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Accolade brought the Amiga run-‘n-gun classic Turrican to the Genesis in 1991, sporting a great box cover by famed sci-fi and fantasy artist Boris Vallejo. Many Genesis gamers took the game at face value, unfamiliar with the decidedly different style of action game they were about to play. The result left a bad taste in the mouths of many, something that would remain until Factor 5’s stellar Mega Turrican arrived a few years later.
When most people think of RPGs, they don’t think of the Genesis. That’s unfortunate, as the console boasts a great library of quality titles (almost as many as it has shmups!). When you’re done with the Phantasy Stars and Shining titles, there’s another game awaiting your attention. Nowhere near as pretty or manageable as those games but boasting a quest almost three times the size, Might & Magic: Gates to Another World is the one Genesis RPG that will make you humble. Trust us, any game with a 169-page instruction manual is one that doesn’t pull its punches.
Sometimes, a game comes along that totally justifies the stigma attached to licensed titles. We’re talking utter trash here, and a few releases can be quickly named when one is asked to mention which ones stand out the most (anyone remember LJN’s abysmal X-Men game for the NES?). Back to the Future Part III is a card-carrying member of that sorry list.
It’s been ported to almost every single console you can imagine (I think there’s a Game.Con rev somewhere), and Genesis owners were enthralled at the way Out of This World seemed to push their consoles harder than any other game. Even today, the fluidity of the animation and the polygonal cut scenes are something of a marvel, considering the hardware pushing them.
One thing Genesis owners could count on was a steady stream of games, courtesty of Renovation. The prolific publisher covered all the bases, from action/RPGs like Arcus Odyssey and Wanders from Ys to that most recognizable of Genesis genres: the shmup. The company that gave us Gaiares also released a few arcade ports, and among them was Vapor Trail, a vertical shooter that was big on action and bosses. Is it worth adding to your library?