The 16-Bit Generation (SNES, Genesis, TurboGrafx, maybe more)

[skykiii]

Lately I've been wanting to revisit the SNES with a side helping of the other two. Playing the SNES brings me back to when life was good and full of joy and wonder and new experiences. It was the era I first learned what RPGs and Strategy games were (and the two genres hadn't become unplayable yet) and when gaming felt like experiences.

So I just replayed Skyblazer (underrated platformer) and Actraiser (I shouldn't need to explain what this is). I'm about to try Actraiser 2 even though I know its not as good as the first. It's funny how the first games I get drawn to are ones that have blatant religious themes that nobody outside Japan would think to do today.

I also love that games back then had stories but they didn't dominate, but were present enough to make you feel invested. Like some of these games can still make me tear up a bit even today.

Then of course there's the stuff I missed. I only discovered Ys thanks to emulators (I now own physical copies of five of the games in the series), same goes for Wonder Boy (I now own legal copies of all except the first one, which I'm aware is basically Adventure Island on the NES). I used to own a lot of SNES RPGs like Robotrek, stupidly sold them, and now kinda wish I hadn't.... although I also have a lot of RPGs I've not played/beaten like Arcana and the second Lunar so what am I bitching for. Lufia wasn't that good anyway.

There's apparently a Lupin the Third game and a Cyborg 009 game that are surprisingly good.

I'm tempted to ask for recommends but the problem I have is... well, one issue I have with 16-bit discussion on the internet is how much of it is shallow. Like seriously a lot of people think the only games Sega had were Sonic, Sonic, and more Sonic. Like bitch, if you don't know what Shining Force, Phantasy Star, Master of Monsters and Devil's Crush are, nothing you name is gonna surprise me [plot twist: Someone recommends Alisia Dragoon and surprises me by saying "it plays a lot like a fantasy-themed Thexder")

But this is Kiwi. I'm sure people here are genuine and not just fakers who got into the 16-bits after seeing AVGN or whatever.

And yes, I've played Earthbound. I'm not a nigger.

So... just sperg about your 16-bit memories, if you have any.

Also I guess recommends?

 

[Okkadian]

Landstalker is fantastic

 

[skykiii]

Landstalker is fantastic

On top of that, the feeling you get when you find out that the game had (spiritual?) sequels. Lady Stalker on SNES, one on Saturn whose name I forget (I wanna say Dark Champion or something like that)....

Also that wolf dude's EkeEke song is forever stuck in my head.

The Sega Genesis is one reason I later fell out of love with Zelda. After Landstalker and Crusader of Centy, it was hard to put Zelda on a pedestal ever again. (SNES games Soulblazer, Illusion of Gaia, Secret of Mana etc. didn't help Zelda's chances either)

 

[Balr0g]

If you are into strategy games you should try Metal Marines (for SNES) or Shining Force (Genesis). Those were the games I sank hours into.

 

[Bonesjones]

There's plenty of RPG light games on the Genesis worth playing, Beyond Oasis, Shadowrun, Crusader of Centy.

 

[Pissmaster]

I had a SNES as a wee piss and didn't get a Genesis until I was an adult, so I've spent a lot more time with the ol' SNES. I almost want to recommend exclusively non-RPGs, because there's a 100% guarantee someone else will name at least five of them before the end of page two. So, my top 5 favorite non-RPG SNES games are:

1. Super Mario World
2. Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest
3. Super Punch-Out!!
4. Tetris Attack
5. Mario's Super Picross

 

[BrunoMattei]

I prefer the Genesis over the SNES even though I was fortunate enough to have both as a kid. What factors into my preference is that I've always hated RPG's. RPG's are garbage. They're made for weab-fags. The writing is shit. And the gameplay is shit. Incoming downvotes from upset Final Fagasy, and Super Fagio RPG and Fag Trigger fans. I'm sorry but it's not fun or interesting gameplay to get in random encounters, select your attack and wait and do it over and over and over WITH UNSKIPPABLE CUT SCENES. Flush all the RPG's down the toilet.

... Anywho. I like action games, beat 'em ups, platformers, etc.

Genesis had the better beat em ups with the Streets of Rage trilogy but there's also Golden Ax trilogy (okay, the first 2 games are good let's ignore 3) and then there's Comix Zone. Come on. Tons of great shmups too like Biohazard Battle , So-Feace, Elemental Master, Thunder Force 3 and 4. And there's more I'm forgetting.

A lot of great platformers that aren't Sanic too. Like Ren & Stimpy: Stimpy's Invention which is a great licensed game. Then you have Rocket Knight Adventures, Ristar is a masterpiece of the genre but no one heard of it when it came out, Dynamite Headdy, Genesis Aladdin is superior to the SNES version.

A lot of great Run 'N Guns like Contra: Hard Corps (arguably the best Contra), Gunstar Heroes, and the Adventures of Batman and Robin which is an entirely different game than the SNES version. If you want hidden gems on the Genesis then check out Adventures of Batman and Robin:

And even more unique and weird games too. Splatterhouse 2 and 3 are fantastic and something that would never be on the SNES. The Haunting: Starring Polterguy is an extremely unique horror game that still hasn't been done today. Mercs is a weird (for it's time) two-for-one where you get two games and one is a port of the arcade version and the other is an entirely new game with RPG elements and selectable characters. Shinobi 3 is GDLK and probably the best Ninja game for the 16-bit era. The Genesis has one of the few genuinely good Ghostbusters games too.

Don't get me wrong because I liked the SNES and it had a lot of great games too. But I feel like the SNES is over praised.

 

[CuzinEd]

I had a NES probably around 89-91. Like a lot of the old side loading NES systems mine stopped working pretty quickly. Then after that I got a SNES probably in late 91 or 92. Around 93 I got a Genesis. I was a kid back then so I didn't have many games. The games were kind of expensive back then and this was when $20-30 was considered a lot of money for poor people. I had a few SNES and Genesis games but not many. I didn't learn about RPG's till later on. I know the PS1 was released in 1995 but I didn't see one till like 1996 or 1997. Till then I was still playing the SNES and Genesis. Some of my friends were even playing the NES still. But even in 1996 most people I knew were still playing the Genesis and SNES.

 

[Epic Fail Man]

A couple of months ago I played Chaos Seed, which is a SNES hidden gem. There is almost no info on this game and there is nothing really like it. The best way I can really describe it is Dungeon Keeper mixed with Chrono Trigger and Link to the Past.

You build a cave and make and upgrade traps, devices and monster recruits to protect it from crusaders, but also there are dungeons, normal and hidden ones, your character levels up and learns spells, optional party members, in the beginning of the game you get split into different dimensions which serves as a "scenario" so there are multiple endings depending on what you do in each scenario.

There are some complicated mechanics similar to a 4x game but has a SNES rpg style of adventure. I totally recommend plying it.

 

[Captain Manning]

I had both a Genesis and SNES a kid and loved 'em both.

I generally agree with @BrunoMattei, except I *do* like RPGs. That said, he's right that as long as you didn't care about RPGs, you really weren't wanting for anything on the Genesis. All the other genres were very well represented.

SNES did have the better Street Fighter II ports though I think.

TG-16 was a sad story. NEC and Hudson had no fucking clue what they were doing in the U.S. market. Most of the best games were left behind in Japan.

As for underrated gems, I recommend Cybernator on the SNES (titled Assault Suits Valken on the SFC). Really good side scrolling mech game.

 

[Girl Named Sandoz]

it's not exactly an obscure game but terranigma was never released in the US so a lot of people never got the chance to play it.

i very highly recommend it, it's easily one of the best rpgs on snes and that's really saying a lot. there's even an ntsc patch to make it run at 60fps.

 

[skykiii]

I prefer the Genesis over the SNES even though I was fortunate enough to have both as a kid. What factors into my preference is that I've always hated RPG's. RPG's are garbage. They're made for weab-fags. The writing is shit. And the gameplay is shit. Incoming downvotes from upset Final Fagasy, and Super Fagio RPG and Fag Trigger fans. I'm sorry but it's not fun or interesting gameplay to get in random encounters, select your attack and wait and do it over and over and over WITH UNSKIPPABLE CUT SCENES. Flush all the RPG's down the toilet.

So you're saying you hate RPGs, then?

 

[YE24]

This isn't some "hidden gem", but the Legend of Zelda - A Link to the Past randomizer is really something. https://alttpr.com/en

There are also Super Metroid randomizers that are good. And finally, someone mashed the two up. Collect super missiles in a chest in Hyrule, and then your bow from a chozo statue in SM. https://samus.link/

For me, the real winner of this generation was DOS. VGA was roughly equivalent in graphics resolution, hardware, etc. to the Genesis / SNES, but you still got classics like Doom. Two of my GOAT-tier games, Civ1 and Master of Orion, came from this era. MoO1 has a free clone now, 1oom. The original Xcom does also.

The Monster World series, like you mentioned, has always been great IMO. Ranger-X is a very underrated Genesis classic. Holds up great on every level. Cool Spot is my favorite corporate-licensed game for this gen. Shinobi III has been mentioned, but Revenge of Shinobi is a great predecessor, albeit slower. Rambo III was a weird but fun game.

 

[Cpt. Stud Beefpile]

This thread reminded me to get off my ass to grab the ROM's of the 16 Bit stuff I grew up on.

Super Mario All-Stars is just as good as I remember it. Five seconds into the main menu and I'm right back on my grandma's couch, wide eyed and ready to rock with my controller.

 

[Celebrate Nite]

Shining Force (Genesis).

Pro Tip: Don't try to grind for "perfect" stats for any of your characters because you WILL loose your fucking mind resetting (or loading the save-state if your emulating) trying to get your team to be "the best". This game has a wonky stat system in which you could wind up having a mage character have a fuck-ton of speed but not enough MP, or give you points for stats you would never use on a mage (like attack). Also the higher your level, the less EXP you'll gain, so have fun staring at "1 EXP" for 90% of your gameplay. All characters level up at 100 EXP, the max they go is LV20. They allow you to upgrade your character starting at LV10, but your character will still wind up being shit if you don't tough it out to the full 20.

There's a GBA port of this game as well that's sort of a remake? The graphics are upgraded and it adds new characters, one of which is the daughter of one of the bad guys you face (TBH it comes off as a self-insert fan-fiction). The plus side is that you can customize your team size to be as small as you want it, so if you want an additional challenge and have something like all mages or just you and one other member, knock yourself out.

 

[skykiii]

Pro Tip: Don't try to grind for "perfect" stats for any of your characters because you WILL loose your fucking mind resetting (or loading the save-state if your emulating) trying to get your team to be "the best". This game has a wonky stat system in which you could wind up having a mage character have a fuck-ton of speed but not enough MP, or give you points for stats you would never use on a mage (like attack). Also the higher your level, the less EXP you'll gain, so have fun staring at "1 EXP" for 90% of your gameplay. All characters level up at 100 EXP, the max they go is LV20. They allow you to upgrade your character starting at LV10, but your character will still wind up being shit if you don't tough it out to the full 20.

There's a GBA port of this game as well that's sort of a remake? The graphics are upgraded and it adds new characters, one of which is the daughter of one of the bad guys you face (TBH it comes off as a self-insert fan-fiction). The plus side is that you can customize your team size to be as small as you want it, so if you want an additional challenge and have something like all mages or just you and one other member, knock yourself out.

I remember seeing screencaps of the GBA version and... well my first reaction was "what did they do to Khris?" For some reason she basically looks like Link now, whereas on the Genesis she was clearly some sort of humanoid deer girl (you might say she was a deer little girl).

This is getting off of the 16-bits but I also tried the original Fire Emblem, but something tells me its got a bit more nuance going on than Shining Force (and yes, I've been warned that FE has permadeath). That said, I feel like Shining Force is just more fun and easier to get into.

 

[YE24]

This thread reminded me to get off my ass to grab the ROM's of the 16 Bit stuff I grew up on.

Google "archive.org no-intro system" where system can be genesis or snes or whatever for perhaps the most comprehensive set.

 

[rareblacklobster]

What factors into my preference is that I've always hated RPG's. RPG's are garbage. They're made for weab-fags. The writing is shit. And the gameplay is shit. Incoming downvotes from upset Final Fagasy, and Super Fagio RPG and Fag Trigger fans. I'm sorry but it's not fun or interesting gameplay to get in random encounters, select your attack and wait and do it over and over and over WITH UNSKIPPABLE CUT SCENES. Flush all the RPG's down the toilet.

J"RPG"s aren't actually RPGs.

 

[Balr0g]

Just remembered one of the greatest series on the Sega Genesis: the Strike games. There is Desert Strike, Jungle Strike and Urban Strike. You play as an apache helicopter pilot and you have to destroy enemies on changing maps. Heck you can even blow up the White House (though I think that is Mission failure)

 

[Smaug's Smokey Hole 2]

J"RPG"s aren't actually RPGs.

I sort of agree with this at least when it comes to the old stuff(which was the best btw). They're mainly seen as RPGs because they have STATS! And no! You can't allocate the points when leveling up, it would be too RPG like to grow a character in a certain direction.
They're great games but there's a reason they're called jRPGs. Sort like how Finnish tango isn't just tango.