The Genesis really does only have three buttons, huh? I have obtained a Sega Genesis Mini and I am befuddled.

[R.R. Bigman]

Much like the title says, I got a Sega Genesis Mini for Christmas, and it’s a bit surreal. The only Sega hardware I’ve ever owned or even played was a Game Gear from a poorly thought out trade with a neighbor when I was very young. I know now that the Game Gear does have some good games, but the kid who traded with me didn’t have any of them, besides maybe a Sonic game that, until a few days ago, was the only Sonic game I had played. So I have very little Sega experience.

First off, the controller. I am aware the Genesis came out before the SNES, but a system that still had games coming out in 1995 with only three face buttons and a Start is unbelievable. How did third party games on both major systems handle this? How did Street Fighter 2 deal with getting only half the necessary buttons?! All the buttons being in a row is something my brain is not grasping very well after an entire life of the cross button layout on nearly every controller. It was still the Wild West back then, nobody knew what to do, I guess.

I tried playing Sonic 1. I wanted to Go Fast, yet the level design is full of hazards and enemies that seem to suggest that I Take My Time, instead. The aforementioned controller issues are not as relevant since every button is the jump button. One of other buttons could have been a dedicated dash, but what do I know. I’m not currently in prison like Yuji Naka.

Please post your thoughts and memories of the Sega Genesis. Did I miss out? Are three buttons too much?

 

[Torzelbaum]

How did Street Fighter 2 deal with getting only half the necessary buttons?!

Apparently you used the start button to switch between kicks and punches.

https://manuals.sega.com/genesismini/pdf/STREET_FIGHTER_2.pdf

Also, they released a 6 button controller (but still kept the unusual button layout):

Six Button Control Pad (Mega Drive) - Sega Retro

segaretro.org

 

[Mogri]

And the flagship game only used one! The Genesis controllers used the same adapter as the Atari 2600, so you could play Sonic with an Atari joystick (and, naturally, any Atari game with a Genesis controller).

 

[otakujeb]

That Kid With A Genesis in my neighborhood was kind of a bully, so I had very little experience with the hardware back in the day. My brother once borrowed a Game Gear from a friend, but I strongly associate the memory with motion sickness.

To this day, even playing the Genesis games on Switch Online feels strange, like a history of video games from a parallel world. Like, the games are good, even fun, but something feels Wrong to me. It's uncanny.

 

[Beowulf]

And the flagship game only used one! The Genesis controllers used the same adapter as the Atari 2600, so you could play Sonic with an Atari joystick (and, naturally, any Atari game with a Genesis controller).

What.

 

[Torzelbaum]

What.

Atari joystick port - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

The Atari joystick port is a computer port used to connect gaming controllers to game console and home computer systems in the 1970s to the 1990s. It was originally introduced on the Atari 2600 in 1977 and then used on the Atari 400 and 800 in 1979. It went cross-platform with the VIC-20 in 1981, and was then used on many subsequent machines from both companies, such as the Commodore 64 and Atari ST, and third party systems like the MSX platform and various Sega consoles.

Sega Master System and Genesis game console controllers are backward-compatible and can be used with the Atari 2600.

 

[LBD_Nytetrayn]

Yeah, I remember it being compatible with an old TI gaming computer I used to have, too.

Much like the title says, I got a Sega Genesis Mini for Christmas, and it’s a bit surreal. The only Sega hardware I’ve ever owned or even played was a Game Gear from a poorly thought out trade with a neighbor when I was very young.

I'm curious to hear more about this trade.

I know now that the Game Gear does have some good games, but the kid who traded with me didn’t have any of them, besides maybe a Sonic game that, until a few days ago, was the only Sonic game I had played. So I have very little Sega experience.

First off, the controller. I am aware the Genesis came out before the SNES, but a system that still had games coming out in 1995 with only three face buttons and a Start is unbelievable. How did third party games on both major systems handle this? How did Street Fighter 2 deal with getting only half the necessary buttons?! All the buttons being in a row is something my brain is not grasping very well after an entire life of the cross button layout on nearly every controller. It was still the Wild West back then, nobody knew what to do, I guess.

Yeah, nothing was really "established" until PlayStation copied the Super NES. Even Nintendo wasn't sticking to that yet.

Genesis predated Street Fighter II, though, so it probably wasn't a consideration. It didn't have fewer buttons, it had one more button than its predecessor and the competition (NES, TurboGrafx-16)!

Well, unless you count Select buttons. Then they're equal.

I tried playing Sonic 1. I wanted to Go Fast, yet the level design is full of hazards and enemies that seem to suggest that I Take My Time, instead. The aforementioned controller issues are not as relevant since every button is the jump button. One of other buttons could have been a dedicated dash, but what do I know. I’m not currently in prison like Yuji Naka.

Please post your thoughts and memories of the Sega Genesis. Did I miss out? Are three buttons too much?

Having a dedicated run button was more of an outlier with Mario than the norm. Link didn't have one, Samus didn't have one, Pit didn't have one, Mega Man didn't have one, Ryu Hayabusa didn't have one, Simon Belmont didn't have one, Bill Rizer didn't have one... heck, even Doki Doki Panic didn't have one, until they added it in Super Mario Bros. 2 to make it more Mario-like.

By the time they did finally add one (Sonic Lost World), it was a divisive decision, at best.

Anyway, the idea is that yes, you take your time with the levels and Get Gud. As you come to know the levels better, then you can blaze through them more quickly.

Well, Sonic 1's level design doesn't facilitate this as much, but 2 and on do more there. But the idea, as I recall, came from replaying Mario and trying to rush to get back to where you last left off or got a game over.

Apparently you used the start button to switch between kicks and punches.

https://manuals.sega.com/genesismini/pdf/STREET_FIGHTER_2.pdf

Yep. Tremendous pain that was. Always wondered if Sagat would be easier if I could easily swap between punches and kicks.

Also, they released a 6 button controller (but still kept the unusual button layout):

Six Button Control Pad (Mega Drive) - Sega Retro

segaretro.org

Yeah, if memory serves, that was released because of Street Fighter II.

To this day, even playing the Genesis games on Switch Online feels strange, like a history of video games from a parallel world. Like, the games are good, even fun, but something feels Wrong to me. It's uncanny.

Oh, for a while there, that was the greatest feeling to me, getting to experience these alternate histories that I missed out on growing up.

Friend of mine had a Genesis when we were growing up, though, so I got to experience some of that, and wound up getting my own. But for the rest? And heck, even much of that library is still fresh to me.

 

[4-So]

My understanding is that Europeans have a different view because the Genesis did extremely well there. But I'm an American, so the Genesis was always Bizzaro Land, even if I got to experience it early - both my cousin and a friend had one, so I was able to get in on the Sonic stuff early on, and I have memories of stuff like De-Cap Attack and some pre-SF2 fighting game where you play as monsters. Oh, and of course, Altered Beast.

But I never wanted one for myself even if commercials for stuff like Beyond Oasis and Disney's Aladdin made it look cool as shit. As a Nintendo kid, something about it always felt off. (Although the "SEEEEGAAAAAA" was always cool.)

I don't think I've ever played more than 10 or 15 minutes of any single Genesis title, now that I think about it.

 

[R.R. Bigman]

I'm curious to hear more about this trade.

A much older kid my brother knew hornswoggled me into trading my Game Boy, along with my dozen or more games, for his Game Gear, which included maybe three games. One of which was Alien 3. I got hosed.

 

[madhair60]

My understanding is that Europeans have a different view because the Genesis did extremely well there. But I'm an American, so the Genesis was always Bizzaro Land

Mm-hmm. SNES is the outlier for me, kind of. I never had it, my friends never had it and to this day I've barely picked up a SNES controller myself. But I've played it to death via emulation, SNES Mini etc, and I love the thing. But Mega Drive/madhair60 is the OTP. It's the only original non-handheld vintage hardware I've ever bought, modded etc.

The button layout is something I can see the confusion of, because a lot of platformers mapped the jump button to C when it really should have always been B.

Both the Mega Drive and SNES are great consoles which each excel at certain things, but both have masterpieces in basically every genre. I used to be a lot more fighty about this (it's in my blood) but I like to think I've grown out of it now. Gaze upon the TT 2.0 Archive and witness my atrocious past postings!

 

[LBD_Nytetrayn]

Oof, yeah. I don't even know which GB games those were, but that sounds like a raw deal.

 

[Kazin]

Meanwhile, I'm over here rocking the Switch NSO Genesis controller on my original Genesis with a bluetooth adapter because I prefer the three button layout lmao (helps that I don't play fighting games on the thing, which yeah, sounds miserable).

Also me:

I'm currently in the process of repairing that Sega CD. I've recapped the power and main boards, and it turns on and plays sound perfectly well, and the tray pops out and goes back in and the drive spins, but it immediately spits discs back out. At this point I'm pretty sure it just needs a new drive belt and some grease, both of which I got in the mail yesterday, but I did something to my back so even bending over a desk tinkering is deeply uncomfortable, so it will have to wait a few days, alas.

As for Sonic, go fast! Getting hit is no big deal, you drop your rings, but literally just grab one and keep going. Don't feel as though you can't make mistakes, the game is extremely forgiving because of the ring system. It's not like Mario where you lose abilities if you get hit - you just lose your rings, and you're given a chance to pick several of them back up, and you only need one to survive another hit. Also Sonic 3 & Knuckles is a masterpiece, see madhair's epic 10 hour plus Retronauts series about it.

 

[LBD_Nytetrayn]

Oooh, a Model 1 SEGA CD. I still want one of those someday, and curse SEGA for not releasing the little add-on for the Mini here except to a handful of press and influencers (of which I was not one).

 

[Kazin]

Oooh, a Model 1 SEGA CD. I still want one of those someday, and curse SEGA for not releasing the little add-on for the Mini here except to a handful of press and influencers (of which I was not one).

It is the best Sega CD imo (CDX is cool but too small to feel like a 90s Sega product to me lol). Sure wish the CD mechanism wasn't such a poorly designed hunk of crap, though. Couple of plastic tabs that easily break and don't seem to be replaceable plus cheap capacitors that love to leak all over the pcb... Ugh

Anyway, yeah, I wish us plebs could get those Mini add ons. I'd probably have mine out on display if I had them!

 

[Patrick]

Oh man, CDX! That and the Nomad. SEGA was extremely good at creating obscure products that young Pat obsessed over.

Edit

Dang, I didn’t realize how small the Genesis 3 was either.

 

[Paul le Fou]

I had a Genesis and rather loved it, growing up, but it died one day for unclear reasons. Just, poof, I couldn't play my Phantasy Star IV rental, or anything else ever again. But Shining Force was absolutely my shit, that was the game that got me into RPGs and video game narratives before I ever played Chrono Trigger or FF6 (the two of which sealed the deal).

 

[Becksworth]

Back in the day I was the SNES kid and my older brother was the one with the Genesis. His taste were what I would describe as the prototypical 90s US Genesis kids: Owned one Sonic game, rented the others, rented Joe Montana Football then bought NFL Football '94 Starring Joe Montana, NHL 95, Arch Rivals and NBA Jam. Rented the Jurassic Park games and Aladdin. He wasn't a fighting game fan, but his friend circle hyped up Mortal Kombat nonetheless. If you look at sales data from the time, this is actually pretty reflective of actual game sales on the Genesis/Mega Drive. Where Super Nintendo sales where dominated by many of the titles modern retro gamers are nostalgic for, retro gaming on the Genesis/Mega Drive is more driven by niche hidden gem hunting after the fact, while the OG Genesis crowd were largely proto-Madden types.

What I'm trying to get at is don't feel weird coming back to Genesis, because retro game collecting and Genesis compilations is exactly how a lot of modern retro gamers came to the Genesis. There were some diehard Sega fans, yes, but most of us were just like you once, wondering who thought ABC buttons in a row and no select button was a good idea. There is lot of fun to be had here though.

Edit: Oh! My brother had Fantasia too for some reason. That game was ASS!

 

[Becksworth]

Personal recommendations
Sonic 1-3 & Knuckles (Obvious choices)
Phantasy Star IV (Maybe go back to II if you like IV...)
Shining Force I & II
Gunstar Heroes
Rocket Knight Adventures
Streets of Rage 2
Thunder Force IV/Lightening Force
Ristar
Dynamite Heady
Castlevania Bloodlines
Puyo Puyo/Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine
Shinobi 2 & 3
Beyond Oasis
Crusaders of Centy

Never got that far into it because of my Fantasia trauma, but I'm told Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse is much better

There are probably better versions of it elsewhere, but I'm nostalgic for the Genesis version of Pirates! Gold

Not on the US mini, but the Japanese one has that Yu Yu Hakusho game which was a surprisingly good fighter for its time.

Never got around to trying it, but I always heard good things about Genesis Shadowrun.

If you're looking at Sega CD shit as well in the future.
Sonic CD
Snatcher
Lunar 1 & 2
Silpheed

 

[Kazin]

I prefer Thunderforce III but IV is great too. Excellent music either way.

 

[Patrick]

I'm told Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse is much better

The Master System version is better than the Genesis one, and Land of Illusion for Master System is better still. The GG port was one of my childhood favorites.

 

[FelixSH]

I had neither an SNES nor a Megadrive (I think that's the EU name for the Genesis). But my best friend had an SNES (which I borrowed quite a few times) and my neighbor (friend of my big brother) had a Megadrive. Couldn't play with it that often, but still enough to love it. Some shop had a Megadrive with a Sonic game, and I would come along just to stay there for some time, and play. A friend of my aunt (mother of my best friend - yeah, my cousin) had a Megadrive, with Alex Kid, I think? The main game I remember playing was, aside from Sonic, Mortal Kombat 2 (and 3, yeah). I think Turrikan? Maui Mallard?
Aside from that, I think my main experience with the system comes from emulation. But I think it was more focused on genres I didn't care too much about. I wanted rpgs, and aside from the beautiful Phantasy Star series, there isn't much there. I think a game called James Pond 3 was on there? That was fun.

Anyway, the SEEEEGAAAAA is deeply nostalgic for me, I love it with all my heart. Which probably comes more from my Gamegear, which I did own. That Castle (Land?) of Illusion game is, indeed, excellent.

So yeah, love the console. Need to explore the library more.

 

[Beowulf]

Personal recommendations
Sonic 1-3 & Knuckles (Obvious choices)
Phantasy Star IV (Maybe go back to II if you like IV...)
Shining Force I & II
Gunstar Heroes
Rocket Knight Adventures
Streets of Rage 2
Thunder Force IV/Lightening Force
Ristar
Dynamite Heady
Castlevania Bloodlines
Puyo Puyo/Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine
Shinobi 2 & 3
Beyond Oasis
Crusaders of Centy

Never got that far into it because of my Fantasia trauma, but I'm told Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse is much better

There are probably better versions of it elsewhere, but I'm nostalgic for the Genesis version of Pirates! Gold

Not on the US mini, but the Japanese one has that Yu Yu Hakusho game which was a surprisingly good fighter for its time.

Never got around to trying it, but I always heard good things about Genesis Shadowrun.

If you're looking at Sega CD shit as well in the future.
Sonic CD
Snatcher
Lunar 1 & 2
Silpheed

I feel like there are enough games on this list that I haven't given their fair shake that I'm just going to copy it for later. I'd argue that Comic Zone is worth a try (it's balls-hard, but incredibly cool)

 

[Peklo]

My understanding is that Europeans have a different view because the Genesis did extremely well there.

This is typically a very North American perspective on how video games of the era were perceived hereabouts, but I've always found it an oversimplification which conflates "the UK" with every discrete regional market in the rest of Europe put together, when in reality they were all different and very specific chunks of gaming culture across the continent. Here in Scandinavia Nintendo in particular had a consistently strong presence thanks to their longtime distributor partner Bergsala, so in my own lived experience I never had the impression or awareness growing up that some other parts of the world saw European Nintendo play as an anomaly; anecdotally, the company's consoles were more standard than Sega's, even if I came across both often enough. It was always a nuanced set of circumstances that created the local games culture.

 

[R.R. Bigman]

Meanwhile, I'm over here rocking the Switch NSO Genesis controller on my original Genesis with a bluetooth adapter because I prefer the three button layout lmao (helps that I don't play fighting games on the thing, which yeah, sounds miserable).

Also me:

That’s all real hardware? That’s a Final Fantasy last boss of consoles fused together.

I am still plugging away at Sonic 1, which is harder than I thought it would be. No continues is quite harsh, and I still don’t know how to get the Chaos Emerald in the bonus stage. I hope it’s not getting all the rings, as that is beyond me.

I always thought Sonic was a launch title, but no, it came out two years into the system’s life. It’s wild how fast() he became a huge character. He had two cartoon shows at the same time! I suppose Mario also had multiple shows, but it took a number of years for him to get that big.

 

[Torzelbaum]

That’s all real hardware? That’s a Final Fantasy last boss of consoles fused together.

Behold my true form factor and despair!

 

[Phantoon]

Genesis predated Street Fighter II, though, so it probably wasn't a consideration. It didn't have fewer buttons, it had one more button than its predecessor and the competition (NES, TurboGrafx-16)!

Well, unless you count Select buttons. Then they're equal.

As the weird Nintendo kid in my UK region who adored Nintendo but was lucky enough to have both I have a somewhat unique take on this. The three buttons are a genuine improvement over the NES. You have to take your finger off the joypad to hit Select and Start isn't really an action button either. The three buttons are much nicer to hit and the Start button is reasonably placed too. Mega Drive games should only be played with the correct configuration, playing them on a Nintendo configuration is weird and wrong.

Having said that it's a good joypad, the six button is better in every way. Including the D-pad itself.

 

[LBD_Nytetrayn]

Ah, the CDX... wanted one of those back in the day. Never happened.

Was going for a Nomad when I bought my Genesis Model 2, but it turned out to be way more than I thought it would be at that point in time... hence the Genesis 2.

 

[Phantoon]

The CDX is a great console, and way more practical than what it replaces. That said, what I'd love is a Wondermega, it's (for my money) the most beautiful console ever made.

 

[4-So]

I had no idea the Nomad was a thing until well into college. I was at a friend's house and another friend was there, just pacing around playing what I thought was a Game Gear. He sat down beside me, I glanced over, and realized he was playing Sonic the Hedgehog, the Genesis version. "What the fuck is that?" "You've never seen Sonic?" "No, the machine. In your hands." "Oh, it's a Nomad. It plays Genesis games."

I sat there for a good five minutes wondering what Twilight Zone episode I was living in.

 

[Sarge]

The thing that dawned on me back in the day is that, sure, it had three main buttons, but no Select button, so it actually only just has parity with the NES on that front. But the location certainly made it more usable - I still remember having to uncomfortably employ Select on the NES with Solar Jetman (which is still a phenomenal game).

I distinctly remember when the Nomad showed up, and I saw a demo unit in Toys 'R' Us. Of course, having virtually no money even as a teenager, I never could buy one. Heck, it wasn't until '99 (right around the launch of the Dreamcast, even!) that I got a Genesis with a Sega CD. Even then, I always wanted either a CDX or the X'Eye. But much fun was had with the system, and I went on an eBay spree buying all the good RPGs for relatively cheap. Should have splurged for the Sega CD games, though. I still want a copy of Lunar: Eternal Blue.

I have a lot of games I'd recommend, but let's see if I can keep it short. My top five looks like this:

- Phantasy Star IV
- Streets of Rage 2
- Gunstar Heroes
- Beyond Oasis
- Shining Force 2

Still, I'd definitely throw out more - I think all the Phantasy Star games are good (even the maligned PSIII), the original Shining Force rocks, Landstalker is a great ARPG, Light Crusader is better than it first appears, and King Colossus is a good ARPG import once you get better weapons. Ranger X is one of the most unique games on the system, and an absolute technical masterpiece. I really dug Blades of Vengeance, which felt like a lost Amiga game or something but actually, you know, good. (Yes, there are good Amiga games, I kid. Mostly.) Shinobi III, Monster World IV, Ristar, Thunder Force III, Battle Mania 2, the original Streets of Rage (and Bare Knuckle 3 instead of the US release), Twinkle Tale, Comix Zone, Quackshot, Maui Mallard, Vectorman... there's just a whole boatload of great games for the system. And this is coming from a "Nintendo guy" - that generation would in no way be complete without the Genesis, as I discovered a bit after the fact.