Game Gear Hey, Let's talk about Sega Game Gear games

[Ikagura Ikagura]

Oh wow! This is ACTUALLY like the console game on the go!

It just sacrifices Black's level and no proper shmup level but it's pretty close to the original.

On the other hand Dynamite Headdy GG disappointed me.

 

[bjork]

You can tell from my post history that one of the most fulfilling things to me is seeing games get talked about when they previously have not been. It’s a long term goal of mine with no end point: make obscure games have a following and people who appreciate them.

I admire the passion but I feel like a game gear game about a Sonic character isn't obscure enough. Dig deeper. Get people talking about the Entex Adventure Vision

 

[secreto7]

I'm just satisfied with people talking about other things than only Nintendo.
But I like things from there too.

 

[Don Patch]

There's a Power Rangers fighting game that's pretty dope.

 

[sun0wl]

Owned one as a kid when it came out...It was indeed always plugged into the wall since the battery was trash haha. I think I ended up selling it.

Other Game Gear heavy hitters:
GG Aleste 1 & 2 are extremely impressive 8-bit shmups. Fast, fun and easy to get into.
GG Shinobi 1 & 2 are very solid action platformers, especially 2. They set themselves apart from the console Shinobis with mild Metroidvania elements (permanent upgrades, returning to past levels to access new areas) and multiple playable characters with different abilities.
Ninja Gaiden is nothing like the NES trilogy, or the Master System game - it's basically more like Shinobi in pocket form. It's a short game, but I like it a lot.
Defenders of Oasis is a nice turn-based RPG, starts out like a 16-bit game though unforunately there isn't as much story after that.
For fan translations, there:
Zenki - Solid action-platformer developed by some of the GG Sonic team, with some non-linear elements as well.
Shining Force Gaiden III: Final Conflict - another solid, pocket-sized dose of Shining Force
Royal Stone - nice little SRPG with nearly 16-bit level graphics
Moldorian - cool turn-based RPG with good pacing
Last Bible is a fantasy Shin Megami Tensei spin-off, better than the GB version. The story is clearer, the colors look great, and there's a new bonus dungeon at the end. It feels like battles and everything move faster too, making the game more pleasant to play.

Great summary, I second Defenders of Oasis (really great music, animations, and some cool battle mechanics with your party characters like the Genie/Djinni having very different roles and actions other than vanilla "Attack/Magic/Defend), Royal Stone, and Last Bible GG version.

I have a weird thing for the Phantasy Star games on GG...Adventure was cool and the Gaiden RPG game was pretty cute. They're all worth checking out for PS fans. You can yourself a GG/SMS emulator on just about any platform (mobile/custom firmware consoles/PC) and go wild with checking out all the cool fan translations for GG games these days.

 

[Bonkers225]

If you had a Game Gear, AND a Nomad back in the day, you were definitely a rich kid. Looking back, Sega did so many things ahead of their time, including using the internet on the Genesis to download games like DLC, get news, wallpapers, etc, but the execution was horrid they failed most of the time. Their leadership and their choices in the US and Japan absolutely fucking sucked. If they had a good, competent leadership, we may be looking at a complete different SEGA today with their own console up there with the PS5, Switch 2, etc.

 

[Ikagura Ikagura]

I have a weird thing for the Phantasy Star games on GG...Adventure was cool and the Gaiden RPG game was pretty cute. They're all worth checking out for PS fans. You can yourself a GG/SMS emulator on just about any platform (mobile/custom firmware consoles/PC) and go wild with checking out all the cool fan translations for GG games these days.

I still kinda wish those two games (and the text adventure ones for PSII) were available in english in a modern compilation. Sega is seriously neglecting their legacy and prefers the dosh from collabs in NGS.

 

[Morgana Veil]

"Hey, Let's talk about Sega Game Gear games"
Do we have to?

For what they are... well where they were fun, kind of like GBA demake games.
But God's, the battery life on the old Game Gear.
Still, Sonic on the go at the time must have been hella fun

 

[Bonkers225]

"Hey, Let's talk about Sega Game Gear games"
Do we have to?

For what they are... well where they were fun, kind of like GBA demake games.
But God's, the battery life on the old Game Gear.
Still, Sonic on the go at the time must have been hella fun

Also made a good weapon.

"You have a gun? Well, I have a Game Gear with 6, count em, 6 AA batteries inside."

 

[Ikagura Ikagura]

But God's, the battery life on the old Game Gear.

Like with Sony's PSP: more power to the cost of less autonomy was the reason why Nintendo's handheld were superior.

Handhelds should always prioritise light weight and autonomy over performances.

 

[Morgana Veil]

Like with Sony's PSP: more power to the cost of less autonomy was the reason why Nintendo's handheld were superior.

Handhelds should always prioritise light weight and autonomy over performances.

Nah yo, I want this strapped to my back to play Pong on

(I honestly want one of these, a broken one, mind you, to build a sleeper retro gaming PC in)

 

[UnDubious]

All the kids I knew with Game Gears played it with the AC adapter plugged in. But even with Game Boys, most kids weren't playing them outside for hours on end anyway. The main appeal was long car rides and family vacation away from home, in which case you could plug it in wherever you were anyway.
Sega making the Game Gear as they did - in color, and more powerful - was the only way to stand out. Otherwise they'd just have had another Game Boy, in which case, what's even the point? They sold 10 million of them IIRC, which was good at the time. Hundreds of games came out and the system had a normal lifecycle. I knew several kids who had one, and wanted one myself. Sure it didn't beat the Game Boy, but it sold fine, and was the only attempt at a rival handheld that did reasonable numbers until the PSP.

Also, rechargeable batteries are a thing. Maybe packing in a battery charger could have helped. No idea how much that cost, though.

 

[TamagotchiTamaHero24's icon TamagotchiTamaHero24 TamagotchiTamaHero24]

All the kids I knew with Game Gears played it with the AC adapter plugged in. But even with Game Boys, most kids weren't playing them outside for hours on end anyway. The main appeal was long car rides and family vacation away from home, in which case you could plug it in wherever you were anyway.
Sega making the Game Gear as they did - in color, and more powerful - was the only way to stand out. Otherwise they'd just have had another Game Boy, in which case, what's even the point? They sold 10 million of them IIRC, which was good at the time. Hundreds of games came out and the system had a normal lifecycle. I knew several kids who had one, and wanted one myself. Sure it didn't beat the Game Boy, but it sold fine, and was the only attempt at a rival handheld that did reasonable numbers until the PSP.

Also, rechargeable batteries are a thing. Maybe packing in a battery charger could have helped. No idea how much that cost, though.

This. This all the way. My entire life, I’ve heard battery life cited against the Game Gear, but people also seem to use that to dismiss… its entire library? Like, especially when you can easily plug the thing into a wall if you REALLY NEED TO, why do we not care about the games on it?

GameBoy does have a similar problem though: people just don’t talk about the library that much. We’ve gotten better over time, but GameBoy is like this sea of titles that never get mentioned or have their histories discussed. When even the best seller gets the disrespect, I guess I can now see why the respectable second place gets done so very… very dirty.

Post automatically merged: Jul 5, 2025

Anyway, I discovered

Madou Monogatari I

Try to act shocked: I stumbled into it on accident thinking I was getting more Puyo Puyo puzzle action. I have to ask, has anybody played this series and can tell me more about it?

 

[silver9000]

Think the main Game Gear exclusive that I really want to play besides Tails Adventure is Sylvan Tale. I have the roms just never got around to finally sitting down and playing them. Even have Sylvan Tale English hack on a reproduction cart collecting dust

Playing through it right now, it's really fun!

 

[thanonyx thanonyx]

The Game Gear was actually the way I was introduced to Mortal Kombat. Not the Genesis, not the arcades, the Game Gear.

 

[TamagotchiTamaHero24's icon TamagotchiTamaHero24 TamagotchiTamaHero24]

View attachment 88193
The Game Gear was actually the way I was introduced to Mortal Kombat. Not the Genesis, not the arcades, the Game Gear.

An impressive port, even if heavily compromised. Certainly a more valiant effort than the GB version of the game, with tighter gameplay despite running a fair clip slower.

It’s a fun fact most people know, but the character sprites are background tiles, which is why the game runs so slow.

 

[Segadude113]

Coca Cola Kid is one I recommend. :)

 

[silver9000]

Just finished Sylvan Tale, super nice game!

 

[bcdusk]

there any reasons why they removed it for the west?

Nope! While is just a transitional level, it shows off the Gamegear graphics, they were just being lazy. Also you can enable the level again if you switch the Game Gear to Japanese mode, although that's not easy to do.

 

[Egg (McMuffin) Man]

Ristar and Tails' Adventure are both great, definitely my favorites in the GG library. I also love Godzilla, it's like a scaled down version of the Saturn game (which is also great).

Last Bible

I could have sword that the version of Last Bible on GG was an entirely different game than the GB version. By any chance, are there two Last Bible games on GG?

I played Last Bible on GBC earlier this year and had a lot of fun with it. Great game!

Very cool breakout/arkanoid style game

Thanks for putting this on my radar.

 

[UnDubious]

I could have sword that the version of Last Bible on GG was an entirely different game than the GB version. By any chance, are there two Last Bible games on GG?

I played Last Bible on GBC earlier this year and had a lot of fun with it. Great game!

Thanks for putting this on my radar.

Yes. There's Last Bible, which is a enhanced port of the GB game, and Last Bible Special, which is a GG exclusive. The title makes it sound like it's just a special edition but it's completely different, being a first-person dungeon crawler.

 

[KaiserMk7]

Tails' Adventure or GTFO
Anyone have any links to official sites of good Game Gear emulators?

 

[thanonyx thanonyx]

Tails' Adventure or GTFO
Anyone have any links to official sites of good Game Gear emulators?

https://emulation.gametechwiki.com/index.php/Master_System_emulators

I know it says Master System emulators but they should play Game Gear games too.

 

[prnzoDraGoonZweiOrta]

did NO ONE play the (eternal graveyard) sleeper hit Good Luck Gorby??

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Good Luck Gorby!!! available in most half-ass badass aftermarkets in the afterlife but be careful not to cross 3 gates or it wiLL be tough to escape Hades.

this msg courtesy of our famiLy of products in Walla Walla, Washington - hello! *thnx u!* GOODBAI


. . .

wait

?wut

 

[Max]

Shining Force Ii, Skweek and Scratch Golf are some of the games that aren't absolute gems but I find them very relaxing