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Genesis racing fans know that the Micro Machines series can always be relied on for quality. This shines through quite brightly in Micro Machines 2: Turbo Tournament, which featured excellent multi-player action through its J-cart functions. It was eventually eclipsed by a sequel a year later, but that takes nothing away from this excellent game.
Region-specific games are the bane of fans of all consoles. No matter how many great games come to one’s specific region, there is always a ton more that got left somewhere else. The Genesis is no exception, and there are more awesome titles left in Europe and Japan than you can shake a Menacer at. Second Samurai is one such title, and we wouldn’t be surprised if you’re right now wondering what the heck game it was that we just mentioned. See? That’s what happens when games stay in just one region!
Aicom and Sammy scored a big hit with Viewpoint, an isometric shooter that was big on visuals and hard as nails. Sammy decided that there weren’t enough versions of the game around, so it decided to release the game for several consoles, including our very own Genesis. Sega fans should take note that this is perhaps as close as they’ll ever get to a real Zaxxon sequel. And no, Motherbase 2000 on 32X doesn’t count.
Not to be outdone by rival Capcom, SNK released a bazillion fighting series on every platform short of the pocket calculator (though I’m sure it’s probably out there). Among they plethora of brawling goodness unleashed up on button mashers everywhere was the Art of Fighting series, known for its massive sprites and nausea-inducing zoom effect. The game was eventually reprogrammed by Sega and released on the Genesis, and the sprites and zoom were only two things missing that had made the coin-op so popular.
The Amiga has definitely lived up to its namesake where the Genesis is concerned. It’s been quite the friendly machine, providing many quality games that made the jump to the little 16-bitter. Some though, lent themselves better to the conversion than others, and a few have issues that really affect the experience. Take Cannon Fodder, for instance. The tiny sprites and status box really hampered what was otherwise an exceptional version of a classic game. It’s still playable, but how much so will depend on how good your vision is.