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.
"The Japanese alternate title of Castlevania Bloodlines Vampire Killer, identical at heart. The pick for purists."
"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."
"A gorgeous Virgin Disney platformer with Mowgli in the jungle. Superb animation, immersive atmosphere, one of the prettiest platformers on the console."
"The international English version of Thunder Force IV, identical at heart. A legendary Technosoft horizontal shooter, savour it in any version."
"An excellent NCS turn-based strategy focused on heroic unit battles. Deep, pleasant, founder of a great Japanese series."
"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 poetic journey of a dolphin across the oceans, with its hypnotic mood and demanding puzzles. A game apart, unforgettable on the Mega Drive."
"An SSI RPG set in the Buck Rogers universe, built around space exploration and tactical combat. Very 90s in its interface, yet deep for genre fans."
"One of the very first console RTS games, by Technosoft, with mechs clashing in real time. Pioneering, demanding, still fascinating for genre fans."
"The excellent Sega Vectorman, a platform-shooter with a robot hero. Gorgeous, varied, one of the prettiest late-life Mega Drive platformers."
"The Mega Drive port of Super Hang-On, Sega's arcade motorcycle racer. Technically dated, lovely for the speed sensation and Sega nostalgia."
"A classic, demanding, well-paced Toaplan vertical shooter, harder than Twin Cobra. The pick for fans of the legendary Japanese shmup studio."
"A wild EA parody of American football with mutants, monstrous teams and zany rules. Hilarious, original, truly successful in local multiplayer."
"A solid adaptation of the BattleTech wargame, focused on tactical mech combat. Slow and demanding, mainly destined for fans of the original board game."
"An Acclaim adaptation of Rambo III, a fairly brutal side-scrolling action. Technically dated, fine for film fans."
"NHLPA Hockey 93, one of the very first great EA hockey games. Technically dated today, but founder of the NHL dynasty on Mega Drive."
"The sublime Phantasy Star II by Sega, an ambitious sequel in a sci-fi universe. Tough, immersive, a console JRPG benchmark still worth playing."
"The Japanese version of Phantasy Star III, identical to the Western RPG. The pick for purists wanting the Japanese origin."
"The Mega Drive port of Super Monaco GP, Sega's arcade F1 racer. Technically dated, founder of the series, lovely for retro F1 fans."