The history of the gaming industry is one of the most fascinating industries to read up on, isn’t it? From the simple times of games like Pong, to the modern day hits like Call of Duty or Fortnite, the industry has come a long way. There have been several systems and companies behind these historic times. From legends like Nintendo, to classic systems like Atari, the world has seen its fair share of memorable games and consoꦗles alike.
One system, in particular, has a long history. While anyone can download a copy of Sonic the Hedgehog on their mobile devices or modern consoles, the game used to be an exclusive of the mega-popular Sega Genesis. The system was a major hit back in the day. While it's long since retired from the world of gaming, the cartridge-based game system definitely left i🧸ts mark on the world of video games. Yet as with any game system or era, the Sega Genesis has had both major highs and incredibl🌺e lows in its career.
While franchises like Sonic the Hedgehog and games like Gunstar Heroes are considered legends of the console, other games like Batman Forever or Ristar aren't remembered quite as fondly. Today we a🍌re going to explore the twenty worst games on the Sega Genesis and the ten best — so be ready for a trip down video game memory lane.
30 Worst: Batman Forever 💙
Today we kind of take Batman games for granted. Whether you prefer the more family friendly Lego Batman games or perhaps the more adult, action-packed Batman: Arkham series, 🅷the DC legend is becoming a video game legend as well.
Based off the movie of the same name, the game received poor reviews due mostly to the awful control scheme, stating that whene🤡ver you punched an ene♏my as Batman the action ended up being a delayed fight scene that continued well after the enemy was down.
29 Worst: James Pond: Underwater Agent 𒁃ℱ
When we think of great James Bond games, we typically think of games like GoldenEye, don’t we? Well if you were expecting this to be like that game, you were way wrong. While given great reviews for the time, years later gamers have found the game to be boring and not all that excitingOf course, it's a novel spoof of James Bond films, but this kids' game🎃 doens't really do much to excite gamers.
28 🍬 Best: Jurassic Park
The awe and wonder of Jurassic Park has held audiences' attention and enjoyment for decades. The film franchise has been pra𒁏ised for showing mankind’s inability to not meddle in the natural order of the animal kingdom.
Based on the film of the same name, this game was a bird-eye view adventure-style game that captured the nature of the film quite well. While it definitely wasn't for everyone, this Jurassic Park game is still the best video gaওme to come out of the mega franchise.
27 Worst: Terminator 2: Jജudgement Day ♉
Games about the end of the world and robots are nothing new to modern day gamers. Heck, a lot of us see that every day playing Fallout 4.𝓡 Still, this hilariously awful Terminator game takes things to a different level.
Based on the popular sci-fi film of the same name, ꦅthe game was originally made for arcade machines. Sadly, when it was converted to the Sega Genesis, the console’s Mega Drive/Genesis hardware could not do scaling due to it’s limitations, and therefore many of the game’s images were redrawn at different sizes.
26 Worst: Fatal Fury: ꦇKing Of Fighters
The fighting game genre is a popular one. Games like Dragon Ball FighterZ and Marvel vs. Capcom have made it clear that even fans of outside influences have fun playing fighting games. Made to offer a competitive edge on the popular Street Fighter II video game, Fatal Fury: King of Fighters centered around a martial arts tournament of sorts. However, the game’s critics noted it failed to live up to the same gameplay style as Street Fighter II, and had few mechanics that made it stand out fro𓂃m the fightiꦆng game crowd.
25 🐷 Best: Sonic & Knuckles
One of gaming’s most popular franchises has to be Sonic the Hedgehog. The story follows a young Hedgehog (you guessed it: named Sonic), as he runs at high speeds trying to stop an evil scientist and traverse large scale mazes. A sequel to Sonic 3, this game was prais🌱ed for its exceptional lock-on system at the time and some players felt it allowed players to play essentially two games, as you took control of both Sonic and Knu💧ckles.
24 Worst: Strider Returns 🔯 𝄹
Sequels are a tricky business. Unless you have a franchise with as much history and mythology as Fallout or Halo, getting a sequel to measure up to the origina♏l is a tricky business. This si꧒de-scrolling adventure game was very popular and one of Capcom’s crown jewels at the time. However, the sequel failed to live up to the hype, as critics noted the game lacked the same excitement and originality that the original non-console game had.
23 ꦿ Worst: Waynes World
Party time! Excellent! These are two words or phrases you would think would describe a video game based on a hilarious film franchise. You’d be wrong. Based on the p🎃opular SNL skit and feature film of the same name, this game was a pretty basic adventure comedy/action game. Controlling both Wayne and Garth, 😼this game is often described as one of the worst games of all time.
22 𒅌 Best: NBA Jam
Sporting games are a major driving force in the industry. With game publisher EA taking center stage with games like Madden, the sporting world ha🦹s always been rip🐠e for video game dominance.
Yet one classic Sega game really drove home this fact years earlier.
A very popular sporting game, NBA Jam was unique; playing a game of basketball🍃 where your player could make impossible shots from half court and even make earth-shattering slam dunks helped it stand out.
21 ᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚ Worst: Ex-Mutants
No, this isn’t a game based on the popular Marvel Comics heroes known as The X-Men. A popular comic book series in the 80’s and 90’s, the game was based on Malibu Comics version ꦚof the series. It focused on six mutants, (three boys and three girls), who were gathered by a cyborg professor named Kildare to inspire the survivors of a nuclear war-torn planet and face the evil Great Fred. Think post-apocalypse meets the X-Men.