Oh.  The Sega Genesis.  I still remember the Christmas that I got my Genesis.  I couldn’t put down the controller.  I was obsessed with the speedy Sonic.  And now for the top ten decided by you guys/gals.

4.  Road Rash

Released in 1991, Road Rash changed the normal bike racing game and added a new twist.  Beating the crap out of each other with various objects.  The object of the game is to place 3rd or higher to advance to the next race.  As the player advances the opponents get harder to beat and the tracks get harder and longer.  As you race you get a set money value based on where you placed.  The game ends when you cannot pay for the repairs on the bike.  Road Rashed spawned a multitude of games in the series that finally ended in 1999.

I think this game would be awesome on the current generation gaming systems (EA are you listening?).

Oh.  The Sega Genesis.  I still remember the Christmas that I got my Genesis.  I couldn’t put down the controller.  I was obsessed with the speedy Sonic.  And now for the top ten decided by you guys/gals.

5.  Golden Axe

Golden Axe was released in December of 1989 and was a side-scrolling hack-and-slash RPG.  Player was aided by magic that was limited to a magic meter that could be refilled with magic potions.  The player could choose from 3 characters (Ax, Gilius and Tyris).  Each of these warriors had their own strengths and weaknesses.  You could choose from either story mode and dual mode.  The story mode is self explanatory but the dual mode allows one player to face off in different stages of increasingly hard enemies or for two players to go head to head against each other.

I actually have never played this game but I hear that it was a very good game.  Maybe I will try it out as it has been released for the Virtual Console.

Oh.  The Sega Genesis.  I still remember the Christmas that I got my Genesis.  I couldn’t put down the controller.  I was obsessed with the speedy Sonic.  And now for the top ten decided by you guys/gals.

6.  NHL 95

NHL 95 was developed by EA Canada and was released in June of 1995.  For the first time in the series an entire season would be played along with the creation of your own player.  A few other features were added including the drop pass and the laying down on the ice to block shots.  The EA NHL series has always been the go to game for console gaming.  They simply are the best in hockey games.

For adding the ability to play an entire season and letting me create a player under my name to let me live out the dream of playing with Sakic and Gretzky (even if it was just in my basement), NHL 95 gets the best NHL game of the 16 bit era and number six on this list.

Oh.  The Sega Genesis.  I still remember the Christmas that I got my Genesis.  I couldn’t put down the controller.  I was obsessed with the speedy Sonic.  And now for the top ten decided by you guys/gals.

7.  Vectorman

Released in 1995, Vectorman was completely rendered in 3D models even though it played like a side-scrolling platformer/shooter.  Think of Metroid but as a robot (orbot) made of balls.  Vectorman could transform into: a drill, a bomb and an aquatic from.  His guns were also upgradable.  All of these upgrades were found in TV like boxes hanging that Vectorman had to shoot multiple times to break open.  Vectorman was said to be Sega’s answer for Donkey Kong Country.  It certainly did have that smooth running feeling to it.  This game is considered to be one of the highest ranked Sega games every.  Vectorman did give way to a sequel in Vectorman 2.

There is not really much else to say about this game other than it was fast and adictive to play.

Oh.  The Sega Genesis.  I still remember the Christmas that I got my Genesis.  I couldn’t put down the controller.  I was obsessed with the speedy Sonic.  And now for the top ten decided by you guys/gals.

8.  Mortal Kombat

Mortal Combat was released in 1992 for a multitude of systems and was a direct response to Street Fighter II.  The d-pad was used to move the character and the user had five basic moves (high kick, low kick, high punch, low punch and block).  Beyond these basic moves were a set of special moves for each character the user decided to fight with.  These special moves were pulled off by completing a series of button presses.  When the opponent’s health meter is reduced to zero the player had the option to do a finishing move.  These finishing moves were completed by the same method as the special moves accept were more complicated and were very graphic (like ripping out the opponent’s spine).  Playable characters included: Johnny Cage, Kano, Liu Kang, Raiden, Scorpion, Sonya Blade and Sub-Zero.

Mortal Combat was such an awesome game.  Lots of blood and gore.  My friends and I would play this game for hours on end trying to figure out all the finishing moves.

For all the blood and being a great alternative to Street Fighter, Mortal Combat gets number 8 on our list.

Oh.  The Sega Genesis.  I still remember the Christmas that I got my Genesis.  I couldn’t put down the controller.  I was obsessed with the speedy Sonic.  And now for the top ten decided by you guys/gals.

9. Sonic the Hedgehog 3

Sonic 3 was the direct sequel (in story) to Sonic 2 but followed the release of Sonic & Knuckles.  It was released in February of 1994.  The game engine was based on the Sonic 2 engine but was modified to be faster.  The player could be either Sonic or Tails or have both on the field but the leader had to be Sonic.

As in other Sonic game the player could enter a special stage if they had more than 50 rings when getting to a check point.  The point of the special stages were to get more rings and if you were good enough a chaos emerald.  Once you collected 7 chaos emeralds Sonic was given the ability to turn into Super Sonic, which could be activated when Sonic had more than 50 rings.

Sonic 3 was a great game but not different enough from Sonic 2 to warrant the buy.

Oh.  The Sega Genesis.  I still remember the Christmas that I got my Genesis.  I couldn’t put down the controller.  I was obsessed with the speedy Sonic.  And now for the top ten decided by you guys/gals.

10.  Madden

This game was suggested by enough people to make the list.  Unfortunately, they did not mention which one.  That hardly matters as Madden games (same goes with NHL games) do not change much in a system’s life cycle.  There are usually a few updates in AI or graphics or game play modes.

Madden started off as John Madden Football in 1990 on the SNES and Genesis.  The title of the game changed to Madden NFL in 1994 when the teams in the game became licensed and players could now play as their favorite NFL team.  As with every Madden game, each year brought roster changes and what ever game play/graphical change the EA design team decided to add that year.  The last Madden game on the Genesis was Madden NFL ‘98.

Things added through the years include: instant replay, weather conditions, 2 player co-op, QB injuries, NFL team licenses, AI boosting (better AI) and stat tracking in game and throughout season.

For being that dependable NFL game that simulated NFL football the best any football game could, this game deserves being number ten on the list.

Here it is.  Super Nintendo’s top game.  Guess what.  It had “super” in the title.

1.  Super Mario World

That’s right.  How could Super Mario World not be number one on the top SNES games list.  Super Mario World was release in August of 1991 and has become the best selling SNES game at 30 million copies.  Mario is, once again, out to save Princess Toadstool from Bowser.  This game is basically an update of Super Mario 3.  It a side-scrolling platformer.  There are a few upgrades to the Mario formula in this game that include: being able to hold an extra item at the top of the screen that will drop to help you when you get hit; mid level continue points; a few different power-ups (most notably the cape or feather that replaces the racoon suit from Mario 3); and the addition of Yoshi.  Yoshi was your dinosaur friend that you found along the way in some levels.  The player rode Yoshi and then had the ability to eat some enemies and spit their shells back out (fire if it was a red shell).  While riding Yoshi, Mario was invincible but when hit riding Yoshi he would be knocked off and the player would have to scramble  to get back on Yoshi so they were invincible again.

This was probaby the SNES game I played the most.  Although I did not finish it until a few years back when I beat it on an enumlator on my computer.  This game was so awesome.  It is my third favorite Mario game and that is saying alot with Mario 3 and Mario Galaxy just ahead of it.  How many game series have that many great games in it.  Nintendo just knows how to make a first party game and no one does platforming better.

So congrats Mario.  You have done it again.

Here we are again.  Top ten time.  This time it is the Super Nintendo (SNES).  Brings back memories.  Defeating Bowser yet again.  All your favorite NES games updated with the word “super” in front of them.

2.  Killer Instinct

Killer Instinct was first released in the arcade in 1994.  It was released on the SNES in August of 1995.  Killer Instinct was a 2D fighting game like most other fighting games with one big difference.  This game had combos.  You may say that wasn’t unique but you could keep the combo going and have one long combo that would never allow your opponent to get a shot in.  The opponent could break the combo by entering a combo breaker into the keypad.

There is not else to say about this game other than it was super fast.  Animations were fluid and it used the 3D rendering system from Donkey Kong Country.

This game was awesome.  My friends and I would play this game for the longest stretches.  We would see how long of combos we could produce.

Here we are again.  Top ten time.  This time it is the Super Nintendo (SNES).  Brings back memories.  Defeating Bowser yet again.  All your favorite NES games updated with the word “super” in front of them.

3.  The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

Link to the Past was released in April of 1992.  It shared the top-down perspective that the original Zelda had but added things like multi-layer dungeons and new equipment.  Link was given more control as he could move diagonally.  Many things that are the rule in Zelda games today were introduced in Link to the Past.  Some of these items include; the master sword, ocarina, Hookshot, and Pegasus Boots.  Heart containers were split into 4 sections.  This game also introduced to the series the dual worlds that Link must navigate.

Game Trailers has a really great retrospective on the Zelda series.  Also this game can be bought on the DS or Virtual Console for the Wii.  If you at all are interested in the Zelda series, I suggest you check out this game.