Sega Genesis

Sega Genesis / Mega Drive

Top: Sega Genesis model 2 Bottom: Original Japanese Mega Drive
Manufacturer	Sega
Type	Video game console
Generation	Fourth generation
Release date(s)	JP October 29, 1988 NA August 14, 1989
Discontinued	JP 1995 NA 1997
Units sold	Estimated from 37.3 to over 40.9 million
Media	ROM cartridge
CPU	Motorola 68000 and Zilog Z80
Online services	Sega Meganet, Sega Channel, XBAND
Best-selling game	Sonic the Hedgehog (pack-in), 15 million Disney's Aladdin, 4 million
Predecessor	Sega Master System
Successor	Sega Saturn

The Sega Genesis is a fourth-generation video game console developed and produced by Sega. It was originally released in Japan in 1988 as Mega Drive (メガドライブ Mega Doraibu?), then in North America in 1989 as Sega Genesis, and in Europe, Australia and other PAL regions in 1990 as Mega Drive. The reason for the two names is that Sega was unable to secure legal rights to the Mega Drive name in North America. The Sega Genesis is Sega's third console and the successor to the Sega Master System with which it has backwards compatibility (with the Sega Power Base Converter).

The Sega Genesis was the first of its generation to achieve notable market share in Europe and North America. The Sega Genesis was launched to compete with the Nintendo Entertainment System and NEC's PC-Engine/TurboGrafx-16. Two years later, Nintendo released the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, and the competition between the two would dominate the 16-bit era of video gaming. While technically inferior to the newer SNES, the Sega Genesis enjoyed significant 3rd party support, in large part because it did not censor games as severely as the SNES, using a rating system instead. The rating system allowed for accurate arcade ports and controversial games to thrive on the console, and proved so successful that Nintendo adopted the rating system, leading to the ESRB.

The Sega Genesis is well known for its wide variety of variations and addons. Two add-ons, the Sega CD and Sega 32X, were even designed to extend the capabilities of the console to compete with 32-bit consoles. These briefly supported add-ons and variations made developers weary of the Sega brand, which lead many of them to embrace competitor consoles in the fifth-generation. This legacy would continue to plague Sega even into the sixth-generation, and was partially responsible for the fall of Sega as a hardware developer.

The console and its games continue to be popular among fans, collectors, retro gamers, emulation enthusiasts and the fan translation scene. Licensed 3rd party variations of the console are still being produced to this day, and there are also several indie game developers continuing to produce games for the console. Many games have been re-released in compilations for newer consoles or offered for download on various online services.

The Sega Genesis began production in Japan in 1988 and ended with the last new licensed game being released in 2002 in Brazil, making it one of the longest supported consoles of all time. The Genesis was also Sega's most successful console; though Sega has never released a total sales figure quote, sales estimates in the past have ranged from as low as 29 million to over 40.8 million. It was succeeded in 1994 with the release of the Sega Saturn.

Virtual Console Compatibility List (Sega Genesis/Megadrive)

Help to complete the list!

• If a game is missing or information is incomplete, feel free to modify this page. Just click on edit at the top of the page. Please put in alphabetical order!
• If you want to update a game's rating, click the icon to the right of the rating stars, and put just a number of 1 through 5 into the page. Use the compatibility guide below as a reference for what rating to use.
• If there are problems with a game, go to the page for that game and write down the problem!

Compatibility	Description
	Perfect: No issues at all!
	Playable: Runs well, only minor graphical or audio glitches. Games can be played all the way through
	Starts: Starts, maybe even plays well, but crashes or major graphical/audio glitches
	Intro/Menu: Hangs/crashes somewhere between booting and starting
	Broken: Crashes when booting
	Unknown: Has not been tested yet

Region indicator	Region description
AU	Australia
CA	Canada (NTSC /w French translation)
EU	Europe, PAL/SECAM territories
JP	Japan and Asia (NTSC-J)
KO	Korea
NA	North America and NTSC territories
RU	Russia

Title	Year	Genre	Region	Compatibility
Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle aka Alex Kidd: Tenkū Majou	2007		JP/NA/EU	4
Alien Soldier	2007		JP/NA/EU	5
Alien Storm	2007		JP/NA/EU	0
Altered Beast aka Jūōki	2006		JP/NA/EU	Template:Ratings/Altered Beast
Bahamut Senki	2007		JP/NA/EU	0
Beyond Oasis	2007		NA	4
Bio-Hazard Battle aka Crying	2007		JP/NA/EU	4
Bonanza Bros.	2007		JP/NA/EU	5
Boogerman: A Pick and Flick Adventure	2008		NA/EU	0
Chelnov	2007		JP	0
ClayFighter	2009		NA/EU	5
Columns	2006		JP/NA/EU	5
Columns III: Revenge of Columns	2008		JP/NA/EU	5
Comix Zone	2007		JP/NA/EU	5
Crack Down	2007		JP/EU	0
Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine	2006		NA/EU	5
Dragon Slayer: Eiyū Densetsu	2009		JP	Template:Ratings/Dragon Slayer: Eiyū Densetsu
Dragon Slayer: Eiyū Densetsu II	2009		JP	0
Dyna Brothers	2007		JP	0
Dyna Brothers 2 Special	2007		JP	0
Dynamite Headdy	2007		JP/NA/EU	5
Earthworm Jim	2008		JP/NA/EU	5
Earthworm Jim 2	2009		JP/NA/EU	5
Ecco Jr.	2007		JP/NA/EU	5
Ecco the Dolphin	2006		JP/NA/EU	0
Ecco: The Tides of Time aka Ecco the Dolphin 2	2007		JP/NA/EU	0
ESWAT: City Under Siege	2007		JP/EU	0
Eternal Champions	2007		JP/NA/EU	4
Forgotten Worlds	2008		JP/NA/EU	0
Gain Ground	2007		JP/NA/EU	0
Galaxy Force II	2009		JP/NA/EU	0
Ghouls'n Ghosts aka Dai Makaimura	2007		JP/NA/EU	4
Gley Lancer	2008		JP/NA/EU	0
Golden Axe	2006	Arcade	JP/NA/EU	Template:Ratings/Golden Axe
Golden Axe II	2007		JP/NA/EU	0
Golden Axe III	2007		JP/NA/EU	0
Gunstar Heroes	2006		JP/NA/EU	4
Gynoug	2008		JP	0
Hokuto no Ken: Shin Seikimatsu Kyūseishu Densetsu	2008		JP	0
Ichi Tanto-R	2007		JP	Template:Ratings/Ichi Tanto-R
Jūsō Kihei Leynos	2007		JP	Template:Ratings/Jūsō Kihei Leynos
Kid Chameleon aka Chameleon Kid	2007		NA/EU	0
Landstalker: The Treasures of King Nole aka Landstalker: Koutei no Zaihou	2007		JP/NA/EU	0
Langrisser	2007		JP	0
Langrisser II	2007		JP	0
Light Crusader	2007		JP/NA/EU	0
Lord Monarch: Tokoton Sentou Densetsu	2008		JP	0
M.U.S.H.A. aka Musha Aleste: Full Metal Fighter Ellinor	2009		JP/NA/EU	0
Mega Turrican	2007		NA/EU	0
Mercs aka Senjou no Ōkami II	2008		JP/NA	0
Monster World IV	2012		JP/NA/EU	5
Pepenga Pengo	2009		JP	5
Party Quiz Mega Q	2009		JP	0
Phantasy Star II	2008		JP/NA/EU	0
Phantasy Star III: Generations of Doom aka Toki no Keishousha: Phantasy Star III	2008		JP/NA/EU	0
Phantasy Star IV: The End of the Millennium aka Phantasy Star: Sennenki no Owari ni	2008		JP/NA/EU	0
Phelios	2008		JP	Template:Ratings/Phelios
Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure	2009		JP/NA/EU	5
Powerball aka Wrestleball	2008		JP/NA	5
Pulseman	2009		JP/NA/EU	5
Puyo Puyo	2006		JP	Template:Ratings/Puyo Puyo
Puyo Puyo 2 aka Puyo Puyo Tsū	2007		JP/NA/EU	5
Puzzle & Action: Tanto-R	2007		JP	0
Rent-A-Hero	2006		JP	0
Revenge of Shinobi, The aka The Super Shinobi	2009		JP/NA	5
Ristar aka Ristar the Shooting Star	2006		JP/NA/EU	0
Rolling Thunder 2	2007		JP/NA/EU	0
Shadow Dancer: The Secret of Shinobi	2006		JP/NA/EU	0
Shanghai II: Dragon's Eye	2010		NA/EU	5
Shining Force aka Shining Force: Kamigami no Isan	2007		JP/NA/EU	0
Shining Force II: Ancient Sealing aka Shining Force II: Inishie no Fūin	2008		JP/NA/EU	0
Shining in the Darkness aka Shining and the Darkness	2007		JP/NA/EU	0
Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master aka The Super Shinobi II	2007		JP/NA/EU	0
Sonic & Knuckles	2009	Platformer	JP/NA/EU	4
Sonic 3D Blast aka Sonic 3D: Flickies' Island	2007	Platformer Isometric	JP/NA/EU	4
Sonic the Hedgehog	2006	Platformer	JP/NA/EU	5
Sonic the Hedgehog 2	2007	Platformer	JP/NA/EU	Template:Ratings/Sonic the Hedgehog 2
Sonic the Hedgehog 3	2007	Platformer	JP/NA/EU	4
Sonic Spinball	2007	Pinball	JP/NA/EU	4
Sorcerian	2008		JP	0
Space Harrier II	2006		JP/NA/EU	0
Splatterhouse 2	2008		JP/NA/EU	0
Street Fighter II: Special Champion Edition aka Street Fighter II Dash Plus: Champion Edition	2008		JP/NA/EU	Template:Ratings/Street Fighter II: Special Champion Edition
Streets of Rage aka Bare Knuckle: Ikari no Tekken	2007		JP/NA/EU	0
Streets of Rage 2 aka Bare Knuckle II: Shitou he no Chinkon Uta	2007		JP/NA/EU	0
Streets of Rage 3 aka Bare Knuckle III: Tekken Seiten	2007		JP/NA/EU	0
Strider aka Strider Hiryū	2011		JP/NA/EU	0
Super Fantasy Zone	2008		NA/EU	0
Super Street Fighter II: The New Challengers	2012		JP/NA/EU	Template:Ratings/Super Street Fighter II: The New Challengers
Super Thunder Blade	2007		JP/NA/EU	0
Sword of Vermilion aka Vermilion	2007		JP/NA/EU	0
ToeJam & Earl	2006		JP/NA/EU	0
ToeJam & Earl in Panic on Funkotron	2007		NA/EU	0
Vectorman	2007		JP/NA/EU	4
Virtua Fighter 2	2007		JP/NA/EU	5
Wonder Boy III: Monster Lair	2009		JP/NA/EU	4
Wonder Boy in Monster World aka Wonder Boy V: Monster World III	2007		JP/NA/EU	4

See also

• Gamecube
• Wii
• WiiWare
• Wii Channels
• Virtual Console