Ranking All EA Games from 1994 for the Sega Genesis

[@djtek9ine]

I put in hundreds of hours on Skitchin’ in the summer of 94. Growing up as a rollerblader in the 90’s, when this came out, it felt good to have a game that had a lot more replay value than the skateboarding games of the NES era.

[@every-istand-ophobe6320]

I'm so sorry you had to grow up a "rollerblader" in the 90's hopefully you have finally made it to puberty and learned to ride a skateboard.

[@djtek9ine]

@@every-istand-ophobe6320 HA! I was skateboarding long before I started rollerblading. I love both still to this day, but rollerblading provided me the opportunity to see the whole country doing tours. We each love what we do, some of us have 2 wheels, 4 wheels or 8 wheels, but it’s all about having fun.

[@PT187skills]

Love your ranking videos on a Sunday afternoon! Thanks John!!

[@RedTabletTalk]

Shaq-fu.... I played this game at my friend’s house back in the day. Me and my friend used to play the heck out of this game. My friend is no longer with us. He died 10 years ago when we were in our late 20s,Rest In Peace. When I see this game I think of my friend.

[@johnhancockretro]

More EA ranking videos here: EA 1990-1991 kzbin.info/www/bejne/pmW9pmyVgrpmnNE EA 1992 kzbin.info/www/bejne/fmivoGp7ltBkp6s EA 1993 kzbin.info/www/bejne/hKvCenp6m52qntU EA 1995 kzbin.info/www/bejne/mYCspaiGd91pjqc EA 1996-97 kzbin.info/www/bejne/n3XQaYx3d7p6pKc

[@kenterminateddq5311]

9:20 Ladies and gentlemen, one of the most inevitably bad games has finally mentioned on John Hancock's channel. The one positive that John didn't mentioned is that Shaq's single is vastly better than the game. I'm not kidding; the rhymes aren't gonna blow you away like a Busta Rhymes-verse but the production is really tight

[@Heneggsboss]

cool channel, i watch a lot

[@timecapsule5604]

Yes I likenhl 94 better but even better is nhlpa 93 yes it doesn't have the in game logos but it has the fighting and the blood and it was in Swingers which to me makes it all the more better

[@tantfarbrorn]

I LOVE seeing Elitserien 95 on here. It was a big thing in Sweden at the time. Optimized for 50hz it was quite a revelation compared to many other sports games that ran slower due to poor optimization between Ntsc and Pal regions.

[@sheep20011]

Gotta say John, you really are one of the good guys in the hobby. Love watching your vids, always informative and fun. Keep it up dude.

[@aarons1811]

I'm loving these E.A. yearly rankings 😁. Good work, Sir.

[@vintagedread]

Popcorn time 🍿

[@chipskylark8869]

EA SPORTS, ITS IN MY PANTS. JOKE ME AND MY FRIEND HAD

[@samholdsworth3957]

@@chipskylark8869 SO FUNNY I FORGOT TO LAUGH OR TURN OFF CAPS

[@segaforce79]

I loved Rugby World Cup. It taught me a lot about the game and I got so interested in the sport that I played later on a club team in college.

[@livefreeprintguns]

I'm a new subscriber as of a few days ago, I've really enjoyed your content and it's nice seeing another 40-something who loved Sega (especially the Genesis) hardware as much as I did back in the day!

[@sonicmario64]

"Urban Strike" was actually the first game in the series that I played when I was a kid, so I have a ton of nostalgia for it as a result. ;)

[@austinallen3641]

It’s way better than Desert Strike

[@dingo535]

Enjoyable video as per usual. I played several ea sports titles over the years I had a genesis but had no idea they were releasing two games of the same sport eventually! That seems crazy to me.

[@gman2015z]

Didn't know John Hancock was an Eagles fan like me. Fly Eagles Fly!

[@donjohnson7768]

Great video as always! Loved seeing Vancouver pop up in Skitchin!

[@RetroGamingSwede]

Oh man great video!!! Elitserien 95 is probably the best hockey game ever. Played it like crazy back in the day and sometimes still bring it out.

[@arcadesunday4592]

Not being a sport game fan generally (besides NBA Jam), I loved the "Strike" series. As usual, great coverage of the subject at hand! It's an "A" for me...

[@mmablaster]

Skitchen over Road Rage, the jumps are sweet. Rating is an S Big thumbs up on the video, awesome series.

[@UltimateGamerCC]

punch in B, A, Down, A, Start, Start during the warning screen for some cheats. BADASS!

[@madspunky]

Loving this series! Any chance you'll give the SNES a similar treatment?

[@mattnova18]

Not for EA though. EA on snes is terrible for the most part.

[@Des_Zee]

NBA Live '95 was super great fun. It had all the players, moves dunks everything. Don't forget to create Michael Jordan. Plus Shaq Fu was a fun game to me too. I think if it had a Lil more polish it could've been something great.

[@redfanrod]

Great points. Yes, type in Michael Jordan when creating a player and the rest of his ratings show up. And don't forget to create the rookies of that year like Brent Barry, etc. as those ratings auto populate as well. A great game! NBA Showdown 94 was solid and NBA Live 96, similar to NBA Live 95, was tremendous.

[@thomastripp9002]

@@redfanrod That was in Live 96, not 95

[@redfanrod]

@@thomastripp9002 Good call, Thomas. It's been a couple of decades :-)

[@BeKicky14]

I freaking love Skitchin. I’m still awesome at it, At 40 years old!

[@Nobunaga1983]

Love these videos. And sega and EA were the ultimate team in the 90s best games

[@ronnieharp8940]

I like the way you review the games. Keep the videos coming bro!

[@mattnova18]

I love Madden 95. Getting rid of those pass windows was a HUGE improvement. Also I still enjoy playing seasons on 95. None of the previous madden games had a season mode. The depth is really good too. The first Madden game with BOTH NFL team names AND players too.. Also, Madden 95 also has a hilarious cheat code that let's you be the Jags or Panthers. They were not actually official teams yet [as of the 1994 rosters] so every player is ranked 90+. Its a. A for me.. I do like Skitchin too, but not nearly as much as any of the 3 road rash games. Nhl95 is a decent hockey game,, but I agree they changed too much and it's nowhere near as good as 94. Such a great year for EA games on genesis!

[@vinceniederman]

I'm Thinking of Getting Madden 95 For My Mini Sega and Would I Enjoy Playing Madden 95?

[@AndDeathForAll82]

I miss you showing your copy of each game as you rank them. Great video!

[@redfanrod]

Great video. EA was the bomb during the 1990s for Sega Genesis lovers! LaRussa 95 is actually a great game. Plenty of strategy and a control scheme that, even I admit, takes a little bit of time to get used to (although the same as Tony LaRussa Baseball, the first game for Sega with great game play but inferior graphics and sounds). I still play LaRussa 95 today when I need a baseball fix. Great graphics and sounds (for the era, of course). Even has custom ballparks (limited to replicas of Fenway, the Kingdome, the Metrodome, Wrigley and standard fields). FYI: John, you can reverse the pitcher-batter angle/view within the in-game menus before or even during a game. However, I like seeing the pitch coming from the pitcher's perspective. Much easier to detect "high" and "low" pitches. When you play the computer, guys like Greg Maddux can really make things tough with slow, breaking pitches. I encourage you to give LaRussa 95 another shot. Cheers!

[@scootermcg9910]

I thought I remembered swiching the camera, thanks for the confirmation.

[@retro_anime_gamer_8716]

I ripped out an ad for Skitchin from a magazine and taped it to my wall back in 94 lol. Great memories

[@tech_jims]

Another great ea recap cheers John 🙂

[@rodrigomolinsky]

The sheer amount of EA games for the Sega Genesis is astounding. Ok, there are plenty of annual sports games, but anyway... the fact that EA showed so much interest in the plataform just makes clear how much Sega screwed with the Saturn. They just had to keep it simple, as with Dreamcast.

[@SeekerLancer]

Not putting Bill Walsh College Football 95 at S breaks my heart. Best football game on the Genesis for me.

[@johnhancockretro]

Not for me.

[@davidburke6959]

Love the ranking videos John. Keep up with the great content.

[@KaskelotenZebbe]

Played tons of Elitserien as a kid. The game was a huge success in Sweden, and the most sold game that year, selling something like 30 000 copies or so iirc.

[@darthwiizius]

Fun fact: It was a Swedish bloke with an electrical shop that launched Nintendo in the west.

[@KaskelotenZebbe]

@@darthwiizius Bergsala did it in Scandinavia yes. But Nintendo did it themselves elsewhere in Europe and USA.

[@darthwiizius]

@@KaskelotenZebbe Originally Bergsala supplied all of Europe, of course that was when their only products were the G&W range, I bought some as a kid in the UK all of which came via Sweden. Nintendo acknowledges the Swedish role by letting Bergsala retain distribution rights in Scandinavia as their only independent distributor out of gratitude and politeness while creating corporate distribution in the rest of the World. Doesn't the company also have the only officially sanctioned independently owned Nintendo museum too?

[@KaskelotenZebbe]

@@darthwiizius Oh yeah, it took a few years until Nintendo of Europe was formed. Indeed, they have a museum. I should visit it sometime!

[@darthwiizius]

@@KaskelotenZebbe If I'm ever in Sweden I will pop in too.

[@robertjones3223]

I did not know of urban strike, I was big fan of desert and jungle on the PC, thank you for point me in the direction of the third game :)

[@GamerToons]

remember that NHLs removal of fighting with 95 was up to EA.

[@yewnew]

In 96 they put it back in, if I’m not mistaken

[@VMClassic]

they mentioned that in the movie "Swingers". they didn't like the newer NHL game because they got rid of fights

[@clownvomit132]

I won an art contest from EA in 94 and my prize was any 3 new release sports games, I picked Mario Andretti racing, FIFA 95 and Tough Man Contest. I miss my childhood right now

[@JustPeasant]

1994 was, probably the best year overall for 4th generation consoles.

[@Prime-ku9yr]

Madden 95 was one of the best IMO

[@frankbeans5921]

I loved Mutant League Hockey! Still have my copy from when I was a kid. Plus NBA Live 95. I played that so much! Basketball was huge in the 90s becuase of Michael Jordan.

[@chipskylark8869]

EA SPORTS, ITS IN MY PANTS. MY FRIEND SAID IT AND WE LAUGHED EVERYTIME.

[@MegaDeox]

Good video as usual. just wanted to note your voice was clipping a bit. Maybe too much gain?

[@retrorated]

Both of my kids grew up playing Sesame Street Counting Cafe from 2010 - 2021. It helped their platforming more than their counting but that's still not a bad thing!

[@randybradley4151]

Many people crap on Shaq Fu but once you master the moves and when to do them will eliminate the lack of hit detection in most instances.

[@knastboxer]

I second that experience. Shaq Fu was one of my favourite games on the system. Hard to master but very rewarding.

[@64-Bit-Gamer]

I always click that Like button for your videos because I enjoy watching them. I would have given Urban Strike a B or a C. The on-foot sections didn't do it for me.

[@mjdf122]

Can’t wait for 95 96 97 and 98 I have all these ea sports and ea games also from all the years that you have been doing great content and all classic games for the genesis

[@JR-gl1nx]

*John Hancock:* Not my favourite but I’ll give it an A as others will like it. *John Riggs:* I don’t play it so it’s an F

[@friendshipsnakes6356]

OMG Shaw Fu is one of my favorite games. I use to play that game so much. I wish I knew where my CD was lol

[@kjhoskins]

Great video, John. Probably the best one of the year for me was Urban Strike. I loved the Strike series. I always see you in your Eagles cap and jersey, but I know you live in the northeast. How did you become an Eagle's fan?

[@johnhancockretro]

Watched them on TV back in late 80s/early 90s. Was a fan ever since.

[@kjhoskins]

@@johnhancockretro Very cool. Here's to a great year of football.

[@GlenLehane]

I played the hell out of NBA Live 95 on PC, but only encountered it once on Megadrive. I didn't even know Syndicate was on Megadrive

[@goon5544]

One of the few sports games I played growing up was La Russa 95. My uncle and cousin use to come over and have tournaments with me and my brother. It was a lot of fun but I raged when I lost the tournament I remember.

[@PacDork]

Skitchin’ is an A or S for me….once you learn the gameplay, it’s so fun to hang onto cars to get speed boosts, the weapon variety is super fun, and the music is amazing God Tier Genesis grungey metal!

[@redfanrod]

I never played Skitchin'. Looks just like Road Rash but with skates. I'll have to try it on my flash cart. Thanks for sharing.

[@PacDork]

@@redfanrod I'm pretty sure it was by the same team or at least using the same engine...if you dig Road Rash, you'll feel right at home with it!

[@The1stDuhZeez]

Nice one Mr. Immortal! EA made way too many sports games back in the day... Do you replay all these games before you rate them or do you rate them off of when you played them back in 95'? And how do you have the time for it? I wanna go back and play some of the older games on my channel but I can't even find the time to record right now. It's been 2 months since my last upload...

[@johnhancockretro]

I rate them now current day.

[@HeavenUpsideDown]

I LOVED SYNDICATE!!! Spent hours on my SNES with it

[@benrlego]

Generally I prefer EA’s college football games to Madden, even up to the 360 era. Shame they stopped making them.

[@TravestyJunction]

It's supposed to comeback in a couple years, let's hope they actually use these couple years to polish it but most likely they'll just rush it with the current Madden engine. Which I'll still play but I'm hopin' for sumthin' good.

[@pizzamike4420]

I forgot about mutant League hockey, I need to try that on the retropie tonight!

[@UltimateGamerCC]

should help keep you cool tonight during the hot weather. XD

[@solaire8723]

i didnt mind Shaq Fu. Urban Strike is one of my favourite games of all time

[@walcodebruyn2135]

8:15 I was Born in ZA at the time of the 95 world cup how didn't I know EA made a game for it that's why I enjoy watching you're videos I definitely have to check it out!

[@julientanner5036]

Memories man damn

[@marklarter3962]

Love these videos. Would it be possible to review EA games on PS1.

[@seanmyster6]

"Hey, I have a *Mario* game for Sega Genesis! 😉" "REALLY?! 🤩 Let me see!" >puts on Mario Andretti Racing

[@steelcurtain187]

NBA Live was amazing back then. Super fun

[@b.w.302]

You should remake this and tell us how you really feel about Shaq Fu...lol I agree with everything you said about it!!

[@ericjames19]

Urban Strike was always one of my go-to rentals

[@EirkenElite]

Shaq Fu for game gear is probably the best fighter on game gear it really plays well... I spent many hours waiting for planes playing game gear ....four AA batteries in a air port in mid 90s cost about 5$ so about 15$ per airport trip...don't miss the batteries but miss the game gear

[@swungsolid]

Did you by any chance pre-order the Polymega and are expecting it this month? Love to see a review on it and maybe lag test results with a bunch of controllers

[@johnhancockretro]

I am waiting on the polymega.

[@allergic2life]

I loved playing syndicate on the pc! Good memories

[@randybradley4151]

EA took out the fighting in the NHL series back in '94 and they also took out the blood.

[@paulpederson1677]

Was going to post this but was certain someone beat me to it. 94 added the one timer but 95 perfected it, and believe it is the Best of the entire 16-bit series.

[@chipskylark8869]

Got NHL 95 and world series baseball loved them as much as sonic 2

[@voits81]

I had mutant league hockey when I was a kid. I wish I never traded it in. I played it all the time and watched the cartoon as well

[@ingolfrvargr]

The only games which I've played out of these are NHL and FIFA 95 as well as Urban Strike. Urban Strike was the first game I played in the Strike series, so for me that's the ultimate game. It's a tough one, but loads of fun. Fifa and NHL are great, but neither is the among the best in their respective series. For me personally I prefer the 97 versions of both, as well as NHL 94 of course.

[@richardmacaulay783]

Seems that the games were far less varied compared to previous years - would assume they were more focused on 3DO and probably had dev kits for the Playstation and Saturn

[@retrogamer82]

Always like the strike series 👍

[@RK-rf8rc]

Had Rugby World Cup 95 for the Mega Drive and being English - and actually watching the World Cup that year (although I wouldn't say I was a big fan of the sport) - I actually enjoyed the game.

[@DanPantzig]

Shaq Fu is not that unplayably bad, it's fun to play with friends and some drinks or smoke, definitely an S

[@The1stDuhZeez]

People just don't know how to play it...

[@chaseman94]

I wish I could go back in time to 1996 when I bought Shaq-Fu from a friend in High School and get my $25 back. WTF was my 17 year old self thinking?

[@fitness65]

I'm probably one of the few people that liked Shaq Fu on the genesis. Yeah it's not a great game at all but as a kid this game always kept me entertained when I went to my cousin's house. I enjoyed story mode and some of the characters and music.

[@whataboutrob442]

I didn't notice much different with NHL 95. Plus it had season mode.

[@brianwalters2311]

What a coincidence I'm a Philadelphia eagles fan die hard. But I'm from Florida and I never been there LOL this whole time watching your channel didn't know your a fan

[@coorhagon7236]

Skitchen is much better once you learn the skitchen mechanic of riding bumpers.

[@mikematson6323]

LaRussa 95 was one of my favourite games. It got rid of some of the cheapness from the first one. I'd hit bunt homeruns.. As in bunt, ball flies out of the park. Also sometimes the hit detection would shift mid game.

[@Invidente7]

Shaq fu for the genesis, for what was worth, had more stages and characthers.

[@UltimateGamerCC]

it had some decent ideas, but the flawed execution made Shaq-Fu Shaq P.U!

[@joshb6470]

nhl 95 and urban strike were amazing

[@drakonolus7922]

The first original Fifa from the Genesis. For me it's the among of the best Soccer games ever ( the Snes version it's also great too ) but the Genesis it's so special, more faster and intense. However, there are another versions from the Master System and the Game Gear too. Pretty good versions. Basically the First Fifa it's the best of the best.

[@Paul-uo1vw]

Why did NBA Showdown 94 have a "Topps Stadium Club" image in it? lol.

[@ninjapwnsatlyfe]

Only ever owned The Immortal and PGA 2 for genesis by EA lol but I always loved the yellow tab

[@NealCamerlengo]

I actually prefer NHL 95 over 94 and the not having any fights didn't really bother me since NHL 94 had no fighting either.

[@scootermcg9910]

My 5$ copy of European Tour from a used clothing store is S-tier for me.

[@elrincondelukas]

Hi I suscribe your channel. Like

[@yellowcard425]

Tough Actin Tinactin 94 Edition

[@silverwolftheretrogamer9792]

Urban strike was my first strike game, I thought it was great and a big game at the time, still one of my favorites and skitchin I loved this game you do have to learn how to play to get far I thought the music was great for this also

[@senorsnipey1595]

I have a copy of MLH. I find it to be an amazing game!

[@UltimateGamerCC]

Mutant League Hockey is the only other Sports game i need on my Genesis, i honestly wish that Mutant League was remade for the modern era, i can only imagine what could be done with the creative freedom. S Normy's Beach Babe-O-Rama is a C for me too, really forgettable game amidst a sea of great platformers that the Genesis had, way better experiences to be found. Counting Cafe is an A for me, i played this as a kid back on SEGA Channel and for an edutainment game i think it's solid, if i ever end up having kids this will be one of their first games. Shaq-Fu is a B for me, it's so bad that i kinda enjoy it, the only big issue for me is the super floaty jumps. Skitchin' is an S for me, it's got the attitude of Road Rash with a different gameplay style. Syndicate is an A for me, S for the PC version, this type of stuff is why i was an EA fan. Urban Strike - S, third Strike game but no outs! fun, fun, fun.

[@soundsonline796]

Skitchin damn classic. Got banned in Australia fyi

[@Justin-rv7oy]

Had Shaq Fu and NBA Live 95 as a kid... .95 is a classic, Shaq Fu is not good, it's no Street Fighter, but I still had fun with it, I would give it a C- ,

[@clarencegiovanni]

Isn't American Football based on Rugby? Just with a lot of protection...

[@SonofSethoitae]

It's rugby, but in 1880 they added the system of downs and line of scrimmage. And in 1906 they added forward passing.

[@robjackson4050]

is it just me or are the majority of ea games even today are sports titles

[@thebest12700]

skitchin was one of my favorites lol me and my friends would play it for hours everyday when it 1st came out then we bought roller blades would grab on to peoples bikes tryna do the same shit.

[@homiedclown]

I'm one of the odd ones out that prefers NHL 95 over '94. The series started off strong with NHL Hockey, and got better with each iteration until '95 where it peaked. NHL 96, 97, and 98 took a complete nosedive and were virtually unplayable in comparison to the first 4 titles.

[@awfpunisher]

NHL 95 on SEGA was brilliant. And better for multiplayer. 94 always gets the kudos. And should. But i would say its (94)one of the only sports games better on the SNES. Unlike 95 which sucked on the snes. I really thought 95 on Sega improved alot of things, and if you played single player creating players, and being a GM was so fun.

[@louyork8379]

Well, with my beloved Ky Wildcats going .500 in 1993 and only winning 1 game in 1994, I think I’m gonna pass on the college football game. Again. 🤣

[@cloudstrife1983]

Wow. Almost 75% of them are sports games.

[@matthewpordes3224]

Why only 1 song on the Shaq Fu cd? Give me more… 🙌