15 (MORE) Retro Games To Add To Your Hacked Sega Mini (If You're Also An Old Millennial With Similar Gaming Tastes As Me) | PART 9
Just like with my previous lists of ‘games to add to your hacked Sega Mini’, PART 9 does not attempt to claim that these are the best retro titles ever. Instead, these are games that, to me, still feel appealing to actually spend time playing all these years/decades later, especially given all the more modern ways one can distract themselves in the modern world. And since I recently went back to the hack to add a USB stick + systems like the PS1 & GBA and even ancient things like Atari to my Sega Mini, there’s a whole new library of possible titles to choose from that weren’t available back when I was making earlier lists of only SEGA/NES/SNES titles.
So, with that in mind, here’s my final list of games that I think are definitely worth adding to your hacked Sega Mini… if you happen to also be spending some of these covid quarantine days in a retro video game rabbit hole & have similar elder millennial tastes as me (tmi: I made this final list 15 games instead of 10 as my goal with this quarantine project was to end up with a HI54 Top Shelf folder on my Sega Mini home screen that consisted of 95 top shelf games in total, as I read somewhere that you don’t want to put more than 100 games on any one page + the Mini displays pages in rows of 6 & when including an icon for going back to the main menu, that makes 95 the perfect number to cap things off at).
#1 - Roll Away
(PLAYSTATION 1)
Sometimes you just want to play a relaxing puzzle game that sees you maneuvering a beach ball around a 3-d environment trying to find keys and coins and exits before the time runs out. This game looks and handles really smooth and they really nailed the sound of a beach ball bouncing from one platform to another. It’s just a nice, mostly stress-free play, and sometimes that is all my old brain is looking for
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#2 - Crash Team Racing (PLAYSTATION 1)
As I mentioned in a previous list, Crash Bandicoot is kind of the PS1’s Mario. And just like how Super Mario Kart was one of my recommended SNES games, it should shock no one that the Playstation racing game that appeals the most to me is Crash Team Racing. Sure, there are much more “realistic” racing games in both look and feel on the PS1, but I’m not really interested in earning money so I can buy new parts for a fake real looking car or worrying about how bumping into things damages my ability to drive, just give me a cartoon character in a go-kart that handles enjoyably and let me try to pick up little bonuses that I can shoot at the other cartoons I’m racing against. I’ve got an actual car for all my realistic driving needs, thank you very much.
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#3 - Doom (SEGA 32X)
When it comes to first-person shooters, perhaps the most iconic of them all is DOOM — and even though the Sega 32x version is not a perfect port (definitely won’t win any words for sound), and even though you can get “better” versions on the PS1 or even on a DOOM specific emulator which can be added to your Sega Mini, I wanted to try and include at least one Sega 32X game in one of my ‘Here’s Some Games To Add’ lists, and this version of DOOM is, for me, the best game that I’ve tried out for the Sega 32X console. Granted, there isn’t a whole lot of 32X games, and most of the games can also be found on the SNES and Genesis, often without any noticeable improvements — so when it comes to DOOM, one can at least say that the 32X version plays really good and is definitely way better than the SNES version (which is basically unplayable).
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#4 -
Syphon Filter (PLAYSTATION 1)
Like Doom, Syphon Filter also involves shooting lots of things, but we move from the 1st-person view into the 3rd-person — and instead of shooting monsters, we’re shooting persons. It’s kind of got a bit of a ‘Metal Gear Solid, but instead of sneaking around all the time you just run around shooting everyone’ vibe. Which is a vibe that I like slightly less than MGS, but only slightly. And like MGS, it does a good job of making you feel like you’re controlling tan action star in an action movie.
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#5 - Alien Hominid
(GAME BOY ADVANCE)
I don’t normally like the kind of shoot ‘em ups where you just keep hitting the shoot button as enemy after enemy keeps coming at you from every direction, but Alien Hominid does a nice job of mixing up cutesy cartoon looks with cutesy cartoon violence + it handles really well and the GBA graphics scale up pretty nicely to the big screen. Which makes it a pretty fun one to play.
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#6 - Metal Slug 2
(NEO GEO)
I know I said I didn’t really like shoot ‘em up games where you just keep hitting the shoot button as enemy after enemy keeps coming at you from every direction, but I don’t like Street Fighter-esque fighting games even more, and when it comes to selecting a NEO GEO game for my Top Shelf, once you remove all of the many different fighting games to choose from, the hands-down best series on that console is definitely Metal Slug. The graphics and gameplay are really quite high quality for 16 bit system, so if you’re gonna play a shoot ‘em up from the 16 bit era, Metal Slug is probably one of the best (there are 5 Metal Slugs on the Neo Geo, but I found a couple roms weren’t working for me, and of the ones that did, number 2 seemed slightly better — although it does seem a little ‘this feels a bit racist / problematic’ in it’s Middle East setting/portrayal).
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#7 - c-12 Final Resistance
(PLAYSTATION 1)
Quite similar in the look and feel as the previously recommended 3rd-person shooter Syphon Filter, but c-12 takes on a more futuristic storyline — which means instead of shooting persons you’re shooting robots. Also like Syphon Filter (and Metal Gear Solid), you get to feel a bit like you’re controlling the action star in an action movie, and that’s always a decent way to kill an hour or so every now and again (and will leave you feeling less confused than the 2.5 hours you could spend watching Tenet instead).
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#8 - Zelda - Links’s Awakening DX
(GAME BOY COLOR)
Some people say that the Oracle Zelda games are the best ones on the Game Boy Color, but all I know is that Link’s Awakening DX seems pretty good too and I probably don’t have time to try and play more than one more Zelda game (I still haven’t jumped back into A Link To The Past on the SNES) + I only have a spot in my Top Shelf folder for one more Game Boy Color game, so I’m gonna go with the DX version of the Zelda game that was so highly praised on the original Game Boy. But, in general, you can’t really go wrong with any Zelda game from back in the day.
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#9 - Gex
(PLAYSTATION 1)
The more I try out games on the newer gaming consoles (“newer” as in PS1 and N64), the more I wish that they would have made more ‘improved, but still old school’ style platformer games. Like, I get that being able to have characters move through a 3-D world was a cool new thing at the time, and when done well it works/looks cool too, but it just seems like not enough developers played around with using the new technology to make some better 2-D games than what was possible on the 16-bit systems. And this GEX game isn’t even a great example of a 2-D game done right on the PS1 (Skullmonkeys is the better example), but it is an example of the 2-D style game being funner to play than the 3-D styled games that followed in this series (although a part of that might also have to do with them really turning up GEX’s ‘tude and one-liners to an annoying level on the 3-D ‘Enter The Gecko’ world). But, still, the original GEX on the PS1 is a fun 2-D platformer that looks and controls well, which makes it fun to pick up and play for a level or two every now and again.
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#10 - Dino Crisis
(PLAYSTATION 1)
Speaking of games that feature lizard creatures, Dino Crisis is basically what you would get if you took the Resident Evil games and swapped out the zombies with dinosaurs. Ok, it’s exactly what you would get. It’s got all the same ‘survival horror’ gameplay and strategy, which can make for stressful jump scares + sometimes can be a lot more slow paced and time-consuming to play than some of the other games on this list. So you really need to be looking for something that you can spend a dedicated hour or 2 before picking up the controller, as this one involves some thinking and remembering and strategizing otherwise you’ll quickly find yourself out of bullets but not out of dinosaurs trying to eat you.
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#11 - Frogger 2: Swampy’s Revenge (PLAYSTATION 1)
This is not the first time I’ve added a Frogger game to my Top Shelf, but Frogger 2 on the PS1 is so much different than the original version that it deserves its own spot. This updated take on the Frogger series is still just as enjoyable & addictive to jump in and start hopping around trying not to get hit by things, but now you’re navigating a 3-D environment while also adding in new moves and goals than just trying to cross a busy 2-D road / river. It’s good fun.
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#12 - Ms. Pac-Man (ATARI 7800)
The Atari 7800 has not aged well. Graphically and gameplay wise, and especially sound wise, most of the titles you can play are really only going to be worth your time if you’re old enough to have some nostalgic connection or if you’re trying to engage with an old boomer in your life. That being said, it is kinda neat that you can play all these games on your Sega Mini, even if just for gaining an understanding of how things used to be and an appreciation for how far things have come along — and since I’m trying to recommend at least one game from each system I have added to my hacked Mini, if you’re going to play an Atari 7800 game in the the 2020’s, Ms. Pac-Man is definitely the one that holds up the most. It’s a classic for a reason, and the kind of gameplay that is well suited for what the limited hardware could pull off back then.
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#13 - Mario Bros (ATARI 2600)
Everything I said about the Atari 7800 is true for the Atari 2600, but if you’re looking for one game that you still might find yourself actually picking up and playing all these years later, I found there is still something in the original Mario Bros game that can make me want to keep trying to progress through the levels, even if the controls / sound / graphics leave A LOT to be desired. Also, I don’t quite remember knowing anyone who had an Atari growing up, but I do seem to have some nostalgia for playing this game, so I guess somewhere deep in my subconscious there are some childhood memories of bopping turtles to turn them upside down, or needing to bop crabs twice to flip them, and then running over to kick them into coins that look like debit cards.
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#14 - Mario vs. Donkey Kong (GAME BOY ADVANCE)
When trying to decide which games from the Atari to add to my Sega Mini’s Top Shelf folder, the original Donkey Kong was definitely on the short list, but I just found that the gameplay and sound was just way too vintage in all the bad ways. Besides, there’s an updated version of Mario battling Donkey Kong on the Game Boy Advance that is a serious improvement on all the things that make an older game still fun to play in the 2020s (aka graphics, sounds, gameplay). So, if you’re looking for a Mario v. Donkey that is still worth playing today, this fun little puzzler is the one you should be looking for.
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#15 - 40 Winks (PLAYSTATION 1)
I know I was going on earlier about how I wish there should be more 2-D platformers on the PS1, but 40 Winks is an example of a 3-D platformer done right. Yes, sometimes the camera angle can add an extra layer of difficulty onto things that shouldn’t be that difficult (ie. making jumps or fighting enemies), but, for the most part, the world created in 40 Winks is big and interesting to explore and the overall storyline/gameplay creates a fairly unique gaming experience that will appeal to that almost mostly dead inner child of yours.
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Ok, that’s it for this final edition of 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 (and if you missed it / are interested, here’s my updated guide on how to your Sega Mini with Hakchi, which includes info on incorporating a USB stick for storage and adding PS1 games & more).
If you want more than the 15 recommendations above, you can check out my other lists of games…
…and then you can let me know whether you think my overall collection of ‘games to add to your hacked Sega Mini’ is totally rubbish or kinda decent, or which games you cannot believe I have not included (keep in mind that these ‘Top Shelf’ lists just make up my one folder of 95 games that I’m most likely to find myself playing, but since I have incorporated a USB stick into my hack, I actually have room for 100s and 100s and even 1000s of games on my Mini — so always interested in someone else’s personal recommendations).
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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!
