- Joined
- Feb 3, 2019
- Location
- Sydney Australia
- Favourite title
- Shenmue II
- Currently playing
- Tekken 7 (always Tekken 7)
- PSN
- danmann861
- Steam
- danielmann861
I’ve been thinking. Everyone here is probably both a fan of SEGA and Shenmue, right? Lately, I’ve been playing a fair few SEGA classics and it got me to thinking about some of my favourite SEGA franchises and games from said franchises. So it got me thinking, what are some of your favourite SEGA games?
I'll go first
Outrun (Arcade/Mega Drive) -- The definition of cool. Just you, your girl and a Ferrari cruising down the ever changing highways of America. I mostly played the Mega Drive port as a kid. Was a solid port. Sure, it couldn't live up the excellence that was the Arcade board, but a solid port none the less. Always loved Outrun. It's sheer simplicity at its most addictive best (something that I think SEGA always excelled at)
Space Harrier (Arcade) -- I have to admit, I never played Space Harrier until Shenmue. Never had a Space Harrier cabinet at any local arcades and I never actually played it until the Yu Arcade in Shenmue. But boy did I waste many in game hours on it. Fell in love with the concept immediately. Thanks Shenmue for exposing me to a classic.
Sonic CD (Mega CD) -- Still my favourite Sonic game to date. I love the Past, Present and Future time travel aspect it has. Being able to flick between different variants of the one stage was a neat way to show off what the Sega CD hardware could do. Also, it's just a really fun Sonic game and is still my favourite Sonic game (fantastic soundtrack as well)
Yakuza (The Entire Franchise -- I can't pick one, I love 'em all) -- I tried picking one. I really did...but I just couldn't do it. I kind of love all of these games. It was a matter of do I pick the first game for its importance in launching the franchise or do I pick Yakuza 0 since it's the one that finally got it going in the West? Or do I pick my favourite of the series (which I think might be Yakuza 3 for me)? But in the end, I couldn't pick just one. I love the entire franchise. It's one of the best things SEGA is doing at the moment. Hence I give the whole franchise a nod.
Crazy Taxi (Dreamcast/Arcade) -- I'm a sucker for score attack games. Crazy Taxi fills that itch. Powering down the hills of San Fran has never been more fun than it was in this game. Packed with the adrenaline filled 90's soundtrack of Offspring and Bad Religion, it just has a fun vibrant energy to it that never ceases to bore me. I can pick that game up today and still get hours of enjoyment out of it like I did the first time I fired it up in my Dreamcast. Again, simple concept but a true time sink. Learning how to power slide, dash and the best routes was all part of the charm. It's Sega at its best and is the ultimate Escort game.
Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master (Mega Drive) -- Brilliant game. Sank many hours into it as a kid. Don't regret it. This, Sonic CD, Streets of Rage II, NBA Jam, Street Fighter 2 and Mortal Kombat II were the few games that saw heavy rotation on the Mega Drive. I would kill for a Shinobi reboot. What better time than now given Sekiro and the upcoming Ghost of Tsushima?
Panzer Dragoon Saga (Sega Saturn) -- Not a very long RPG, but a damn fine RPG none the less. One of those games that really pushes the Saturn quite hard as well. Brilliant game and I kind of even like the fact that after all these years you still have to find an actual Saturn and a decent copy of it to actually play it. I know, I know, I would love for them to port it to other systems simply for archival purposes, but I kind of also like the fact that it's still a game you need to pick up a Saturn for (or at least get an emulator)
Jet Set Radio (Sega Dreamcast) -- A wonderful score attack/platformer that once again shows SEGA at their best. Taking simple concepts but making them fun and challenging to master. Also, the soundtrack and cell shaded look are killer. I know many people love to point out that Jet Set Radio Future is the better game, but I disagree. I still much prefer the original game. It's not just the Dreamcast factor, it's more so the challenge factor. It's a really challenging game to learn the best lines to grind and how to attack the levels properly...I felt Future didn't have that same challenge. Future is a cool game but I really like the challenge of the original game so much more.
Virtua Fighter 2 (Sega Saturn/Arcade) -- Technically VF4 and VF5 are superior games, but my heart remains with Virtua Fighter 2. Always has, always will. I pumped many dollar coins into the VF2 arcade machine at my local arcade. I was absolutely obsessed with this game as a kid. As a kid, the furthest I made it on the Arcade machine was Jeffery...I could never get past Jeffery and his fucking power bomb spam. Now days I've beaten the game many times over. But yeah, I spent so much money on this one arcade machine as a kid. I love this game through and through and it will forever be the definitive VF game (for me at least; even though I know objectively VF5 is far superior in every way)
Daytona USA (Sega Saturn/Arcade) - DAAAAAAYYYYYYYTOOONNNAAA! Let's go away! (need I say more?)
Nights Into Dreams (Sega Saturn) - I'm a sucker for score attack games; see my love of many Sega games or the Tony Hawk franchise for example. Nights is a perfect blend of 2.5D platformer and score attack game. I first played Nights when I finally got my hands on a used Sega Saturn in 2005 (I never had a Sega Saturn as a kid even though I wanted one desperately). At first I didn't really understand it and tossed it aside because I didn't quite get it. But then I came back to it and started learning how it worked, and soon enough I fell head over heels in love with it. I could never get A ranks for every stage though. The closest I came was three stages of the eight in the game. I also just love how wonderfully trippy and surreal that game is. It's a real marvel to look at and a perfect showcase of how best to use the Sega Saturn hardware for 3D. And to think Burning Rangers would come shortly after and blow us away even more.
Shenmue 1 and 2 (Sega Dreamcast) -- I can't pick between the two. They both might as well just be one game to me. In fact, that is how I feel about the entire franchise. It's just one long game that has yet to see its ending. It all just runs into one another. A true masterpiece...we all know this. It's the reason we're all here to begin with. We know and at this point I'm just preaching to the choir here so lets move on...
Virtua Cop 2 (Arcade) -- Much like Virtua Fighter 2, this is another game I dumped so much coinage into as a kid. Aiming for justice shots was so much damn fun.
Die Hard Arcade (or Dynamite Dekka as known in Japan) (Arcade) -- I've always had a love for side scrolling beat 'em ups. Dynamite Dekka was a really solid attempt at bringing that style of game into 3D (probably the best attempt of the bunch at the time -- now days I think that honour belongs to Yakuza instead)...I loved this game. This was one of the games that made me want a Sega Saturn over a PlayStation at the time. My parents ultimately went with the PlayStation as they saw the writing on the wall for the Saturn (when stores were fire selling, my parents knew there wasn't much point in buying one over a console that still had life in it), but oh well. I don't regret getting a PlayStation at the time, but this along with Virtua Fighter 2 were two of the games that really made me want a Sega Saturn over a PlayStation at the time.
Streets of Rage II (Mega Drive) -- Probably my favourite game on the Mega Drive. Bar none. The defining Sega Mega Drive game for me. Still have my original cartridge on the shelf. I will never let that game go. Never.
And this is only scratching the surface as there are SOOOO many Sega games out there to choose from. I haven't even mentioned the likes of Phantasy Star or the countless untranslated SEGA games that I have yet to play such as Sakura Wars (I know there is a translation recently released for it) or the wonderful looking sim/RPG SEGAGAGA (which I still really want to play but am waiting for someone to finish translating it)
How about you guys? What are some of your faves and why?
I'll go first
Outrun (Arcade/Mega Drive) -- The definition of cool. Just you, your girl and a Ferrari cruising down the ever changing highways of America. I mostly played the Mega Drive port as a kid. Was a solid port. Sure, it couldn't live up the excellence that was the Arcade board, but a solid port none the less. Always loved Outrun. It's sheer simplicity at its most addictive best (something that I think SEGA always excelled at)
Space Harrier (Arcade) -- I have to admit, I never played Space Harrier until Shenmue. Never had a Space Harrier cabinet at any local arcades and I never actually played it until the Yu Arcade in Shenmue. But boy did I waste many in game hours on it. Fell in love with the concept immediately. Thanks Shenmue for exposing me to a classic.
Sonic CD (Mega CD) -- Still my favourite Sonic game to date. I love the Past, Present and Future time travel aspect it has. Being able to flick between different variants of the one stage was a neat way to show off what the Sega CD hardware could do. Also, it's just a really fun Sonic game and is still my favourite Sonic game (fantastic soundtrack as well)
Yakuza (The Entire Franchise -- I can't pick one, I love 'em all) -- I tried picking one. I really did...but I just couldn't do it. I kind of love all of these games. It was a matter of do I pick the first game for its importance in launching the franchise or do I pick Yakuza 0 since it's the one that finally got it going in the West? Or do I pick my favourite of the series (which I think might be Yakuza 3 for me)? But in the end, I couldn't pick just one. I love the entire franchise. It's one of the best things SEGA is doing at the moment. Hence I give the whole franchise a nod.
Crazy Taxi (Dreamcast/Arcade) -- I'm a sucker for score attack games. Crazy Taxi fills that itch. Powering down the hills of San Fran has never been more fun than it was in this game. Packed with the adrenaline filled 90's soundtrack of Offspring and Bad Religion, it just has a fun vibrant energy to it that never ceases to bore me. I can pick that game up today and still get hours of enjoyment out of it like I did the first time I fired it up in my Dreamcast. Again, simple concept but a true time sink. Learning how to power slide, dash and the best routes was all part of the charm. It's Sega at its best and is the ultimate Escort game.
Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master (Mega Drive) -- Brilliant game. Sank many hours into it as a kid. Don't regret it. This, Sonic CD, Streets of Rage II, NBA Jam, Street Fighter 2 and Mortal Kombat II were the few games that saw heavy rotation on the Mega Drive. I would kill for a Shinobi reboot. What better time than now given Sekiro and the upcoming Ghost of Tsushima?
Panzer Dragoon Saga (Sega Saturn) -- Not a very long RPG, but a damn fine RPG none the less. One of those games that really pushes the Saturn quite hard as well. Brilliant game and I kind of even like the fact that after all these years you still have to find an actual Saturn and a decent copy of it to actually play it. I know, I know, I would love for them to port it to other systems simply for archival purposes, but I kind of also like the fact that it's still a game you need to pick up a Saturn for (or at least get an emulator)
Jet Set Radio (Sega Dreamcast) -- A wonderful score attack/platformer that once again shows SEGA at their best. Taking simple concepts but making them fun and challenging to master. Also, the soundtrack and cell shaded look are killer. I know many people love to point out that Jet Set Radio Future is the better game, but I disagree. I still much prefer the original game. It's not just the Dreamcast factor, it's more so the challenge factor. It's a really challenging game to learn the best lines to grind and how to attack the levels properly...I felt Future didn't have that same challenge. Future is a cool game but I really like the challenge of the original game so much more.
Virtua Fighter 2 (Sega Saturn/Arcade) -- Technically VF4 and VF5 are superior games, but my heart remains with Virtua Fighter 2. Always has, always will. I pumped many dollar coins into the VF2 arcade machine at my local arcade. I was absolutely obsessed with this game as a kid. As a kid, the furthest I made it on the Arcade machine was Jeffery...I could never get past Jeffery and his fucking power bomb spam. Now days I've beaten the game many times over. But yeah, I spent so much money on this one arcade machine as a kid. I love this game through and through and it will forever be the definitive VF game (for me at least; even though I know objectively VF5 is far superior in every way)
Daytona USA (Sega Saturn/Arcade) - DAAAAAAYYYYYYYTOOONNNAAA! Let's go away! (need I say more?)
Nights Into Dreams (Sega Saturn) - I'm a sucker for score attack games; see my love of many Sega games or the Tony Hawk franchise for example. Nights is a perfect blend of 2.5D platformer and score attack game. I first played Nights when I finally got my hands on a used Sega Saturn in 2005 (I never had a Sega Saturn as a kid even though I wanted one desperately). At first I didn't really understand it and tossed it aside because I didn't quite get it. But then I came back to it and started learning how it worked, and soon enough I fell head over heels in love with it. I could never get A ranks for every stage though. The closest I came was three stages of the eight in the game. I also just love how wonderfully trippy and surreal that game is. It's a real marvel to look at and a perfect showcase of how best to use the Sega Saturn hardware for 3D. And to think Burning Rangers would come shortly after and blow us away even more.
Shenmue 1 and 2 (Sega Dreamcast) -- I can't pick between the two. They both might as well just be one game to me. In fact, that is how I feel about the entire franchise. It's just one long game that has yet to see its ending. It all just runs into one another. A true masterpiece...we all know this. It's the reason we're all here to begin with. We know and at this point I'm just preaching to the choir here so lets move on...
Virtua Cop 2 (Arcade) -- Much like Virtua Fighter 2, this is another game I dumped so much coinage into as a kid. Aiming for justice shots was so much damn fun.
Die Hard Arcade (or Dynamite Dekka as known in Japan) (Arcade) -- I've always had a love for side scrolling beat 'em ups. Dynamite Dekka was a really solid attempt at bringing that style of game into 3D (probably the best attempt of the bunch at the time -- now days I think that honour belongs to Yakuza instead)...I loved this game. This was one of the games that made me want a Sega Saturn over a PlayStation at the time. My parents ultimately went with the PlayStation as they saw the writing on the wall for the Saturn (when stores were fire selling, my parents knew there wasn't much point in buying one over a console that still had life in it), but oh well. I don't regret getting a PlayStation at the time, but this along with Virtua Fighter 2 were two of the games that really made me want a Sega Saturn over a PlayStation at the time.
Streets of Rage II (Mega Drive) -- Probably my favourite game on the Mega Drive. Bar none. The defining Sega Mega Drive game for me. Still have my original cartridge on the shelf. I will never let that game go. Never.
And this is only scratching the surface as there are SOOOO many Sega games out there to choose from. I haven't even mentioned the likes of Phantasy Star or the countless untranslated SEGA games that I have yet to play such as Sakura Wars (I know there is a translation recently released for it) or the wonderful looking sim/RPG SEGAGAGA (which I still really want to play but am waiting for someone to finish translating it)
How about you guys? What are some of your faves and why?
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