Known as the Genesis in North America, the Mega Drive gave Sega its hour of glory and a rock attitude: Sonic, Streets of Rage, Gunstar Heroes, Phantasy Star. This Top 100 gathers the best of Sega's 16-bit, re-tested and re-ranked by RomWize, each title with its re-evaluated score, its versions, their rarity and their collector value.
"An action gem from Game Arts starring a lightning-wielding heroine and four flying familiars. Lovely art direction and a heroic fantasy atmosphere done right."
"The Japanese alternate title of Castlevania Bloodlines Vampire Killer, identical at heart. The pick for purists."
"The Mega Drive port of Lemmings, DMA Design's puzzle-strategy classic. Inventive, demanding, timeless, still gripping today."
"A gorgeous Virgin Disney platformer with Mowgli in the jungle. Superb animation, immersive atmosphere, one of the prettiest platformers on the console."
"A Mega Drive port of Compile's Madou Monogatari, a cute RPG that gave birth to Puyo Puyo. Rare and confidential, lovely for Japanese fans."
"The Mega Drive port of Capcom's arcade Ghouls 'n Ghosts. Faithful, gorgeous for its time, and still featuring legendary, savourable difficulty."
"The full title of Flashback, identical to the base game. Pick either, the content and quality are the same as under the short name."
"The international English version of Thunder Force IV, identical at heart. A legendary Technosoft horizontal shooter, savour it in any version."
"The poetic journey of a dolphin across the oceans, with its hypnotic mood and demanding puzzles. A game apart, unforgettable on the Mega Drive."
"An excellent NCS turn-based strategy focused on heroic unit battles. Deep, pleasant, founder of a great Japanese series."
"The Mega Drive port of SNK's Samurai Shodown, a sword-fighting game. Lovely for fans, clearly cut down from Neo Geo, take with leniency."
"Sega's sublime Shining Force II, an exceptionally rich Japanese tactical RPG. Deep, narrative, one of the console's best tactical RPGs."
"A Koei simulation of a Venetian merchant in the Renaissance, with sea exploration and trade. Deep, slow and fascinating for genre fans."
"R.B.I. Baseball 4, the last iteration on Mega Drive. Still arcade and accessible, lovely for Tengen series nostalgics."
"The excellent Sega Vectorman, a platform-shooter with a robot hero. Gorgeous, varied, one of the prettiest late-life Mega Drive platformers."
"The excellent Technosoft Thunder Force III, a legendary horizontal shooter. Gorgeous, fluid, unforgettable soundtrack."
"The long Japanese title of Phantasy Star II, identical to the Western RPG. For collection or localisation."
"An NCS Wings of Wor vertical shooter with a fantasy atmosphere and a flying-by-hand hero. Original, little-known."
"An Acclaim adaptation of Rambo III, a fairly brutal side-scrolling action. Technically dated, fine for film fans."
"The SVP-chip Mega Drive port of Virtua Racing, an arcade 3D F1 racer. Pioneering real-time 3D on console."