Just got a Genesis

[lotusoftheleaf]

I was on vacation this past week visiting my fiancé. He decided to give me his old Sega Genesis since he no longer had the cables to hook it up and so never used it. I just bought the composite cables for it as well as one of those adaptors that lets you get the stereo audio from the headphone jack.

Now I'm gonna need some games. He gave me a few his brother used to play, but aside from Sonic I'm not sure how good they are. What are the best Genesis games? I love RPGs and puzzle games the most, but feel free to recommend any genre.

[madrocsz]

I guess it comes down to what you like

If you want mindless beat em ups try Streets of Rage, Golden Axe or Altered Beast

More action oriented games try Strider (amazing game), Gunstar Heroes, Vectorman

For simply good fun platformers try Kid Chameleon, Rocket Knight Adventures or Ristar

Alll of these can be found for under 10$ usually, only exception being Gunstar Heroes pushing 15ish

Also, can't really go wrong with any of the Sonic games, Sonic 2 being my fav of the series

[larryinc64]

I am not too familiar with the Genesis, But I know some good games. "6-Pak" Is a good cart too get, It Has Sonic 1, Golden Axe, Streets Of Rage, Revenge Of Shinobi, Columns, and Super Hang-on, all good games. Vectorman is good. The Ecco The Dolphin games are alright, not the best, but go cheep. I am not a RPG buff, but I think there are a few good ones on the system, like the Phantasy Star series. "Mickey Mania: The Timeless Adventures Of Mickey Mouse" is pretty good. Michel Jackson's Moonwalker is fun, but a bit pricey. Ristar I hear is good, same with Rocket Night Adventures. The good thing about the Genesis is most of the must have titles are cheep.

[sheep2001]

Soooooo many great games

As above,  streets of rage and golden axe.
Disney games, particularly Donald duck quack shot, and Aladdin.
Rolo  to the rescue.  
NHL hockey 94.  
The first Ecco particularly is great.  
Columns.
Desert/jungle/urban strike
Road rash
Lotus turbo 2
Monaco grand pix 2
Super hang on
Sensible soccer
Thunderforce series, particularly Thunderforce 4

[games-go-round]

If you love RPG's, you *must* pick up Phantasy Star IV.  II, III, and IV were on the Genesis, and while IV is a total masterpiece, II isn't bad, either, it's just older.  Stay far, far away from III, though...

Most of the other people on here have nailed the list of "must-have" games, too.  The 6-Pak is a great idea, if only because you get the first Sonic game and Revenge of Shinobi for a low price.  Road Rash I or II also comes highly recommended, as they were excellent, classic Genesis games that weren't made by Sega.

If I were you, and I could only get a few games at the start, I'd begin with:

Phantasy Star IV
Sonic 2
Road Rash II

Anything else is just icing on the cake, if you ask me :-D

[Seymor Onion]

Here's my two recommendations:
Crusader of Centy
It's sort of like a 16-bit Zelda Game.
I stood in line in the rain to get this game, back in the day.
It's pretty expensive, but you might get lucky and find it in a garage sale or something.

Beggar Prince
It's a turn-Based RPG that was released in 2006 by SuperFighterTeam.
If you can't find a copy for a reasonable price, sign up for his newsletter, and let him know you are interested.
He may do another run.

And I second Phantasy Star IV.  

The above was edited; I added more details.

[Beastman1975]

i hated sports games as a kid but loved mutant league football and mutant league hocky, also blaster master 2  was a great platformer and alot of fighting games were a bi9t better on genesis  Fatal fury , samurai showdown.

[Arseen]

Crusader of Centy (or Soleil here in Europe) is my favorite Mega Drive game.

If you manage to get it ... GET IT!!!

[Seymor Onion]

Crusader of Centy (or Soleil here in Europe) is my favorite Mega Drive game.

If you manage to get it ... GET IT!!!

If you want it Complete, you need everything pictured,
except for the UGC and the Optional Strat Guide.

Top Left: UGC w/Cover .
Top Mid: Cardboard Tray w/Game Cart.
Top Right: Cardboard Game Box's Outer Jacket

Bottom Left: Optional Strategy Guide. Used to be available by Mail Order from Atlus.
Bottom Right: The manual that came with the Game.

The above picture is from the American Version of the game, from my Private Collection.
I sold it online last year, as part of my fundraising efforts.
It's one of many games I dearly miss... 

[zakurowrath]

Oh there's a nice collection of good games for the Genesis. Most all of the Sonic games are really fun in their own ways.

Ask for other series, Strider is a fun action game, Crue Ball is a great pinball game with Motley Crue music, the three Road Rash games. Ask for RPGs, I'm not too much into RPG's but I do know there's one called Super Hydlide that's interesting.

Of course there's always the Sega CD and 32x to expand the library a bit with their unique games.

[Dan-Fu]

Phantasy Star is fun I don't have one on the Genesis yet so I'm not sure it's fun on there.

[redsox2012]

Some of my recommendations:

Thunder Force III - the best console shooter I've ever played.

Gaiares - another excellent shooter with a unique power up system

Disney platformers (Aladdin, Castle of Illusion, Quackshot, Mickey Mania).  They all have excellent graphics & animation and are extremely fun to play.

I'd also recommend picking up a 32X.  Be sure it includes the cable to link the Genesis to the 32x, as well as the spacer if you have a model 2 Genesis.  Virtua Fighter 32X is an amazing port of the arcade game.  Star Wars 32X & Virtua Racing Deluxe are excellent games as well.  You also get great home conversions of NBA Jam, After Burner, Space Harrier, & Mortal Kombat II.

[sheep2001]

Oh - megalomania, and speedball 2 are both alot of fun too.

[BadChad]

Crusader of Centy (or Soleil here in Europe) is my favorite Mega Drive game.

If you manage to get it ... GET IT!!!

If you want it Complete, you need everything pictured,
except for the UGC and the Optional Strat Guide.

Top Left: UGC w/Cover .
Top Mid: Cardboard Tray w/Game Cart.
Top Right: Cardboard Game Box's Outer Jacket

Bottom Left: Optional Strategy Guide. Used to be available by Mail Order from Atlus.
Bottom Right: The manual that came with the Game.

The above picture is from the American Version of the game, from my Private Collection.
I sold it online last year, as part of my fundraising efforts.
It's one of many games I dearly miss... 

I remember picking this up early on when I started collecting. I think I payed $50 on ebay for a CIB copy in really good shape. I had no idea there was a strategy guide for it tho. Now I really want one but I have a bad feeling it wont be easy or cheap. Cant seem to find anything about them anywhere online.