Did the Sega Game Gear have any good games?

Power Pro

Power Pro

Member
This isn't me criticizing the system, it's me honestly not knowing. Whenever I go into shops that have old games, I always spot the small selection of game gear titles and wonder if any of them are good. I do love the look of the cartridges. I don't have much nostalgia for the system because I never owned one, but I always love the design of the games and hardware.

That being said, my limited experience actually playing the Game Gear is every game feeling not very fun to play, and a big part of that being the resolution being so small. Even the gameboy doesn't seem to suffer the problem the Game Gear always seem to for me where everything is just way too zoomed in to see anything. I'll admit my experience is very limited though. Maybe a handful of Sonic games, and the odd licensed game as a kid I tried is all I ever played on a Game Gear. I know a lot of games on Game Gear were ports of Master System games, so I know there might be some cross over in good titles that way, but with that low resolution screen, I still wonder if those ports are any good.

So I'm legit curious. Were there any really great hidden gems that might even still be fun to play today on the Game Gear?
 
I had a game gear for a month and then it got stolen. So unfortunately I only played road rash but that game was excellent (for the time).

Surprised they haven't remade it. Simple enough concept
 
Best version of Jurassic Park in my opinion and I highly recommend the version of Batman Returns....I thought I was looking at both through rose colored glasses as I played them when they were new, but I've revisited both within the last couple months and they're damn good games. Even the music (though limited by hardware) is really really good stuff. I also recommend Sonic Triple Trouble.
 
McGILLAZ said:
Best version of Jurassic Park in my opinion and I highly recommend the version of Batman Returns....I thought I was looking at both through rose colored glasses as I played them when they were new, but I've revisited both within the last couple months and they're damn good games. Even the music (though limited by hardware) is really really good stuff. I also recommend Sonic Triple Trouble.
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When you mentioned Jurassic Park, I loaded up my Switch copy of the Jurassic Park Classic games collection hoping to see if it was on there. Sadly it doesn't seem to be. They got Gameboy, and Genesis games, but not Game Gear.
 
The Shinobi games are fun, more like the arcade rolling thunder-esque games rather than the later genesis stuff, but not quite the same either. And Virtua Fighter the animation is neat for having a story the main games should have had, lol. And the Segavania Master of Darkness & other MS stuff.
 
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I am a developer on the console, and I can tell you the Game Gear is awesome and has an excellent library of games. On top of having excellent specs !

It also has a ton of shitty Western ports.

Here is a quick list of excellent games I recommend :

Moldorian
Sylvan Tale
Shining Force all 3 games
Royal Stone
Lunar
Godzilla

Ninku 1 and 2
Power Rangers + Movie
Fatal Fury
Mortal Kombat 2
Streets of Rage 2

Sonic Triple Trouble
Ristar (unbelievable port)
Jurassic Park Lost World
GG Shinobi 1 and 2
Batman Returns
Judge Dredd
Zenki
Lion King (and many other Disney games)

F1 by Domark
Outrun
GP Rider
Sonic Drift 2
Road Rash (incredible port)

Jungle Strike (excellent port)
Devilish
Ecco Tides of Time
GG Aleste all 3 games
Sonic Spinball (I like this port, not the best game though)
Tintin (very well made for the console)

That's a quick list of very good games, there are more of course. And if you want to check my game, it is called the Sword of Stone and still available to order from the 2Minds shop.
 
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cireza said:
I am developer on the console, and I can tell you the Game Gear is awesome and has an excellent library of games.

It also has a ton of shitty Western ports.

Here is a quick list of excellent games I recommend :

Moldorian
Sylvan Tale
Shining Force all 3 games
Royal Stone
Lunar

Ninku 1 and 2
Power Rangers + Movie
Fatal Fury
Mortal Kombat 2
Streets of Rage 2

Sonic Triple Trouble
Ristar (unbelievable port)
Jurassic Park Lost World
GG Shinobi 1 and 2
Batman Returns
Judge Dredd
Zenki

F1 by Domark
Outrun
GP Rider
Sonic Drift 2
Road Rash (incredible port)

Jungle Strike (excellent port)
Devilish
Ecco Tides of Time
GG Aleste all 3 games
Sonic Spinball (I like this port, not the best game though)

That's a quick list of very good games, there are more of course. And if you want to check my game, it is called the Sword of Stone and still available to order from the 2Minds shop.
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Thank you! I'll remember this list of games.

I'll also look into your game. Does that shop ship to the US?

Edit: Sadly it looks like your game is out of stock
 
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Ristar is basically 1:1 to the Mega Drive version - of course has hardware limitations, but it's amazing how great looks and plays it

I also remember Shinobi and Sonic games being awesome. Don't remember playing anything else
 
cireza said:
I am developer on the console, and I can tell you the Game Gear is awesome and has an excellent library of games. On top of having excellent specs !

It also has a ton of shitty Western ports.

Here is a quick list of excellent games I recommend :

Moldorian
Sylvan Tale
Shining Force all 3 games
Royal Stone
Lunar

Ninku 1 and 2
Power Rangers + Movie
Fatal Fury
Mortal Kombat 2
Streets of Rage 2

Sonic Triple Trouble
Ristar (unbelievable port)
Jurassic Park Lost World
GG Shinobi 1 and 2
Batman Returns
Judge Dredd
Zenki
Lion King (and many other Disney games)

F1 by Domark
Outrun
GP Rider
Sonic Drift 2
Road Rash (incredible port)

Jungle Strike (excellent port)
Devilish
Ecco Tides of Time
GG Aleste all 3 games
Sonic Spinball (I like this port, not the best game though)
Tintin (very well made for the console)

That's a quick list of very good games, there are more of course. And if you want to check my game, it is called the Sword of Stone and still available to order from the 2Minds shop.
Click to expand...
Fantastic list/post. I came in here ready to start dropping bangers but you beat me to it. The GG needs more love.
 
cireza said:
I am a developer on the console, and I can tell you the Game Gear is awesome and has an excellent library of games. On top of having excellent specs !

It also has a ton of shitty Western ports.

Here is a quick list of excellent games I recommend :

Moldorian
Sylvan Tale
Shining Force all 3 games
Royal Stone
Lunar
Godzilla

Ninku 1 and 2
Power Rangers + Movie
Fatal Fury
Mortal Kombat 2
Streets of Rage 2

Sonic Triple Trouble
Ristar (unbelievable port)
Jurassic Park Lost World
GG Shinobi 1 and 2
Batman Returns
Judge Dredd
Zenki
Lion King (and many other Disney games)

F1 by Domark
Outrun
GP Rider
Sonic Drift 2
Road Rash (incredible port)

Jungle Strike (excellent port)
Devilish
Ecco Tides of Time
GG Aleste all 3 games
Sonic Spinball (I like this port, not the best game though)
Tintin (very well made for the console)

That's a quick list of very good games, there are more of course. And if you want to check my game, it is called the Sword of Stone and still available to order from the 2Minds shop.
Click to expand...
I never knew I needed a Game Gear until now. 🤷‍♂️
 
Owning a Game Gear as a kid felt like wearing a badge of honor, my personal gateway into the world of Sega. I'd never had a Genesis or Mega Drive; growing up, Nintendo was what was always on the menu.
That little handheld became my own Sega universe, and a few games in my library defined the experience. Lemmings and Jurassic Park probably claimed the most hours, right alongside Sonic the Hedgehog 1 and 2. I'd carry it to my gaming sanctuary, flick the switch, and be greeted by that iconic, drawn out "SEGA!" the sound that still unlocks a flood of good memories.


Favorites from my collection:
  • Sonic the Hedgehog 1 and 2
  • Ax Battler: A Legend of Golden Axe
  • Ecco the Dolphin (any)
  • Jurassic Park
  • Lemmings
  • Road Rash
  • Mortal Kombat (1 and 2)
  • NBA Jam
  • Streets of Rage
  • Shining Force: The Sword of Hadja
  • Lion King
  • Power Rangers
 
diffusionx said:
No need to play Shining Force on GG when SF CD is enhanced port of those.
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It depends what you are looking for. For a proper handheld experience on a small screen, I'd rather play the GG games. Also Final Conflict is still exclusive to the GG to this day, on top of being excellent.
 
Power Pro said:
Yeah I feel like I need to get one now that I've seen there are nice mods for the system that give it a better screen now too.
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If you want a pixel perfect experience, I recommend the Anbernic 406H (or V) because they have the perfect GG screen : 960 x 720. So this is 4/3 ratio, and it integer scales perfectly the internal resolution of 160x144. The GG had "rectangle" pixels.

Also a great device for GB GBC GBA.

If you really want to buy cartridges though then for sure, a modded console is a good choice. But the screens are 320x240 or 640x480, so not as good.
 
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Game Gear was legitimately great. Agree with the long list posted above, especially the insanely good Ristar port.

Some other, lesser mentioned favorites are Chuck Rock 2, Road Runner and Arena Maze of Death.
 
I had a friend who only had a few games. I remember Sonic Spin Ball was one, I remember him finishing it. I remember because he went around telling everyone he finished it, must have been a difficult game. He was also a huge Mortal Kombat fan and I bet he owned that one.
 
mega-man-1995-sega-game-gear-north-america-cover-altar-of-gaming-33415.jpg
 
Rambone said:
Owning a Game Gear as a kid felt like wearing a badge of honor, my personal gateway into the world of Sega. I'd never had a Genesis or Mega Drive; growing up, Nintendo was what was always on the menu.
That little handheld became my own Sega universe, and a few games in my library defined the experience. Lemmings and Jurassic Park probably claimed the most hours, right alongside Sonic the Hedgehog 1 and 2. I'd carry it to my gaming sanctuary, flick the switch, and be greeted by that iconic, drawn out "SEGA!" the sound that still unlocks a flood of good memories.


Favorites from my collection:
  • Sonic the Hedgehog 1 and 2
  • Ax Battler: A Legend of Golden Axe
  • Ecco the Dolphin (any)
  • Jurassic Park
  • Lemmings
  • Road Rash
  • Mortal Kombat (1 and 2)
  • NBA Jam
  • Streets of Rage
  • Shining Force: The Sword of Hadja
  • Lion King
  • Power Rangers
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After graduating from C64 and Amiga (which were my father's home office workstations hehe), Game Gear was my first console till the Mega Drive. Battery pack and TV Tuner were something like space age tech for the young me back then.

I had and thoroughly enjoyed Batman, Columns (love it), Jurassic Park, Aladdin, Crystal Warriors, Donald Duck - Lucky Dime Caper, and others I do not recall right now. Never regretted having it one bit.
 
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Master-system sure does.
- Sonic 1, 2 and Chaos
- Jurassic Park
- Asterix Great Rescue
- Shinobi
- Kenseiden
- Lucky Dime Caper
- Deep Duck Trouple
- Castle of Illusion
- Wonderboy Dragons Trap and Monster World
 
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Syphon Filter said:
how come the game gear failed? it seemed ahead of its time.
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yeah, at the time it felt not very portable. The batteries died before you barely did anything with it, and the screen on the actual device was really bad. I remember it being so hard to even see anything in the most ideal conditions. It had terrible contrast, where it was too bright or too dark.
 
I just started collecting for Game Gear this summer, so I'm interested in the replies here too. I've found quite a few I want to try so far, mostly Sonic games but also Castle of Illusion, Lion King and a few others. I just have to find an upgraded Game Gear now...
 
Nah the sega genesis was infinitely better and more nostalgia too for me!

also tbh.

The gameboy + pokemon combo was so fucking far ahead of its time.

After that the GBC became a thing and it was even better
 
Spukc said:
Nah the sega genesis was infinitely better and more nostalgia too for me!

also tbh.

The gameboy + pokemon combo was so fucking far ahead of its time.

After that the GBC became a thing and it was even better
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The MegaDrive is a 16 bits console, so the comparison is pointless. The GG often came very close to the 16 bits games which tells a lot about how awesome it was. Mortal Kombat II, Ristar, Jungle Strike or Road Rash feel and/or look incredibly close to the MD games. I would argue Road Rash is even better thanks to the much superior music.

The GBC was fine, but color wise, it is super weak compared to GG games. The 4 colors palettes (3 for sprites) always looked awful to me. Compare Zelda to Sylvan Tale for example. Explains the difference between 4 and 16 colors palettes perfectly well.
 
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