The 39 best Mega Drive / Genesis games

Ranked by the scores that magazines gave these games when they came out. The list draws on 4,823 review scores of 790 Mega Drive / Genesis games; 588 of them have enough reviews to be ranked.

#	Game	Platform	Year	Score
1	Flashback: The Quest for Identity	Mega Drive	1993	95.1
2	Sonic the Hedgehog	Mega Drive	1991	95
3	Sonic the Hedgehog 3	Mega Drive	1994	93.8
4	Castle of Illusion starring Mickey Mouse	Mega Drive	1990	93.6
5	World of Illusion starring Mickey Mouse & Donald Duck	Mega Drive	1992	93.4
6	Micro Machines 2: Turbo Tournament	Mega Drive	1994	92.7
7	Mickey Mania: The Timeless Adventures of Mickey Mouse	Mega Drive	1994	92.5
8	Sonic the Hedgehog 2	Mega Drive	1992	92
9	Earthworm Jim 2	Mega Drive	1995	92
10	John Madden Football '92	Mega Drive	1991	91.9
11	Mortal Kombat 3	Mega Drive	1994	91.9
12	EA Hockey	Mega Drive	1991	91.7
13	FIFA Soccer 95	Mega Drive	1994	91.7
14	Aladdin	Mega Drive	1993	91.6
15	Super Street Fighter II: The New Challengers	Mega Drive	1994	91.6
16	Landstalker: The Treasures of King Nole	Mega Drive	1992	91.5
17	Mortal Kombat II	Mega Drive	1994	91.5
18	Micro Machines Turbo Tournament '96	Mega Drive	1995	91.4
19	Jimmy White's Whirlwind Snooker	Mega Drive	1994	91.3
20	Streets of Rage	Mega Drive	1991	91.3
21	FIFA International Soccer	Mega Drive	1993	91.3
22	International Superstar Soccer Deluxe	Mega Drive	1996	91.3
23	Populous	Mega Drive	1990	91.2
24	Street Fighter II' Special Champion Edition	Mega Drive	1993	91.1
25	Ecco the Dolphin	Mega Drive	1992	91
26	The Revenge of Shinobi	Mega Drive	1989	90.9
27	Shining Force	Mega Drive	1992	90.8
28	Sonic & Knuckles	Mega Drive	1994	90.8
29	Soleil	Mega Drive	1994	90.8
30	Virtua Racing	Mega Drive	1994	90.7
31	Mortal Kombat	Mega Drive	1993	90.6
32	Beyond Oasis	Mega Drive	1994	90.6
33	Thunder Force IV	Mega Drive	1992	90.5
34	Jungle Strike	Mega Drive	1993	90.3
35	Tiny Toon Adventures: Buster's Hidden Treasure	Mega Drive	1993	90.2
36	Dune II: Battle For Arrakis	Mega Drive	1993	90.1
37	NBA Jam T.E.	Mega Drive	1994	90.1
38	Toy Story	Mega Drive	1995	90.1
39	Chuck Rock	Mega Drive	1991	90

Highly rated, with fewer than 3 reviews

7 Mega Drive / Genesis games have a score of 90 or more, but from only one or two reviews, and no Metacritic score.

Game	Platform	Year	Score
Sonic the Hedgehog	Mega Drive	1993	91
Jelly Boy	Mega Drive	1995	90
NFL '95	Mega Drive	1994	90
Putty Squad	Mega Drive	1995	90
Rugby World Cup '95	Mega Drive	1994	90
Sports Talk Baseball	Mega Drive	1992	90
World Series Baseball '95	Mega Drive	1995	90

How the ranking works

The scores are the ones magazines gave when the games came out, all converted to a 0–100 scale. Only one review per magazine counts for a game: the most recent.
A game's score is half the average, half the median of its magazine reviews. A title opens the game's page on uvlist.net; a score opens the report with every review behind it.
A game needs at least 3 magazine reviews to be ranked. With equal scores, the game with more reviews comes first.
Metacritic already sums up many reviews, so it is never mixed with the magazines: it is used only for games with fewer than 3 magazine reviews, as their only score.
Each list shows every game with a score of 90 or more. Games with fewer than 3 reviews and no Metacritic score are shown apart: their score is promising, but rests on one or two opinions.

The lists are rebuilt each time reviews are added. To filter by genre, year, magazine or publisher, explore all the scores in the report.

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