Every SEGA game with the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion at a glance
The Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pass launches today and while it may have been hit with controversy, it also features a lot of cool things like a Nintendo 64 channel and free access to the Animal Crossing: New Horizons add-on, Happy Home Paradise. It also comes with a SEGA channel filled with games that were originally released on the SEGA Genesis system. Included with it are the following games at launch:
- Phantasy Star IV
- Gunstar Heroes
- Golden Axe
- Castlevania: Bloodlines
- Contra: Hard Corps
- Ecco the Dolphin
- Strider
- Musha
- Ristar
- Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine
- Shining Force
- Shinobi III: Return of the Master Ninja
- Sonic the Hedgehog 2
- Streets of Rage 2
Let’s go over these for those unfamiliar.
Phantasy Star IV
Oh yeah, warning in advance, if you think game commercials from this era are going to help you figure out what you’re getting, Zanza help you.
One of the interesting things with the SEGA channel is that a lot of these games aren’t the first in the series, instead, they’re often considering the better ones. Phantasy Star IV is above an beyond the “better one”.
In this classic turn-based RPG, you take control of several hunters that have to go out into the somewhat beat-up futuristic landscape and go through a fairly by the books storyline. What makes this game interesting are visual things like animations that sometimes occur to change up the battle or several of the cutscenes which are done almost like a manga.
Just get ready to grind because this game can get pretty rough otherwise.
Gunstar Heroes
The fact that this was the first game from a company is absolutely stunning but this was the first game made by a company called Treasure. Gunstar Heroes has everything you want in a side scrolling action shooter. Swarms of cannon fodder enemies, great animation, fun bosses, a wall working multiplayer and a fun story.
Picture Contra but with upgradeable weapons and a more forgiving difficulty. It’s not unlikely that you might be able to beat this game the first time you play it. But, like Hades now, Gunstar Heroes is the kind of game where you want to play through it multiple times being like, “okay, that weapon was great but what if I use this one.”