The Sega Genesis was a true rival to the mighty Super Nintendo, and there was genuinely a time when the debate over which system was superior was not only legitimate but legitimately heated. It wasn’t all advertising, either, although the whole “blast processing” thing and the super cool mascot certainly helped. This system just had some seriously good games.
Some of those games have carried on, either in the continuation of their franchises or with subsequent classic game collections, but many others have been left to gather dust on the shelves of time. If they’re lucky, fans will be able to find them via various ports, but if that’s the extent of what they can hope for then it’s a shame because these games deserve a leap into the modern day.
8 World of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse And Donald Duck
Disney absolutely nailed it with a number of their games in the 90s, including the World of Illusion predecessor Castle of Illusion, which got its own remake in 2013. However, for the most part, all of those games were just well-made iterations of the side-scroller formula without all that much innovation involved. World of Illusion, on the other hand, brought some true creativity to the table.
On top of some of the best-looking colorful cartoon graphics in the system’s whole catalog, this two-player co-op offered up a unique style of gameplay that required players to help one another through the levels using special abilities. It’s not dissimilar to the popular indie game Unravel from 2016, so there’s really no reason why a remake wouldn’t be a big hit.
7 Ecco The Dolphin
The 90s were filled with a lot of media aimed at young people that had an ecological message. Movies like FernGully: The Last Rainforest and shows like Captain Planet and the Planeteers had a lasting impact on many kids who grew up back then. If there were a (cooler and less sanctimonious) video game proxy of the two, it’d probably be Ecco the Dolphin.
But while the urgent need for environmental awareness has grown exponentially, it seems the giant corporations who created that media have given up on their pandering and gone back to just plain old polluting. Yet now is a time when an Ecco game might actually resonate, especially considering how (environmentalist sentiment aside) there are plenty of other successful games out there that share the same mellow, laidback vibe and pretty natural environments.
6 Rocket Knight Adventures
It wasn’t easy for a platformer to stand out during the 16-bit heyday, but Konami’s Rocket Knight Adventures certainly made it look that way. This effortlessly fun side-scroller managed to put its own unique stamp on a genre dominated by Mario and Sonic, and it seemed as if both the game and its opossum protagonist, Sparkster, had the ability to be the Dr. Pepper to their Coke and Pepsi. And then it sort of just didn’t happen.
There was a quality sequel, and Sparkster had a run as the Konami mascot, even appearing in a variety of other games over the years, but the real full potential of Rocket Knight Adventures was never realized. An attempted return popped up in 2010, and it was fairly well-received, but there’s still room for a real return to form.
5 Ranger X
Flying around in an awesome mech suit is a timelessly cool gaming endeavor, and Ranger X is one of the best ways to take part in it. Many side-scrolling run-and-guns have sent players on perilous journeys through environments absolutely jampacked with explosives to dodge and enemies to eradicate, but few have done it with as much dazzling style as this 1993 entry from GAU entertainment.
The graphics on this game are just plain awesome, and they could be made all the more awesome if they took the hyperspace leap into the modern gaming environment. Fans who fondly recall the pulse-pounding action Ranger X brought them would jump at any chance to return to that wonderful place, and the uninitiated would quickly understand why.
4 Pac-Man 2: The New Adventures
No, Pac-Man 2: The New Adventures was not considered a good game, nor was it even remotely like its legendary predecessor, nor is it likely that anyone on planet earth would be jumping for joy at the prospect of a remake. However, there was a weird Looney Tune-like charm to this curious puzzle game that admittedly missed the mark on many counts but may very well fare better in a modern setting.
Instead of the annoying cursor that players had to drag around the screen in order to interact with it, they could simply tap directly on a touchscreen. The mellow puzzle-solving gameplay would fit cozily in with a number of other more modern games, like an Abzu or a Journey. Heck, the modern gamer’s flair for the ironic would almost certainly favor such a strange return of a game nobody cares about with the proper marketing. Pac-Man 3: The New New Adventures has a little more potential than meets the eye.
3 Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine
Villains deserve a little shine, too. After all, what good would a hero be without them? Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine is really just Puyo Puyo with a Sonic the Hedgehog skin on it, but hey, that’s a pretty awesome concept, and the game is a ton of fun. It’s remembered fondly enough to have made it onto all kinds of collections and ports over the years, and even into a boss fight in Sonic Mania, so why not give fans a sequel?
It wouldn’t take all that much to pull together a new edition of Mean Bean Machine, and there are decades of Sonic the Hedgehog characters and landscapes to draw from now. Even a shiny new remaster for smartphones would likely be well-received.
2 VectorMan
VectorMan is one of the Sega Genesis games that should have become a full-on franchise. The fast-paced action, the impressive digitized design, the fluidity and smooth feel of the controls, and the cool-looking protagonist that every kid on the planet could reasonably doodle—it all should have gone somewhere, and it just didn’t.
There was a third installment planned for the Sega Saturn, but much like the Sega Saturn itself it never got off the ground. It’s a true shame that VectorMan and its awesome potential are now nothing but fond memories, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be that way. There are absolutely fans out there who would be more than a little riled up by a proclamation of the awesome green orb man’s return.
1 Alien Soldier
Treasure has an impressive collection of action titles on its considerable resume, with hits and underrated classics across a wide range of systems spanning multiple decades. 1995’s Alien Soldier is one of their finest, yet it doesn’t get treated as such, which is a shame because it could really do with the Gunstar Super Heroes treatment.
This impressive-looking, breakneck-paced, admittedly-infuriating run-and-gunner got plenty of great reviews, and it certainly had its fans, but that was only enough to land it in the Hall of Underrated Classics. It’s been made available through digital download on multiple platforms, but an updated version could earn the game some much-deserved widespread acclaim.