Name - Sega Mega Drive
Alternative name(s) - Sega Genesis

Honestly, this was my first Sega system. The Mark-III/Master System didn't get much attention just because there wasn't much advertising outside of Japan, though it did fine in the land of the rising sun. Well, in 1988, three years after the Mark-III, that land of the rising sun brought out the Mega Drive or for many of you, the Genesis. If I remember correctly, it reached America a year after.

As much as I hate to say it, the Mega Drive was not as popular as the Super Famicom in either Japan or America. One reason is the reason that haunted the company and SNK a lot: lack of advertising outside of Japan. Even if Sega did advertise a bit better at the time (since Sonic had his own toys back in the old days), it wasn't enough. The second reason and probably a reason many people will mention so often is the library. While the Super Famicom had role playing games, memorable Famicom sequels, and a more diverse library overall, the Mega Drive had only action games to hold the system up for the most part. The third reason is that the Super Famicom got more support from other companies than the Mega Drive, although I thought the Mega Drive did well despite of that. Finally, there's that one reason I love mentioning the most and that's the American branch. Nintendo had the better American branch overall, the sales, and to this day, the company has ownership of baseball's Seattle Mariners! (I'm sure you know that and the other news relating to the Mariners by now.) Sega had the American branch do wrong tasks like altering the outfit colors of "Bare Knuckle III" and especially ditching their systems too early like the Mega Drive.

Man! I wanted to be hired by Sega of America! If I was hired by Sega of America, the first item I would want is a Japanese translator. With one, I would definitely know what's going on in the land of the rising sun and transfer interests elsewhere. Plus, I would have brought "Bare Knuckle IV" to the Dreamcast, if I assume Koshiro Yuzo-san is not that fluent in English. (Not all Japanese know English you know, even though it is a school requirement in the country.) I can think of so many possibilities here, but I won't go on further.

So, after all of these years, did Sega or Nintendo provide me more fun? That depends on which period is being discussed. Before 1990, Nintendo wins here hands down because of advertising and the Famicom was and still is a fun system after all as well as the fact the Mega Drive barely got started. The moment 1998 was over, I'd say that both companies provided me fun. (The Super Famicom was done releasing games in 1998, which is why I picked 1998 as a period.) Before New Years Day of 2000, Sega wins here hands down because of the amount of fun I got from the Saturn and the Dreamcast, while I was only able to have fun with the Game Boy Color. Now these days, Sega's dead and Nintendo only has the Game Boy Advance that is worth my while.

Of all of the home systems that were not really popular back then, this was my favorite. Now that I think about it, I never did play on the others that much as a kid nor do I remember my experiences that well. Anyway, let's go to the scores.

Fun - 10

Sega does not have an A for advertising, but that doesn't mean that the system is not fun. In fact, the system gets an A+ in fun. As I always say, "It is better to have a game or system that provides a lot of fun than a game or system that brings out a lot of advertising or a game that is popular for the most part." I can say so many examples that follow this quote and the Mega Drive is one that jumps into my mind quickly.

Sure, we mostly think of Sonic when we think about Sega and not many other characters come to mind. Sure, outside of "Phantasy Star", there were not many other role playing games. Sure, the library isn't as diverse as some would want it. Still, what matters is that I got fun out of this system. The "Sonic" games, the "Bare Knuckle" games, "Gunstar Heroes", "Aero Blasters", yeah, I sure had a lot of fun on this good old Sega system.

Of course, the Japanese had their fair share of games that stayed in Japan. I won't get into that. I have done this sort of gig so many times already.

Life - 10

I still wish my Mega Drive is alive. That's for sure. Let's carry on and not mourn over the death of my Mega Drive.

Equipment - 10

I would have given a nine here, but there's one reason why I gave it a perfect and that's because of the 6 button controller. Although not many games needed the six buttons, it helped me a lot when I was playing a "Street Fighter II" game. Unlike the Super Famicom, I got the layout I wanted with this controller because if I was going to play a "Street Fighter II" game on a Super Famicom now, I would have to have the Justice Gakuen layout with the shoulder buttons as my medium attacks.

Anyway, the equipment is a bit durable. I like the slick design of the system. I actually like the controller because unlike the Super Famicom's, the Mega Drive lets you go in 8 directions! You can pull a Shoryuken more smoothly here than in the Super Famicom.

If you have your Mega Drive still, treasure it! No one wants to have an old memory broken down. I wish mine is still alive.

Audio - 9

Like its Nintendo counterpart, the audio was fine here for the most part. Both share the same strengths. Both also share the same flaws.

Art - 10

In some cases, the games here looked better. In others, the Super Famicom had better looking ones. What matters is that both systems had games that looked good.

Overall - 10

Arigat gozaimasu Sega! You sure gave me a lot of fun with this system. Really.

+

Style, being able to go in eight directions, the amount of fun seen here, I did enjoy this system.

-

The lack of diversity in the library, the usual gaming problem of having some bad games being released, the fact that six button controls were not included with the system as you bought it, Sega of America, this system had its fair share of problems.

Date of creation - 7/23/03

Last update - 8/11/04

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