How the Genesis did what Nintendidn’t from A to Z: “D”
So I’m a little late getting this one done. That’s why I warned everyone at the get-go that feature would be bi-weekly-ish…
To delay no further, welcome back to my feature where I examine how the Genesis kicked Nintendo’s plastic gray posterior from A to Z. Again, we’re looking specifically at games, features, and developers that were exclusive to the SEGA Genesis. This is of course inspired by SEGA’s famous “Genesis Does What Nintendon’t” ad campaign.
If you missed the last installment covering the letter “C,” you can check it out here. Now let’s get going and see where the magical letter “D” takes us.
Did you really think that I would completely miss Castle of Illusion in my last installment? Bah! Poppycock!
During the heyday of the console wars, in nearly every asinine comprehensive argument over whether the Genesis or the Super NES was the superior system, Disney’s Aladdin always came up. Regardless on which side of the fence you personally sit, both games had their own unique merits and certainly one would be better than the other depending on your own individual taste (for the record, Capcom’s Shinji Mikami actually prefers the Genesis game developed by Virgin). However, the fact remained that unless you owned both systems, you were committed to just one interpretation of Aladdin, and you missed out on the other.
Do you ever think about the many other great Disney games on the Genesis, though? Sure, there were the virtual carbon copies of The Lion King, Toy Story and The Jungle Book, which also appeared on the SNES, but what about the other titles that were Genesis exclusives? Well, Castle of Illusion, World of Illusion, Quackshot, and the often overlooked Gargoyles all help make up a pretty killer quintet of exclusives when added to Aladdin. Each of these games are well deserving of being on this list individually as the animation, art direction, and solid design of each makes them all enduring classics that even modern gamers can still enjoy. Though with the recent HD re-release of Castle of Illusion on Xbox 360, PS3, Wii U & PC, you can enjoy it anew, now with a prettier, high-def polish.
Doubtlessly, many of us (myself included) missed out on Gargoyles originally, which was a damn shame. Having been released so late in the life cycle of the SEGA Genesis (1995), it was simply swallowed up by all that damn 32x hype! I first got the chance to play it on an emulator, and the game captures the movements of the gargoyles extremely well and delivers a very dark, unique platforming experience on the Genesis. And now I’m about to start a whole new SEGA vs. Capcom controversy: which is better, Gargoyles on Genesis or Demon’s Crest on SNES? Ka-pow!!
Don’t get me wrong. Not every Disney game on the Genesis is a “diamond in the rough.” There are several others that range from just okay (Roar of the Beast) to straight up bad (Fantasia), so don’t blame me if you blindly buy anything and everything from the House of Mouse. But if you stick to the five I listed above (and of course, the other non-exclusive Virgin titles), you’re in for a good time.
“D” Honorable Mentions
Dinosaurs for Hire
Dick Tracy (Hey, that’s sort of a Disney game, too!)
Dynamite Headdy
Dragon’s Curse
Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine
Dashin’ Desperados
Desert Demolition
Before we check out, make sure to check out Graham’s review of Aladdin if you missed it, where you can contribute to the ongoing debate of whether the Genesis or SNES version is “better.” In two weeks (or so), I’ll look at the letter E. This one will be a little trickier… if you have guesses as to what I may cover, for any letter, give it your best shot in the comments! I can tell you right now though, it won’t be Ecco the Dolphin. Not because they weren’t great games, but because it’s too obvious. Here’s where we are so far:
From A to Z
Alisia Dragoon
Backwards Compatibility
Cases
Disney Games
E-???
G-???
H-???
I-???
J-???
K-???
L-???
M-???
N-???
O-???
P-???
Q-???
R-???
S-???
T-???
U-???
V-???
W-???
X-???
Y-???
Z-???
