Here we are another year, and another list for you to look at. Seriously why do we need to show off a list of games for a 16 bit console that most people call the 2nd best for its time? Because it OWNED, that's why. The Sega Genesis was when gaming went from toy to fanism, where lines were drawn in the sand and you either wore the blue or the red. If you were in LA at the time, you could not go into a red neighborhood without being mocked about blast processing. Riots ensued and musicals were written (...c'mon no one saw that piece I did 8 years ago?) and to this day the Genesis does what the Nintendon't, and by that I mean make good Saturday morning cartoons.

So why 25 games, well I went though the entire list and found about 37 of them I would call classic, I narrowed down the list even further and settled for 25 since all of these games will rock you. If you want to start your collection this list would be a good place to start, I should also point out that our very own Dr. Gonzo challenged me to do this list, so if you have any complaints of why a certain game is not on here, or if a game need to go higher or lower on the list, complain to him. So without further ado let the debate begin!

25. Road Rash

When it came to sports games, you can go with one stop shopping with EA. Producing such titles as NHL 95 and John Madden Football. However if you wanted pure fun, it starts with Road Rash. The concept is simple, you are racing on motorcycles. So what? What you can do to beat your opponets is to literally beat them into submission with pipes and chains. You and your friends will want to keep on forcing your opponent to cash into the curb by beating them down and avoiding the fuzz all at the same time. This is a fairly common game that is just pure fun to play alone or with friends. I say hit the curb when gunning for this one.

24. Flashback

US Gold's shining achievement in my eye. Flashback is a mystery platformer where you travel from area to area holding on to a gun trying to seek out the truth about your identity. On first glance you might think of a game called Out of this World, and although some might consider that a worthy comparison I think it is not. Out of this World was an Amiga game, this took leaps and bounds ahead of it and has incredible game play to boot. I will warn you: this game is REALLY hard. However like all good things it is well worth the price of admission to get.

23. Golden Axe

Do I need to talk about this game, it was one of the gems when it came to this system. You are walking from left to right beating down baddies that came on the screen to free the king and queen of the land. While beating down the opponent you can also ride on animals and beat up on little gnomes that somehow had an infinite supply of blue bottles that allowed you to do magic. Death Adder is a pain to beat, however once you completed the game you got grated on your performance and forced you to replay the game over and over again to see if you can get the A+++ rank. Also the end of the game, quite simply priceless in the humor it had and that song will never leave your head.

22. General Chaos

Another EA game? Yes it is however this game was multiplayer fun the get go. You are Professor General Chaos who wants to win the war against General Havoc. It is your mission to assemble a team of four and to use their unique skills to kill the opponent in a variety of maps to eventually win the battle. War may be hell, however this game is just fun, the animation style is great and the game play just makes you want to play it over and over again. Not as common as you might think, if you see this around it is a definite buy in my book.

21. Rocket Knight Adventure

Ladies and gentleman this was the mascot that never came to be. This was Konami's attempt to brand an animal and use it as their flagship character. You are an opossum with a sword and a jet pack and fly around the level defeating the evil Axel Gear saving the princess and restoring order to the land. Although Sparkster had a sequel that is hard to come by these days (and since both were completely different games too, makes it tougher to track down) it is well worth the time and effort to hunt down this rodent and get into the action. Besides when can you say you saved the universe as an opossum?

20. Subterrania

I had never heard of this game until my pals over at PBC Productions talked highly about it. It is a shump with a purpose, and this is coming from a guy who hates shumps. Instead of being the red barron of outerspace, you are a humble pilot in a mission like environment saving people and completing objectives to defeat an alien race that wanted to take over a mining colony, those bastards. It's mission based approached stands out in the land of the pew pew pew, and makes it feel like you are piloting a ship in an adventure game. This is a hard game, but if you have an arcade stick and take the time to master the controls this is one heck of a ride to go on.

19. Cool Spot

Yes Virgina, licensed games can be really good. This is a great game, a platformer where you control Spot the least annoying ad campaign that the soda brand used to collect dots and free other spots. It is a simple platformer that is still fun to play and listen to even to this very day. Tommy Tallarico did the music of the game and the soundtrack is just as memorable as the platforming goodness that occurred in the game itself. Definite buy for anyone who wants to play a great platforming game and doesn't mind seeing more advertisements then a TV show.

18. Shining Force

What? An RPG on the Sega Genesis? Yes it is and this one is a damn good one too. This tactical game had brilliant cut scenes and made each and every battle epic in the presentation. Your goal is to level up people in your battalion as you wage war against the evil Darksol as he tried to take over your kingdom. As Max you set out and defeat the forces of evil in a multi-chapter story that still holds its weight to this very day. It has been ported over to the modern consoles so you have no excuse to pass this one up.

17. Gunstar Heroes

Blowing $hit up is real good. This game allows you to do that...a lot. I personally think this is Contra on Steroids as you battle though a myriad of enemies to defeat M. Bison and restore order to the land. I will warn you, this game has to be played on two player mode, this game was made for co-op play and would be awesome if they were to port it over to the XBLA or PSN with HD graphics and threw an achievement or leader board on it. What other game can top this run and gunner?

16. Contra Hard Corps

This one baby! Personally thinking that this version of Contra beats the third one hands down, this is a gem to be had. You can select a character that uses their own unique ability. It is a generic guy, a generic girl, a robot, or A F#$%ING WEREWOLF WITH A CHAINGUN FOR AN ARM. Yes that's right a werewolf with a mechanical arm and sunglasses, you can not get more badass then that...unless you count the fact you can fight Simon Belmont in this game. There are multiple paths with multiple endings and is quite possibly harder then Gunstar Heroes and simply a better game.

15. Splatterhouse 2

A horror game with violence and gore to spread around? Sign me up! This game would never have been touched by Nintendo at the time, so the Genesis faithful had this gem all to themselves. The sequel to the hit on the Turbografix 16, it was a linear beat em up dream where the game showed no mercy to you if you didn't know what you were doing. This game at the time even had a warning label on it telling people to not pick up this game (this was before the ESRB was created). You know it has to be good with something like that on it, go play it!

14. Phantasy Star 4

Hands down the best RPG for the system, its story grips you tight and the conclusion at the end is such a good payout it is nothing more then incredible. This is an unforgiving RPG that forces you to not take anything for granted, if you are a casual RPG fan this might not for you, however to those who live and breath by their 6 sided dice, this is one you need to own in your collection.

13. Herzog Zwei

Can you pronounce the name of this game? Neither can I. However this game kicks ass! This is a RTS game, done really really well. You are a transformer that is either a airplane or a mech and you need to capture towns to earn money to buy an army to take over the enemy base. Single player has four difficulties however the shining light in this is the multi-player. In a split screen set up this game excels in tight battles and I've seen matches go on for HOURS when professionals hit the table. This game is begging for a re-release and it deserves to get one with online play.

12. Comix Zone

What is cooler then having a comic book about you? How about you being zapped into the comic book and beating up enemies literally hand drawn by the penciled villain that you created. The art style in this game is amazing, and although some might call this game impossible to beat, I've seen it done several times and have to attest that this is a must own for anyone that has a Sega Genesis. It even has you have a pet rat that does not taught you with demonic messages!

11. Ristar

See that guy? He was supposed to supersede Sonic in mascot fandom. However since it was released so late in the life of the system it never got the attention it deserved. You are a star that goes around and headbutts everything. What makes it even cooler that Ristar has such attention to detail that depending on where you are you act differently. These touches added to a really challenging game that spans the galaxy.

10. Vectorman

He has balls of steel, literally. You are a spherical hero that shoots his way around each level fighting bad guys, transforming yourself into several forms, and just plain kicking ass. The effects pushed the Genesis to the limit with the lighting and sound that it pulls off. Again this game was released late in the life cycle and did not get enough attention during its time, but if you play it today you can not deny the sheer brilliance it had on gaming.

9. Toe Jam and Earl

You want a chilli dog dude? This game makes you go and earn it as a co-op delight. This is a game that Sega fans got, and have fond memories over. You are either Toe Jam or Earl and your goal is to collect pieces of your crashed spaceship to go back to Funkatron so that you can be funky again. On the way you will collect a ton of presents that will either have good things or bad things in them, you never know until you open them up...

8. Zombies ate my Neighbors

You are already humming the music aren't you? This masterpiece by the Fatt Man himself still is considered chiptune gold, and in this version there is no denying the fact that this game kicked ass. You are a teenager who equips him or herself with a super soaker, soda cans, a weed wacker, or Mom's China and fight the undead in level after level saving the townsfolk from getting killed (including the teacher that fails you). This game is a blast in co-op and no matter how many non zombie enemies you have to fight there is no denying that this is an awesome game.

7. The Lost Vikings

Puzzle games will never be the same again, this is an original concept for a puzzler that isn't a reflex test against a computer. You are one of three Vikings that have a unique ability to go and travel the land and get to the end of the level. What makes this game so good is that you need to master each Viking's ability to traverse the land and use items wisely to make it to the end of the level. Each area is a mind bending experience and often overlooked in today's frantic puzzling scene. I prefer this over the popular Lemmings and recommend anyone of that series to give this one a try.

6. Sonic and Knuckles

What's this? A sonic game that isn't number one, blasphemy! This game is great, the graphics are incredible, the lock on technology allowed you to enhance other Sega games and was just a great version to get into. Did you know that this is the Second half of Sonic 3? Yup, Sonic 3 had to be split into two games in order for it to be sent out, I would have made that my pick but was over ruled by Doctor Pepper himself, Dr. Gonzo. Oh well, this is a great game and you already know how awesome it is without me telling you about it, so play it again.

5. Shinobi 3: Return of the Ninja Master

Shinobi will mess you up, the only ninja to ever go on a killing spree to save children. Old Joe fights massive amounts of enemies in wonderfully designed levels and a variety of game settings, some may say Ninja Gaiden is better, however no one can argue that this game is just a great great game to play and reminds us all what a REAL ninja is supposed to be. Not some orange jumpsuit wearing magical warrior...but I digress.

4. Strider

A pretty darn close port of the arcade smash, Strider had a goal, defeat communism with a giant a$$ blade. You jump around and hack and slash anything in your path. The sound effect is just so satisfying that no one can deny that this is an amazing game. Although its sequels go into obscurity you can not argue that this is a classic in anyone's collection.

3. Dynamite Headdy

This is a game that I still play to this VERY DAY. You are Headdy and one day in your toy land it gets messed up by a wizard and it is your job to find out who did it and put a stop to it. Not only is this game a great platformer and has a ton of powerups, but it has the best environment to be had at the time. You are constantly reminded that it is a game with in game advertising, moving between the game's setting and the back stage area, and just noticing all the objects being toy related. This is a classic that is often overlooked, and a must have especially if you are a Treasure fan.

2. Streets of Rage 2

I will settle the debate once and for all, Streets of Rage is by far the better game then Final Fight will ever be. This was the beat em up to contend with the popularity of a really bad arcade port and it blasts it out of the water. With three characters, co-op moves, tons of people to slug, and a soundtrack that is just stunning and sends chills to anyone's ear to this very day. Pick it up and be a Bad Dude!

1. Earthworm Jim

Is it the greatest game of the decade? No, but you can not argue it is the great game on the system. The art style and humor in this shooting platform is unsurpassed with anything that is coming out this day and age. You are an earthworm saving Princess What's her Name from the evil crow. You go through stage after stage in stunning visuals and amazing music with humor so funny that you can not deny it being great. A goldfish as an end boss? Genius! This is the number one game in my eye, so go play it! Grab that 3 button beast and Blast your way back to when the black square reigned supreme.

Until next time: