The best Sega Genesis games of all time

The Sega Genesis was an incredible system when it was launched in 1989. Featuring hit franchises such as the best Sonic games and best Mortal Kombat games, the console was able to go toe-to-toe with the best SNES games — an impressive feat when you look at all the series only available on Nintendo’s system. But the Genesis was no slouch in the games department. Not only was it home to exclusives such as Streets of Rage 2 and Altered Beast, but it also made use of a unique subscription service called Sega Channel. This gave owners rotating access to some of the best titles the system had to offer, much like PlayStation Plus and Xbox Game Pass do today.

Now that Sega has bowed out of the hardware space, it remains one of the top developers and publishers in the business. A couple of its games are even in our 50 best video games of all time. Let’s use our blast processing to look at the best Sega Genesis games of all time.

Action

Michael Jackson's Moonwalker

66% Platforms PC DOS, Commodore C64/128, Amiga, Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum, MSX, Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, Arcade, Atari ST/STE, Sega Master System Genre Shooter, Music, Platform, Hack and slash/Beat 'em up, Arcade Developer Emerald Software, Triumph Studios, Sega Enterprises Publisher Sega Enterprises, U.S. Gold Release July 24, 1990 The King of Pop may be dead and gone, but surely his legacy lives on (in Moonwalker nonetheless). Whereas the arcade incarnation of the title focused on beat-em-up mechanics, the home console version was a bit more of a platformer, revolving around Jackson’s dance-fueled journey to save a group of kidnapped children from the clutches of one Mr. Big. Each of the game’s five levels is interspersed with remnants of the late singer’s career, whether it be his iconic dance moves or notorious vocal shouts, and audibly adorned with hits such Smooth Criminal, Beat It, and other songs culled from Jackson’s resounding back catalog. The animations and backdrops are fluid, spanning colorful clubs