Even after two decades, the myth persists that the Genesis had few RPGs. The argument of the uninformed, it still makes its way into console war conversations the world over. In reality, there are over 70 RPGs between the Genesis and the Sega CD, almost as many as there are shooters (which people say the console has too many of. Go figure.) We dispelled this myth in our RPG Roundup and our Left in Japan: RPGs feature. One of those neat little RPGs that gets overlooked by most is Electronic Arts’ TechnoClash. A cyber punk sort of adventure/RPG title, it was developed by BlueSky Software and features sprite art by Earthworm Jim’s Doug TenNapel.
Genesis Reviews
Rampart
Today, many console gamers enjoy the tower defense genre of games. The genre wasn’t so well known back in 1990, when Atari games released Rampart in the arcades. Featuring play for up to three people simultaneously, it was ported to every console known to man, including the Genesis. Handled by Tengen, the 16-bit version is actually pretty darn good.
Jimmy White’s Whirlwind Snooker
Billiards is a much loved game in the United States. Unfortunately, most Americans are unfamiliar with the game snooker (read more about it here), something our friends in England greatly enjoy. There was even a PAL Mega Drive release that understandably never came stateside, and it’s actually very good.
Exile
Renovation brought over a ton of games for the Genesis, many of which found their ways onto other consoles. Exile was an action/RPG that was also available on the TuboGrafx-16 CD-ROM (check out our comparison of the two). While it didn’t boast all the bells and whistles of its CD sibling, the Genesis cartridge had some strengths of its own.
Yang Jia Jiang (Yang Warrior Family)
Long believed to be a bootleg, Yang Jia Jiang (known as Yang Warrior Family outside of China), is most likely a legitimate, unlicensed release. Details on the game’s development and distribution are scarce, as they are with most Chinese Mega Drive titles, but we can at least still review it for public consumption. Read our full review and see if this one is worth hunting down. Be warned though; there are a ton of pirate versions that are not the same, so care is needed to find an original copy.