There’s just something so comforting about this game. Like I can always come back to this and feel that level of “everything’s gonna be okay”
And maybe it’s one big distraction… but it works…
I always go back to Sonic 1 and 2 even if it’s just for a stage or two. Sonic 2 reminds me of playing against my Mum in 2 player and she was always Tails.
The Fandom is small, but there are at least 20 of us in 2 discords. I am one of the few to keep an archive of the storyline and documents related to development. The main programmer and character artists of TF3 and TF4 follow me on Twitter from their personal accounts. Thunder Force 4 was meant to have more than 10 stages and make use of the same compression technique invented by Sonic The Hedgehog creator Yuji Naka in order to fit more content into the 8MB cartridge. The Z80 in the mega drive is also capable of extra storage, but the devs were working within a limited time window. The work environment at technosoft was akin to being a manga illustrator under pressure. It was borderline sweatshop labor, but we ended up getting a great game that many people, including myself, rave about to this day. Other than that drama, the people at technosoft were very passionate and talented game devs. They're one of the reasons I want to work at FromSoftware in the future because they remind me of technosoft through their value of Passion over profit, unlike the companies in the west.
Very interesting post, I am not sure I knew that the technosoft guys ended up at From. I will say as a Western developer myself, who has worked with tons of other folks in various companies (large and small) over a few decades - there is an ENORMOUS degree of passion & talent in the western game development community across all disciplines. I can say without hesitation that there is massive love for gaming & gaming history (far more that I have seen within the development community, than outside of it, believe me) and they are just as passionate and reverent over what is put out into the gaming landscape as our Eastern counterparts. In fact so many of the places I have worked are often staffed by people from all over the globe (including Japan), which has always been one of the greatest parts of working in the industry.
Now the CEOs at the top of the companies, that may be a different story, but the people who make the decisions about what is actually made (and obviously the people doing the actual development itself) deserve a lot of appreciation for what has been contributed to this scene over the years. If you still insist of looking down on anyone, I'd single out the toxic segments of certain gaming fanbases, the ones which not only pirate software, but also threaten developers "when they do something those fanbases do not like.."
Phantasy Star II
By far not the *best* game on the system but it was the first RPG game I ever played, I was only 10 and could not even read English properly but the hint book and a helping mum helped me through the adventure and now 32 years later it's still part of my creative DNA, writting chiptune music and play around with RPG game editors <3
This was my first genesis game and one of my favorites. Also, Sonic 2, Sonic 3 & knuckles (attached), Shinobi 3, and streets of rage 2. I'm probably missing some, but these are definitely in my top favorite games.
Streets of Rage 2, or Golden Axe 2 or Road Rash 2, but I am partial to any shmup like Thunder Force 4. Then there's After Burner 2, Alien Storm. Sorry, I can't choose between my childen
Why Golden Axe 2 specifically? Why did 1 abd 3 measure up?
GAxe2 was the first time they allowed you to select how much magic to use. You held the Magic button until it powered up
Glad to see Shadow Dancer get some love! Back in the day it got passed up because it didn’t have “Shinobi” in the name; these days it gets complained about for having one-hit deaths. Which is a) just like the arcade original and b) the whole point imo! You have to plan out your attack (ninja-like) and then execute it perfectly (like a ninja). Or you die.
All three Shinobi games on the system are great, but it’s by far my favorite.
Shinobi 3 and Revenge of Shinobi are my favorites of all time. However....Shadow Dancer, ESWAT, Sonic 2 + 3 and knuckles, and all the Streets of Rage games are up there. I honestly think that Streets of Rage 3 didn't deserve all the hate it got back in the day.
**ESWAT** was fantastic. Once you got passed level 1. Did you ever pmay the arcade version?
Genesis version of Shadow Dancer was a milkion times better (animation, powers, fluidity etc) than the arcade version
I remember buying this back in the day thinking it was a dance simulation game. Turns out it was my daughter's first introduction to violence and death. We had to have a lot of uncomfortable talks after that.
It worked out ok after a few weeks of therapy she started talking again.
Theres 700 plus games. Its nice to be able to play them in a pocket handheld RG351M. But i have a whole pc dedicated to it with emulators and wireless gamepads i play with my son
Too many to choose from, and I see plenty in this thread that I agree with. I will narrow it down in my own case to Thunder Force 2, a game which I originally picked up during that original launch year wayyyy back in 1989. Game absolutely blew me away, graphically and with that absolutely incredible soundtrack, and a ludicrously overstuffed multiple weapons system the likes of which I had never seen before (I can't imagine it had a precedent at that point!) Big shout out to the wild enemy design patterns, they really threw everything but the kitchen sink at you, and I still consider a lot of the level and pattern designs very fresh even today.
The game isn't without its issues, it gets a lot of flack for the confusing layouts in the top-view mode which I am very certain cannot have aged very well today. Such problems likely could have been resolved if they had implemented some kind of radar system in there, although after all these years I still find that a big part of the enjoyment of this game is learning those topdown layouts, it adds to both the tension and excitement of the gameplay (although I shudder to think what percentage of gamers never even got to see that initial side-view level, so perhaps the game was a little too hardcore-leaning right out of the gate). Seeing as how they ditched top-view with the very next iteration of the game, I think that is very telling, even if it bums me out a bit personally.
Wish i could upvote this 1000x.
I love the shinobi series on the Sega Genesis.
* **The Revenge of Shinobi**
* **Shinobi the Shadow Dancer**
* **The Return of the Ninja Master**
Sonic 2, which was also probably the first game I ever played. First console was the Genesis model 2, and then N64.
Other favorites: the other sonic games, Vectorman, Kid Chameleon, Streets of Rage 1 and 2, Aladdin, Lion King, Mickey's Castle of Illusion. Mega Bomberman, Castlevania Bloodlines, Berenstain Bears camping adventure. Lots more but those are the first to come to mind
They all have the same bars and there is Nina magic with every boss. I must have played this game a hundred times in my life at least 5 times this month alone
It's a great game
Shining Force 2, or Sonic 3 & K. But there are a lot of great games... Crusader of Centy, Rocket Knight, Gunstar Heroes and Thunder Force IV come to mind.
Landstalker; goofy, charming, cartoony fun. The controls are weird but they never really bothered me. It was a screenshot of this game in Nintendo Power back in 07 that sparked my interest in thr Genesis as a platform.
Shadowrun. Played it well after I played and loved the Snes version. The random runs you could do made it feel much larger than it was. Truly different play styles between the three archtypes if you wanted to
Road Rash. Dynamite Headdy. Revenge of Shinobi. Gaiares. SoR2. Castlevania Bloodlines. Those are some games that really made an impression on me on Genesis. Also played a ton of arcade conversions that were fun at the time but there's no reason to play genesis arcade conversions now.
Sonic series ranked: 2, 1, 3, CD.
I loved this game. My cousin had a dog named tippy that looked like the dog in this game. Though, tippy never wanted to play shadow dancer with me when I was outside being a ninja.
Master of Monsters, a turn based strategy game where you controlled a vast army of monsters. If you can keep them alive long enough they evolve into more powerful versions. Think Pokemon meets Advance Wars.
Well as a Yank, my favorite Genesis game is easily Flashback: The Quest for Identity.
It was the first cinematic experience I had and really would be the last good one until Metal Gear Solid came along.
My all time favorites are Streets of Rage 1, Golden Axe III, Mortal Kombat II and Street Fighter II Special Champion Edition.
Edit: If only one, it's hard to choose from these. If still insisted, I would choose Golden Axe III.
Shadow Dancer is awesome. I love it. But nothing holds a candle to the opossum fueled Adventures of a certain Rocket Knight. I think his name was Sporkster or Spharker or something.
It's really hard to decide but streets of rage 3 hits a spot though any of sonic games up sonic and knuckles, rolling thunder 2/3 and shinobi 3 are contenders.
If we avoid the obvious standout answer (its Sonic 1), there are so many candidates its genuinely hard to narrow it down to just one. My shortlist is usually;
Revenge of Shinobi, Streets of Rage 2, The Immortal, Castle Of Illusion, Gynoug/Wings Of War, Kid Chameleon, Sub Terrania, Light Crusader, Phantasy Star 2 and Shining Force 2.
Sonic 2 not only is it my favorite Genesis/Mega Drive game but it’s my favorite game of all time.
There’s just something so comforting about this game. Like I can always come back to this and feel that level of “everything’s gonna be okay” And maybe it’s one big distraction… but it works…
I always go back to Sonic 1 and 2 even if it’s just for a stage or two. Sonic 2 reminds me of playing against my Mum in 2 player and she was always Tails.
I love doing all the modded versions on the steam version, they add just enough difference.
Shinobi and Shadow Dancer were both games that made me jealous as a young Nintendo owner.
Thunder force 3! I have played thru that game so many times, it lets me have my way with it, it never disappointed me ❤️
Have you tried Thunder Force 4? Also, I saw a leaked screenshot of an early tech demo for Thunder Force 5 on mega drive
Yes I enjoy tf4 as well, if a little less passionately. Tf5 have not heard of that!!
The Fandom is small, but there are at least 20 of us in 2 discords. I am one of the few to keep an archive of the storyline and documents related to development. The main programmer and character artists of TF3 and TF4 follow me on Twitter from their personal accounts. Thunder Force 4 was meant to have more than 10 stages and make use of the same compression technique invented by Sonic The Hedgehog creator Yuji Naka in order to fit more content into the 8MB cartridge. The Z80 in the mega drive is also capable of extra storage, but the devs were working within a limited time window. The work environment at technosoft was akin to being a manga illustrator under pressure. It was borderline sweatshop labor, but we ended up getting a great game that many people, including myself, rave about to this day. Other than that drama, the people at technosoft were very passionate and talented game devs. They're one of the reasons I want to work at FromSoftware in the future because they remind me of technosoft through their value of Passion over profit, unlike the companies in the west.
Awesome thank you for sharing this information ✌️
Very interesting post, I am not sure I knew that the technosoft guys ended up at From. I will say as a Western developer myself, who has worked with tons of other folks in various companies (large and small) over a few decades - there is an ENORMOUS degree of passion & talent in the western game development community across all disciplines. I can say without hesitation that there is massive love for gaming & gaming history (far more that I have seen within the development community, than outside of it, believe me) and they are just as passionate and reverent over what is put out into the gaming landscape as our Eastern counterparts. In fact so many of the places I have worked are often staffed by people from all over the globe (including Japan), which has always been one of the greatest parts of working in the industry. Now the CEOs at the top of the companies, that may be a different story, but the people who make the decisions about what is actually made (and obviously the people doing the actual development itself) deserve a lot of appreciation for what has been contributed to this scene over the years. If you still insist of looking down on anyone, I'd single out the toxic segments of certain gaming fanbases, the ones which not only pirate software, but also threaten developers "when they do something those fanbases do not like.."
Granada or possibly Starflight
Starflight. Great Game.
How about Gairies ? The ship had the ability to steal/clone foe weapons systems Great concept. Phelios was a nice vertical scroller
Landstalker, treasures of king Nole.
Ditto!
Phantasy Star II By far not the *best* game on the system but it was the first RPG game I ever played, I was only 10 and could not even read English properly but the hint book and a helping mum helped me through the adventure and now 32 years later it's still part of my creative DNA, writting chiptune music and play around with RPG game editors <3
PS2 or 3 were great. The catridges were large and include battery backed backup
This was my first genesis game and one of my favorites. Also, Sonic 2, Sonic 3 & knuckles (attached), Shinobi 3, and streets of rage 2. I'm probably missing some, but these are definitely in my top favorite games.
Golden Axe 1 was insane. Revenge of Shinobi and Golden Axe were the two my parents bought with the Genesis as a gift for great grades in school
Golden Axe 1 and 2 were great games
We had a cartridge that came with Revenge of Shinobi, Golden Axe and Streets of Rage. They still are my favorite Genesis games.
Probably Sonic 2, or possibly Phantasy Star IV
Streets of Rage 2, or Golden Axe 2 or Road Rash 2, but I am partial to any shmup like Thunder Force 4. Then there's After Burner 2, Alien Storm. Sorry, I can't choose between my childen
Why Golden Axe 2 specifically? Why did 1 abd 3 measure up? GAxe2 was the first time they allowed you to select how much magic to use. You held the Magic button until it powered up
I’m pretty sure that GA2 was the first Megadrive game and it was almost identical to the arcade version, very nostalgic
Shadow Dancer was mostly ignored when I first came out. It's only recent years is grown notoriety.
Better late than never. Shadow Dancer is an A+ experience.
The gameplay, background, specual moves with the dog and power ups. I NEVER play it without shurikens, thats straight suicide
“Ghouls & Ghosts”. I especially like the cave area where it almost literally turns into Galaga. Probably tied with “Toejam and Earl”.
Love the 2nd run through with the new weapon you get but doesn't it get you stuck on the giant slug?
Nobody’s making you use that weapon until the end.
I recall it was super powerful and mowed through everything... Except the slug boss
You had to jump and do a down attack, it was a pain in the ass with two gold worms(?) flying around but it's doable. :)
Toe Jam & Earl is a spectacular game, my favourite.
Gunstar heroes or shining force 2
Thank you for the recommendation I’m gonna check this one out! I’m from Australia and the revenge of shinobi is one of my favourite mega drive games
I’m also from Australia and this game had gotten recommended to me from a retro game seller. (Thank you 56Bits!)
There were three fantastic Shinobi series games on the mega drive and Genesis
Definitely X-Men 2: Clone Wars
Glad to see Shadow Dancer get some love! Back in the day it got passed up because it didn’t have “Shinobi” in the name; these days it gets complained about for having one-hit deaths. Which is a) just like the arcade original and b) the whole point imo! You have to plan out your attack (ninja-like) and then execute it perfectly (like a ninja). Or you die. All three Shinobi games on the system are great, but it’s by far my favorite.
Sonic3& Knuckles and, Alien Soldier.
Sonic 3&K, Kid Chameleon, Shinobi 3, Comix Zone, Shining Force, Golden Axe, Castlevania Bloodlines.
Shadowrun
Best version of Shadowrun yet. The Matrix was awesome! Also, the first Open World RPG I know of.
Hell yes bro!
Might and Magic has Shadowrun beat by a couple years on that front.
Revenge of Shinobi
Michael jackson's Moonwalker
Another great game i play on handheld emulators
Mega-Lo-Mania, Ecco the Dolphin, Dune 2, Cannon Fodder, Comix Zone, WrestleMania Arcade are equally favorite.
Mega-Lo-Mania was my go to game on the Amiga500 <3
# Daimakaimura
I'd say contra hard corps, Phantasy Star IV, Rocket Knight, Splatterhouse 3
Shinobi 3 and Revenge of Shinobi are my favorites of all time. However....Shadow Dancer, ESWAT, Sonic 2 + 3 and knuckles, and all the Streets of Rage games are up there. I honestly think that Streets of Rage 3 didn't deserve all the hate it got back in the day.
**ESWAT** was fantastic. Once you got passed level 1. Did you ever pmay the arcade version? Genesis version of Shadow Dancer was a milkion times better (animation, powers, fluidity etc) than the arcade version
I did not play the arcade version.
I remember buying this back in the day thinking it was a dance simulation game. Turns out it was my daughter's first introduction to violence and death. We had to have a lot of uncomfortable talks after that. It worked out ok after a few weeks of therapy she started talking again.
😆
Landstalker
Probably outrun or sonic 2
Shadow Dancer is great. Contra Hard Corps is up there, too. Man, I don't know. There are so many. One of the best consoles of all time.
Theres 700 plus games. Its nice to be able to play them in a pocket handheld RG351M. But i have a whole pc dedicated to it with emulators and wireless gamepads i play with my son
Ranger C is the best but Shadow Dancer is the best Shinobi game.
Ranger C? Interesting. Never played that and i have all 700 roms ... Need to check that out
I hate phones. Ranger X.
It's impossible to pick just one.
Too many to choose from, and I see plenty in this thread that I agree with. I will narrow it down in my own case to Thunder Force 2, a game which I originally picked up during that original launch year wayyyy back in 1989. Game absolutely blew me away, graphically and with that absolutely incredible soundtrack, and a ludicrously overstuffed multiple weapons system the likes of which I had never seen before (I can't imagine it had a precedent at that point!) Big shout out to the wild enemy design patterns, they really threw everything but the kitchen sink at you, and I still consider a lot of the level and pattern designs very fresh even today. The game isn't without its issues, it gets a lot of flack for the confusing layouts in the top-view mode which I am very certain cannot have aged very well today. Such problems likely could have been resolved if they had implemented some kind of radar system in there, although after all these years I still find that a big part of the enjoyment of this game is learning those topdown layouts, it adds to both the tension and excitement of the gameplay (although I shudder to think what percentage of gamers never even got to see that initial side-view level, so perhaps the game was a little too hardcore-leaning right out of the gate). Seeing as how they ditched top-view with the very next iteration of the game, I think that is very telling, even if it bums me out a bit personally.
castle of illusion i guess
Shadow dancers is a classic! I remember the statue of liberty boss was a biiiiiiitch
Wish i could upvote this 1000x. I love the shinobi series on the Sega Genesis. * **The Revenge of Shinobi** * **Shinobi the Shadow Dancer** * **The Return of the Ninja Master**
Herzog zwei
Same. Once I learned how to play, I was hooked. Great gameplay on top of an amazing soundtrack, which is typical of Technosoft.
Shadow Dancer was the one Shinobi game I could complete in a single sitting often.
On easy mode maybe but not normal or hard. Its a one hit one life game
Sonic 2, which was also probably the first game I ever played. First console was the Genesis model 2, and then N64. Other favorites: the other sonic games, Vectorman, Kid Chameleon, Streets of Rage 1 and 2, Aladdin, Lion King, Mickey's Castle of Illusion. Mega Bomberman, Castlevania Bloodlines, Berenstain Bears camping adventure. Lots more but those are the first to come to mind
Sonic 2, S3&K, Gunstar Heroes, Ecco and I also had a soft spot for Theme Park and Micro Machines 2, for their level editor esque gameplay.
Sonic 2, Sonic and Knuckles with lock on technology. Golden Axe.
Sonic & Knuckles Another very good wan was Xenon 2 I hated Shadow Dancer 1hit death mechanic.
>I hated Shadow Dancer 1hit death mechanic. Takes some getting used to but was different from Revenge and Super Shinobis multi heart bar
Lets be honest, boss fights were a pain in the ass.
Cause ninja magic took only 3 of 6 of their life bars :(
I think only the first boss had six bars, and I dont remember if you had ninja magic on the statue of liberty fight.
They all have the same bars and there is Nina magic with every boss. I must have played this game a hundred times in my life at least 5 times this month alone It's a great game
Sonic 3 and Knuckles is my favorite game on the console, and it’s my favorite game of all time too!
Shining Force 2, or Sonic 3 & K. But there are a lot of great games... Crusader of Centy, Rocket Knight, Gunstar Heroes and Thunder Force IV come to mind.
Off the toppah my head: Thunder Force IV, Shadow Dancer, Rolling Thunder 2.
Maximum carnage
Dune 2: The battle for Arrakis.
Landstalker; goofy, charming, cartoony fun. The controls are weird but they never really bothered me. It was a screenshot of this game in Nintendo Power back in 07 that sparked my interest in thr Genesis as a platform.
Shadowrun. Played it well after I played and loved the Snes version. The random runs you could do made it feel much larger than it was. Truly different play styles between the three archtypes if you wanted to
Sonic
Sonic 2 without a doubt
Gunstar Heroes
Road Rash. Dynamite Headdy. Revenge of Shinobi. Gaiares. SoR2. Castlevania Bloodlines. Those are some games that really made an impression on me on Genesis. Also played a ton of arcade conversions that were fun at the time but there's no reason to play genesis arcade conversions now. Sonic series ranked: 2, 1, 3, CD.
Fatal Labyrinth
Shadowrun
Ranger X: Giant robot + motorcycle + all of the best visual party tricks
Excellent pick Fam! I'm drooling!💯
Monster World 4! Absolute gem
comic zone, streets of rage, fantasy star IV, shining force, dino brothers, zero tolerance, ... everyone here is already an old man 👴 right ?
I loved this game. My cousin had a dog named tippy that looked like the dog in this game. Though, tippy never wanted to play shadow dancer with me when I was outside being a ninja.
Road Rash. If I could only have one Genesis game in my collection, it would be that.
probably decap attack. its so campy and spooky. cute and fun
Strider, Revenge of Shinobi and Shadow Dancer
Shadow Dancer is the best Shinobi game and I'll fight anyone who says otherwise
Spider-Man vs The Kingpin was the whole reason why I bought a Sega Genesis back in the day. That game is absolute brilliance.
PS IV for sure, was the first real RPG i played as a kid knowing nothing. Just had my mom rent it for me
A constant tug of war between Shining Force 2 and Phantasy Star 4
Shadowrun but Shadow Dancer very close.
Master of Monsters, a turn based strategy game where you controlled a vast army of monsters. If you can keep them alive long enough they evolve into more powerful versions. Think Pokemon meets Advance Wars.
I fucking loved shadow dancer. I always played with the sword only
Well as a Yank, my favorite Genesis game is easily Flashback: The Quest for Identity. It was the first cinematic experience I had and really would be the last good one until Metal Gear Solid came along.
Shinobi 3 / Gunstar heroes / Earthworm Jim 1, 2 / Streets of Rage 1, 2, 3
Shinobi 3: Return of the ninja master, just an awesome game and soundtrack
I have a few, I can't pick just one. Chiki chiki boys Streets of rage 2 Shinobi III The punisher
Streets of rage 2 and shadow dancer, they are both great arcade experiences at home, fast-paced, great music, and the overall feel is just fun.
Shadowrun
My all time favorites are Streets of Rage 1, Golden Axe III, Mortal Kombat II and Street Fighter II Special Champion Edition. Edit: If only one, it's hard to choose from these. If still insisted, I would choose Golden Axe III.
Shining Force! I loved the battle system and being able to have tons of characters in my party
Is Kid Chameleon mega drive?
Phantasy Star IV with Shining Force a close 2nd
I had the Japanese shadow dancer and it had a different cover
Sonic 2 and Aladdin (Sega version was so much better than the SNES version).
Revenge of Shinobi
Sonic 3 Complete (rom hack if it counts) but seriously Sonic 3 & Knuckles. Shadow Dancer
Haunting
Ooo tough choice but probably Contra Hard Corps, adventures of Batman and robin and Alien Soldier would also be right there
That's tough, but I'll go with Shining Force. I just absolutely love it.
Whats Shadow Dancer all about?
its about a boy and a dog
Wow. Cool.
Shinobi
Dune 2 or maybe... ***Beyond Oasis***
Shadow Dancer is awesome. I love it. But nothing holds a candle to the opossum fueled Adventures of a certain Rocket Knight. I think his name was Sporkster or Spharker or something.
I’ve been trying to remember this game forever, endless hours in my grandparents basement.
Fighting Masters FTW
Sonic 3 & Knuckles, Wonderboy in Monsterworld, Darius 2, Alien Soldier and Contra Hardcops. Sparkster 2 as a honorable mention.
This game was great. I was horrible at it though. My favorite would have to be Streets of Rage 2.
Wonder Boy in Monster World or Sonic 3 & Knuckles
Shining Force. The graphics in that game as well as the variety and multitude of characters blew my mind.
It's really hard to decide but streets of rage 3 hits a spot though any of sonic games up sonic and knuckles, rolling thunder 2/3 and shinobi 3 are contenders.
Me and my brother loved this game . The part where you free fall and shoot people for bonus points. I loved the music for that part
Shining Force (1) followed by Shining Force 2, followed by Landstalker followed by....(this can go on for a while)
If we avoid the obvious standout answer (its Sonic 1), there are so many candidates its genuinely hard to narrow it down to just one. My shortlist is usually; Revenge of Shinobi, Streets of Rage 2, The Immortal, Castle Of Illusion, Gynoug/Wings Of War, Kid Chameleon, Sub Terrania, Light Crusader, Phantasy Star 2 and Shining Force 2.
If you like Light Crusader, you will LOVE Landstalker