The Genesis launched in Japan as the Mega Drive in 1988, reached North America in 1989, and came to Europe under the Mega Drive name in 1990. This was Sega's 16-bit console, and…

The Genesis launched in Japan as the Mega Drive in 1988, reached North America in 1989, and came to Europe under the Mega Drive name in 1990. This was Sega's 16-bit console, and its arcade background showed up throughout the library. Games like Golden Axe and Altered Beast brought those arcade properties home, while games such as Streets of Rage and The Revenge of Shinobi helped give the system its own identity. There were sports games, shooters, action games, and RPGs too. It had a lot more going on than the small handful of titles that usually show up when people summarize it. Sonic the Hedgehog arrived in 1991, after the console had already launched, and became a huge part of how Sega presented the system. The speed, animation, music, and level design gave Sonic a very recognizable identity. Then you had the competition with the Super Nintendo happening at the same time, with different games and different versions of games giving people plenty to argue about. Looking at the Genesis library now, you can see how Sega's own developers and outside studios kept finding different uses for the hardware throughout its life. It covered a pretty wide range of experiences within that one generation.