10 (MORE) Retro Games To Add To Your Hacked Sega Mini (If You're Also An Old Millennial With Similar Gaming Tastes As Me) | PART 2
Just like with PART 1, this 2nd collection of 10 (more) games that I would add to my hacked Sega Mini, if I was you and if you were like me, does not attempt to claim that these are the best games you can get on the NES/Sega/SNES systems. I’ve looked at too many ‘best of’ video game lists to realize my current sensibilities do not perfectly align with some of the consensus best games. The games included in my lists are the ones that appeal the most to me as an old millennial who pretty much stopped playing video games back in the late 90s and is now dipping my toes back in—which requires a different consideration than thinking about where a game would sit on an all-time list.
Because, once you discover that you can add any game from the 3 classic consoles of the pre-2000s era to your hacked Sega Mini, the next most important thing to discover is which of those games would you actually still want to sit down and spend some time playing instead of tackling that never-ending Netflix queue or reading a boot or maybe even venturing outside (ps - If you’re wondering what a Sega Mini is and how you can hack it to add any NES/Sega/SNES game you want, I wrote a blog post about how I hacked mine).
So, with that in mind, here’s my second list of 10 games that you should definitely add to your hacked Sega Mini… if you happen to also be spending some of the quarantine going down a similar retro video game rabbit hole:
#1 - NBA Live 97 (SEGA)
In PART 1, I mentioned how hockey is the sport that translates best to the video game world — but when it comes to the sport that I like the most in the real world, basketball is my hands down number one. And, yes, the first basketball game that comes to mind when thinking of 90s video games is probably NBA Jam, but when it comes to what I actually end up choosing to play when I turn my Mini on, it has more often been the more ‘realistic’ gameplay of NBA Live that intrigues me more these days. I mean, it’s fun doing turbo jams for a bit, but for extended plays it’s much funner taking modern era 3-point strategy back to a team in 1997 and seeing how that works (I’ve been going with the pre-Steph, Chris Mullin Warriors). Also, I’m going to cheat and add Coach K College Basketball with NBA Live, as it’s basically the same game except with college teams.
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#2 - Earthbound (SNES)
Speaking of PART 1, I mentioned how I don’t like ‘turn-based RPGs’ and this is still mostly true—but Earthboud gets a pass because the story and animations are too fun & entertaining + they let you choose the option of doing the ‘turn-based’ fights on auto. I’m sure that’s not the best strategy, but for now it’s been working just fine to move the story along and the story and characters are really the most important part of an RPG like Earthbound, which feels a little bit like dropping into a choose-your-own-adventure Calvin & Hobbes meets Charlie Brown comic book.
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#3 - Mega Bomberman (SEGA)
You can also find Bomberman games on the NES and SNES, but when I first got my Sega Mini hacked I was only able to add Sega games, so Mega Bomberman is the first bomberman I got hooked on, which is why I find myself returning to that one the most. The NES/SNES versions are also good—because the whole Bomberman concept is a pretty perfect & repeatable video game format—so since you can get over 200 games on your hacked Sega Mini, it’s probably worth getting versions for each console. But just remember that your Sega Mini comes with 3-button Sega controllers, so whenever you can get the Sega version, it’s usually best to go for that (unless you're rich and want to buy multiple 6-button USB Genesis controllers for multiplayer games).
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#4 - Super Mario World 2 - Yoshi’s Island (SNES)
I had a Super Nintendo when I was a youth, but it must have broke down and got replaced by a Sega Genesis before Super Mario World 2 came out, because I don’t remember this title existing at all (and I really liked Super Mario World). This game focuses more on Yoshi (hence the '“Yoshi’s Island” in the title + Mario is just a toddler) and the graphic style is very different & unique—has a bit of a hand-drawn look to it. But it’s a Super Mario game, so you already know the game play is pretty solid & still holds up.
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#5 - Solomon’s Key (NES)
In PART 1, I mentioned how a lot of the 8-bit NES games don’t quite compete when compared to similar style 16-bit games (ie. platformers, racing, sports, etc), but one area I’ve been finding the NES to still provide some pretty fun and addicting gameplay is with the puzzle games. And Solomon’s Key provides a simple concept of being able to make blocks appear and disappear to avoid baddies while grabbing keys and saving fairies and getting out the door before the time runs out.
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#6 - Goof Troop (SNES)
I guess Goof Troop is mostly a puzzle game, although it really doesn’t feel like your traditional puzzle game. You either play as Goofy or Max (or both, as it’s a good 2-player game) and by picking up things to throw at baddies and kicking stones to the right spots in the right order, you slowly work your way through different stages. It looks good, handles well & is easy enough to pick up and get the hang of straight away—which, it turns out, is one of the main things that appeals to me in a video game at my age.
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#7 - McDonald’s Treasure Land Adventure (SEGA)
I didn’t want to like this game because I hated how it was a McDonald’s game and you played as Ronald f*cking McDonald — but I kept hearing this game praised when researching which titles to add to my Mini and when I finally gave it a chance I had to admit that is a really well made platformer (it’s made by the folks at Treasure, so it makes sense that it’s as good as it is). This game looks really nice and plays really smooth and it’s got some unique mechanics + it’s really easy to get comfortable with straight away, which makes it immediately fun and relaxing to play & eventually you get over playing as the capitalist mascot that is Ronald f*cking McDonald.
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#8 - Illusion of Gaia (SNES)
Illusion of Gaia is another action RPG that is making me realize that I don’t dislike all RPGs, in fact, I quite like the action RPG format. So much more enjoyable than the relentless beat ‘em ups I used to play instead of RPGs when I was a kid. The Gaia story is engaging and pulls you in to the world right away, and before you know it, voices are talking to you through the flute you carry around with you and you’re soon being busted out of a castle prison by a princess’ pet pig. Who wouldn’t be curious to see where the story goes from there? Sure beats bashing buttons as you punch a non-stop barrage of the same bad guys over and over again.
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#9 - True Lies (SEGA)
I never played this game back in the 90s, but we did have True Lies on VHS and I did watch that movie quite a bit (and yes, maybe that Jamie Lee Curtis attempt at a strip tease scene got more than a few replays by the pre-internet teen version of me). This game can sometimes be a bit frustrating with how the gun aiming goes, but overall it’s a pretty good looking action game that seems to be loosely sticking to what I remember of the movie script so far. And even though it only comes in written text, I swear I can hear Tom Arnold’s voice when he passes on messages during gameplay.
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#10 - Adventures of Lolo 3 (NES)
Just like Solomon’s Key, and just like Kickle Cubicle from the PART 1 list, Adventures of Lolo 3 is another fun little NES puzzle game (and yes the original Lolo and Lolo 2 are also good). This is one of those games where you sometimes have to do a lot of trial and error to figure out what all the baddies do (ie. ‘oh, I guess that statue can shoot arrows throw the bushes’ or ‘oh, I guess the pink dragon shoots fire at you once you grab a heart’ etc) but eventually you’ll figure out the strategy on how you need to move things around in order to safely grab all the hearts and unlock the chest that’ll open the door to another level where you’ll need to do something similar but different again. Another fun & addicting one to jump back and play for a bit whenever you’re feeling a little bit bored.
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Ok, that’s it for another list of 10 games that I would recommend making sure you add to your hacked Sega Mini if you’re an old millennial with similar gaming tastes as me (ie. these are the lists that I wish I stumbled upon when I was trying to figure out which games to add to my mini).
If you missed PART 1, you can read that over here, and then I will be back with a few more ‘lists of 10’ over the next while (I’m thinking of doing 5 parts, so by the end of my list making I’ll have 50 recommended retro video games in total — 20 Sega, 20 Super Nintendo, and 10 Nintendo).
But, until then, feel free to holler at me with whichever NES/SEGA/SNES games you think I should definitely have added to my hacked Sega Mini—I’ve got list 3 and 4 loosely mapped out, but there are still some decisions to be made when it comes to list number 5.
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* For legal reasons, I suppose I should add that this post is entirely a work of fiction and I would never actually hack my Sega Mini with games I did not acquire in whatever the proper legal manner is for acquiring old 90s games in 2020 — in fact I would never even hack my Sega Mini, period, because hacking is bad, kids. "Follow the rules and always do things the way you were told to do them" — that's my motto. SEGA! (also NES! and SNES!)
