Gush / Sega

Gush about Sega games here!

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• The music. Just list it all and gush even more.
  • The fact that some of the awesome soundtracks they produced are available on Spotify makes it better.
• Where the hell is Sonic 3? Yes, the other 2 were pretty good, but Sonic 3 is win. The art style is a subtle yet great evolution, the music is excellent and memorable, it makes the Sonic universe deeper and more engrossing without an overkill of exposition and characters, and the game perfects the Sonic atmosphere and embodies what is right with the series.
  • Seconded. Sonic 3 is my 2nd favorite 2D Sonic game (my most favorite is Sonic CD). Sonic 2 was awesome, yes, but I never saw what made it "ZOMG BEST SAWNIK GAME EVA!!!"
  • To me, Sonic 2 IS childhood. It's that simple. Every last sound or animated sprite or level feature in the game feels like a dip in the nostalgy pool.
    • Sonic 3 by itself was at times ridiculously buggy. However, Sonic 3 and Knuckles is AWESOME.
• Sonic Unleashed, its Sonic gameplay IS the revitalization of the series that Sega have been promising for years.
  • Along the same lines, this troper doesn't give two figs about what anyone said about the 3D Sonic games post-Dreamcast, he enjoyed them, ######. Except Sonic 2006. But even that had some good ideas (no, I'm not talking about the hedgehog/human romance, I'm talking gameplay-wise).
    • Heck, This Troper even likes Sonic 2006, and is fully prepared to face the consequences of admitting that.
    • Some people say Sonic died a long time ago. This troper thinks he's still alive and strong, giving us amazing music and fun games.
    • My first Sonic game was Sonic Adventure 2 Battle. Via Demo at Wal-Mart and also the first one I owned. From there, I've liked most of he 3D Sonic games I've played. I have not played Sonic '06, but I will admit some parts look interesting and I wouldn't mind trying it... Specifically, I loved Shadow the Hedgehog, I'd even go so far as to say that it's the best of the 3D titles because you only play as a character that may as well be Sonic in terms of gameplay, which is what everyone's been asking for for so long without realizing that they have it. What can I say? The guns and vehicles were fun.
• You could be forgiven for forgetting about Sonic Pocket Adventure, which had been released on the Neo Geo Pocket Color, a handheld console that was completely overshadowed by Nintendo's Game Boy. It's a damn shame, though: this game was a lovely throwback to the Genesis games that, at the time of its release, was as close as you could get to playing Sonic 2 on the go without having to get a Sega Nomad.
• Shadow the Hedgehog has a list of flaws a mile long, but the level where you're a bad enough dude to shoot the president is the most fun this troper has had with a Sonic game in years.
  • Shadow is actually a fun game when you look past some of the flaws. Aside from suddenly starring an angsty Evil Twin that totes guns out of nowhere, it has its moments, from the attempted assassination mentioned above to running rampant through the base of operations for what is effectively S.W.A.T. Not to mention what a Chaos Blast you can have using Chaos Control to your benefit.
• Skies of Arcadia is still the best turn-based RPG I've ever played. I think its upbeat nature, wide open world, depth of NPCs, message of hope to the world, and FLYING PIRATES have spoiled me.
  • By all rights, Skies of Arcadia does not deserve to be so good. It's an extremely standard turn-based RPG that follows One True Sequence (or at least appears to) one hundred percent, none of the characters really undergo any substantial Character Development, and the villains are some of the hammiest Card Carrying Villains ever. But it pulls off every single one of those cliches and tropes so well that the game is far more than the sum of its parts! ...Plus, yes, flying pirates are pretty damn awesome.
    • Skies of Arcadia is one of my favorite games because of what the person above me said. And also because it's pretty darn fun too.
• The Ecco the Dolphin games are really, really hard. That said, the first two games are some of the greatest xenofiction ever told. The storyline makes the frustrating gameplay worth it!
• Sonic Unleashed is, quite possibly, the single best thing to ever happen to the little pin-cushion since he entered the 3D era. The story, gameplay, and characterization are all leagues better than Sonic's ever been. The Werehog, while questionable, is the greatest genre change gameplay in the series. Best of all, the new Sonic Team has finally, finally learned not to add in everyone and their grandma just to say they were in this game.
  • I don't know about you but I also love how they decided to drop the whole Serious Business thing
  • Seconded, thirded, fourthed, all the way up to infinity. Unleashed was the game that finally convinced me to throw off the shackles of Reviews Are the Gospel. There is no damn way the game deserves scores worse than Sonic '06. After all the vitriol being thrown at them, really, the nighttime stages aren't anything worse than So Okay, It's Average, and at their best, they're actually pretty fun, with their Crowning Moment coming during the Egg Dragoon fight. And the daytime stages? Holy crap am I really going this fast in levels reminiscent of the old Genesis trilogy?! Sonic Team finally took a step in the right direction with Unleashed's daytime stages!
• I am ashamed nobody has put Ni GHTS Into Dreams up here. The first console game to ever use a 3D pad, the story that you could add to, the flight on rails, the dream archetypes... It's a racing game with a story and a real, pervasive presence in the minds of many people. Truly a game for the ages.
  • And the second game in the series, NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams, added a new dimension to the game and a really different point of view I quite enjoyed even for all its flaws. Still working on my Nightopian Garden and A-ranking everything!
  • NiGHTS into Dreams is quite possibly one of my favorite games ever. Amazing level design, atmospheric music that changes depending on how well you interact with the resident Nightopians, unique bosses, and most important of all, it's just fun. This is the only game that I can think off offhand that I care about one-upping my old high score, and one of the few that I had to force myself to put down because my thumb was in too much pain from working the controller.
• Ghost Squad (2004) is a little relatively obscure light gun game by SEGA for Arcade's and the Wii where there are so many Crowning moments of AWESOME that it gives you a complete sensory overload and totally makes up for their only being 3 levels. Oh, and did I mention that you give your character a panda suit and in the Wii version there are 2 bonus modes where in one all your enemies are chicks in bikini's and you use a dolphin shaped Water Gun and in the other every one's a ninja?! If you have a Wii this can all be yours for only 30 USD?!
• Ristar is a really amazing 16-bit platformer. It wrings out every bit of graphical and musical capability out of the Genesis. Completely forgotten because it came out in 1995 and was buried under the hype for the 32-bit systems, it became a forgotten gem. Great graphics(check out the lighting effects in the underwater stage!), awesome music you will remember for years, and a unique gameplay mechanic.
  • I know, right? Ristar is, without a doubt, one of the best forgotten Sega games ever made. One thing about the game that's especially handy, since save files were a rare thing back then, is that the password system enables you to pick up exactly where you left off. The password is easy to remember, too. Gotta love the Level Select code.
  • It is amazing, i agree. But sequel never being made =(
• I love the Sonic games, and must say how silly I think the Broken Base is. After the Sonic Adventure games, people asked for the classic style back. They got it in Sonic Heroes, and then complained they wanted the Adventure style back. They got it in Sonic 2006, and complained... I, on the other hand, enjoy it all(Okay, not Sonic Labyrinth but what the hell). Shadow the Hedgehog, both character and game, are great. The game, it's fun. I enjoy doing Hero missions...and having Black Doom's Eye tag along. It's funny, making that ####### whine. Shadow himself is badass. And he seems to be mellowing back out. Here's an aspect from the old days I miss: Going Super in regular levels. That, I really want to have back. I love foe-tossing charges. And Hyper Sonic. The Hyper transformation was great, and imagine it in 3D. And Metal Sonic is one of the greatest Evil Counterparts ever. Because he can Actually. Measure. Up. Also, the Sonic series has one of the few non-sucky Video Game Based Movies. The Sonic OVA film was cool, drawing a lot from the games. It's the only adaptation to use Eggman's Genesis-era costume. And the battles between Sonic and Metal Sonic... Pure awesome. I think the Mewtwo vs. Mew fight in Pokémon: Mewtwo Strikes Back contained a bit of homage. And Sonic 2006, the hatedom will remember that this is Sugar Wiki and hold their fire. A cool game. Heh. Silver's gameplay is interesting, because Silver isn't a super-runner like we're used to. Also, Amy pwning Silver when he tried to kill Sonic(Stupid Mephiles, but he gets his thanks to Shadow). There's a reason Amy's on the Beware The Nice Ones page. I like the more serious cartoons, including Sonic Underground (the Hatedom will again be reminded that this is Sugar Wiki). I think it fits. Sonic a rebel? Oh yeah. Sonic also a rock star? How the hell does that NOT fit? Sonic having known relatives, and siblings and one parent at that? Neat. Manic, the Surfer Dude with a Hover Board. I think that Sonic Riders was a bit of a Fandom Nod to lovers of Sonic Underground. And...Gosh, I can be rather long-winded when typing this stuff.
  • I... have nothing to say. You've taken the words right out of my mouth. Well, perhaps BRILLIANT! is aplicable. Seriously, why does the fanbase hate all the new stuff? I can understand 06's hatred because of all the glitches, but even then, it's a decent game. Worst part is? Sega's going to release the first part of Sonic the Hedgehog 4 (which contains no extra stuff, no other charactures, just Sonic and Robotnik [although he's called Eggman like in the newer games, but get OVER IT FANBASE.] duking it out) and the fans are planning to boycott it... because of such things as the homing attack's inclusion (a step in the right direction if you ask me) and the fact that THEY USE THE NEW STYLE FOR SONIC. When I heard of that, the first thing I said was "ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR * cut out, kids might read this* MIND?" Here's hoping the boycott goes the way of Modern Warfare 2!
• Sonic Chronicles is amazing. It takes the stupidest combo ever- Sonic the Hedgehog and turn based RPG- and makes it work. It's got a great, genuinely funny script, it manages to have an interesting plot without it making no sense or being too serious, and it takes the tell-don't-show approach of many of the games in regards to characterisation (Knuckles, Amy, I'm looking at you) and turns it on its head. (Seriously, they fix every complaint about how the characters act you could have.) And the battle system is genuinely good, too! BioWare, I salute you.
• Sonic Colors. Just... Sonic Colors. Take the best aspects of the already-good Sonic Unleashed, remove the worst parts of it, and add in exploration elements from Sonic the Hedgehog CD and a powerup gimmick system that actually improves the overall gameplay, a lighthearted story with a hilarious script penned by the writers of ReBoot and Happy Tree Friends and good voice acting, and you'll have the best Sonic game since the Genesis titles.
  • I have not played the Wii version, but I have played the DS version, and it's very, very fun.
• Sonic Generations is one of my big favorites. The 3DS version is good but, I recommend the Home Console version. This is the first new game Classic Sonic has been in in years. You play levels designed around his type of gameplay and the music is given that particular touch to it. Modern Sonic naturally gets gameplay that is that of the two previous Sonic titles. It's beautiful, nostalgic, colorful, the music is wonderful. You even get to fight bosses from previous titles as well. My favorite is the rematch with Perfect Chaos.
  • I bought Generations because it was another well-reviewed Sonic game and I liked Colors a lot, but was doubtful they could actually recapture the magic of the original games in classic gameplay. This game had me turning around on that prediction two seconds in, between the gorgeous recreation of Green Hill Zone, smooth framerate, and the physics of Sonic breaking into a run and his first jump. The rest of the game is just as good, classic and modern.
• This Troper will say it, I loved Sonic Heroes when it came out, first there was the many levels that it had and even the hard levels aren't frustratingly so, long story short, I loved Sonic Heroes.
  • I'll step up to the plate and second that notion. I don't care what "they" say— being able to play as whichever character you wanted for most of the gameplay rocked, and the music got stuck in my head for hours... and I just invited the Casino Park theme...
  • The beauty of Heroes was really in the team mechanic— you got to choose how to play the game depending on the character you chose. Speed characters were the best way to breeze through a level (possibly putting one's self in harm's way in the meanwhile), flight characters allowed you to hang back, stay safe, and enjoy the view/music... and power characters got #### done. Oftentimes with several explosions and a definite sense of catharsis. This is probably the way the main trio is viewed, to boot.
  • While I do think that Sonic Heroes was when the series began its decline in quality, it was not a bad game by any means, and I really don't think it deserves all the hatred it gets.
  • And you gotta admit, it's level design is truly stunning and amazingly creative.
• Sega Genesis Collection is quite possibly one of the best values per gaming dollar ever. The titles on the disc would cost over $100 on Wii's Virtual Console. Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection (SEGA Mega Drive Ultimate Collection for Europe) is poised to actually beat it by dropping another dozen+ titles (in 720p hi-def, yet!), including the much-demanded Streets of Rage series.
• Sonic3and Knuckles is so perfect, so damn perfect. Multiple characters with unique abilities, tons of replay value, brilliant music. It's a dream come true. And The adventure games are also awesome, with even MORE replay value. SA2 has a pretty nice plot too, and both games have amazing Sonic stages. And I liked Heroes too, just plain fun.
• The daytime stages of Unleashed are one of those things that legitimately make you feel like the ###### BATMAN!
• Generations made the series awesome again, and it is BRILLIANT. The classic gameplay just feels plain good, and the modern gameplay is as fun as ever. Who cares if it short, it's amazing!
  • Maybe it's just my love of continuity but what I really loved about the game is that the Genesis and Modern Sonics are one and the same. It's so freaking awesome that everything great in the old games and the new ones is what the same hedgehog has gone through. I only played the first Sonic game recently (on Generations I might add) and think it's great that the Sonic who is now saving planets and space/time is the one who was originally just rescuing animals.
• One of the best points for me was the Sonic Advance series. A trio of great games with cool music, actual platforming segments, as well as the ability to play as more than just Sonic. It's a shame they've been kinda overlooked (at least from what I've seen on the Internet.)
• While Shenmue does take a while to get interesting, it was very ahead of its time, was a great story about revenge, had lots of likeable and relatable characters, and the fighting segments were pure fun. It's a shame they never got to conclude the series.
• Jet Set Radio has to be one of my favorite video game series, like, ever. Skating around Tokyo while doing graffiti and running from killer cops is really fun, the soundtrack to both games are excellent, and the games are kind of funny too. But Future would definitely have to be my favorite of the series because it has a big, huge world to explore, and there are lots of things to do and find even after you finish the game. Also, me and my friends love playing the multiplayer (I always beat them with Yoyo, Corn, or Cube, haha).
• Sega Superstars Tennis was fun, but nothing great, but if it weren't for this game, I would have never gotten into Jet Set Radio or Space Channel 5 (when the Dreamcast was still alive, all I had was a PS1 and a Genesis), so I thank SST for turning me onto them.
• Sonic and Sega All-Stars Racing is an awesome kart-racing game, rivaling Mario Kart DS and Modnation Racers as the best kart-racing game ever in my book. Including an excellent roster of characters, great tracks (except for the Super Monkey Ball ones), lots of missions and unlockables, a wide variety of Sega music, and so on. Can't wait for All-Stars Racing Transformed!
• Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed improves greatly on the formula of the original racing game, with tracks that change over time and require players to master them by land, sea, and air, making it analogous with another classic racer: Diddy Kong Racing. The inclusion of characters from oft-neglected franchises (such as NiGHTS, Joe Musashi, Gillius Thunderhead, and perhaps most surprising, Vyse!) and a stellar soundtrack by Richard Jacques makes the whole game all the sweeter.
• The Mega Drive/ Genesis in general is possibly my favourite console of all time - just that feeling of slipping in a cartridge and then playing one of the 16-bit greats like Truxton or Golden Axe just makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside :3
• I gotta give some love to the Sega Channel. The very first video game streaming system, before video games could be streamed over the internet. They advertised 50 games a month and they always delivered. I remember getting up super early on the first day of the month to check out the new games before I had to go to school. In my household our gaming library was pretty limited because outside of some Sonic game my dad would mostly rent the violent video games they kept talking about on the news. Thanks to the Sega Channel my gaming world was open to so many fantastic games. I loved every minute of having the Sega Channel. Thanks, Sega!
• A page about good games from Sega, and no mention of Phantasy Star? For shame! Sega's answer to Final Fantasy has tons going for it, with many games doing something innovative: the original Phantasy Star I incorporated first-person dungeon crawling segments that was previously relegated to PC RPGs, Phantasy Star II and Phantasy Star IV featured deaths of major protagonists years before Aeris, and Phantasy Star III, often considered the black sheep of the series, featured a sprawling multi-generational epoch of a story with Multiple Endings. Things only got better when the game jumped into the third dimension, with Phantasy Star Online bringing online multiplayer RPGs to consoles, as well as utilizing a universal message system that allowed players across the world to communicate, helping to break down language barriers between players. The games proved so popular that, years after the last official server was shut down, private servers still run to this day. Now, we have Phantasy Star Online 2, which features some of the most powerful and versatile Character Customization options in MMOs and fast-paced action-oriented gameplay that's easy to pick up but difficult to master.
• Credit has to go out to Rhythm Thief & the Emperor's Treasure, a much, much, much less well-known SEGA game for the 3DS where a Badass in a Nice Suit runs around Paris stylishly completing rhythm-based minigames in order to figure out the mystery behind his Disappeared Dad. It's better than it sounds. The songs are all criminally catchy (Pun... semi-intended), the story is very well crafted and the graphics are gorgeous. It's just a pity we may not get a sequel to it...
• Sakura Wars has to be one of Sega's most underrated franchises outside of Japan, no thanks to the fact that only one of the games has been localized. But that one game is ####### amazing! It has a fantastic mix of lovable characters, mecha-combat, and Dating Sims, of all things!
  • If I could understand the game without using a translation guide, Sakura Wars 3 would be my all-time favorite game. The characters are all unique and interesting, the combat is quick and fun, the minigames are addicting as heck, and there's so many optional events to do, it's impossible to find them all on one playthrough!
• Despite the mixed reception it received, Unleashed is easily one of the greatest games to ever come out of Sonic Team.
  • Heck yeah, it is! The daytime stages are fast and smooth, and the nighttime stages, despite the change from a platformer to a God of War-esque action game, it still manages to be just as fun. Plus, the Hedgehog Engine makes the levels on the HD versions look like pure eye-candy.
• Lost World is one of my favorite games. Despite the lackluster villains and slow gameplay, the controls are smooth,and beating the hardest levels feels so good to me.
• Nobody mentions Sonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed? It's fast paced racing game with a solid gimmick. The BGM is truly amazing. Getting All-Star Mode is just pure awesome, and the weapons manage to pretty funny and useful.
• I'm SHOCKED that nobody mentioned Super Monkey Ball yet! It's my favorite video game series of all time! Each game is good in their own right, but the GameCube games are MASTERPIECES! Their genius level design, cute characters, and astounding mini games will always have a place in my heart. Sadly, Sega seems to be neglecting the series in recent years, and despite it's cuteness its fanbase is minimal, sad since I think it has the most potential in any video game series I've seen. Oh, and each game always has a badass soundtrack.
• How did this page go for so long without a mention of Yakuza/Like a Dragon? You want hard-hitting combat? Yakuza lets you pummel your enemies with anything in arm's reach! You want hard-hitting drama? The stories in the Yakuza series are so amazing that real-life yakuza have given it praise! You want side quests and mini-games? You will drown in them!
• The company itself:
  • You need to respond to fanmade ROM hacks of your old games. What do you do? Do you hand out cease and desists to the creators and websites that provide them, and crack down on YouTube authors for featuring these vandalized versions of your games? Do you ignore them entirely and focus on your own work? Or do you officially include support for them over a hub^note the Steam Workshop in this case, making it more convenient than ever for fans to share their hacks with each other? If you're Sega, the answer is the last one. These days, "Sega does what Nintendon't" is usually said ironically, but you can take it at face value where this issue is concerned.
  • They certainly had good reasons to do this, but it's still a rarity in the industry for a company of Sega's size to actually admit that they released bad games and acknowledge publicly that they can't succeed as a company unless they improve.
    Seeing our fans across the world respond to our recent interview with Famitsu, lets us know we've made the right first step in acknowledging who we are and where we want to be.
• To this troper, Sega releasing Bayonetta on Steam is one of the greatest things to happen in 2017. I've never owned a PS3/X360 before (let alone a Wii U) but i've been wanting to experience the awesome climax so long, them porting it to Steam is like christmas for me. I just want to say thank you very much, Sega! I'll look forward for the next great PC ports!!
• Finally, after many years of being forgotten, Sega and DotEmu announced that they are developing, along with Guard Crush Games and LizardCube, the fourth game of the Streets of Rage franchise!!! Sega hasn't forgotten the classics!!! See the trailer for yourself here!
• Sega's former studio Team Andromeda managed to take a comparatively humble genre — the Rail Shooter — and give it so much atmosphere and scope with the Panzer Dragoon series. From a backstory rich with lore and intrigue, to the visual design that seems so alien despite starring fairly ordinary people, to those godly soundtracks that just draw you into their world. Even the change of studios to Smilebit for Orta, nothing was sacrificed, and indeed, it's still one of the most gorgeous games playable today courtesy of backward compatibility with the Xbox One. With the original and Zwei both receiving remakes for modern hardware, I cannot wait to fly through the Panzer world again.
• Clockwork Knight definitely deserves some praise here! The game is chock-full of personality in all aspects, from its jazzy, energetic, and sometimes emotional soundtrack, to its charming cast of weird yet awesome toys, all rendered in Silicon Graphics that still hold up really well today. For a game about rescuing a princess, it certainly has a lot of charm and passion put into it. Here's hoping for a re-release or remake!!~
• I'm surprised nobody mentioned Puyo Puyo here yet. While the series isn't exactly Game of the Year fodder, it has to be mentioned that it's got some quirky and likable characters, intriguing lore, a nicely-done and huggably adorable art style, and surprisingly good writing... and it's a Falling Blocks game. It lends itself perfectly to a television anime adaptation, something I'm shocked SEGA hasn't considered yet given the derivitave drama CDs and light novels.