Past Processing: Tips For Starting a Sega Genesis Collection

I've seen a few people do videos and articles giving suggestions on how to start collecting for certain systems, and with my knowledge on the subject, I thought I'd throw my hat in as well. My expertise is particularly the strongest with the Sega Genesis, so that's what we'll be covering. First things first: why should you collect Sega Genesis games? Well, for the most part, they aren't as super expensive as games for systems like the Super Nintendo are. Second, while yes, you can get a lot of these games on the SNES, there is still a strong library of games on the Genesis that makes it worth picking up. And third, the Genesis may be one of the best multiplayer consoles of its generation, offering tons of multiplayer games with great replay value.

So, to do this, we're going to start things off with the money to buy a console, an extra controller, and 100 dollars to spend on games. Consoles can usually cost between 25-50 dollars depending on where you buy from. You can go with either the Model 1 or Model 2 consoles as they both offer quality gameplay. But I'd opt for the model one (the one listed above) as it offers the best sound and even a headphone jack for when you want to really jam on some game tunes. For an extra controller, I'd suggest a six button controller. Later games on the console began implementing six button controls far more, and they're especially useful for fighting games.

So, now you have the one hundred dollars and you're ready to buy some games. The obvious first choice would be a Sonic game. Sonic 2 is my personal favorite, and while Sonic 1 is solid and cheap, Sonic 2 offers a lot of what the franchise would become famous for. Plus it usually costs about five dollars. So we subtract five dollars. Another platformer would be great to have. I could see you being interested in Earthworm Jim, and it is a good risk, but the game is a bit more expensive at 16-20 bucks. My suggestion? Vectorman is a great game from the tail end of the console's life cycle. It's also a bit cheaper at around 5-10 dollars. So we've spent about 15 bucks and got two games down.

Now, let's go with some great multiplayer games. The Streets of Rage games have gone up a bit in price lately, and if you want to jump on it, Streets of Rage 2 is a must have, though it does go for over 25 dollars. An alternative? Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers: The Movie is a solid brawler that won't break the bank so easily, and it goes for around ten dollars. I'd go with Power Rangers for now, but I also can't say no to Streets of Rage 2, so we'll go with the latter. 40 dollars in and we're in the mood for some fighting games. Mortal Kombat is a no-brainer at around 6-10 dollars. But you can't take Mortal Kombat without having some Street Fighter II. And Champion Edition is around 7-10 dollars. So both would take us to around 53 dollars.

Five pickups so far (Sonic 2, Vectorman, Streets of Rage 2, Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter II) and there are still some other great starter titles to choose from. Take for example Disney's Aladdin, a well built platformer that follows the movie well enough and has animation actually worked on by Disney. It goes for around ten bucks, so we'll grab that. 63 dollars in now we can focus a bit more on sports games. If you like Hockey, then the best choice is NHL 94. It's a pricier Sports game, but still about ten dollars. Worth the grab. Basketball is perfect for NBA Jam or NBA Jam: Tournament Edition. The latter offers more gameplay options, so we'll take that for about nine more dollars. 82 dollars in and that seems like a good stop off point considering we still have to pay tax. But if you want to put one more game in your cart, I'd suggest True Lies. A surprisingly fun top down shooter based on the Schwarzenegger classic. 14 bucks taking us to 96 dollars. A perfect stop off point.

Again, these are all suggestions that I would take. If you would prefer spending your money on heavy hitter games like the Shining Force games or Beyond Oasis, that's fine. But I like to start a collection with a decent sprinkling of different games to try. If these suggestions were of any interest to you, I hope they help you if you think of becoming an avid Genesis collector like myself. Plus game collecting is a fun hobby that's always worth taking the time out for.