Introduction Shining Force II was developed by Camelot Software Planning and published by Sega, released for the Genesis in Japan in 1993 as the direct sequel to 1992’s Shining Force. The game expanded significantly on the original’s tactical battle formula with a larger roster of recruitable characters, more elaborate grid-based battle maps, and a promotion…
Introduction Streets of Rage 3 was developed and published by Sega, released for the Genesis in Japan in 1994 as the third entry in the Streets of Rage series, continuing directly from the story of Streets of Rage 2. The returning cast of Axel, Blaze, and Skate face off against the criminal syndicate boss Mr….
Introduction Shining Force was developed by Sonic Software Planning, the studio that would later become known as Camelot Software Planning, and published by Sega, released for the Genesis in Japan in March 1992 as a tactical role-playing game built around grid-based battles fought between exploration and story segments. Players command a growing party of Shining…
Introduction Streets of Rage was developed and published by Sega, released for the Genesis in 1991 as the first entry in what would become one of the system’s most celebrated beat ’em up series. Players choose one of three former police officers, Axel Stone, Blaze Fielding, or Adam Hunter, who resign from the force to…
Introduction Golden Axe was developed and published by Sega, released for the Genesis in 1989 as a home conversion of the studio’s own 1989 arcade beat ’em up. Players choose from three warriors, the barbarian Ax Battler, the Amazon Tyris Flare, or the dwarf Gilius Thunderhead, each with different attack speed and strength, fighting through…
Introduction Sonic the Hedgehog 2 was developed by Sonic Team, with additional programming support from Sega Technical Institute in the United States, released for the Genesis in November 1992 as the direct sequel to the original Sonic the Hedgehog. The game introduced Miles “Tails” Prower, a young two-tailed fox who could join Sonic as a…
Introduction Sonic the Hedgehog was developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega, released for the Genesis in June 1991, created specifically to give Sega a mascot capable of competing directly with Nintendo’s Mario. Character artist Naoto Ohshima designed the blue, super-fast hedgehog after winning an internal design contest, while programmer Yuji Naka built a…
Introduction Star Fox was developed by Nintendo in collaboration with the British studio Argonaut Software, released on the SNES in Japan in February 1993 as one of the first console games built around real-time 3D polygonal graphics, made possible by the custom Super FX chip embedded directly in the game cartridge. Players pilot Fox McCloud’s…
Introduction Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island was developed and published by Nintendo, released on the SNES in Japan in August 1995 as a platformer that shifted the spotlight from Mario onto Yoshi, tasked with carrying baby Mario safely across a series of stages after the two are separated from Baby Luigi by the sorcerer…
Introduction Secret of Mana was developed and published by Square, released on the SNES in Japan in August 1993 as an action role-playing game that broke from the turn-based combat common to most Japanese RPGs of the era in favor of real-time, direct-control action battles. Up to three players could join simultaneously, controlling the hero…
Introduction F-Zero was developed and published by Nintendo, released in Japan in November 1990 as one of the SNES’s launch titles, reaching North America the following August. The game puts players behind the wheel of a futuristic anti-gravity racing craft, competing across four selectable vehicles with different speed, acceleration, and handling characteristics through high-speed circuits…
Introduction Killer Instinct was developed by Rare and published by Nintendo, released on the SNES in June 1995 as a home port of Rare and Midway’s 1994 arcade fighting game. Despite the SNES’s more limited hardware compared to the arcade original’s dedicated fighting-game board, Rare’s programming team managed to preserve much of the arcade version’s…