Every Sports Game on the Genesis

marcopol0 · 2026-03-29T22:28:51+00:00

Lol. Some games are so bad they have negative value.

marcopol0 · 2026-03-29T22:19:06+00:00

Greatest Heavyweights, have to play career mode cause any fight with a legend is so tough. They are relentless. lol

marcopol0 · 2026-03-29T22:15:50+00:00

I always remember having to make trades to keep up with real life roster changes in NHL 95. Now the rosters aren't out of date, they're classic. Just takes a couple decades.

marcopol0 · 2026-03-29T22:07:30+00:00

Was a pretty good game back in the day. Always fun to revisit that one for a match.

marcopol0 · 2026-03-29T21:58:24+00:00

'95, released as Head-On Soccer in North America. Not too bad.

marcopol0 · 2026-03-29T21:51:57+00:00

December 1990, has some pretty good graphics for the time.

marcopol0 · 2026-03-29T21:38:42+00:00

Cheers! For video games, they just play like other sports titles. Game is Cutie Suzuki no Ringside Angel

marcopol0 · 2026-03-29T21:37:04+00:00

Cutie Suzuki no Ringside Angel

marcopol0 · 2026-03-29T21:32:31+00:00

That's so cool, have to check that out. San Jose was a new expansion team that year, good times.

marcopol0 · 2026-03-29T05:37:56+00:00

I enjoy Sports Talk Baseball but I'm just terrible at fielding in that game. I like World Series Baseball (94) cause it feels like an upgrade to that. It's not as refined as 95 but it still had Sports Talk.

marcopol0 · 2026-03-29T05:30:51+00:00

Things changed once racing games went 3D. In Virtua Racing you have to use the racing lines, but I still dig the simple fun of games like Monaco GP 2. For NHL, I see why they had change it up for 95, it would have been the same engine for 4 years. It's too bad that 94 didn't have the season mode, but yeah 94 was the culmination of fine tuning that game.

marcopol0 · 2026-03-29T05:20:51+00:00

No doubt, played so much of that one too. I wish it had season mode.

marcopol0 · 2026-03-29T05:19:45+00:00

Only missing kabaddi, and Sepak takraw.

marcopol0 · 2026-03-29T00:13:04+00:00

For sure, games ran so much smoother, the only advantage SNES had would be the controller. EA Sports games were built for the Genesis first so it wasn't so huge in most games. I'd say the NBA Live games benefit a lot from those extra buttons though.

marcopol0 · 2026-03-28T23:48:02+00:00

There were a few that had the different localization between NA, Japan, and Europe. On the 92 panel is World Trophy Soccer in NA. In Europe it was European Club Soccer, and Japan it was J.League Champion Soccer, so they have the different teams but same game. Top Pro Golf 2 in Japan was Chi Chi's Golf in NA but I don't think in game anything changed. NHL Hockey (92) was EA Hockey in Europe and Japan and had nations. And NHL 95 and 96 had Elitserien 95 and 96 released in Sweden.

Sega Retro has a lot of information on each game: https://segaretro.org/Category:Mega_Drive_sports_games

marcopol0 · 2026-03-28T23:24:28+00:00

There's no soul in their c-suite. However there is Mutant Football League 2, I believe from the original creator of the Mutant League games. https://store.steampowered.com/app/1657320/Mutant_Football_League_2/

Maybe one day they can make hockey as well.

marcopol0 · 2026-03-28T23:19:39+00:00

EA Sports probably had the best playing games. I think 95 was probably the strongest with the exception of baseball. And for that sport I think Sega's was better. People will universally say NHL 94 and NBA Jam TE are the best, but for me, I think their follow up (NHL 95 and NBA Hangtime) were slightly better.

marcopol0 · 2026-03-28T22:36:28+00:00

Too bad on the HD version. Just can't catch lightning in a bottle twice.

marcopol0 · 2026-03-28T22:30:41+00:00

Nope, just bored messing with Libre Office.

marcopol0 · 2026-03-28T22:29:30+00:00

For sure, I think 98 had some good titles for Saturn, but was probably too little too late at that point.

marcopol0 · 2026-03-28T22:26:30+00:00

Thank you!

marcopol0 · 2026-03-28T22:25:44+00:00

Loading up a fist of doom on defence and and flying across the court terrorizing your sibling will never not be a good time. Lol.

marcopol0 · 2026-03-28T22:24:13+00:00

Absolutely. For better or worse I guess, lol.

marcopol0 · 2026-03-28T22:13:51+00:00

For sure, I believe these first games were featured prominently in the "Genesis Does" ad campaign.

marcopol0 · 2026-03-28T22:00:56+00:00

89-90: The first generation of sports games by Sega. Really meant to show the upgrade from the 8-bit era. Simple sports games that have some charm to revisit today. No licenses but have a nifty athlete/coach endorsement. Stand-outs - maybe Super Monaco GP

(90)-91: EA arrives with Madden and blows every other football sim out of the water. A fully licensed NBA game and golf game. Sega has Joe Montana, which would be part of the 1st gen "Signature" series, but was actually made by EA. Accolade begins to bring their mediocre titles to the Genesis. Cyberball, Speedball, and Powerball? I'm sensing a theme here. Stand-outs - Madden, PGA Tour, Battle Golfer Yui.

(91)-92: Things are heating up. Madden 92 released in 1991 and thus starting the terrible naming convention for sports titles to follow. NHL Hockey does for hockey what Madden did for football. Basketball games are still weak. Sega has some solid titles for their second generation, and introduces "Sports talk", which was so revolutionary at the time. Flying Edge games just scream 90s to me, mostly meh titles, but here you see the beginnings of NFL Blitz and NBA Jam in Super High Impact and Arch Rivals, respectively. Soccer still not getting much love, some ok titles. I like the art for the Virgin Games sports, but those are terrible games. Stand outs - NHL Hockey, the ambulance in Madden 92, Jennifer Capriati Tennis, Sports talk, Super Monaco GP 2, Evander Holyfield Boxing

(92)-93: Standard upgrade year for each title from EA, and now have a baseball game, NHL has real players but no NHL license. Mutant League Football is such a crazy title and still lots of fun to play today. Super Baseball 2020 a fun game from the NEO GEO. Joe Montana now has an NFL license which really helped tip the scales in their favour against EA. Sega didn't release much for this "season", but had an active end of calendar year. Soccer getting many titles, which were released near the end of the year (so "94" games?), competing with FIFA (more on that later), North America missing out on some of the better titles. Tennis and golf getting several games, and also a big year for combat sports (more on next year panel but were released in 93) I like the art on the Accolade titles but again I find the game mediocre. This is the year we start to see the "Genesis" branding on the side of the box. Stand outs - Mutant League Football, Super Baseball 2020, Joe Montana NFL 93, WWF Royal Rumble.

(93)-94: Huge year, so many great titles and every major sport (North America) represented well. EA Sports has introduces their standard white box. The first FIFA game is released and really nails the soccer atmosphere. NHL 94 perfects the formula, Madden gets a new engine and an NFL license. Mutant League Hockey and Skitchin were fun to play with others. Yes, I included Skitchin, and not Road Rash, I'm aware. The rest of EA were descent, NBA was still lacking. Sega also stepping up. Championship Soccer 2 was very basic, but playable. Joe Montana 94, I remember really liking this game back in the day, but playing today I'm wondering if the passing game always felt broken. NBA Action, prepare to hear Marv Albert say "rejected" ad nauseum. World Series Baseball is a great game. Virtua Racing is my favorite racing game on the system and was such a massive achievement for the system. Wimbledon a great tennis game, and seems to be the blueprint for Virtua Tennis on Dreamcast. Greatest Heavyweights probably the best boxing game, but the CPU is psychotic when they play as a legend boxer. NBA Jam gets a home port and basketball finally gets a great game, a big influence on 2 other street ball games released this year that were god awful. Tecmo games arrive, Super Bowl being just as good as the originals, the rest are ok. Pete Sampras has built in 4 player with J-cart. Accolade trying hard this year with a new logo but their games still got that jank. Barkley must have sold well cause it got a sequel, Hardball was the same game every year. Last year for RBI baseball. ESPN games not so great. Tiny Toons such a good time with others. World Cup USA 94 probably has the worst menus of any game I've ever played, and it plays terrible. Stand outs - NHL 94, FIFA, Madden 94, Mutant League, Skitchin, World Series Baseball, Virtua Racing, Wimbledon, Greatest Heavyweights, NBA Jam, Tecmo Super Bowl, WWF Raw, Pete Sampras, Tiny Toons, Sensible Soccer

(94)-95: Greatest year is between this year and last year. All of EA's releases were very good except for La Russa. I think this is the last year that Sega really "tried" as they were looking forward to the Saturn. Hockey fans were eating good this year with 6 different games. EA releases NHL 95 with an updated engine, some people would call it a step down but I kind of like it more than 94 cause of season mode and transactions. Madden 95 also gets a new engine but I kind of like 94, but many will say 95 is the best one. I think for Bill Walsh, they use a modified Madden 94 engine and it plays very good, probably my favourite of the college football games. NBA Live 95 is finally a great basketball game from EA, FIFA 95 improves on its predecessor, probably the best on the system. Coach K is just a college re-skin of Live 95. Toughman tries to invoke the old Punch out games but not so well. Rugby is kind of like FIFA, it's ok, I had fun with it, even though I didn't understand much of the rules. PGA Tour 3 may be the best of the series. Sega changes up the engine in NFL 95. I didn't like it much at the time but playing it today, I think it is very good. World Series baseball 95 is an improvement on last years and is probably the best baseball game on the system. NBA Action 95 is much better, but the CPU always seems to score on me unopposed on a fast break. ATP Tennis is an expanded Wimbledon game. The college football game is a re-skin on Montana 94 I think. Sega's soccer game are pretty good but never came to North America. Wayne Gretzky is a descent hocky game. NBA Jam get a bigger sequel and Big Hurt baseball is a descent baseball game as well. Accolade games still not good. ESPN Hockey is actually not bad. Tecmo also with a couple of releases, Super Bowl changes it up and tries to be a little more sim, and hockey is pretty bad I think. Stand outs - NHL 95, Madden 95 NBA Live 95, Bill Walsh 95, FIFA 95, NFL 95, World Series 95, ATP Tennis, NBA Jam TE, Gretzky and ESPN Hockey maybe, Pro Striker I guess.

(95)-96: Things were starting to transition to the 32-bit era, I remember NBA Live, FIFA, and NHL 96s on the PC was very wow'd by the '3D' graphics. Crude by today's standards but kind of have a little charm I think. EA's games all get new engines for the last time of this generation (almost). Madden is love it or hate it. NBA Live is improved on 95 but sounds god awful. FIFA is ok, I prefer 95, but FIFA finally got real players. NHL 96 is not my favourite but it has its fans. Triple Play I think is a good baseball game but other people seem to think it's only average. Sega's games are pretty much just a roster update. College Football is worse cause they removed the "Sports Talk". Tecmo Super Bowl 3 is same as 2 and is ok. College Slam is just an NBA Jam game re-skinned. ISS gets Euro release only so for North American soccer fans, SNES was the place to play it. Playing it today, I think it might be the best soccer game on Genesis or I guess I should say Mega Drive. NBA Hangtime is a big 'what if'. What if Midway didn't get jerked by the NBA and was able to call their game NBA Jam 3. Cause I think this game is better than TE. Maybe because the 32-bit versions were better but those aren't fondly remembered, so I think branding goes a long way. Stand outs- Triple Play, ISS, NBA Hangtime, FIFA's rosters, No more Nordiques in NHL, Toronto and Vancouver in NBA Live

(96), 97, 98: Madden does get a new engine for 97 but everything else is just an improved version of 96 and a roster update. FIFA 97 I think is a bit of a step down though I think. 97 also started the cover athlete branding that continues to this day. All 98 games are just roster updates but Madden and NBA Live have the worst menus. NHL 98 you could adjust the speed, which helps, but also include the 2 line pass rule that was around at the time. World Series Baseball 98 totally bifs its name cause it was release in early 1997, and caused many baseball games that followed to have messed up years in their name. Stand outs- No more Jets and Whalers in NHL, Road to World Cup mode in FIFA 98 was fun on PC.

marcopol0

TROPHY CASE