Star Control is a hidden gem IMO. My friends and I would play the melee for hours, when weren't playing Street Fighter 2 or MK3. I still have my original copies of both Star Control and Double Dragon.
Oh Star Control. Not only did my childhood friend and I battle, we dove deep into that game on the Genesis. My PC years did not start till much later and finding it again on PC was a grand discovery.
I've never played Star Control, but Star Control II is one of the best MS-DOS games there is. In Star Control II they kept the melee fight, but what makes the game so great is the adventure/story mode.
Nintendo made licensing quite... funny during the early 90s lol Good thing that didn't stop companies from supporting the Genesis Also Star Control made me remember the PC gaming feeling from back in the day, graphics and interface wise. I need to play it.
I'm glad you are doing Genesis rankings to stay different than like John Riggs who has been doing mostly NES. Gives me twice as many games to get info on :). I'm going for my Genesis collection right now so I'm glad you picked the Genesis for that reason too.
Literally clicked on this video to make sure that Star Control was ranked as S. Glad to find that you did not disappoint. A truly lesser known, underappreciated, top-tier classic.
Hopefully you also played Star Control 2? If not... Er. Play it now. There is an ongoing publicly available version of SC2. Look it up!! Cheers for now...
@@briannorthFW you "have to". It's not a request, and I'm not affiliated to the movement. It's probably one of the best games ever made... Let's hope that every gamer is able to check out SC2!
I love Star Control! I played it as a kid and forgot about it for many years until I found it for sale at my local used game shop. As soon as I saw that creepy hand on the cover I knew it was that forgotten game.
What I love about this series is that games are discussed that are normally totally ignored. Never knew some of these games were ported to the Sega, especially Test Drive: The Duel. Keep up the excellent work!
May I suggest having your image be smaller and the game footage larger? Nothing personal...but makes sense to see the game you’re talking about better.
@@Dinosnore69 oh wow, yes. The 3DO version was (in my mind) THE BEST version of SC2 (back in the day). I played through the PC version (which, for the time was absolutely amazing) but the 3DO version brought in the voice for each race. Just an amazing experience. Such wow. Anyone who loves video games (or life in general) HAS to dedicate some time to experience this masterpiece. Look up "star control 2 the ur-quan masters" and look at how to download and play this classic (for free, and totally legit). Do it now.
Star Control I awesome, a friend of mine had it for his Amiga computer back in the 1990s, I loved the game, and was pretty happy to discover it was on the Sega Genesis when I found it in a flea-market, due to the unique box it came in I had to double check to see if it was really a Sega Genesis game. The Amiga had even better music and the option to create new star maps, but the Genesis version had more pre-made maps and allowed for more than one button to be used on your controller so you didn't have to press down to activate your 2ndary weapon.
Great memories of playing star control for hours in my friends basement when we were 12. Never understood the ship thats weapon was self destructing. Still doesn't make sense
Star Control.... one of THE best Sega Genesis games IMHO. Spent so much time with it. Stoked to see you giving it the love it deserves. Reminded me of a computer game on a console back in the day.
@@SonofSethoitae I had never heard of it released on a computer back then. Since we are refering to the Genesis version my comment was directed more towards that version back in the day from my point of view.
Good video! Nice ranking of these Ballistic games for the Sega Genesis. I am enjoying these videos of the different companies that produced games for the Sega Genesis system!
Hardball and Ditka were great for their time. I played Hardball alot in 1985 for the C64 , so it was the first BB game i bought on Sega G. I was amazed at the groundbreaking features like real teams/players, complete seasons, saved stats, injuries...It was all amazing for a short while, then i moved on to others that i played for many years after like Larussa, RBI, Montana, Sports talk, Madden etc...
OMG, Star Control is a game everybody must have played in their life! What were they thinking with that UniSol license? there is no connection what so ever between the game and the movie, weird.
I still have Universal Soldiers and Turrican for years now when my parents purchased it back in the early 90's at Babagges. Although, the Double Dragon game version is a solid release.
Who would win in a fight? Mike Ditka or Godzilla? Mike Ditka of course because he coached the greatest football team ever, DAH BEEARS! Sorry, just having SNL flashbacks from when SNL was actually good.
Everytime you lose and hit continue it degrades you're truck and throws you with the badboys.. So the best way to play is in one shot. Funny thing about Test Drive. I first played it on an AtGames, and got a terrible impression. Once I got a real Genesis I popped it in for the heck of it and got a different experience. Turns out the AtGames barely handles that one. Must use the Genesis in a different way than other games. Played smoother on the real system. Ain't terrible. Offers a bit more depth in driving than the snes though it is slower. Nice to know the computer ports are better ones. Thx
I'm European, so I grew up with home computers, not consoles, and thus one button joysticks. 30+ years and hundreds of retro games later, I still find using a jump button feels unnatural. Jump UP = UP. I got a second nes controller, and modded it, so I could play Rainbow Islands (best game ever, that isn't Elite) properly, without the pointless extra button. It's surprising how many 8bit games used the buttons, just for convention, and with a simple hack, can be played one handed.
I would have to disagree with you on Test Drive 2. I LOVED that game. The Genesis version was scaled down, sure, but it was still very fun and unique compared to other racing games at the time. To each their own, though. Keep up the good work.
Do you have any type of video showing all the S tier games for genesis you've ranked so far ? That would be interesting to see a video of the best Genesis has to offer.
Spectrum Holobyte was part of Micropose. It was Micropose that developed the game. Ballistic put out the first release and then Spectrum Holobyte put out the re-release.
@@johnhancockretro Re-releases do get confusing when done by other publishers yeah. Speaking of Spectrum Holobyte I hope one of my favourite games of all time Star Trek TNG: A Final Unity gets a remaster one day.
Heads up. I have a Vectorman 2 in a all red cardboard sega style box with a ballistic sticker on it. I noticed on the spline it is missing the part number that is usually there. Manual is black and white. The box and manual say distributed by majesco. I remember majesco re-releasing alot of games. Never knew Ballistic had anything to do with it. Oh and yes, Star Control rocks!
Double Dragon is my favorite, great graphics, sound effects are only meh, music is great, gameplay is awesome, especially since the Genesis gamepad has 3 buttons just like the arcade game.
would be great if a game is on another console if you always briefly mention how it compares to those versions: Super Off Road, Turrican 2 etc. thanks for the great content!
I don't understand why up to jump is still an issue for collectors. I make sure to have a programmable controller or a Mayflash controller adapter for many systems. Namely Sega Master System/Genesis, Super Nintendo, PS1/PS2 and OG XBOX. I know Hancock must have tons of programmable controllers, they make some unplayable/unenjoyable games actually good. I was very happy to see Sony include the button remap feature in the options for PS4.
Not just collectors, but gamers who have a console with an extra actin button ;). Some of the computer ports were rushed and it showed. Nice to see better control options now.
@@johnhancockretro yea, no controller in the world is gonna make that Sega Turrican port fun lol. I grew up with NES, so when I got older and got the Sega consoles, this was my first Turrican experience, I couldn't understand the hype. Then I saw gameplay of Mega Turrican and said ohhhhhhh. Can't wait for the Strictly Limited Turrican release to ship. I only had enough money to pick between disc 1 and 2, so I went with disc 2 with Mega Turrican and Super Turrican 2 on it. Hope I made the right choice.
Onslaught sure is an oddity, Genesis port certainly is the best looking version, but strange sound choice given game console hardware. Found a complete one for sale, $200, yeah sounds a little uncommon heh. I'm not a big space guy but I play Star Control, a bit pricey complete but it has some nice documentation included. Yeah ignore the Universal Soldiers label and get Turrican2, could even just Sharpie that name over that heh.
Summer Challenge was also released in a cardbox. I remember playing that game a lot... segaretro.org/Summer_Challenge. However it seems that was released by Accolade... instead of Ballistic
My other Ranking Videos
here: bit.ly/3nL5Yol
Love this series of videos!
Star Control is a hidden gem IMO. My friends and I would play the melee for hours, when weren't playing Street Fighter 2 or MK3. I still have my original copies of both Star Control and Double Dragon.
Oh Star Control. Not only did my childhood friend and I battle, we dove deep into that game on the Genesis. My PC years did not start till much later and finding it again on PC was a grand discovery.
I've never played Star Control, but Star Control II is one of the best MS-DOS games there is. In Star Control II they kept the melee fight, but what makes the game so great is the adventure/story mode.
Congrats on the 100K subscribers! Keep collecting and playing!
Nintendo made licensing quite... funny during the early 90s lol
Good thing that didn't stop companies from supporting the Genesis
Also Star Control made me remember the PC gaming feeling from back in the day, graphics and interface wise. I need to play it.
Star Control I and II (very ahead of it's time) are some of my favorite games! Couldn't agree more with the S!
I'm glad you are doing Genesis rankings to stay different than like John Riggs who has been doing mostly NES. Gives me twice as many games to get info on :). I'm going for my Genesis collection right now so I'm glad you picked the Genesis for that reason too.
Literally clicked on this video to make sure that Star Control was ranked as S. Glad to find that you did not disappoint. A truly lesser known, underappreciated, top-tier classic.
Thanks again for the Star Control love!
Star Control was a day one purchase when it released, we loved the melee mode!
Hopefully you also played Star Control 2? If not... Er. Play it now. There is an ongoing publicly available version of SC2. Look it up!! Cheers for now...
@@arcadesunday4592 Thanks for the tip, I have not played SC2, but will give it a look
@@briannorthFW you "have to". It's not a request, and I'm not affiliated to the movement. It's probably one of the best games ever made... Let's hope that every gamer is able to check out SC2!
@@arcadesunday4592 Let me rephrase I will look it up and play, I have a broken leg right now so I’m somewhat limited in what I can do,
@@RetroMMA Dos Box required or what is the best way to play?
Can't wait to get your take on Starflight and King's Bounty!
Saw the ballistic and had to know how you felt about star control. Not disappointed. Its awesome. Probably my second favorite genesis game
out of curiousoity what is your favorite?
@@robjackson4050 kings bounty
You and Riggs are killing it with these ranking videos. Love the content John.
I love Star Control! I played it as a kid and forgot about it for many years until I found it for sale at my local used game shop. As soon as I saw that creepy hand on the cover I knew it was that forgotten game.
Nice video, John. You're a kind grader. You need to give a few more Fs just to send a message to the other games.
I agree. He’ll roast a game and then say “it’s a D!”
I'm loving these reviews. Very informal.
Congrats on 100K!! Thanks for the awesome content!
I love that he and riggs is not stepping on toes.
What I love about this series is that games are discussed that are normally totally ignored. Never knew some of these games were ported to the Sega, especially Test Drive: The Duel. Keep up the excellent work!
May I suggest having your image be smaller and the game footage larger? Nothing personal...but makes sense to see the game you’re talking about better.
I loved star control on genesis
Star Control 2 is one of the best games on every system it was released on. Amazing game.
I like these videos because I turn on my RetroPie and pause after each grade to try out the game. Keep it up!
Thank you!
Great list. Couldn't agree more about Star Control. Still a fantastic game to this day.
Hopefully you played Star Contol 2?
@@arcadesunday4592 sure have. On the 3DO
@@Dinosnore69 oh wow, yes. The 3DO version was (in my mind) THE BEST version of SC2 (back in the day). I played through the PC version (which, for the time was absolutely amazing) but the 3DO version brought in the voice for each race. Just an amazing experience. Such wow. Anyone who loves video games (or life in general) HAS to dedicate some time to experience this masterpiece. Look up "star control 2 the ur-quan masters" and look at how to download and play this classic (for free, and totally legit). Do it now.
Star Control I awesome, a friend of mine had it for his Amiga computer back in the 1990s, I loved the game, and was pretty happy to discover it was on the Sega Genesis when I found it in a flea-market, due to the unique box it came in I had to double check to see if it was really a Sega Genesis game.
The Amiga had even better music and the option to create new star maps, but the Genesis version had more pre-made maps and allowed for more than one button to be used on your controller so you didn't have to press down to activate your 2ndary weapon.
Star Control is awesome, I loved it.
Congratulations on Hitting 100,000 Subs!!!! I love these lists!!! \m/
Thanks so much!!
Totally agreed. Star Control is such an awesome yet obscure gem. I am glad I own a boxless copy. BTW... Boris Vallejo did the cover art for the game.
Great video as always, John!
Glad you enjoyed it
Glad I got Tinhead on the Genesis. Haven't finished it but I will one day.
Another excellent ranking video, thanks John. How about one for the actual Sega made/produced games?
When I saw you were ranking ballistic games star control popped in my mind
Very interesting and informative John! Thanks!
Great memories of playing star control for hours in my friends basement when we were 12. Never understood the ship thats weapon was self destructing. Still doesn't make sense
Love your ranking videos! Keep going! Greats from Germany
Glad you like them!
Star Control.... one of THE best Sega Genesis games IMHO. Spent so much time with it. Stoked to see you giving it the love it deserves.
Reminded me of a computer game on a console back in the day.
Also Starflight and Rings of Power are some of the best "PC" type games on Genesis. I wish there was a PC port of Rings of Power.
I mean, it _was_ a computer game on a console
@@SonofSethoitae I had never heard of it released on a computer back then. Since we are refering to the Genesis version my comment was directed more towards that version back in the day from my point of view.
@@krisparks1 I mean, sure, I'm just saying your childhood intuition was correct
Onslaught was an Amiga Game ported to the Megadrive/Genesis. That's why you press up for jumping, what us Amiga Players love 😁.
Great vid, as always!
That logo is actually awesome.
Good video! Nice ranking of these Ballistic games for the Sega Genesis. I am enjoying these videos of the different companies that produced games for the Sega Genesis system!
Great video, keep up the good work. I'm a loyal watcher.
Personally, I liked Turrican. It was such a fast-paced game, especially at the time.
I want to see you do 10 games which never got ported to the Genesis which could have been and that you wished had been.
I asked for it!!! Thanks man
Hardball and Ditka were great for their time.
I played Hardball alot in 1985 for the C64 , so it was the first BB game i bought on Sega G. I was amazed at the groundbreaking features like real teams/players, complete seasons, saved stats, injuries...It was all amazing for a short while, then i moved on to others that i played for many years after like Larussa, RBI, Montana, Sports talk, Madden etc...
Top 10 run-and-gun arcade games please!
Fun fact: the sequel to Star Control has a source port. Check out Ur-Quan Masters!
you can rank every namco genesis game, great company with great titles!
Good call on Double Dragon. Many people hate on this port, but i have always loved it. Closest to the arcade back then.
Some amazing cover art on these games, specifically Ditka and Hardball
Onslaught as a kid I paid 5 pounds for a copy from a second hand market here in the UK. Bet it's worth 20 times that now
Rank different genres! "All racing games on Sega Genesis."
Top 10 Fighting games for the genesis would be cool :))
Whoa. Tinhead is a master class on what good 90's European graphics looked like. How have I never heard of this one?
OMG, Star Control is a game everybody must have played in their life!
What were they thinking with that UniSol license? there is no connection what so ever between the game and the movie, weird.
Fun fact: The game was inspired by Asteroids and a very early 1962 computer game called Space War....
Love these videos John keep it up
Turrican on a real Megadrive 1 at 50hz, superb! Possibly why it's not cheap to buy complete any more in PAL Land. 😉
Absolutely love Test Drive 2. It has a big nostalgic spot in my soul. It seemed so realistic to me at the time haha.
I loved Star Control when I rented it as a kid. I've often tried but never remembered the name until now, so thanks!
Love your ranking videos
👍👍
Still have my Super Off-Road cib. Love it!
I still have Universal Soldiers and Turrican for years now when my parents purchased it back in the early 90's at Babagges. Although, the Double Dragon game version is a solid release.
Nice list! Cool PRGE shirt. :)
John, you gotta do a SEGA video list for the Genesis!
Who would win in a fight? Mike Ditka or Godzilla? Mike Ditka of course because he coached the greatest football team ever, DAH BEEARS! Sorry, just having SNL flashbacks from when SNL was actually good.
Eclectic mix here from Ballistic!
Seismic would be cool to see.
Off Road is nice. Took me lots of practice to fully upgrade.
Everytime you lose and hit continue it degrades you're truck and throws you with the badboys.. So the best way to play is in one shot.
Funny thing about Test Drive. I first played it on an AtGames, and got a terrible impression.
Once I got a real Genesis I popped it in for the heck of it and got a different experience. Turns out the AtGames barely handles that one. Must use the Genesis in a different way than other games. Played smoother on the real system. Ain't terrible. Offers a bit more depth in driving than the snes though it is slower.
Nice to know the computer ports are better ones. Thx
I played Winter Challenge like hell when I bought it in the 90s
Wasn't Star Control created to be a Star Trek game?? Looks like the Enterprise...
I'm European, so I grew up with home computers, not consoles, and thus one button joysticks. 30+ years and hundreds of retro games later, I still find using a jump button feels unnatural. Jump UP = UP. I got a second nes controller, and modded it, so I could play Rainbow Islands (best game ever, that isn't Elite) properly, without the pointless extra button. It's surprising how many 8bit games used the buttons, just for convention, and with a simple hack, can be played one handed.
I would have to disagree with you on Test Drive 2. I LOVED that game. The Genesis version was scaled down, sure, but it was still very fun and unique compared to other racing games at the time. To each their own, though. Keep up the good work.
Star Control was a great game need to set up my Sega and play through it again.
Launch fighters!
Do you have any type of video showing all the S tier games for genesis you've ranked so far ? That would be interesting to see a video of the best Genesis has to offer.
I might when I’m done. Still more to do.
Spectrum Holobyte was part of Micropose. It was Micropose that developed the game. Ballistic put out the first release and then Spectrum Holobyte put out the re-release.
Yeah, it’s very confusing to cover games that are developed but one company, published by another, and then rereleased by original company.
@@johnhancockretro Re-releases do get confusing when done by other publishers yeah. Speaking of Spectrum Holobyte I hope one of my favourite games of all time Star Trek TNG: A Final Unity gets a remaster one day.
Onslaught looks like a typical Amiga 500 game.
John have you played Devil Hunter Yohko? Japan only release unfortunately. What's your opinion on that, it's one of my favorite games 😁
Heads up. I have a Vectorman 2 in a all red cardboard sega style box with a ballistic sticker on it. I noticed on the spline it is missing the part number that is usually there. Manual is black and white. The box and manual say distributed by majesco. I remember majesco re-releasing alot of games. Never knew Ballistic had anything to do with it. Oh and yes, Star Control rocks!
Forgot to put it in the picture and have a sealed copy. Thanks for the tip!
I agree with about 95% of your rankings, and often for the same reasons.
I love this series, Do some more sports titles for the Genesis That'll keep things going for this series.
I plan to do the majority of other companies for Sega Genesis. I might sort out some sports for companies like EA and do their own video.
Double Dragon is my favorite, great graphics, sound effects are only meh, music is great, gameplay is awesome, especially since the Genesis gamepad has 3 buttons just like the arcade game.
happy sunday. great vid
One interesting thing about Onslaught is that it will NOT play on any Genesis model after 1991.
would be cool if you can cover all the PC games ported to the Genesis
How about a 3-part series on electronic arts??..risky woods, power monger,etc;etc;
This is exactly how I am going to do EA, eventually.
Do more ! Sega genesis!
Sounds like I need to quit my job and focus on playing Star Control full time.
Cover all the Genesis exclusives
would be great if a game is on another console if you always briefly mention how it compares to those versions: Super Off Road, Turrican 2 etc. thanks for the great content!
I need to get star control. One of these days.... and in case you didn't know, Tin Head is on the Evercade cart, Piko Interactive collection 1.
I have covered all the Evercade games on my channel. A great retro handheld.
Great video. I'm not sure about the immortal thing tho
I love these videos! I suggest a list of the absolute worst 10 games on the Genesis and 10 absolute best. In your own opinion of course ;)
I don't understand why up to jump is still an issue for collectors. I make sure to have a programmable controller or a Mayflash controller adapter for many systems. Namely Sega Master System/Genesis, Super Nintendo, PS1/PS2 and OG XBOX. I know Hancock must have tons of programmable controllers, they make some unplayable/unenjoyable games actually good.
I was very happy to see Sony include the button remap feature in the options for PS4.
Not just collectors, but gamers who have a console with an extra actin button ;). Some of the computer ports were rushed and it showed. Nice to see better control options now.
@@johnhancockretro yea, no controller in the world is gonna make that Sega Turrican port fun lol. I grew up with NES, so when I got older and got the Sega consoles, this was my first Turrican experience, I couldn't understand the hype. Then I saw gameplay of Mega Turrican and said ohhhhhhh. Can't wait for the Strictly Limited Turrican release to ship. I only had enough money to pick between disc 1 and 2, so I went with disc 2 with Mega Turrican and Super Turrican 2 on it. Hope I made the right choice.
I agree, star control was a pretty fun game. The sequel was even better!
Onslaught sure is an oddity, Genesis port certainly is the best looking version, but strange sound choice given game console hardware. Found a complete one for sale, $200, yeah sounds a little uncommon heh.
I'm not a big space guy but I play Star Control, a bit pricey complete but it has some nice documentation included. Yeah ignore the Universal Soldiers label and get Turrican2, could even just Sharpie that name over that heh.
On the rom site I use (a popular one) Star Control for Genesis doesn't even hit 2000 downloads.
Disgusting. That's an amazing game
Summer Challenge was also released in a cardbox. I remember playing that game a lot... segaretro.org/Summer_Challenge. However it seems that was released by Accolade... instead of Ballistic
Yeah I covered it in my Accolade video.
I liked DD on the genesis, best looking port of all compared to the home comp ports like Amiga/ST, would have put it on A.
Mike Ditka Power Football #1 football all time for video games!