Summary
TheSEGA Genesisis a console that has mostly been forgotten about today. Many of the games from theSEGA Genesisera are too old even for the modern remake craze, but it was a time of great innovation for gaming, and many of the games created during this time inspired their more famous successors on later consoles.
Whether players are fans of strategy games today or not, older gamers will remember a time when it was one of the most popular genres. Due to not needing high-end graphics,many of the most popular strategy gamesever are still played by many gamers today.
A game that was way ahead of its time in 1986,Starflightinvolved exploration of space in addition to combat and trading. A role-playing style of game, there was a huge volume of strategy involved as players became starship captains exploring the universe. Considered by many to be theStar Trekof Sega games, this was a wonderfully fun strategy game for the time, which despite featuring 16-bit graphics, still intrigues players today, andeven helped inspire games likeStarfield.
This is because of the shockingly expansive universe, featuring 270 different star systems, each with a single-digit number of planets residing there. This made for over 800 planets to explore, although some would lead to the starship breaking if the planet’s force of gravity was too strong. This incredible game featured several brilliantly innovative ideas and deserves to be remembered today, particularly the Sega Genesis port which came later, as it involved a completely revamped version of the game.
Originally released for the Amiga,Mega-Lo-Maniawas one of the early “god” games that involved the player taking control of one of the available gods to try and defeat other gods and conquer an island, in a real-time strategy format.
Despite being an early development in the strategy genre,Mega-Lo-Maniacontains many recognizable features that have remained part of RTS games to this day. When the player builds armies, they can invade enemy sectors, build towers to expand the player’s territory and defend areas. Players can advance through tech levels and even repair individual buildings, making for a very modern feel for such a retro game,which can still be found today.
A rare sight in the strategy genre, even today,General Chaoswas one of the very first satirical takes on the many common ideas of strategy games. Comedy isn’t something that gets a lot of attention in strategy games, but this story is about two brothers, Chaos and Havoc, who get into a blood feud over a ripped comic book and become dictators of two different countries before warring with each other for decades.
Players have to pick one of four teams, each coming with different classes of soldiers, with different strengths and weaknesses. With a fun style that remains unique today among strategy games, and being one of the few strategy games that remains exclusive to the Sega Genesis,General Chaosdeserves a revisit for all strategy game fans.
Part of a long-running series that continues today,Romance Of The Three Kingdoms 3featured six different scenarios for players to try out. Released on multiple platforms, each game in the series explores a different area geographically or a different part of history. This edition featured Chinese battles from throughout the 2nd-3rd Century.
A fascinating and not frequently explored region of history, even today, in strategy games, these different scenarioslay the entire map of Chinaout according to history at that time, and players are then tasked with trying to take over every city to win. Since there were 46 different cities to take control of, this made for a fascinating campaign that could easily be revisited today.
The game which has been credited with the creation of the “god game” genre,Populous, is one of the best-selling PC games of all time, in addition to being highly successful when ported to platforms such as the Sega Genesis. Players can manipulate their followers to destroy the followers of their enemies in each stage, of which there were over 500.
With various divine powers, and the ability to manipulate and control one’s followers, players hugely enjoyed the concept of becoming a god in Populous. Between follow-up games and many games that have been inspired by this one,Populoustruly started an entire sub-genre of the strategy game.
The best strategy game that was exclusiveto the Sega Genesis, at least until it was re-released in 2020 for the Nintendo Switch,Herzog Zweiis an RTS game that lets players take control of a flying, transforming mech that can purchase units and fly them around the battlefield to unleash them where they are most needed.
Each vehicle that players buy can enact a specific purpose, but the player’s mech will have certain abilities that only it can perform.Herzog Zweiwas beloved at the time for keeping things simple to a degree, but having many wonderful options for micromanagement for players who preferred a more complicated style of game.
Known as the game that inspired series likeHeroes of Might and Magic,King’s Bountyis a turn-based strategy game set in a fantasy world, although the notable difference in the Sega Genesis version was a switch to a real-time format.
Following players as a hero who are leading an army against the forces of the evil Arech Dragonbreath, players have to find 25 pieces of a map before they can find the location of the all-powerful Sceptre of Order. Although the PC version is likely better remembered, the huge shifts for the Sega Genesis, involving armies moving on the overworld of their own accord to attack the player, raised the difficulty and made the game feel hugely modernized even now.
Not the first RTS game ever made, but such a definitive edition of the genre at the time, and such a fine example of so many systems and features that remain popular today, that it is considered theforerunner of franchises likeCommand & ConquerandWarcraft, andother strategy games with great stories.Dune 2,known in the Genesis version asDune: The Battle For Arrakis, is an incredibly well-loved strategy game.
Early in the game, the player chooses a house from three options and arrives on Arrakis, attempting to establish a base. Later, they must fight against the other houses for control while harvesting as much spice as possible. The goal is to control the entire planet while gathering the spice required by the Emperor. This classic game is as beloved and well-remembered as any game from the early 90s, and it is one of the best-licensed games ever.
