Have you ever heard of the SEGA Master System? I had heard of it here and there, but I had only played the SEGA Genesis when I was a kid. After looking it up, I learned that it was made in competition to the NES around the late 80s, early 90s. I am a bit surprised I have never even seen one when I was younger, though maybe I did and didn’t realize it. It’s an 8-bit system, so the games aren’t as graphically advanced as the Genesis.

Since I had never owned that console, I haven’t had the pleasure of playing it’s library of games. Thankfully, there’s a collection called the SEGA Mega Drive and Genesis Classics that has over 50 of these games to play. This Retro Gaming Club entry will cover three of those, and I hope to include more in future posts or focus on a different console instead.

Have you played this collection before? What are some of your favorite SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive entries? Let me know in the comments!

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Wonder Boy In Monster World – 1991, Megadrive/Genesis 🎮🎮🎮

I wanted to try out games that I was not familiar with, so I went ahead and loaded this one up. Wonder Boy In Monster World caught my interest so I gave it a short trial. I have to play more of it to see if I will end up enjoying it, but so far it’s too slow for my taste. You play as a boy with a sword who is charged with saving the world from evil monsters. There’s a little more to the plot but I found it boring and wanted to get the game started.

The game has RPG elements where you can purchase upgrades to your equipment and health items. The enemies look cute and not very menacing, where I actually thought they were just NPCs or part of the setting of the village where you begin. I have not gone very far in the game, so I will need to play more to get a better opinion but so far it’s a slow burn.

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Kid Chameleon – 1992, SEGA Genesis 🎮🎮

The game’s simple plot explains how there was a new arcade game whose boss would escape the game and kidnap players. One teenager with cool shades and a black jacket arrived to defeat the game from the inside out, and that was Kid Chameleon.

You play through various levels with different designs from forests, caves, icy areas and lots more. What makes this game stand out are the helmets that give you powerups. When you break blocks, you receive an upgrade and transform into various forms like a Samurai, a rhino outfit, a hockey mask with an ax weapon, a climber and many others. I haven’t played through the entire game as it’s very long so I haven’t seen all the helmets yet.

The gameplay is very dated, as the sounds and graphics don’t look or sound as good as other Genesis-era games. Jumping is actually an easy way to fast-track through the levels, as you can jump so high that it’s easy to skip over obstacles and enemies. The helmets are fun to use, but some are more useful than others like the hockey helmet or the climber. There aren’t any bosses that I have seen, so the challenges are just avoiding enemies or getting through walls. I would have liked there to be fewer levels and be more unique.

I don’t think I will be playing much of this game again, as I wasn’t too impressed. I do remember playing it when I was younger and I thought I would enjoy it but nostalgia can be deceiving.

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Sonic 3 & Knuckles– 1994, SEGA Genesis 🎮🎮🎮🎮🎮

When it comes to speed, you can’t forget about Sonic The Hedgehog. This is one of the longest-lasting and popular series in all of gaming history, and I am a huge fan! Since I was little I have played through most of Sonic’s adventures which have been enjoyable to me for many years. The first titles from the SEGA Genesis, for me, have always been my favorite run-throughs for several reasons. Each zone’s background, music, and large sections to explore have always made Sonic stand out from other platformers.

Sonic 3 is the third game to be released on the Genesis that takes Sonic and his pal Tails to a mysterious island. Sonic goes ashore as Super Sonic but is ambushed by Knuckles the Echidna. He steals the Chaos Emeralds that give Sonic his golden Super-Saiyan-like power and runs off. The game then starts you off on a search to retrieve them and find out what else is happening on the island. The evil Dr. Eggman (Robotnik) is also creating destruction and capturing animals as he always does, so it’s up to Sonic and Tails to put an end to his schemes.

The music for Sonic The Hedgehog 1-3 are memorable tracks that show off the potential of the SEGA Genesis back in it’s day. Most games have similar sound effects and background scores but Sonic 3 has some that stand out. Hydrocity, Carnival Night, Ice Cap, and Flying Battery zones have been remixed many times by artists for how fun they sound.

Each stage is very different and takes a little while to fully explore. At times I would forget that this was just Act 1 and there was another Act to go to complete the stage. Bosses aren’t that hard, and the option to play as Knuckles allows you to explore places you could not as Sonic or Tails so there’s some replay value there. Overall, this is one of my favorite SEGA games and I highly recommend you check it out. It’s available on Steam either by itself or on the SEGA Mega Drive & Genesis Classics collection.

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