Sonic is Tired

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One thing I've noticed about Sega is that in modern years, Sonic is the only character they focus on. I like Sonic the Hedgehog and all, but they appear to be overusing him. Ever since getting Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection, I've been able to get a taste at some of Sega's greatest classics.

The classics listed are Sega games I particularly favor and wish to see revived. I will describe them all both to explain why I like them and to educate those of you not in the know.

The first character agreeing with Sonic and Eggman that Sega needs to take a break from their mascot is Axel Stone from the Streets of Rage series(known in Japan as Bare Knuckle). Streets of Rage is my favorite game series by Sega, and one hell of a beat-em-up.

The first game was released in 1991 on the Sega Genesis(with later ports to the Game Gear and Master System). The story was that a crime organization known as the Syndicate had taken over and corrupted a small town. Three cops named Axel Stone, Blaze Fielding, and Adam Hunter know this cannot be ignored, so they turn their badges in and go beating the tar out of the thugs and crooks running in the streets. After fighting through seven levels, the eighth and final stage goes to the Syndicate headquarters, where you refight all the bosses and it ends with a showdown against the final boss- the mysterious and anonymous leader of the Syndicate.

Before the fight begins, he asks if you want to join him. Saying yes sends you back to the start of level six. Saying no(or making it back to his lair after saying yes) results in him saying "You really want to die, don't you? I'll be happy to oblige" and then he sics his henchmen on you, until eventually joining in the fray himself.

After his defeat, the crime boss collapses to the floor and our three heroes together enjoy the peace they restored to their city.

The second game (released the following year and also later ported to the Game Gear and Master System)has the leader of the Syndicate return(now identified as Mr. X) with a bodyguard called Shiva. The two kidnap Adam Hunter in an attempt to bait Axel and Blaze into a trap.

However, our two heroes are wise to Mr. X's plan and they recruit the help of Adam's younger brother Eddie "Skate" Hunter(known in Japan as Sammy Hunter) and a friend of Axel's named Max Thunder(known as Max Hatchet in Japan and the UK), who happens to be a former wrestler.

For the second time, the gang defeats Mr. X. They then release Adam hunter from the dungeon he was kept in and they return home.

The third and final game was released in 1994 exclusively on the Genesis. It was subject to criticism mainly because of how the American version was censored from the Japanese version(and was more difficult, too). Adam is busy, so other than Axel and Blaze, you play as Skate and a cyborg named Dr. Gilbert Zan, who was a former member of the Syndicate.

The Japanese plot involved a radioactive isotope known as Rakushin, which Mr. X and his new organization Neo Chaos have planted throughout the city.

The plot overseas was that Mr. X and a reformed Syndicate had planned to capture world leaders and replace them with robots.

Things both plots share include Axel being framed for a kidnapping(General Petrov/Chief of Police, revealed to be done by a robot duplicate of him). And if you save the kidnapped person, you get to fight Mr. X, who is revealed to have become a disembodied brain after barely surviving his defeats in the previous two games.

If you defeat Mr. X before time runs out, you manage to defuse all the bombs he planted and escape his lair, culminating in our heroes happily enjoying the peace once again restored. If you run out of time, you still get to fight him, but it ends with the bombs going off and our heroes' reputation severely damaged.

And did I mention failing to save the kidnapped person ends with the final boss being Shiva and having Mr. X get away? How about playing on Easy in the English version having the game end after defeating Mr. X's robot double and having it pretty much taunt you for playing on Easy?

Streets of Rage was an impressive series and there are just too many reasons it has to be brought back!

Our next detail concerns E-SWAT. They made an arcade game and a Genesis game. Both games were considerably different, but the concept was the same.

Both games deal with an ordinary police officer named Duke Oda, who, after completing enough successful missions, is equipped with a badass mecha suit with loads of cool weapons.

The arcade game has a modern-day feel and sort of leans towards the superhero genre. You start off going after ordinary criminals(though I don't think anybody would consider an obese man breathing fire normal). After capturing three, you get the mecha suit and go on more supervillain-esque crooks, the final boss being an enigmatic criminal mastermind.

The Genesis game, however, has a more futuristic take and has you fight robots, cyborgs, and mutants. You also only need to complete two missions to earn the mecha suit. The final boss is the leader of a crime organization called E.V.E., who is revealed to be a robot desiring to replicate the E-SWAT suit for crime purposes.

I've only played the Genesis version, but the arcade version is not without its charm. I really like the Genesis version because its boss theme feels very nostalgic(reminds me of my birthplace in Monroe, Louisiana for some reason).

Next is Vectorman. To be honest, I am not really that into him. I only brought him up because he was an interesting character. His story is that he is a robot in the future who has to fight corrupt robots and pollution so that Earth is fit for human population again(and no mention of animals?) They did plan to release a PlayStation 2 game in 2001, but it was canceled. And the gameplay footage I saw of the canceled game didn't really look promising.

Altered Beast is another favorite of mine. The story is that Neff, an evil lord of the Underworld, kidnaps Zeus's daughter, so the god of thunder resurrects a Greek soldier to fight through Neff's legions and rescue her.

There was also a very good reason why the game was called Altered Beast. Defeating a white Cerberus gives you a glowing rob that changes you to a stronger man. Collecting three of them turns you into a kind of animal or monster.

Throughout each level, you encounter Neff three times. If you have fully transformed by the time you meet him, he changes into a monstrosity and a boss fight ensues, as he says "Welcome to your doom!"

If you haven't fully transformed once you meet him, he just runs off until the next time you face him. But if you run into him a third time, the boss fight starts whether you are fully transformed or not.

Each level has an exclusive form and boss-

*Level 1: Werewolf(form), Giant Mound of Corpses(boss)

*Level 2: Lightning-Breathing Dragon(form), Eyeball Plant(boss)

*Level 3: Bear with Petrifying Breath(form), Snail Dragon(boss)

*Level 4: Tiger Man(form), Crocodile Worm(boss)

*Level 5: Golden Werewolf(form), Armored Rhino(boss)

After the final battle, Neff is defeated and Zeus's daughter(who was transformed into a bird), is freed and returned to normal as the most beautiful ending music of video games plays.

Sega had released a GBA game and a PS2 game, but both were much to be desired. The GBA game(Altered Beast: Guardian of the Realms) is almost like the original game, except there are more forms, levels, and bosses, Neff is not the main villain, and the story is different.

The PlayStation 2 game was only released in Japan and Europe, but it sucks because it is nothing like the original game. Instead of an undead soldier, the protagonist is a shape-shifting cyborg who can turn into monsters and animals whenever he wishes. 'Nuff said.

Now we move on to Dynamite Headdy. It was a very amusing game about a puppet who battles monster puppets. A recurring boss is Trouble Bruin, a bear oddly resembling a cat(I know he was a cat in the Japanese version and had a different name). The final boss is the malicious Dark Demon. It was a truly fun and addicting game.

Shinobi is next. The Shinobi series revolves around a ninja clad in white and red who battles a lot of bizarre opponents.

The first game was an arcade game that was ported to the Sega Master System. In this version, the Shinobi died in one hit(which is frustrating enough considering how aggressive most of the enemies are). The bosses, however, have health bars.

The first game released for the Genesis was Shadow Dancer: Secret of the Shinobi. Like the first game, the protagonist is a one-hit-point wonder and the bosses have visible health.

All of this changed in Revenge of the Shinobi(infamous for having bosses that strongly resemble The Terminator, Godzilla, Spider-Man, and Batman). Here, the Shinobi had health and the bosses were the kind that changed colors as they took damage.

The Terminator boss also somewhat resembles the Hulk, as it starts off as a muscular man and turns green as he takes damage. It isn't until he is nearly defeated that his robotic exoskeleton is exposed.

Of course, copyright laws greatly affected later releases of the game. The Godzilla boss became a dinosaur skeleton, for example.

Perhaps the most famous boss is the one that resembles Spider-Man, then changes into Batman halfway through the battle. In later releases, it was changed so that the boss actually looked like Spider-Man(due to Sega temporarily having license to make games about the old wall-crawler) and left the battle, with Batman taking his place. Batman was later replaced by Devilman, an obscure manga and anime character.

Though I never played Revenge of the Shinobi, I must say it has a neat boss theme. Very action-packed and dramatic!

They made a few other Shinobi games, many of which were subjected to mixed opinions.

Not sure why I have brought it up, since they are going to release a new Shinobi game for the 3DS, which I am a bit excited about(moreso after seeing gameplay footage).

Our penultimate lecture will concern Ristar. It dealt with a young alien hero who has to save the world from a tyrant named Kaiser Greedy. One of my favorites for one good reason: Lots of bosses!

The game is sort of hard, but Mario and the old school Sonic games have taught us that games don't have to be easy to be enjoyable.

I heard that Sonic Unleashed was originally going to be an update of Ristar. Will Sega ever learn to take a break from Sonic and focus on its other hits?!

Now for Decap Attack for the Genesis. It was originally released in Japan as a game based on an anime. The rights of the anime were not purchased overseas so they instead retooled it into a different game(not bad, though).

The story is that a demonic tyrant known as Max D. Cap decides he and his minions seize a group of islands strangely resembling a skeleton. He tears the seven islands asunder and has six of them guarded by one of his lieutenants, himself guarding the seventh island.

A scientist named Dr. Frank N. Stein and his assistant Igor hear of this commotion and send their monster Chuck D. Head to save the day.

Chuck D. Head is a headless mummy who has a face on his chest and attacks by stretching his face out to hit enemies. He can also defeat enemies by jumping on them, a la Mario.

He also is capable of obtaining a power-up that enables him to carry a skull on his head and throw it like a boomerang(though he loses it if he gets hit).

The six lieutenants of Max D. Cap are a Witch Doctor who throws his mask, a giant toad, a surfing demon, a floating orb thing, a giant mole, and a spitting ape.

After defeating Max D. Cap and reuniting the seven islands, Chuck D. Head returns home. Dr. Frank N. Stein rewards Chuck by making him human.

Some guy here even made an interesting picture of box art for a sequel, the plot being that Max D. Cap returns for revenge. During the onslaught, Chuck is beheaded, but reverts back to his mummy self rather than dying. It is up to him to fight again.

I also included Sega's former mascot Alex Kidd. The one game in the series I played was Enchanted Castle. I actually liked it because of its addicting gameplay and catchy title screen music. Just don't know why some hate it.

Of course, you might have different opinions. It is possible for all these classics to be screwed up in a revival, so it is possible that it is best these forgotten treasures remain forgotten.

Even if that is the case, Sonic really needs a break. It's only fair that the other guys get a turn.

P.S., If I forgot any of your favorite Sega games, it is either because I just forgot them or because I never really liked them myself.