20 best Sega Mega Drive / Genesis games of all time, ranked
All the best 16-bit 90s memories.
The Mega Drive. The Genesis. Whatever you called it, it was a plastic chunk of brilliance, arguably the finest machine Sega ever stuck its name on (sorry, Dreamcast).
While it lived in the shadow of the SNES for much of its life, a fine roster of games kept the console competitive - and 25 years on, many of them still shine as beacons of gaming brilliance.
From hard-as-nails brawlers to blisteringly quick platformers, these are the finest games we ever played on the Mega Drive system.
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20. Ecco The Dolphin
If we told you we'd played an awesome game about a dolphin that was given a quest to travel back in time using a machine built by the Atlanteans in order to restore order to the ocean, you'd probably ask us to move to another seat on the bus.
Yet it's this ridiculous story, but the inventive game scenarios that spring from it made Ecco one of the most enjoyable games of the Mega Drive. And that final boss fight against something out of Alien still haunts us.
Best fact: The game's designer Ed Annunziata was so worried about kids being able to rent the game and beat it in a weekend that he purposefully made it harder than it needed to be. The bastard.
19. BattleToads
The only excuse you have for not having played Battletoads is being born after 1991 (it was originally a NES game, before receiving a superb Mega Drive port in 1993).
The scrolling brawler adventure starred three battle-hardened toads (Rash, Zitz, and Pimple), tasked with rescuing Princess Angelica after she's kidnapped by the Dark Queen. The game was hard as nails, with the Mega Drive version proving only a smidgen easier due to players getting a larger number of lives - which made the hoverbike sequence of the game nearly manageable.
Best fact: In addition to the NES and Mega Drive version of Battletoads, Rare (yes, the English bunch behind the N64's GoldenEye) also made an arcade version that was insanely violent.
18. Rocket Knight Adventures
A platforming hero who never got the same level of fame as Mario or Sonic, Sparkster was a rocketeering opossum (it's a marsupial, look it up), who must destroy a powerful ship known as the Pig Star, and its evil emperor intent on destroying the kingdom. Sort of like Star Wars, but with animals.
Best fact: Despite Rocket Knight Adventures gaining high praise from critics - with many drawing comparisons to Sega's famed hedgehog - the game and its two sequels never found mainstream success. If you're a keen retro gamer with an interest in platformers, we urge you to dig up this lost gem.
17. Phantasy Star IV: The End Of The Millennium
No, they never worked out how to spell 'fantasy', but that didn't stop this JRPG (the J stands for Japan) from being any less excellent. A turn-based battler, the story took place on the once-lush world of Motavia, now crumbling and filled with biomonsters. As Chaz Ashley, you set out to kill bugs, build a team of badasses and take down the sinister character known as Zio. It was massive, with a storyline that meandered all over the place in satisfying style.
Best fact: Hit by a sudden urge to throw yourself back into PS IV? You can find it on Steam even now.
16. Contra: Hard Corps
And you thought Call of Duty indulged in a few OTT set pieces?
We're going to stick out our necks and say Hard Corps is the pinnacle of the Contra series, such was the frequency of its lavish boss battles, animated in stunning style. The multi-path choice system also blew our nineties minds.
Best fact: See that wolf guy in the screen shot? He's called Brad Fang - a cyborg with a gatling gun for an arm. He is the best video game character ever.