The Best (and Worst) SEGA Genesis Games of 1994

[@JohnRiggs]

The SEGA Genesis Games of 1993 kzbin.info/www/bejne/o4SzpoaNjpaNl5I

[@m.3.3.w]

Love the outtakes! *giggles* Keep it up!

[@MarksYoutube1]

Christmas 94 was when I got my Sega Genesis came with sonic 2 and I got sonic 3 it was my first console and started my love of gaming. I was 5

[@mrfitz2727]

I have pretty much an identical story. I was five at well and I vividly remember that Christmas morning and getting sonic and shortly after super street fighter two and being obsessed with it. Great times

[@fan0000]

I was not much older than you and I think I had my Sega Genesis for my birthday that year not Christmas I agree though great memories

[@chaseman94]

Me too when I was 16. I got mine with Sonic 2, Sonic 3 , and Sonic and Knuckles then 2 days later I also got Contra Hard Corps.

[@jeffro9252]

Better late than never I guess

[@SoulforSale]

You kids are so cute 😊

[@Sideways02]

Sonic 3 + Knuckles is probably one of my favorite Genesis titles. Sonic 2 was the first game I got with my Genesis back in the day so fond memories there. Hope you had a good time at RGC, I sure did.

[@MrStrangermoon]

you shuld try sparkster md only game come closer quality and long as s3&knucles experience. But should played hard to full levels. Like s3&knucles diamonds and supersonic to see final level same you need to collect 6 swords become golden sparkster to see true ending. Musical score also close. There is pyramid level and bad guys air ship level smilar but sparkster those level much complex. Also like knucles rival character axel on sparkster.

[@Canadas_Very_Own]

One can never bash Pit Fighter enough.

[@48hourrecordsteam45]

One of the Worse

[@RemoWilliams1227]

Indeed, the control was the hottest of garbage.

SNES version was worse!

[@Adamtendo_player_1]

Pit Fighter isn’t that bad and I’ve played worse games than Pit Fighter.

[@bianodias2000]

I had lots of fun with both Genesis and Arcade. Before SF II era.

[@williamburrows6215]

It's silly but I love learning about 1994 video games; it's the year I joined this world and so cool to play games from that year in particular 😊

[@48hourrecordsteam45]

It was wonderful .! Life was simpler & gaming was an adventure because the foundations and blueprints was being created here

[@RemoWilliams1227]

I'm a 1979 original but my brother in law is your age and one of my favorite people. Oh and 94 was a good year to be a teenager for the most part.

[@joeyfarris2543]

Columns 2 was an arcade game only

[@RemoWilliams1227]

Today I learned

[@TSA_Nobi]

​@@RemoWilliams1227imagine the wealth of knowledge you will gain tomorrow

[@TheHoodeadGamer]

I don't think we will see a new Skitchin' game soon; holding on too the back of a car is just too radikal for the kids today.

[@BlackMoore82]

Columns II: The Voyage Through Time was a Japan only release. North America didn’t get it until 2019 on the Switch.

[@Ruudos]

04:25 That's false. You can win the Mech battle and if you do you get one of the seven secret swords.

[@RetroJedi9]

Dude the opening 'mech battle' in Sparkster is definitely winnable.

[@TumoFiji]

4:31 - "Rocket Knight Adventures" - upward inflection - Whaaaat!?! - IYKYK

[@grgmj1980]

Columns 2 was an Arcade game, use to play it in a Pizza Hut back in ‘93

[@goranisacson2502]

All these games, all these classics... amd yet Rocket Knight Adventures is the one that sticks in my mind. Juat can't forget that heroic opposum and what it felt like to Rocket-boost your way around, so few other games played like that which really made it stand out.

[@GamingManual]

I got my Genesis Model 2 for my 6th birthday in 1994. Aladdin and Super Wrestlemania were my two first games, but then I quickly got others like Lion King, Toe Jam and Earl, Streets of Rage 1-3, Mortal Kombat 1-3, etc. Awesome vid!

[@genkigirl4859]

I had a 6 button controller for genesis just for street fighter

[@Max-ui7yf]

First off, as a fan of the Saints Row games I love your user name and image. Second, I remember having a Capcom 6 button controller that I got specifically for Street Fighter on the Genesis. It was weird looking, and the left side had what was basically a handle to hold onto it. I think it was something they even promoted in the instruction manual for one of the Street Fighter games.

[@genkigirl4859]

@@Max-ui7yf love saints row All I remember about the controller is it looked like a normal genesis controller but it had 6 buttons on the front and I had to replace it twice cuz it was kinda cheap🤷‍♀️

[@slanderman3296]

Mk for me

[@genkigirl4859]

@ yup used it for that too

[@danbauer3669]

Contra Hard Corps is in my Genesis right now. I played it the other day with the Power Clutch SG Arcade Stick!

[@RemoWilliams1227]

Well that's awesome! I just love this community sometimes, lots of positive people just loving games (I know there are exceptions but I find a lot of awesome people). I've been playing the different Contras on Mister and Hard Corps is indeed hard 😂.

[@KathyMcIntyre32575TG]

Shadowrun on the Genesis was one of my favorite games growing up.

[@zajicapp]

Bloodlines is my favorite Castlevania

[@mkultrapolis]

Sonic 3 was a bit late for my early teenage year.

[@HarriHaffi]

Outrunners is nice. Travel all over the world with your car. So realistic

[@joshjohnson6891]

Mode B in Double Dragon, at least for the NES is underappreciated. A one on one fighting mode with larger, detailed sprites. It was far from a perfect fighter, but it tends to get ignored for its attempt of helping lay the ground work for the better well known fighter games today. The game as a whole is still a beat-em-up, but that particular mode tends to go unnoticed when people discuss Double Dragon.

[@broncosbreaks]

Dune: the battle for arrakis is one of my childhood faves! It’s the only game I ever saw my dad play. RIP pops!

[@48hourrecordsteam45]

We’re drowning without sega genesis content . Save us 🫨

[@OldNicksta]

6:05 “Skatin’ + Hitchin’ = Skitchin’… It’s Bitchin’ “

[@MotherKojiro]

I'm 100% with you on Sonic 2 vs. 3, and beyond just the general presentation of it, I think the reason is that 2 has the best zones. Hydro City and Icecap were pretty cool, sure, and I love Mushroom Hill, if you want to throw in the & Knuckles content, but 2 had Chemical Plant, Aquatic Ruin (love staring deep into the unending darkness of those underwater sections), Mystic Cave, Oil Ocean, Metropolis, and even Hilltop was pretty cool and unique.

[@JustinWhangYt]

Dune 2 was the first rts I ever played and it ruled

[@jonathanpayne7703]

Warcraft on PC for me, I'm sad I missed out on Dune 2 back in the 90's. What a great game! Love your videos, Justin.

[@TheLastLineLive]

Fun fact about Sonic and Knuckles: it even worked on the Sonic 1 cartridge, though for that specifically it just allowed you to go straight to playing the minigame for Sonic 1.

[@superdave3093]

Dude!! Richard Scarry?! Best book as a kid was Cars and Trucks and things that Go! Loved that deep cut Riggs! 😂👊

[@darktetsuya]

some great stuff for 1994! we started collecting genesis stuff and I already picked up sonic 3 and MKII. (& knuckles is next on my radar here in the near future though.) Super SF2 is definitely next and my first time playing in the arcade, I picked cammy and just dominated on my first credit, haha.

[@RockyP77]

The sonic games after sonic 2 just got too busy in my opinion and it was too hard to keep tracknof whats going on. (Except Sonic 3D... I love that game too)

[@JustinLeeper]

Skitchin’ was the first game I remember playing where I sat there and listened to the soundtrack. Just the right amount of Sega sound-chip crunchiness.

[@audrisampson]

My 1994 in gaming was NBA Jam lol.

[@CarlDelinden]

I love these uploads. Very informative! A fine way to begin the day with a dose of games I may or may not play! Yeheee!

[@manuginobilisbaldspot2]

Columns II was a Japan only arcade release. I looked that up way back since I had Columns and Columns III on my Genesis as a teen.

[@MCastleberry1980]

I kind of had the same response to Sonic 3. No idea why it didn't grab me like the first two .

[@danbauer3669]

Maybe Super Columns on Game Gear is considered Columns 2. BTW 2 player Super Columns on Game Gear is amazing!! Played it about a month ago and had a blast!

[@mrviperx802]

Had to look it up cause I used play Columns as a kid but the sequel Columns II Voyage Through Time was only released in japan originally on the Sega System C and was ported to Sega Saturn sadly only in Japan. But you can still play it on Sega Ages on Nintendo Switch now so at least we got it eventually lol.

[@BlackMoore82]

The live adaptation of Double Dragon premiered in ‘94 as well. Good reason why not many remember it hah.

[@JohnRiggs]

at least the live action has Alyssa Milano

[@BlackMoore82]

@@JohnRiggs Touché!

[@cloudff72000]

Never had an issue with my Grind Stormer board, thankfully. Toaplan just didn't make bad shooters.

[@11679MRT]

Bevis and Butthead - I remember my friends and I laughing at the "if this van is rocking..." moment

[@EricAndre615]

Supersonics were my team on NBA Jam. Not sure why, but I was just a huge Shawn Kemp fan.

[@Iron-Van]

John, just so you are clear, I'm gonna clean my glasses too

[@EricAndre615]

It's so weird how that works. Castlevania Bloodlines is one of my favorites, but Castlevania IV is my least favorite. I just don't get it.

[@Alianger]

There are some gems left, but this was the last great year for the MD/GEN... until in recent years with all the homebrew releases!

[@dcboys4195]

1995 U.S. release dates. Beyond Oasis, Crusader of Centy, Light Crusader, Phantasy Star IV, Vectorman, X-Men 2 Clone Wars, Ristar, Adventures of Batman & Robin, Comix Zone, The Ooze, World Series Baseball 95, Earthworm Jim 2, Gargoyles, The Punisher, Road Rash 3, Toy Story and a bunch of others. 1995 was an incredible year for Genesis.

[@markula_4040]

Castlevania 4 is my favorite Castlevania game and my favorite game ever except for a few Street Fighters. You are going to have to explain though how Bloodlines is more like other Castlevanias than CV4. Neither seems to fit that better than the other IMO.

[@paulduetfool]

It was odd to me that you didn't know about the custom chip in Virtua Racing. The game was 100 dollars. Please do show about game prices. Phantasy Star 2 was 80 bucks. Quarterback Club for SNES was 84 bucks.

[@JohnRiggs]

I did, just played humble as I didn't know what the chip was called or anything. And I mostly rented games so prices didn't bother me as I wasn't the one paying for these games. I do remember Phantasy Star 4 being, like, $100 as well.

[@Boogie_the_cat]

The Japanese Bare Knuckle 3 is the one to play, it is easier than SoR3, the costumes aren't weird for the protagonists and they don't censor the very effeminate midboss and his hilarious fight music. Also, the ladies have bare legs instead of stockings. Joe and Mac was called "Caveman Ninja" in the UK and Japan. For.....reasons ? I remember those Skitchin ads went like this: Skatin' Hitchin' Skitchin Bitchin'

[@imwalkworse6298]

i thnk 1994 was sega genesis peak. what a time. thankful for the memories.

[@DexTepa]

In 94, we also got Mega Bomberman, Flink, Taz in Escape from Mars, and The Jungle Book. A few notable Japanese exclusives: Pulseman, Monster World 4, Langrisser 2, and Lunar - Eternal Blue.

[@devingiles6597]

Not to mention Dragon Ball Z: Buu Yuu Retsuden (also known as Dragon Ball Z: L'Appel du Destin in France), Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon (which is a beat 'em up), and Yu Yu Hakusho: Makyo Toitsuen (later known as Yu Yu Hakusho: Sunset Fighters in Brazil) are also released in Japan. The first two anime licensed video games except Sailor Moon were also released in Europe and Brazil, respectively for the Mega Drive/Genesis.

[@chaseman94]

By late Summer of 1994 though I was happy with my Super NES and the games that came out that year I wanted my own Sega Genesis more than anything. I finally got mine on Christmas Day with Sonic 2, Sonic 3, and Sonic & Knuckles then 2 days later I went to Kay-Bee toys and bought Contra Hard Corps. That game in particular was the main reason why I wanted a Sega Genesis so badly because back then I was a huge fan of Konami (long before they went downhill) and I wanted to get a hands-on feel on what their games were like on a non-Nintendo platform also it was the most popular console during my high school years.

[@catholicactionbibleonlyist1813]

Too many game I have played and have 1994 is the year I got my Sega genesis The NBA should bring the Seattle Supersonics back ,this is from a (casual) New York Knicks fan

[@Bloody-Butterfly]

Yes, Bloodlines is my favorite Castlevania

[@PhillipJackson-rl5ty]

I like every Castlevania game but 3 is my favorite...✌️😎

[@JohnRiggs]

3 rules

[@greenkoopa]

The variety is great but I freaking love Dracula X on snes because I like pain and suffering

[@Kuli24000]

Lost Vikings on Genesis is the best version because it actually supports 3 player simultaneous play. I won't play any other version.

[@thetechn1que518]

I think Sega Lord X would say Castlevania Bloodlines is his favorite Castlevania. He’s said that it is his favorite Sega Genesis game many times.

[@jean-philippetessier6354]

Bloodlines is better than 4. And that s coming from a SNES fan.

[@JohnRiggs]

Haha, I wouldn't doubt it. I love his channel.

[@thetechn1que518]

It’s kind of a toss up for me. I prefer the art style and especially the music of IV, but it’s also the easiest Castlevania game by far, so I kind of prefer the action and challenge of Bloodlines.

[@richardslotboom9250]

As far as i know Castlevania 4 is his favourite

[@bob-v2b8r]

Hey JohnRiggs it says your store is closed since you'll be gone for a couple of weeks. Is this a bug?

[@lukehinkle9614]

I liked Pit Fighter for the Genesis. I am in a rare class I suppose...

[@BrettDulaney-hf8yd]

You have poor taste in games bro

[@flamingwoodz]

I had a blast with Genesis PitFighter. It's pure chaos and jank as hell, but that's what gives it character.

[@jamesmuller1481]

I had the Genesis model 2 in 1994. Good times. I can't believe it's been 30 years already.

[@mjdf122]

I’ve seen all from 1980-Now 1994 was a good year

[@chrisrj9871]

1994 was a PowerHouse when it came to video games, and music, and movies, and so much more! It's pretty incredible to think about! Can you imagine if Sonic & Knuckles linked into more Sega Genesis titles!? Shining Force II & Knuckles, Streets of Rage 3 & Knuckles... It would have been mad!! Maybe not Knuckles as playable in every game, but maybe special items or a new stage?

[@RayPruitt-ji9jx]

Sonic wasn't a launch title. It was released two years into the system's lifespan.

[@JohnRiggs]

correct. I bought my genesis when Sonic became the pack-in is what I meant.

[@RayPruitt-ji9jx]

@@JohnRiggs Ooohh.. Come to think of it, Sonic did skyrocket the visibility of the Genesis, so it must have felt like a launch title for those who jumped in during that time. Plus I heard Altered Beast isn't really worth remembering.

[@jeffb.6642]

@@RayPruitt-ji9jx Yeah the Genesis has two eras: Pre-Sonic and Post-Sonic. It seems like the games got a lot better post-sonic and it had to start to compete with the recently released SNES and no longer just the NES.

[@knightimusprime25]

you missed phantasy star 4 it came out in 94 and it was a damn good game

[@genjiharvester1876]

That one was actually February '95 -- but he did miss Shining Force II, which is also a damn good game and arguably an all-timer, like PSIV. But at least he didn't miss Bubbles and Squeak and Skitchen...

[@capitanclassic8624]

"Dune is more of like, not a sim Dune." --- John Riggs You could have just said Real Time Strategy game. Are RTS games that dead?. A precursor to Warcraft and Command & Conquer. It's a game where you build base upgrades to build new units to harvest the spice, and build an army to defeat your opponents

[@JohnRiggs]

I could have. In my head I was thinking Sim Dune as opposed to Sim City (I should have mentioned that)

Old school Genesis player here and I've been collecting for the system in recent years. I still have the original model 1 system too, fortunately. 1994 was a pretty damn good year for the Genesis, I pretty much agree with all your thoughts here. A few stand outs for me: Virtua Racing, it wasn't that GREAT but it really pushed the system, it did have a special chip..SVT i think?. which actually made the game cost like $20 more at the time than the other games, I rented it, but didn't own it. Sonic 3, this was actually my favorite in the series, I remember getting it for my 11th Birthday. EarthWorm Jim probably my favorite overall game this year, and I prefer the Genesis to the SNES version. As for the biggest "hidden gem" I'd probably go with Pirates of Dark Water, I missed the boat (no pun intended) on this one as a kid, because I never saw the TV series.

[@MM-pl5ed]

we're reading EGM magazines from that time! nice nostalgia!

[@whotocord]

I think this was my gaming year. It was the year I gamed most. I dabble in all the years that followed, but sega genesis was my jam and i tend to go back and play genesis games most, these days. I agree with a lot of the sidenotes you made, like MK II being the best, and Sonic 3 almost feeling like something was missing, didnt come close to blowing my mind the way 2 did. I really miss 94 in general tbh. Cobain died, but I didnt really get into Nirvana til later cause I was a kid who wanted to be "different", and everyboy found it hard to shut up about nirvana. They were good though. 94 i was in middle school. My first concert was 94. Stone Temple Pilots. 13.50$ a ticket. Crazy times.

[@G.L.999]

'Contra Hard Corps' one can say serves as a "sequel" to 'Super Contra' on SNES. Because the story of 'Hard Corps' takes place 10 years after 'Super Contra' on SNES.

[@kuruptein]

I'm pitching for skitchen

[@ricanhavoc215]

nba jam, mk 2, sf 2, and both sonics stayed in rotation for me during 1994

[@PhillipJackson-rl5ty]

Great intro 😅...

[@FlyingDuckMan360]

4:25 - You do have to win the mech battle in Stage 0 in order to get the first Holy Sword. Collect all seven Holy Swords and Sparkster will become Gold Sparkster during the final battle against King Gedol. Gold Sparkster charges his jet pack faster and his attacks are more powerful, but unlike Super Sonic, he can still take damage.

[@JohnRiggs]

you can?! I tried but never could so I always just gave up. Wish it had a lifebar or something.

[@FlyingDuckMan360]

@@JohnRiggs When Axel Gear fires his missile, press the block button to block. After that, you're pretty much guaranteed a free hit on Axel by pressing the punch or uppercut button.

[@ItsThatRetro]

Columns II was arcade only and only saw a later port on the Saturn in 1997 via Sega Ages: Columns Arcade Collection. You can buy it on Switch nowadays

[@jasonking3182]

1990 was the best year for the NES and that was 5 years after North American launch and 8 years after the Japanese launches!

[@bitsandpiecesmusic]

Puggsy had a really great soundtrack!

[@jamesminor9114]

I remember me and my brother playing the tar outta castlevania!

[@jamesz28]

So many good games from '94. Castlevania, Contra, and Earthworm Jim were highlights for me.

[@DiMaggio82]

U could play sonic 1 2 3 with nuckles u have to press start when u put in sonic1

[@gocanuckurself1]

Jurassic Park: Rampage

[@jamesmoss3424]

Castlevania: Bloodline, Sonic the Hedgehog 3, Sonic & Knuckles, Street of Rage 3,Street Fighter 2, and more are the good ones that came out in 1994.😀👍🎮

[@MarionetteKazuko]

Strange I had the same feeling with Sonic 3 and Streets of Rage 3 , they aren't bad games by any means but it is something about their predecessors that seemed more appealing. A slight gut feeling is Sonic 3 and Streets of Rage 3 just got over that slight hump visually where the earlier ones just felt more like game graphics and fun where part 3 of both series got more detailed with the graphics. Yes, sounds very stupid considering at the time we were aiming for better graphics, but its just a hunch.

[@Bit_Mingus]

13:56 same here! MK2 had always been my favorite to this day! Long live MKII !!

[@ZeroCoolYT]

Hi Riggs, I need to get another Sega Genesis

[@joeboo8626]

I saw Virtua Racing in the BX (store) for $99.99. Same price as the NES through most of its lifecycle. Love to know how many copies were made.

[@justnature1900]

Dang had no idea you were 6 5 if I had to guess I would have thought 5 7ish lol

[@charlessoto1792]

I agree on Sonic. 1 and 2 always had a certain magic for me. 3 was good. Great even, but it somehow just didn't captivate me the way the first 2 did. Thought it was just me.

[@TransCanadaPhil]

The thing that really hurt the Genesis in later years was the fact that the console wasn’t all that successful in Japan (Mega Drive). You can really see the effect in later years. A lot of the “Good” Japanese devs had largely abandoned the platform by 1994 so you’re left with a lot of western developed europlatformers and amiga ports. Notice a pattern in this video? How it’s mostly only the Konami, Data East, Sega themselves, and the few remaining Japanese developers that are making all the “good” stuff by 1994? Otherwise the Genesis was getting flooded by awful western games by that point! Had the Mega Drive been more successful in Japan Sega of America wouldn’t have had to turn their attention into attracting so much half-baked Euro Amiga devs and other fare.

[@Max-ui7yf]

Mr. Riggs, not sure if you'll see this or not but how about a video talking about the Sega Channel? I say that because watching this video, most of these games that I've played I got to play because of the Sega Channel. Some I do own (Super Street Fighter 2, Castlevania: Bloodlines, Sonic 3, MK2, Shining Force 2) but any of the others I played would have been played on the Sega Channel. I think it would be cool to talk about it for those that don't know what it was, because looking back on it I personally thought it was a cool concept and was great to have.

[@JohnRiggs]

I never had the sega channel so I'm not the one to talk about it.

[@Windavinci]

Think Kim justice talks about it in some videos. She definitely had the sega channel.

[@erneststackhouse1133]

i don't think i knew about Castlevania Bloodlines on the Sega Genesis! Going to visit my Sega Buddy next week going to check if he has it, so i can check it out!! Columns 2 was an Arcade only port in America & a Japan ONLY home release, so America knew about Columns 2...that is why they skipped to Columns 3 in 1994.

[@shenloken2]

Whether I prefer Castlevania Bloodlines over Super Castlevania IV depends on what mood I am. There are times I like Bloodlines over Super Castlevania IV and vice versa. But I cannot deny both are still some of the best games in the series!!

[@georged7627]

Castlevania bloodlines is my favourite Castlevania 🙏🏼

[@ericjenkins2737]

I like how you are saying “holding on to the bumpers of cars” instead of what that’s actually called…skitching.

[@F13fan]

I just turned 42 so I was a big video game & cartoon kid during this time. Loved pirates of dark water & double dragon toons. Had Pirates for Sega but wanted the snes one too. Always wanted the dragon fighting game as well as king of the monsters but unfortunately never got them. Would’ve liked to have played last action hero because I loved the movie. Also loved sonic 3 cause knuckles. And sonic & knuckles was just a great idea. Earthworm Jim was great. Hate I missed out on wolverine. Only played Raw on snes(loved it). Ecco always looked beautiful. Super street fighter & mk2 were definitely better on snes

[@Schnitzel_Sandwich]

John - what’s your favourite European exclusive from the 16-bit era?

[@JohnRiggs]

I'd have to look at a list to see what only came out in UK and not US or Japan.

[@Schnitzel_Sandwich]

@@JohnRiggs Jelly Boy is a good one, but I expect you’ve already played it

[@smallmj2886]

Still in high school in 1994. Oh, so young....

[@tribaljavi]

12:52 Wow! Dude said Macromedia Flash! Damn im old...

[@animemaster4861]

Fun fact Kyle MacLachlan is actually from Yakima. Of the Sonic games in the Sega Genesis I would have to agree the second one is probably the best. And then you have Sonic CD which is probably the best looking 2D Sonic game I've ever seen

[@ronaldclayton4232]

Virtua Racing was $100 when it was released because of some special chip I think it was called the SVP and it was only ever used on that one game. Looking back it really wasn't worth what Sega was asking for it but then again neither was the $300 Sega CD, $200 32X, or the $400 Saturn.

[@pengen_gantinama]

I'm curious, why do many (if not most) people grew in the 90s like the first Golden Axe, Revenge of Shinobi, and Sonic 2 better than their sequels?

[@JohnRiggs]

Nostalgia, as always.

[@martineastman9855]

Castlevania IV and Bloodlines are awesome, neither are as good as Symphony of the Night- imo

[@neilbottles2597]

Skitchin' is bitchin'!