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Presented by Ghegs

The Sony PlayStation was released in Japan on December 1994 and the 32-bit system brought with it much greater processing power than the previous console generation’s Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis could offer. With this, many genres could make the leap from 2D sprite-based games into 3D graphics and environment, better reflecting what the games were trying to portray.

Racing games in particular benefited from the new hardware immensely. While the SNES had titles like F-Zero and Super Mario Kart with a pseudo-3D appearance thanks to the Mode 7 mode and the Genesis had Virtua Racing (and later Virtua Racing Deluxe on the ill-fated 32X), the genre took a huge leap towards looking like the real thing visually at this point. But simply being able to drive a polygon car in a 3D environment wouldn’t have been enough, it was necessary to be able to control the car smoothly as well, and the digital nature of the d-pad simply could not provide it. Analogue controls were required. Sony’s own Dual Analog Controller, precursor to the now iconic DualShock, wasn’t released until April 1997, which means there was a gap of almost two and a half years when there were no first-party controllers suitable for racing games on the system. (There was the Sony PlayStation Analog Joystick that offered analogue controls, but due to its flight stick-like design it wasn’t exactly comfortable for playing racing games with and not many racing titles support the controller.)

The neGecon Controller (eBay / Amazon)

Namco was a supporter of the system from the start and released a port of their arcade racing game Ridge Racer as a launch title. They solved the controller issue by also developing and releasing a controller better suited for racing games – the neGcon. At first glance the neGcon can look quite ridiculous. The left and right sides of the controller are connected by a bulging swivel joint, and instead of the X and square buttons there are two red protruding buttons called I and II. L2, R2 and the select buttons have been removed completely.

The neQcon swiveled – photo by blakespot

The swivel joint is what makes the controller so ingenious. You can twist each half of the controller relative to each other, allowing for nearly 360 degrees of rotation. The I and II buttons are analogue and have about 7mm of travel to each of them. The left shoulder button is also analogue, though the right one isn’t. With these buttons steering, acceleration and braking could all be controlled to a degree unseen in home systems before. Even after the introduction of Sony’s own analogue pads, the neGcon was still technically supreme. Thanks to the controller’s shape, it can be gripped and twisted comfortably and it offered far more precise analogue controls compared to the DualShock’s analogue sticks, that had shorter throws and from which the controlling thumb could slip off easily. Also, DualShocks didn’t have analogue buttons to them until the DualShock 2 introduced in 2000 for the Playstation 2, and they have an uncomfortably short travel to them. The neGcon offered the benefits of a more realistic-looking steering wheel controller without the larger price and in a smaller, more portable shape. In fact, many of those wheels for the PS1 actually took advantage and pretended to be neGcons at a protocol level, which also meant they could be used with all the games supporting the controller. While the white neGcon was released in all regions, Japan received an additional, exclusive black neGcon in 1998. It is slightly smaller and the Start button is a triangle instead of a circle, but is otherwise pretty much the same thing. It is, however, considered much rarer.

Due to the neGcon’s special capabilities the games also have additional options for configuring the controls to the user’s liking. Setting the controller’s maximum turning degree and dead zone are featured in nearly every neGcon-compatible title and many also allow to set the analogue buttons’ maximum throw. Not all games are equally flexible about this, though. Some games allow the settings to be set freely to anything to user wanted, others merely provide a few predetermined settings to choose from.

controller in neutral position – photo by blakespot

The neGcon is not completely without problems – the I and II buttons have a surprisingly long throw to them, and you really have to push the buttons deep into their sockets to hit 100%. This can be circumvented by setting the buttons’ maximum throw to a more comfortable level and some games seem to do this automatically. And of course some games work just as fine, if not better, with digital acceleration and brake, Namco’s own Ridge Racer titles being good examples of this. It would have been nice if both the shoulder buttons were analogue, but apparently there wasn’t enough space inside the controller for the required hardware. And the crucial twist function will wear down over time, loosening the feel of it and reducing the precision available.

The exact number of neGcon-compatible games is not known, but somewhere around 100 is a rough estimate. As expected, most of these are racing games but there are some examples from other genres as well – most notably Namco’s Ace Combat and World Stadium series, the latter being a then-popular series of baseball games. It really is a testament to the controller’s capabilities that even Sony’s own flagship racing game series Gran Turismo supported it, as well as their Motor Toon Grand Prix games. In fact, to this day the neGcon might be the only specialized third-party controller, outside wheels, that is supported by first-party games.

Sadly, official support for the neGcon mostly ended with the PS1, even though the PS2 is fully compatible with it. The PS2 came bundled with the DualShock 2 and though the neGcon was still more precise of an analogue controller out of the two, its time was over. Steering wheel controllers were the more common and popular choice for racing games players, and Sony would not support the neGcon in their Gran Turismo games for the PS2. Namco’s PS2 launch title Ridge Racer V naturally supported the controller as did WipeOut Fusion two years later. In the end, the controller came a full circle – the last known game to officially support the neGcon is Namco’s namCollection for PS2, a collection of five of their PS1 games, published in 2005 exclusively in Japan. In that collection the original PS1 Ridge Racer plays just as smoothly with the neGcon as it did 11 years before.

The controller still enjoys the appreciation of fans of PS1 racing games. For some of them the neGcon is the only controller that can provide analogue controls, making it the choice for players wanting to experience the game at its best and be able to do time attack to their fullest potential. And thanks to PlayStation-to-USB adapters it’s actually possible to connect the neGcon to a computer and play many PC racing games with it. The game just has to support the remapping of axes, and games like Live For Speed, GTR, Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit (2010), the DiRT games, GRID, as well as many others, do. Some of them also have very extensive configuration options allowing the neGcon to be used very comfortably, like it was designed for these games from the start.

Here are some PS1 and PS2 titles that work great with the neGcon. Even though these are older games, they are still very playable and fun today and are usually fairly cheap to acquire on the used market. The neGcon itself can often be found for around $10-$35 USD so the controller isn’t that expensive an investment either.

Shop for the neGcon Controller on eBay
Shop for the neGcon Controller on Amazon.com

The Ridge Racer Series

It’s only proper to start with the series that begat the neGcon. Originally an arcade game, the series found great popularity on the PS1 due to it’s characteristic fast pace and drift-happy racing. The gameplay is easy to grasp and starting a drift is, most of the time, as simple as letting go of the accelerator for a moment. Still, there are some nuances to the handling that keep it interesting enough and getting the best times is not an easy task. Considering the series did not get DualShock support until the fourth game the neGcon is naturally the best controller of choice here.

The first game may seem light in content nowadays as there are only two tracks to choose from, with the second track being merely an extended version of the first one. It’s very pure in its arcadey-ness, just boot up the console, play a quick game of Galaxian and after a few button presses the car is already revving up the engine on the track. It’s all very immediate and makes it easy to just start the game even if there isn’t time for an extended play session. There are a handful of cars to choose from, with drifting being easier on some than others, and a few more to unlock. As a fun curiosity, after the game has started the game CD can be replaced with any music CD to play the tracks there.

Ridge Racer Revolution is a very traditional sequel, in that it’s very similar to the first game but just has new and more content. The amount of tracks has been upped to three and though they still use some of the same sections, the differences between them are more pronounced this time. The game uses an improved version of the first game’s engine, most notably races now have a day/night cycle and having to do a lap at night really changes the feel of the track.

Rage Racer, however, changes things up quite a bit. For the first time in the series there’s a career mode and instead of just unlocking cars by winning races, they have to be bought with the prize money. The cars’ settings can be slightly tweaked as well, another first for the series. The whole game has a very different vibe compared to the previous games to it, thanks to the more detailed and realistic graphics and handling that places more emphasizes shift control. The track count is up to four, and other than the oval track they are much more complex compared to those found in the first two games.

R4: Ridge Racer Type 4, the last of the PS1 Ridge Racers is said by many to be their favorite in the series and it’s easy to see why. The Grand Prix mode, where you can select between four different racing teams, each corresponding to one of the four difficulty levels, takes you through the game’s eight tracks and that’s where you can spend hundreds of hours unlocking the game’s 321 vehicles. Most of those are just variants of each other with slightly different stats, however. The gameplay is classic Ridge Racer. The cars are split into Drift and Grip types and with the former drifting through a corner is as simple letting go of the accelerator for a moment before putting the pedal to the metal again. It’s easy to get started on, but taking corners with the best line and time still takes some practice.

With the Grand Prix, single race, time attack and multiplayer modes there’s plenty to play and do in RR4. But as an extra bonus, Namco was kind of enough to include a remake of the very first Ridge Racer game on a separate disc. This Ridge Racer Turbo has improved graphics over the original and it runs at buttery-smooth 60 FPS, something very few PS1 games can do. So if you go looking for the game, make sure the bonus disc is included in the deal.

Lastly, there’s Ridge Racer V. Namco wasn’t nearly as prolific with the series on the PS2 as they were on the PS1, but RRV is still a worthy addition to the series. And like Ridge Racer was for PS1, Ridge Racer V was a launch title for PS2 which can be seen in the infamous PS2 jaggies. But the gameplay is incredibly smooth and playing the game with the neGcon is absolutely recommended. Straightening the car after a drift has never before felt quite so fluid and natural in a Ridge Racer title.

As usual, the cars are split into Drift and Grip types and drifting works as it always has. But though it’s easy to do, doing it most efficiently takes quite a bit of practice. This time around there isn’t nearly as sizeable a selection of cars, but the dozen or so vehicles handle very differently from each other. The Grand Prix mode has been split into several smaller ones, and some gameplay modes need to be unlocked. Beating certain times in the Time Attack mode allows the player to challenge the driver in Duel Mode, and after beating all the drivers they can be all challenged together in a Battle Royal. And clearing that unlocks yet another mode. Ridge Racer V is one of the best in the series and a recommended entry to any arcade racing game fan.

The series spinoff R: Racing Revolution does not support the neGcon.

Shop for The Ridge Racer Series on eBay
Shop for The Ridge Racer Series on Amazon.com

Cyber Sled

Before Sega started their successful twin-stick robot fighting game series Virtual On in Japanese arcades back in 1995, Namco did something similar two years earlier. Their game was called Cyber Sled and it had a similar setup of two sticks with two buttons on each. Only the combatants aren’t robots, they are tanks or “sleds” capable of sliding sideways and turning on a dime. The fights take places in arenas littered with obstacles that can either help or hinder, depending on the player’s familiarity with the stage.

The tanks deal damage through machine guns and missiles, the former being limited by the heat generated which dissipates quickly and the latter by ammo. Sprinkled throughout the arena are pick-ups that refill the sled’s shields and ammo stock, so keeping on the move is essential. The radar on top of the screen helps in locating the pick-ups and the enemy sled, but it doesn’t show the arena’s obstacles. There are several playable characters to choose from and they have cheesy dialogue before and after a match, bringing some campy humor to the game. The sleds differ from each other in their speed, shield and weapon strengths, but the basic weaponry of machine gun and missiles stays the same. There’s only one round per fight, and they can be over very fast with aggressive, accurate missile attacks.

The game was ported to the PlayStation and being a Namco title it takes advantage of the neGcon. The twist function turns the sled left and right, and the d-pad moves it forward, backward and allows strafing sideways. After a bit of practice it feels quite nice, even if the tank’s turning still isn’t analogue. The port also has the option to play with improved graphics where texture mapping is applied to the original polygons. A two-player mode was also included, and it’s even possible to connect two PS1′s together with a link cable so that players wouldn’t have to deal with split-screen. It’s a fun game for quick, short burts and it’s a small piece of gaming history, being one of the originators of the “3D Arena Robot Battle” -genre.

Shop for Cyber Sled on eBay
Shop for Cyber Sled on Amazon.com

Moto Racer

The game has been called “Ridge Racer with bikes” and that is not an entirely inaccurate description. It’s a fast-paced arcade racer, only instead of drifts you can do wheelies and tricks in the air. The game actually covers two different styles of bike racing. There are motocross bikes and speedy superbikes but they are restricted to the tracks designated for them, which is kind of a bummer. But at least you can take that motocross bike and speed along the Great Wall of China, so that’s always a plus. In the Championship mode you go through both types of tracks and there’s also the standard single race, time attack and two player -modes.

The game has a good sense of speed to it which makes it fun to play. Finishing the Championship mode in different difficulties unlocks Reverse and Pocket Bike modes, the latter of which enables racing on tiny bikes that insanely fast. Funnily enough, the game displays an image of a PS1 Mad Catz racing wheel when the neGcon is plugged in. The series continued on the PS1 with Moto Racer 2 and Moto Racer World Tour, but the sequels dropped the neGcon support in favor of DualShock. For the first game, the neGcon is the only choice if analogue controls are wanted.

Shop for Moto Racer on eBay
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Side By Side Special 2000

Side By Side is an racing game series from Taito that originated in the arcades. The series started in 1996 and was followed next year by a sequel. Also in 1997 a PS1 port was released, called Side By Side Special. This release is basically a remix that combined the two arcade games into one.

In 1999 Side By Side Special 2000 was released which is exactly the same as the first game except for one crucial added feature: analogue controls via the neGcon. Many sites online say that the game supports the DualShock, but it only supports the controller’s rumble function, not the analogue sticks. To play Side By Side with analogue controls, the Special 2000 release and a neGcon are required. And it is absolutely recommend as the game is very fun and fast-paced. The tracks start off simple, but soon they introduce driving on gravel and snow which makes a huge difference in the handling. The last track is a long point-to-point downhill race on a mountain road with tricky corners to navigate. The course is in fact the infamous Mt. Akina made famous by Initial D, though it’s actually known as Mount Haruna in real life.

There are 16 cars and 10 tracks to choose from, and though the gameplay modes are limited to single race and time attack, the superb graphics and handling make the most of those. You can even save the replay file to the memory card for later viewing. This is a great title that was unfortunately never released outside Japan, but it is extremely import-friendly and pretty much everything in the game is in English.

The series continued as Battle Gear in the arcades and in 2001 Battle Gear 2 was released for PS2. It even saw a European release as Tokyo Road Race. The game does work with the neGcon but it seems to have been an afterthought, as there are no configuration options for it whatsoever.

Shop for Side By Side Special 2000 on eBay
Shop for Side By Side Special 2000 on Amazon.com

Touge Max G

The developer Cave is far better known for their shoot’em-ups like Dodonpachi, Death Smiles and Ketsui, but they have occasionally branched out to other genres with titles like Steep Slope Sliders, Uo Poko and Touge. Touge is, as its name suggests, a mountain pass racing game with narrow roads and plenty of corners to attack. Touge Max G is the series’ third and last PS1 entry and the best of the bunch. There are plenty of licensed vehicles to unlock as well as some very unexpected surprises. In addition to the usual single race, two player and time attack modes, the game also has a story mode where you follow a character through a series of races and events, occasionally having to choose between a few options to further the story. This is of course completely in Japanese but outside the story mode the game is extremely import friendly and even tuning the car’s settings is done in English.

The gameplay is geared towards drifting but it isn’t quite as easy as it is in Ridge Racer for example. Here the drifts are more difficult to control and it’s easy to keep hitting the sides of the road. But after a bit of practice it’s possible to pull off very long and impressive-looking drifts. The race replays can be saved to the memory card so the best displays of skill will not be lost to time. As a hint of the developer’s heritage, the game also has “drift points” where pulling off drifts gives you score, but hitting a wall resets the current counter. The drift points are somewhat underutilized, but in some story races you have to reach a certain drift point quota to proceed.

It should be noted that the first game in the series, simply called Touge Max, was actually released in US with the completely unrelated name (and box art) Peak Performance. The Story mode was left out, but otherwise the game is intact, including neGcon support. The series continued to PS2 with Touge 3 (released in Europe as Road Rage, continuing the nonsensical naming scheme for localization) but sadly, it does not support the neGcon.

Shop for Touge Max G on eBay

Initial D

The famous manga and anime series about drifting on mountain roads has naturally been into games many times. The PS1 version come with the expected single race, simultaneous two player and time attack modes, as well as a story mode where you go through Takumi’s races on Mt. Akina and elsewhere as he takes his first steps towards the bigger racing world. The story is told through static CGI images and FMV videos, and the game’s age really shows there, they don’t even have any voice acting. And even though the game was released after the anime started, the iconic music designed to get your blood pumping is nowhere to be heard. It has been replaced by fairly generic guitar rock, which is an odd combination at first if you’re used to the Eurobeat soundtrack associated with the series. For increased enjoyment, blast the authentic music from another source instead.

Luckily the gameplay is solid and very much drift-based, as can be expected. It’s very easy to hit the walls over and over again, but with some practice the drifting starts looking and feeling good. Even the “gutter-run” technique Takumi used many times can be done here. Though at first there’s only one car to drive in, many others featured in the series are unlockable, even the rarely seen Mercedes-Benz driven by Mogi’s “Papa” is there to be raced in. This is another title that never left Japan, but it is very import-friendly.

Shop for Initial D on eBay

Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit

Need for Speed is one of the most prolific racing game series ever created. The series started in 1994 and still goes on today, with the latest entry in the series being released in 2012 and overall there are more than 20 titles bearing the name. The first game was originally published for the 3DO system, but was released for PlayStation in 1996. Sony’s console would end up hosting five NFS titles (seven if you count the two V-Rally games re-branded as NFS games for the USA market) but only the first three games – Road & Tracks Presents: The Need for Speed, Need for Speed II and Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit – would support the neGcon, the latter games dropping the controller support in favor of the DualShock. But for the first three games, the neGcon is the only way to play them with analogue controls.

The series’ first installations are all similar thematically and are about racing expensive, licensed cars in expansive environments. The tracks are big and showy with impressive set pieces, often having little shortcuts and alternative routes which can be used to cut down on track times or just to avoid the other racers. Starting from II the games also lean more towards an arcade-like racing experience, though they also allow tuning the car’s settings to better fit the player’s driving style.

Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit added the titular Hot Pursuit mode where police chases are introduced to mix up the races. The feature was in the first Need for Speed as well (and absent from Need for Speed II) but here it is greatly expanded upon. No longer a single police offer is on the case, this time the racers are chased by multiple police cars at once. And they are not content in just overtaking the player, they will ram their cars, set up road blocks and drop spike strips. The player can listen to the police radio at all times to gain valuable information on where they are planning to stage their traps. Many of these features are still present in the more modern Need for Speed titles.

Aside from Hot Pursuit mode, the gameplay includes tournament, single race, time attack and multiplayer modes, making for a very well-rounded package. And car lovers are treated especially well, as each vehicle has a showcase covering their history and specifications, with real-life photographs and videos included. And even if the player doesn’t find that kind of coverage interesting, they can be safely ignored and the games simply played as the great racing games they are.

Shop for Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit on eBay
Shop for Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit on Amazon.com

Rush Hour

Rush Hour is a slightly off-beat racing game in that all the action takes place from overhead perspective, even though the game engine is completely 3D. And while the camera always stays above the player’s vehicle, it’s possible to zoom it in or out to the point to making the car look little more than an ant somewhere far down away. The title is also something of a misnomer, as the game doesn’t have civilian traffic on the tracks at all.

The game has the standard championship, single race and time attack modes, with the cars split into “High Performance” and “Heavy Metal” classes, the former being unlicensed but suspiciously familiar looking sports cars and the latter buggies, pickups and the like. More cars can be unlocked through the championship mode. The game has three difficulty settings – Novice, Intermediate and Professional – which alter the vehicles’ top speed as well as the AI’s proficiency. And while the first difficulty is fairly easy to beat the computer in, it puts up one hell of a fight starting from the second one and perfect lines must be taken if a podium finish is to be achieved. On the final difficulty setting the sense of speed is unexpectedly intense for a game where the viewpoint doesn’t show what’s directly ahead. Helping with that are rally-style signs telling the next corner’s direction and tightness.

Altough the gameplay is fairly simple at first glance, it takes a good amount of technique and practice to beat the AI racers. With the time attack mode the game has a lot of replay value to it, so this is something of a hidden gem that doesn’t seem to get much recognition. Special mention must be made for the game’s music which is surprisingly good. It’s mostly riffing guitars, but somehow it suits the game nicely and pumps the player up for racing. The game was released in all territories but was called BattleRound USA in Japan and Speedster in Europe.

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Rally De Europe

The rally racing discipline has never been that popular in the US, which may have been one reason why this title was never released there. But then, it wasn’t released in Europe either. In any case, Rally De Europe (as well as its prequel Rally De Africa) are great rally racing games that have been called “PlayStation’s answer to Sega Rally” by some. The games might not quite reach the excellence and iconic status of Sega’s classic series, but they are great games nonetheless.

The racing happens mostly on dirt and gravel, making powersliding through corners easy and even expected. With the faster cars there’s quite the thrill to it. The game offers the expected single race and championship modes, though as the game leans more towards arcade racing, there is no repairing vehicle damage between races as in the more realistic rally games. The championship mode is a lenghty one, as each car class has its own set of races to conquer before the next class unlocks with faster vehicles.

A notable inclusion is the Memory Battle mode. In this mode, quite unique for the time, a single lap of time attack is played on one of the tracks and the game keeps the replay. Then, up to four other replays can be either played or loaded from the memory card, and the game disc itself holds a large number of replays for all the different classes of cars. The resulting replay can then be viewed with all five cars, basically acting like ghost cars, on the track at once. It’s a very cool feature and nowadays racing against other people’s ghost cars is practically an expected feature in racing games, but back in 1998 when Rally De Africa was released it easily could have been considered new and special.

Rally De Europe has all the tracks from its prequel as an added unlockable extra, so the second game is the recommended one to get. The games never left Japan, but both titles are very import-friendly with most of the text in English.

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V-Rally 2

There were two V-Rally games released on the PS1 and both offer a similar feature list with an Arcade mode, a Championship mode, Time Attack and simultaneous multiplayer modes, with two-player mode in the first game and a four-player mode in the sequel, using the multitap. V-Rally 2 also has a “Trophy Mode” which is in-between the Arcade mode and the full-blown Championship mode where you also have to dedicate time to your car’s repairs between the stages.

The biggest new feature in V-Rally 2 is the track editor. For its time it’s a fairly powerful editor, being able to create both looped and point-to-point tracks, set bumps, alter road elevations, change weather, and even create totally random tracks at the touch of a button. These tracks can then be saved to the memory card and played in the time trial mode, effectively giving the game endless replayability.

For some reason the first game doesn’t seem to work quite right with the neGcon. Turning has this odd jumpy and imprecise feel to it. This was tested on multiple neGcons. The sequel, however, has no such problems and it controls just as smoothly as expected. Naturally V-Rally 2 also has better audiovisual quality, more pre-made tracks and is generally more refined, so there’s little reason to pick up the first game.

Both games were released in all regions, but for the US release EA, the publisher, decided to brand them with the Need for Speed name, even though V-Rally’s developer Infogrames had nothing to do with the Need for Speed series, which were developed by EA Canada at the time. Presumably this was due to rally sports not being as popular in the region and the association was supposed to help the sales. They weren’t even entirely consistent about the names, since the first game became Need for Speed: V-Rally and the sequel V-Rally 2: Need for Speed.

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Colin McRae Rally 2.0

e series bearing the name of the famous Scottish rally driver still continues today under the DiRT moniker but it got its start back in 1998 on the PS1 and PC with the sequel arriving at 2000. As can be expected the games lean heavily on the simulation side of racing games, forcing you to deal with car repairs like a real rally driver as you drive around the globe in mud, dirt, gravel and snow. Damaging the car can have dire consequences and driving with a busted drive shaft can make things very interesting indeed, so it does no good to drive like a maniac here. Proper adherence to the rally discipline is required. Luckily the manual covers some of the basic points and even comes with a handy guide to understanding co-driver lingo. The first game also had a useful Rally School which the sequel sadly lacks.

The game’s championship mode is like the one in real rally sports, with events taking place in different countries. The countries included are Australia, Japan, Kenya, United Kingdom, France, Greece and Italy, Finland and Sweden. Each country has their own feel and style to them and driving on loose gravel feels very different to driving in tarmac or mud. This requires not only the driver’s attention but also setting the car up properly beforehand. In addition to the championship  there are single race, two player, arcade and time trial modes so there’s plenty for players to do. Graphically the game is very impressive. The cars look great, they get visibly damaged as the player clips a rock or tree and soon that initially squeaky-clean Mitsubishi Lancer’s rear bumper will be hanging on a thread, with mud covering all of the car’s bottom half.

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Tempest X3

An arcade classic in the truest sense of the word, the original Tempest was released way back in 1981 by Atari. Dave Theurer, the game’s developer, has said that the idea for the game came from a nightmare of his, where monsters would crawl out of a hole in the ground. Looking at the final product, it’s easy to see the connection.

The player looks down through a blue tube with his yellow claw-like character travelling around a blue tube’s top edge while shooting down at enemies making their way up. The playing area does changes shape as the game progresses, turning into other geometric shapes as well. As was the style back in those days the game continues infinitely, it only ends when the player succumbs to the enemies’ onslaught.

The abstract graphics, neon colors, fast pace and the old-school arcade sound effects can make for a very intense and trippy experience. So it’s not that big a surprise that Jeff Minter, famous for many old home computer games as well as fascination with llamas, would end up remaking the game for the Atari Jaguar, as Tempest 2000. The formula was tweaked by adding power-ups that allow the player to jump, warp stages, or shoot a more powerful laser as well as adding enemy types and more varying designs for the stages. There was even a two-player mode included. This version was then ported to the PS1 as Tempest X3, though with some gameplay differences.

However, the overall experience is intact and the nightmare of blasting enemies crawling up a neon web would again haunt many a player. The original arcade cabinet had a spinner controller for analogue controls and the neGcon works nicely as a replacement.

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Motor Toon Grand Prix

First, let’s get the record straight. The original Motor Toon Grand Prix was released in 1994 shortly after the release of the PlayStation and it never left Japan. It was, by most accounts, not a very good game. But it was developed by Polyphony Digital, who later become famous for a little racing game series called Gran Turismo.

Two years later the game received a sequel, Motor Toon Grand Prix 2. It would get released worldwide, only it was called “Motor Toon Grand Prix” in USA because the first one never made it there and Sony didn’t want to confuse the buyers. It was still released under its original title in Europe, even though it was the first in the series to come out there as well. But the important thing is that the game did come out in all regions, because it is an excellent title. The developers clearly learned their lessons from the first game and the sequel outshines the original in every way.

At first glance it’s a kart racer like so many others. But there are fundamental differences at the core level that make me wish this was the direction the kart racing subgenre took instead of where it is now. Most importantly, the item system, which is the basis of kart racers. There are the usual projectile attacks, traps dropped behind you, speed boosts and so on. But instead of grabbing them from the track, coins are picked up instead. As long as at least one coin is held, a roulette wheel can be spun and the item the wheel stops to is given as a reward. It creates a very different dynamic when coins can be saved up and then multiple items can be released in quick succession, and the player can keep the coins in reserve until they’re needed. And in a stroke of genius, the developers decided to disable items completely on the harder difficulties. So instead of hoping to get lucky with items, the player must master the driving and learn the tracks in order to win. And it must be noted that the game has a speedometer, a true rarity among kart racers.

The game has quite a unique visual style to it. Like in many 40′s and 50′s cartoons the cars are personified and literally stretch towards the direction the player pushes them to. At first it may feel a bit jarring, but soon it feels natural. The tracks are very colorful as well and it all feels very cohesive. There are five cars to start with three more to unlock and five tracks (as well as their reversed versions) to race them on.

There is plenty to do in MTGP. There are modes for single races, time attacks, free fun, a two-player mode (but only via a link cable) and a championship mode. Depending on the difficulty chosen, different things can be unlocked there. Absolutely the coolest unlockables are the three minigames. First is a tank combat game, where the cars have been re-shaped into tanks and they attack each other with either direct or ballistic shots in obstacle-filled arenas. Second is a fairly simple clone of the board game Battleship. The last one is a new racing mode with realistic cars and more realistic handling. This mode also runs in higher resolution and in 60 FPS, which was quite uncommon for PS1 games.

As if all that wasn’t enough, the game also has great replay functions with which to save your best races and use them as ghost cars with the time attack mode later on. There are even hidden ghost cars by the developers to beat. The game is just absolutely full of content and should at least be tried out by all arcade racing game fans, even (and especially) the ones who don’t usually care for kart racers.

Shop for Motor Toon Grand Prix on eBay
Shop for Motor Toon Grand Prix on Amazon.com

Gran Turismo 2

Sony’s flagship simulation racing series boasts incredible production values and a huge amount of licensed cars. Even the very first game has about 150 vehicles to choose from, but the sequel boosts it up to an incredible amount of 600 cars to buy and unlock, and all the cars are modelled as accurately as the hardware could allow. Car lovers should have no problems finding their favorite vehicles (or maybe even the one they have in their driveway) and take it out for a virtual spin. The sequel also increases the amount of races and tracks available, as well as including rally cars and courses for the first time in the series.

The game comes in two discs, one for Arcade Mode and the other for Simulation Mode. In the former the player can freely choose the track to race on and the car to use but the heart of the game is the Simulation Mode, where the player needs to earn licenses and money in order to enter events and purchase cars to his ever-growing garage. The license tests also unlock more tracks to be used in Arcade Mode and the tests can be a great challenge to get the best ranks in. There’s a great amount of content in the game, there are events dedicated to specific car types and manufacturers, endurance races, and more. All this makes GT2 a game that hundreds of hours can easily be spent on.

The neGcon support is excellent and it allows nearly every facet of the controller to be configured just to the user’s liking.

Shop for Grand Turismo 2 on eBay
Shop for Grand Turismo 2 on Amazon.com

Ray Tracers

In 1997 Taito decided to bring their classic franchise Chase HQ to the 3D era with Ray Tracers. As with its inspiration, the main focus is on Chase mode, where you go through several missions through busy streets before encountering a large boss enemy like twin tanks or even a helicopter, whom you then you have to ram into several times to destroy. The player’s car can’t actually be destroyed, but failure to destroy the target in time will result in a game over. There are four characters to choose from and they vary in top speed, attack power and other abilities.

In addition to Chase mode, there is a more traditional Time Attack mode where you race either alone or against an single opponent. It’s a very nice additional feature that brings a lot more replayability to the game. Ray Tracers was released in all territories, though only the Japanese one has the characters talking to each other with actual voice clips.

Shop for Ray Tracers on eBay
Shop for Ray Tracers on Amazon.com

Wipeout Series

The neGcon is quite possibly most associated with this futuristic anti-gravity racing game series, and for good reason. The games are extremely smooth and playable and just plain fun. They can be played as either combat racers, or as a more traditional racing game with all the weapon pick-ups turned off. In either case, the best players usually use the neGcon as their controller of choice, especially since the first two games in the series, Wipeout and Wipeout XL (known as Wipeout 2097 in Europe) do not support analogue controls any other way.

The series is known for its blazing speeds, bright neon colors and licensed techno/electronica music. The tracks are often very technical and require the proper use of the vehicle’s airbrakes, which take some getting used to. But after they are mastered, it is exhilarating to fly through a hard corner nearly at full speed, with the craft’s back just barely scraping against the wall.

The PS1 hosted the series three times, with Wipeout, Wipeout XL and Wipeout 3. In addition to the normal game, Europe received Wipeout 3: Special Edition that contained slightly altered physics, gameplay changes, bug fixes and most importantly 10 new tracks. The series continued to PS2 with Wipeout Fusion that also supports the neGcon. Sadly, it would be the last of the series to do so.

Shop for Wipeout Series on eBay
Shop for Wipeout Series on Amazon.com

Others

There are many other excellent titles that can be played with the neGcon, this was just a small part of them. Namco’s Ace Combat series, the two Rollcage games, Crash Team Racing, and so on and so forth. For more coverage on the racing titles, check out Rolling Start!!, a site dedicated to arcade-style racing games with a forum for discussing the games, exchanging tips and engaging in time attack competitions.

Fantastic Dizzy is one of several games in the Dizzy series and the only one released outside Europe. Despite the similar sounding title it is not to be confused with Fantasy World Dizzy, the third game in the series with similar gameplay (Fantasy World Dizzy has been ironically referred to as the “best game of all time” by Yathzee, from Zero Punctuation fame).

What made it special

The gameplay of most games in the Dizzy series is an uncommon combination of platforming and location and item-based puzzles. Dizzy has a limited capacity for holding items. In this game, he can hold 3 at a time in this game, and sadly the inventory system is a bit clunky as it works by cycling around the items: the item you pickup comes in from the left, and you can only drop/use the rightmost item (meaning you may need to drop and pick items back up to order them as desired).

As expected for a platform game, Dizzy can not only walk around but also jump, which he does by somersaulting. One particularity is that when landing, Dizzy continues to roll until his feet touch the ground. Depending on where you start the jump, this may lead you to continue farther than expected so some precision jumping may be required to successfully navigate some areas.

Dizzy is an egg with arms but unarmed, an despite the boxing gloves he is mostly harmless. There is little you can do about enemies other than avoid them. In contrast with some of the previous games in the series, there is horizontal scrolling and the protagonist faces more enemies. Fortunately, in Fantastic Dizzy lives are not lost in a single hit – Dizzy has a damage bar and can regain health by getting food which is scattered in the game world (such as fruit hanging from trees). The game also has quite some collecting – unlike the relatively small number of coins (30) that could be collected in earlier games, here there are 250 stars in the Amiga and Mega Drive versions (the number of the stars is different in some of the ports).
There are some NPCs to interact with in a fairly limited fashion, including the Yolkfolk – these are Dizzy’s friends and family, all from whatever species of boxing gloves wearing, sentient eggs with feet, all with names starting with D.

An interesting aspect of the game is that some of the puzzles are similar or even the same as puzzles used in previous games in the series, and that it also includes Minigames, gameplay of two of these were featured as spin-off games in the series: Bubble Dizzy and Dizzy Down the Rapids.

Story

Daisy, Dizzy’s girlfriend has been kidnapped and the other Yolkfolk have been harmed by the evil wizard Zaks (which has been troubling Dizzy since the original game in the series). Dizzy must go to the rescue (as usual)!

Legacy

The series was published by Codemasters, and was considerably popular in Europe in the home computing scene of the 1980s and early 1990s (Spectrum, C64, Amstrad CPC, Amiga etc). As listed in wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dizzy_series), the main series consists in:

• Dizzy – The Ultimate Cartoon Adventure – 1987
• Treasure Island Dizzy (Dizzy II) – 1988
• Fantasy World Dizzy (Dizzy III) – 1989
• Dizzy 3 and a half: Into Magicland (Dizzy 3.5) – 1991
• Magicland Dizzy (Dizzy IV) – 1990
• Spellbound Dizzy (Dizzy V) – 1991
• Dizzy Prince of the Yolkfolk – 1991/2011
• Fantastic Dizzy – 1991
• Crystal Kingdom Dizzy – 1992

and are several spin-off games, either arcade-style games or puzzle games.
1987

Fast Food
1990

Kwik Snax
Dizzy Panic!
Bubble Dizzy
1991

Dizzy Down the Rapids
1992

Go! Dizzy Go!

In addition to this, there is a huge number of fan created games. Philip and Andrew Oliver (often referred to as the Oliver twins) are the original creators and retain the copyrights together with Codemasters (the publisher). These fan-created games have been allowed as long as they are freely distributed. Furthermore, there is a dedicated free toolset for making Dizzy games named DizzyAGE which contributed to the proliferation of fan-created works. The toolset and some of the games created with it are available in the site:

http://www.yolkfolk.com/dizzyage/

In the last couple of months of 2012, the Oliver twins pitched a sequel and tried to get it crowd-funded on Kickstarter, but it failed to meet their ambitious goal:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/theolivertwins/dizzy-returns

Ports

Unlike previous games, Fantastic Dizzy was not developed for the Spectrum or Amstrad. In addition, it was released outside Europe. Ports include the Amiga, the Sega systems (Game Gear, Master System, Mega Drive / Genesis), the NES and DOS. As expected, the best graphics will be found in the 16-bit versions, either on the Amiga or Mega Drive, so you may prefer to go with one of those two and be treated with colorful cartoony scenery and characters. One should note that the Mega Drive and DOS versions do not include the rapids mini-game.

We’ve cobbled together the remaining interviews we did at PAX East 2013 into one jampacked show.  You’ll hear an interview with the folks from Ackk Studios, who brought a giant human-sized Game Boy to the convention to show off their game Two Brothers. You’ll hear an interview Dave Welch, who is hard at work on Boot Hill Heroes at Experimental Games.  And you’ll hear from the folks at Stoic Studios, who are hard at work on the next evolution of The Banner Saga (also be sure to check out our previous episode featuring the folks at Stoic).

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Do you have something to add? Do you have questions about this episode? Do you want to heap scorn or praise? Please let us know below, on Twitter at @rackteboypodcst, in the forums, or email us at podcast at racketboy dot com.

Are you wondering if your Sega Genesis collection has any valuable treasures in it? This month we take a look at Sega’s most popular console of all time and its most desired games. Since the console wasn’t a huge success in Japan, we will find quite a few rarities in its library, but there are some other gems from the rest of the world as well.

Update: Prices Current As of 04/02/2013

In stark contrast to the Cheapest Games series, this Rare and Valuable series will round up the rarest and most valuable games for a given console or handheld so you’ll know what to look for whether you are buying or selling.

Below you will see two prices beside each title. The first is the average daily selling price, which is typically the going rate for the game by itself. The second price is the highest price in the past three months, which is usually the price for the new/sealed game. The list is ordered by the balance of the two prices. Note that some of these games are not rare in the sense that there are not many available, but rare relative to demand, which makes the games expensive.

Over the last few years we’ve seen certain titles rise out from under the radar to become big collectors pieces.  We have also seen the values of completed copies rise quite nicely.  If you have had a nice library for some time, you should see some nice increases in overall value, but if you’re just getting started, things are starting to get pricey.    Since we’re seen some fluctuations,  I’ve kept in some of the past values from previous revisions so you can see the changes and we have some historical reference.

Limited Edition Collectibles

These picks range from the unreleased or unlicensed games that found their way into collectors hands to rarity box sets that saw limited production before “Limited Edition” was commonplace.

	Tetris: $3,000 – $16,000 So you think the unlicensed Tetris game for the NES is hard to find? Just try to get your hands on the Japanese Megadrive Tetris. It was developed alongside Sega’s System-16 arcade version, but never reached shelves after legal wranglings gave Nintendo exclusive console rights. However, that little issue doesn’t stop some people from obtaining it. Apparently, there are about 10 copies known to be floating around. See The Latest Megadrive Tetris to Surface
	Genesis Blockbuster World Video Game Championships II: $1,200 – $2,500 Much like the competition carts mentioned in the NES and SNES rare and valuable lists, this little cartridge was used to promote a few games (in this case NBA Jam and Judge Dredd) and let players compete for prizes. In the case of this Genesis game, the cartridge was never meant to be distributed. It’s probably even more rare than the NES cart. (rumor has it that there are only two copies floating around).  Don’t get excited when you see all the reproductions floating around though…
	Ecco The Dolphin Box Set: $210 – $1300 Most Sega fans are well aware of the underwater, puzzle-filled adventure, but you most have probably never seen this rarity. According to an old Sega Force magazine, Sega made a deal with a London aquarium which housed a real dolphin named Ecco that would be benefited by the proceeds. It was sold in very limited quantities in a handful of shops.   A complete box set sold for about $1300 USD on eBay back in 2011 but again only sold for $280 in 2012 (the box set was missing the CD and T-Shirt) (Check out more pictures of the set here)
	Phantom 2049 Box Set : $600 – $900 Sega released a limited collector’s version of this game for the Mega Drive in Australia, most likely due to the character’s popularity there. In addition to the game, it contained a set of the Phantom Glow Zone stickers and a Phantom key-ring. This set doesn’t show up very often — especially in complete and pristine condition. See Latest Phantom 2049 Box Set on eBay
	Maximum Carnage Box Set: $160 – $327 Who says that there isn’t anything worthwhile on QVC? Apparently there were 5,000 copies of this Maximum Carnage set made and they were sold (perhaps exclusively) on the QVC home shopping TV channel. The included book includes the first few issues of the Maximum Carnage comic that the game was based on. See Latest Maximum Carnage Box Set on eBay

The Expensive Japanese Megadrive Imports

	Batman Forever, Justice League, Maximum Carnage, Virtual Bart, WWF Raw, Judge Dread, & Comix Zone Around $280 – $700 each These games are all plentiful and dirt cheap in the US, but in Japan, only a few copies of these games were released. Most of these games were published by Acclaim during the last days of the Genesis and the publisher actually took some extra European game boxes, stuck on a new T number and a barcode on the box, and a Japanese cartridge for the quick and dirty release. Now they are simply collectors pieces. It is very difficult to get solid prices on these games as they rarely appear. Every so often one will show up on Japan’s Yahoo auctions and they usually go for around $300 USD, but are rumored to sell for as much as $700.
	Eliminate Down – $90 – $450 Even though most people won’t enjoy it as much as MUSHA or the Thunderforce series, Eliminate down it one of the better (and most difficult) 2D shooters on the Megadrive. Usually, you can find it around $200, but it apparently sold for about $300 on eBay a while back. See Eliminate Down on eBay
	Panorama Cotton – $ 170 – $350 This pseudo 3D shooter had incredible backgrounds, making the MegaDrive hardware do things that the Nintendo fanboys claimed were impossible on the Sega machine. The game on its own is rare enough (about 5,000 copies were produced), but if you really want to show everyone up, try to find the game with the rare Panorama tea cup that was available initially for free to anyone that sent in a coupon to the publisher. Only about 300 of those tea cups exist and its presence with the game can nearly triple the overall value. See Panorama Cotton on eBay

The Expensive PAL Megadrive Games

	Megaman: The Wily Wars – $ 300 – $530 2010 Value: $150 – $200 The Wily Wars served as a compilation of remakes of the first three Megaman games in addition to an extra “Wily Tower” gameplay mode which let the Blue Bomber battle a fresh batch of robot bosses before facing Wily in the final castle. This popular Megaman title was also available in the US on the Sega Channel, but only saw a true retail release in Japan and PAL territories. It is the only Megaman game to be released on the Megadrive. See Megaman: The Wily Wars on eBay
	Nightmare Circus – $180 – $230 2008 Value: $180 – $230 Supposedly, this game was supposed to be Genesis’s answer to Donkey Kong Country, however, once everyone realized how crappy of a game it really was, it was cancelled in all the major markets, but was eventually released in Brazil in 1996. The game was also available in the US on the Sega Channel. Rumor has it that an English version of the game is out there somewhere, but proof has not materialized. See Nightmare Circus on eBay
	Daze Before Christmas – $100 – $320 2010 Value: $100 – $160 It’s not too often you see a video game with a holiday theme, but Daze Before Christmas is simple platforming game that had a small print run on the Genesis. In fact, as far as we know, the game was only released in Australia on the Megadrive. See Daze Before Christmas on eBay

Top Unlicensed / Homebrew Releases

While most people think of unlicensed games as the cheap crap that came out during the console’s heyday, the Genesis has seen a number of recent releases that are just as good as some of the high-profile games in the Genesis library. Because they were produced in rather small quantities and most of the original purchases aren’t looking to get rid of their copy, the values can stay quite strong.   Here’s some of the biggest collector’s pieces.

	Pier Solar and the Great Architects: (First Editions): $200 – $600 Pier Solar and the Great Architects: (Reprint Edition): $120 -  $227 Pier Solar was a completely homebrew release that was developed by Watermelon Co (and started as a project of the classic Sega website, Eidolon’s Inn).  This 2010 release also had the option to use the Sega CD for extra audio content.   The first print run actually had three variations with different languages, different box artwork and different label artwork. There are 800 of each of the three editions.The Posterity Edition is also first edition that was to thank the earliest supporters of the project.  The Posterity Release has a sticker on the package and a additional magazine. The exact number was never published, so we can only estimate. It was limited to 500 copies but not all of them have been sold.The Reprint does not have all languages and the CD is not included. It has a different box (plastic clamshell) and a different box artwork and label artwork. Numbers were never been published for the Reprint Edition, so it’s completely unknown how many of them have been sold. Check for Pier Solar on eBay
	Star Odyssey: $190 –   $204 This 2011 release from Super Figher Team (of Beggar Prince fame — see below) is an RPG that was localized from an unreleased version of Hot-B’s Blue Almanac, an RPG in the similar to Sega’s Phantasy Star series. The game was slated for a western release, but progress stalled somewhere along the way. The only existing prototype copy of the localization was found to be incomplete and glitch-ridden.   Super Fighter Team cleaned it up and prepped it for an indie release.    The first run of the game sold out of the initial 600 copies.  It seems that Super Fighter Team is open to the idea of a re-release. Check for Star Odyessey on eBay
	Beggar Prince (First and Second Editions): $95 - $144 This is the game that kicked off the “new” Genesis releases.  Beggar Prince was the first new Genesis product released since Majesco published Frogger in 1998, and gamers everywhere were excited at the prospect of owning the game in cartridge form, complete with box and manual. Though Beggar Prince originally appeared in Taiwan in 1996, the rest of the world had never seen it, so it was seen as “new” for everyone in the West.The American company, Super Fighter Team created an English translation of the game and did the first commercial release in 2006.  By September 8, 2006, all 600 copies had been sold. However, a month later, Super Fighter Team announced that they had begun taking pre-orders for a second production run of 300 copies. By June, 2007, this production run had also sold out.   The total print run for Beggar Prince with the original cover art is 900 copies. Check for Beggar Prince on eBay
	Beggar Prince (Third Edition):  $115 – $137 This third print run included several changes including higher-quality cover art, became available for pre-ordering on October 9, 2007 and started shipping on November 27, 2007.   This print run had 600 copies bringing the total print run of the game to 1,500 copies.  Between there being less copies of the game with the new cover and the preference of many current Genesis owners for the new art, the third release is staying quite high in value. Check for Beggar Prince on eBay
	The Legend of Wukong:  $111 – $129 The second Genesis game that Super Fighter Team brought stateside was this RPG was originally developed and released in China in 1996.   It saw a commercial release of the English translation in 2008.   It sold out of the first run of 600 copies and Super Fighter Team hasn’t ruled out the idea of doing another print run. Check for Legend of Wukong on eBay
	Action 52: $40 – $100 2010 Value $22- $40 Action 52 is an unlicensed release with a bunch of poorly made games one cartridge game that originally retailed for $199. The cartridge is only really sought after for collection’s sake as Action 52 is well-known for its low quality and numerous bugs and even fatal crashes. An interesting note: The publisher advertised a prize for a random person who beat level 5 of Ooze — The developer was essentially off the hook, however as the game crashes at level 2. Check for Action 52 on eBay

Treasured Standard USA Releases

	MUSHA: $80 – $253 2008 Value: $34 – $115 2010 Value: $60 – $125 Shmup fans are always willing to pay good money for a quality shooter and on the Genesis, MUSHA is main target on the platform. Coming from the Aleste series of shooters, MUSHA was relatively popular in Japan but the game never caught on state side. On a side note, it was never released in Europe, so it an especially appealing import over there.   As you can see from the historical values above, this one has been climbing the charts for quite a while. Check for MUSHA on eBay Check for MUSHA on Amazon.com
	Grind Stormer:   $70 – $285 Known as “V – V” in Japan, this shmup from Toaplan saw a rather limited release on the North American Genesis.  For the longest time, this release went under the radar, but as Shmup fans are building up their collections, this one is joining MUSHA at the top of the list. Check for Grind Stormer on eBay Check for Grind Stormer on Amazon.com
	Crusader of Centy : $80 -  $150 Crusader of Centy is an Action RPG from Atlus.  Altus is known for doing some smaller print runs for its games and this one is no different.  Usually their games have a bit more of a cult following after them, but Crusader is a bit more low profile — just recently creeping up in value. Check for Crusader of Centy on eBay Check for Crusader of Centy on Amazon.com
	The Punisher: $50 – $130 Licensed beatemups were all the rage in the 90s and The Punisher jumped on the bandwagon, but with a rather limited Genesis/Megadrive-exclusive port of the arcade game.   It didn’t end up selling that well (it isn’t that good of a port) and is now a bit of a challenge to track down — especially in complete condition. Check for The Punisher on eBay Check for The Punisher on Amazon.com
	Miracle Piano Teaching System w/ Piano: $100 – $115 2010 Value: $70 – $90 Back in the 8 and 16-bit eras, The Software Toolworks created these Miracle Piano Teaching Systems for the major consoles to help teach people how to play the piano.  The game comes with all the piano hardware you need to play along, so that adds to the price/value.   If you only have the cartridge, it will be a lot less valuable, but still hard to find.Check for Miracle Piano Teaching System on eBay
	Splatterhouse 3: $50 – $100 2008 Value: $34 – $78 2010 Value: $30 – $55 Splatterhouse 3 was the precursor to the survival horror genre and 3 plays like Double Dragon (but with more gore and violence, of course). Splatterhouse 3 was also the last game in the cult-classic series before the 2010 reboot of the series (which may have sparked intrest in the previous games) Check for Splatterhouse 3 on eBay Check for Splatterhouse 3 on Amazon.com
	Master of Monsters: $40 – $120 2008 Value: : $26 – $60 2010 Value: $18 – $45 Master of Monsters is a turn based strategy game that isn’t typically a well-known game in the Genesis library. The game is fairly rare now but sold well enough initially to warrant a sequel on the Saturn. Many fans of the series think the Genesis version is the most watered down game in the series, but that hasn’t hurt the resale value at all. Check for Master of Monsters on eBay Check for Master of Monsters on Amazon.com
	Double Dragon:   $39 – $188 One of the first big franchises in the beatemup genre saw a few more common releases on the Genesis the the form of a sequel and a mashup game teamed with the Battletoads.  However, the straight port of the original arcade game is the one to be one the lookout for. Check for Double Dragon on eBay Check for Double Dragon on Amazon.com
	Streets of Rage 3: $50 – $75 2008 Value: $34 – $56 2010 Value: $35 – $50 The Streets of Rage series was a popular alternative to the Final Fight series and game brawler fans plenty of fun on the genesis. Even through the third installment in the series isn’t usually regarded as the best of the bunch, it is significantly harder to find that its predecessors. Check for Streets of Rage 3 on eBay Check for Streets of Rage 3 on Amazon.com
	Teenage Mutant Ninja Tutles: Hyper Stone Heist:  $40 – $100 During this game’s release in the early 90′s the Ninja Turtles were at its peak and the arcade game “Turtles in Time” was bringing tons of quarters.  The SNES received a great port of Turtles of Time, but the Genesis got a bit of a different take on the game.  There are some similarities, but Hyperstone Heist has fewer, but longer levels in addition to some differences in special effects and audio.   It is a more challenging game and has become a valued part of the Genesis library. Check for Hyperstone Heist on eBay Check for Hyperstone Heist on Amazon.com
	Warsong: $40 – $83 2010 Value: $16 – $50 Also know by the name, Langrisser in Japan, this tactical RPG is the first in a long series from Nippon Computer Systems.   Many have compared it to the Fire Emblem series that has a cult following on Nintendo platforms. Check for Warsong on eBay Check for Warsong on Amazon.com
	Shining Force II: $40 – $80 2008 Value: : $39 – $103 2010 Value:  $35 – $80 Shining Force 2 is not extremely rare but it is considered one of the greatest RPGs of all time. Developed by the Sonic Software Planning (now known as Camelot) at Sega, this tactical RPG is #48 on IGN’s top 100 list and considered a must own for Genesis collectors. It also was a later release in the Genesis library and came in the cardboard boxes that are hard to keep in good condition. This puts a high premium on mint/complete copies of the game. Check for Shining Force II on eBay Check for Shining Force II on Amazon.com

Additional Valuable Japanese Imports

• Snow Bros: $70 – $280
• Twinkle Tale $90 – $260
• Battle Mania Daiginjo / Battle Mania 2 $90 – $245
• Alien Soldier – $80 – $180
• Yu Yu Hakusho – $60 – $170
• Greylancer – $70 – $170
• Ristar – $50 – $150
• Contra – $50 – $150
• Nagoya Home Banking – ???

Additional Box Sets

• Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego Box Set
• Primal Rage Box Set (picture)

The Rarest US Genesis Games At Affordable Prices

Each of these games have a rarity rating greater than 6, but routinely sell for less than $30. If you are a Genesis collector and see a boxed or sealed copy of any of these on eBay for a low price, you might want to snatch them up — you may never see them again.

• Joshua Battle for Jericho: $11 – $15
• Liberty or Death: $15 – $22
• Zero the Kamikaze Squirrel: $15 – $45
• Rolo to the Rescue: $6 – $10
• Crossfire: $6 – $10

Additional US Sega Genesis Games of Value

These games are quite collectible; resulting in a high resale value, especially for complete, boxes copies.

• Valis III: $30 –   $192
• Herzog Zwei:  $30 – $90
• Castlevania Bloodlines:  $39 – $88
• Mutant League Hockey:  $39 – $84
• New Horizons – Uncharted Waters: $40 – $75
• Zombies Ate My Neighbors : $30   $77
• Sparkster: $29 – $73
• Jurassic Park: Lost World:  $20 – $80
• Splatterhouse 2:  $30 -  $70
• Aerobiz Supersonic: $40 – $60
• Contra Hard Corps: $50 –  $75
• Michael Jackson’s Moonwalker: $45 – $75
• Gunstar Heroes: $40 – $60
• Phantasy Star IV:  $35 – $178
• Aero the Acrobat 2: $28 – $80
• Ghostbusters: $35 – $55
• Shining Force: $30 – $60
• Ghouls’n Ghosts – $24 – $110
• ToeJam and Earl: $30 – $55
• Battletoads:  $30 – $76 (premium for complete cardboard box version)
• Outback Joey – $30 – $60
• John Madden Football ’93 Championship Edition:   $27 – $57
• Time Killers: $20 – $53
• Truxton: $26 – $51
• Valis:  $25 -  $60
• Blockbuster Game Factory Blue / Green: $30 – $50 each
• Death and Return of Superman:  $25 – $50
• Spiritual Warfare: $18 -  $52

Credits: Rarity scores are courtesy of my friends at DigitalPress.

Sega fans are usually quite familiar with the Ecco the Dolphin games, but most people haven’t seen this particular box set.  According to an old Sega Force magazine, Sega made a deal with a London aquarium which housed a real dolphin named Ecco that would be benefited by the proceeds. It was sold in very limited quantities in a handful of shops.   A complete box set sold for about $1300 USD on eBay back in 2011 but again only sold for $280 in 2012 (the box set was missing the CD and T-Shirt)

The images below are taken from the two eBay auctions mentioned above.

Dave and John ventured to PAX East in March and decided it might be a good idea to record their thoughts on what they saw at the show while driving away from the convention. Hear Dave almost crash, hear John marvel at a few inches of snow, and hear two tired gamers struggle to remember what they did over the past few days. If that’s not your thing, skip ahead to the 62-minute mark for our first PAX East 2013 interview with Sean at YachtClubGames, who told us all about the upcoming Shovel Knight!

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Presented by Dsheinem
New To Together Retro? Check out the introduction to the club

It would be fair to say that Half-Life is one of the most important games in all of gaming history. Not only did it popularize and innovate the story-driven First Person Shooter, but it also thrust Valve into the spotlight as a leading PC game developer, a position which they have capitalized on in their efforts to redefine PC gaming development and distribution in the fifteen years since its release. Join us this month as we play through this undisputed classic.

Overview

Half-Life tells the story of Gordon Freeman, a physicist at the Black Mesa Research Facility in New Mexico who works on the cutting edge of scientific research and experimentation. Early in the game, an incident occurs at the laboratory that propels Gordon into a story filled with many interesting twists and turns, forces him to engage in a variety of combat situations against both human and non-human enemies, and leads to the discovery of new and useful technologies for him to add to his arsenal.

The details of the story are best left to be discovered by the player, but suffice to say the telling of the story was, at the time, probably more acclaimed than the narrative itself. Many of the taken for granted conventions in modern First Person Shooters, such as cinematic camerawork, frequent use of items in the environment, memorable interactions with NPCs, rather impressive AI from NPCs, and in-engine cut-scenes were popularized (if not necessarily pioneered) by Valve’s debut title. The (scalable) difficulty offers something for almost any level of FPS skill, and the game continues to be very playable today.

It is also worth mentioning some of Half-Life’s other innovative elements such as the health system (with the health stations that could be used to “top-up” instead of just wasting a full pack etc.), and the first-person platforming (although that was mostly at the end of the game) was actually good instead of frustrating as is often the case.

Ports

The best choice for playing the game is via PC (Microsoft, Mac, and Linux OSes are all supported and versions for each can be downloaded via Valve’s own Steam platform), but there are also several console ports to choose from. The game was ported to the PS2 by Gearbox Studios and released in 2001, and it was posthumously leaked online by folks involved in the Dreamcast scene for that console. The PC port is generally considered to be the definitive version and was supported for many years after release with patches and updates…the game has also been given many fan modifications on PC that offer a number of options not found on consoles.

Legacy

Half Life saw several expansions released which continued the story of Black Mesa or otherwise fleshed out some other characters or components of the world Valve created. These titles included Half-Life: Opposing Force and Half-Life: Blue Shift on the PC and Half-Life: Decay, a co-op title included in the PS2 release as an add-on

The game also received a very well-regarded sequel in 2004 entitled Half-Life 2.

In this episode Dave & John talk about John’s game buying habits, Spec Ops: The Line, The Last Story, Starcraft II, Fire Emblem Awakening, pre-PAX East thoughts, editing headaches, and much more.

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presented by Brickiemart, Adam Sarson, BulletMagnet, and Racketboy

Be sure to check out similar guides in our Genre Guide Collection

Even though I have been a Sega Genesis fan from the beginning, I didn’t quite realize how many Shooters the console had in its library until I saw this guide taking shape.   I always looked at systems like the Saturn, Playstation, TG16, and the Dreamcast as being the primary resources for the genre.  While that may be true, the Genesis / MegaDrive isn’t far behind and has quite a few titles to keep fans of the genre busy.

There are many sub-genres that are essentially shooters, but in this guide we will primarily stick to your traditional horizontal and vertical scrolling shooter.    There are a few other shooters listed in here, but we aren’t going to be extensively covering run-and-guns or most multi-directional shooters at this time.

Anyway, we hope you find this guide useful and we look forward to hearing about your favorites in the comments below!

Thunder Force 4

Thunder Force 4 aka Lightening Force [sic] is a strong contender for the title of best Genesis/Mega Drive shooter. This is Techno Soft’s third entry of the series for this console (and the last sprite-based one). Like the previous Thunder Force you can chose the order you play the first stages in. The power up system also references the third game, you start out with two basic weapons which you can upgrade and slots for other weapons that can be picked up. Techno Soft once again weaves some developer magic to create the game’s visuals, which are stunning to say the least. If you want to show off how great the Genesis/Mega Drive can look, here is the game to demo. Another aspect of Thunder Force 4 that makes it a great shooter is the soundtrack. Unlike other Genesis/Mega Drive shooter gems (M.U.S.H.A., Eliminate Down), Thunder Force 4 will not cost you an arm and leg to own, copies go for a relatively affordable amount online.
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Eliminate Down

Eliminate Down stands among the best of the Genesis/Mega Drive shumps. The game is only available as a very high priced import. It is developed by an obscure company called Aprinet and published by another unknown company called Soft Vision. The developers here managed to create a game that is a gem on Sega’s platform and an essential title to play for any shmup fan.

Eliminate Down is comprised of eight levels. The game scrolls horizontally and features a graphically detailed sci-fi setting. In fact the visuals are one of the first noticeable features about the game. The graphics sport a high degree of detail, especially by Genesis standards. The gameplay is fast and the difficulty is high, but not impossible. Eliminate Down shines by having constant action, creative mini-bosses and bosses on every stage, and a good soundtrack.

Eliminate Down does not rip off from its predecessors, but instead manages to conjure up major fights and attacks that feel fresh and interesting. The only criticisms that one might have are against an annoying sprite flicker that can occur when the action heats up and that some of the sound effects can get aggravating after hearing them for over twenty minutes. These minor points aside, Eliminate Down epitomizes the term “rare gem” and should be discovered and enjoyed by any shooter fan.
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M.U.S.H.A.

M.U.S.H.A. often ranks high on top lists for Genesis/Mega Drive shooters. The game has a strong reputation which it earns through great sound, graphics, and gameplay. The English title is actually an acronym for Metallic Uniframe Super Hybrid Armor. It a vertical scrolling game with seven levels and a solid soundtrack; M.U.S.H.A. itself is a part of the Aleste series by Compile (hence its original Japanese name, “Musha Aleste”). You play a character in a mech (as opposed to a space ship) with the ability to pick up smaller ships to accompany you as power-ups. These smaller ships can take damage for you and fire in a variety of methods.  This game is beautiful and it plays great. M.U.S.H.A. is a must-play game for any shooter fan and anyone looking to experience one of the best titles on Sega’s console. If you are looking for a copy of the game to add to your collection it will cost you. The original cart is rare and goes for high price (always near the top of our Rarest & Most Valuable Genesis/MegaDrive list) when it is put up for sale, especially a CIB copy. However, if you want to own the classics of the Genesis/Mega Drive shooter library, M.U.S.H.A. is required title.
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Thunder Force 3

Several complaints that people often have with Genesis games versus Super Nintendo usually involve criticizing the sound and graphics. Technosoft proved themselves to be magicians with Sega’s console and with Thunder Force 3 they delivered a game that graphically and aurally rivals most SNES games. This game is among the best on the system and one of Technosoft’s top works. What makes the game succeed is how polished virtually every aspect of it is. The visuals in the game are among the Genesis/Mega Drive’s finest; there are graphical effects here that you will not see in any other Genesis title. Gameplay is smooth (I can’t emphasize that enough) and the bosses are big. The game is challenging, but does not get frustrating. A bit of practice and patience is all it takes to win. Thunder Force 3 is arguably one of, if not the best, shooters on the console. It is highly recommended and an essential title to own for any Genesis shmup collection.
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Steel Empire

Steel Empire is a Genesis shmup with a good amount of character. It handles all the necessary gaming aspects very competently; controls, pacing, sound, and graphics. What sets this title apart from the rest is the unique choice of color palette and art style. This game was steam-punk before steam-punk was cool and the graphics have a rusted look to them (which, by the way, is not a criticism). Steel Empire has seven stages of horizontal scrolling; to get through them you have a choice of a zeppelin or an airplane which is basically a dichotomy of slow-with-a-lot-of-health versus fast-with-less-life. Steel Empire is solid throughout, the art style, unique design of the levels, and enemies make the game stand out above the typical space ship or fighter plane shmup fare. The game can get tough at times, but thanks to the inclusion of a health bar Steel Empire keeps itself from getting “Gradius hard” which make this game a shmup worth checking out.
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Gynoug

Gynoug / Wings of Wor is a hectic rapid fire shooting game that, at times, feels like a bullet hell title. You play a winged character who flies horizontally through the levels, similar to side-scrolling levels from Legendary Wings on the NES. The game consists of six stages with a healthy dose of enemies and big end bosses. The power-ups system is not overly complex, one color orb gives you a wider shot and another makes those shots stronger, You can also collect bombs which will be vital to surviving some of the harder levels. The game has unique enemies on every area and some great effects like a rocking effect that can give you vertigo. Overall, this is another great shooter that fits in well to any shooter collection. Thankfully, obtaining a copy will not cost arm and leg, the game is fairly affordable.
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Gleylancer

Gleylancer is a title that never had a release outside of Japan until Nintendo brought it to the virtual console in 2008. The game is good and definitely worth owning due to the fact that it is very playable despite the language barrier (and like many popular retro imports, an original cart will cost you). The game starts with a great cut scene introducing the player to the main character; you are a young girl on a mission to save your father. You commandeer the best ship you can find and you’re on your way. There is nothing here that is revolutionary, but it’s a fun game. You have two orbs that accompany you and can behave in a manner that you define at the beginning of the level. The game has nice levels and two endings depending on whether or not you can save dad on the last stage. Another solid entry to the Genesis/Mega Drive library of shooters!
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Elemental Master

Techno-Soft arguably had their best years making Genesis/Mega Drive games. While not as well known as the Thunder Force series, Elemental Master stands as a worthy addition to their catalog of games. For this title the developers decided to break away from the science fiction themes of Thunder Force and Herzog Zwei and instead draw upon fantasy elements for the game’s visuals. Elemental Master is a top-down shmup where you control Laden, a sorcerer trying to stop the evil King Gyra. The game opens up with an impressive cutscene which lays the foundation for the plot. It is revealed in a twist that the game’s antagonist is none other than your own brother, possessed by darkness.

The player takes control of the game after the introduction. The first half of the game is broken down into four selectable stages, each representing an element and a corresponding power-up that is gained after the level’s boss is defeated. The default weapon available at the beginning of the game is a standard parallel two-beam shooter. Unlike many other shmups all the different weapons are permanent and cannot be lost once gained. The four elemental power-ups can be charged up to release an explosive blast; the main default weapon becomes chargeable after the first four stages are completed, which gives the player the game’s most powerful weapon. Other helpful items are scattered throughout the journey including shields, multiple shot, and energy to replenish your health bar.

The gameplay involves you controlling Laden by moving in any direction on a vertical scrolling map. The levels are designed to look like different landscapes, each offering various non-lethal obstacles (and, of course, tons of bad guys). Laden can fire any selected weapon up or down. Graphically Elemental master does not shine as brightly as Techno Soft’s other two shmup masterpieces, Thunder Force 3 or 4, but it does not trail them by much. The bosses are huge and the game’s soundtrack is among the Genesis’ best. Some may say the game is too easy and I agree, unless the game catches you sleeping you won’t have too much difficulty navigating through. Difficulty is still balanced pretty evenly and increases mostly on the last three stages; everything flows well enough that it never gets boring.

The US version of Elemental Master was published by Renovation.  It’s a great addition to any shmup or Genesis collection. The game is not too uncommon and copies can be picked up on the cheap. Also Japanese copies of the game seem to be almost as abundant as their US counterparts; being a shooter with little Japanese text in the actual game, Elemental Master had a good number of copied imported when it was released in Japan.
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Super Fantasy Zone

If you are a fan of the classic Sega franchise Fantasy Zone then you are in luck, unless you live in North America. Super Fantasy Zone is a 16-bit entry into this classic Sega series, the game received a release in Japan and Europe, but not North America. Nintendo rectified this by releasing it for the Wii’s virtual console in 2008. If you are familiar with how Fantasy Zone plays, there will be no surprises here. The game lets you roam freely left or right, like Defender, and it features bright colorful graphics. Like its predecessors there are shops that can be found throughout the levels that gives you temporary upgrades. Unless you count Keio Flying Squadron on the Sega CD, Super Fantasy Zone is the best option available for a bright colorful shooter on the Genesis/Megadrive.
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Gaiares

Gaiares is horizontal shmup released stateside by Renovation. Among the large amount of Genesis shooters, Gaiares rests relatively high among the bunch. The developers had no problem using the console’s color palette to generate some excellent looking visuals. This is highlighted in the boss fights at the end of the game’s eight stages. Each one is massive and fills up a good portion of the screen.

What really sets Gaiares apart is the power up system. Following your ship is a Gradius-like option, but unlike Gradius you can launch it at an enemy and gain their unique type of firepower; repeated launches into the same enemy equals a more powerful version of said weapon. Gaiares is not easy, it’ll give any gamer a good challenge and will probably not be completed on the first playthrough. The game is not uncommon and can be tracked down relatively easily but a CIB version, while not as pricey as some import Mega Drive shmups, might require a bit of extra coin.
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Truxton

Toaplan! Truxton (known as Tatsujin in Japan) was an early release for the Genesis/Mega Drive, hitting shelves not long after the debut of the console. It is an arcade port that I remember being one of the games used in European advertisements to show off how much more advanced the Genesis/Mega Drive was over the 8-bit NES. The game still looks great and it will ooze nostalgia to anyone who paid attention to Sega’s 16-bit console in its early days. It’s not the best-looking game on the console anymore, but that’s excusable due to the fact that it was an early release and based off of an arcade game.  Even though all Genesis/Mega Drive shooters are technically retro and old school, Truxton feels a bit more classic than then the rest. The game comes highly recommended to anyone that enjoys old school shooters with an arcade feel. The arcade-exclusive (save the Japan-only FM Towns computer system) sequel is great too.
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Raiden Trad

Raiden is a classic shooter franchise. As of this writing it spans four official releases and various spinoffs. Raiden Trad is a modified version of the first arcade game released for the SNES and Genesis/Mega Drive. The game is not a visual masterpiece, but Raiden is a franchise that has a standard of quality among shooters; this entry in the series helps to establish it. There are eight vertically-scrolling stages that move along at a slow to medium pace. Raiden Trad lacks the fast-paced rush some shooters can give you, but that’s perfectly fine. There are two types of weapons to upgrade and (of course) large, devastating bombs. Like Truxton, this is an old school game that feels a bit older still than the rest of its contemporaries. The best part about it is that if you want to own a copy it rather common and affordable!
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Bio Hazard Battle

Bio Hazard Battle starts by letting you pick one of four “ships” to play. They all seem modeled after something aquatic, in fact the whole game’s aesthetic features a biological/oceanic theme which makes it visually unique among the typical ‘space ship in space’ shooter. The game overall is good, if not great. The uniqueness of the enemies and the stages is what puts it a notch above other such shooters. The four ships each have advantages and disadvantages over the other ones and there are plenty of power ups to find throughout the game’s eight stages. Bio Hazard Battle (or its more oddly-named Japanese edition, “Crying”) is common to come across and fits in well with any shooter collection.
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Sub Terrania

Sub Terrania is a shooter with a twist to the usual horizontal and vertical scrolling. The game gives you free range to move, but it also imposes heavy restrictions on you. Mainly, you have to manage your fuel. Each stage has a set of goals that does not necessarily just consist of killing a boss, often times you will find yourself rescuing hostages a la Choplifter. If you are craving a typical on-rails shooter where you only have to worry about dodging and shooting, Sub Terrania will get very frustrating very fast. If, however, you have an idea of what you are getting into and you take the time to master the thrust mechanic Sub Terrania can be a very fun game.
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Granada

Wolf Team is a defunct game developer that had was quite prolific during the Genesis/Mega Drive years. Thanks to publisher Renovation, gamers outside of Japan were able to play some of their great titles (as well as great games by other Eastern developers). This may be a point of contention, but neither Wolf Team nor Renovation had their name on many games that would be considered classics or must-haves for Sega’s 16-bit console.

They were, however, two great companies that brought over a lot of good games that helped the Genesis/Mega Drive stand out from its competitors and expand its library to include unique games found nowhere else. Now, Granada is one of those games. It does not have the legacy that Sonic or Zelda has, but it’s downright fun. This game is not a typical scrolling shooter, but instead it plays like a twin stick shooter before consoles could do twin stick. You can roam freely on the stage and your goal is to kill the bad guys and the things that spawn them (not unlike Gauntlet). You fire in the direction you’re facing and you can hold a button down to continue firing in that direction while moving in different ones. This is how the game creates its twin stick feel. The game is not a system-seller, but Granada is great mindless shooting and definitely worth playing.
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Verytex

If you made a three-category list of Genesis shmups which included best, middle, and worst, Verytex would likely be at the top of the middle list. There is nothing wrong here; Verytex is a pretty vanilla shmup developed by Operahouse and published by Asmik which never saw a release outside of Japan. It has some things going for it, but in contrast to the Genesis’ hefty shmup catalog it fails to shine too bright.

The game is comprised of six vertically-scrolling stages. The graphics are decent and its soundtrack ranks slightly above average. There are three weapon types, missiles and shield power ups, nothing too extravagant. The one issue with the game that can cause frustration is inconsistent difficulty and a few cheap shots that will be thrown at you. For example, in some levels of the game enemies will spawn behind you with no warning, killing any player hugging the bottom of the screen. Some levels are simple and can be beaten on the first try while others may take a few attempts. The part that really amps the difficulty, of course, is the end boss. On its last incarnation the final enemy goes into nightmare mode and becomes a series of eyes shooting non-stop heat-seeking fire and fast moving lasers that can hit almost every inch of the screen. The game does not allow you to continue where you died, but instead at mid-points in the level; the final boss is no exception.

These faults don’t break the game, Verytex is worth playing and if you are going to spend the money on an import shmup for your Genesis, Eliminate Down would be a better choice, but if you already own that Verytex makes a good addition to a Genesis collection.
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Slap Fight

Slap Fight (also known as Alcon) might have some value to collectors since it was only released in Japan. This game, released by Tengen for the Genesis/Mega Drive, feels very much like an arcade game (which should be no surprise because it is a port of one). Slap Fight is a vertical shooting shooter that will look a bit aged on the Genesis when you compare it to other games released at the time. The power up method appears borrowed from Gradius, but the game does offer some nice things beyond that, like having multiple ships attach to you in a Galaga-like fashion. Similar to Raiden Trad, Slap Fight does not visually blow you away, but it does capture that arcade feel that shooters developed specifically for consoles just don’t have. It’s not a handicap for those other games, just a different type of gaming experience. If that statement makes sense and you enjoy that arcade feel replicated on a console, Slap Fight will be worth your time.
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Sagaia

Sagaia is decent shooter that is faithful to the Darius series (except for the name of the game; for some reason “Darius 2” didn’t cut it for the title of the game so it was renamed. The same anomaly occurred for “Lightening Force”).  For Sagaia you get to choose your path after each level which gives the game a lot of replay value. The levels all branch off from the previous ones; you can finish the game without having seen most of it. If you ever played the arcade game this is based off of you will miss the massive letter boxed screen, but if you don’t have that as a point of reference Sagaia is a fun and very challenging game. In typical Darius fashion the robotic fish themes are littered through each level. The game falls short of the brilliance that the 32-bit Darius games are, but it’s still a good title to play.
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Dangerous Seed

Dangerous Seed is an arcade game developed and published by Namco that was ported to the Mega Drive for a Japanese-only release. The console version deviates from its arcade counterpart a bit, but it still manages to bring an arcade feel to the system; something that the large Genesis’ shmup library doesn’t have too much of. The game is long, it’s comprised of 12 levels at about a medium difficulty. Dangerous Seed uses an interesting ship mechanic where at different stages you get another ship attached to your own which (depending on how you arrange them) affects how you fire. They also each have a health bar.

Most of the enemies are the same with little derivation. The various bosses are big and usually their most lethal attack is them quickly lunging at you, not a spread of bullets. Overall this is a good little import shooter for the Mega Drive. It falls short of great by being a bit monotonous and graphically average, yet really never fails anywhere else.
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Master of Weapon

Master of Weapon (Taito’s error, not mine!) is yet another Japan-only shooter. The game is an arcade title made by Taito. It features a gun and bomb mechanic similar to Xevious where you have one weapon that can only hit aerial enemies and one solely for ground units. Unlike Xevious, the game is fast-paced. The graphics range from average to good and the difficulty is solid. The boss fights can drag a bit which can result in a loss of interest for those with short attention spans. Otherwise, it’s a solid vertical shooter with a good arcade feel.
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Twinkle Tale

Twinkle Tale is a free-roaming shooter that some people might say is not a real shmup. Regardless of how you make the distinction, this game will satisfy your urge to gun down 16-bit enemies. Twinkle Tale looks great on the Mega Drive and its gameplay makes me think of Elemental Master, but with less restrictive movement. Every stage in the game is diverse and forces you to navigate through various rooms and environments; it is not on-rails so you will not be forced to constantly move vertically or horizontally. Twinkle Tale manages to keep itself interesting throughout each stage; one level even has platforming elements (minus the jumping) in a scenic sky setting. Twinkle Tale never got a release outside of Japan (but it did receive a fan translation) and it can get rather pricey for import copies.
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Whip Rush

Anybody that has a healthy Genesis collection most likely has a few Renovation titles floating around. They were a great publisher that provided a variety of niche titles to the Genesis crowd. Whip Rush is one of the shmups they brought stateside. The game is comprised of seven mostly-horizontal scrolling levels: by “mostly” I mean the game does not always move left to right, some parts of the level will scroll down into a body of water, or in every cardinal direction through a labyrinth-like stage. The presentation features average Genesis-caliber graphics that appear cartoony at some points due to (what I imagine is an intentional) lack of detail. The sound effects show the worst side of the Genesis’ sound capabilities; they can get irritating fast, usually when the ship is firing. In typical shooter fashion there are a few different shot types that can be powered up by getting the same type repeatedly. Having a weapon that can fire behind you is essential to beating the game. Whip Rush also has one of the most varied speed controls I have ever seen in a shmup
Criticisms aside this is a competent little shooter that does little wrong. There is an effort by the developers that shows in the game, from the initial cut scene to the ending. The boss fights may irate some due to the bosses having a hitbox that has limited exposures, but there are more than a few innovative and difficult challenges to be found there.  Whip Rush may be generic, but it definitely has its charm and is worth checking out.
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Phelios

Phelios features the Greco-Roman God Apollo flying on Pegasus in attempt to save his significant other, the goddess Artemis. This is a vertical scrolling shooter that isn’t bad in the slightest. It is reminiscing of Legendary Wings, at least the portions of it where the character(s) are scrolling vertically. Phelios is a port of an arcade game of the same name released by Namco. This is from an era when the arcades were still ahead of console hardware, so it’s no surprise that the port lacks the graphics and details of its arcade counterpart. Phelios loosely bases itself off of mythology for it visual themes and style. And despite the game’s graphics falling short of the arcade version, this Genesis/Mega Drive title is still nice looking game with a good amount of color. For the price this usually demands (not much) Phelios is worth adding to a shmup collection.
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Battle Mania 2 / Battle Mania Daiginjō

Battle Mania Daiginjō is the sequel to Trouble Shooter (as it is known outside of Japan) and it’s a game that never left Japan which is a shame because it is much better than its predecessor. Like it’s prequel you don’t play as a ship or airplane, but as a person (or persons) flying through the air and shooting.   This setup and its mix of both horizontal and vertical scrolling gives the player a good change of pace from more traditional shmups.  The controls are very responsive and tight and the game has solid pacing throughout.  Because of its more unique play structure, it is a bit of a cult classic within the Japanese Megadrive library.

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Curse

If you enjoy retro shooters and importing games (assuming you are not Japanese) owning a Genesis/Mega Drive could be a very rewarding experience. Curse is yet another shooter that never saw the light of day outside of Japan. This game sits right on the bell curve for me in regards to Genesis/Mega Drive shooters. Some of the visuals are nice and it’s not broken, but it feels a bit sluggish. Your ship does have a shield (aka energy bar) that reduces frustration when you make a careless mistake.  Overall, the parallax scrolling is nice eye candy and if you are looking to grow your gaming collection you could do a lot worse than Curse.
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Aero Blasters

Aero Blasters is a game developed and published by Kaneko. It is an above-average shmup that was ported from the arcade (where it was known as “Air Buster”) to both the Genesis and Turbografx. Of the two console versions the Genesis has the better graphics; in fact the game looks great all around. Kaneko managed to take advantage of the Genesis’ color palette and made a shmup that is as colorful as some Super Nintendo games.

The game is a basic side-scroller. It features a limited number of power-ups that really contribute little, the one main fault of the game in my opinion. The stages are varied, starting in a beautiful metropolis (which you watch get decimated) and ends in a fortress. Aero Blasters features plenty of the dodging and shooting you’d expect, Kaneko did, however, add some variety to keep the player interested, though not everyone will agree with all of their choices. On stage two the play will be forced to move at full blast-processing speed through a variety of corridors that take twitch reflexes or memorization to navigate through. Stages three and four change the game physics to mimic zero gravity, and stage six has Ikaruga-like maze elements.

This game is worth checking out if you are going to explore the Genesis’ shmup library. It’s a competent game that offers a good challenge without getting frustrating. While everyone may not agree about Aero Blasters being a great game, few shmup fans will call it a bad one.
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Undead Line

Undead Line is a tough game that plays a lot like Elemental Master.  This is yet another title to add to the list of Japan-only shooters for the Mega Drive. You can choose the order you play the stages in and each level has its own motif, a cemetery, forest, etc. There is a mid-boss and end boss for each stage along with a variety of chests containing power ups to help you out (like a very valuable shield). The game doesn’t look too bad and the end bosses are typically huge (although they often lack a significant amount of animation).  The game will require practice to beat due to the fact that it can difficult at times. If you are not interested in hard gameplay there are difficulty adjustments in the options. Undead Line is a good title that falls short of being great. It’s a good game to own, but only if the price is reasonable.
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Vapor Trail: Hyper Offence Formation

Vapor Trail began as an arcade game by Data East and was ported to the Genesis/Mega Drive by Telenet Japan. Renovation saw fit to bring the title stateside. The console port is faithful to the arcade; the game itself is a vertical shooter that puts the player in the cockpit of one of three different fighter planes. Vapor Trail is a competent game and a fun shooter that features a power-up system based on four weapon types and a shield which takes the place of a bomb that is used in many shooters. Strangely, the game got a sequel in the form of a horizontal mech shooter that was released to the arcade, PSX, and Sega Saturn called Wolf Fang: Kuhga 2001. Following that the series went back to vertical shooting with another sequel called Skull Fang.
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Hellfire

Hellfire, as the name suggests, is one of the more difficult games on this list, but it’s also one of the most under-appreciated  The name references the most powerful weapon that you have at your disposal, but it might as well be an ode to how tough the game can be, especially in the later levels. Initially a port of Toaplan’s arcade version, Hellfire holds up very well even to this day. It’s one of the better-looking and sounding games on this list, despite being released in 1990, and it retains the same solid gameplay that made it a popular arcade title in the late 80’s. What sets it apart from many shmups is the shooting mechanic, which allows you to choose one of four directions (forward, backward, vertical, four-way diagonal) to shoot in with the press of a button, and it works very well. It’s not one of the most well-known Genesis titles out there, but it’s worth a look, especially if you’ve played the rest. If you can find a CIB version, you can expect to pay at least $40.
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Forgotten Worlds

Forgotten Worlds is an arcade game by Capcom that got a port to a variety of consoles. The game does not follow the traditional shooter formula. You can play a one or two-player game, the two playable characters are beefy unnamed tough guys armed with BFGs. The gamplay for Forgotten Worlds is unique due to how you fire. Your gun can be powered up with several upgrades, but you don’t just fire forward in this horizontally scrolling game. Two of the gamepad buttons will allow the character to rotate themselves in a circular motion thus changing the direction they fire. One button rotates right and the other to the left. Upgrades can be bought in shops that appear throughout the levels. Forgotten Worlds is fun game, though the transition from the arcade’s twin-stick mechanics to the Genesis pad might be too much to overcome for some. If you can get comfortable with the rotating shooting mechanic there is a very enjoyable gaming experience here.
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Fire Mustang

Fire Mustang is a port of the arcade game USAAF Mustang released by Taito exclusively for Japan. The game is a side-scroller that takes place during WWII. The game takes some liberties with its history, but most people don’t play 2-D shooters for a history lesson. Oddly enough, this Japanese-developed game put you in command of a US Air Force P-51 Mustang, you fly horizontally through the game fighting off the Germans and Japanese. Shooting consists firing a direct shot forward (or multiple forward shots depending on your accumulated power-ups) and bombs that will fall to the ground. The game is competent and worth playing if it can be found for a reasonable price. If you are going to import only one shooter for the console, this wouldn’t be the top choice.
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Fire Shark

Toaplan! This is another Toaplan game that made its way to the Genesis/Mega Drive. Fire Shark is a sequel for the shooter Sky Shark (an arcade game ported to a variety of platforms). One way to imagine Fire Shark is like Truxton if it had a WWI theme; the games have a very similar feel to them. Fire Shark is not incredibly difficult, but you do have to be careful since your airplane can only take one hit. Luckily, Fire Shark got a multi-regional release and it can be bought for a reasonable price tag online. The title comes recommended for that reason to collectors, if you are looking for a decent shooter for a rainy day you could do a lot worse.
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Battle Squadron

You can look at some games and know right away that they are Amiga games. EA was kind enough to bring a handful of PC/Amiga games to the Genesis/Mega Drive and Battle Squadron is one of them. Like many Amiga games this was not developed by a Japanese development team, but a Western one. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but anyone who has played a good variety of shmups will be able to immediately feel the difference between a Western-made shooter and an Eastern one.  This is not the best shooter for the Genesis/Mega Drive, but it is unique. It is difficult to find this kind of shooter experience on a console and for that reason alone Battle Squadron is worth owning, especially if you are a fan of games along the lines of Tyrian.
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Twin Hawk

Even more Toaplan! If you have played Truxton and/or Fire shark you will be right at home with this shooter. Twin Hawk is a WWII-themed shmup developed by Toaplan and released by Taito. It was originally an arcade game that got a Mega Drive release for Europe and Japan (not North America, unfortunately). Like 1942 you play as a warplane that is in charge of decimating waves of enemies. Unlike 1942 all of your foes consist of tanks and boats. This is a unique feature of the game that isn’t a fault, it’s just a bit odd compared to the plethora of other WWII-themed shooter. Another unique feature of the game is that instead of having a bomb, you call upon additional planes to fly with you and shoot at whatever is in front of them. They are pretty weak overall and similar to the stone centurions you can free in Kid Icarus with the mallet. Still it is an interesting way to do a special attack. The game is not exceptional, but a good title for any shooter or Toaplan fan; since it is not highly priced, it’s a welcome addition to any shooter collection.
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Bio-ship Paladin

Bio-ship Paladin, or “Gunship Gomora”, was released in 1991 on the Mega Drive, a year after it had made its debut in the arcades. It’s a pretty standard shmup in most regards, with the story revolving around the attempted destruction of a city by a fleet going by the name of the Aggressors. It’s your job to pilot the Paladin and stop the alien horde over ten levels. You control a standard gun which fires directly in front of you, but you also get a second weapon that can be used with a crosshairs for more accurate shooting, and a laser which is accessed by holding down the shoot button. The difficulty of the game is lessened a little bit by the power-ups that are available, including enhancements to your armor, which also increases your ship size, speed boosts and attachable weapons. The game looks good, with colors that really pop and stand out, and while the audio is mostly forgettable, it never gets on your nerves. Multiplayer is also available, with two players working together or competing against each other for points. The framerate slows down at times when there’s a lot going on, but for the most part, it runs quite smoothly. If you can find a copy, it comes recommended.
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Sol-Deace

Sol-Deace is not a bad game, but it is a “meh” shmup for the Genesis. The game was brought to the states by Renovation and made by Wolfteam. For Sega’s consoles it exists in three versions, the cartridge, the Sega CD, and the Mega CD (the latter two bearing the name “Sol-Feace”). The cartridge version is a port of the CD version and the Western and Japanese version differ from each other mostly in sound. The voiceovers are done in accordance to the region’s particular language, but for some reason the makers of the Sega CD version did not use the CD for some of the sound effects that the Mega CD did; there are bits of the game in the Japanese CD version that produce sharper and better audio effects as opposed to Sega CD version which got its sound effects from the Genesis console. This aside the game is an alright seven-level horizontal shmup. The power ups are weak and the graphics okay. If you have access to a Sega CD definitely get that version if you are going to give the game a go, the saving grace of this title is the soundtrack. Sol-Deace feature some of my favorite game tunes with some really standout tracks. And luckily for the game, a shmup with a great soundtrack gains a lot more playability.
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Trouble Shooter

Trouble Shooter stars two young heroines, Madison and Crystal as they attempt to stop the bad guys and rescue a hostage. The game is decent enough, if you are looking for something spectacular look elsewhere. Trouble Shooter does manage to distinguish itself from other Genesis/Mega Drive shooters by featuring two jetpack-wearing females instead of a space ship. You can choose your weapons at the beginning of the level and you have the ability to have both girls focus their aim forward or one fire backwards and one fire forward. Trouble Shooter is not a very difficult horizontal shooter. The Japanese- and Korean-only sequel improves on the formula quite a bit.
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Task Force Harrier EX

Treco would release a handful of gems for the Genesis/Mega Drive including the only North American release of a Langrisser game (Warsong). Task Force Harrier EX is one of several shooters the company ported from the arcade to the Genesis/Mega Drive. In this game radical Communists have a new bomber that could destroy the free world and only you and your Harrier jet can stop them. This is not a game you play for colorful graphics. It’s a vertical scrolling shooter that doesn’t look as good as its arcade source, but it can give the player some enjoyment. You have a main attack for flying enemies and a bomb for ground units. The power ups mostly revolve around two smaller ships that flight adjacent to your Harrier and they can be aimed in various positions. Overall, it’s an alright shooter that is not broken and available for a relatively cheap price.
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Grind Stormer

This was a late release by Tengen in the Genesis/Mega Drive’s lifespan. It was developed by Toaplan for the arcade and is ported to the Genesis/Mega Drive by Tengen just like Slap Fight. Unlike Slap Fight, Grind Stormer did get a release outside of Japan. The port has been criticized as being a poor representation of the arcade version, if you can separate the title from its source you have a decent game here. It’s not without its flaws, mainly a lack of polish that other games (Thunder Force 4, Eliminate Down) proved were possible on the console. This is not the best shooter around, but if you are a collector or a Toaplan fan then it’s worth tracking down. Copies of the games are not outrageously priced, but it will cost you a bit to own.
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Insector X

In this bug-themed horizontal shooter you control what can best be described as a giant mechanical wasp armed with a forward cannon. There’s nothing wrong here with the game, Insector X is a competent-enough game that doesn’t have anything broken within it, but overall the game is just average. The graphics aren’t terrible and the environments are interesting for the most part. In traditional shooter form every level ends with a large boss, in Insector X they will be modeled after an insect or arachnid. The game originated as an arcade title (whose visuals and sound were much more cartoony in nature), and found it’s way to the Genesis/Mega Drive by the way of Sage’s Creation. The game doesn’t cost much so it does come recommended if the price is low enough.
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Mega Swiv

The best part about Mega Swiv is the two different control options. Players have the choice between a helicopter (which can fly over certain obstacles) and a jeep (which can shoot in multiple directions), and both can be used at the same time when a second player comes aboard for co-op play. The story is pretty standard for the time, with you being sent in to eviscerate a group of bad guys who have stolen military equipment, and plan to use it on the rest of the world. It’s your job to make sure it doesn’t happen, and while the story doesn’t represent anything great, it doesn’t get in the way either. It’s a pretty run-of-the-mill shmup, and the visuals aren’t anything fantastic, but the co-op is solid and the different play styles add a little variety to the experience.
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Arrow Flash

As a general rule, shmups are usually known as being for hardcore gamers who love a challenge. Arrow Flash, released on the Genesis exclusively in 1990, is the exception to that rule, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t some value here. The game lets you switch on the fly between two different ships, a smaller one and a robot-like transformer. They both typically play the same, but some players might prefer one to the other. Due to the comparatively tame nature of the game, it’s a perfect introductory title for those who are interested in the shmup genre, but haven’t really explored it to the level that others have. The visuals are decent, but the sound definitely needs some work. The one thing that really frustrated me about the game was the need to continually press the shoot button to fire, instead of being able to simply hold it down. It’s not the most widely available game out there, but if you find one, you can expect to pay $15-$45 based on condition and completeness.
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Thunder Force 2

Thunder Force 2 was one of the launch titles for the North American Genesis in 1989, and while it’s not as revered as its sequel, it’s still a quality game that should be in the collection of any shmup fan. The game alternates between top-down and side-scrolling stages, and while the top-down levels are decent, the game really shines with the side-scrolling. Obviously the developers agreed, as when the sequel was released the following year, the overhead portions were completely removed in favor of pure side-scrolling. You have two options for weapons, with a more powerful one that shoots just straight ahead, or a secondary option that shoots forwards and backwards at a reduced level. The opening level starts off easy enough, but the difficulty spikes once the second area begins and becomes increasingly difficult throughout the game’s nine stages. Being a launch title, you can forgive the slightly below-standard visuals and audio, but it does take away from the game when looking at it now almost 25 years later. It set the stage for arguably the best shmup on the system, and even though it’s not as good as TF3, it’s still a must-have for serious collectors and players.
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Atomic Robo-Kid

Atomic Robo-Kid started as an arcade game and it was later ported to nearly every console that would take it. If you are looking for fast paced shooter action, you’re in the wrong place. This game is slow (as in, you have to scroll the screen manually), sluggish, and difficult. Atomic Robo –Kid is a one-hit-you’re-dead horizontal shooting/action title. This game may float some gamer’s boats, but overall I see it having a hard time finding a large fanbase. The title isn’t broken in any way, there are just a lot of other titles on the Genesis/Mega Drive that will offer more immediate gratification.
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Zero Wing

If you are familiar with the “All Your Base” internet meme, this is the game where it comes from. Besides the infamous poor translation what else does this game have going for it? Zero Wing is a Toaplan arcade shooter that was brought to the Mega Drive in Japan and Europe, but not the States. This is not Toaplan’s best game, but it is not a train wreck either. The port is very close to the arcade version and it looks decent graphically. One interesting aspect in the game is a tractor beam that you can use to grab and throw enemy ships. This may sounds great, but it doesn’t enhance the game too much. In fact it seems a lot better in writing. Ultimately, all the feature does is pull and throw small baddies, not anything cool like the weapon-stealing beacon in Gaiares. Overall, due to the import price tag (for North Americans) Zero Wing is a game that is best left to collectors who are completionists and people who are interested in it just for novelty’s sake.
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Viewpoint

Let’s get one thing out of the way off the top: Viewpoint is much better on a Neo-Geo arcade unit than it is on any other platform, but that doesn’t mean you should ignore it on the Genesis. The gameplay is a pretty faithful rendition of the arcade version, with the full complement of weapons and power-ups present throughout the game to go along with a varied enemy and obstacle set. Of course, the original did present more enemies than the Genesis title does, but if you’ve never played the original, that won’t matter. When it comes to the visuals, you’re playing from an isometric (or “¾”) perspective, and despite the obvious step down in horsepower, it looks pretty good, though the audio is really just average at best. The biggest knock on the game is that it lags, and to be honest, it can get pretty bad at spots. If you can look past the framerate issues, and the fact that you’re not getting the full experience on the Genesis, you’ll find a solid shmup that probably doesn’t get enough respect on the platform due to it not being the best version of the game.
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Darwin 4081

As you may have guessed from the title, evolution plays a key role in this one. In Darwin 4081, a port of the arcade title Super Real Darwin (not, oddly, its predecessor, Darwin 4078), the planet Lakya has inadvertently released their life force that drifts to another planet, Cokyo. The two planets end up going to war with the use of their constantly evolving weapons and ships. The storyline is probably the most interesting thing about the game, along with your ship consistently changing and evolving based on the items that are dropped by your fallen enemies. Darwin 4081 is a vertical shooter that allows you to have a standard weapon that will deal with most of your foes, as well as a ground weapon, specifically for dealing with lizard-like enemies that patrol the land. The “upgrades” to evolve your ship won’t be for everyone, so it’s advised that you try them all out and plan to avoid the ones that don’t help you out. Darwin 4081 is a pretty fast and fluid game, but it certainly won’t blow anyone away in the presentation department, as it’s one of the more bland, generic shooters on this list. Outside of the concept, there really isn’t anything spectacular here, but there’s nothing truly awful either. If you’ve tried all of the rest, give Darwin 4081 a go.
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Cross Fire (Super Airwolf)

Cross Fire (aka Super Airwolf) is a game that switches up it’s gameplay. In Japan the game proudly sports the Air Wolf brand, but outside of that region it is known as Crossfire. I assume this is due to licensing issues. At first the game is very similar to Tiger Heli, you control the helicopter (Airwolf) and lay waste to other airborne bad guys. After that comes the ground phase; you have one more opportunity to use your helicopter, this time you can take out ground unit (mostly foot soldiers) so that the third game phase will be a bit easier. The third phase is straight NES Commando-like shooting. The main character is on the ground and he can freely roam in any direction while dodging fire from other ground units. It’s not a bad combination and it is worth giving the game praise for trying something different. That being said the title is ok at best. There are a lot of better shooters to spend time with on the Genesis/Mega drive.
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Twin Cobra

Adding to Toaplan’s long list of Genesis/Mega Drive games is Twin Cobra. This is an arcade game that was published by Taito. It is the successor to Tiger Heli and like that game it is a vertical scrolling shooter that puts the player in control of a helicopter. You have a forward shot that can be powered up and a bomb that damages all enemies in a circular range. The graphics are only ok by the console’s standards and the game has a fair challenge (which can be adjusted with eight difficulty settings). Twin Cobra falls right on the fence, if you are not a shooter fan already, Twin Cobra will not convert you.
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XDR: X-Dazedly-Ray

There isn’t much to say about XDR, outside of the fact that you probably won’t have much fun while playing it. There are six stages of horizontal shooting, each with a boss at the end, and while some have compared it to Gradius, at least in concept, the two games couldn’t be more different. Graphically, XDR isn’t too bad, but the audio is uninspired in both the music and sound effect departments, and just ends up making the whole experience worse. The gameplay is too slow, and you never really feel like you’re in total control of your ship, which happens to be bigger than most ships in similar games, causing you to have more trouble than you should when it comes to dodging enemy fire. When the best thing you can say about a game is that it has cool boxart, it’s a sign that you should stay far, far away.
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Heavy Unit

Heavy Unit is a game by Kaneko, a company with a decent shooter resume including Air Buster (PC Engine  & Genesis/Mega Drive), Nexzr (PC Engine CD), and Cyvern (Arcade). Unfortunately, Heavy Unit does not stack up to the aforementioned games. It’s not broken, but it’s bland overall. You control a ship that has the ability to transform into a mech, similar to a “variable fighter” in Macross. There are some colorful stages and bosses, but if you are looking for that action-packed thrill that shooter fans expect from the genre, you will be disappointed. The game’s biggest crime is just that it is boring overall and its shooting sound effect gets annoying fast. Heavy Unit never got a release outside of Japan, so it does get a bit pricey. It’s recommended for collectors and completists only.
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Xenon 2: Megablast

Xenon 2 is the prime example of a game that simply hasn’t held up well. The background graphics aren’t bad, and it is nice to be able to travel in reverse in a vertical shooter, but that’s pretty much where the positivity ends. It’s painfully slow, to the point where it’s almost unplayable. The speed of the game actually contributes more to the difficulty than anything else, and even though you can upgrade your ship, it doesn’t make the game any more enjoyable. It’s a good thing that you can reverse too, because there are several instances in the game where you’ll be trapped and have to back up, though there’s a good chance that you’ll get destroyed in the process. Note that if you want to purchase the game, it was originally region locked to Europe, so you’ll need an adapter if you’re planning on playing it on a standard console from another region.
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Xiao Monv: Magic Girl

Few people have even heard about this unlicensed Mega Drive title from Gamtec, but it’s actually pretty fun to play. I’d love to tell you something about the story, but it’s in Chinese, and I can’t translate. If anyone knows anything, please let us know in the comments. From what I can tell, it’s a vertical shooter, but it doesn’t look anything like a standard shmup with the cute and colorful appearance. The game tends to be a little slow and the frame rate can be choppy, but it doesn’t seem to affect the difficulty of the game, which remains pretty easy throughout the five levels that are present. You have three different weapons at your disposal, and enemies ranging from smiling faces to pencils will come at you from all directions, so sitting at the bottom of the screen will lead to trouble with enemies sneaking up on you from behind. The most interesting part is that the game contains a life meter, which isn’t usually present in games from the shmup genre. It’s not a long or difficult game though, and is a largely forgettable experience.
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Gadget Twins

Gadget Twins’ art style is very kiddy and calling it a shooter is a bit of a stretch. You don’t actually shoot, but punch in a short range in one of four of the cardinal directions. You play a happy little submarine that is always smiling unless you die. All the environments and enemies in the game have a cutesy look to them, which is fine and works for some games like Parodius and Harmful Park, but this game feels like some cheap Fisher-Price product. There are shops throughout the level like Fantasy Zone, but that doesn’t make it interesting. The game is weak overall and hard to enjoy. Add this to your collection only if you are morbidly curious or a collector that is a completest.
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Divine Sealing

Stay far, far away from this one. Much like Magic Girl, Divine Sealing was an unlicensed game that never made it outside of Asia, but those in other parts of the world certainly aren’t missing out. Divine Sealing is a vertical, top-down shooter where you are trying to rescue a princess through five levels of standard enemies and bosses. What’s your reward for passing each level? A striptease, of course! Suffice it to say, if you do try and play this game, it’s probably best to do it with only age-appropriate people in the room. It’s best to play this game with the sound off, but unfortunately, there’s nothing you can do to stop the visuals from destroying your eyes. There’s legitimate seizure potential when sitting in front of the screen with these levels, and at the very best, you’ll be so sick of what you see, that you’ll need to turn it off. The gameplay is the best thing about Divine Sealing, but it’s still not good, as your ship is far too jumpy, and as evidenced by a YouTube video, you can actually sit in one spot, hold the shoot button and never get touched. Believe me, you’re not missing anything if you never play Divine Sealing.
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Burning Force

When I first got my Sega Genesis, I was addicted to Space Harrier, and I couldn’t help but be reminded of it when I first booted up Burning Force. The first thing that you notice when you start up the game is the vibrant color being used, and it really is quite striking, but being an early Genesis title, don’t expect anything of note in the graphics department. If you’re an audiophile, there are two distinct parts to the discussion here. The first being that the music is solid, and you can sound test all of the tracks from inside the options menu, which is a nice touch. Unfortunately, the rest of the audio is rather uninspired, which is kind of understandable considering that the game was released in 1990. I mentioned Space Harrier off the top, and while Burning Force borrows from the series, it is a little different. First, you control Hiromi Tengenji, as she takes on her enemies while riding a scooter. Unlike Space Harrier, you can really only move side-to-side and not vertically, but you do have your standard missiles and guns available at your disposal. The game runs at a pretty solid framerate, and when it dips, it really isn’t noticeable, but the sense of speed isn’t good. Where Space Harrier nailed the speed aspect, Burning Force seems incredibly slow by comparison, and the game isn’t really difficult, even with the adjustable settings. It’s one of those games that falls right in the middle of the quality Genesis shmups.
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Super Smash TV

Super Smash TV has attained a cult-like following in the years since its release in 1992, and surely the recently released Hotline Miami took some inspiration from the bloody gore fest designed by Probe and Acclaim. The game is set in the future, with your character on a TV show where he must fight for his life. The goal is to kill as many enemies and bosses as possible, with money and prizes being the reward at the end. The game is fast, with enemies coming at you from every possible corner, while weapons and power-ups are consistently dropped for you to add to your arsenal. The game’s difficulty does see a pretty big spike as you progress, and the bosses present a sturdy challenge. Adding a second player for co-op adds to the fun, and helps out with the tougher levels, without question. On the negative side of things, the audio could have used some more work, and the controls can sometimes get in the way, but there’s nothing here that stops the game from being fun, especially with two players. It’s one of those games that was better in the arcades, but is still worth a look on the Genesis.
Contra? Leynos? Alien Soldier?
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Additional Unlicensed Titles

• Action 52
• The Earth Defend