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The 27 Best Sega Genesis Games

Midway Games

If you were the right age when the Sega Genesis was released way back in 1989 (in North America at least), you just might believe that it’s the best games console that’s ever been released. Some of that is certainly nostalgia, but the Sega Genesis is definitely in the conversation for bringing gamers some of the best moments in the past few decades. It brought us arguably one of the best video game characters of all time in Sonic The Hedgehog and arguably the best gaming controller of all time with its six buttons.

If you’d like to take a trip down memory lane for some nostalgia or you’d like to learn a little bit about gaming back in the day, we’ve compiled a list of some of the best Sega Genesis games. Check out our list of the 27 games below and let us know if you think we missed anything important.

1. Altered Beast

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Nintendo Fandom

Set in Ancient Greece, you take on the role of a charcter who has been chosen by Zeus to rescue his daughter Athena from Neff. To do this, you have the ability to turn into a dragon, a bear, a tiger, a wolf and a golden wolf, keeping the combat exciting.

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2. Castlevania: Bloodlines

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3. Comix Zone

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4. Disney’s Aladdin

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5. Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine

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A Gamer's Cheat Code Fandom

There’s definitely a plot to this game about Dr. Robotnik turns residents of Beanville into robots, but you don’t need to know anything about it to enjoy this one. It’s a similar play style to Tetris and just like a lot of games from that era, it’s notoriously difficult.

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6. Earthworm Jim

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7. Ecco The Dolphin

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MobyGames

The concept for this game is one of the whackiest we can think of. You play as the title character, Ecco The Dolphin, who uses a time machine to go back 55 million years to try to save his fellow dolphins. Combat takes place in the ocean and on a spaceship, of course.

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8. Ghouls ‘N Ghosts

8
Retro Gamer Junction

In Ghouls ‘N Ghosts (the sequel to Ghosts ‘N Goblins), you control Knight Arthur whose love interest Princess Prin Prin is captured by a winged Satan. Your goal is to get to the castle where she is being kept to get her back. 

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9. Golden Axe

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10. Gunstar Heroes

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11. Jurassic Park

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12. Mortal Kombat

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13. Madden NFL ‘94

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14. Ms. Pac-Man

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MobyGames

Ms. Pac-Man was the only Pac-Man arcade game that made its way onto the Genesis. It was the first sequel to the original Pac-Man but established itself with some key differences like new sound effects, new music and different animations.

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15. MUSHA

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16. NBA Jam

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17. Phantasy Star IV: The End Of The Milennium

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18. Pulseman

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MobyGames

Before they developed Pokémon, Game Freak had Pulseman. He was a cyborg with electrical powers who had to manoeuvre his way through multiple stages with a boss fight at the end of each one. If you liked MegaMan, this is in a similar lane.

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19. Shadowrun

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MobyGames

A video game made after a tabletop RPG, Shadowrun (especially for the Genesis) is considered a pioneer in the cyberpunk genre. It has an open style of gameplay and a karma system which is basically its own version of XP.

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20. Shining Force II

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21. Shinobi III: Return Of The Ninja Master

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22. Sonic 3 & Knuckles

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23. Sonic The Hedgehog

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Sonic News Network Fandom

This game will always be a classic because it introduced Sonic to us. Sega felt they needed a character to compete with Nintendo’s Mario and a hedgehog was born. A fun fact is that Sonic’s shoes were inspired by Michael Jackson and Santa Claus. This game helped establish Sega outside of their arcade success and the Genesis as a key console. Its sequel could have easily made this list too.

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24. Streets Of Rage 2

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25. Strider

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26. Super Street Fighter II

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27. VectorMan

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