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LTTP: Genesis Side Scrollers (That Aren't Sonic)

J

jeremy1456

Junior Member
Recently I've been playing a ton of side scrollers for the old Genesis, specifically not Sonic the Hedgehog titles.

Played through Rocket Knight Adventures. Loved the heck out of it - I have Sparkster sitting here for both Genesis and SNES but haven't tried it out yet. Which is the better version?

Then there's Ristar. I completed that the other day and I enjoyed it significantly more than I thought I would. Both RKA and Ristar are more enjoyable for me than all of the Sonic games combined.

I also played Dynamite Headdy and Gunstar Heroes in the past. I liked them both.

Anyone have any recommendations?
 
F

Foxix Von

Member
IIRC Sparkster is a different game on the SNES and Genesis. I think the general consensus was that the SNES version was better in that case but both aren't quite up to par with the original Rocket Knight which is awesome as hell.

If I'm remembering right this article has a list of some differences as well as a brief history of the series: http://hardcoregaming101.net/sparkster/sparkster.htm

<3 that site.
 
A

antitrop

Member
My personal favorite:

Comix_Zone_Coverart.png


And it scrolls to all sides!
 
V

ViewtifulJC

Banned
Comix Zone
Castle of Illusion
ToeJam and Earl 2(the original is great, but it's not a side scroller)
Shadow Dancer
Revenge of the Shinobi
Shinobi 3
Ranger X
Quackshot
Mega Turrican
Castlevania Bloodlines
Pulseman
Contra: Hard Corps
 
F

Foxix Von

Member
I also second Ranger X and X-MEN Clone Wars. Both games have a difficulty level that is absolutely blistering but both are really great games. Also both are relatively affordable.
 
E

Eric C

Member
jeremy1456 said:
Played through Rocket Knight Adventures. Loved the heck out of it - I have Sparkster sitting here for both Genesis and SNES but haven't tried it out yet. Which is the better version?
Click to expand...
You probably already know this but both versions of Sparkster are 2 different games, so since you have both you can and should play both.

But I'd say SNES version of Sparkster is the better game. The gameplay and controls seem to be a refinement to the Genesis Rocket Knight Adventures game.

For Genesis version of Sparkster, the controls and gameplay mechanics are changed compared to RKA, and SNES Sparkster.
 
B

Bam Chowder

Member
georaldc said:
I remember being blown away by this game in the audio/visual front. Didn't this have full voices during boss battles?
Click to expand...

Nice to hear that someone else enjoyed the masterpiece that is Boogerman haha. I know at least some of the bosses were voiced. If I heard "Get 'em, Bawk, get 'em!" again out of the first boss (Hickboy I think), it would surely trigger PTSD for my inner child. I always had trouble with that guy.
 
TheMan

TheMan

Member
lion king
aladdin
gargoyles

gargoyles in particular is a game that i feel gets overlooked quite a bit.
 
V

VashTS

Member
2370683-genesis_kidchameleon_large.jpg
Also:
strider-genesis.jpg


No mention??? really??!

Also the Xmen games are awesome, and I enjoyed Chakan even though it's really hard.
B.O.B.
Chuckrock
 
J

jeremy1456

Junior Member
VashTS said:
No mention??? really??!
Click to expand...

I forgot to mention that I played that one, and it was the single most vanilla side scrolling platform game I have ever played in my life. Even with all of the powers you get I can't help but feel this must be one of the most uninspired platformers of all time.
 
L

Lumpy Onion

Member
Another vote for Ranger X. At the time it was one of the most amazing sidescrollers I had ever played. Great visuals, and a very interesting control scheme. iirc you really had to be strategic about how you played and could not go in guns blazing. One of the genesis' best...that really should be on Wii VC.

Here is a great overview from HCG101...
http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/rangerx/rangerx.htm
 
R

Roto13

Member
vulva said:
X-Men: Clone Wars is a huge hidden gem
Click to expand...

Lately I've really wanted to play this again. But my copy of the game is so far away.
jeremy1456 said:
I forgot to mention that I played that one, and it was the single most vanilla side scrolling platform game I have ever played in my life. Even with all of the powers you get I can't help but feel this must be one of the most uninspired platformers of all time.
Click to expand...

Ha ha ha, right? It's actually impressive how bland that game is.
 
@

@MUWANdo

Banned
woodypop said:
Wow, this game looks like a pretty good one. Is it actually good?
Click to expand...

I remember it being quite difficult but yeah, it's okay. Has co-op, too. Made by Beam Software, the same dude who made Nightshade (NES), Shadowrun (SNES) and Super International Cricket (SNES), among others.
 
OfWhiteSkinOnRedLeather

OfWhiteSkinOnRedLeather

Member
Forsaken82 said:
This game reminds me of Cadash. I want to play that right now (on my TG16 :()
Click to expand...

I still haven't played Cadash. Probably should though.

woodypop said:
Wow, this game looks like a pretty good one. Is it actually good?
Click to expand...

It's awesome and probably one of my favorite Genesis games. It has three playable characters, a ton of secrets, gets pretty hard (or maybe that's cause I was a kid), and has an great soundtrack. Definitely worth playing.
 
H

HueyFreeman

Banned
Jburton said:
love that game!

Anyone remember the 3d sequel (kind of sequel)
Click to expand...

Sadly yes :( It was ill advised, and had none of the magic of the original. That was a terrible time in the industry where they'd take something in to the third dimension without any regard to whether or not they could or should.

I'd kill a man to get this HD-ized and onto PSN/XBLA.
 
F

Foxix Von

Member
Oh yeah Vectorman is pretty awesome as well. If you're into beat em ups Streets of Rage is AMAZING, and keep an eye out for Strider, as it's a classic. Castlevania Bloodlines is great and IMO the Valis games are also very underrated and also very difficult. I've only played Syd of Valis and I like it a lot, supposedly III is better though. Avoid the fantasm soldier though it's supposedly terribad.
 
S

Shadow Hog

Member
I always tend to post these offbeat ones every time this topic comes up, and I see no reason I should refrain from doing so this time, either (since the obvious ones are always covered by everyone else).

Rolo to the Rescue, wherein you play an elephant out to rescue his woodland friends (I know, "woodland elephant" doesn't make much sense, but still) from an evil circus that wants to enslave them all. Very difficult, very long, but quite enjoyable.

Asterix and the Great Rescue, a game based on the French comic series of the same name (well, sans "and the Great Rescue", but still). Really difficult, and you have to condition yourself to let the enemies walk into your punches instead of walking forward while punching. A lot of people hate this one, but I rather like it.

Goofy's Hysterical History Tour, wherein Disney's lovable klutz is a janitor at a museum and lets his imagination run a bit rampant, resulting in him doing the much-more-interesting-than-dusting-off-exhibits task of travelling through various time periods. Use his little extend-o-hand to grab onto, swing from or punch various things in the world, ride unicycles on the backs of dinosaurs, hop around the waters during the Boston Tea Party, climb up castle walls atop catapulted rocks, go west atop stagecoaches... I've seen some mediocre reviews of this one, but it's another one I have a soft spot for.

Animaniacs, wherein you solve various puzzles using unique abilities of each Warner Brother (and Sister) to steal valuable props from movie studios. Great title.

Garfield: Caught in the Act, which is basically Aladdin but with a Garfield skin. Rather short and easy, but I enjoyed my run through it. Will probably give you more entertainment value than the comic, although maybe not Garfield Minus Garfield, Square Root of Minus Garfield or the classic Garfield and Friends cartoon.
 
J

jeremy1456

Junior Member
Foxix said:
Oh yeah Vectorman is pretty awesome as well. If you're into beat em ups Streets of Rage is AMAZING, and keep an eye out for Strider, as it's a classic. Castlevania Bloodlines is great and IMO the Valis games are also very underrated and also very difficult. I've only played Syd of Valis and I like it a lot, supposedly III is better though. Avoid the fantasm soldier though it's supposedly terribad.
Click to expand...

I like beat 'em ups, but I was looking for more platforming games. I love the Streets of Rage series; except the first one which sucks balls.
 
J

jeremy1456

Junior Member
Foxix said:
Oh yeah Vectorman is pretty awesome as well. If you're into beat em ups Streets of Rage is AMAZING, and keep an eye out for Strider, as it's a classic. Castlevania Bloodlines is great and IMO the Valis games are also very underrated and also very difficult. I've only played Syd of Valis and I like it a lot, supposedly III is better though. Avoid the fantasm soldier though it's supposedly terribad.
Click to expand...

I played Vectorman and hated it. It's another seriously bland side scroller. I remember my friend got it because I kept talking about how great DKC2 on the SNES was, then we started playing it, and within minutes we were right back to DKC2.

Strider is on my list to play.

Castlevania Bloodlines I've played a bit, but never completed. Might as well give it another try because I liked it.

I've played Valis: The Fantasm Soldier and Syd of Valis. Was considering tracking down Valis III because I didn't completely hate the previous two.
 
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