Sega Genesis. Now with Whiskey.

I recently picked up an XRGB Mini "Framemeister" to upscale the picture of my classic gaming consoles so they don't look like complete shit on an HD TV. It was a little pricey but the picture looks goddamn amazing and it even adds scan lines.

This rekindled my love for the 16 bit era and I've been letting my kids play around with Super Mario World on the SNES lately because they're finally old enough for a few video games and Mario is tame enough to get the wife's stamp of approval. They've been having a blast but last night i pulled the Sega Genesis out of storage and fired up Sonic the Hedgehog and the look in my son's eye as soon as he saw Sonic take that first loop told it all. Mario is dead to him. There is only Sonic.

I'd forgotten how good the Genesis was and, with the help of some good bourbon, ended up pulling an all-nighter filed with great games and the painful realization that I now suck at all of them. Here's what I played:

Streets of Rage 2: Holy shit! Still a really fun beat-em-up. Good variety, great controls. Beating the piss out of those dominatrix chicks with the whips is still satisfying.
Gunstar Heroes: Probably the best shooter on the system, maybe of the 16 bit era. Complete chaos. I felt like I was insane.
Contra Hard Corp: Incredible set-pieces and really creative boss battles but it's unreasonably fucking difficult. Although getting to play as a werewolf with sunglasses offsets this a bit.
Shinobi III Revenge of the Ninja Master: One of my favorite games on the system. Fun mix of combat and platforming with the right amount of challenge. Also surfing ninjas.
Earthworm Jim: Incredible graphics and sound. I forgot what the system was capable of in the right hands. Only the Genesis could make music like that.
NHL Hockey '94: Probably my favorite sports game ever and I don't even particularly like hockey. You always feel completely in control of your players and their actions. Playing with no penalties is the only way to go. Too bad they removed the fighting...
Shining Force II: My favorite game on the system. Amazing SRPG. Just started a new game, I'm hoping it still lives up. So far, so good...

Seriously, Gunstar Heroes. One of the best games of the era. Treasure also did another great Genesis title, Alien Solider- it's nuts. The levels are like two minutes long and then there's a boss fight. So it's pretty much all boss fights.

Strider was one of the best...I remember the big deal was that it was an 8 MEG CARTRIDGE.

Hard Corps, man...that game was BALLS ASS hard.

You guys listening to Retro State of Mind podcast? They're about to start doing Sega games.

S.

I loved my genesis. I don't know how many times I beat Golden Axe.

Streets of Rage 2 was probably my favorite game on the system.

I'm primarily a retro gamer at this point. I'd much rather revisit classics from my youth or find some undiscovered gem that I never knew about it. The Genesis is great if you like offbeat stuff. Sure it can't go toe to toe with the SNES's RPGs or the polish of games like Super Metroid or a Link to the Past. But it's got fucking Mutant League Football. It's home to a really terrific library of games that you can't find anywhere else. For shooter fans the system is a haven with games like Thunderforce III. Gaires, Gunstar Heroes, Contra Hard Corps, Elemental Master, Sagaia, and many more. Toss in the quirky titles from EA (of all companies) like Haunting: Starring Polterguy and General Chaos...man I love the Genesis. It's such a shame that SEGA squandered everything with the SEGA CD, 32X and Saturn (I love the Saturn though). By the time they hit it out of the park with the Dreamcast it was all over.

My wife recently picked up a Retron 5 for my birthday and that thing kicks all sorts of ass. Yeah there has been some negative buzz and press...but when you see that amazing picture and sound quality...damn. It's nice to be able to play all my old stuff on the HDTV and have it look pristine. No complaints from me about that glorious little device.

Michael Barnes wrote:
Strider was one of the best...I remember the big deal was that it was an 8 MEG CARTRIDGE.

YES! Strider was brilliant. I love the oversized sprites.

Played a few more last night:

Castlevania Bloodlines: 2nd best Castlevania game behind Symphony of the Night. The level designs are genius.
Lightening Force: Good god this game is un-fucking-forgiving. Gorgeous bullet-hell shooter that still completely owns me every time.
Batman and Robin: Technically amazing. Hard. As. Fuck.

Agreed. Good to hear about the Retron, I wondered how that turned out.

I love these old games that just kick your ass. There's no handholding or walking you through some interactive movie disguised as a game bullshit. The only story most of these games had was the one you had to tell your mom about why you threw the controller through the TV because the game you got from Santa was too goddamn hard.