5 great SEGA Genesis games that should be added to Nintendo Switch Online

Nintendo Switch Online (or NSO) has provided fans with a neat way to revisit childhood classics. Starting with NES and Super NES games, the lineup of retro games has since been expanded to include Nintendo 64 and SEGA Genesis titles.

The latter is a 1988 home console, the third under the gaming devices put out by the Sonic, the Hedgehog publisher.

So far, there are 22 Genesis games on Nintendo Switch Online, including big names like Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and Castlevania: Bloodlines. Even cult classics like Ecco the Dolphin are included.

Last month, three more games were added to the catalog: Alien Soldier, Light Crusader and Super Fantasy Zone. But there's always room for more, including some blatant omissions.

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These SEGA Genesis games should be added to Nintendo Switch Online

1) Beyond Oasis

Developed by Ancient and published by SEGA, Beyond Oasis puts players n the shoes of Prince Ali, who stumbles across a magical gold armlet. He soon discovers that it can be used to summon four elemental spirits.

However, there also exists a silver armlet that brings chaos and destruction. It has also found a new wearer. But the uniqueness of the game doesn't stop there.

While the gameplay is somewhat of an action RPG, Beyond Oasis makes interesting use of spirits. The water spirit Dytto, fire spirit Efreet, planet spirit Bow and shadow spirit Shade all have different gameplay purposes.

Summoning them is not unlike the totem summons in Divinity Original Sin 2, where the appropriate element in the environment will be needed to summon the relevant creature.

So similarly, Efreet can only be summoned from a fire source. These spirits aid the player in combat as they traverse dungeons, solve puzzles and fight enemies, seemingly inspired by Nintendo's Legend of Zelda.

The super-crisp sprite-work makes it easily one of the best-looking Genesis games.

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2) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Hyperstone Heist

As a sequel to the critically acclaimed Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time, released in 1991, the Hyperstone Heist was released a year later for SEGA Genesis.

The beat-em-up sidescroller featuring the iconic anthropomorphic turtles was the first entry in the series released for SEGA's 16-bit console. The villain Shredder has managed to get a hold of the Hyperstone from Dimension X.

This allows him to shrink Manhattan and put the denizens in peril. As such, the four heroic turtles must once again save the day. The gameplay core is similar to its predecessor.

However, developer Konami improves upon it in many ways. One of the additions is a dedicated run button. Players will fight their way across levels while beating up, kicking, hitting and chucking various ninja foes across the screen in fast-paced combat.

On a related note, a brand new TMNT experience is coming soon to modern platforms, including Nintendo Switch.

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3) Castle of Illusion

Disney's games peaked during the 90s across many platforms, from Nintendo to PC. 1990s platformer Castle of Illusion for Genesis was one of those gems. It stars the iconic Mickey Mouse on a journey to save Minnie Mouse from the evil witch Mizrabel. This takes the popular toon character through a series of fantasy stages, from dark woodlands to whimsical wonderlands to find seven magical gems.

The game is mainly a platformer, with Mickey jumping across platforms and on enemies to defeat them. A double jump on contact also allows Mickey to bounce higher than normal.

Players can also collect apples littered around levels to use as projectiles against fantasy enemies, like mushrooms and toy soldiers. While it was a good game, it is renowned for its solid visuals, especially for its period.

The game also received a remake in 2013 for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360.

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4) Vectorman

A little-known gem released in 1995 for the Genesis features "robot," as the game calls them. After humanity escapes a polluted Earth, they leave behind orbots to clean up the mess. Things go awry, leading to the rise of an evil orbot Warhead who declares war against humans who dare return. Thus, the titular Vectorman, one of the orbots, must rise against this tyranny.

The gameplay is a standard 2D platformer with Vectorman able to shoot projectiles similar to Samus Aran from Nintendo's Metroid. The visuals feature pre-rendered imagery like Nintendo's Donkey Kong Country games on Super NES, leading to a game that still holds up.

Meanwhile, exploration and platforming bring to mind SEGA's own Sonic the Hedgehog with plenty of enemies scattered around and platforms to jump across and hop on. Too bad the game faded into obscurity. But SEGA should reboot the game for today's audience.

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5) Comix Zone

One of the more unique-looking games on the Genesis, Comix Zone, was developed and published by SEGA. As the name suggests, it takes place in a comic.

It boasts an art style reminiscent of superhero comics of that era and is a very visually striking experience. The plot is equally bonkers, with comic artist Sketch Turner being captured inside his comic book after a freak lightning bolt strike, setting free the main comic villain Mortus.

The gameplay is a series of beat-em-up sections across comic panels against creations of Sketch's imagination. In keeping with the setting, the game's dialog feature in speech bubbles and transitions will have the protagonist jumping across and below into another panel.

Players can also carry up to three items useful for combat and light puzzle solving, including a small rat buddy.

It was another late Genesis game released in 1995 that showed off the console's capabilities.

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Disclaimer: This article reflects the opinions of the writer.