The Sega Mega Drive Turns 30 Today

My first console (not handheld). And I made my parents buy it for me for my 12th Birthday, which occurred in 1994, so late in the system's life. But I love it, I knew it since I first played it at my cousins house, and never regretted it.

I got the Sega Mega Drive 2 bundled with Sonic 2 one Christmas. Enjoyed some great games including Mickey Mania, Micro Machines 96 with track editor, point and click Cosmic Space Head, Toejam and Earl and many more. Looking forward to the mini console. I hope it will include Mortal Kombat 1 and 2.

3 decades? What has it done lately? (/s) Happy Birthday you beautiful console you.

My Megadrive memories (in no order)

1) Importing Warsong and loving it (fave game on Megadrive tbh)
2) Mercs original mode! (Why do games not do this anymore?)
3) Altered Beast was naff
4) Madden got me in to American Football!
5) Infact...EA were bloody ace on the system.
6) Was my system after the C64 so nice to hear Rob Hubbard work.
7) Chelnov - Awesome game. (The reason why I'm not interested in endless runners.)
8) The Yamaha sound chip. (see Mercs, Warsong and Rob Hubbard's EA stuff)
9) The disappointment it didn't have sprite scaling to recreate their arcade games (Yep, gamers were unreasonable back in the day too!)
10) Looking at G 'n' G on the MD, looking at Super G 'n'G on the SNES, looking back at G 'n' G on the MD...buying a SNES!

Edit: Oh, and reading Mean Machines, C&VG and EGM (if the news agent remembered to import it lol)

Loved that console, but I started on a Master System II, and the Saturn got killed because Sony bought out all the good game developers. It was more powerful than the Playstation, but if you don't have the games to back it up.....

It would've been turning 25, but man, that Blast Processing is fast!

I can still remember the day I bought it, what a magical console it was. I was with my mum in Dixons and went for the Megadrive that came bundled with Sonic and Green Dog. I hated Green Dog though, fortunately Dixons allowed me to swap it for Chuck Rock. That was a great Xmas as my uncle got me a few games too. If I remember correctly, they were Afterburner, Revenge of Shinobi and Olympic Gold.

@Bunkerneath More powerful I don't know, but that statement was true with Dreamcast against PlayStation 2. Didn't matter: all the marketing made PS2 easily defeat the competition, even when Xbox and Gamecube were arguably more powerful (OK, in Dreamcast's case it was a tie probably).

My first console (my parents bought a used copy with tons of games on it for me and my brother in the early 90’s). So many cool games: Aladdin, Sonic, Shinobi, Global Gladiators, Golden Axe, Streets of Rage... Childhood memories at its best!

Edit: I even remember the smell of the plastic cartridge cases.

Out run and streets of rage. Good times

I got a mega drive late in its life, when it came with a pack-in cartridge containing golden axe, streets of rage, etc... Still it was Gunstar Heroes which kicked the most ass, and I got a soccer game which even had replays.

Free for the next 24 hours my 25th anniversary Megadrive celebration album Blast Processing XXV. Hit this link and enjoy.

I loved my Mega Drive. I remember the day I bought it like it was yesterday. The year was 1991. I saved up my paper-round money for weeks; I was on £20 a week for 4 rounds. The day finally came - I had £150 of my had earned at the ready. Off to Woolworths me and my mate went. I was buying the bundle that came with 2 controllers (remember those days), Sonic the Hedgehog, Mega Games 1 (World Cup Italia 90, Columns & Super Hang-on) and a carry case. By fortune, my mate had a £5 off voucher for Woolworths. So with my newly purchased Mega Drive in hand, we first called off at MaccyD's where I treat us both to an extra value meal with the remaining £5 I now had. Meal consumed, it was straight back to my house where hours were then lost to 2 player World Cup Italia 90 matches. With the arrival of my Mega Drive, it saddens me now to admit that my much loved NES became a disregarded casualty that had a brief resurgence when I got Micro Machines for Christmas of that year. My Mega Drive eventually gave up the ghost in 2003 where unceremoniously it was off-loaded at the nearest house-hold recycling centre. May it RIP! Many, many good times were certainly had with an awesome piece of hardware. Off note, my personal top 5 Mega Drive games (in no particular order) would be: Sonic 2, Dynamite Heddy, Red Zone, Flashback and Toejam & Earl (loved it in 2 player, although fall-outs would always ensue due to life stealing).

Happy Birthday.

@Damo Cannot wait for Langrisser.

Not my first game device but my first home console. A beautiful machine that I still play regularly. I love my PCE too, but as good as those games are they don’t have the experimental personality found in Genesis games. Sadly, my childhood VA6 Genesis started dying on me this last week. I’ve put away what’s left of it Looking forward to the Mega SG for something accurate and reliable. Undecided if I will wait till then to resume my Genesis gaming

The Genesis was a good console for Sega exclusives. If a game was available on SNES also though, you're better off getting the SNES copy nearly 100% of the time.
That being said, I'll always love Sonic 1, Gunstar Heroes, Castlevania Bloodlines, Super Hangon, the Golden Axe trilogy, and the Streets of Rage trilogy(way better than Final Fight, yeah I said it.)

I had one late on in the consoles life which was bundled with a Mega CD- what a waste of plastic that thing was. Although I enjoyed some things on it, it really doesn't hold up like the SNES did.

I went from Sinclair spectrum to mega drive and I nearly collapsed when i booted up my 1st game, sonic. The colours, sounds and all over improvement over anything id played at home blew me away. Ridge racer on ps was the only other game that stepped things up so much. Now all current gen graphics are easily good enough, especially for us old timers

Ah the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive, one of Sega's most popular console in its lifespan to have multiple versions of its system. These are all Sega branded Genesis/Mega Drive compatible hardware Sega had made or involve in over the year since the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive launch up til 2019:

1. Sega Genesis/Mega Drive Model 1: High Definition Graphic version (support RGB video output)
2. Sega Genesis/Mega Drive Model 1: Non-High Definition Graphic version (lack RGB video output)
3. Sega Genesis/Mega Drive Model 2
4. Sega Genesis Model 3 (was only released in NA by Majesco)
5. Sega MegaJet (released only in Japan)
6. Sega Nomad (released only in NA)
7. Sega 32X (Perhaps the only hardware Sega ever made that is backwards compatible with the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive library)
8. Sega CDX
9. TeraDrive
10. JVC Wondermega
11. JVC Wondermega 2
12. Amstrad Mega PC
13. Pioneer LaserActive (Sega provide a Genesis/Mega Drive and Sega CD module for the device)
14. Aiwa CSD-GM1 (a Sega Genesis boombox)
15. AtGames Sega Genesis Classic Game Console
16. AtGames Sega Genesis Portable (the first license Sega Genesis handheld with SD Card support)
17. AtGames Sega Genesis Flashback HD
18. AtGames Genmobile Handheld (the first license Sega Genesis handheld with a cartridge slot)
19. Sega Genesis/Mega Drive Mini (this is a plug and play only version of the Sega Genesis that Sega will launch sometime in 2019 which will come with over 30 built-in games from some of its popular titles in the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive library. It will be Sega's first plug and play device to be made without the involvement of either AtGames or TecToy).
20. Sega Mega Drive Model 4 (this one was only released in Brazil by TecToy and came with 22 games built-in through Composite output. It had the same compatibility as the NA Model 3 Sega Genesis in that it works with most Sega Genesis/Mega Drive titles but can't run Virtua Racing and is not compatible with the Power Base Converter, Sega CD, and 32X add-ons).
21. Sega Mega Tech Arcade (Arcade cabinet that features various Sega Genesis/Mega Drive titles for commercial entertainment. These are only found in Asia and Japan only)
22. Sega Mega Play Arcade (Arcade cabinet that feature 12 Sega Genesis/Mega Drive titles for commercial entertainment. These are only found in Asia and Japan only).

nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo god I feel so old now
.I had already left home and bought it myself groan.

Good memories with friends on Street Fighter 2. EA Madden, NHL were great. Mortal Kombat 3, Earthworm Jim. Really loved Shining Force and Shining Force 2. Both epic games.

Such an awesome console! Being like 1 month older than the console, I didn't get round to playing on the Mega Drive until 1995/1996. I did own a Model 1 and the games I had were pretty good, playing on a good old CRT. I may have been late, but it meant I got to play the good later releases (the early releases were more arcade ports).

Games I do remember playing:

** Comix Zone
** Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine
** Sonic 1, 2, 3
** Sonic & Knuckles (lock-on technology was awesome)
** Quackshot starting Donald Duck
** Sonic 3D: Flickies' Island
** Micro Machines 2 (4 player due to using 2 controller ports on the cartridge)
** Zombies Ate My Neighbors
** Castlevania staring Mickey Mouse
** TMNT: Hyperstone Heist

Sorry SNES, but the Mega Drive will always be number 1 to me.

One of my babysitters growing up had a Sega Genesis. Many an hour did I spend in front of that thing! They didn't have some of the more popular games, but the system was my first introduction to Paperboy (which I'm still terrible at). Other games that I recall playing (and likewise failing at) were Aladdin, The Lion King, Jurassic Park, and some racing game that I still can't recall the name of.

Absolutely love this console. It was a weird machine in a lot of respects, but it was my entry into the 16-bit era, and gave me a lot of fond memories. Sonic. Ecco. Gunstar Heroes.

Looking forward to the Analogue Mega SG to breathe new life into all those old cartridges next year.

Sonic, Ecco, Toejam, Quackshot, Aladdin, Dynamite Headdy, good times. Not close to the SNES library but some darned great, memorable games. Due to Sonic and Toejam it probably got almost as much playtime as my SNES! I even have the light gun nightmare (which was admittedly better than Nintendo's offering.)

@RadioShadow Man, Micro Machines. Good call mate.

My very first Game Console, Happy Birthday Sega Genesis!

I don't recall having headphone volume control on my Genesis....
now that i think of it, I don't remember a headphone jack at all ???

I guess there was a lot of changes between the Mega Drive and the Genesis in the west, curious

@jhewitt3476 as far as I'm aware, all first-model Mega Drive and Genesis systems had the jack. Mine had it and I used it to connect a pair of speakers that sounded great to me in the early 1990s. Certainly an upgrade over the TV's sound. They removed it when they switched to the second model, but that one did gain stereo from the AV jack.

@Meaty-cheeky
I remember when i got my first Genesis, Sonic was such a unique game compared to other side scrollers, the following 2, 3 and Sonic/Knuckles was worth the price of the system alone

Games that made the Sega Genesis great for me:
Ghouls and Ghosts
Mickey's Castle of Illusion
Sonic
Target Earth (Assault Suit Leynos)
Herzog Zwei

The last two hold up very well for me, though both are horribly uninviting.

I'll never forget the revelation at how incredibly wrong (to me) magazine reviewers were about Target Earth and Herzog Zwei, both incredible standouts in my gaming history, and both had great replayability.

My fave system till I got a snes.

Definitely one of my favorite systems!!

I love the Genesis. It's my favorite console as of right now. I have found that, as I've gotten older, the Genesis library holds up better to me than the SNES library, which is the opposite experience from some others here. Obviously that comes down to a matter of taste and game play styles.

@aaronsullivan You have a fantastic list.

@Meaty-cheeky Not everyone appreciates those games or knows them all. I always liked my Master System, but in the US at least, the games I liked on it had big downsides compared to the NES games which were enjoying smooth gameplay mechanics and a nice balance between action and depth of secrets and novelty (partly because Nintendo was setting precedent with Super Mario Bros. and Zelda). For instance, Zillion was great on Master System, but the actual control of the player was very clunky (and those controllers!) Some action games were great, but then lacked depth and felt arcade.

The Genesis amazed me with the performance (graphics, audio) but the initial games were disappointing (even Phantasy Star 2 left me amazed that the Master System version could be so much better in my opinion).

Point being: I think each one of those games in my list are the games that broke through: the controls were tight, the depth was nice, video games I could love. All that, and the graphics and music were amazing on top of it all. (I also loved Thunderforce 2 and 3 and MUSHA)