The Sega Genesis amassed an absolutely huge library of games. For a time it was the top dog in the home console market and most major developers threw huge support behind it. This means there’s a whole lot of Sega Genesis hidden gems that were lost in the shuffle. With so many generation defining games to choose from some were bound to fall through the cracks. That’s where I come in. I’m not the best authority for the console, after all, I grew up with the SNES. I’ve amassed a fairly large library and it is one of my favorite video game systems of all time however. That’s why today I’ve decided to highlight the games that I think are the best Sega Genesis hidden gems. Let’s take a look, but first, I’ve got some rules I’ve established for this list.
- I’m not including any import games here. That means this list is solely titles that were released in the North American market. I’ll do a separate list for the best Sega Genesis import games sometime down the line.
- Many games were hidden gems at their time of release but have since become popular among collectors. I’m going to try and do my best to avoid these and will focus primarily on titles that are still relatively unknown even to Sega Genesis enthusiasts.
- Everything included here is my opinion, and mine alone. These are what I consider to be the best Sega Genesis hidden gems.
With all of the technical stuff out of the way let’s jump right in to the list!
Alisia Dragoon
Gamearts is known almost entirely for their Lunar and Grandia series. It’s a little known fact that they actually released a few games before these. Alisia Dragoon is one of these such titles. Because of it’s obscurity (seriously, almost no one has heard of it) it’s a true blue Sega Genesis hidden gem. This is a side scrolling action platforming adventure. You control the titular character who is a wizard of sorts, and the game uses a unique fantasy motif. Your primary weapon is a laser which automatically locks on to foes. This charges automatically when not being used and at full power can decimate screens of enemies. Alisia also has various dragon helpers that follow her one at a time and attack foes freely. The game is very unique (especially for it’s time) and thanks to the great level design and gameplay mechanics is still a fun to play.
Arrow Flash
Shmups were all too common on the Sega Genesis. Most of the good ones got their time in the limelight, but gamers and critics alike were lukewarm on Arrow Flash. That’s a shame because it’s a neat little shooter that’s clearly eligible to be considered a Sega Genesis hidden gem now. The big issue I see here is that it’s pretty standard. Arrow Flash didn’t try to re-invent the wheel, and it’s not nearly as difficult as most of its contemporaries. You gain power-ups dropped by enemies which increase your fire power and add options that move in tandem with your ship. What is unique however is the fact that you can freely transform your ship into a mecha, and vice versa. This not only alters your hitbox but also changes the speed at which you move on-screen.
Burning Force
Sega did their best to bring their Space Harrier series to home consoles but the results were less than good. 8-bit, and even 16-bit hardware just couldn’t pull of 3D sprite scaling shooters very well. Burning Force blows all their home console efforts out of the water in this regard. You control an anime girl aboard a futuristic hovercraft as you move forward and destroy incoming foes. This ship is stuck to the ground but so are the enemies. It’s amazing just how well this game handles 3D space. The engine runs at a very smooth framerate and there’s almost no choppy scaling. It runs almost as well as a mode 7 title would on the SNES. It also helps that Burning Force is a lot of fun to play, and these factors lock it in as one of the best Sega Genesis hidden gems of all time.
Crusader of Centy
Sega seemed absolutely obsessed with providing an alternative to Nintendo’s Legend of Zelda series. Unfortunately nothing they threw at the wall ever really stuck. Crusader of Centy is probably the best of their efforts, but it wasn’t popular hence it’s placement on this list of Sega Genesis hidden gems. If you’re looking for a game that looks like a Link to the Past then this is it. It’s an overhead action adventure title where you travel across various terrain slashing enemies and solving light puzzles. If you were to replace the main character as Link and call this a side story no one would have really questioned it being a Zelda game. With that said it does have a few unique mechanics all its own. You have helper animal friends that can assist in combat and reaching new areas. It’s disappointing that this one never became a franchise.
El Viento
I’ll be the first to admit that I didn’t like El Viento in the beginning. It looks like one of those generic anime style action games from the early 90s, and has lots of that early Sega Genesis jank in it. The game also moves really fast which was a commonly not good for titles in this era. When I gave it a chance I couldn’t believe how wrong I was. The action is fast and frenetic, but it always makes sense. At least from a gameplay perspective, that is. You battle in some of the most interesting and varied stages in any action platformer. El Viento also has ome of the best boss encounters of its era. I absolutely love the settings and the enemy designs. For a game that’s pretty ugly graphically (that dull color scheme does it no favors) this is a really interesting title visually.
Elemental Master
Here’s another game that’s really ugly graphically, and boring thematically. It’s the gameplay that makes Elemental Master worth playing and that’s what really counts. This is a vertical scrolling shmup. Rather than playing as a space ship you instead control a wizard on-foot. What makes things interesting is the fact that there are two separate attack buttons. One of these fires magic forward, and the other behind the character. You can also switch freely between five different weapons. Each of these can be upgraded with power-ups that increase their projectile size and power. There’s even the traditional option where the main character creates shadow images of himself that move and attack in tandem. Elemental Master is kind of a tough sell due to it overflowing with that early Sega Genesis jank, but trust me it’s a lot of fun.
Growl
While most gamers were playing Streets of Rage and it’s sequels there were a select few that went with one of the alternatives. In this respect Growl is probably the best choice you can make. This is traditional beat ’em up title ported over from the arcades by Taito. Rather than taking place in urban environments this one instead takes place at the beginning of the last century and in Africa. It uses a sort of environmentalist theme to it’s approach with the main characters belonging to a group forest rangers out to stop evil poachers. It’s a unique take, and helps set Growl apart from the sea of beat ’em up titles of the time. While it’s a Sega Genesis hidden gem there are a few issues. The big one is that co-operative play has been removed from this port. Despite being single player only it’s still surprisingly fun.
High Seas Havoc
Every developer in the 90s was rushing their mascot based platformers to the market. Nintendo started the trend, but Sega definitely hit home this idea. High Seas Havoc is one of these such games. Here you play as a anthropomorphic Seal (or is it an otter?) that just happens to be a pirate. I absolutely love the swash buckling nautical theme in place here. The game has you hopping and bopping your way through a variety of stages. Some liken this to Sonic the Hedgehog, and while the influences are clear High Seas Havoc plays much differently. There’s no emphasis on speed and the slower gameplay allows for more exploration within stages. I really like the graphics in this one, but it’s the stage variety that really makes this one a Sega Genesis hidden gem.
Landstalker
I may be cheating a little with this one. Landstalker was ignored at release, but has since gained a cult following. Still there are a lot of retro gamers that haven’t even heard of it so it definitely has a place on this list as a Sega Genesis hidden gem. This is another action adventure title somewhat in the vein of Zelda. The big difference here is that Landstalker is played from an isometric perspective. The main character also has the ability to jump which means you’ll have to do some tricky platforming within most of the dungeons. While this can be a little frustrating (platforming from such an angle usually is) it’s still plenty manageable. Landstalker is unique among Zelda clones and is still well worth playing even today.
Mystic Defender
Here’s a game I’ve never seen anyone mention. It’s usually even absent from lists of the best Sega Genesis hidden gems. I’m here today to talk about Mystic Defender, and why you need to play it. This early Sega title is actually a run and gun. While it can’t compete with the likes of Gunstar Heroes or Contra it still has it’s place among them. In this game you play as a monk/wizard hybrid who uses magic for his attacks. You can switch between spells and even charge them up for more powerful attacks. The graphics at first look bland but the effects on the magic are absolutely fantastic. The level designs are also quite good and a lot of fun to play. Unfortunately they are short and your character moves fast so Mystic Defender is over far too quickly. While it lasts it’s a fun little romp.
Phelios
Too many shmups rely on futuristic or realistic settings, and have you piloting things like space ships and jet fighters. That’s why it’s refreshing when developers take a different approach to the genre. Phelios is the perfect example of this. It’s set to the backdrop of Greek mythology. You play as a knight riding on the back of a pegasus. Your character attacks with their sword which emits projectiles from it. You can gain several different kinds of weapons and they can each be charged up for a more powerful attack. I really like the fact that you don’t die after taking just one hit. The life bar is actually pretty forgiving here. Additionally it’s pretty neat that the screen scrolls in multiple directions even if you can only fire forward. It’s a neat diversion that’s worth a look, and it’s definitely one of the best Sega Genesis hidden gems.
Shining in the Darkness
The Shining Force series was one of Sega’s premier 16-bit franchises. These strategy RPGs were, and still are, pretty popular. It’s a little known fact that they released a game before these called Shining in the Darkness. This is a more traditional RPG with a focus on dungeon crawling. What makes it unique for it’s time is the fact that it featured 3D environments to explore. This means the dungeons are pretty similar to those in the original Phantasy Star. There’s just more of them, and they’re just as confusing as you’d expect. You’ll basically need grid paper to map out your path forward. This one is pretty difficult with a high encounter rate and diminishing supplies. It’s a slow burn, but a fun one. Shining in the Darkness has been mostly forgotten which makes it a Sega Genesis hidden gem in my book.
Steel Empire
Here’s another shmup, but honestly this is my favorite one on this list. Steel Empire is another clear cut Sega Genesis hidden gem. Almost no one has heard of it which is a shame because it’s amazing. It makes use of a unique steampunk style which was not common back in the early 90s. You begin by selecting from one of two different ships; a blimp or standard plane. They are functionally similar but the big one has more firepower and the little guy moves faster. Either choice is actually pretty good which is unusual for the genre. The only other unique feature is that you can fire both in front and behind your ship. It’s a little weird that they don’t turn around nor do they appear to have guns on the rear side of either ship, but I’ll allow it.
Valis III
I’m a fan of the Valis franchise, but not on the Sega Genesis. The first two games were almost unplayable. The first ran at a horrendous speed and featured some of the worst graphics on the console. The second used a weird chibi-style that I really did not like. It took them until Valis III to finally get it right on Sega’s home console. This is a very Japanese game featuring magical schoolgirls and flamboyant enemies. What’s interesting about this sequel is you can now choose between three different characters to play as. They each have their own weapons and abilities and can be powered up in different ways. This is easily one of the best Valis titles, and is definitely one of the best Sega Genesis hidden gems.
Warsong
Believe it or not this is actually the first Langrisser game. For those who don’t know this was one of the biggest franchises in it’s day in Japan, but was almost never localized. When they did finally decide to bring it over they renamed it Warsong. It’s unfortunate that all we ever got was the Sega Genesis version because it’s clearly inferior to iterations on the other consoles. Regardless Warsong is a ton of fun to play. You move characters across gridded battlefields taking turns with the enemies. Combat consists of little armies fighting it out. It reminds me of the little squad battles in Suikoden II, but these are consistently better. If you’re looking for a good strategy RPG you haven’t already played to death then give Warsong a shot. It’s absolutely a hidden gem for the Sega Genesis.
