Pros and Cons for the Sega Genesis

Recently I acquired a Retro Bit Super Retro Trio to help clear up some space on my console cabinet. It also helps that my Nintendo wasn’t working that well. What came as a bonus is the Sega Genesis slot on the cartridge area. This is pretty exciting because I never had a Genesis.

The reasons why are pretty standard, but it makes a difficult subject to talk about when speaking to Sega fans. It has been a real debate in my mind about getting a Genesis in the first place. Heck I played it at friends’ houses and stores all the time.

Reasons to not get a Genesis

Compilation Discs

I have several collectors editions of Genesis games. From the Dreamcast Genesis collection -which famously had instructions on how to emulate the genesis onto the DC- to PS2 collections, and even the PC collection as well I have several of these games in multiple forms from legitimate sources. I can buy 30 games for $20, and never turn a Genesis on. If I want a specific type of game, there are collections for this as well. The Sonic Collection for the Gamecube has more than enough Sonic for me to enjoy. I actually started my love for Phantasy Star from the collection for the DS.

Cost of Games

There are still a lot of games not in those collections, or at least worth a replay. For every $10 Sonic cartridge, there is a $200 Phantasy Star III. Many of the games I am interested in are costing the same as when they released. The collectors market is full of high priced games because so many people suddenly want to repeat that old memory. With the cost of Compilation Discs, it doesn’t make a lot of sense.

Super Nintendo Versions

A lot of these games have a version for the Super Nintendo, and the comparison is usually for the SNES. Street Fighter II, Mortal Kombat II, NBA Jam, and so forth were simply better on Nintendo’s console.

False Nostalgia

Remember the competition between Nintendo and Sega, all of those debates you had on the playground, and talk about graphical abilities. First off, Blast Processing didn’t actually exist, the creators just figured out a way to make it look faster by giving up other parts of the gameplay. Then we have sales numbers, Sega lied about that too. We don’t know the real numbers, but game sales for the Genesis show 6 games that sold over a million, and then plummeted to a quarter million after that. Many of the people who worked at Sega were friends, and even hung out with people at Nintendo. Far worse, many people worked for one, and then the other.

The entire reason for the lying had more to do with keeping up appearances than actually competing with Nintendo. This could be a lot longer, but basically, Sega wasn’t actually making money off of their console sales. It was a front to make it look like they had earned money from one place, instead of the illegal gambling and other things they were doing on the side. Japanese designers actually feared Sega because the company would kidnap people or hire goons to threaten you.

A lot of the games you have fond memories of are because you only played a part of it. Altered Beast was four levels long, and pretty short even for that. You remember Green Hill Zone for Sonic the Hedgehog because the later levels didn’t really feel as fun, so you stopped playing it.

Difficult Set Ups

Trying to hook up a Sega Genesis can be difficult. The plugs that connect directly to the system are messy at times, and if a single part even bends wrong, the entire wire is gone. Add with this the 32X or the CD addons -each with their own power pack- and it can take a lot of work maintaining the console. Not to mention these addons had very few games, and even fewer that were fun to play. If one was a great game, it was released for a later console for cheaper.

Games I don’t play

I have this problem with a lot of modern consoles as well. People crow and talk about how great a specific game is, and I end up not enjoying it. The game just isn’t my thing. A console can have these amazing exclusives for it, but I don’t really play them, or enjoy them so it doesn’t matter. Oddly enough, for the Genesis and modern consoles, they are both called Shooters. Truxton looks great, but I am not a fan of that genre.The same can be said for Modern Warfare or even Bioshock, I tried to enjoy them, but didn’t.

Nintendo Fan

I really am a big Nintendo fan. They release games I enjoy. For example, I played Splatoon today, and enjoyed losing to a bunch of cheaters who got kicked off near the end of the game. It’s a shooter, and yet I really enjoy it. I don’t have to worry about the games as much as I do for the other consoles as well. While someone pushes the mature rating of their game, I end up wanting to play Animal Crossing instead. Rather than make up some excuse, I should be honest about it.

Reasons to get a Genesis

Dumb but Fun

This looks like an insult, but isn’t. There are a lot of games for the Genesis that are dumb, with bad response times, or some other bad set up that ends up still being fun. For example, I really enjoyed playing Dick Tracy on the Genesis. The shooting was fun, and trying for a high score added a challenge. It isn’t the best game, but the way it does things kept me entertained.

Odd Selection

A friend pointed out that Sega and others would crank out games for the Genesis. This meant a wider selection of odd games. You won’t find them on a compilation disc, because only a handful of people even bought it. You open up a game, and expect something odd, and not the greatest, but still fun. I think I saw a Gargoyles game while perusing Amazon, which made me wonder what it’s like. The game is all of $15, so it's worth looking into.

Great RPG’s

The Super Nintendo had some amazing RPG’s, but that was pretty limited in how they were played. The Genesis had strategy RPG’s, regular ones, tunnel exploring games, and many others that did show up on the SNES, but not as much or only in Japan. Nintendo ended up having to make their own series in some of the sub genres because no one else would. Also, with the CD Rom add on, there were some really cool selections.

I own the later consoles

I own a Saturn and a Dreamcast. In fact, some of my all time favorite games are on these systems. Panzer Dragoon is awesome, and Powerstone should have had another sequel by now. The quirkiness pays off in great ways for these consoles, and I am happy to own them. Many of the great Playstation games -Tony Hawk- had releases for the Dreamcast, and they are always superior.

It gets even bigger when I say that Sega made two of my all time favorite arcade games. Virtual On is the twin stick death match masterpiece on the top of my list of games I want when I have the money and space. Right after that is Crazy Taxi which I own for several different systems. Sega continues to make great arcade games and experiences even to this day.

Sega saved arcade games

If I mention the messed up parts of Sega, we have to talk about the greatness. Because of Pinball, other arcade games began to go out of style. Game makers began to give up more and more space to the metal ball because they believed that was superior. Sega was an import company to Japan, and began to try to make its own games as well. It was actually two different companies called Rosen Media and Service Games. The games they made reinvigorated the Electro Mechanical arcade experience with all sorts of new ideas, and making better use of older ideas. Other companies began to copy off the way they set things up, and the cabinet design became the inspiration for the videogame cab you imagine today.

Superior Genesis Versions

Although rare, there were some superior versions for the Genesis. Usually what happened was two completely different teams made their own version of the game for their assigned console. So Aladdin had better animations, and more music and the game was nothing like the SNES version. When Good ol Games released 16 bit versions of Disney Games, the big question was which version.

There is also a superior version of Power Rangers for the Sega CD. Yes, I know, that sounds like something really weird. The game is a press the right button at the right time style game, with videos playing of an episode. You control the zords, and how the rangers fight back. The videos, and buttons make it become something that a party would love to play. Especially if they loved Power Rangers.

Conclusion

So yeah, I debated for years about getting a Genesis or not. The games are fun, and some of them aren’t on compilation discs. The history of Sega is both fascinating, amazing, and sort of scary. The games can be quirky fun, and also even cover things the Super Nintendo didn’t get. My Super Retro Trio does not hook up to a Sega CD or 32X, which is sad -no interactive Power Rangers for me- but it does let me hook up the Master System adapter. It’s not a perfect set up, but the perfect one is difficult to maintain and costs nearly $300. So, I will enjoy what I have now.

Now if you want true debate in my mind, the Turbografx or 3DO does all of this and more.