated woman for another cartoonish pixelated woman when you’re a young gamer (nobody likes being rejected). The RPG opus that was birthed through the first and second Phantasy Star resides in the third installment, but it focuses too much on the gimmicky marriage component to truly make it another strong game in the series. Also, the story is kind of lousy. BUT HEY! You can get married! Exciting, right? ­–Nathan Stevens

Phantasy Star IV: The End of the Millennium (1995) – The final hoorah before Sega crapped out Phantasy Star Online [editor’s note: Mr. Stevens’ opinion of Phantasy Star Online does not reflect the opinions of DigitalChumps’ staff], thus crushing the hopes and dreams of all whom wanted the next Phantasy Star for the Dreamcast. It’s a solid connection to the first and second game, yet wants nothing to do with the third, and rightfully so. Phantasy Star IV is a beautiful send-off for the series and one that certainly reaches the high-note promised where the previous fell short. There is no marrying in this game. –Nathan Stevens

Ristar (1995) – Developed from surplus Sonic concepts, Ristar was a lovable platformer defined by his ability to reach out and grab things with his arms. This sounds lame! But it’s not! Ristar’s signature head-butt is a tactile surge of power, as is his meteor strike after swinging around a post. Ristar’s bold pallet and eccentric themes (a whole world based on musical instruments!) elevated it even higher. Much like Alien Soldier, Ristar’s proximity to new hardware left it a cult hit instead of an actual hit, but its performance is as good as anything else on the system. It’s a top-five platformer. A

Shadow Dancer: The Secret of Shinobi (1990) – It’s an oft forgotten statute is that every ninja must be accompanied by dog. Secret of Shinobi obliges this law by allowing a dog to follow Joe Musashi around for the entirety of the game and, yes, he can be sicced on enemies to temporarily disable them. It’s awesome. The remainder is composed by Shinobi’s classic side-scrolling action, complete with shuriken tossing, Japanese folklore, and giant bosses. It’s all about the dog, though. A

Shining Force (1993) – Sega’s most popular (formerly) class-based tactical role-playing game, Shining Force sought to break the monotony of the genre with support from directorial and mechanical diversion. It contains a top-down overworld like a contemporary RPG, and fighting individual units in battle had its own, more-detailed cut-scene. The concept of death was not game ending, although it did result in your money being halved. Shining Force wants the player to win, but calling it easy may be a stretch. B+

Shining Force II (1994) – Pure but unsurprising, Shining Force II fits the safest definition of a sequel. It looks better. It plays smoother. It’s every number of empty adjectives meant to convey “better, though not dramatically so.” It also contains crucial improvements to the flow of menus (which is important in a tactics game!) and a greater emphasis on individual character development which, in my experience, was maddening. Shining Force II allows the player to indulge in great amount of risk, but, of course, the reward is waiting if you’re brave enough to find it. B+

Shining in the Darkness (1991) – Shining in the Darkness confirms to its label as a dungeon crawler. Pseudo-3D labyrinths are jam-packed with turn-based battles and random hazards. The cheerful banter of the NPC’s back in town represents a better-than-expected localization for 1991, although it’s tough for anything to interrupt the monotony of dank, dreary dungeons. Shining in the Darkness, along with Fatal Labyrinth, is perhaps this collection’s deepest dive into a long-abandoned model of gaming, but, absent of nostalgia, it’s awfully tough to stick with in 2018.

Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master (1993) – This is where Shinobi transitioned from a traditional, albeit engaging, side-scroller into more of a pure action game. Shinobi III introduced the coveted dive-kick to the series. Button economy—it uses the same button for ranged and melee attacks depending on context—is strange from today’s perspective but it totally works inside the game. Huge bosses, a stage consisting of falling rocks, a great elevator sequence, and ninja surfing help compose the Genesis’ best action game outside of Treasure’s work. A+

Sonic 3D Blast (1996) – Sonic 3D Blast isn’t a Sonic game. It’s a loose, isometric adventure game with light action that happens to feature Sonic’s aesthetic trappings. Sonic glides around environments disposing of badniks to release flickies (from Flicky!), encountering plenty of fans, bumpers, and spikes along the way. Sonic’s speed is more reliant on stage topography and perspective, although generally going fast means going out of control. There’s a clumsy feel to the entirety of 3D Blast (some of this was patched away by its original developer in 2017) but it remains a curious artifact of how the Genesis tried to compete with new consoles. Ironically, in an upscaled Saturn port with different special stages, Sonic 3D Blast was simultaneously a next-generation title, too. B

Sonic Spinball (1993) – Sonic Spinball (along with Sonic CD) eased the pain of Sega skipping a numbered Sonic game in 1993. It’s 90% a pinball game and 10% unpleasant platformer. Bosses in each of the four levels are always at the top of the table and there were plenty of flippers and bumpers to bounce the player up there. Sonic Spinball also began Sega’s obsession with Sonic 2’s Casino Night Zone, a level (which featured pinball elements) so popular that it’s almost as hard for Sonic to escape as Green Hill Zone. These days Sonic Spinball is more famous for being developed in only 61 days and options music that composes some of the worst ever produced on a Genesis. C-

Sonic the Hedgehog (1991) – Green Hill Zone is probably the second-most iconic level in classic gaming. The faux-polygonal trees, the gravity-defying loops, the checkerboard walls — there’s a reason Sonic is doomed to keep repeating it over and over. The remainder of the original Sonic the Hedgehog feels more like a proof-of-concept than an actual game. Its performance feels inelegant and it design is uninterested in demonstrating Sonic’s (or what would become Sonic’s) signature: speed. Still, Sonic the Hedgehog’s historical value can’t be understated. A herald of the 90’s fascination with extreme attitude, it was the first legitimate shot anyone took at Mario and Nintendo. C+

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (1992) – Sonic 2 is the best Sonic has ever been. Emerald Hill’s twisting loops, Chemical Plant’s electric music, Aquatic Ruin’s successful mixture of land and sea, Casino Night Zone’s pitch-perfect facsimile of Las Vegas’ seedy underbelly, Oil Ocean’s commitment to gold, green and purple, and Death Egg Zone’s climactic fight against Robotnik — Sonic 2 had it all. It embraced speed as an asset but still made time (and enough control) for careful platforming in acts like Mystic Cave and Hill Top Zone. Every level is gorgeous and (almost) every boss takes advantage of Sonic’s limited action options. Tails’ invulnerability, in a time when your little brother always wanted to play too, was also a genius move. After Sonic 2, Sonic got bigger, brighter, and faster, but it only expanded upon existing ideas. Sonic 2 was where everything that people actually like about Sonic was born.   A+

Space Harrier II (1989) – In 1985 Space Harrier’s pastel pallet, foreign planets, alien enemies, and breakneck pace made it gaming’s then-closest equivalent to ingesting hallucinogenic substances. The Genesis-exclusive sequel was kind of the same thing, only four years later and with a drastically reduced visual presentation. Space Harrier II still gets the chaotic sensory overload part right, but time had taken away a lot of its power. In 2018, its weird, center-screen brand of blasting has kind of looped back around to be a unique angle on rail-shooters. B-

Streets of Rage (1991) – Only trust your fists. Police will never help you. Sega’s answer to Final Fight, Streets of Rage featured three ex-cops beating the shit out of punks with baseball bats, knives, and bare-knuckles. What set it apart from its inspiration was the unprecedented level of grime across is urban landscapes. Streets of Rage looked like New York City’s at its most dangerous and drugiest, providing the justification necessary to ostensibly murder hundreds of alleged criminals. Today the original Streets of Rage is more of an appetizer for the sequel—similar to Sonic the Hedgehog’s relationship with Sonic 2—except that Streets of Rage, to borrow the parlance of the time, rules. B+

Streets of Rage 2 (1992) – A dream team of developers (including Sega, Shout! Designworks, and Ancient) and a Yuzo Koshiro soundtrack helped make Streets of Rage 2 the best pure beat ’em up of its time. Characters now had unique moves, more weapons were added, new special moves were included, and sprites were bigger and animated with greater fluidity. Some of the leftover 80’s NYC grime that defined Streets of Rage was missing, but it was replaced with great elevator sequences, an amusement park, and some bold tropical highlights. In my head all I want to type is Man, Streets of Rage 2 is so good over and over. It’s true, though. A+

Streets of Rage 3 (1994) – Streets of Rage 3 has the Sonic 3 problem where Sega slammed the accelerator on its prequel without really bothering to innovate much of anything. Some people have a problem with this. I never did. Streets of Rage 3 also lets the player control one of its bosses, Shiva, as well as the kangaroo from Streets of Rage 2, Roo (this was unreasonably important to me when I was eleven years old). Localization differences, many which were pointless, plagued the North American release, but it didn’t stop Streets of Rage 3 from being a big, beautiful beat ’em up in a time when the genre was fading away to 3D. A-

Super Thunder Blade (1989) – Space Harrier but with a helicopter would sell Super Thunder Blade short if it weren’t accurate. It shared the Genesis launch with Space Harrier II, which, god, realizing you just bought the same game twice must have been crushing. On its own merits Super Thunder Blade is still a serviceable, center-of-screen rail shooter with some neat top-down sequences. The bold colors also set it apart from some of its more monochromatic contemporaries. Taito’s Night Striker still had a better handle on the concept. B-

Sword of Vermilion (1991) – Sword of Vermilion can feel like the assembly of Sega’s spare parts. Going through dungeons (some of which are outside, at least) carries a pseudo-3D first-person perspective from Phantasy Star or Shining in the Darkness. Dungeon battles were melee and magic action sequences on an X and Y plane. Boss fights—against huge sprites, which was a big deal at the time—were weird, side-scrolling offensive assaults. In between is a significant amount of spell casting and busy work, the likes of which were designed to give people their “money’s worth” in 1991 dollars. Other than Sword of Vermilion’s status as Yu Suzuki’s first console game I don’t know that it has much to contribute today. It’s long, boring, and archaic. C-

The Revenge of Shinobi (1989) – The least impressive Shinobi game on Genesis is still a pretty good ninja game. It was originally produced when Sega was flagrantly unconcerned with copyright infringement because Batman, Spider-Man, Godzilla, Rambo, and a Terminator were in the game. I can’t imagine those are present in this revision of the port! What remains is a standard arcade-style side-scroller with a focus on deliberate action instead of mindless thrashing. Rationing shurikens as you work through levels was kind of it as far as agency went, but Revenge of Shinobi was still a step ahead of other Sega game like Alex Kidd, Altered Beast, and Golden Axe. C+

ToeJam & Earl (1991) – ToeJam & Earl infused hip hop culture with top-down roguelikes to create one of the weirdest and most of-its-time titles on the Genesis. Ten pieces of the duo’s spaceship are scattered across twenty-five randomly generated levels, ostensibly earth, loaded with neatly-wrapped presents. Those presents can act as power-ups like spring shoes, rocket skates, or projectiles in the form of tomatoes. Each level is also loaded with dangerous enemies like bees, dentists, hamsters in balls, tornadoes, and a fat guy with a lawn mower. ToeJam & Earl earned praise for its promise of different game every time you played and its will to be as unconventional as possible. Did I mention it was two player? It’s not that they don’t make them like this anymore, but rather nothing was ever made like it again. A+

ToeJam & Earl in Panic on Funkotron (1993) – Panic on Funkotron’s largest problem is that it is not ToeJam & Earl 2. Rather than make another weirdass roguelike, Panic on Funkotron conformed to the model of the early 90’s hottest genre, a side-scroller platformer. Inside each level was a human in hiding, made visible by an arrow indicating their location. Panic on Funkotron was founded on a less ambitious idea, but it still had that shaking nonplussed text and screamingly eccentric art direction. 90’s platformers had a tendency to look like neon vomit but Panic on Funkotron kept it together with deep purple dirt, electric blue mountains, and hyper-exaggerated characters. It wasn’t ToeJam & Earl, but it wasn’t bad, either. B

Vectorman (1995) – Unfairly portrayed as Sega’s response to Donkey Kong Country, Vectorman was an innovated and challenging platformer-shooter that knocked hard on Treasure’s door. Just look at the first level: deep parallax scrolling across a cerulean sky, a careful use of fluorescent colors to highlight enemies and landmarks, awesome flash effects whenever anything was blown up — Vectorman was loud without feeling garish. Transformations into a drill, a parachute, a dune buggy, and a fish helped blend away different versions of its style. So did an entire level on a disco floor with Vectorman spinning around like a tornado. I have no idea where or how Vectorman earned the reputation as a desperate joke. Maybe people confuse it with Ballz? Vectorman was a great game and its performance was a boon to Genesis owners who couldn’t yet afford a new console. A

Vectorman 2 (1996) – Joining Sonic 3D Blast as an agent of questionable necessity, Vectorman 2—in which our hero combats an insect invasion instead of rogue robots—follows the sequel model of “more, but better” instead of the preferred “progression in search of the new.” More transformations, more weapons, more levels, and graphics that paid better attention to lighting. Vectorman 2 might actually have the technically-best visuals on the system? Look at that lava level! There is nothing wrong with Vectorman 2 but it’s a bit like eating desert right after you eat your desert after a meal consisting of nothing but desert. Every time, you wake up in a ditch the next morning wondering why the ants are so angry and why they’re covering your entire body. B

Virtua Fighter 2 (1997) – Here’s a real piece of shit. Two years after the original Virtua Fighter managed a decent 32X port and Virtua Fighter 2 came home to the Saturn, Virtua Fighter 2 received a 2D Genesis conversion. While it vaguely resembles its arcade counterpart and kind of has the same control scheme, it’s missing the raw technical fury that made the original so attractive. Taking away Virtua Fighter’s polygons is like removing color from The Wizard of Oz.  It’s hilarious that this was ever made and it’s a crime we’ll never know how it was commissioned into existence. F

Wonder Boy III: Monster Lair (1991) – Wonder Boy III is unique because it’s (1) awesome and (2) the only game in this collection that never, in some form, came to the Genesis in North America. Part horizontal shooter and part auto-scrolling shooter/platformer, health decreases over time and the only way to recover it is to vanquish everyone in the way. Wonder Boy III was cute and pretty without feeling saccharine and sickening. It could be a threatening fantasy land without directly expressing danger, which, perhaps may have been a big deal when its peers were engulfed in more direct forms of violence. Wonder Boy, almost universally, is a safe bet. B+

Wonder Boy in Monster World (1991) – Closer to Zelda II than Wonder Boy III, Wonder Boy in Monster World, is a pure side-scroller with light role-playing elements and occasional dungeon dives. It retains Wonderboy’s colorful aesthetic, which set it apart from its self-serious and dour dungeon crawling contemporaries. Despite Wonderboy’s confusing lineage it’s hard to pick out a bad game from the latter titles. Monster Land may be the best of its age, but Monster World isn’t too far behind. A-

Fifty-three Sega Genesis games are enough for a $30 collection but it does not rule out belly-aching from disenchanted writers who feel their personal favorites triumph over Sega’s mission to sell a well-rounded product. With that in mind, here are a few games (all of which Sega published at the time) I would have liked to have seen in a Genesis collection:

Unbelievable Omissions: Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Sonic & Knuckles. This is kind of outrageous? Sega’s shining star in his (and Tails’! and Knuckles’!) most ambitious 16-bit adventure buoyed by the hilarious gimmick of Lock On Technology and a (debatable) Michael Jackson soundtrack. Rights concerning music Sega may or may not own could be at fault. Why else would these two games be missing?

Eyebrow Raising Omissions: Ecco the Dolphin and its sequel The Tides of Time. Ecco’s commitment to nonviolent activity, brazen environmentalism, and creepy imagery made it among the system’s most popular titles. Like Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Sonic & Knuckles, both Ecco’s were also part of the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 Genesis collection. Virtua Racing, Sega’s polygonal answer to Star Fox, was also pivotal to the lifespan of the Genesis. Herzog Zwei was, at the time it was released, the standard for console real-time strategy games. Eternal Champions’, Sega’s in-house response to the early 90’s fighting game surge, continued absence from collections remains puzzling. It’s strange that none of these are here.

“It Would Have Been Great If” Omissions: Pulseman, Game Freak’s eclectic platformer only appeared on the Sega Channel service and, much later, the Wii’s virtual console. It’s one of the best games on the system. Crusader of Centy’s quality and astronomical price, not to mention its status as one of the Genesis’ few Zelda-style games, would have made a great inclusion. Same goes for M.U.S.H.A., which, in addition to being a dandy shoot ’em up, is one of the most expensive games on secondary markets. Battle Golfer Yui was a Japan-only golf RPG that would have been a curious gag. Ranger X was a wonderful side-scrolling platform shooter that would have filled Target Earth’s void. G-LOC would have added another rail shooter, and was better than the Genesis’ Afterburner II port.

“Well, I liked it” Omissions: I think OutRun 2019 was a wacky take on OutRun and a surprisingly insightful commentary on the hell world 1993 forcasted for 2019. STI’s The Ooze had the second grossest box art of all time and was a weird, unique puzzle game with an innovative liquid-flowing mechanic. Greendog also missed the cut despite the presence of other STI games. Cyborg Justice, a beat ’em up where you could rip body parts off of foes and upgrade yourself with said parts, was a personal favorite. 32X ports of Space Harrier and Afterburner could have complimented Knuckles’ Chaotix, Kolibri, and Tempo to represent all of the non-embarrassing Sega-published 32X games. This would have also required Sega to acknowledge the 32X, which will likely never happen.

Sega Genesis Classics delivers modern convenience options and passable emulation across its fifty-three titles. No Genesis collection can be definitive without support from third-parties, but “new” additions like Gunstar Heroes and Alien Soldier help curtain the perpetual third-party void in Sega’s compilations. At $30, Sega Genesis Classics is an easy and accessible way to appreciate a selection of the Genesis’ best work.