Ing's Sega Genesis/MegaDrive Discussion + Recommendations

[Emperor Ing]

This thread is where I will post on some more obscure (or not!) Sega Genesis/MegaDrive games, and give them an overview or recommendation for curious gamers on the prowl for interesting roms to try out, or carts to buy!

Also included and welcomed is a discussion in general about the Sega Genesis/MegaDrive, and its add-ons, Sega CD and (lol) the 32x.

It perhaps might be foolhardy to post this on a Nintendo-centric forum, where most users probably never had anything but an SNES growing up, and were completely indoctrinated by the console war nonsense of the 90s. This attitude might still carry on to this day.

I fully admit and declare myself to be a Nintendo kid born-and-bred. But after getting burnt out on what the current generation of gaming was offering me, I took a different path with the purchase of my Sega Saturn two years ago, and Sega Dreamcast roughly 6 months ago. Mainly, I've been exploring the side of video-gaming that had escaped me during my childhood. Why waste my time with games that don't hold any interest to me, after all?

But the topic is not about me, it's about the Sega Genesis, or MegaDrive, if you prefer. Darn cool little thing. Its fast motorola processor made it comparable to the 16bit computers of its day, which made it ideal for shootemups and action games as it could offer an arcade-like experience with little of the slow-down that characterized consolized arcade ports. The SNES, while having more technical finesse, struggled to have action-heavy games (though there are exceptions), and its oeuvre focused towards different genres to compensate. Plus, the Genesis had a kick-ass soundchip in the form of the YM2612 + SN76489 combo, with FM synthesis and PSG square waves allowing for a distinctive, organic sound and arcade-esque music with crystal-clear quality.

That fast processor (or BLAST PROCESSING, if you will) allowed us to have some mighty fine games, like your Sonic the Hedgehogs and other big games that the broskis (eg ScrewAttack, BlisteredThumbs, etc.) of the internet never bothered going past.

That's ok; I'll let them play their Madden '95s. But I like to focus on more under-the-radar type stuff that slips past everyone's attention. It's more interesting to play games I've never played before, and as well, it makes the sense of discovery more tangible and fun. So without further ado...

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You have to admire a game that has ambition.

And "ambitious" is what i'd use to describe Dahna: Megami Tanjou. (tr. "Dahna: Birth of a Goddess") JPN ONLY


That's some sweet cover art. The intro sets the tone beautifully as well.

Though the controls are not immediately intuitive, and the first stage has some questionable design choices, it's easily one of the best hack-n-slash platformers for the Genesis. Its controls are very similar to Rastan Saga, so it made it easy for me to jump in to, but new-comers will take a few deaths before it gets easier for them. Castlevania-jumping in full effect here - you'd better watch where you jump!

It makes me wish Rastan Saga had been ported to the Genesis, but I know that it could have never compared to the ground-breaking 80s arcade original.

The game throws a lot of creative ideas into it to keep things interesting - like riding a giant ogre squishing enemies, riding a horse down a mountain, or riding a griffin threw the skies and taking on winged demons... It's cool to see a game try so many things, and makes me laugh when gamers today praise something like a mounted vehicle portion as "shaking things up." LOL.

[Apothem]

I had a Genesis, Saturn and Dreamcast through the 90s but for one reason or another never got around to playing much on them. Sonic, Ecco, Nights, Lunar, Phantasy Star, perhaps a few other obscure titles I'm completely forgetting. I never favored one console over another so much as the games available on the hardware, and in that respect Nintendo and Sony usually won me over. I do miss the Dreamcast though. Those VMU's kicked ass. And now I miss Power Stone too...

[Emperor Ing]

I had a Genesis, Saturn and Dreamcast through the 90s but for one reason or another never got around to playing much on them. Sonic, Ecco, Nights, Lunar, Phantasy Star, perhaps a few other obscure titles I'm completely forgetting. I never favored one console over another so much as the games available on the hardware, and in that respect Nintendo and Sony usually won me over. I do miss the Dreamcast though. Those VMU's kicked ass. And now I miss Power Stone too...

I don't particularly find myself falling for the "SEGA brand" - it is indeed always about the games. While there are some duds, like Space Harrier and Afterburner 2 (not really as compelling as I'd thought), sega arcade games from the 80s are some really impressive beasts. The AM2 stuff running off that pseudo 3D engine still looks good... that's mainly a case of design over actual graphical processing power (though the movement in Outrun is as smooth as butter and beautiful to this day).

I'm only interested in Sega now because
A) modern gaming is 99% uninteresting to me
B) the type of games I've become drawn to are more likely to be found on the sega consoles

And yeah, I do love my dreamcast. It's practically a consolized NAOMI board, which means all the cool games of the time got dreamcast ports.

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Ever wondered what a game by GAINAX would be like? Well, you have Alisia Dragoon:


I love games that take you on real fantastic, out-of-this-world journeys. Super Metroid does this. Super Mario 3 does this. Hell, TimeSplitters does this. And by golly, so too Alisia Dragoon.

The level progression is wonderful, starting off with standard fantasy fare, and moving on to sheer awesome by level three when you get on this huge alien spaceship that comes out of FUCKING NOWHERE. Moments like those are the reason I love video-games so much.

It helps that the combat is methodical and tactical like a castlevania - it's hard and unforgiving like a castlevania, as well, though you can upgrade your character's life, strength, etc. You also have animal familiars who auto-attack and can also be upgraded, adding some variety (as some obstacles are best suited to some familiars). Boss battles are challenging, creative, and fun. Make no mistake, this game is as hard as balls and I've yet to beat it. But I want to because the game is that good.

GAINAX worked on the game, so needless to say, it animates beautifully. The music is also astoundingly good orchestral-esque music. Fans of adventure platformers owe it to themselves to try out the game.


Definitely no "Electric Slime."