Sam’s perspective on technical achievement: Sonic 3 & Knuckles represents the culmination of everything Sonic Team learned across three games, combined with lock-on technology that created the most ambitious platformer on Mega Drive. This wasn’t just the best Sonic game – it was proof that creativity and technical innovation could combine into something genuinely special. Released across two cartridges in 1994 (Sonic 3 in February, Sonic & Knuckles in October), the complete experience required connecting…

Carl moderating this one, because if I let Joe write about Streets of Rage 2, he’d spend half the review arguing why it’s better than Streets of Rage 3, and we’d never actually discuss the game itself. So here’s the truth about why Streets of Rage 2 remains the definitive beat-em-up experience three decades after release. Released in December 1992, Streets of Rage 2 took everything that worked in the original and made it better.…

Joe here. This is the hill I’ll die on: Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is not just the best Sonic game – it’s the game that justified buying a Mega Drive instead of a SNES. I’ve had this argument approximately seven hundred times with Carl, and I’m having it again now in writing so there’s permanent evidence that I’m right. Released in November 1992 on “Sonic 2’s Day” (yes, Sega created a global launch event for…

Look, I need to establish my credentials upfront – I’ve been playing Street Fighter II since it hit arcades in 1991. I spent quarters I should have been using for lunch. I practiced dragon punches until I could do them blindfolded. I learned frame data before I knew what frame data was called. So when the New Player Ready crew started debating our SNES rankings, I came prepared with tournament footage, win-rate statistics, and a…

Coming to Donkey Kong Country without 1994 context means I missed the “holy crap look at these graphics” moment that defined its launch. I played it for the first time in 2021, three decades after release, when pre-rendered 3D sprites look quaint compared to modern games. So I can tell you objectively: once you get past the dated graphics, Donkey Kong Country is a legitimately great platformer with excellent level design and tight controls. During…

Coming to retro gaming without childhood nostalgia means I judge games purely on how they play today, not how they made me feel in 1991. So when the New Player Ready crew insisted Super Mario World deserved a top-five spot on our SNES rankings, I was skeptical. Another Mario platformer. How good could it really be? Then I actually played it properly – not just a few levels, but the full 96-exit completion -…

Super Mario Kart nearly didn’t make our SNES rankings list because Joe called it “just a racing game with shells.” This led to me hosting an impromptu Mario Kart tournament over Zoom where Joe finished dead last in every single race, after which he quietly agreed it deserved inclusion. Sometimes you need to prove your point through public humiliation. I’ve been playing Mario Kart since 1992 when my neighbor got it for Christmas and we…

I need to confess something upfront – I nearly quit the New Player Ready crew over Earthbound’s placement on our SNES rankings. I wanted it number one. I wrote approximately 47 Slack messages explaining why everyone else was wrong. I threatened to exclusively write about Genesis sports games for six months. Carl had to mediate like I was a child. But here’s the thing – Earthbound is brilliant precisely because it’s so weird and personal…

Right, full disclosure – I spent most of the 90s playing Sensible World of Soccer and Speedball 2 on my Amiga, so I missed Super Mario RPG entirely when it launched. Console RPGs seemed like a waste of time compared to proper PC gaming. Then the New Player Ready crew insisted I play it for our SNES rankings, and I’ll grudgingly admit: this is exactly how you make an accessible RPG that doesn’t insult anyone’s…

I need to be upfront about something – I’m a Sega devotee. Always have been. Master System, Genesis, Saturn, Dreamcast. I defended blast processing when everyone mocked it. I insisted Phantasy Star was better than Final Fantasy. I maintained Sega loyalty even when it was obviously a losing battle. But Final Fantasy VI broke me. When this came out as “Final Fantasy III” in North America – because Square’s numbering system made perfect sense apparently…