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Sega Genesis/MegaDrive Appreciation Thread: Alien Storm > Golden Axe

cZqKdU8.jpg


Release date

JP October 29, 1988
NA August 14, 1989
PAL November 30, 1990

we always talk SNES around here, i couldn't find a proper genny tribute thread, so here it is! tell your stories, talk about your favorite games, etc.

I was the weird kid on the block in the late 80's with a Master System, which was great but the schoolyard battles of say Ghost House vs Castlevania were obviously not in my favor. come spring of '89 though, that all changed! A couple friends a few houses down frantically called me over to see Altered Beast, Thunder Force 2, Space Harrier 2 & i wanna say Last Battle? our 8-bit systems were home to many distant ports from the vastly superior arcade offerings, and this was one of the first times I felt I saw that gap close a bit - Tekken 3 would do it years later, and of course the Dreamcasts' Soul Calibur was the one to finish the cycle for me (a fitting end to both closing said gap & sega's hardware finale, i thought).

A year later, we'd mostly play Moonwalker until I finally got my own system with Phantasy Star 2, my first real JRPG (i still have a polaroid shot of the ending!). To this day, I've hadsome of my best co-op experiences on it, from ToeJam & Earl, Streets of Rage 1/2, Bonanza Bros and so many others - i managed to wear out several pads & an arcade stick, and i don't drop those things. Good times.

Not to indulge the aforementioned schoolyard battles too much here, but while SNES is (rightfully) cheered on here for many classics, the Genesis had more than its fair share of fantastic arcade action, JRPG, SHMUPS and many others - if you only play the many rehashed collections Sega puts out now, you'd really miss out.

On that note: what were some of your lesser-known favorites? Mine were:
  • Valis 3
  • Rolling Thunder 2 (never could find 3!) oh yeah MERCs too
  • Gunstar Heroes is kind've a given
  • General Chaos
  • MUSHA (Gaires was good there too)
  • ESWAT
  • Starflight
  • Strider was like the best thing ever
  • Castle/World of Illusion - also, the superior Aladdin (i remember Quackshot being fun too)
  • Flashback
  • Zombies ate my Neighbors (though this is cheating for me, as i had it on SNES)
  • Shadowrun
  • El Viento
  • Thunder Force III + Lightening Force
  • Battle Mania Daiginjō/Trouble Shooter 2
  • Alisia Dragoon
  • Mega Turrican
  • Punisher (Spider-Man was fun but Sega-CD had definitive version!)
  • Mutant League Football
  • The Haunting
  • Alien Storm, i'm like the only guy who liked this better than Golden Axe
  • Micro Machines (Super Off Road too!)

Useful Links:

There's a ton of good info at http://www.sega-16.com/


The cover project - Great place to find official and custom box art to use for Universal Game Cases.

Hardcore Gaming 101 - Helpful if you want to read up on well known, obscure, or new series that you may have never heard of.


finally: anyone thinking of getting a Genesis :

If you're really into getting the good sound, you want the one actually labelled "HIGH DEFINITION GRAPHICS" (it wasn't on all the Genesis 1s), and lacking copyright protection screen at the beginning. The Walkman-style headphone jack gives it great bass. Pop in SoR2.

Game of the Month Club!

March Game of the Month: The Revenge of Shinobi
April Game of the Month: Eswat
May Game of the Month: Alien Storm
June Game of the Month: Quackshot
August Game of the Month: Bio Hazzard Battle
September Game of the Month: McDonalds Treasureland Adventure
October Game of the Month: Who knows what happened here lol, dont think we had one.
November Game of the Month: Earthwork Jim
December Game of the Month: Shining in the Darkness.
January 2017 Game of the Month: Wonderboy in Monster World
Feb: Comix Zone
March: Ristar


Retro GAF Unite!



much love to megashock5 for the banner!
 

qq more

Member
The Genesis was my first console ever and definitely one of my favorites. <3 There's still classics I haven't tried on the system yet so I should look into those sometime soon. I should get Contra and Castlevania.
 

goldenpp72

Member
i always wonder how many of the games I enjoyed on this system were actually good.. Stuff like B.O.B or the chester cheetah games, etc, all experienced on the genesis :p
 

Karak

Member
Strider was my favorite game ever...until the upside down last level.
Then I cried.

Also Chakan.
 

BocoDragon

or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Realize This Assgrab is Delicious
I went down a wierd rabbit hole a few years ago researching the various Sega Genesii and their differing sound qualities.

If you're really into getting the good sound, you want the one actually labelled "HIGH DEFINITION GRAPHICS" (it wasn't on all the Genesis 1s), and lacking copyright protection screen at the beginning. The Walkman-style headphone jack gives it great bass. Pop in SoR2.
 

Slygmous

Member
My mega drive came with the best pack in ever, Jurassic Park. I only owned that and Sonic 2 for a long time, and mastered them both. Good times.

For some reason I always ignored RPGs as a child and thus I have never played one on the system to this day. Probably should fix that eventually.
 
The Genesis was my first console ever and definitely one of my favorites. <3 There's still classics I haven't tried on the system yet so I should look into those sometime soon. I should get Contra and Castlevania.

Hard Corps lives up to its name, Bloodlines is fantastic and ive no idea why it doesnt come up in Castlevania talks more often. Neither will disappoint!

i always wonder how many of the games I enjoyed on this system were actually good.. Stuff like B.O.B or the chester cheetah games, etc, all experienced on the genesis :p

oh man, when i was looking up titles for this thread, there's so very many that fit that bill for me... i even revisited a few last year just to find out, here's a few that did not age well at all in my book (versus memories of being stuck with them for weekends/months at a time of course)

  • DJ Boy
  • Jurassic Park - still cool to play as a raptor, mind you
  • Taz-Mania - looks great still though
  • Comix Zone is a mean game that hates you
  • Eternal Champions didn't survive the 90s for a reason
  • Super Hydlide is what you play when there's literally no other RPGs and you already beat Sword of Vermillion
  • Aero the Acrobat sucked
  • most licensed games that we all played like Batman Returns (and id say X-Men as well) do not stand the test of time
  • fuck i'm forgetting the others


i mean stuff like Buster Douglas Knockout Boxing and Mr. Zoom were kinda crap even in the day, but there's others im afraid to have my rose-tinted feelings on them tarnished, like say Cool Spot
 
I was an NES gamer when I went to a friends house and played Sonic The Hedgehog for the first time.....It blew my eleven year old mind.

In the space of one day, I went from playing this:

200px-NES_Super_Mario_Bros.png


To this:

MD_Sonic_the_Hedgehog.png


It was such a huge generation leap.
 
You mean spring of '89, right? Dreamcast didn't flop that hard.

ahahaha FUCK, slipped on freud there, good catch man

I had one before I started reading game magazines. All the games I bought were terrible.

yeah, see my above list! this happened to me with like 3 gens of simpsons games

I went down a wierd rabbit hole a few years ago researching the various Sega Genesii and their differing sound qualities.

If you're really into getting the good sound, you want the one actually labelled "HIGH DEFINITION GRAPHICS" (it wasn't on all the Genesis 1s), and lacking copyright protection screen at the beginning. The Walkman-style headphone jack gives it great bass. Pop in SoR2.

might just put your bit in the OP, thanks boco
 
I was an NES/SNES kid, but the Genesis has earned a well deserved place in my heart. Fortunately, a lot of my friends growing up had them, so I was still able to experience the classics when they were fresh.

What hurts me most about talking about the Genesis is knowing that my favorite games for it will never recieve the next gen sequels they deserve. :(

When I build my retro game station, I will finally own one. Looking forward to that day.
 
It's kind of funny, I actually went out and bought a Genesis so I could play the latest PGA Golf because the new one wasn't on the SNES. I know, I know. But back then I was a very casual gamer even though I had been playing them off and on since the days of Pong. But I remember going to the store and picking it up, along with that accursed golf game, coming home, and happily going on about how I had just got it. Well, money must have been tight that month because my mother started freaking out and eventually started crying because I spent so much money. I mean, I even paid for it with my own cash, I was like...wtf? I never understood that.

But anyway, I eventually got my head on straight and bought some good games. One of the highlights being Landstalker. Though to be honest there were times I wanted to throw my controller at the wall trying to make some of those jumps.

All in all, a great system. I still have that old Genesis II, though I eventually just started playing all my games on my Nomad which I got a couple of years later. I can't even tell you how many hours I sunk into Virtua Racing on that thing.
 

SeanNoonan

Member
The Streets of Rage trilogy was the reason to own a Mega Drive/Genesis, but I also have fond memories of both Herzog Zwei and Wonderboy in Monsterland.

The Immortal was also an under appreciated title. That game looked fucking amazing at the time, and that atmosphere really sucked me in.
 
Street of Rage 1/2 was better than Final Fight. Seriously.

That shit was a bigger travesty than blood in MK.

"LETS DO THIS! wait they're missing one of the guys...hey man press start already."

vpVaJyJ.jpg


YOU AND A FREAKIN BUDDY, FIGHTING SIDE BY SIDE, TAKE ON UP TO EIGHT OF THESE TOUGHS AT ONCE~
FEEL THAT BURN CAPCPOM

hey i just noticed, blaze isn't taking a single hit in that ad...that's one way around having to poison her
 

mollipen

Member
Ahh, the Genesis. I think people who say the SNES was the better 16-bit system were crazy, because I had far more fond memories of Sega's wonderful little console. The SNES was my Square RPG, Pocky & Rocky, and Harvest Moon machine—otherwise, the Genesis was the object of my adoration.

Some of the games that I loved:

Target Earth: I've never properly finished this game (aka, without the cheat code), and I probably never will. Fascinating game that constantly presents new types of gameplay and missions.

Herzog Zwei: It'll forever be a classic. Such a tense, competitive game when playing with friends.

Super Hydlide: I have no idea why I loved this game, but I did. Thinking back, with how punishing and complex it was, it was almost like a 16-bit Dark Souls.

Gaiares: Yet another example of fantastic concepts being developed. All of your special weapons were stolen from enemies, which means you had a wide array of shot types to choose from—and a huge chance of screwing yourself if you died at the wrong time.

Gauntlet IV: A totally bizarre twist on the classic Gauntlet, as it add an almost RPG-esque mode—but also as fun as it was different.

Trouble Shooters: Probably the closest I've ever come to feeling like I was playing a game based on Dirty Pair (a favorite 80's anime of mine). A side-scrolling shooter where you play as a pair of female soldiers who set out to rescue a kidnapped prince.

Rolling Thunder 2: The original Rolling Thunder was an interesting game, but the sequel took things to a whole other level. And, of course, it was a game where I could pick a female main character at a time that that wasn't always common, so that got it extra points in my book.

Romance of the Three Kingdoms II: I adored this game so much, even if I would never come anywhere close to "beating" it. Even though I'm still a fan of the series to this day, I consider RotTK2 to be my favorite (due to a mix of complexity and simplicity, and also for the nostalgia factor).

So many other games I could name (Sonic, Wonderboy in Monster World, Castle of Illusion, Landstalker, Phantasy Star II/IV), but those are the ones that instantly come to mind.
 
i always wonder how many of the games I enjoyed on this system were actually good.. Stuff like B.O.B or the chester cheetah games, etc, all experienced on the genesis :p
Oh God. That reminds me. I remember playing some Sylvester and Tweety game on the Genesis. Just played that game for hours and hours. I have absolutely no idea why. Must have been cheap and money tight. I had no effing clue what I was doing back then.
 

Ramune

Member
I went down a wierd rabbit hole a few years ago researching the various Sega Genesii and their differing sound qualities.

If you're really into getting the good sound, you want the one actually labelled "HIGH DEFINITION GRAPHICS" (it wasn't on all the Genesis 1s), and lacking copyright protection screen at the beginning. The Walkman-style headphone jack gives it great bass. Pop in SoR2.

I remember being puzzled when my Genesis lacked those features compared to my next door neighbor's. Then again, I remember really hating that two tone Genesis logo. Weird, I ALWAYS played my Genesis with headphones but never noticed any sound problems. Though I'm now researching RGB and S-Video mods so I'll probably get that HD model now.

Just some of the games I loved that were never ported or collected:

Battle Mania
Alisia Dragoon
El Viento
Herzog Zwei
Thunder Force series
Panorama Cotton
Pulseman

This thing had many iterations too. CD-X, Amstrad Mega PC, to the Pioneer Laser Active, AIWA Mega CD and the JVC X'eye/Wondermega. The system that cemented video games as my hobby, and definitely a machine that still fascinates me to this day!
 

Maximilian E.

AKA MS-Evangelist
Genesis/Megadrive, one of my all time favorite systems!!

I have crazy fond memories of NHL94..

But other classic games for me are...

*Might and Magic
*Super Monaco GP
*Quackshot
*Castle of Illusion
*Shadowrun
*Dungeons and Dragons: Warriors of the eternal sun
*Super Street figther 2 (40MEG Cart)

There are more but at the moment, I cannot remember.. :(
 

GulAtiCa

Member
Fun fact. I currently have 3 different genesis's. Lol. Mainly in my attempt to get a complete genesis-cd-32X.

Sonic 1 will always be my fav Genesis game
 
now i kinda wonder if Atomic Robo-Kid holds up

Super Hydlide: I have no idea why I loved this game, but I did. Thinking back, with how punishing and complex it was, it was almost like a 16-bit Dark Souls.

...goddammit shidoshis, i am not gonna walk back taking a dump on that game a few posts back
okay i may slowly crawl it back - as though the MC wore too heavy an armor! - but only because that nihilistic ending was kinda balls-out for the time, probably one of the meanest ones i saw from that era, next to Phantasy Star 2 and Cosmic Fantasy 2 now that i think about it

Rolling Thunder 2: The original Rolling Thunder was an interesting game, but the sequel took things to a whole other level. And, of course, it was a game where I could pick a female main character at a time that that wasn't always common, so that got it extra points in my book.

I'm always happy when stuff like Strider get talked about, but this absolute gem of an action game gets left in the cold far too often...its one of those i was dumb about and rented every weekend for like a year instead of just buying, too. Great stages (graphics & music both felt amazing to me at the time), good level of difficulty, and perhaps the single greatest password system of all time

i mean you can't beat stuff like A LOGICAL THUNDER SMASHED THE POWDER
 

@MUWANdo

Banned
Trouble Shooters: Probably the closest I've ever come to feeling like I was playing a game based on Dirty Pair (a favorite 80's anime of mine). A side-scrolling shooter where you play as a pair of female soldiers who set out to rescue a kidnapped prince.

Just so you know, there's a sequel to this game that was only released in Japan/Korea, as well as a fan translation patch that you should be able to find by googling "Trouble Shooters Vintage". It's better than the original in every way, IMO.
 

NZNova

Member
I just recently bought a Mega Drive. So far I've only got Desert Strike and Jungle Strike but they are really fun. I never owned one when they were the current generation so it's nice to putter about with it now.
 
GAF: i know a lot've you recommend SCART (or at least S-vid) for SNES, what are my best options for hooking up a genny?

God dammit. This thread is going to have me visiting ebay every 5 minutes.

aw man, i can't do it. yeah i want a bunch here too but im gonna try sticking to craigslist & garage sales fora bit, for the most part ebay doesnt jack em up nearly as high as SNES ones but it's still silly for lesser known ones, from what ive seen. again, i can get Moonwalker for like $20 in a decent case, but CL has people with a genesis + 10 games for that amount...sure, 2 of them are fucking Home Alone, but still!
 

ThreeSixty

December 16, 2009. 4:00 AM. THE LIGHT FIELD is the force. The mind. That guides. Controls.
Subscribed. One of the best consoles I've ever owned if not the best. I still have memories as a kid of being so excited to boot up Sonic 3 when that came out. It made me a diehard Sega fan for life; even selling my PlayStation 1 when all of my friends had one to switch it for a Dreamcast. Those Sonic games are still my favourite games of all-time and then you have the awesome Streets Of Rage series (love them all even Streets of Rage 3) along with some of the best side scrolling 2D platformers ever created.

I miss Sega being ontop of the console world.
 
Gynoug (Wings of Wor in some places, I think) is a really underrated SHMUP that few people know about.

Fantastic graphics and atmosphere, and check out this boss

Edit: NSFW

Check out these great horror/steampunk designs instead, lol

 

Jive Turkey

Unconfirmed Member
As a Nintendo kid I had limited exposure to the Genesis but I did have several friends with the system. One day I went to a friend's house and he and another kid were playing an incredibly cool looking game. It was like nothing I had ever seen before. I asked what they were playing and they answered "Here's Og's Wii". It took me twenty years to figure it out.
 

Ramune

Member
Just so you know, there's a sequel to this game that was only released in Japan/Korea, as well as a fan translation patch that you should be able to find by googling "Trouble Shooters Vintage". It's better than the original in every way, IMO.

Yeah, Battle Mania Daiginjou. How I want this game, and an it's expensive, but really, I've thrown money at similarly priced items without scoffing. Hell, I played Panorama Cotton via emulator only to later scour eBay to acquire a physical copy. And that game wasn't cheap either. Always did regret missing out on the mug on an auction a few days later. :(
 

luka

Loves Robotech S1
My megadrive died of unknown causes about 15 years ago. These days I would have cracked it open and tried to salvage it myself, but being a young'un it pretty much went right into the trash. :(

It's currently the only Sega console I haven't repurchased yet, but it's next on the list (when the urge to invest in yet another old console strikes, and space allows). I already have a hit list of carts I will be hunting down first when I do. I need to get my Thunder Force on.
 

kpjolee

Member
I came to US in 1994 and immediately asked my parents to get me Genesis and SNES. (I sold my Megadrive and Super Famicom back in Korea, as friends told me they will not work with American Games) I looked at whole freaking gaming section at Walmart to find BareKnuckle 2 and could not find it. Well, it didn't take me that long to figure out that Streets of Rage 2 was the damn same game.
Hell, I learned everything about Football by playing Madden 93 for Genesis.
 

Dice

Member
I only owned a Genesis for like a week before we switched it for an SNES. I don't regret that, but I did manage to play more Genesis at my friends house other than that week with Sonic 2. I remember the other Sonic games, X-Men, Comix Zone, Alex Kidd, Vectorman, Eternal Champions, Aladdin, Streets of Rage, Ecco the Dolphin, Toejam & Earl, Golden Axe, Mortal Kombat 2, Altered Beast, NBA Jam, Earthworm Jim, Afterburner... probably more. I was okay with my more casual connection to it but now I remember it fondly, and I'm sure owning a Dreamcast really helped that.

Here is something though: I remember Sonic 3D Blast but the Genesis version is all I can find now and I swear it's shittier than my memories. Was there a superior Sega CD or 32X version?
 

Ramune

Member
BTW, how are the official cordless controllers? I've been having a hankering on acquiring a pair these past few months, but never see anyone bring them up. If there's one thing this console generation definitely spoiled me on, it's having things be wireless.
 
I only owned a Genesis for like a week before we switched it for an SNES. I don't regret that, but I did manage to play more Genesis at my friends house other than that week with Sonic 2. I remember the other Sonic games, X-Men, Comix Zone, Alex Kidd, Vectorman, Eternal Champions, Aladdin, Streets of Rage, Ecco the Dolphin, Toejam & Earl, Golden Axe, Mortal Kombat 2, Altered Beast, NBA Jam, Earthworm Jim, Afterburner... probably more. I was okay with my more casual connection to it but now I remember it fondly, and I'm sure owning a Dreamcast really helped that.

Here is something though: I remember Sonic 3D Blast but the Genesis version is all I can find now and I swear it's shittier than my memories. Was there a superior Sega CD or 32X version?

There was a version for the Sega Saturn.
 

Ramune

Member
I only owned a Genesis for like a week before we switched it for an SNES. I don't regret that, but I did manage to play more Genesis at my friends house other than that week with Sonic 2. I remember the other Sonic games, X-Men, Comix Zone, Alex Kidd, Vectorman, Eternal Champions, Aladdin, Streets of Rage, Ecco the Dolphin, Toejam & Earl, Golden Axe, Mortal Kombat 2, Altered Beast, NBA Jam, Earthworm Jim, Afterburner... probably more. I was okay with my more casual connection to it but now I remember it fondly, and I'm sure owning a Dreamcast really helped that.

Here is something though: I remember Sonic 3D Blast but the Genesis version is all I can find now and I swear it's shittier than my memories. Was there a superior Sega CD or 32X version?

It was also released on the Sega Saturn and PC. Had redbook audio by Richard Jacques, and it's special stages were structured to be more like Sonic 2's with Full 3D graphics (exclusive to the Saturn version). PC version was similar to the Saturn version, but it's Special Stages were much different(at the 1:01 mark).
 

Gustav

Banned
My favorite console of all time. And yes, OP you need to play Shadowrun. It's awesome. I played it years later through emulation (no official release here in Germany) and was blown away by how much better it is compared to the already very good SNES game.

My favorites:

Toejam & Earl
Road Rash II
Sonic I & II
Streets of Rage II
WWF Royal Rumble
Shadowrun
Super Hang On
Flashback
NBA Jam
Another World (Out of this world)
Micro Machines 2
Mega Bomberman
Sensible Soccer
Strider
Super Off-Road
 

Seik

Banned
Great thread, Irish! :D

It reminds me that I still need a copy of M.U.S.H.A. though... D:

Wonderful console, loads of great games, Sonic, Streets of Rage, Ristar, Gunstar Heroes, Lightening Force, Contra Hard Corps, Castlevania Bloodline, etc. So much potential!
 

mao2

Member
My bro and I started gaming with the Genesis (Mega Drive over here), and we would play the hell out of Streets of Rage & SOR2, often ending up in arguments LOL. We also enjoyed Gunstar Heroes, Golden Axe, Thunder Force III & TFIV, Sonic, DecapAttack and many other games that our friends brought over. Unfortunately, our time spent with the Genesis became less and less when the SNES arrived.

As for lesser-known favourites, there's this game called Two Crude Dudes which I thought was pretty fun. The visuals and sound effects were hilarious, and I loved the fact that the main characters could pick up all sorts of objects, including enemies and partner, and simply throw them at other enemies.

Street of Rage 1/2 was better than Final Fight. Seriously.
Yep.
 

Trickytoon

Neo Member
First console and my first experience of importing hardware and software from Japan, whilst the 8 bit generation got me hooked on games it was the Megadrive that sealed the deal. Castle of illusion was the first title me and my friends saw in motion and it blew our mind, so much so that before any of us got consoles my friend taped himself playing through the game and lent it to us - streaming old school style. The ultimate social gaming platform of the time too with so many good multiplayer games like SoR, NHL 94, the first FIFA.
 
I only owned a Genesis for like a week before we switched it for an SNES. I don't regret that, but I did manage to play more Genesis at my friends house other than that week with Sonic 2. I remember the other Sonic games, X-Men, Comix Zone, Alex Kidd, Vectorman, Eternal Champions, Aladdin, Streets of Rage, Ecco the Dolphin, Toejam & Earl, Golden Axe, Mortal Kombat 2, Altered Beast, NBA Jam, Earthworm Jim, Afterburner... probably more. I was okay with my more casual connection to it but now I remember it fondly, and I'm sure owning a Dreamcast really helped that.

Here is something though: I remember Sonic 3D Blast but the Genesis version is all I can find now and I swear it's shittier than my memories. Was there a superior Sega CD or 32X version?

Man, Eternal Champions had the best fatalities

larcen_sudden.gif


senator_sudden.gif


jetta_sudden.gif


Unfortunately, I can't seem to find a gif for Dawson's Tree Spike fatality, probably the most gruesome ever.
 
Pirates! Gold is another hidden gem, probably the best version of Pirates! out there, since it's far more accessible than the others.

Some other games of which I have fond memories:
- Bonanza Brothers
- Desert/Jungle Strike
- Earthworm Jim
- General Chaos
- Hard Drivin'
- Moonwalker
- Outrunners
- Quack Shot
- Road Rash II
- Shadowrun
- Skitchin'
- Sonic 3/Sonic & Knuckles
- Street Fighter II': Special Champion Edition
- Streets of Rage II
- Taz-Mania
- X-Men
 
Streets of Rage 2, Sonic 2, Sonic 3, Sonic & Knuckles. I poured hours upon hours into those games. All the OSTs are burned into my brain, but the SoR2 one especially is an all time classic that I still listen to to this very day.
 

I'M FINISHED!

Um exCUSE me Sakurai but CLEARLY the best choice for Smash Bros would be my fav niche character HOWEVER you are clearly INCOMPETENT and
Castlevania: Bloodlines is top shelf.
 

Satchel

Banned
Sonic The Hedgehog and Streets of Rage turned me into a hardcore Sega fanboy, and were a big part of the gamer I am today.

Wil forever love my Megadrive.
 
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