Sega Genesis Review

Sega got to sixteen bits two years before Nintendo and spent them building a personality. The Motorola processor was quick, which is why the arcade ports were the best on any home machine and why Sonic could move at a speed Mario never attempted, and the marketing turned that into an identity aimed squarely at teenagers who had grown out of Nintendo's lawn. The library is deeper than its reputation: Streets of Rage 2, Gunstar Heroes, Phantasy Star IV and the Madden and NHL games that defined sports on a console for a generation.

What it lacked was Nintendo's discipline. The sound chip produced a distinctive, thin metallic tone that dated quickly, the colour palette was narrower, and the later years were spent on add-ons, the Sega CD and the 32X, that split the audience and squandered the goodwill. At its best, it was the more exciting machine.