The fourth generation of video game consoles wasn’t so great in the west. Video games hadn’t caught on as much as they would eventually, so many games that were produced in Japan, stayed there. Japanese game developers feared that their games wouldn’t appeal to gamers in the west so they decided to just keep them in the land of the rising sun rather than spending money on localization.
There were over 900 games released on the Sega Genesis, known as the Mega Drive in Japan and Europe, with only over 700 being brought overseas. Because of this, we missed out on some fantastic games, some of which are the best the console has to offer. So to help undo this wrong, we have collected 10 great games that were released in Japan that weren’t released here so you can finally see what you were missing out on.
10 Twinkle Tale
If you have played Pocky and Rocky on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, you have a pretty good idea about what this game is all about. Twinkle Tale is an overhead run and gun starring a cute little witch who has deadly powers.
The game is not exactly easy, though most overhead run and guns aren’t. It offers colorful sprite work, crazy bosses, and an interesting power-up system that increases your attack power immensely. With some frenetic gameplay that will take quite some time to master this is one to look out for if you have a grand to spend on an old Japanese Mega Drive game.
9 Gley Lancer
Gley Lancer is a pretty typical shoot em’ up game when it comes to originality. However, what it lacks in creativity, it makes up for in some very solid gameplay. You won’t have too hard of a battle beating this one as the bosses are incredibly easy and the overall gameplay is manageable.
The game also has an interesting story filled with anime drama, which was rare for the time but especially rare for a shoot em’ up. The interesting variations for your options also make Gley Lancer high in replayability.
8 Mamono Hunter Yohko
Mamono Hunter Yohko is a unique platformer based on the Devil Hunter Yohko anime. The game stars the titular character Yohko who we can only assume hunts devils. She is equipped with a sword that she can either do a basic swing with or create a circle around her that doubles as a shield or a projectile.
The game is based around timing the charging of your shield and knowing when to attack and when to defend, so although it looks like a typical platformer of the time, the game is rather unique.
7 Alien Soldier
From the creators of the amazing Gunstar Heroes, Ikaruga, and Dynamite Heady comes Alien Solider. We are slightly cheating here as Alien Soldier was released in some parts of Europe and was available on Sega’s short-lived Sega channel but we take every opportunity we can to talk about this and any other game made by Treasure.
Alien Soldier is a non-stop boss rush and is one of the hardest games on the system. Treasure’s signature style is all over this game, multistage bosses, fast run and gun action, masterful sprite work, and a great soundtrack to tie it all together.
6 Pulseman
Pulseman comes from Gamefreak, the creators of Pokémon. When looking at the characters in this game and some of the old Ken Sugimori artwork from the days of Pokémon Red and Blue the connection is clear.
Pulseman is a colorful platformer with a unique gimmick. Pulseman will charge up every time he runs and can then either shoot out a projectile or turn himself into an electricity infused pinball and destroy everyone in his path. The level design caters to these abilities, making it overall a well-crafted game.
5 Battle Mania 2
If you are looking for a fast-paced, one of a kind shoot em’ up, Battle Mania 2 is where it’s at. Battle Mania 2 sports some of the most detailed sprites the system has to offer. The thing that sets this shoot em’ up apart from the rest is that you can shoot in all eight directions, similar to Capcom’s Forgotten Worlds.
Throughout the game you will take on enemies from all directions, perfectly complimenting your character’s ability as well as battle some highly detailed and difficult bosses that test your reflexes.
4 Monster World 4
Monster World 4 is actually part of the Wonder Boy series, a popular set of games on Sega Master System, Sega Genesis, Turbo Grafx-16, and more so it seems odd that it was not localized and brought over to the west.
Monster World 4 has similar gameplay to previous entries in the Wonder Boy series. You make your way through a semi-open world and find power-ups that allow you to progress further into the game, a style of game made popular by Nintendo’s Metroid series, now affectionately called Metroidvania.
3 The NewZealand Story
Developed and published by Taito, one of the better third party developers of the time, NewZealand Story is a colorful and cute platformer that actually made its debut as an arcade game before being ported to multiple systems.
With the multiple ports of the day on home computers like the Amiga 500, and even getting a release on the Nintendo Entertainment System as Kiwi Kraze, it’s another game we struggle to understand they decided not to localize. Luckily, the arcade port was brought over on the Tatio Legends for the Playstation 2, Xbox, and Gamecube.
2 Panorama Cotton
Panorama Cotton is a pseudo-3D game similar to Sega’s very own Space Harrier. The Cotton series as a whole has rarely been released out of Japan so its inclusion on this list is not too surprising.
As with the rest of the Cotton games, you play as a young red-haired witch named Cotton. Most of the other games in the series are side-scrolling horizontal shoot em’ ups but for Panorama Cotton, they decided to show off the 3D effects of the Mega Drive using scaling sprites to emulate a 3D environment.
1 Golden Axe 3
Easily the oddest inclusion on this list, not due to the game itself but due to it not being localized. Golden Axe was a very popular beat ’em up series set in a fantastic medieval world. The third game in the series stayed true to the first two entries, a classic beat ’em up with three characters to choose from and animals to ride.
Both Golden Axe and Golden Axe 2 sold well on the Genesis and were developed by Sega themselves so why not bring 3 over to an already-established audience who would have been happy to have another entry in the series?
NEXT: A New Sega Genesis Game Is Now On PS4 (And It’s About Coffee)
