A Sega Genesis Discussion (with 100% more 'tude)

One embarrassing fact about me: I own seven game consoles. Not counting handhelds. (Interesting fact #2: None of those are current generation. Yup, I'm poor.) So you can say that I'm a guy that likes console games.

It was not always this way. This is because the very first console I received, one very special Christmas in 1994 (I think), was the Sega Genesis. Looking back on it, I think I can say that if my parents had decided to get me an SNES, I would probably know a lot less than I do about PC adventure games.

It's not that the Genesis is a bad system; in fact, it was Sega's most successful console by a long shot. It broke the NES's long-standing dominance over the hearts of gamers and forced Nintendo to design a follow-up. For one or two years there, it was king. Unfortunately for the Genesis, Nintendo did pull through with a console that was better than it in every way; the SNES had better graphics, the most popular franchises, and more third-party support than you can shake a stick at. To be a Sega child was to be a spiteful one, and I didn't stick with the Genesis for very long.

Both today and then, the problem with the Genesis is that it's hard to know what games for it are any good; there are precious few franchises you can count on. When I was a kid, I stuck with crappy movie-licensed games because I didn't know any better. Now that I have the internet to inform me, what are the best Genesis games I've played? (Note I haven't gotten to any of the good Sega RPGs yet)

1. The Sonic games. Recently, I replayed 1,2,3, and Knuckles, beating them all for the first time. Yup, I was bad at platformers. Sonic 3 is actually my favorite, although they're all great.
2. The Treasure classics: Gunstar Heroes, Dynamite Headdy, Alien Soldier (not released in US). Gunstar Heroes is perhaps my absolute favorite. I could not put down the controller when I first played this.
3. Rocket Knight Adventures (hope to talk about this game later, once I beat it)

And that's pretty much it; still one of my least favorite consoles. But I have to say that the games on this list pretty much all demonstrate the Genesis' trademark, which Sega endlessly promoted with its blue furry mascot: character. These platformers/run'n'guns are so good because each level is filled to the brim with colorful backgrounds, multi-sprite multi-phase bosses, and a fun well-utilized gameplay mechanic. And they all have pretty good soundtracks. I love my NES, but the Genesis went a long way to make games exciting, and that's still true today.