list of cool Sega Genesis/MegaDrive games

List of cool Sega Genesis/MegaDrive games:

Alien Soldier (not released in USA)
Aladdin
Animaniacs
Adventures of Batman and Robin, The (good Contra-ish, Metal Slug-ish game, great programming & crazy soundtrack by Jesper Kyd)
Atomic Runner
Alien Storm
Alisia Dragoon
Battletoads and Double Dragon (one game, not two games!)
Beyond Oasis (aka The Story of Thor: A Successor of The Light )
Blades Of Vengeance
B.O.B
Cannon Fodder (not released in USA, has mouse support)
Castlevania: Bloodlines
Contra Hard Corps aka Probotector
Comix Zone
Cool Spot (& maybe Spot Goes To Hollywood)
Crusader of Centy
Decap Attack (localized Magical Hat no Buttobi Tabo! Daibōken)
Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine (localized Puyo Puyo puzzle/attack game)
Dinosaurs for Hire
Donald Duck in Maui Mallard (aka Cold Shadow, was not released in USA on the Genesis)
Dynamite Headdy (make sure to get the Japanese version, patch/translate it if needed)
Ecco series
Flashback (decent port of PC/Amiga game)
Gunstar Heroes
Thunder Force series, and Lightening Force(sic) (Thunder Force 4's USA release)
Landstalker: The Treasures of King Nole (I've been told this has had changes from the non-USA version, but I haven't tested this)
MUSHA aka M.U.S.H.A.
Mega Turrican (Turrican 3 is a PC/Amiga port of this)
Mercs
Mickey Mania & Castle of Illusion starring Mickey Mouse
Mr. Nutz (Sonic inspired character, port of PC/Amiga game)
Ooze, The
Panorama Cotton (not released in USA)
Phantasy Star series
Phantom 2040 (underrated, the best version/port of this game too)
QuackShot starring Donald Duck
Ranger-X
Red Zone (aka Hardwired, this is the full version)
ResQ (unreleased and underrated)
Revenge of Shinobi, The
Ristar
Robocop 3
Robocop Vs. The Terminator
Rocket Knight Adventures & Sparkster
Rockman Megaworld (port of NES Megaman trilogy)
Sagaia (aka Darius 2)
Second Samurai (weird but fun and funny ("MORE SOULS!"), good soundtrack, released in Europe & Australia)
Shadow Dancer
Shadowrun (not to be confused with the SNES game also based on Shadowrun)
Shining Force series
Shining in the Darkness (first game in the Shining Force series)
Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master (aka Shinobi 3)
Snake Rattle 'n' Roll (remastered version of the NES classic)
Skeleton Krew
Steel Empire, The (a good shmup title)
Streets of Rage series
Sub-Terrania
Sword of Vermilion
T2: The Arcade Game (port of the arcade game Terminator 2 Judgment Day, not to be confused with the Genesis/MegaDrive game of the same name) (has Menacer/lightgun support(needs CRT monitor/TV), if you emulate it just use your mouse)
Techno Clash
Technocop (load it up, enjoy the title screen & music, maybe the first driving part, then immediately sell it or delete it)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Hyperstone Heist
Terminator (the first one)
Tiny Toon Adventures: Buster's Hidden Treasure
Toejam & Earl series
Toy Story
Vectorman 1 & 2
Wolf Child (cheesy but fun and funny, good soundtrack)
X-Men 2: Clone Wars (I remember the co-op in this being cool, & the music changes depending on what character you play as)
Zero Wing (despite the memes this is actually good)
Zombies Ate My Neighbors


And of course the Sonic series!
Sonic The Hedgehog 1 2 and 3, Sonic & Knuckles
And the spinoffs: Sonic 3D Blast, Sonic Spinball

Sonic & Knuckles can be "locked on" to Sonic 3 to get a longer game, but if you're short on time Sonic & Knuckles or Sonic 3 by themselves are fine too! Note that Sonic 3, and Sonic & Knuckles + Sonic 3 support saving your game where you last left off!
If you've already played the heck out of Sonic 2, you can get Knuckles as a playable character when you lock it on to Sonic & Knuckles
For PC/emulation/flashcarts: http://info.sonicretro.org/Sonic_3_Complete_(hack)


If your Genesis/MegaDrive sounds like garbage (or if you aren't sure, how to find out):
http://www.sega-16.com/forum/showthread.php?7796-GUIDE-Telling-apart-good-Genesis-1s-and-Genesis-2s-from-bad-ones

http://www.sega-16.com/forum/showthread.php?7686-Crystal-Clear-Audio-Mod-for-Sega-Mega-Drive-2-amp-Genesis-2-version-1-0

http://milkcrate.com.au/_other/sega_comparisons/

http://www.sega-16.com/forum/showthread.php?26568-Introducing-the-Mega-Amp-The-universal-Genesis-audio-circuit

http://jazz-disassemblies.blogspot.com/2015/03/ccam-crystal-clear-audio-mod-for-sega.html
http://chipmusic.org/forums/topic/16042/fs-ccam-boards-for-genesis-much-more/

For emulation:
if you have issues w/ a game, try using an "Alternate Timing" option if it's available. remember to turn it off when done or you'll be confused later when another game bugs out!

BizHawk - multi-system emulator with a good accuracy/speed ratio, has a choice of 2 decent Genesis/MegaDrive emulators, Genesis Plus GX and PicoDrive, more info below
http://tasvideos.org/BizHawk.html

RetroArch & Libretro - another multi-system emulator & frontend with a good accuracy/speed ratio, lets you choose which emulators to use, this one is notable for being multi-platform and having a lot of optional "cores" to emulate or play various games and source ports, may be difficult to set up without guides, check the site for more info & features
http://www.libretro.com/index.php/retroarch-2/
http://www.libretro.com

Genesis Plus GX - accurate and still updated, emulates Sega/Mega CD, Genesis/MegaDrive, Master System, Game Gear, and SG-1000
included in BizHawk & RetroArch, links above
http://wiibrew.org/wiki/Genesis_Plus - a great Wii homebrew version, almost indistinguishable from the real thing on my CRT

Regen - rarely updates, but accurate and fast for what it is, emulates Genesis/MegaDrive, Master System, Game Gear, SC-3000, and SG-1000
http://segaretro.org/Regen#Download
needs latest DX9 to run on Windows 8 and above http://filehippo.com/download_directx/ or https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=8109

Kega Fusion - not updated any more, but is still accurate and is very fast, the most featured emulator to date with good support for Sega/Mega CD, Genesis/MegaDrive, 32x, Master System, Game Gear, SG-1000, and SC-3000. This has been used in official Sega re-releases (not the Steam versions sadly)
Does not need a bios file for 32x emulation
http://segaretro.org/Kega_Fusion#Downloads
needs latest DX9 to run on Windows 8 and above http://filehippo.com/download_directx/ or https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=8109

Exodus - use this for debugging only, notable accurate emulator
http://www.exodusemulator.com/
http://www.exodusemulator.com/about/what-is-exodus
http://segaretro.org/Exodus

PicoDrive - fast Sega/Mega CD, Genesis/MegaDrive, and 32x emulator optionally used in BizHawk & RetroArch, I haven't tried it but it exists and is an option
Probably supports Master System in later versions
http://segaretro.org/PicoDrive
http://notaz.gp2x.de/pico.php
https://github.com/notaz/picodrive - if you want to put it on your raspberry pi

MESS - at this time, use this for debugging only, check the link below for info as it is being updated over time
"Like MAME, MESS attempts to emulate systems as accurately as possible, not necessarily in an efficient way. This means it requires higher system specifications than some dedicated emulators, but it is hoped that the MESS project will deliver better results at the end."
http://segaretro.org/MESS

Gens & unofficial Gens spinoffs - not known for being accurate at all, never had any luck with these
http://segaretro.org/Gens try them if you dare https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0SLfZ6IOwg

Sega's Genesis/MegaDrive re-releases on Steam - if you buy games this way, you actually get a ROM file that can be used in any emulator, that's the only reason I've touched this stuff. The only "wrong" version I've encountered in this pack is Alien Soldier, which is the 50hz PAL release
Uses a Java emulator, and the default settings load it in a 3D Unity front end, which may not be preferred by some. as of this edit in 2016, the emulator is inaccurate, especially the sound emulation
http://store.steampowered.com/sub/102625/
http://steamcommunity.com/app/34270/discussions/0/357284767239834234/ performance tips