Top MD Games
Rocket Knight Adventures (MD, 1993)
RKA! This game is a smörgåsbord of all things I love about Konami during this era: fast and tight movement, great variety with a couple of shoot 'em up levels mixed in as well as a boxing duel between two giant robots, great bosses that sometimes have multiple forms or phases, great audiovisuals with some humourous touches, and near technical mastery of the system all in one package. The jetpack, while implemented slightly better in later games, is great fun to use here as well and sometimes makes the game a contender for the fastest playing 16-bit game if you know the levels well. By the way, check out Screw Attack's Retro vs. Reboot for a laugh.
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 or Sonic Classic Heroes (Hack)
I gotta go with 2 as I think it has the best overall pacing, music and my fave set of zones in the MD Sonic games. I think the spindash was a great addition since it makes any side- or backtracking much less tedious and you often want to do this with the multiple paths through each level, plus it's just fun to rev it up and let go like in a pinball game. With mods/hacks you unlock a lot of cool stuff like the hack mentioned where you can switch between the three playable chars on the fly and play across both 1 and 2 in one game, though that's true for the other Sonic games as well.
Langrisser II
When it comes to SRPGs I think this is as good as it gets for the MD, and the game outshines its prequel (Warsong) with its improved character customization, balancing, AI and variety. L2 offers a very challenging game (dead characters stay dead), huge battles, cool classes like Summoner and Dragon Knight, a decent story with a lot of humour and twists, and excellent music. Still only playable in English via emulation, but you'll probably want to be able to fastforward after a few battles anyway. Also: Chou Aniki cameo.
Panorama Cotton (MD, 1994)
It's pretty odd that this game even exists for the stock MD. Success, a game company that never made anything for the console prior to this (though I think some devs come from Compile), decides to turn Cotton into a Space Harrier-like shooter, make it one of the most technically impressive efforts for the system, then release a limited amount of copies exclusively for the Japanese market as late as mid-1994. Well I'm glad they did, because they certainly succeeded in making Panorama Cotton an amazing game with some unusual depth for the genre - for example you get various branching paths and RPG elements years before Panzer Dragoon Zwei here, every level has a new set of enemies, several sub sections with detailed and trippy environments, and there's an impressive boss at the end of each one. PC is something of a swan song for the 2D-based rail shooter. Now if someone would port this to the MCD for super smooth scaling...
Contra: Hard Corps (Japanese version)
If I was god, the levels in this game would be about 20% longer, and the egg-shaped crawling robot segment would be removed from most paths. It would be the perfect run 'n gun game. Contra: HC is worth playing simply for the fact that it's an experimental entry in a very conservative series - they actually let you dodge attacks without that awkward jump here, and in the JP version you can take more than one hit before dying! As with RKA, Konami makes great use of the hardware for a fast and intense experience that basically never repeats itself.
Ristar: The Shooting Star
A late release for the system that most people (including me, at the time) missed out on. Ristar seems like a slower, more kiddy version of Sonic at first, and it kind of is but it's also a high quality platformer with a fun to use grab/climb/headbutt ability as its main gimmick, interesting and vaired levels with hidden bonus levels, and some of the best sounding music on the system. The flow of the game is closer to the Illusion games or Revenge of Shinobi except said gimmick makes movement more involved (especially during the bonus levels), though sometimes you'll also find these gadgets that let you temporarily fly across part of a level while bouncing off of the walls and this can be used to reach certain items or a higher path if you get good at it. As in later Sonics there are two acts per level, each with their own take on the level's music theme, and ending with a unique and usually large boss. As with the levels themselves, these can get pretty creative and most of the later ones actually put up a fight. The whole late game is definitely challenging and there are higher difficulties too, so if you're one of those hardcore gamer mandudes you still need to play Ristar!
Micro Machines: Turbo Tournament '96
Honestly, there's not that much to say about Micro Machines except that it's an excellent multiplayer game which is easy to get into for anyone. Start up a race, try to outrun the others and rack up the points until you win, then do it again on new courses and sometimes with new vehicles. This iteration let you build your own courses and had more modes than the previous games, which makes it the best. As with MM2 no multitap was needed to play with 3 others (they called this J-cart technology, you actually had a couple of controller ports on the cart itself. You could also play up to 7 other people at once by sharing 4 controllers, which I haven't tried yet but I'm sure it's awesome.
Thunder Force IV (MD, 1992)
There's a bunch of great shoot 'em ups for the MD and this is the best horizontal one overall, as well as one of the best period. It's a pretty big leap from the prequel in several ways. The developers had really mastered the MD hardware at this point and their talent and attention to detail is visible throughout every aspect of the game, from the big, tough and intimidating bosses to the impressive and catchy soundtrack that somehow mixes metal and jazz fusion tracks in a way that works. I thought the great people at Technosoft overdid it a bit when trying to make up for the low difficulty of the prequel, to the point where some parts require precise memorization and having the special charge-up weapon ready, but it does still take first place in the series for me. An odd tidbit I can add is that while there's some slowdown here and there, it tends to be built in for effect.
Landstalker: The Treasures of King Nole
This game can stalk my land any time. Landstalker is... quite a bit like Zelda 3 if it was an isometric view game, but with an actually interesting story (not the usual damsel in distress and save the world thing with a silent protag), a less formulaic structure, lots of platforming and more challenging puzzles. The lack of a shadow when jumping and some other control quirks were only a minor annoyance for me, since I used save states hehe.
Yu Yu Hakusho: Makyou Toitsusen
Was gonna put Mega Bomberman on the list but assuming we're doing PCE/TG16 (this was copy-pasted from another thread) I can mention this one instead. Growing up we used to play the 3-player fighting game International Karate+ on a buddy's Amiga a lot, and we loved the sheer chaos of it. So in the '00s when I discovered that this game had the same feature but with yet another player added, I had to play it. And (spoiler) Treasure did it once again, it's a great fighting game in the vein of Fatal Fury 2. Matches might not be as fair or precise as in Street Fighter 2 when you play like this, but the laughs from unintended results and the fun in temporary alliances make up for it.
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11. Sonic & Knuckles
12. Mega Bomberman – Hudson
13. Battle Mania Daiginjou - Vic Tokai
When I'm not in a Thunder Force 3 or TF4 mood, this is usually my next go to game in the genre for MD. It's one of the better 16-bit shooters I've played, with great variation, rocking music, fun bosses, cool weapons and all of that. It's also not that hard compared to most shoot 'em ups, though still provides more of a challenge than the prequel. To be honest the endearingly silly anime setting is also a big reason for me to come back to it. Only thing missing off the top of my head is a 2-player mode really.
14. Thunder Force III – Technosoft
15. Gunstar Heroes – Treasure
16. M.U.S.H.A. – Compile
17. Shining Force II
18. Monster World IV – Westone
19. Dynamite Headdy (Japanese version) – Treasure
20. Phantasy Star IV: End of the Millennium
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21. Sonic the Hedgehog with Tails (Hack)
22. Mega Turrican – Factor 5
23. Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master
24. Puyo Puyo II – Compile
25. Castlevania: Bloodlines – Konami
26. Sonic the Hedgehog 3
27. Streets of Rage II
28. Alien Soldier – Treasure
29. TMNT: The Hyperstone Heist – Konami
30. Micro Machines II – Codemasters
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31. Bare Knuckle 3 (SoR3)
32. Street Fighter II Special Champion Edition – Capcom
33. Flashback: The Quest for Identity - Delphine Software
34. Revenge of Shinobi
35. Columns III: Revenge of Columns - Vic Tokai
36. Micro Machines Military – Codemasters
37. Alisia Dragoon – Game Arts
38. General Chaos – EA
39. Super Fantasy Zone – Sunsoft
40. NHL '96 – EA
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41. Quackshot starring Donald Duck
Sega really did a geat job with these Disney licenses at the time. Not only do they look great, but gameplay is usually on par with if not better than Capcom's work from around the same time and a couple of years earlier (when Disney shows were arguably reaching their peak). Similar to DuckTales 2 and Land of Illusion this is a MV-lite game with a hub map, where you travel the world and gain tools and weapons used to progress. Sometimes progression also requires revisiting a previous level with a new tool (generally a marker is placed where you couldn't progress before so that you can fast travel right to it on your next visit). Besides a plunger gun that you can upgrade twice for more traversal options (the red one basically lets you create your own platforms wherever there's a wall to fasten them to), you'll be able to shoot lethal popcorn (!) and lethal bubbles which also remove certain blocks in some levels. In the levels you can also pick up peppers which eventually end up sending Donald on a rampage where he moves quickly and takes everything in his path out simply by touching it - a move that feels true to the character and brings a nice change of pace to an otherwise mostly mid-tempo game. The controls are solid and if mastered there are some tricks you can do using a slide move to keep momentum high and pull off some minor sequence breaking. The level design is pretty inventive with some decent puzzles here and there, and it's quite varied too though some ideas work better than others (a low point is having to backtrack out of a dungeon instead of getting teleported out). The game also features a good minecart segment, which is always a plus in my book. As with the other games I mentioned, again I just wish this was a level or two longer and had a hard mode as well as a save feature.
42. Twinkle Tale – Zap
43. Ghouls 'n' Ghosts – Capcom/Sega
44. Gaiares – Telenet Japan
45. Ranger X – Gau Entertainment
46. Earthworm Jim 2 – Shiny Entertainment
47. World of Illusion starring Mickey Mouse & Donald Duck
48. Ecco II: The Tides of Time – Novotrade
49. Another World – Delphine Software
50. King Colossus
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51. Eliminate Down – Aprinet
52. Wonder Boy in Monster World – Westone
53. Samurai Shodown – SNK/Saurus
54. Lost Vikings, The – Silicon & synapse
55. ToeJam & Earl in Panic on Funkotron
56. Herzog Zwei – Technosoft
57. Super Street Fighter II – Capcom
58. Disney's Aladdin – Virgin Interactive
59. Advanced Busterhawk Gley Lancer – NCS
60. Soleil (Crusader of Centy)
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61. Elemental Master – Technosoft
62. Mickey Mania: The Timeless Adventures of Mickey Mouse – Traveller’s Tales
63. Rolling Thunder 3 – Namco
64. Thunder Force II – Technosoft
65. Wiz 'n Liz – Psygnosis
66. Comix Zone
67. Beyond Oasis / Story of Thor
68. Road Rash 3 – EA
69. Fatal Fury 2 – SNK
70. Road Rash II – EA
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71. Spider-Man vs. The Kingpin
72. High School Soccer Kunio Kun – Technos
73. Bubba N Stix – Core
74. Mega Man: The Wily Wars (w/ codes) – Capcom
75. Dodge Danpei – Sega
76. Pulseman – Game Freak
77. Earthworm Jim – Shiny Entertainment
78. Great Circus Mystery starring Mickey & Minnie – Capcom
79. Zero the Kamikaze Squirrel – Iguana Entertainment
80. Shadow Dancer
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81. Chuck Rock II – Core
82. Tiny Toon Adventures: Buster’s Hidden Treasure – Konami
83. Rampart – Tengen
84. Cannon Fodder – Sensible Software
85. Arcus Odyssey – Wolf Team
86. Rolling Thunder 2 – Namco
87. Streets of Rage
88. X-Men 2: Clone Wars – HeadGames
90. Splatterhouse 3 – Namco
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91. Wimbledon Championship Tennis
92. Shining Force
93. Biohazard Battle
94. McDonald’s Treasure Land Adventure – Treasure
95. Dragon's Fury – Technosoft
96. Bonanza Bros
97. Kid Chameleon
98. Vixen 357 – Masaya
99. Rock N Roll Racing – Blizzard/Interplay
100. Pirates! Gold – MicroProse
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101-200 (WIP):
108. Hybrid Front – Sega
103. Warsong – Masaya
101. Micro Machines - Codemasters
102. ToeJam & Earl
98. Ecco the Dolphin – Novotrade
105. Pac-Attack ------------------------------------------------------??? – Namco
107. Crack Down – Sega
109. Ghostbusters - Compile/Sega
117. Klax – Tengen
106. NHL '95
113. Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine/Puyo Puyo
114. Doraemon Yume Dorobouto 7 Nin No Gozansu -----? – Sega
115. Sunset Riders – Konami
133. Sensible Soccer ----------------------------------------------???
116. Columns
118. Steel Empire
119. Pirates! Gold – MicroProse
121. ESWAT: City under Siege
126. Devil Hunter Yohko – NCS
123. Fire Shark – Toaplan
139. Mercs (Original Mode)
124. Road Rash – EA
125. Castle of Illusion
127. Virtua Racing --------------------------------------------------???
128. Top Gear 2------------------------------------------------------?? – Vic Tokai
129. Mystic Defender
130. Lord Monarch -------------------------------------------------???
131. Puzzle & Action: Tant-R
132. Puggsy ----------------------------------------------------------?? – Traveller’s Tales
135. Chiki Chiki Boys – Capcom
138. Gynoug – Masaya
150. Valis III – Telenet Japan
134. Vixen 357 ------------------------------------------------------??? – Masaya
136. Uncharted Waters: New Horizons -----------------------??? – Koei
120. The Lost World: Jurassic Park -----------------------------? – Appaloosa Interactive
137. NHL '94
140. Golden Axe
141. Batman – Sunsoft
104. Chaos Engine
122. Strider – Sega
147. Misadventures of Flink – Psygnosis
142. OutRun
143. Vectorman
149. Wonder Boy III: Monster Lair
144. Mortal Kombat II
145: James Pond II: Codename Robocod – Vectordean
146. Zombies Ate My Neighbors – Konami -------------------?
148. Rainbow Islands: The Story of Bubble Bobble 2 – Taito
155. Sokoban / Shove It – Masaya
151. Surging Aura
152. Gain Ground
153. Demolition Man
154. King of the Monsters 2 – SNK
157. Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3
156. The Haunting starring Poltergeist – EA
159. Rambo III
163. Dangerous Seed
158. Road Blasters - Sterling Silver Software
161. Puzzle & Action: Ichidant R
170. Dashin’ Desperadoes
169. Snow Bros ------------------------------------------------------? – Toaplan
160. Gargoyles -------------------------------------------------------?
171. Mega Panel ----------------------------------------------------??
173. Trouble Shooter
170. Jungle Book, The
162. The Legend of Toki: Going Ape Spit
164. Splatterhouse 2 – Namco
174. Sol-Deace – Wolf Team
176. Dune II: The Battle for Arrakis
181. Lion King, The
166. Truxton – Toaplan
175. Adventures of Batman & Robin, The
165. Donald in Maui Mallard
180. Grind Stormer/V-5 – Toaplan
178. Exo-Squad
172. Space Harrier 2
167. StarFlight -------------------------------------------------------???
177. NBA Jam -------------------------------------------------------???
191. Trampoline Terror! – Masaya
203. Light Crusader -------------------------------------------------?
179. Wani Wani World – tedious bosses, repetitive, starts boring but gets a bit more fun once you pick up some power ups like bombs, slow transitions between levels, somewhat primitive control
168. Ball Jacks – Namco ------------------------------------------?
181. Burning Force – Namco
182. Space Invaders ‘91
184. Sparkster: Rocket Knight Adventures 2
186. Alien 3 -----------------------------------------------------------?
182. The Flintstones ------------------------------------------------?
183. Eternal Champions ------------------------------------------? – CD version is better
185. Shadowrun -----------------------------------------------------?
187. Michael Jackson's Moonwalker
188. Battletoads – Rare
189. Marvel Land – Namco
190. Atomic Runner – Data East
192. Mazin Saga – Vic Tokai
193. Vapor Trail
196. Phantom 2040 ----------------------------------------??
194. Toy Story – Traveller’s Tales
201. Battletoads & Double Dragon – Rare
202. Forgotten Worlds
199. Weaponlord --------------------------------------------------??
209. Gemfire -------------------------------------------------------?? (PC Port)
198. El Viento – Wolf Team
195. Bubble and Squeak
197. Master of Monsters – Opera House -------------?
199. Robocop vs. Terminator – sound effects are annoying and too loud, some bosses take forever to kill (walker, final boss)
200. Devilish
211. Championship Pro-Am – Rare
204. Star Trek: DS9 – Crossroads of Time -------------------???
205. Kawasaki Superbike Challenge
209. Battletech
203. Boogerman
206. Sub Terrania ---------------------------------------------------?
207. Star Control-----------------------------------------------------???
208. Rolo to the Rescue
82. Target Earth – NCS
210. Warriors of the Eternal Sun ------------------------------??
208. Decap Attack – Vic Tokai
215. After Burner II
205. Pit-Fighter
211. Super Hang-On
206. Predator 2
66. Zero Wing
210. Granada – Wolf Team
211. Rings of Power
212. James Pond 3 --------------------------------------? – Vectordean
214. Vectorman 2
Lemmings 1-2
91. Sonic 3D Blast
48. Cool Spot - Virgin
Golden Axe III
James Pond
Might and Magic
Techno Clash
Shining in the Darkness - Climax
300. Phantasy Star II
206. Tinhead – MicroProse
193. Populous
157. Jungle Strike -----------------------------------?
48. Mortal Kombat
94. Worms
76. Jurassic Park
220. Pagemaster
Syndicate
Cyborg Justice
Phantasy Star III
X-Perts
