1. Streets of Rage II
The original Streets of Rage had something special, sure, but it was imperfect in every respect. Somehow Streets of Rage II just revisited the exact same formula and righted every wrong along the way. The result is a game that looks, sounds and feels sensational.
Yuzo Koshiro's soundtrack is a masterpiece, something that was rarely mentioned at the time as everyone focused on timing their pipe swings to connect perfectly with the thugs' faces. Weapons include knives, Samurai swords and grenades. By rights, it should be a gorefest, but the reality is much more dignified. Quality oozes from every pixel, fun from every co-op ruckus and technical prowess from every frame. Streets of Rage II never ages, but we do, allowing us to appreciate its artistry beyond how fun it is to smash up a bunch of 1990's-sterotyped punks. Streets of Rage 3 couldn't replicate the magic, leaving us with this as the pinnacle of 16-bit Sega gaming.
Genesis does...
The Genesis/Mega Drive was such a strong system that we're sure we missed out on a few of your favorites, so feel free to proclaim the quality of those titles in the comments!
For more of GamesRadar's Best Week Ever, check out the the best Master System games of all time and the best Game Gear games ever.
