Building a library of essential games

[madcrow]

Thanks for the hints. Some of the games recommended aren't exactly cheap or common in the US market, but I'm certainly getting some ideas.

[Alianger]

This racketboy article should be of some use, despite its age:
http://www.racketboy.com/retro/cheap...egadrive-games

[Orchid87]

Must haves are:
Every game made by Sega's internal studious themselves, including games by Climax
Every game made by Treasure
Every game made by Konami
Thunder Force series
Strike series by EA. Road Rash if you can stand choppy framerate. Other EA games are mostly crap
Sub Terrania and Red Zone

Most arcade ports are not worth getting today. Exceptions are Golden Axe and Alien Storm - they're awesome.

[Modelboard4]

After wanting one for over twenty years, I finally went out and bought a Sega Genesis. It's a Model 2 unit and its quite clean and works fine. The problem now turns to getting games. I'd ideally like to set this up in the video game area of a local SF convention that I volunteer with, so fast action and two-player games are my biggest area of interest. I already have Sonic 2, NBA Jam and SF2 CE (picked because those were my favorite games as a kid playing on my friends' Genesis) and I'm eyeing Road Rash II, SoR 2 and one or two Sega acrade classics like OutRun or Super Hang-on. What else would people recommend that's fun, common and cheap?

fifa or International superstar soccer

strider 2 if you want a laugh

[Orchid87]

fifa or International superstar soccer

strider 2 if you want a laugh

Not sure if old sports videogames are relevant unless it's something unique, like Kunio-Kun games or Captain Tsubasa.

[Drclaw411]

I actually highly recommend the Fix it Felix Jr homebrew. It's quite addicting.

[IrishNinja]

Strider Returns is so not Strider 2

also read everyone's lists, then go buy Zombies Ate My Neighbors

[knicksfan89]

get the entire sonic series, and then el viento and valis iii and I guarantee you will be happy

[SpaceHarrier]

Most arcade ports are not worth getting today. Exceptions are Golden Axe and Alien Storm - they're awesome.

There are MANY more Mega Drive & also Mega-CD & 32X Arcade ports which are totally worth playing today even with the possibilty to also play the originals :
- Slap Fight MD (Except the forced yoko display it's an A-MA-ZING port which incl. the original + a remixed 2nd game (which comes with an exclusive soundtrack by Yuzo Koshiro) + tons of great options (& some cool hidden ones). One of my fav' games on the system! <3)
- Chelnov (Redesigned game with prettier visuals + higher-res)
- Dangerous Seed (Less brutal game & some things are missing but 4 exclusive stages + better music IMO)
- Marvel Land (More levels + better hitbox)
- Rolling Thunder 2 (A lot of stuff has been added here too : cutscenes; stages; etc... Also, while the MD version isn't fullscreen anymore with the appariton of an HUD bar, it runs in higher-res than the original which in the end is better considering the hori scrolling)
- Gauntlet (Fantastic port with some new modes + superb music by Hitoshi Sakimoto)
I have a lot more examples but i let you discover (Or remember?) some of them

I also think that retro sport games, whether realistic or not, are still totally worth playing today like the NHL or Sensible Soccer serie; Speedball 2; ISS Deluxe; Super Baseball 2020; etc...

Timeless games right here =)

[OverDrone]

Agree with Space Harrier all the way. I'll add that Zero Wing and Snow Bros have vastly superior music on the MD for example, so does Strider, Darwin 4081 has more tracks than the arcade, Hellfire has changes that many would argue are for the better etc.

YMMV but I enjoy the aspects that have been improved on in a lot of the ports.

[EmperorIng]

Darwin and Hellfire are not very good games though, even if they are improved over their arcade counterparts.

No one should recommend Batman and Robin under any circumstance. Yeah, cool music and graphics, but the horrifically slow and boring shmup level is enough to kill anyone's enthusiasm. You are better off with Contra.

A lot of the games being recommended in this topic are not very good. You can trust this post, however.

Genesis cheap must-haves:

Thunder Force 2

Forgotten Worlds

Bio Hazard Battle

Kid Chameleon

Revenge of Shinobi

Shinobi III

Ranger X

Rolling Thunder 2/3 (3 is better)

Burning Force

Marvel Land

If you can find it cheap, Chiki Chiki Boys is one of the best. Great fun!

[knicksfan89]

Darwin and Hellfire are not very good games though, even if they are improved over their arcade counterparts.

No one should recommend Batman and Robin under any circumstance. Yeah, cool music and graphics, but the horrifically slow and boring shmup level is enough to kill anyone's enthusiasm. You are better off with Contra.

A lot of the games being recommended in this topic are not very good. You can trust this post, however.

Genesis cheap must-haves:

Thunder Force 2

Forgotten Worlds

Bio Hazard Battle

Kid Chameleon

Revenge of Shinobi

Shinobi III

Ranger X

Rolling Thunder 2/3 (3 is better)

If you can find it cheap, Chiki Chiki Boys is one of the best. Great fun!

I agree with all of those titles and I think my recommendations are classic titles, I mean everybody must play the sonic series once in their lifetimes

[SpaceHarrier]

I'll add that Zero Wing and Snow Bros have vastly superior music on the MD for example, so does Strider, Darwin 4081 has more tracks than the arcade, Hellfire has changes that many would argue are for the better etc.

Some great examples here too 8)
Hellfire what a great shooter! Maniac, addictive stuff. & the Mega Drive port adds some cool things like the changing colors depending of the shot selected or the Hellfire weapon. Great port, better than the PC Engine CD one which, even if it has an always welcome 2 players mode & some nice new music, lacks the improvements of the Mega Drive port + lacks the parallax & has some awful SFX.

Zero Wing too is awesome on Mega Drive (Japanese version for me, thanx!). Great music; great level-design; cool visuals with a lovely retro-SF touch + an exclusive secret weapon. & here too (In fact it's the case with all Toaplan games available on both systems) the Mega Drive port is better than the PC Engine CD one since the latter lacks parallax + has poor graphics in places + has new but averag music & which don't fit well the game + has no options menu & doesn't even loop. OK it has an additional stage but it's not especially good & the new boss that goes along with is totally bland & it also has a new final boss but 1° one of its two patterns is the same as the one of the 1st boss = cheap & 2° it is too easy.

Snow Bros., another Toaplan game <3 (one of my fav' VG developper), is perfect on the Mega Drive with tons of stuff added. In fact it's the best version ever =)

Strider on the Mega Drive is another excellent SEGA reprogrammed game™ port. & compared to the PC Engine Arcade Card CD port which came out 4 years later? Well... LOL? Its only good aspects are the added cutscenes + its soundtrack. Even the new stage is totally bland...

As for Darwin 4081, i've only played a very short session of some months ago. The PU system seemed interesting & the oldskool mood of the game too. & i never played Super Real Darwin, its Arcade counterpart, so i dunno about the music but glad to hear the Mega Drive port having more tracks!

[Just Silver]

Definitely the 6 pak for starters

[Bottino]

* Says that Hellfire and Batman & Robin aren't good *

* Recommends Kid Chameleon *

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THE HORROR