Sega's 16-Bit Masterpiece Released 29 Years Ago Today

[BeardedSonOfNel]

Twenty-nine years ago today my brother and I pooled our money together, and went to Shopko to buy the new 16-Bit machine. We hooked it up to the 19'' black and white TV we had in our bedroom. A short while later, our folks bought a new 19'' color TV for the family room in the basement, and we quickly moved the Genesis to that.

[brandonjclark]

Easily one of my favorite consoles of all time. If anyone remembers the "straight six" controller with six face buttons all in a line, then you know it was a fantastic piece to hold.

[Sinistar]

A classic system with a handful of amazing games that still hold up today. Plus, perfect marketing to help make it stand out. So many great memories with NHL 95, Madden 92 and on, Speedball, Gunstar Heroes and Flashback. And of course, Sonic.

[PatrickRes9]

[Sensei-X]

Ah yeah, such fond memories. I traded in my NES console and my mountain of carts for a shiny new Genesis console and a modded Batman cart for Mega Drive and never looked back. Played it for hours, even had my console modded at one point to play imports once Sega started region locking some games.

[solinari6]

Yeah, genesis was great, but Altered Beast was a big pile of dog shit. My first genesis game was Strider, which blew my mind away.

[Chief Smash]

Originally Posted by solinari6

Yeah, genesis was great, but Altered Beast was a big pile of dog shit. My first genesis game was Strider, which blew my mind away.

I agree but why did we all love Altered Beast back then?

My older brother had a Genesis but I'm sure I played it way more than he did. I loved the system. I was mostly a Nintendo guy but at this point I was platform agnostic enough to really love every system from this generation as we had the Genesis, SNES, and TG16 in the house. All of this in addition to the great arcade games of the time made it the golden age of gaming in my view.

[GodFather]

I remember loving shinobi on the Genesis. such great times...when I wasn't PC gaming non stop.

[vallor]

I owned the first Genesis on the block and would get sooo frustrated at Shinobi, loved the Phantasy Star games, Ecco the Dolphin, Herzog Zwei, so many RPGs like Shining in the Darkness series... way more than a "handful" of amazing games on that system I don't even know where to start.

I know which one captured the most of my time though:



I had my genesis years before I had a PC. SC2 on the PC was one of the games which made me take the plunge to PC gaming (along with many other notables).

[swirlee]

Originally Posted by brandonjclark

Easily one of my favorite consoles of all time. If anyone remembers the "straight six" controller with six face buttons all in a line, then you know it was a fantastic piece to hold.

I think your memory is failing you. The 6 button Genesis controller was 3 buttons stacked on 3 buttons, not 6 in a row.

[Azrael]

My 1st console... I loved that thing. Unfortunately mine was a Japanese Import to Australia meaning later games for the system wouldnt play on my console but some of these games are all time favourites. Phantasy Star 2 & 4 were amazing, Streets of Rage. Great memories

[alienchild]

Originally Posted by brandonjclark

Easily one of my favorite consoles of all time. If anyone remembers the "straight six" controller with six face buttons all in a line, then you know it was a fantastic piece to hold.

To each their own. That controller is why I didn't get a Genesis (Mega Drive here in Europe). I thought it was utter shite to hold. Perhaps it is more comfortable now that I'm an adult.

[Juan]

Got an import Megadrive for xmas a few months after it's release in Japan (1988 or 89?). One night a few days before xmas while my parents were out, me and my brother found it and somehow managed to get it out of the wrapping paper and play on it for an hour. The upgrade from the master system was literally jaw dropping. Playing Rambo 3 and Forgotten Worlds that night is a defining memory of my childhood.

[shadow763]

Originally Posted by Chief Smash

My older brother had a Genesis but I'm sure I played it way more than he did. I loved the system. I was mostly a Nintendo guy but at this point I was platform agnostic enough to really love every system from this generation as we had the Genesis, SNES, and TG16 in the house. All of this in addition to the great arcade games of the time made it the golden age of gaming in my view.

Agreed on the golden age of gaming in my mind. Those carefree days were some of the best. Spending hours with friends playing whatever was the newest game that one of us was able to procure. I mowed a lot of lawns to get a Genesis since my parents felt like the NES we had was good enough forever. Kind of started me down the road of buying all available systems since I didn't want to miss out on any great games.

[GinRummy]

Played a lot of Road Rash on it, along with NHL hockey and Madden football. I think mine came with Golden Axe as well as Sonic of course.

[Evil Avatar]

I still have one in a closet somewhere.

[ElektroDragon]

I remember SO wanting this as a kid since I grew up on Master System instead of NES. I never got it. My consolation prize was an Amiga 500 which ended up being way more powerful and cooler anyway.

[BeardedSonOfNel]

Originally Posted by GinRummy

Played a lot of Road Rash on it...

I love Road Rash, and still play it a few times a year!

[BeardedSonOfNel]

Originally Posted by Evil Avatar

I still have one in a closet somewhere.

Me too !

[blackzc]

The first time played a Genesis was at a friends house. He had Sonic and a Madden game. I remember it being a bit janky next the SNES and the controls being a wooden.

Now though its almost like the Genesis has aged better the the SNES with its muddy sound and overly heavy/slow controls. And at least via emulation ill fire up the Genesis more than the SNES.