6 Hardest Sega Genesis Games That You Could Easily Beat Today

The Sega Genesis was a worthy competitor to the Super Nintendo, bringing several hit games to the table. While the Genesis didn’t quite have the “Nintendo hard” reputation, that doesn’t mean the console wasn’t also filled with tough tests. However, some of those difficult games have become much easier in modern times. After all, players these days have access to all kinds of resources that make hard retro games much easier, including readily available guides and save states.

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Here are six Genesis games that felt almost impossible in the ’90s that are relatively easy to cruise through nowadays.

6) Phantasy Star 2

Phantasy Star 2 is something of a stand-in for most RPGs of the era. Back then, if you didn’t want to pick up a Prima guide, you were stuck trying to figure out these obtuse adventures on your own. PS2 was particularly rude with its confusing dungeon design, which gave most players fits.

However, modern guides make that side of Phantasy Star 2 much more manageable. That also makes it slightly easier to deal with all the enemies Sega throws at you. Now that you don’t have to spend time wrapping your mind around the labyrinthine design of the dungeons, you won’t die quite as often. It’ll still take you a while to beat PS2, but you’ll have much more fun these days.

5) Fatal Labyrinth

Fatal Labyrinth is a classic dungeon crawler, which means it is ridiculously difficult to wrap your head around without help. This game is filled with complex mechanics that are almost impossible to wrap your head around while dozens of enemies are attacking you. Even Fatal Labyrinth‘s early encounters will leave you feeling completely overwhelmed.

However, modern guides make the process of learning Fatal Labyrinth much simpler. It’s still a tough game filled with aggressive enemies, but it’s more manageable when you can watch a YouTube video teaching you all of the game’s systems.

4) Ecco the Dolphin

Ecco the Dolphin is a confusingly designed game that forces you to monitor your dolphin’s breath while working your way through puzzles. If you can’t make it to the right spot in the maze-like level before you run out of air, you’ll suffocate and have to start over.

That said, Ecco is more frustrating than difficult. Even back in the ’90s, most players could eventually get past it. These days, you can use save states to speed up the process. Plus, it has a banging soundtrack, so it’s not like you’re going to completely hate your time even if you aren’t using modern technology to level the playing field.

3) Kid Chameleon

Kid Chameleon is a relatively standard platformer. It wasn’t breaking much new ground, but it was a solid addition to the genre for Genesis fans. The reason it consistently shows up on lists of the hardest Genesis games is that it features more than 100 levels, but does not have any way to save.

That means you need to work your way through every level in one go. Yes, there are a few level skips, but you still have to get through over 50 levels of challenging platforming. These days, you can use save states to reduce all of the frustration from the original version of Kid Chameleon. It’s still a tough game, but being able to save makes it much more manageable.

2) Comix Zone

Comix Zone is one of the best-looking games on the Sega Genesis. You play as a comic book creator who has been sucked into his own creations. The relatively short action game is incredibly difficult because your character has nearly no defense. It gets even worse when you realize that any time you attack, you also lose health.

It’s almost like the developers didn’t want Comix Zone players to have any fun. Adding clear downsides to fighting back is such a strange choice. Thankfully, playing it on modern systems lets you customize the gameplay much more. Between save states and various cheats, you can run through Comix Zone on a Saturday.

1) Altered Beast

Altered Beast serves as a stand-in for most beat ’em ups from the era. Those games were built to play like their arcade counterparts, which were literally designed to kill you as much as possible to take your hard-earned quarters. Whether it was this game or Streets of Rage, there was no shortage of tough beat ’em ups on the Genesis.

However, the addition of save states and other tools has turned most of these games into relative cake walks. Sure, if you play it as intended, you’re going to struggle, but being able to reload a level at will shaves down the difficulty. Even if you want to beat it legitimately, you can use save states to practice later levels without having to slog through the opening. That alone makes most beat ’em ups of the era something you can run through in a weekend or two.

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