My favorite Genesis RPG is missing from this list. It is uncharted Waters: New Horizons. It's not an easy game to get into by any means, but it's worth it to learn the game mechanics. You can basically explore and map the entire earth (yes, the whole world map, from Trinidad to Timbuktu - all of it), fight pirates, establish complex trade routes, buy beautiful looking exploration era ships, and much more.
I love the entire Uncharted Water series! My favorite is the NES version, because it's easy to win money by playing cards, but the Genesis version has amazing visuals, and gameplay. Definitely an underrated game
It's crazy how much my interest in games has changed as I've aged. This game would've sound really boring to me when it came out. Now it sounds pretty amazing.
Wonderboy in monster land was very popular in Brazil (where Mega Drive itself was extremely popular, getting to almost 90% market share around 1992), but different as you could imagine. The game was released here as an official mod was made by TecToy (SEGA representant in Brazil) with a skin from "Turma da Monica", the most popular child's comic in the country. It was called Monica at MonsterLand, I owned a physical copy, with custom manual, 100% translated to Brazilian portuguese. It was quite interesting, mostly of enemies were the same, the NPCs were changed to Monica's characters, but of bosses after defeated became "released" and turns into some nice character from the comic. A very interesting history, if you want to dig in sometime.
@@TyTye when I play these games I just act like its those times again. I turn off all other technology and just enthrall myself into these games. SoV was one of those games that even after beating it I can always come to it. Sorry you couldn't get into it.
As a D&D nerd, I have to say that Hollow World didn't (doesn't?) get enough love as a setting. Aside from the SUPER cool aspect of "native weapons" (so a stone spear acts the same as a steel spear if you're from the culture), the fact that you can go from a futuristic, lazy, catered to society to blood thirsty Aztec like savages by walking through a cave or crossing a mountain range is so overlooked. The ability to just plunk down a kingdom (etc) with any culture you want and no excuse for why they exist is such a boon to DMing, and despite the gods' best efforts there are plenty of ways to and from the surface. Didn't get enough love when it was current, and it still doesn't, IMO.
I do too, the speed run for the game is interesting 'cause there's a weird bug that means a solo thief can rip through the game in under an hour. It's all about how the stealth function works in dungeons and it causes every hit to land and be a sneak attack every time. Also, being a thief, by the time you get to the Azcan temple you have enough health and levels to either disarm or absorb all of the traps.
Good list! Starflight is another great Genesis game that is often overlooked. It's more of a space rpg but was well ahead of its time and inspired the Mass Effect series.
Between Starflight, Shadowrun and Pirates! Gold, I'm surprised that the Genesis doesn't have more of a reputation for sandbox games. It had a ton of good ones.
Shining force 1 and 2 were so much fun back in the day. I never had genesis I had Super Nintendo or turbo graffix and traded systems w my buddy just so i could play those 2 and War Song. Something about grinding exp. And being able to choose multiple ways to level up my guys into completely different stats or types was so satisfying. Also always liked strategy games w different pieces that all had their strengths and weaknesses and it was up to the player to exploit those percentages in order to win. Military Madness was my other favorite back then. I surprised they didn’t carry it forward to be played on the phone being that they’re so simple graphics wise
Phantasy Star IV was one of my faves as a kid. I rented it first and knew I had to buy it. My Dad even replaced the battery for me when it finally gave up the ghost so I could keep playing a decade later.
Crusader of Centy, shining force 1 &2, and landstalker were game I owned and played so much when I was a kid and even today, I'm playing SF2 on my phone. So sad I never got to play any phantasy star titles tho. Used to own light crusader but I got it just after getting a Playstation so I got lost in suikoden, ff7,and xenogears so I never got back to it. Never had a Nintendo so I got to play ff6 and chrono trigger much later when they were on PS (love them!) And even though I'm a huge rpg lover, I've never played any Zelda, so games like landstalker and crusader of centy were not copies to me back then lol.
PSIII had issues but why are people so quick to throw the baby out with the bath water? So it plays a few seconds of jarring sounds every time you get in a battle… just press C and it goes away immediately and there are three distinct battle themes which then start playing, all of which are very good! The author plays that sound all through the opening credits like he is trying to make some rhetorical power play against the game. You want to know why we didn’t get more phantasy stars? Well, Nintendo did the same thing - it campaigned against PS so that more people would buy FF instead. Why don’t you play the actual intro music, which is one of the most epic intro themes of all time? Also, the dungeon theme, town theme, airplane theme, and many others are second to none in how cool they sound. But all ‘some people’ want to talk about is a couple seconds of noise before each battle as if they just sit there and make you listen to it for twenty minutes straight. Most people hit C and probably hear it for about .75 seconds, especially since the battles are so simple that you really never have to wait to plan out your attacks. I also think the overworld graphics are much cooler than any other RPG of the time; no other game gives you anything other than that silly cutesy look that infested every single (turn-based) RPG until much later on.
Phantasy Star III is a pretty great rpg. Its main problem is that it's not a great Phantasy Star game. If it had been released with a different title, I suspect people would be a lot more positive about it.
@@SonofSethoitae fair point, and in a way it wasn’t - the team that did PS2 got pulled to do sonic so it was a brand new team and they made a brand new game
Your bronze is my Gold! The original Shining Force is one of the greatest RPGs of All Time and my All Time Favorite RPG!! It's true Shining Force 2--another one of the RPG GOATs--is far more expansive than the first, but the first one 'changed my (video gaming) life' as you also put it! The 2nd is Amazing but I still prefer the very clever chapter style of the first, I like how the avatars for the characters look less cartoonish than they do in the 2nd, and I just prefer the overall feel of the first. Takes me right back to being a kid again. I still remember when I brought Shining Force home for the first time. My older brother dropped me off at the local video rental store to rent Shinobi for him but it was rented out. I picked SF1 instead only bc the of the cover. Thought it was gonna be a bust. It. Was. Not!! 30 years later and I still play it when I go back home.
This may sound backhanded, but I really do not mean it to be: You have come a long way from this video. It's good, but your videos have gotten certainly more polished over time.
Great list! I find that most Genesis RPG players would share at least half of your top 10 among their favs. I honestly thought you were going to bash several games...but it was only PS3!🤣 Yes, it's the black sheep of the series...but they tried to do something different. It stands as the weakest of the series...but if you consider it to be an appendix game among an amazing trilogy (PS4 really is the 3rd in the Algo Story) then it stands well with it's flaws as an "explanation" game. Plus it brought in wren (essential for PS4) and was the only one in the series to try generations and a unique fighting system with alternating music. The soundtrack is actually really solid. Also...you showed several clips from sword of Vermillion, yet it was nowhere on the list?!?!?
rted playing Shining Force II for the first time this week. As a Nintendo kid who only cared about the SNES, I have to say: WOW! Doesn't quite reach FF6 levels but otherwise my God... the soundtrack and combat is so good!!!
Phantasy Star IV was my favorite as a kid, but I remember trying III afterwards and not liking it. Sadly, my young brain assumed that since III wasn't very good, II wouldn't be either, so I never really tried that one.
I tried playing it again recently and age hasn't been kind to it. It was innovative and deep though, it really entered uncharted waters. Though it was so janky and looked like it could crash at any moment, and I think as it's only the last of us classic gamers who play it I can't see it ever getting any love. (If only I could make a Jak and Daxter pun)
My list for top 5 would be... Shining in the Darkness, Shining Force 2, Shining Force, Phantasy Star 4, Landstalker. Exile & Cadash should have at least got an honorable mention, although both are best on Turbografx.
Phantasy Star 3 isn't bad. Maybe you have missed Super Hydlyde to but in its place ;) My favourites are Shining Force 1&2, Landstalker, Warriors of the Eternal Sun, Shining in the Darkness, Story of Thor and Phantasy Star IV.
I am a Brazilian guy and also youtuber and I've found your AMAZING channel recently, so I am devouring your content kkkk! Can I do a reaction about your list in my channel? I think this a very well crafted content that deserves fo be spread here in Brazil as well! WE LOVE SEGA GENESIS!! (FM SOUNDTRACK IS THE BEST!!)
I'd say the list closely emulates my own, only 2 things I feel were inaccurate. A: Shadowrun for SNES is definitely superior and for me is arguably my favourite snes game. B: I think Pirates! Gold deserved a spot.
Wonderful video 👍 Also Thank you so much for this i was looking for a game from my childhood but i forgot it's name and now thanks to you i have been able to find out it's name is SHINING FORCE! Thank you !
I definitely disagree with this because I like Phantasy Star III much more then I enjoy Phantasy Star II, which I consider to be the low point of the first four games. I'm not sure if I would give Phantasy Star IV or Shining FOrce 2 the top slot, and I would definitely make room for Starflight, and Buck Rogers: Countdown to Doomsday on the list though I'm not entirely sure which two games I would bump off.
Phantasy Star 3 deserves a bit more credit. The generations system and it's unique magic system are interesting. Really what the game needs is PS2 combat because good god the combat is a miserable slog.
I recently completed Shining Force 1&2. I am gonna do Phantasy Star 4 soon. How long does it take to complete it? Is it harder than Shining Force? I am excited.
Shining force 1-2-3 are almost the only rpg's you ever really need ...4? Might possibly be the biggest selling rpg in history if it were ever released and it matched its predecessors
Seems kinda weird that you showed footage from Sword of Vermillion for Dishonorable Mentions and then only ragged on PSIII, a game that is objectively better than SoV.
Yeah shinning force 1 is better than 2. 2 went the disney route with the story and characters. Even the art style is more cartoony and less anime than the first.
I gave you a “Like”, but :30 in I had to call bs. No one is arguing who won the 16-bit console war. Nintendo won it hands down. If Sega had won, do you really believe Sega would be out of the console game?
It's okay. Not really groundbreaking and some things could have been done a little better. The one thing that gets a plus is that the protagonist changes depending on who you choose to marry.
I'm sorry but Sega sucked when it came to RPG's. Asides from shining force and phantasy star they had nothing "GREAT". And SNES definitely gave them a run for their money with games like Breath of Fire. But the fact that Final Fantasy and many other great RPG's such as Chrono Trigger, Secret of Mana, etc... were on SNES, Super Nintendo clearly won. I wish Sega had more RPG's because it is my favorite old school system and RPG's is my fav genre.
the SNES is an absolute beast of an RPG machine but a lot of them used newer tech and special chips. And while FF6 is one of the best games ever made I'd put the Shining Force series and Lunar series from the sega CD right up there with Chrono Trigger and Secret of Mana.
I have no nostalgia because I was born in 96' and I love sega but the SNES/Super Famicom absolutely destroyed the Genesis! Much better classic rpgs and it had loads of fantastic action rpgs. Plus cmon... Square Enix!
@@kasjamm yeah I didn't say they didn't. Snes destroys megadrive when it comes to RPGS but nearly every thing is pretty equal, obviously megadrive destroys snes with Shmups and run and gun.
A very relevant point, at the time the genesis had _MUCH_ better sports games. There are people to this day who only play Madden and FIFA, so you can imagine why the genesis sold as well as it did. Mario and Sonic aside, the genesis had more and better (exclusive) platformers too, and games like master of monsters and general chaos gave them the edge in strategy games. IMO the biggest blunder of the genesis was only having four buttons on the controller. The eight on the SNES controller made it superior for all fighting games, and at the time fighting games and racing games were what mattered.... and outrun isn't beating F-Zero or Mario Kart in any universe. Add in the absurd number of consoles they released in such a short period of time, and it's easy to see why Sega is where they are, today. IMO had they stuck with the Sega CD addon or the Saturn we'd playing Mario on our Game Gear DS's right now, rather than the other way around.
@@thameekstaninjahman8337 no doubt. The best RPGs on the genesis wouldn't make the top ten list if SNES and Genesis were one system. Games like Chrono trigger, Mario RPG, the FF games, illusion of Gaia, secret of mama/evermore, BoF games, Lufias, the list goes on and on. I mean, shining force and phantasy Star 4 were good games, but they just weren't as good as what the SNES offered up.
