Hi everyone, and welcome to another one of my Mixtapes. In case you're not sure what a Mixtape is, here's an explanation...
A Mixtape is a playlist of a certain genre, band or era. The list is generally 80 minutes long, the same length of a blank CD, with further recommendations if some of the songs aren't to your taste. Remember kids, downloading is wrong!
The Sega Mega Drive (or Genesis if you're from the US) is one of my favourite consoles. It was the first console I ever had as my own, and it holds a very strong sentimental value. Some of the music from this 32-bit era was truly tremendous. It's amazing how much power the console had at the time, in terms of producing great tunes. The 64-bit era and beyond changed music in video games forever because they could play actual genuine music, but back when the Mega Drive was around that wasn't the case.
So I wanted to showcase my favourite songs from my favourite games from this era of video gaming. If you want to see an actual list of my 50 Favourite Mega Drive Games, simply click this link here. But as for the music, here's the playlist below, with links to each individual song!
Title Theme - Street Fighter II Championship Edition
Hey there. Welcome to the final part in my Top 50 Favourite
Mega Drive games list. Every day for the past 50 days I’ve been revealing one
game per day, in my biased opinion, my favourite games on this absolutely
amazing console. I’ve had a blast, reminiscing over these 49 amazing games. I
hope you’ve enjoyed it too, and maybe remembered some games you may have
forgotten before, or even, found new games in this list you never heard of, and
enjoy. We’re at the end now.
Here’s quick recap of my list from #50 to #2…
#50 - Columns III – 1993 - ***1/2
#49 - World Cup Italia '90 – 1990 - ***1/2
#48 - Virtua Fighter 2 – 1996 - ***1/2
#47 - Jurassic Park – 1993 - ***3/4
#46 - Road Rash III: Tour de Force – 1995 - ***3/4
#45 - FIFA International Soccer – 1993 - ***3/4
#44 - Mega Bomberman – 1994 - ***3/4
#43 - Golden Axe III – 1993 - ***3/4
#42 - Micro Machines – 1993 - ***3/4
#41 – Columns – 1990 - ***3/4
#40 - Zombies Ate My Neighbours – 1993 - ***3/4
#39 - Sylvester and Tweety in Cagey Capers – 1993 - ***3/4
#38 – Flicky – 1991 - ***3/4
#37 - Taz in Escape From Mars – 1994 - ***3/4
#36 – Aladdin – 1993 - ***3/4
#35 - Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle – 1989 - ***3/4
#34 - Sonic 3D Blast – 1996 - ****
#33 - Streets of Rage 3 – 1994 - ****
#32 - Ayrton Senna's Super Monaco GP II – 1992 - ****
#8 - Michael Jackson's Moonwalker – 1990 - ****3/4
#7 - Sonic the Hedgehog 2 – 1992 - ****3/4
#6 - Shining Force – 1992 - ****3/4
#5 - The Revenge of Shinobi – 1989 - ****3/4
#4 - Quackshot starring Donald Duck – 1991 - ****3/4
#3 - Streets of Rage 2 – 1992 - ****3/4
#2 - Sonic and Knuckles – 1994 - ****3/4
Okay then, this is it. My favourite game on the Mega Drive
is…
#1 – Gunstar Heroes
Released: 1993
Genre: Action
Rating: ****3/4 stars
Best Moment: Black’s Dice Maze. It’s just lots and lots of
fun.
Yes, my favourite Mega Drive game is Gunstar Heroes. I don’t
think any game since Gunstar Heroes has been able to compactly put so much
chaos on screen while maintaining a decent flow of entertainment. I really mean
that. This game has so much stuff going on, you shoot through hundreds and
hundreds of bad guys, but it just doesn’t get old, doesn’t get boring, and
doesn’t get stale. It’s so entertaining, and the game has a brilliant sense of
humour, awesome music and the sound quality is absolutely sublime. This game is
so exhilarating it’s incredible. It’s simply one of the most action pumped
games ever made and is a thrill to play, even 19 years later. Gunstar Heroes is
a game you simply have to experience before you die. It’s such a shame the game
isn’t acknowledged more, in comparison to other games in this list. Nothing
against those games. But Gunstar Heroes is simply one of the best games ever
made, and is my favourite game ever to be released on the Mega Drive.
Well that’s it! We’ve finished! I hope you’ve enjoyed this
list, and reminiscing over these brilliant games, games released between 1988
and 1996, the epitome of 2D gaming. I love all 50 of these games and I’m sure
there’s something in this list for everyone. If there’s any games here that
have given you some great memories, please, comment below. Is there any games
on here you’ve never played before and it being on this list made you try it?
Let me know, comment below.
If you know me personally, you know I’m a stats guy, and
here are two interesting graphs you may like.
This graph really interested me. I didn’t take into
consideration the year of each game’s release until the list was fully
complete. The year 1993 having 13 entries out of 50, that’s over a quarter of
the list, was an intriguing statistic. It makes sense though. Sonic 1 was
released in 1991, and that really set the Mega Drive off to not only compete
but to equal Nintendo at one point in the video game wars. Two years later and
game after game after game was released that were outstanding. I’m not really
surprised that most of my favourite games were released in 1993, but it’s very
interesting. If you were wondering, the earliest released game in this list is
Super Hang-On, the only game released in the year 1988, and the latest game was
Sonic 3D Blast, which was released on November 30th 1996. Nine years
of video games. Amazing.
This graph isn’t surprising at all, but it’s still cool to
see what genres were included the most. No surprise really that its action and
platformers that dominate my list. There were some awesome action games out on
the Mega Drive, and five of the 10 platformers are Sonic games. Beat ‘em ups
were high in tally inclusion as well, which isn’t surprising either as there
were some solid beat ‘em ups on the Mega Drive. I wasn’t expecting so many racing games mind, but it goes to show
that racing games were pretty good on the Mega Drive too. My favourite genre of
game is the RPG, but, as mentioned a few times, the Mega Drive really didn’t do
RPGs, hence the lack of tally in the list.
To conclude, the Mega Drive is one of the best consoles ever
made, and it’ll always have a strong place in my heart. It was my first ever
console, and it really opened my eyes to the beauty of video games. It changed
my life, quite simply. I love the Mega Drive. One day, I’d love to own all 50
of these games, preferably in Mega Drive format (bar Columns III, Golden Axe
III, Splatterhouse 3 and Gain Ground, which weren’t released on the Mega Drive
in the UK). It’s a long-term ambition, one I’ll hopefully be able to achieve
when I can afford to! Thank you so much for joining me in this countdown. I’ve
had a blast doing this list; it’s always a pleasure doing these listings. I
hope you got something out of it too. Until next time!
Hey there and welcome to my newest video game listing. I’ve
done a few large listings on this site, but not one on video games in general.
Today I start my homage to the Sega Mega Drive and its brilliance.
The Sega Mega Drive while not the first console I ever
played, was the first console I properly ever owned. I was a late comer to
games as well, only getting the Sega Mega Drive back in 1998 unbelievably. I
wasn’t that big on games until then, and even though the Mega Drive was mine
from 1998, I quickly appreciated its excellence. I may have played it later
than everyone else, but I approached each game like it was released when it was
released, because I never really dealt with games as good as those before. It
was a year later before I discovered late again, the Playstation, and moved
onto that console. But despite discovering the PS, I still played my Mega
Drive, discovered other games and appreciated them despite moving onto 3D games
with much bigger experiences. Overall the Playstation is definitely my
favourite console of all time, but the Mega Drive isn’t far behind. It truly
was a phenomenal console and deserves any praise it gets.
This is going to be a 50 day listing. Now I’ve been
reluctant to do another 50 day listing again after doing one 50 and one 100 day
listing in the past with mixed results, but I’ve decided I will make another
attempt at one. There are two reasons why I’m making this a 50 day listing; firstly
because I believe a list like this is worthy of 50 days coverage. It’s rare
that I do a 50 listing as I said; I’m reluctant to do them anymore, so I’m
going to pick and choose them wisely. This deserves it. Secondly, it’s because
of my personal situation; I’m going through a lot at the moment, just started a
new job, moved house, separated from my wife and we also have a newborn and our
near-four year old to take care of separately. I just don’t have the time to
write much at the moment, so the idea is to stretch this project forward and
hopefully make time in the 50 days to write more quality work.
Enough about that, here’s my Top 50 Favourite Mega Drive
games! Enjoy!
#50 – Columns III
Released: 1993 (2008 in the UK)
Genre: Puzzle
Rating: ***1/2
Best Moment: Nothing particularly, it’s very colourful
though. Playing against up to 4 people can be fun.
Columns III probably missed most of you, if you lived in the
UK. It was released in America and Japan, and only saw release 15 years later
in the UK when released on the Virtual Console on the Wii. But... I confess. I
played this on Emulator. And it’s really good. Is it an improvement on Columns?
Yes, overall I’d say so actually. But it lacks the nostalgia and classic touch
that the original has. I’ve never played Columns II so I can’t comment on that,
but the third game was fun, as it added a more competitive element, whilst it
looked pretty damn gorgeous for 1993 graphics as the colours stand out really
well.
#49 - World Cup Italia '90
Released: 1990
Genre: Sports
Rating: ***1/2
Best Moment: When you score, and you get the still of a man
celebrating. It’s the same man each time, just with different skin colours and
jerseys. It’s truly awful but I love it.
That’s my opinion on this game in general
actually. It’s truly awful but I love it. This game has the privilege of being
the first Mega Drive game I ever played. As I said, I got my console in 1998
and it was part of the Mega 6 collection that had much better games on it too.
All six games make this list, and this is the lowest rated of the six. This
game is pretty poor overall, but then again, in 1990 there weren’t that many
good quality football games. That would be the case for a few years yet, before
FIFA really got off the map. But it’s still playable if not a little too easy
once you know how to play properly. It still has a good place in my heart and
is fun to stick on once in a while, for giggles more than anything else.
#48 – Virtua Fighter 2
Released: 1996
Genre: Fighting
Rating: ***1/2
Best Moment: Knocking your opponent out of the ring. It can
be difficult in the later difficulties and you feel pretty good when you pull
it off.
This game was released on the new Sega Saturn
console that was the hottest thing around at the time, but because the Mega
Drive was still really popular they released a version of it on there. It was
definitely inferior, but still packed a decent punch. The Virtua Fighter series
had a lot of fans, and still does, maybe I’m rating the game too low for some
of you on this list but it’s because I’m just not that big a fan of the series.
One thing though for certain, it’s possible this game had the best graphics of
any Mega Drive game due to its very late release in the life of the console and
its actual spot on the Sega Saturn.
#47 – Jurassic Park
Released: 1993
Genre: Action
Rating: ***3/4
Best Moment: Beating the first level! Seriously, this game
was so tough, playing it for the first time good luck beating the first level,
never mind progressing far on your first go!
This game was really good, really really good.
But it was tough as nails. It’s one of the hardest games I remember ever
playing. It was fun though, and they did the Jurassic Park film justice in
honesty. The dinosaurs are tough in different ways and the game looks fantastic.
The game is definitely worth a go if you haven’t played it before. But as I’ve
said a few times, it’s a really hard game!
#46 – Road Rash 3: Tour de Force
Released: 1995
Genre: Racing
Rating: ***3/4
Best Moment: Just knocking someone off their bike. It’s a great feeling; it’s what made Road Rash stand out from other motorbike games.
The
Road Rash games were all pretty decent, although the differences
between the three released on the Mega Drive was minimal. I remember
preferring the third one the most, as they had a good selection of
weapons, looked slickest and I liked the fact that there were 7 tracks
to race on but that you only go through 5 of them, depending on how you
play the game. It gave the never changing formula a bit of diversity, as
the games barely changed from one to another.
#45 - FIFA International Soccer
Released: 1993 Genre: Sports Rating: ***3/4 Best Moment: Scoring. Scoring was awesome as you ran towards
the crowd and look at the titantron which had some cool little images put
across it. You could also make random noises on screen by pressing the buttons
on your controller.
Ah, the FIFA series. So long and illustrious. But things
didn’t start off to great for the game series. Football quite simply, wasn’t a
very good video game in the 2D eras of video game history. But FIFA was very
successful despite this, mainly because of its brand name as the governing body
of world football. FIFA International Soccer can be called FIFA 94, not that it
matters, but the subsequent FIFA games barely changed anything in the blueprint
this game had. The graphics were almost identical, the teams were only slightly
updated. I know some of you may think, “yes but the same applies to FIFA now on
a yearly basis”, but trust me, enough tweaks are made per year nowadays in
comparison to the early days. That’s why the original, FIFA International
Soccer, is the only game in this list, as it’s the original and probably the
best.
#44 – Mega Bomberman
Released: 1994
Genre: Action
Rating: ***3/4
Best Moment: Timing is impeccable in this game, and when you
time to release that bomb on that enemy and they walk into it in the most
perfect of timing, you feel so good inside.
There were games in the Bomberman series
released before this and after this but for me, this is the best one. The plot
was simple enough, the graphics were colourful and bright, and the action and
powerups were good. The enemies and bosses were fun and diverse too. But the
Bomberman series has always had its flaws, and I’ve always thought while the
concept is good, it’s nothing really mind blowing. Also you can’t help hate
yourself when you screw up and trap yourself in a corner with a bomb. Man, very
few games make you feel like worse of a fool I can tell you! But Mega Bomberman
was pretty damn good, and I’d recommend this game in the series over any other.
Mistake!
#43 – Golden Axe III
Released: 1993 (2009 in the UK)
Genre: Beat ‘em Up
Rating: ***3/4
Best Moment: Even by the third game in the series, using the
magic is still awesome and is the highlights of the game.
The third Golden Axe game also wasn’t released
in the UK, until it was put on the Sega Mega Ultimate Collection a few years
ago. Yes... I also played this on emulator... am I a bad person? Anyway...
similar to other game series in this list, Golden Axe also suffers from a lack
of change in its sequels. Once again like other game series, Golden Axe’s
trilogy is great, none of the three games are bad, but very little separates
them. Golden Axe II isn’t in this list marginally, but the third was better and
the first was the best. The best thing that GA3 did was add pathways that you
could select and continue the game down. It made the game experience that bit
more personal as you could have had a different set of levels to progress
through one play through from the next. But the core game play never changed really,
and that’s why it’s this low in the listing.
#42 – Micro Machines
Released: 1993
Genre: Racing
Rating: ***3/4
Best Moment: Nothing beats the awesome air time you get on
certain jumps in a race. It just feels awesome. Also, using the tanks and
blowing up the other tanks by shooting them down was fun as hell.
Micro Machines was a great series of games. The
toy company really did have a great formula and a great concept in the early
part of the nineties. Unfortunately technology and 3D gaming occurred and their
style of game play died because it never fit in a modern video game
environment. But the top-down view made
the games a very interesting experience. The first in the series wasn’t the
best, but the formula was there and they just improved on that later on. The
first Micro Machines game is definitely worth playing though, it’s a damn good
game.
#41 – Columns
Released: 1990
Genre: Puzzle
Rating: ***3/4
Best Moment: When playing Arcade mode and you get the big
triple diamond jewels, they could be a real life saver and if placed on a
ground tile, you get a huge points boost!
Columns is a classic game. Sure, Tetris may be
the king of puzzle games, but if you had a Sega Mega Drive I’d be almost
certain you had played Columns at least once. It’s simple concept, very iconic
music inspired by Greek mythology and two player competitive play that made the
game so popular. Sure, it’s not the most original puzzle game ever, but it was
the most approachable and popular. And it ticks all the boxes that a puzzle
game should.
