Introduction Valis: The Fantasm Soldier was originally developed and published by Telenet Japan for Japanese home computers in 1986, before reaching the Genesis in 1991 through a port handled by Riot in Japan and Renovation in North America. The game follows Yuko Asou, an ordinary schoolgirl chosen to wield the legendary Valis sword and defend…
Introduction Ariel the Little Mermaid was developed by BlueSky Software and published by Sega, released for the Genesis in 1992 as a licensed adaptation of Disney’s 1989 animated film. Players control Ariel swimming through a series of underwater side-scrolling stages loosely based on scenes from the movie, using an air-bubble attack to fend off sea…
Introduction Mega Man X3 was developed by Minakuchi Engineering and published by Capcom, released for the SNES in Japan in December 1995 as the third entry in the Mega Man X sub-series. The game expanded on its predecessors’ formula by introducing a second playable character, Zero, who could be controlled for a limited portion of…
Introduction Kirby’s Dream Land 3 was developed by HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo, released for the SNES in Japan in March 1997 as one of the console’s final major first-party releases, arriving well into the Nintendo 64 era. The game returned to Kirby’s original Dream Land setting with a distinctly softer, pastel, crayon-drawn art…
Introduction Another World, released in North America as Out of This World, was designed by Éric Chahi and published by Delphine Software International, originally released for the Amiga and other home computers in November 1991 before reaching the Genesis in 1993. The game follows physicist Lester Knight Chaykin, transported to a hostile alien world after…
Introduction Ecco the Dolphin was developed by Novotrade, designed by Ed Annunziata, and published by Sega, released for the Genesis in 1992 as an unusually atmospheric action-adventure game starring a bottlenose dolphin rather than a typical human or animal-mascot protagonist. Players guide Ecco through underwater environments after his pod is mysteriously swept away by a…
Introduction Ghouls’n Ghosts was developed by Capcom, released as an arcade game in 1988 before being ported to the Genesis by Sega, reaching the console in 1989 as one of the system’s earliest and most technically impressive third-party conversions. Players control the knight Arthur, once again battling through a demon-infested kingdom to rescue Princess Prin…
Introduction Vectorman was developed by BlueSky Software and published by Sega, released for the Genesis in 1995 as a run-and-gun platformer built around a distinctive visual style combining traditional 2D sprite animation with pre-rendered 3D-modeled character graphics, similar in spirit to the technique Rare had used for Donkey Kong Country on the SNES the year…
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 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 Mega Man X was developed and published by Capcom, released on the SNES in December 1993 as a reboot of the long-running Mega Man series set in a new timeline generations after the original NES games. Directed by series creator Keiji Inafune, the game introduces X, a more advanced Reploid robot capable of acquiring…