The Best of the Best - Complete Sega Console Series

[Music] all right growing up in the mid to late 1980s I was a Nintendo kid through and through Mario Zelda Castlevania Contra these were the games that my buddies and I played religiously and ultimately rebuilt my love of console gaming after it was torn asunder by the latter years of atari's 2600 I loved my NES and kept playing it a few years after I got my Genesis but I was also lucky to have a good friend that had a Sega Master System at the time which allowed me to sample many of sega's Wares as well over the many years since I have come to appreciate the Master System just as much as my beloved NES and in this episode we are gonna go over what I think are its very best games this is not a top 10 but rather a destiny genre and a few additional categories like graphics and sound before we begin I want to make it clear a few of the guidelines I used in deciding each category first the RPG section includes all the sub genres associated with it if it had RPG elements I considered it for that category I also separated the best sound section into one PSG winner and one FM winner to preserve the two-game structure outside of that this is very similar to the way I handled the Sega Genesis best of the best so if you enjoyed that one then you should find this one fun as well you will likely feel very differently about a number of My Chosen winners so remember this is all for fun and meant entirely for entertainment purposes and with that sit back and get ready for Best of the Best on the Sega Master System [Music] foreign [Music] we look at the puzzle genre first an area that can have some real hidden gems our runner-up is no surprise however columns was developed by Sega first as an arcade game before being ported to many platforms including the Master System I really dug this one primarily because of flash columns a mode where you needed to break the flashing gem that was typically buried beneath a bunch of others with a memorable soundtrack it could soak up incredible amounts of time but my pick for the best game in this category is penguin land this seems at first an extremely simple concept but it's a whole lot more complicated than it seems you need to get your egg back to your spaceship slowly dropping it level by level and trying not to break it unfortunately there are some pretty desperate bad guys trying to stop that from happening what made this game so cool was the fact that you could edit your own levels and save them to the cartridge so not only do you get 50 levels to play but you can get creative and add 50 seen more this was a great playing title of a ton of replay value it also supported the FM sound unit [Music] the best sports game on the Master System was a tough one Sega wasn't quite the Juggernaut here that it was on the Genesis but there were still some great selections our runner-up is California games a port of the epics developed Commodore 64 version Sega did this one themselves a compilation of six events ranging from surfing to BMX biking this one takes the top spot because of its multiplayer fun and its variety of events it supports the FM sound unit and is more accurate to the original than the Genesis release it's pretty good if you take the time to learn the gameplay and speaking of pretty good our winner for best sports games easily Reggie Jackson baseball known as American baseball in Europe this is very similar to Tommy Lasorda baseball on the Genesis this one looks good and is extremely easy to get into and play it absolutely destroys the earlier great baseball release by Sega and marked the very first time Sega used a sports celebrity to endorse one of their games I really enjoyed the different options here you could play an exhibition a tournament a home run contest and even just watch the computer play itself if you enjoy the sport this is a must play [Music] racing games back in the 8-Bit era often were simple Affairs that looked nowhere near as nice as the stuff available in the arcade fortunately the gameplay could still be solid and that certainly describes our runner-up Road Rash take a look at what you are seeing can you believe this is running on a Master System I mean it looks nearly as nice as the Genesis release just a bit slower the nice thing is is that it pretty much has all the content of the 16-bit Edition it's got the tracks the bikes and the turn based two-player mode to beat it you need some kick-ass music and solid gameplay and it just so happens that our best racing game winner has those things and then some outrun of course sees some big cutbacks and visuals from the arcade but the core of what made the original so much fun is still here it was so cool back then to have a choice in what routes you could take you typically didn't see that type of Freedom way back when it also allows you to choose the FM sound unit for music which is just as memorable here as it is elsewhere there is a 3D version of outrun on the Master System but I always preferred the original [Music] the best RPG adventure and strategy game category had a number of interesting choices but our runner-up is the incredible Fantasy Star my first exposure to this was pretty frustrating because I found the game so difficult it was really easy to get killed in the opening battles and if you didn't know where to go or what to do that frustration was Amplified incredibly but after getting my footing I quickly came to appreciate its great visuals its compelling story and its science fiction setting the three-dimensional dungeons were groundbreaking for an 8-bit console it supports the FM sound unit and it came on a massive four megabit cartridge to beat this classic you need something of a similar pedigree and East the vanished Omens is that game originally created by Falcom the Master System Port was done by Sega themselves the FM sound support was removed from the Western releases but otherwise this is a game you just gotta play what won me over in this one was the complete lack of random battles this one uses real-time conflict to drive the gameplay you attack enemies by running into them that means you can avoid them if you want and while it does take some practice to get a feel for it the rest is so damn good you'll have no trouble giving it the time there's ancient books to find a goddess to awaken and a bad guy to kill all in a day's work [Music] 8-bit shoot em ups could be good but they often were nowhere near what you saw in the arcade our runner-up quickly changed my mind because our type on the Master System is a Bonafide showpiece the original arcade was done by irama but it was compiled at Sega got to do this conversion you do see some color cut backs in the usual Sprite and sound differences but this is remarkably similar to the original even the boss battles are here and it supports the FM sound unit if we are gonna pick something to top it It's gotta be even better and my choice for the best Shoot Em Up On The Master System is power strike this was known as a lesta in Japan a beast of a shooter that has a robust weapon system lots of enemies to destroy and FM sound support you need to get used to the numbered weapons but once you do this is one of the better 8-bit Shooters out there as usual the Master System color palette keeps things looking nice and having a choice of two soundtracks is always cool compound developed this one and would go on to do great things India Lester universe [Music] things got really difficult when choosing the platformer section so many games fit into this mold during that time and so many of them hold up extremely well our runner-up is a staple of the genre the very first Sonic the Hedgehog what I appreciate about this is that Sega just didn't have the Genesis title ported over to the Master System with a bunch of cutbacks this was actually an entirely different game from the 16-bit Edition using only the same basic structure and themes this was developed by ancient and they shop for a slower more grounded Sonic Adventure and it worked because this is finally remembered by many as the better of the two but my favorite platformer on the Master System and the overall winner is Castle of Illusion like Sonic this was a different game than the 16-bit version and again arguably a better one Mickey is once again trying to rescue Minnie from the evil miserable but this time you get new stage layouts new play mechanics and different balls is it's a gorgeous game too painting the screen full of color and great animation Sega and Disney made a number of great games for the Master System but this right here was the best [Music] the best action game was another tough one in a category loaded with great choices our runner-up is sega's classic ninja Adventure Shinobi this is based on the arcade original but with some notable changes first you now have a life bar that allows you to take multiple hits before you perish that opens the challenge up a bit so casual players can actually enjoy it there's also FM sound unit support new power ups and new magic though that magic does have some restrictions of where and when you can use it overall it was a heck of a game and one of the defining titles during the life of the platform but as good as Shinobi was I Gotta Give the winning nod to master of Darkness sega's take on Castlevania like konami's Classic series you are fighting off Dracula's Minions on your way to the final confrontation you get multiple Main and secondary weapons to choose from a great soundtrack and your adventure takes place across different locations like cemeteries and dungeons it's short but extremely fun and challenging while it's not quite as good as the great Castlevania 3 it's a good alternative for Sega fans that I really wish Sega had made more of had this series evolved and become its own thing I can only imagine how awesome a Genesis and Saturn version could have been [Music] there are a number of run and guns on the Master System but my choices here were quite easy the runner-up is sega's own Rambo First Blood Part 2. this was known as Ashura in Japan and secret command in Europe due to the lack of the Rambo license but no matter what it's called it's a great two-player running gun it's quite similar to other games in the genre like akari Warriors and commando but I really dig the visual style and gameplay here you need the free pows score power ups and destroy the enemy's stronghold in each area it was exclusive to the platform and very nearly took the top spot but when it comes to that top spot I gotta go with RoboCop vs Terminator this 4 to the 16-bit original absolutely blew me away on the Master System most of what made the Genesis version fun remains here including the bloody deaths essentially RoboCop runs jumps climbs and beats down familiar enemies from the two film series the ultimate goal is to take down Skynet and stopped the destruction of the human race this was four megabits of pure ass kicking fun [Music] the beat em up genre is perhaps the most personal of the picks you'll see here I love this genre as a kid and have some really special connections to both these picks our runner-up is Double Dragon a two-player arcade Port that my buddy Rob and I dumped countless hours into from the sound and visuals alone this is such a good port and even supports the FM sound unit some people hate it because the stun animation is missing but we found the challenge totally worth it and played it enough to find ways to deal with it this provided so many nights of great memories that beating it would take a special game and that just so happens to be Streets of Rage a port of the classic Genesis beat em up although this is only one player it retains pretty much everything that made the Genesis game so great you get the locations the bosses and even the soundtrack comes off quite well it's easy to dismiss it because the Genesis Edition is a better overall experience but not everyone had access to that and this was also on The Game Gear so that portable fun Factor was there as well if Sega had made it compatible with the FM sound unit it would have been even better [Music] like most other consoles at the time the fighting game genre would seemingly be dominated easily by Street Fighter 2 and Mortal Kombat but not here on the old Master System our runner-up is virtual fighter animation a two-dimensional d-make of the classic polygon arcade title it was only released in Brazil a part of the Game Gear version that was released elsewhere the gameplay feels quite similar despite the technology differences and the animation really comes off quite smooth you still have a ring to fight in and it has many of the same Maneuvers it's based on the Japanese anime so there's a story in between the action as well it's honestly not a bad fighter at all considering the Master System was already over a decade old at its release surprisingly it was another Sega release fighter that bested it masters of combat this Hidden Gem was a breath of fresh air with a solid combat system combo special moves and fantastic visuals and animation this smokes most of the other bit fighters in contention and really makes you wonder why others played so poorly in comparison the only thing that needed was more content in the form of additional Fighters and stages but even as it is it's a memorable experience [Music] with arcade ports being such a big deal during the 8-Bit era I had to have a category covering it our runner-up for best arcade court is rosten a conversion of the title action classic it sees the expected audio visual downgrades of the time but this still Nails the overall feel of what made this game fun in the first place the FM sound support is awesome and this is one of the few titles for the platform that actually showed up in the US first that means I got to play it at its original release think of it as a Conan the Barbarian adventure and if that piques your interest it's a must play but if there is one thing you absolutely had to have for an incredible arcade Port it was multiplayer and none could top the incredible Rampage Sega developed the home version of this Midway Arcade beat em up what are you beating up exactly well a little bit of everything apartment buildings skyscrapers tanks helicopters and even the tiny people strewn throughout the level as roster is is the Conan this is very much a Godzilla Style game your job is to march in and destroy everything in sight the multiplayer allows you to work as a team or fight each other to become king of the monsters it was by far the best 8-bit Port of this game with some killer color use and animation and it even supported the FM sound unit [Music] Master System exclusives was a rather easy category for me because the games in question are just so much better than their competition our runner-up is black belt a hybrid beat em up fighting game that was a reskin of the Japanese game Fist of the North Star this one had great music fun gameplay and I really liked how it had different presentations for the various segments When the side-scrolling Beat em up levels appeared you've got some pretty impressive layering in the backgrounds and when the one-on-one fighting segment showed up you got larger characters with better animation I think it's grossly underappreciated outside of Sega circles and one of the better 8-bit games of 1986 our winner here wasn't just a fantastic exclusive but also the best game ever to Bear the Alex kid name Alex Kidd in Shinobi World looked good and had a great mix of elements that made Shinobi so much fun here you also get some radically different abilities like being able to launch yourself like a fireball all around the stage these stages use a rough blueprint from Shinobi in terms of location but they are designed quite a bit differently the ultra colorful visuals really stand out and even the music holds up well Sega initially developed this as a parody of Super Mario Brothers but cut the similarities short because they didn't want Nintendo suing their asses off either way it's a Master System classic you couldn't play anywhere else foreign as I mentioned earlier the best sound category is split between the best PSG and the best FM sound we are going to start with PSG which stands for programmable sound generator which came from a Texas instrument chip and the default way the Master System played music and sound effects my favorite in this category is golbelius the action RPG from compile this was originally a Japanese MSX game that was then remade for the Master System not only is it a very good game itself but I adore the music in it let's listen to a few examples foreign [Music] foreign [Music] the FM sound unit was an upgrade module originally released for the Japanese Mark III and later built into the Japanese Master System it supported games made specifically for the device and added sound that more closely resembled the Sega Genesis in composition my favorite among these games was Miracle Warriors another RPG that was originally released for Japanese home computers again this is a very good game that also happens to have a stellar soundtrack even better is the FM rendition of that soundtrack I've got a few examples for you so let's have a listen [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] thank you [Music] our last category is a big one what are the two very best looking games on the Sega Master System our runner-up is the lucky dine keeper starring Donald Duck this is damn near 16-bit quality in terms of color and animation just look at that it absolutely destroys most of the games you saw on competing Hardware made in the 1980s even more impressive is the fact that it comes on only a two megabit cartridge a stunning realization when you look at the games that came on chips double the size Disney and Sega often created special software together and this is another one that fits right in line with Castle of Illusion and its spin-offs with it being such a beauty finding a title to best it was no easy task yet a champion emerged to represent this Hardware like a boss Ninja Gaiden was sega's take on the popular Tecmo series that began life as an arcade beat em up it's no such thing here though as this is an action platformer in the vein of the Shinobi titles you your run jump climb and use projectiles in your sword to fill your enemies you'll fight through forests major metropolitans and even waterfalls and caves and every step of the way is filled with fantastic color great enemy variety and a main Sprite that is animated impeccably it's another 2 megabit stunner that absolutely pisses on the majority of what you saw elsewhere [Music] thank you so there we go guys the best of the best on the Sega Master System like all of these episodes you no doubt have different feelings on a number of these choices and again that's the great part about these systems so many good games you can easily pick Alternatives across all these categories I'd love to hear what you guys thought and how it differs from my own experiences while it's true the Master System had far less titles than the NES I still think this platform held its own in many areas in terms of quality the best games here were different enough from their contemporaries to make the Master System a viable alternative to many people at least outside of Japan and North America where the hardware and its software were cheaper and easier to come by if you have never given the Master System a real chance I highly advise that you do games like Fantasy Star Ninja Gaiden Alex kid and Shinobi world power strike master of darkness and many others still hold up well today for those that have a Game Gear be sure to check availability there many of these titles appeared on sega's handheld as well though be careful with the likes of titles like Ninja Gaiden and Double Dragon The Game Gear versions are completely different games I also advise you to check out the FM sound unit support on many of these titles while it wasn't always better it was definitely always interesting to have a second soundtrack that was completely different it was one of the many things that made the Master System so special I'm sigalord X thank you guys for watching and I will catch you next time foreign [Music] if you have been watching my channel for the last few months you likely have seen my best of the best series that's where I take a console and show you what I think are its very best games based on genre and Technical traits I did one for the Sega CD first and then moved on to the Dreamcast what you might find interesting is that it was actually the Sega Genesis That was supposed to be the subject of the very first edition of best of the best but I had such a hard time choosing the games I had to actually rewrite it a dozen times before I was happy with it that caused it to get delayed by months but it's finally here in all its 16-bit Glory before we begin I want to throw down the guidelines of how I decided to do things first all the games considered needed to be retail releases during the life of the console I appreciate indie games but I wanted to keep things fair by not including titles that come on much larger cartridges or developed with today's software tools I also simplified a fusion roast to keep things within a certain time limit the RPG category includes many sub-genres as well such as turn-based strategy and adventure games I also separated the platformer and action genres into two sections platformer could be used to describe three quarters of the Genesis Library when you get right down to it so I used an action section to filter out titles that put a heavy emphasis on its combat mechanics as well outside of that this episode is pretty straightforward you'll get one runner up and one winner resulting in what amounts to the best the Genesis has to offer that of course doesn't mean there aren't other really good games for it it just means I consider these to be the absolute cream of the crop to say this episode was difficult to make as a massive understatement and you'll no doubt feel different than I do on a great many of these choices remember it's all for entertainment purposes and I hope you enjoy the show [Music] foreign our first category is the often overlooked puzzle genre this is an area that has more games than you may have guessed and many of them are actually really well made to kick things off our runner-up is columns 3. the sequel to sega's own in-house falling block Puzzler what makes this one so nice is the fact it supports as many as five players thanks to the multi-tap and elevates the columns experience to one heck of a party title it doesn't do anything special visually but puzzle games rarely do what matters here is fun factor and columns 3 has that and then some but when we are talking about the very best I have to go with the Lost Vikings this is what seems like At first a simple action platformer but it's very much a puzzle title each Viking has a set of skills and you'll need each one to figure out how to negotiate the area the fun really kicks in when things aren't so obvious and it takes a fair bit of trial and error to figure it out it supports three-player Co-op has more than 40 levels of play and has a pretty good soundtrack it Blends action in your powers of deduction and ends up being something special for it it supported the Super Nintendo Edition but includes five exclusive stages not present in that release [Music] foreign [Music] excelled in was the sports category and here there are countless options to consider football basketball hockey boxing wrestling golf tennis and many more to choose just to is a heck of an undertaking all its own but our runner-up is NBA hang time this one makes the list because of raw fun factor and its accessibility as one of the easiest pick up and play basketball games ever created it uses just a few buttons to give you gameplay that feels just right from the moment you slam away your first score it's so immensely playable that even folks that despise Sports video games tend to enjoy it it also happens to be a really solid technical Port of the arcade game a 24 megabit card loaded with secrets and supports four player competitive and Co-op action it's so good even the outdated rosters won't bother you a lick and while NBA hang time is incredible the best sports title goes to greatest heavyweights this is point blank the best 16-bit boxing game ever created fantastic visuals with great animation paint the picture that frames its outstanding gameplay Jabs hooks body blows uppercuts Your Arsenal of punches can set up Victory against some of the greatest boxers to ever grace the squared Circle the likes of Ali Frazier Patterson Holyfield and Holmes are at your disposal or they stand in your way if you use the create a player train your creation to become the very best they can be a battery backup saves your progress in old age and mandatory retirement guarantees you'll be making new boxers again and again as far as simulations of the sweet science this is 2D Gameplay at its finest Nancy [Applause] [Applause] one two one 16-bit racing games may seem like a forgotten art now that we have hyper realistic textured polygons that look so real but back then they could still be a really good time my runner-up for this category is Micro Machines a top-down racer featuring Trax raced by tiny Vehicles these vehicles include cars boats and even helicopters it's so cool how the tracks are from areas around your home a bathtub a kitchen table a desk it really is a childhood fantasy come true this lit the UK charts on fire and spawned multiple sequels and spin-offs each one adding cool new additions including built-in multi-tap support this one here supports just two players but it's still a blast and a great one to play with your family our winner is a bit less family friendly but no less a great time Road Rash 2 was the sequel to The Original Classic that adds two-player races new track attacks new bikes new weapons and a whole load of nitrous to make things go faster I don't think the music is quite as memorable as the first but there's no question the gameplay is it comes off choppy to eyes that didn't play it as a kid but you quickly adjust and appreciate the speed it affords you in the later game it's incredibly challenging as well the final stages are so hard you'll need to really invest some time to see it through should you enjoy this there is also a sequel that takes you around the world but I always found part two the easiest to recommend foreign misconception about the Genesis is that its RPG lineup offered little compared to its competition this is utter nonsense and there were some great titles I could have put in here and we begin with my runner-up Fantasy Star 4. boy was this a big upgrade to the series that began on the Master System the 24 megabit cart gave us colorful Graphics a great new soundtrack and a massive Adventure that takes numerous hours to consume the story takes place after part two and the planet of motavia is experiencing hardship and an increase in the appearance of monsters as a hunter your job is to investigate these beasts and wipe them out with extreme prejudice of course along the way you meet a bad guy that wants to unleash these monsters on the planet and Destroy Everything you'll Recruit new members to your calls to help stop this threat a great mix of characters that have killer magical abilities and weapons to keep things interesting finding something to beat this absolute Gem of a game was a tall order but my pick for the best of the best when it comes to RPGs is Shining Force 2. this is a turn-based strategy RPG that continues and improves the great fundamentals of the first build your team into a vicious assortment of Warriors that each have unique and valuable skill sets battle can be long and tough but each Victory brings a sense of accomplishment few games in this genre can boast the story is also easy to follow and gives you a sense of purpose right from the get-go ancient bad guy is let loose and only you and your Shining Force can stop him and with graphic sound and gameplay this good that's all the motivation you'll need to invest dozens of hours into this epic adventure foreign [Music] discovered the Shoot Em Up genre oh I had played many shooters before but they really came into their own during this 16-bit era and our runner-up was the Fantastic gyrus this one features a weapon system that actually allows you to steal the power of your enemies this leads to quite a few different deployments you can take advantage of and it adds quite a bit of strategy in how it's played this was also a great looking and sounding shooter at its release garnering praise in the media as one of the Premier Home examples of the genre it has massive bosses was extremely challenging and was among the first eight megabit cards to see a western release it was a memorable experience that was only bested by our winner Thunder Force 4. this technosoft developed Marvel but many arcade games to shame in 1992. it is an absolute visual Masterpiece of color Parallax scrolling and Sprite design paired with its outstanding soundtrack and saw solid gameplay it becomes one of the platform's most impressive titles top to bottom the first half of the journey even allows you to choose the order of the stages you play before launching you into the latter half of challenging locations wrap it all up with a bow that includes a weapon system you can change on the Fly selectable speed settings and an incredible amount of variety in the settings and you have a Shoot Em Up of rare caliber all right [Applause] foreign [Music] [Applause] [Applause] the platformer section is a bit of a juggernaut because it encapsulates such a massive number of games during that time nearly every side-scrolling game released had elements of platforming to some extent I Define the genre by games that made the environment the star of the challenge negotiating obstacles was just as important as jumping on enemies heads maybe even more so and with that I give you our runner-up restar this game is criminally underrated had it been released by Nintendo it would be spoken of with a reverence similar to the likes of Donkey Kong Country but it's late showing on the Genesis in 1995 minute was quickly overlooked and forgotten your initial thoughts may be that it looks really similar to Sonic and I'd agree but boy does it play different ristor is a rather handsy fellow that can grab just about anything on the screen he can grab enemies and attack them he can grab things in the environment and launch himself around it makes for a platformer that feels so different from the stuff available before it wristar is also a beautiful game with Lush visuals great backgrounds and impressively animated Sprites even the soundtrack belts out some tunes that might make you rethink what the Genesis sound Hardware was capable of but when it comes to Raw fun Factor my pick for platforming Nirvana is Sonic 2. this is the pick up and play equivalent to crack an immensely playable Adventure that improves upon the original in every single way every color looks brighter every background seems deeper with more layers every Sprite sporting more frames of Animation every song more complex and memorable I also enjoyed the stage design here immensely another big improvement over the first some of you may Define the best two-dimensional Sonic as three and Knuckles but as good as they were neither had the charm and appeal of this one [Music] I split the action game section away from the Platformers to focus more on games with combat as the centerpiece of its gameplay yes there may be some platforming here but enemy interaction is the main feature of the mechanics and with that I give you our runner-up Shinobi 3. wow this takes everything you loved about the previous games and UPS the quality across the board the combat is deeper with more attacks it's got a complex blocking system and a new Dash to close in on your enemies more aggressively visually it's another step up over revenge of Shinobi and Shadow Dancer thanks to its more pronounced Parallax and its more exotic locations the soundtrack also manages to bang out some of the better Tunes you'll hear from this Hardware start to finish everything feels top of the line from the simplest of kicks to the way the enemies are designed to stop you never cheap or unfair and always balanced for the peak of fun Shinobi 3 may just be one of the best games on the entire platform to choose a game to best it and win this category is no small task but I give you Castlevania Bloodlines as the best action game on the Sega Genesis while not quite as deep as our runner-up it makes up for this in style and presentation this is a throwback to the 8-Bit castlevanias of the 1980s a straightforward Adventure that has a whip wielding Hero trying to stop the resurrection of Count Dracula himself along for the ride is a second playable hero that uses a lance and has a high jump that allows him a few different routes throughout the stages he feels just different enough to give this Castlevania a all its own visually Bloodlines isn't the best looking in the series but it's still loaded with a treasure Trove of special effects and cool looking tricks that come off pretty impressive for Hardware from 1988. I was also thoroughly impressed with the soundtrack you wouldn't think it but Konami did a bang-up job taking the gothic Vibes of these familiar tunes and making them sound fantastic in FM synth if you love the series on the NES this is an homage to those games with big upgrades to the presentation and if you're anything like me that's one heck of a reason to play it [Music] thank you [Music] the Run and Gun is another genre that may incorporate some platforming but it's the shooting that's the focus of the gameplay our runner-up here is Contra hardcore like Castlevania Bloodlines it adds just enough to the core of the series to stand alone in is very much worth your time here you get multiple characters to choose from each with their own arsenal of weapons that can be switched during the action the gameplay sees a special focus on the slide mechanic to help you avoid enemies this is a big part of doing well and you'd be wise to test it often to see where it's most useful I love the special effects here as well there are some great pseudo scaling and rotation in use that makes it feel like something you'd see on the Super Nintendo of course it also retains the multiplayer that made this series so memorable in the first place add in the different endings and the nice soundtrack and you have a run and Gun must play that is easily among the best in the genre to beat it you'd almost have to approach Perfection and luckily for Genesis owners gun star Heroes by treasure comes pretty damn close this was actually done by ex Konami employees and it shows in nearly every area in fact some areas of its design are so familiar it's almost as if it was done by the same team that did Contra in the first place there's a slide weapons that can be switched during gameplay and it's loaded with similar special effects this says no mirror image however the art style is radically different as is the musical score and while it would be easy to label this a contra clone and Overlook it there is just so much here that does the genre prowl it uses a hit point system instead of one-hit kills you can grab and melee attack enemies and there are copious amounts of bosses and lieutenants to face the presentation screams Genesis but the gameplay will appeal to you no matter which platform you preferred foreign [Music] -up was a proud and strong genre on the Genesis and there are many choices here to pull from our runner-up was a remix of sorts of the arcade game Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles turtles in time renamed and refitted into the hyperstone heist and like turtles of time it was a top-tier multiplayer romp that allowed you to use any of the four turtles each with their own weapons in many ways I prefer this over the arcade that inspired it thanks to a dedicated dash button and the way your hits make perfect contact with the Sprites it's missing the zoom effect of throwing enemies at the screen but outside of that it came together exceptionally well the visuals the sound the music this is Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles as you remember it just moved around a tad to give you a fresh story and longer stages and it's still one of the better beat em ups of that generation and in order to beat that kind of quality you need something that comes along just once in a great while Streets of Rage 2. you knew this had to be here how could it not Sega took the formula from the first revamped the visuals and added new attacks to elevate this well beyond the stripped down arcade ports that came before it it was a Powerhouse exclusive at the time they showed what the Genesis could do with lots of large Sprites animation and a soundtrack that felt like it was intrinsically tied to how it played while I fully admit the mechanics of the third entry are superior I still feel part two best sit in overall presentation and fun Factor but honestly either one of these should make a beat-em-up fan more than happy foreign [Music] the fighting game genre was still in its infancy when the Genesis was at the height of its popularity Street Fighter 2 had redefined everything only a few years prior and the explosion of copycats flooded the scene in the time since fortunately treasure had the platform exclusive uu Hakusho battle to unite the demon plane a four-player fighting game unlike anything else at the time it uses a two-plane Battleground that allows you to switch between them similar to something like fatal Fury this allows you to avoid attacks or get a better position on your foe as you'd expect there are multiple Fighters here to choose from each with their own set of special moves and attacks in fact the gameplay almost feels like a modern three-dimensional fighter with back dashes a block button slides and being able to change your fighting plane no doubt this heavily influenced Guardian Heroes and if you enjoyed the combat there this should feel no less entertaining but let us be real for a moment when it comes to fighting games on the Genesis there was Street Fighter 2 special Champion Edition and there was everything else this was a combination of the arcade games Champion Edition and Hyper fighting allowing you to play as The Boss characters and including the much faster gameplay of the latter and aside from some scratchy voice effects this was a top-notch fort when it comes to music gameplay and visuals coupled with the six button arcade pad I dare say it was the best 16-bit Home console version of these games in terms of playability everything just feels right from the weakest jab to a perfectly placed Dragon punch this captures the feel of the arcade as well as any Home console could at the time those voice effects are the only thing holding it back from being the clear-cut console choice that generation I don't like them [Music] again [Music] I separated out a best arcade Port category because this was pretty much the last generation where major Cuts happened to two-dimensional arcade home conversions and I don't mean simple animation and content Cuts I mean major revisions to color Sprite number and size and loads of missing special effects when an arcade Port came home impressively during the 16-bit era it was a Marvel and something to be oohed and odd over and our runner-up Road blasters certainly deserves that sentiment since the Genesis cannot do hardware-based Sprite scaling effects the visuals had to approximate it something that usually ended in disaster yet here Road blasters is still fast smooth and looks remarkably similar to the arcade original you drop this side by side and you can't help but be impressed it's also a fun combat racer with 50 levels so there's a lot to see and do I still find this criminally underrated and under appreciated which leads us to our winner of this category Mortal Kombat 3. to understand this pick you need only to consider the day the Genesis Hardware first graced the home consumer market and the day Mortal Kombat 3 launched in the arcade there's nearly seven years difference between the two so for the Genesis to get a home version of this title at this level is nothing short of astounding unlike the previous Mortal Kombat games this one was developed by sculptured software on a massive 32 megabit cartridge that means more animation more sound effects more of everything that made the arcade version so popular pound for pound it is easily one of the mega drive's most impressive late life arcade ports right up there with the likes of NBA Hang Time and WWF WrestleMania the arcade game best part is is that also like those titles it plays extremely close to the arcade speed move sets and finishers all seem to be here in all their mature Glory I always thought Mortal Kombat 2 played better but there's no question as far as faithfulness Mortal Kombat 3 trounced the previous entries by a mile [Music] Flawless Victor vitality as someone that came up through the 1980s enjoying japanese-made arcade games the soothing Melodies of FM synth based soundtracks really resonated with me on the Genesis picking a favorite among this list was a daunting and thankless task I knew I would need to leave so many great soundtracks on The Cutting Room floor while Western made software gave the platform a bad name many Japanese developed titles showed exactly what this machine could do and we begin with the runner-up Gauntlet 4. this M2 developed a remake of the arcade original features music even I didn't think was possible on the old Sega Genesis there is a variety in the compositions here that goes well beyond anything in the original Source material and the wide arrangement of instruments really comes off strikingly similar to something you would have heard on Nintendo's sample based chip let's have a quick listen to give you an example [Music] thank you [Music] [Applause] that leaves us with the winner of our best music category the Untouchable Batman the video game from Sun solved this is about as perfect as FM sound gets it's so full of body and emotion the kind of sound that doesn't just go with the gameplay but drives it to be better to make you feel like a hero to fill the environment so full of emotion and motivation that you want to return to it as soon as you cut the power off the strange thing is is that the music in this game is nothing like the musical score of the movie yet still feels like it belongs this is quite frankly one of my favorite gaming soundtracks ever Feast your ears on this masterpiece [Music] foreign category will perhaps be the most divisive by quite a bit choosing the best graphics isn't just a simple case a picking easily definable technical traits but also a matter of artistic personal preference there can be no choice here that will work for everyone still this is the best of the best and our runner-up is Ranger X the unique run and gun shooter that's loaded with great special effects and animation some of these backgrounds are so convincing they look 2.5 D and you really have to appreciate touches like the use of sunlight and Reflections to give the environments a bit of extra polish there's even some Sprite scaling style effects in various stages all this on top of the well-animated Sprites and colorful stages make Ranger x a real standout the kind of game you don't easily forget once you've experienced it it's absolutely criminal that Sega never sold a sequel to this for its 32-bit Saturn [Music] that leaves our final pick in the winner of the best graphics on the Sega Genesis comic Zoom yup you heard that right this one is all about art and presentation you could easily find a game to best it in terms of special effects and visual tricks but there's just nothing like comic Zone on the platform by using comic book style panels fourth wall breaking animations and massive Sprites that move and attack smoothly you get a game that looks like it belongs among early 32-bit titles as opposed to the ancient Genesis hardware and the old Genesis was ancient indeed when this was released in July of 1995. the freaking Saturn was out by then and Sega would have done well to Port this over with additions and improvements yet the Saturn got nothing of the kind to date I am honestly in complete shock Sega never Revisited this with a sequel or remake it's so deserved one to wrap up this category and this Choice I'll leave you with this if you want cool effects fire up Vector man Toy Story 2 the Adventures of Batman and Robin the Lost World Jurassic Park or Red Zone but if you want something wholly unique and one of the best examples of what late Genesis development could accomplish comic zone is your huckleberry [Music] [Music] so there we go guys the best of the best on the Sega Genesis no doubt some of you are sitting there already typing your choices for these categories but remember it isn't about arguing the details it's about celebrating just how incredible the Genesis library was the fact that we can look at a list this strong and still talk about Alternatives really shows how special Sega 16-bit platform was to so many if if you found this episode fun and enjoyed the recommendations I have also added a section in the description for the games I considered in the early drafts of this script it'll give you an idea of many more fantastic titles for the platform I'd also like to hear what you guys think are the best in each of these categories all of our experiences are different and it's always interesting to see how certain games affected different people all those years ago now that I have tackled the Genesis the next best of the best episode we'll deal with the venerable Sega Master System a platform that had quite the different run here in the United States and if you think this list pissed you off just wait until you have a go at that one I'm sigalord X thank you guys for watching and I will catch you next time foreign [Music] some time ago I did a Sega CD top 10 video that I really enjoyed putting together it let me talk up my favorite games and share with you why they meant so much to me the thing was there were many more games I wanted to do the same with I have tried to make it quite clear on my Channel that I enjoyed my time with sega's underappreciated CD add-on while some felt burned I was there early and enjoyed many of its games as they were released this was a pretty cool time for me because it felt sort of like a mini introduction to the coming 32-bit generation that excitement lasted from 1992 to about 1995 so I got roughly three solid years with my Sega CD a time and an experience I wouldn't trade for anything with that in mind it's time to follow up that top 10 with an award show of sorts here we are gonna break down the best games for each genre and category like graphics and sound each category will then be done with one runner-up and one winner so we can really talk about all the top tier offerings for this platform this is of course my own personal opinion and presented as nothing more than that this was incredibly fun to make and I hope you guys enjoy the best of the best on the Sega CD [Music] thank you when Sega of America began marketing the Sega CD they put all their muscle behind full motion video games every ad be it television or print all talked about how video would revolutionize the way you play games they sure did believe it too because they published dozens of full motion video based software for the device as did many other third parties while I can laugh now at the thought back then I admit that there was a certain excitement around these games home consoles had been Platformers and shoot em ups for so long it was cool to see something new pop up no matter how simple it may have been in hindsight picking just one of these games is the best representation of the technology is tough to further complicate the matter is the gross misconception that the Sega CD did all these terribly while it's pretty easy to pull an example of really bad looking video on the console it also is quite easy to pull examples of the Sega CD looking just tacular I was always under the impression that full motion video games were at their best when the subject matter was of Interest this is why my pick for the best runner-up full motion video game on the Sega CD is Night Trap don't laugh because this one actually had a fair bit of replay value in its day the way it is set up made you replay it and explore rooms at different times completing a game and getting one of its multiple endings was no easy thing it was a new type of game and I greatly enjoyed it for what it was but when it comes to the best full motion video experience I have to go with Road Avenger I mean how could this one not be the winner you have a killer soundtrack a theme anyone can appreciate and video that actually holds up quite well all these years later driving your hot rod through multiple stages crashing bad guys was the stuff of dreams to a 17 year old Sega Lord X to date this is still my favorite version of this game and at Testament that not all full motion video games were garbage [Music] [Music] when the mega CD launched in Japan in 1991 all you heard from the American Publications was how its Hardware was designed for sprite and background scaling it was sega's big push to show up what Nintendo had done with their new 16-bit showpiece the Super Nintendo but when the platform arrived in North America in 1992 few games showed off any of that power in fact outside of a few titles here and there the Sega CD Sprite scaling abilities were somewhat a bust developers barely touched the technology and when they did it was little more than a bonus stage tacked on the Sega Genesis ports though few in number there were some real bright spots in the library that really did show some excellent potential among these my runner-up is soul star it was a killer representation of what the Sega CD was capable of smooth fast and loaded with action soulstar was the kind of Shoot Em Up that looked just like it was pulled straight from an arcade board third home games just didn't look like this and no other 16-bit console could have pulled it off because of its 1994 release it was too little too late to help change anyone's mind about the platform but it sure was nice to see something really push what it was capable of but when it comes to my absolute favorite choice in this category I gotta go with Batman Returns this was a vehicle combat game that looked just unbelievable when it was released in 1993. you start out with the Batmobile battling it out across the streets of Gotham before you end up in the sewers trying to get to the final battle with the penguin I adored the way this played and the visuals really did seem a huge Cut Above the scaling games before it it came with the crappy Genesis side scroller on the disc but it was the driving game that made this one so special foreign [Music] this category may surprise you but there really were some excellent Genesis ports on the Sega CD not just simple soundtrack upgrades but games where you got extra levels and gameplay to boot earthworm gems special edition is my runner-up here and it's very much worth playing even if you've played the cartridge to death you get an extra level new animations for the beginning and endings a new soundtrack a new homing missile weapon and a number of changes to the stage layouts it's called special edition for a reason and definitely deserves a look when it comes to the winner however I feel Mickey Mania was perhaps The Best of Both Worlds the excellent gameplay and visuals of the cartridge moves over to the Sega CD with additional animations and extra stage new voice samples and a new ending sequence that wraps up the story better of course you get a great CD soundtrack as well this was done by Travelers tales and with the help of Disney they craft did an excellent looking and sounding adventure for the Sega CD it's one of the rare cases where I feel the CD version is a big enough step up to deserve owning whether you have the cartridge or not it kind of makes me wish that games like Toy Story and Sonic 3D Blast had gotten Sega CD releases as well [Music] thank you true console exclusives are a hard thing to find these days with compilations reissues remakes and online emulation Services many games see some form of reissue eventually not so with my runner-up Eternal Champions Challenge from the Dark Side this was a vastly upgraded take of the previous Genesis release there has been a ton of new content added including new ways to kill your opponent four new Fighters a ton of hidden characters new combos new special moves and multiple new gameplay modes outside the story this was more a sequel than an upgrade and while it does take some getting used to it's a much better fighting game than many give it credit for unfortunately licensed content tends to be the worst offender when it comes to keeping games locked to their original platforms and when it comes to the best true exclusive for the Sega CD I have to give it to the Terminator this was not a port of the Sega Genesis game nor has it been ported it to anything since this was a mix of platforming and run and Gun action that takes place in both the past and the future you are Cal Reece and you have only one Mission protect Sarah Connors from the Relentless Terminator of course since this is a video game you have a lot more to worry about than the Terminator Skynet has plenty of other robotic Terrors to take you down and even the street punks in the past are hell-bent on your destruction I absolutely love the visuals of this and the soundtrack was incredible it was the way Sega City ports should have been handled and if you own the hardware I cannot recommend it enough the full motion video could have been better but everything else here is a top-notch experience foreign [Music] racing games on the Sega CD I think of all the wasted potential that could have been the technology of the Sega CD could have made for some solid racing action particularly from Sega Zone arcade catalog my runner-up in this category is Jaguar xj220 I came to like this game quite a bit thanks to its mini tracks and gameplay modes it only has the Jaguar license but uses other supercars under slightly modified names and Designs the visuals aren't spectacular but still manage to be quite a bit more impressive than a stock Genesis it's highly recommended if you enjoy a good sprite scaler my Top Choice in this category may come as a surprise to you but even with all its problems road rash is still the best racer on the Sega CD it doesn't use the hardware for anything special other than the music but the core gameplay still has that great feel found in the Genesis releases it's also the only version of this game that allows you to play the licensed soundtrack wow you race there is no question the racing genre was underserved on this platform but you can still have some fun here particularly if you enjoy the other games in the series [Music] [Music] [Music] foreign I wish I could tell you the very best sports titles on the Sega CD were made by Sega themselves but like so many similar stories back then siga felt spectacularly when it came to bringing the Sega CD some decent Sports titles their Joe Montana football looked and played awful and they didn't even try their other Genesis Staples like World Series Baseball or NBA action so it was left to EA Sports to do the platform some justice and they nailed two releases that get the nod for runner-up and for best sports game on the Sega CD the first is Bill Walsh college football which features a huge roster of 48 collegiate teams four players at once enhanced sound visuals and extra content in the form of video segments from the legendary coach himself it was a great use of what EA had learned with the Madden games and played just about as good as you could have hoped EA was also responsible for FIFA soccer an enhanced Port of the Genesis game with vastly improved audio enhanced animation and Sprite detail and loads of video clips the AI has also been tweaked to give you a better and more realistic matchup 64 International Teams are waiting for you to take them all the way you can't really go wrong with either one of these great releases Sega may have fumbled the ball with their sports lineup but Electronic Arts was there to pick up the slack and give us something very much worth playing thank you [Applause] [Music] the adventure genre covers quite a few games on the old Sega CD more than you'd guess in fact these titles tended to have deeper stories and gameplay that was built for you to unravel the Mysteries within rise of the Dragon is my runner-up here in this point-and-click adventure you are blade a former cop and private dick investigating the death of the mayor's daughter you track it all back to a drug called MTZ and the people peddling it this leads to a larger story of organized crime kidnapping and horrific mutations the story is based on a Time system where you must accomplish certain actions in order to make it deeper within the adventure take too long and the game ends unfavorably there's lots of speech wild characters and a tale that is Far and Away more serious than most games at the time it's not the prettiest but it's so different from most cartridge games I really enjoyed what it offered while there are a number of other games that could easily win this category Konami snatcher is the number one choice for me said in the future where robotic snatchers are stealing people's identities you must find out what's going on and how to stop it this one is focused on heavy character development and getting to know the people around you it's not an especially long game nor is it challenging but the setting and personalities really make this one a treat from start to finish it was one of the first video games I ever played that I felt like it was made for an adult it happens to look and sound incredible as well this Sega CD version is pretty much it when it comes to official English translations it was the only time Konami saw fit to bring it to Western audiences and that fact has driven its price up to insane levels among the collecting community [Music] geez my ears are really ringing it's because you left the volume turned up damn Snatchers [Music] when I first started playing shiny Force CD I was really let down by the fact it's essentially just a mild upgrade to the material that appeared on the game gear but if you give this one some time it'll grow on you with some excellent battles and an easy to follow story in fact it's one of the largest and feature-rich Shining Force experiences out there it also has a new CD quality soundtrack but as good as this was Sega had another turn-based strategy game that was even better if I were to describe dark wizard to you as a simple strategy RPG I'd be doing the game and my audience a great disservice originally released in late 1993 in Japan this was internally developed by Sega and remains to this day as a true platform exclusive this is point blank one of the most underrated games on the platform and won every fan of the Sega CD need to play the king is dead War has covered the entire land and the dark wizard is attempting to resurrect an evil God Your Story begins by choosing one of four leaders all separated by abilities and a backstory that defines their origin you must face your enemies on a hex map battle them to the last man in combat and level up and equip your forces you can recruit specialized characters to your calls and each story plays out quite differently from one another there's lots of side content to discover on top of the massive amounts of gameplay possible in the main story While most Sega fans love Shining Force this is quite the excellent experience on the Sega CD so be sure to give it a try it has some issues with pacing but this is one game you'll get your money's worth with it's not exactly Dragon Force but if you enjoyed that game's freedom and depth this one has many of the same features foreign [Music] the jrpg was something I did not appreciate much back in the 90s I wasn't a fan of random battles and the slow stories just failed to grab me quick enough to hold my interest lunar the Silver Star went a long ways to help me change my mind on all that I love the characters and the story was so Charming you just couldn't help but be pulled into it it sounded great as well the frequency of battle was an irritation but otherwise this was a memorable experience that used the CD technology quite well but it was when I played lunar Eternal blue in 1995 with its brilliant cinematics Perfect soundtrack and lovable characters that I was truly won over by this franchise there are a number of gameplay improvements made over the Silver Star particularly in the AI settings and the visuals are quite a bit nicer as well gameplay is of the tried and true Overworld map exploration towns dungeons magic and Equipment you'll be right at home if you've played any similar game in the genre the story takes place a thousand years after the events in the Silver Star and follow the antics of Hiro and Ruby as they gain friends to help them on their Journey the interaction between those friends and the gorgeous animation that plays out their Adventure is a big reason this one is so good as far as traditional jrpgs are concerned this is the best on the Sega CD by quite a stretch foreign [Applause] [Music] the fighting genre had a tough time on the Sega CD while we did get a number of them there were always some pretty major concessions made to get them running the major cause of this was the relatively low amount of ram in the Sega CD something that greatly affected things like animation sound effects and low times no matter which fighting game you want to talk about something was cut or changed in a pretty major way that doesn't mean they were all bad however Samurai Showdown gets the runner-up nod thanks to its excellent soundtrack and solid gameplay it's missing a ton of Animation Voice work earthquake and there's no scaling feature but I still loved it overall it has solid visuals plays well and has that Unforgettable intro in all its Glory it was far from perfect but of the home ports at the time it was definitely my favorite despite how having several issues of its own my top pick is Mortal Kombat on the Sega CD it brought back some of the voices that were cut in the Genesis port and the animation was quite a bit better the music is a bit mixed up but was a great representation of the arcade and you even got some nice club mixes of the Mortal Kombat song many people hated the load times during Shang Tsung's morphing and I admit it did give a nasty effect on the gameplay but as far as everything else I always felt that this was a great Port that I never had any problems enjoying it improved and added enough to deserve its own place in my 16-bit fighting game Library oh you miss you [Music] scorpion wins Flawless victory [Music] I have spoken of my love for KO flying Squadron before it's not the most technically impressive Shoot Em Up ever nor is it the most exciting or challenging but what it lacks in those categories it more than makes up for in character design art style and accessibility it's just such a cute game with so many likable elements how can you not appreciate its charms but when it comes to the best my Top Choice is something radically different I've decided to go with my heart and tell you about a game that gets overlooked far too often in 1993 Core Design was responsible for ah3 thunder strike or just simply Thunderhawk in Japan and pal territories it's a helicopter shooter that allows you to fly and fight in a pseudo 3D game engine that used scaling Sprites to a pretty convincing effect aside from using the Sega CD Hardware in ways that few games could boast it also played well and had a bunch of missions you could fly across the a globe you have multiple weapons at your control and it's all set to a kick-ass soundtrack what really set this one apart for me was the strategy elements you can go in guns and missiles blazing but that'll usually get you a one-way ticket to the game over screen you'll need to plan your attack strategize your enemy positions and always remember your aircraft's limitations you may think this is a simulation game but it's much more arcade style than you may have guessed the control is fairly simple to get a hold of and the action is fast and exciting if you want a shooter that plays different and uses the extra Hardware in the unit this one comes highly recommended [Music] here [Music] are some great Platformers on the Sega CD and picking just one is tough we've already talked about stuff like earthworm gem special edition and Mickey Mania two games that could easily be in the running year when I chose my runner-up though it had to be the beautiful world of Flink superbly animated this is an adventure you just have to take on the Sega CD you guide Flink as he jumps climbs swims and does battle with the evil minions of wicked Wayne Right the land of imagica needs its leaders back and only you can free them there are tons of levels and spells to discover as you unravel this gorgeous Adventure but as much as I really dug Flink I have never hidden my love for Sonic CD and it's the best platformer on the console by a mile I make no apologies for its exploration based time mechanic you either love it or hate it but I think it makes the game what it is this changed the Sonic formula for for me at its very core no more was it about hopping through stages as quickly as possible it made me stop search think and plan my routes to maximize the time mechanic and make sure I got the results I wanted the visuals were just different enough to have their own flavor and feel and I enjoyed both the US and Japanese soundtracks the opening cinematics set the tone perfectly and I'd watch it again and again showing it off to any and all who dared question the coolness of my CD add-on I never cared for the bonus stages but everything else was a fantastic experience and a highlight of owning the platform foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] ports were a plenty on the Sega CD from the stuff Sega moved over from the Genesis to a number of Neo Geo conversions there's a fair bit to look out for I never thought they looked particularly good but I still think the lethal enforcers games were incredibly fun on the Sega CD get two players together and you have arcade gold it's grainy and the detail is pretty crappy but the gameplay is what matters and this is a gun game well worth playing when it comes to the best however I Gotta Give it to final fight the Sega CD did a very nice job porting the classic Capcom beat em up the overall visual Fidelity was solid the new soundtrack was killer and the gameplay was close enough to really enjoy it back in those days arcade ports were essentially rebuilt games from the ground up so there were always changes and differences that made them look and feel different you'll feel those differences here but I never considered them game breaking or off-putting the fact that this kept all three Fighters and has both competitive and co-op gameplay was a huge bonus at the time the Japanese version of this doesn't have the typical censorship of the female attire and the name of the boss character Sodom it's also a hell of a lot cheaper to collect foreign picking a game for best soundtrack was no joke difficult I mean this is a CD system so the amount of great music covers dozens and dozens of releases heck there are even some terrible games on the Sega CD that sound brilliant complicating the matters even further I did my due diligence however and considered just about everything I could think of that leads me to my choice for runner-up Echo the dolphin take the Sega Genesis release and add to it one of the most relaxing soundtracks of that era no kidding these Tunes massage your soul as you explore the underwater Kingdom of echo as the sound waves make love to your ears you'll be lulled into a trance that'll have you copy in the soundtrack to your phone your car and every place in between laugh if you want but the addiction is real on the opposite end of the spectrum comes the hard rock of Lords of Thunder and it gets my choice for the best sound if Echo is about Mel following you out Lords of Thunder is about pumping you up it hits hard fast and fits the on-screen action perfectly sometimes sound can be just as important as visuals and that's definitely the case here hooked to a good stereo system this is a hardcore Shoot Em Up fans dream come true [Music] thank you [Music] one of the big expectations I had for owning a Sega CD was that I would get some fantastic looking gains early on I had expected the Sprite scaling to be at the center of its best looking games and there is no doubt there are some stunners in that regard but I also found animation to be a huge selling point on the Sega CD heart of the alien had the benefit of including the Fantastic looking out of this world as well as its sequel these games have some of the best animation of the 16-bit generation Bar None this world is truly alien and you'll need to put in some serious time and effort as it kills you relentlessly it earns the runner-up Title Here easily and Still Remains to this day a very playable Adventure this video is about the best games though and it was still feed that would end up impressing me more than anything else it took a mix of pre-rendered video real-time polygons and some outstanding Cinema addicts to make one of the platform's standout titles visually have to understand this was 1993 well before the Saturn and PlayStation and even before the 3DO got going strong seeing this was a revelation a small glimpse into what was coming and how polygons would change the way games looked and felt hindsight really diminishes the impact of this one it's easy to look at the snail and scoff at its video backgrounds small polygon ships and low color cinematics but at the time there was so little like it this is another one where I could just sit and watch the opening again and again it looks so spectacular time may have lessened its impact but I still consider this the best looking game on the platform degrees on the system the central Photon computer that integrates and controls the whole galaxy Network on mother planet Earth was Network jacked by an unknown terrorist group the leader of the terrorists solemnly introduced himself as zakarte the survivors of the Galaxy Union and the colony planets Fleet assembled all their forces to strike at zakarte 64 light years lay across their way to the solar system after drastic restructuring and the addition of reinforcements to the Tactical fighter spacecraft the sa-77 still feed their last resort the remaining Fleet began the counter-attack when looking back at the Sega CD it's really easy to generalize an unfavorable summary of its market and Library many people didn't play the unit while it was still available and tend to form their opinions based on playing games years after the fact or Worse base it on other people's opinions on the internet I feel this does a real disservice to many of its games mainly because many of them were incredibly impressive at the time of their release it's easy to crap on full motion video games in hindsight but at the time stuff like Road Avenger was fun and new on a Home console the pretty polygons of today have rendered titles like thunderstrike Soul star and silfeed less impressive in retrospect but back then they were stunning representations of what was possible with the Sega CDs technology I guess what I'm saying is try to give this platform a real chance to impress you it's a hundred percent true that it should have been more than it was but it's also true that what's there isn't all junk that isn't worth playing like many Sega products the Sega CD was caught in between generations and was capable of some truly impressive games when it was harnessed properly it may have been a commercial failure and a black mark on sega's relationship of consumers but it still had some interesting titles I'll never forget I'm single Lord X thank you guys for watching and I will catch you next time foreign [Music] when Sega released the Saturn in 1994 no one could have predicted the exact course it would take the company there were a fair number of questions about its complicated design and cost but there were just as many questions about Sony's lack of experience and consumer interest in fact for an entire year before these machines began their battle in the west Sega Saturn outsold Sony's Playstation in Japan lending some Credence that things were on the path for healthy competition for years to come but things changed quickly and the Saturn ended up getting little support from consumers and third parties in the West in fact even Sega of America had no faith in the product lending to disagreements and conflicts that crippled the company internally but as a gamer on the outside of all that I adored my Saturn and played it as much as I could whenever new software hit the market I supported it at retail for as long as new games were released and it was a major source of import gaming for me as well it is by far my most played console and the one I know the best this prompted me to do an awards episode four years ago where I named the best games in a number of categories while that episode was fun to make it was early in my YouTube journey and I always felt I could have done it better when I started making the best of the best videos I thought it would be a perfect time to revisit that subject and expand the episode into what I initially wanted it to be and that's what I have for you here today the best of the best on the Sega Saturn I have greatly expanded upon the original content and picked nearly two dozen categories and chosen one runner-up and one winner to represent the very best software that Saturn has to offer there's only one guideline I used no single game could win a category twice this is going to be a heck of an episode so get the popcorn ready and let's get started foreign [Music] We Begin our journey with the puzzle category this genre was strong and had many entries that easily could have won our runner-up is the 1995 Sega developed Baku Baku animal it was developed as an STV Titan arcade game before making its way home to Saturn and I really enjoyed the concept basically you match the animal to the food it eats the more food you consume in a single move the better you perform their single player multiplayer and different difficulties to try out there's even a story about you facing opponents to earn the right to become the Kingdom's new zookeeper it's a pretty good time our winner was made very much in the same mold as Baku Baku animal but instead of animals and food you use street fighters and crystals the 1996 Capcom release super puzzle Fighter 2 turbo is our winner in the best Puzzler on the Sega Saturn here you form colored crystals and then break them for score and send damage to your opponent's side of the screen the art has a super cute chibi look similar to pocket fighter and it uses characters from Street Fighter and dark stalkers like those games the mechanics here are geared towards versus play with the objective being to knock out your opponent by filling their screen up it's crazy addictive and the presentation is top-notch I wish Capcom had updated this over the years with new modes and Fighters a modern four-player online version would be something special [Music] thank you [Music] the console light gun game has fallen to the Wayside over the years but back in the Saturn's day it was a strong genre of some incredible multiplayer options the runner-up here is the 1998 Tantalus interactive developed the house of the dead this was among one of the last releases for the Saturn in North America and though the port was quite ugly compared to the arcade original the fun Factor remains as high as ever you are basically playing a horror movie come to life as you battle zombies and all sorts of vicious monstrosities the multipath Gunplay was fast fun and challenging more importantly the Virtua gun did a great job with accurate shots and the Saturn supported two players at once I wish that Sega had kept the Saturn Port in-house but they were already dead set on Dreamcast development by that point fortunately for us our winner was handled in-house the 1996 release Virtua cop 2. this was a maturation of sega's development tools that were earned Through Blood Sweat in tears and the end results are nothing short of impressive the smooth performance the polygon environments I mean this thing looks damn near as good as the model 2 arcade original you get two players support and it even works with the shuttle Mouse it's one of the Saturn's most impressive arcade ports and many of sega's am2 staff returned to make sure it was the best it could be if only house of the dead had received similar treatment thank you [Music] [Music] on the Genesis Sega Sports meant the world to the platform's success but on Saturn it almost seemed like sega's American arm just gave up right from the get-go fortunately the Japanese side of things kept pumping out incredible games and our runner-up is World Series Baseball whether it's the original two releases with two-dimensional Sprites or the 98 version with polygons this was a heck of a series that had great visuals and some of the best gameplay you could find in the genre it was smooth the flow of the game was really nice and the presentation looked like something you would have gotten on television at the time these were based on sega's greatest nine releases in Japan reskinned and using the MLB license Sega had some solid hockey and soccer releases that generation but none beat their baseball games there was only one other release I consider better and that's decathlete the high resolution Track and Field title developed in-house by Sega you get different athletes a very in stats battling each other in events like the 100 meter dash javelin throw and the long jump 10 events in all this isn't your normal crappy looking Olympic game either harnessing the power of the Saturn's vdp2 chip this gives us exquisitely detailed visuals that make it one of the best looking games on the platform it has two-player competitive matches that make it a killer party option as well it had a sequel called winner heat that was very much in the same mode but with winter events adding four player matches to the mix it too was a winner two boys [Music] [Applause] [Music] the racing genre was one of the brightest and darkest areas of the Saturn Library there were some really nice games here but far fewer than other platforms at the time fortunately before the Saturn gave up the ghost in the West in 1998 we received an excellent Port of Need for Speed and it's my runner-up for best racing game on the Saturn this was an excellent multi-platform racer that stood toe-to-toe with the PlayStation version and in some ways bested it there were exotic cars to race multiple tracks and environments to compete in and a fairly decent soundtrack behind it all it's a lot faster than the 3DO original and it's loaded with more content but you know what's coming for our best racing game the iconic Sega Rally Championship it was such a visual improvement over the Saturn's Daytona USA Port now at a rock solid 30 frames per second with a polygon draw in much further in the distance Sega added a new red book soundtrack and it's supported the analog racing wheel it's short with only four tracks and three cars but the gameplay is fast and fluid and the replay value is still Sky High this along with Virtua Fighter 2 and Virtua cop hit at the end of 1995 showing that the Saturn had the chops to do three-dimensional games much better than first believed if you are in the market today be sure to go after the Japanese cigarale plus it has a few graphical changes and additions as well as dedicated 3D analog pad support foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] thank you [Music] foreign [Music] the best adventure category can be a bit of a pain because of all the sub-genres that fall under its umbrella my runner-up itself could fall into a few different categories but dark savior is quite the unique experience on the Saturn either way basically it takes an isometric action platformer and melds it with a one-on-one fighter with a multipath story if that sounds interesting to you I really do recommend you give it a try the 3D environments look great it has a memorable soundtrack and the replay value is off the charts thanks to the way the story can segment into multiple different endings it has its issues to be sure but I still consider it a Saturn must play when I think of the very best adventure on the Saturn though is there anything better than the legend of Oasis the overhead two-dimensional visuals are stunning the gameplay and design are tried and true continuations of the 16-bit Beyond Oasis settle in and give this one a real shot and the quality will hook you start to finish it has a very zelda-ish feel to it where dungeons have special items that must be scored to help you on your journey Sega really should have kept the series going and evolved it over the years a 3D continuation on the Dreamcast would have been outstanding [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] the strategy category actually has some really deep games on the Saturn in fact I'd argue some of the very best games it has to offer would fall into the genre my runner-up may come as a surprise to some of you however Mysteria the Realms of lore was not exactly a popular game at its release also released under the name blazing Heroes this was a turn-based strategy RPG that had a young prince recruiting an army to take down an evil warlord I love the gameplay because the battles were long and intricate with your team learning tons of new moves As you move deeper into the story The pre-rendered visuals are a bit stiff but the music is spot on incredible I've considered it an underappreciated gem for years my winner for this category is a game I wouldn't have considered just a few years ago but after konami's Vandal Hearts got an English fan translation I was able to finally sit down and play it all the way through and whoa was it an eye-opener absolutely killer turn-based action in here right up there with some of the very best in terms of Challenge and fun the two-dimensional Sprites look great the 3D environments can be rotated and positioned at will and the soundtrack that the action like a glove there's different classes to learn and take advantage of and while the story itself is pretty standard stuff I still enjoyed it immensely the Saturn mod Community made this gym accessible to English-speaking audiences and they will forever have my gratitude [Music] foreign [Music] the Saturn had some very nice RPGs many of which stayed locked in Japan without any sort of translation elsewhere fortunately Sega themselves undertook the Western localization for our runner-up shining the holy Ark this is a first person dungeon crawling RPG that uses pre-rendered Sprites in three-dimensional environments to tell the tale of the Thousand-Year Kingdom as you gain new members of your party you can swap them out for new team members to better suit the current situation the streamlined setup makes towns for buying new weapons and items recovery and saving While most of the exploration and story unfolds in the dungeons that you explore it's set up as a prequel to Shining Force 3 so you definitely want to give it a go if you love that series of games but like our strategy category the overall winner for best RPG is a game I would not have considered just a few years back the Saturn mod Community comes to the rescue again and gives us an English translation to Rondia easily the best game on the Saturn in the genre beautiful two-dimensional Sprites set against detailed 3D environments are just Heavenly and it's one of the few examples of a polygon world still looking great from that era of technology I love the huge areas to explore in the Deep battle system that allowed you to upgrade your items and Magic as you use them you could avoid many of the enemies entirely while you explored and the overall feel puts you in mind of other game arts created RPGs it was once one of the biggest casualties of the Saturn's failure in the west but now it's available to English-speaking audiences everywhere foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] there are so many fighting games on the Saturn that I decided to break them down into two categories 2D and 3D but you know what that didn't help picking them a lick because there are still so many to consider even when separated I settled on our two-dimensional runner-up Marvel superheroes vs Street Fighter because I always felt it had a great feel that was just above X-Men vs Street Fighter I enjoyed the end boss battle as well there's no doubt you could interchange either one of them as the runner-up and I wouldn't fuss too much the art animation and gameplay are all top-notch super moves fill the screen with massive damage and the four megabyte Ram expansion was used to its absolute fullest my only real complaint is is that I wish the roster was a touch larger but the addition of a few secret characters definitely helped to beat it you needed something even more impressive and Street Fighter 0-3 was that game this took the formula that we loved in the previous two entries and added a bunch of Fighters some more modes and spruced up the visuals quite nicely outside of the animation seen in Street Fighter 3 this is the best looking Capcom ever got this series when it came to 2D I also had a special love for the reverse dramatic Battle of vicious test of skill that pitted you against two computer Fighters at the same time coupled with a Saturn pad this is still my favorite way to play this game this big foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] our runner-up for best three-dimensional fighter on the Saturn is Dead or Alive by Tecmo I picked this one up at its release and really enjoyed it the counter system set it apart from Virtual Fighter 2 and the high-res visuals were just as nice of course many people look at it today and remember the women with large Bouncing Breasts but it's so much more than that so much more that the series continues to this very day but no 3D fighter on the Saturn had what our winner had pure Sega magic Fighter's Mega mix was the game they should have launched with the Saturn a great mix of fighters from multiple Sega universes there's a bunch of content to unlock lighthearted editions like playable cars and it has a great soundtrack from multiple Sega series as well am2 mixed in some of the gameplay from Virtual Fighter 3 to keep things fresh while adding in fighting Viper's rules a potent combination that Sega should have kept improving on by making this a series it lacks the high-res look of Virtual Fighter 2 but the rest is so good you won't care at all it's the deepest three-dimensional fighter on the Saturn and easily one of the best fighting games that entire generation [Music] [Music] [Music] thank you okay [Music] [Music] shoot em ups were another well-represented category on the Saturn there were arcade ports Galore and even some exclusives that really stood out my runner-up is she and Ryu the vertically scrolling Beauty from murashi this game never got the love it deserved back then and even gets overlooked today maybe because I like the writing game so much but I find this to be really well made I love the visuals especially the shrapnel from destroyed vessels falling everywhere if you're the type looking for story and lots of behind the scenes mechanics happening you may find this one a bit too simple but for me it was easy to get into and I still play it today my favorite in this category was cotton 2 however this was made to take advantage of the Saturn's Hardware top to bottom the original arcade was released on the STV Titan board and man is it a looker scaling and rotation effects everywhere bdp2 layers and transparencies fill the screen as far as the eye can see and all those Beauty beautifully animated Sprites it's one of those two-dimensional games that makes you fully realize just how underused the Saturn was for the things it could actually do well the gameplay is pretty straightforward cotton if you're familiar with the series there is an added melee style attack where you can grab enemies and use them as Weapons four additional score bonuses cotton Boomerang is sort of a remix that could be traded in for it but either way it's a beautiful title well worth playing thank you foreign [Music] foreign ly the beat em up genre saw a steep loss in popularity around this time what had been so popular on the Genesis was reduced to a few scant releases on the Saturn lucky for us we did get the runner-up Die Hard arcade a very loose adaptation of the hit film you and a partner hit the nakotomi building in an effort to rescue the president's daughter gameplay is essentially small Arenas where you beat down bad guys and move on sometimes these are connected by QuickTime events where you can score a quick knockout but if you miss it usually means more enemies to face the visuals were solid and the two-player mode was a blast but no beat em up on the Saturn was as good as guardian Heroes my best friend and I dumped countless hours into this and loved every minute of it it has RPG elements like upgrading your stats and a story that actually is based on your choices which can radically affect who you fight and How It Ends the gameplay itself uses a multi-plane system similar to something like snk's fatal Fury you can switch planes to avoid enemy attacks or launch a surprise offensive of your own the hand-drawn art is a bit pixelated but the Sprites are huge and quite well animated it even has a killer soundtrack [Music] thank you [Music] like beat em ups the Run and Gun genre saw something of a falling off during the 32-bit generation they were still there but they took a back seat to all the new polygon titles coming out our runner-up gets the nod not just because it was a good game but also because it stood out so much in the Saturn Library Metal Slug was essentially Contra for a new era of gaming it gave us unbelievable animation detail in a two-player mode that never got old it uses the one megabyte Ram expansion to minimize load times and keep much of what made the Neo Geo original so special the winner would have to do a lot to best it but a salt suit lenos 2 gets the nod as my best run and Gun winner this is a sequel to The Genesis game Target Earth a Mech Bass Run and gun that has you flying boosting and battling tons of enemies and massive bosses it was only released in Japan and it badly needs an English translation but even in its original Japanese language it's a hell of a game there are tons of weapons the action scales in and out across huge battlefields and the action rarely if ever slows down the only knock I can give it is that it lacks a two-player mode but even so it's so incredibly unique on Saturn you still gotta play it if you enjoyed cybernader or Metal Warriors this is the game for you foreign [Music] was first released the first person shooter was still in its infancy how we got such a great Port of Duke Nukem 3D is still Beyond me but it's my runner-up for this category The Magicians at lobotomy software managed to completely redo the original engine in 3D for the Saturn and while it did change the feel of things I still really enjoyed it I mean you never would have guessed the Saturn was capable of this until you saw it for yourself it even has unique light sourcing that looks really nice and as good as it was it owes all its success to our winner and the best first person shooter on the Saturn Power Slave this is the original slave driver engine that lobotomy created that eventually was used to Port both Duke and Quake to the Saturn and I still think it looks and plays the best here I always thought of this as the first real 3D Metroid game you get a world full of hidden items and weapons that you must travel between and discover in order did it get to the final area you'll battle evil aliens intent on destroying our world and you'll eventually discover the power of the Gods themselves to take them down it's got great light sourcing effects the performance is mostly smooth and the music is pretty dang good it would have been cool to see 3D enemy models but outside of that this is a game not to be missed [Applause] foreign [Music] the best exclusive was another tough one the Saturn had a fair number of titles released only for it that generation and I needed two of the best the runner-up I feel was a given deep fear was sega's take on the Resident Evil formula instead of being trapped in a mansion against zombies you are instead trapped underwater against Monsters similar to those found in John Carpenter's The Thing it uses two-dimensional backdrops and polygon characters to paint its claustrophobic world the gameplay actually has a number of cool mechanics that make it a bit more impressive than the original Resident Evil experience you can move with your gun drawn and you must worry about oxygen deprivation it even has the crappy voice acting to keep you in the B-movie Vibe our winner is something special though bulk slash is a third person Mech shooter where you have the run of the area to blast enemies collect power-ups and transform it will it really did show that Saturn could do a fully 3D polygon world that could be explored and fought in with great success I love the battle options here you can assault your enemies from the sky transform and attack on foot and even boost into melee range with your sword a recently received an English fan translation complete with new Voice work so you can play it in all its original Glory it's Unique and it looked great and it was a great addition to your Saturn Library thank you foreign [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] music on the Saturn it conjures up images of countless titles there are even some middling games of great soundtracks which made this category especially competitive our runner-up is the Techno soft classic Thunder Force 5. these these games always sounded great and the fifth one was no exception it's a great mix of rock and Electronica that fits the action as good as you could have hoped for the tracks have cool names like Rising blue Lightning and fatherless baby and there were lots of them let's have a listen thank you [Music] [Music] foreign our winner of the best music category is Panzer Dragoon this was a magical group of tracks that were just as important as the graphics and gameplay the first time I heard it I just sit and stunned amazement at how it played with your emotions and made you feel part of that journey I have a few examples so let's see if you agree [Music] [Applause] [Music] thank you [Music] foreign [Music] ly sat down to decide on the categories I wanted to cover best graphics was a gibbon but I also realized that the Saturn really needed two categories to do it justice so we are going to take a look at the best 2D and 3D graphics on Sega 6 planet from the sun our runner-up for best two dimensional Graphics is KO flying Squadron 2. this game is simply gorgeous it has full screen transparencies massive Sprites colorful stages and some really nice animation driving everything you see it's absolutely stunning and what I expected from a 32-bit two-dimensional game so good does this game look it literally does everything in a single game that critics said the Saturn was incapable of but the best 2D graphics on the Saturn appeared rather early in the console's life and was simply never surpassed our winner of Best two-dimensional visuals is a stall this is a combination of excellent art Direction and Technical Millions resulting in what I consider one of the prettiest video games ever to exist it's got everything you need to be impressed scaling rotation Parallax transparencies say what you will about its gameplay but when it comes to style and visual presentation a stall was in a class all by itself okay [Music] [Music] [Music] the category of best three-dimensional graphics on the Saturn wasn't that hard at all because few companies outside the Sega themselves knew how to harness the machine properly that meant the list was fairly short of the very best looking titles in our runner-up for best three-dimensional graphics is last Bronx imagine for a moment a fighting game that looks as nice as Virtual Fighter 2 but uses vdp2 for a very convincing effect to create three-dimensional looking backgrounds it's a great combination that elevates last Bronx above the likes of other excellent 3D Fighters like dead or alive and fighting vipers but our best looking game in the three-dimensional graphics category is Panzer Dragoon 2. this was one of the first times I realized the Saturn could do 3D games on a level that went well beyond my understanding of the hardware when you combined what this machine could do with its polygons Sprites and backgrounds the results could be something truly exciting and man was Panzer 2 a beauty I still remember the incredible feeling of scale as I ran through the giant Cliffs of stage 2. I remember that first flight as you jumped from a cliff and glided down to the desert below and who could forget that boss encounter at the underground lake or the assault on a massive ship in the clouds high above the land the sensation of flight the design of the enemies and bosses it all was so well done it was so cohesive that it brought this world to life in a way few 32-bit titles were capable of and you could only play it on the Saturn foreign [Music] our final category is a big one best overall game on the Sega Saturn no doubt this one is gonna be different for pretty much every one of you but for me our runner-up is Shining Force three what some of you may not know is that this was actually split into three episodes unfortunately the West only got the first one translated to English so most of us missed the complete story for years thankfully the Saturn Community comes to the rescue yet again and now we have access to all three in English it tells the tale of a war breaking out in the nefarious forces behind it each story connects and is told from different viewpoints as you unravel the Mysteries behind it all the gameplay is turn-based strategy long battles against many enemies as the order of the day and it has the sound and visuals to make it work on a level that I would put up against the best on any other platform at the time it was an epic story that needed three CDs to get it all done and his point blank some of the finest Works Sega ever produced it's absolutely criminal it's never been reissued that leaves our winner of best overall game on the Saturn as Dragon Force it's hard to pin a genre on Dragon Force it's part RPG part strategy and part simulator but even then it doesn't quite describe exactly what this game is at first it seems incredibly complicated but it's anything but it's so incredibly simple form an Army attack castles and that's pretty much it the actual battles play out as armies clashing on the field but the only control you have is over your formation commands and your general special attacks but it's here where Dragon Force shines which seems at first to be minimal control actually hides a deep and well put together battle system your formations mean everything because your troops will meet other armies that have tactical advantages over you that means your strategies special attacks will need to be on point to turn the tide there are also numerous leaders to choose from at the start with different characters resources and different places on the map this adds to the challenge incredibly but the most important part is that you control everything you want to run rough shot over the AI and conquer the map in no time load up with dragon troops and that's possible want to challenge yourself and make every battle a satisfying tactical Victory choose a weaker troop type and play it that way it's all up to you on top of the great gameplay Dragon Force also has a nice soundtrack and some pretty incredible two-dimensional visuals it supports 202 characters on the screen at once making for explosive battles that look like something no other console could have pulled off at the time frankly not only do I consider it the best Saturn game it's one of the best games of that era period [Applause] [Music] foreign [Music] there we go the best of the best on the Sega Saturn I know I know the Panzer Dragoon Saga fans are probably already pecking away their disgust in the comments but remember just because it isn't here doesn't mean I think it's a bad game I just find these to be better as someone that has owned a Saturn since it originally launched in Japan it's the only console I have never been without over the years other machines have come and gone at various points in my life but when the Saturn launched it became my favorite and has stayed by my side ever since there are so many games on this console that are criminally overlooked because everyone wanted to play polygon games back then had any number of the games I just showed you in this episode been on the PlayStation or Nintendo 64 they would be considered absolute classics by The Gaming Community at large but it would be years before anyone paid attention to them on the Saturn it wasn't until social media came along that Nintendo's Sony and Xbox box fans paid the Saturn any attention and now all of a sudden the Saturn's best games are now going for hundreds and even thousands of dollars thanks to collectors discovering the console wasn't full of just bad PlayStation ports part of me is happy to finally see my favorite console get the attention it deserves but I'd be lying if I didn't also tell you that I still laminate's treatment while it was on the retail market so focused on hype and the premise of 3D polygons many turned their nose up at the Saturn and spat on it leading to dismal sales in the west it's a sad story that never should have been if Sega had been better run and consumers better informed there was no limit to what this machine could have given us I'm single Lord X thank you guys for watching and I will catch you next time foreign [Music] you read the title right my friends you are about to see the very best of the Sega Dreamcast at least according to Old sigalord X here we are breaking down the library into categories and then naming one runner-up and one winner for each one I'm skipping all the honorable mentions and sticking directly with what I consider to be the cream of the crop we have over a dozen categories to go over so let's get started good [Music] we begin with the puzzle genre which like most consoles was fairly well represented on the Dreamcast the runner-up in this category is Poyo pop fever this was a japanese-only release handled entirely by Sega and Sonic Team the core game is similar to the other entries but it now has the new Fever Mode which allows you new attack chains that really make the versus gameplay interesting it looks great for a title like this and it supports two players the original game was a Naomi arcade release so the Dreamcast version is spot on with that Source material it did make its way west for numerous other consoles including handhelds like the Nintendo DS but this category just wouldn't be properly represented on a Sega console without columns in the top spot hanagumi tizen columns 2 is a sequel to the original STV titan-powered release that was brought home to the Sega Saturn as before it uses a Sakura Wars theme to drive the story and interactions while keeping the familiar columns gameplay mechanics it looks great sounds good and has a fan translation so you know what the heck is going on aside from the story mode you can also play a competitive two-player option and a more traditional arcade style endless mode I highly recommend you give it a look if you enjoy this game World there are multiple characters to choose from and the replay value is quite a bit improved over the standard columns experience [Music] thank you [Music] first and third person shooters were still in their early days when the Dreamcast was on the market that didn't mean there weren't any good ones however our runner-up in this category is the port of Quake 3 an immensely fun competitive first-person shooter that had groups of combatants murdering one another in small Arenas there's a bunch of weapons to choose to get the job done and there are multiple game types like capture the flag and Team Deathmatch best part is this supported four-player couch Co-op so you can play together with your friends there was even a few stages that were exclusive to this release break out the keyboard and mouse if you really want to kick some butt there are of course better ways to play this one today but I must confess that it's still one of the better games for the Dreamcast in the genre the absolute best in this category is am2's out trigger however this one allows both first and third person modes the single play player has missions you must complete while the competitive options support as many as four players via split screen it also uses the mouse and keyboard for a more accurate experience it was originally a Naomi based arcade game so the conversion here is top tier stuff if you played it there first it's a bit different from Quake 3 and it's ilk because you have different characters with unique abilities this adds quite a bit of variety to the typical repetition these games usually suffered from the Dreamcast also Remains the only way to play this on a Home console [Music] thank you [Music] in this category we are looking for the very best racing game on the Dreamcast the platform was not weak in this genre so this was a tough one based on its raw fun factor I have to go with Hydro Thunder as my runner-up released on the launch day 9999 this was a part of the classic Midway Arcade title you'll find no realism here it's full of nitro's massive jumps and completely Fantastical courses you won't care at all because the gameplay is a pure joy to behold it's even better with two players at its original release this was the best way to play this game it looked and ran so much better than the other console options and it still looks great today when I think of the best Dreamcast racer though I have to go with Metropolis Street racer by bizarre Creations lots of real world cars and locations here on top of graphics and sound that were just incredible in its day its gameplay is built on the Kudo system which is basically a reward for driving well and completing challenges tracks can be raced at different times of the day and the replay system is absolutely beautiful there's a lot of great Racers on the Dreamcast but this is the total package and a game that everyone needs to play [Music] [Music] the sports category is a broad and well-stocked area on the Dreamcast so much so that our runner-up is a wrestling game of all things released in June of 1999 giant Grand 2000 all Japan Pro Wrestling 2 is easily the best wrestling game on the Dreamcast it looks great as a killer roster of legendary Grapplers and the gameplay is deep and varied it was a port of the naomi-powered arcade version and then ported by wow entertainment to the Dreamcast even if you don't follow classic japanese wrestling you'll still recognize the likes of Big Van Vader and Stan Hansen not to mention there are some virtual fighter guys in there as well part 3 to this series is also fantastic but our winner in this category is the Juggernaut that was NFL 2k2 this series was sega's big Sports Redemption story after its abysmal treatment of the Saturn visual Concepts developed a fantastic follow-up to its previous 2K Games nailing the presentation commentary visuals and gameplay this series took NFL football on a Sega platform from a joke to a franchise that gave the Madden games all they could handle 2K sports also did decent basketball titles but when it came to the top of the line this one sits all alone on a mountain of greatness 28. you can't get there no way baby [Applause] the 49ers the adventure genre spans a lot of different games the variety really is something to consider because most of us have very different tastes here for my runner-up I chose shinyu for its vast World great story and interesting characters this is a tale of Revenge in your journey to find the man who killed your father it's not easy to get into and the gameplay can present some frustration but overall it's still a one-of-a-kind Adventure on the Dreamcast it's one of those titles where you can get lost in just playing games and doing side missions for different characters and just exploring every nook and cranny the second one is a better game but this one is fully in English and is a mandatory starting point to this fantastic Journey when it comes to the best of the adventure genre though KO Veronica is in a league of its own this was released by Capcom in 2000 a continuation of the Resident Evil series start off on a creepy Island filled with all sorts of crazy characters and creatures but you'll end up in Antarctica before it's all over with the outstanding visuals are only matched by its excellent gameplay and Story one of the best that Series has ever offered this was really the first time Resident Evil ventured into the realm of 3D environments and that alone created an atmosphere in a setting you really appreciated gone are those flat lifeless two-dimensional backgrounds now replaced by sweeping camera angles that allow you to see things around you in an all-new light there's been Port since but it started right here and it still as awesome as ever there's no way he could get here even if he is your brother yes he can I'm sure of it we [Music] he won't come you'll just end up disappointed if you rely on others believe me I know what was that all about the Dreamcast is often considered weak in the RPG department but I'm actually quite fond of a number of titles for it my runner-up is an action RPG called record of lotus War a Neverland developed Diablo clone released in 2000 I had no idea what this series was and I knew nothing of its story you start out as a resurrected Warrior who knows nothing of his past skills all you know is is that you must stop an evil God from destroying the world as you play you find items and weapons learn to use powerful spells and before you know it a story unfolds that has you hooked to see the ending the graphics are quite tame for a Dreamcast game but this is a grossly underappreciated gem that deserves a ton more attention as for our winner for best RPG you already know what it was gonna be there's simply no better game in the genre on the Dreamcast Skies of Arcadia was a beautifully designed Adventure start to finish the fantastic world of floating islands and flying Aquatic Life really made an impression and as great as those things are the real power of this story are its memorable and endearing cast of Misfits you were drawn to their story right from the beginning and by the end you are invested in seeing it to its conclusion bad guys you really hated and allies you really loved rounded out a cast of Unforgettable personalities this could have looked and sounded like absolute garbage and I still would have played it but thankfully it looks runs and sounds fantastic add in the unique ship to ship battles and this is an RPG for the ages foreign [Music] give me strength [Applause] [Music] that's fun this one is a big one the fighting game genre if there's one thing their Dreamcast had a lot of it was fighting games a runner-up has to be nearly as good as the winner and my pick goes to dead or alive 2. this was a Tecmo release in 2000 and man did it Blow Me Away visually it is absolutely gorgeous with multi-level stages and Incredibly detailed Fighters the in-game story is absolute nonsense but you won't care you'll be too busy mastering its 12 Fighters and beating down your buddies in four-player Tag Team battles on a VGA monitor it's still one of the prettiest games I've ever seen not to be outdone in the winner of this category is the Namco Beast known as Soul Calibur this dropped in 1999 a port of an arcade game that originated on enhanced PlayStation architecture that means that it has been upgraded noticeably in the graphics Department Namco also saw fit to add a ton of extras there's weapon exercises A Team Battle option a survival mode a mission mode where you must complete specific tasks I mean there is so much content here that it dwarfs any competing Fighter by orders of magnitude there's a whole library of the genre on the Dreamcast yet this one easily tops my list not even an Xbox 360 remaster could do it justice battle one fight [Music] the Shoot Em Up genre is a difficult one on the Dreamcast there are a bunch both before and after the death of the platform I was also slowing down on these types of games because of work and family but I still played all that I could and my second favorite of the bunch was 2005's under defeat this is a great looking shooter with gameplay that takes some getting used to but it's solid once you do the gameplay Works where you can rotate your weapon fire to concentrate on specific areas of the screen it also has some of the biggest and best explosions of any game on the platform if you enjoyed the likes of zero Gunner 2 give this one a shot that leaves the best Shoot Em Up on the Dreamcast as 2003's border down what made this game for me was the specialized death mechanic essentially there are three different versions of each stage your performance determines which one you play die and you border down to the next route die again and you go down one more die again and that's your ass it makes for a unique run because some of the routes are easier than others it's also a really nice looking game with polygon backgrounds and cinematic transitions there's a lot here to enjoy and there's nothing else quite like it [Music] foreign [Music] the 3D platformer had not been around long when the Dreamcast showed up I was always fond of the genre especially after my admiration for Mario 64. I was so excited to see Sonic show up in 3D especially after the debacle that played out on the Saturn but as much fun as I had with Sonic Adventure my runner-up has to be the sequel Sonic Adventure 2. it showed up shortly after Sega exited the hardware Market a Bittersweet release and the very last time we'd see the little blue blur on a Sega made console but it was a blast beginning to end the graphics were better the gameplay was Tighter and there was more to see and do it had some issues but like the first I still enjoyed it thoroughly and with that said Rayman 2 was still the better game as far as early 3D Platformers go this was a master class in how to do it from the control to the game World itself Rayman 2 was an Exquisite Adventure that looked fun nominal on sega's Final platform the setup is as you'd expect you start out collecting things gaining abilities and then opening more of the game world but the core gameplay just feels so well done that even now in 2022 it's every bit as playable you could get this on multiple platforms back in the day but I always felt the Dreamcast was the better looking release there's even four player mini-games for those of you with little ones it still amazes me that this was rayman's first three-dimensional Audi after only one two-dimensional effort a few years prior it radiates quality of a much more mature series thank you [Music] the beat em up genre was dying back in the 32-bit days so by the time their Dreamcast showed up it wasn't swimming in options our runner-up is sword of the berserk guts and rage it's based on a popular Japanese comic series and features a massive narrative and some pretty intense action it looks good has multiple ways to attack and has power ups for more damage and Carnage not being a fan of the source material meant I grew tired of the cinematics but the action is so well done I still enjoyed this one from time to time the only thing holding it back from the winning position here is the lack of a two-player mode a cardinal sin for this genre of game that leaves our best pick as sega's Dynamite Cop a sequel to Die Hard arcade and very similar in structure this time it's a cruise ship you are battling terrorists on and saving the president's daughter the original was actually a model 2 based arcade game so the Dreamcast didn't have much trouble doing the same level of graphics and sound again you will do battle in small Arenas with crazy over-the-top weapons and enemies back are the two-player mode and the QuickTime events though I feel Sega could have added more content to this release for The Home Market still it was a fun time and a great throwback to the Saturn entry if you haven't had the pleasure look up Asian dynamite and give it a go to complete the trilogy foreign [Music] cast was loaded with arcade ports so I just had to put in a category for them choosing just two was tough but our runner-up is the house of the dead too you really need to consider the timing of this one to understand its impact in 1998 Sega released a port of the first game on the Saturn a technically compromised Edition that looked nowhere near as good then literally just a year later this landed at home on the Dreamcast a Pixel Perfect conversion of the Naomi original that looked like a million bucks it was unbelievable that in such a short time we went from severe compromise to the arcade version sitting in your home it's all here two players in gun support the branching paths even a few extra gameplay modes to keep you coming back it was a dream come true and a must stone at the time Capcom Fighters that were really close to the arcade started all the way back on the Saturn but on the Dreamcast Marvel vs Capcom 2 was brand new and absolutely perfect it's another Naomi Port so of course the home release was something special yet again the Dreamcast gives us pretty much exactly what we saw in the arcade back then and it was something to brag about to your friends 3D backdrops to battle against loads of unlockable Fighters and versus gameplay that was bigger louder and more chaotic than ever it was the kind of showpiece that made the short life of the platform so very much worth it the arcade was in its final days as a competitive entertainment option but the appeal of a good conversion was still as powerful as ever there's been Port since but none had the impact of the original [Music] thank you [Music] Mommy For Better or Worse the Dreamcast was loaded with ports from other consoles many were Dreadful in a complete waste of time but our runner-up was a true upgrade Spider-Man was a part of the PlayStation original which itself was a damn good action game on the Dreamcast we get a better resolution cleaner textures and just an overall more appealing graphical presentation you have a 3D New York to explore familiar bad guys to defeat and tons of missions to do the variety in those missions is incredibly impressive for a 3D game at that time this was an overall excellent addition to the Dreamcast library and the best Home console version of this product it was done by Treyarch who also did the Tony Hawk Port another one that's worth checking out but his greatest Spider-Man was it placed second fiddle to the legacy of Kane's Soul Reaver I absolutely love this game the story set up the game World the way you got additional abilities I mean this was an incredible Adventure from the moment you hit the start button Unforgettable boss encounters and numerous ways to dispatch your enemies round out a nearly perfect narrative in this dark and Sinister world again the Dreamcast takes the PlayStation visuals and improves them incredibly better resolution better performance better textures it's a massive upgrade in the best way to play this on a Home console so strong was this experience I'd rate it top 10 material for this platform thank you the best sound category is an interesting one for this era the Advent of CD based soundtracks typically stifled creativity but the Dreamcast still had some real bangers in this area our runner-up is jet grind radio perhaps one of the most unique titles on the Dreamcast it's basically a mission-based action title that has you doing tricks spraying graffiti and battling other gangs in a Turf War the cel-shaded graphics are awesome on the Dreamcast and the entire package is wrapped up in an urban inspired soundtrack by Hideki naganuma it really sets the tune for everything you see and do in this one it really fits this world like a glove and then there was Reds this was developed by many of the members that helped create the Panzer Dragoon titles so the on-rails gameplay should be quite familiar but what made this one so special was its Sound and Music they are intricately tied to the gameplay where you are essentially evolving the composition by your on-screen actions the trance style Electronics soundtrack grows more prominent with the action as well this is all cleverly designed behind the lock on shooting mechanic so the two go hand in hand and play out on screen perfectly it's such a unique game once you get a handle on what it wants you to do and I highly recommend you play it on a good stereo system or a high-end set of headphones there's many versions of this today but it started right here on the old Dreamcast foreign [Music] here we are the big one best graphics this is not a cut and dry category as there are many games on this platform that could be here a number of them in this very episode The runner-up test drive Le Mans really stands out as a technical Marvel not only do you get some really nice looking car models but up to 24 of them can be on the track at once the draw distance is superb the tracks themselves look great and the performance is pretty solid the entire time there's even four player split screen here the gameplay itself is a bit of an inquired taste but I always love sitting back to a replay and really seeing this beautiful engine in all its Glory the developers at infogram Melbourne house claim this pushes the Dreamcast to its limit at 5 million polygons a second I don't know how accurate that statement is but it sure does look good picking the winner here broke me down to almost doing co-winners I I mean there are some awesome looking games on the Dreamcast and picking a single title is extremely difficult and with that I give you shinyu too this is such an improvement over the first in nearly every way and yet it still looks great for a machine released all the way back in 1998. the world is huge and Alive there's so much happening and so many things to see the background details are really well done also you see the larger City in the distance as you explore the buildings around you have such distinct architecture the Dreamcast really did an excellent job with this world and you rarely feel closed in or locked to small areas it does chug a bit at times but it's a small price to pay for this level of detail story wise Rio has followed his Nemesis land D to Hong Kong and is now looking for help from one of his father's old friends you find out your father had more secrets than you knew and the motivations behind his murder it's a shame this one never was released in the United States on Sega Hardware because on the Dreamcast it's one great looking game [Music] foreign our last category is one that is tough for any console that has some age to it true exclusives aren't a common thing especially great ones and our runner-up is sega's very own confidential Mission this was a light gun shooter that first appeared on the Naomi and then poured it to the Dreamcast it has received no other version since and remains a very fun game to play to this day it's essentially virtual cop with terrorists and government agencies out to stop them the bad guys have stolen a spy satellite and it's your job to get it back it's filled with over-the-top characters Chase scenes and enemies that pop out like cockroaches there's branching paths two-player Co-op and different weapons and items you can use it's not quite virtual cop level stuff but you can only play it at home on the Dreamcast and it's a solid effort if you have the means to play it properly but when it comes to our winner it's entirely in a league of its own Capcom released project Justice in late 2000 on the Dreamcast a port of the Naomi arcade original this is a sequel to rival schools United by faith and builds upon that game's tag team system by adding three on three matchups that allowed for some pretty crazy moves and combos not to mention a visual presentation that went well beyond what the PlayStation original was capable of this was only ported to the Dreamcast so it remains playable only there in its console form it boggles my mind that Capcom has never Revisited this incredible fighter it's a standout for the platform and one of its top console exclusives [Music] what's up [Music] today and that about ends our best of the best picks for sega's final game system despite how you feel about my choices the one thing you cannot argue is that the library of this great console was absolutely loaded with top-notch offerings in just a few years time the Dreamcast accumulated hundreds of titles many of which did it proud and kept the early adopters glued to their TVs until Sega and its third parties stopped releasing software I'd love to hear what you guys would have chosen for these categories and if I get enough responses I might even do a viewer edition of this very topic if you enjoyed this format sound off in the comments and we'll do this again for sega's other Hardware I'm sure many of you would get a kick out of seeing my picks for the likes of the Master System in Genesis if you are in the group that hasn't played any of these titles be sure to check them out not only were they great 20 years ago but they hold up extremely well today I'm sigalord X thank you guys for watching and I will catch you next time [Music]

Channel: Sega Lord X

Views: 235,710

Keywords: sega genesis, retro gaming, genesis, sega, sega saturn, sega dreamcast, sega cd, master system, sega lord x, segalordx, mega drive, megadrive, game gear, 32x, mega cd, saturn, gameplay, review, movies, retro games, video games, ps4, xbox, wii, nintendo, gamecube, n64, ps1, ps2, ps3, psp, vita, switch, atari, sega genesis mini, sega genesis mini 2

Id: LJW8ag7ZZ84

Length: 169min 33sec (10173 seconds)

Published: Sun Jan 01 2023