As some of you know, I have set myself a quest in regards to my game collecting. My goal is to collect the top 10 best selling games of every platform that I own (minus the Pokemon games) and I have recently completed my second top 10. The Sega Mega Drive.
The Mega Drive has a very special space in my heart, it was the console I have the most nostalgia for (just ahead of the PS1). It was the first console I remember owning and the console I spent most of my time playing. So getting the top 10 games on the console means a lot to me.

Looking at the top 10 Mega Drive games really shows the power of the system, each game is a fantastic showcase of the console. You have amazing platforming with 4 sonic games, great fighting games in the Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat games. The Aladdin game also features fantastic animation, quite possibly the best on the system. The sporting fan is not left out either with the great NBA Jam.

Sonic the Hedgehog

Sonic the Hedgehog is the first of many games starring Sega’s premier hedgehog, Sonic. It’s a side-scrolling platform game with a difference: speed. Sonic rushes through levels with incredible speed, allowing him to traverse loops and jumps with ease.
The plot of the game is simple. The evil Dr. Robotnik has captured many of Sonic’s animal friends and trapped them inside robots. Fortunately, Sonic can free his friends by destroying the robots with his spin attack. Meanwhile, Dr. Robotnik is trying to control the all-powerful chaos emeralds. Sonic must grab them before he does in the 3D rotating bonus levels.
Sonic’s weapon is his spin attack; while jumping, Sonic destroys hostile robots by touch. Throughout the platforming levels, Sonic collects numerous rings. If Sonic is hit by an enemy, all the rings he’s carrying fall out and scatter around; Sonic can quickly grab the rings back before they disappear. If Sonic is hit while not carrying any rings, he dies. Collecting 100 rings gives Sonic an extra life. There is also an invincibility bonus which temporarily protects Sonic from all attacks.
The game is divided into several “zones”, each of them containing three levels. At the end of each zone, Sonic confronts Dr. Robotnik in a boss fight.

Release Date – June 23, 1991

Sonic the Hedgehog 2

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is a side-scrolling platformer based around speed, and the sequel to Sonic the Hedgehog. Like the original, players run through different worlds called “zones”, which each have their own specific theme. There are two Acts in nearly all of the 10 Zones, and at the end of each Zone’s last Act is a machine that Robotnik controls, which you must defeat to progress. The evil Dr. Robotnik wants to conquer the world. In order to do that, he imprisons and transforms all animals into robots called “Badniks”. This way they can build his powerful weapon, the Death Egg. Only Sonic the Hedgehog, and his new tagalong partner, Miles ‘Tails’ Prower, can stop Robotnik and his army of Badniks from taking over the world.
Sonic and Tails can collect rings which are scattered throughout all of the levels. As with most platformers, when the player collects 100 rings, they earn an extra life. However, the rings also act as protection; if Sonic is hurt when he is carrying rings, they scatter everywhere and he is briefly invincible. If he is hit again when he has no rings, he’ll lose a life. If the player reaches a continue point lamppost with 50 or more rings, they’ll be able to access the Special Stage. In this stage, you must gather a set amount of rings in a halfpipe-like stage before you reach a checkpoint. Complete all the checkpoints and you’ll earn one of the seven Chaos Emeralds.

Release Date – November 24, 1992

Sonic the Hedgehog 3

Dr. Robotnik’s Death Egg has crash-landed on Floating Island, so called because it harnesses the power of the Chaos Emeralds to float in the air. Robotnik needs them to repair the Death Egg, so he tells the guardian of Floating Island, Knuckles the Echidna, that Sonic and Tails are there to steal them. With Knuckles tricked and trying to stop the heroes at every turn, will they be able to stop Robotnik in time?
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is the third in the Sonic series of games. As with the previous games, it is a side-scrolling platformer based around speed. The basic game remains the same – players collect rings to earn extra lives, which are also used for protection, and scatter everywhere when Sonic is hurt. Sonic can jump on enemies to defeat them, and Spin Dash by holding down and the jump button, then letting go of down.

Release Date – February 2, 1994

Sonic & Knuckles

Sonic and Knuckles continues the story directly from where Sonic the Hedgehog 3 left off. The explosion from the Death Egg sends Sonic flying deep into Floating Island’s Mushroom Hills. Sonic knows of the Master Emerald hidden somewhere on Floating Island, and is sure that Dr. Robotnik wants it to give his Death Egg limitless power. Knuckles probably knows where it is – but can Sonic stop Robotnik’s plans and find the Master Emerald all while fighting off Knuckles? Meanwhile, Knuckles is guarding Floating Island when he’s attacked by one of Robotnik’s robots! He quickly begins a chase for revenge.
Sonic & Knuckles is the fourth game in the Sonic series. It retains the same basic features as in the previous Sonic games (speed, rings for protection, Special Stages with Chaos Emeralds) as well as the three different shield types introduced in Sonic 3 (Fire, Water and Electric). Players can select either of the two title characters for play – either Sonic, or the all-new Knuckles the Echidna. Knuckles cannot jump as high as Sonic, but he can glide by holding the jump button while in the air. If you glide into a wall, Knuckles will also be able to climb it. He can also break through walls that Sonic can’t. With these abilities, Knuckles can access different areas from Sonic, making for each level an entirely new experience.

Release Date – October 18, 1994

Mortal Kombat

Five hundred years ago, an ancient and well respected Shaolin fighting tournament, held every 50 years, was corrupted by an evil and elderly sorcerer by the name of Shang Tsung. Shang was accompanied by Prince Goro, a warrior of the Shokan race (a four-armed half-human / half-dragon). Knowing that if ten tournaments in a row were won by the Outworld champion, the Earth Realm would be conquered by evil and fall into darkness, Shang entered Goro in the tournament and had him defeat the great Kung Lao. Goro has been reigning supreme as the undefeated fighting champion for five hundred years now. As the last tournament required draws near, Raiden, Thunder God and protector of the Earth Realm, enacts a plan to tip the scales in the humans’ favor, Seven fighters step into the arena on Shang Tsung’s mysterious island: Shaolin warrior Liu Kang, Special Forces operative Sonya Blade, the mercenary thug Kano, fame-seeking actor Johnny Cage, the ice-wielding Lin Kuei warrior Sub-Zero and his undead adversary Scorpion, and Raiden himself.
Mortal Kombat is a side-scrolling fighting game. Fighting is set as one-on-one combat, allowing each player to perform a variety of punches, kicks, and special moves in order to defeat their opponent. When the opponent faces their second round loss, the winner can perform a finishing move called a “Fatality” on the loser. The Fatality is a move unique to each fighter that graphically kills the loser in a blood-soaked finale.
Mortal Kombat began its life as a 2-player arcade title. It is notable for its use of digitized actors to represent the game’s fighters, as well as its use of copious amounts of blood during gameplay.

Release Date – September 13, 1993

Mortal Kombat II

The Mortal Kombat fighters, plus several new ones, return for a tournament held by the evil Shang Tsung of the Outworld. The action is one-on-one as before, and famed for its high level of violence and blood (other than the sanitised Nintendo version). There are 5 difficulty levels and optional credits, as well as the usual two player mode including same character duels.

To win the main tournament, the player must beat each of the other human players, before taking on Shang Tsung, Kintaro and finally Shao Kahn. Players have a range of punches and kicks available, as well as flying kicks, uppercuts, roundhouses, and the special moves, which vary for each player. These include throws, uppercuts, long-distance bullets, bicycle kicks and a teleport feature.

Release Date – September 9, 1994

Disney’s Aladdin

The game from Virgin based on the 1992 animated Disney film is a side-scrolling platformer.
The player controls Aladdin, who must make his way through several levels based on locations from the movie: from the streets and rooftops of Agrabah, the Cave of Wonders and the Sultan’s dungeon to the final confrontation in Grand Vizier Jafar’s palace. The Sultan’s guards and also animals of the desert want to hinder Aladdin in his way. He can defend himself with his sword or by throwing apples. Next to apples, Aladdin can also collect gems which can be traded for lives and continues with a traveling trader. Finding Genie or Abu icons enables bonus rounds. The Genie bonus round is a game of luck played for apples, gems or extra lives. In Abu’s bonus round, the player controls the little monkey who has to catch bonus items that fall from the sky, but without touching any of the unwanted objects like rocks and pots.
The game’s humorous animations were created by Walt Disney Feature Animation.

Release Date – November 11, 1993

NBA Jam

NBA Jam is a two-on-two basketball game You can play any NBA team, and you can play as players like Barkley, Starks, Pippen, and Grant. Each human player controls a single player, so choose your squad wisely to take team-mate skill into account. The game is action-oriented, and players can perform unrealistic slam-dunks. Full performance statistics are automatically recorded. The play clock and 3-point line apply, but other rules are largely overlooked.

Release Date – March 4, 1994

Street Fighter II: Special Champion Edition

Choose from twelve street fighters from around the world, skilled in a variety of martial arts — for instance, a character named E.Honda is a sumo wrestler from Japan, while Ken is a master of Tae Kwon Do from the United States. Journey to different countries to defeat other fighters, eventually leading up to a battle with evil man M.Bison. Besides the standard punches and kicks, each character can also execute special moves, such as energy projectiles or lightning-fast kicks, for more damage or to create a chain of hit combos.
This version of Street Fighter II is similar in most aspects to the original, save that all 12 characters are selectable from the get-go (the boss characters were originally locked), and the game engine has been revamped.

Release Date – September 27, 1993

Altered Beast

You are a hero raised from the dead by the god Zeus to rescue his daughter Athena. With scenery inspired by Ancient Greece, you have to fight hordes of undead and demons, with a boss at the end of each level until you meet the god Neff, who holds the girl captive.
The Altered Beast title refers to your shapeshifting abilities. In this platformer, you can collect spirit balls by defeating two-headed wolves, allowing you to mutate into different beasts such as a werewolf, a dragon, a tiger, a bear and others depending on the version. Each form, tied to a level, comes with special abilities such as flight and powerful attacks, easily superseding the basic set of punches and kicks in your human form.
The game can be played in single player mode, or in same-screen multiplayer co-op mode.