The Sega Genesis had been out for nearly two years when the Super Nintendo console reached consumers in North America and sparked what would be considered the first console war. Many titles were left in the dust, mostly in the wake of the Genesis system, with many long forgotten even by hardcore retro gaming standards.

The Sega Genesis was plagued with an uneven lineup over its years; several games were adored by the avid Genesis fanbase, while others were completely forgotten in a very short amount of time. Sega had stellar standouts like the majority of the Sonic collection, which competed directly with Nintendo’s insanely popular Mario franchise. But for every Sonic the Hedgehog, the Genesis had Action 52, or worse.

By 1993, it was reported that there were 250 Sega Genesis titles available to gamers, while the Super Nintendo had only 75 games. That figure alone paints a pretty picture of just how wide-ranging and open Sega’s library was for the Genesis. By the end of the Genesis’ run, the system was home to over 700 games, a lot of which have been mostly forgotten.

In an effort to directly compete with Nintendo’s NES Classic system, AtGames released their own version of a miniature system with preloaded games in the Sega Mega Drive Classic Game Console (Mega Drive was what the Genesis was typically called in non-North American releases). The system has been received poorly by critics, but it does feature plenty of well-remembered and adored games–none of which are on this list.

15 A Guy Who Has No Business Being In Games

Most fans of retro consoles have tried to completely erase Shaq Fu from their memory. And what would a list of forgotten Sega Genesis games be without such a gem? The game was an odd collaboration between Shaq and Electronic Arts, meant to give the avid gamer a fantasy realm in which his likeness is transported to another dimension to fight an evil mummy. Yes, you read that right.

The game, easily forgotten by the majority of the public, had a surprise resurgence in 2014 when it was announced that Shaq had paired with Big Deez to create a sequel. The game was funded on Kickstarter and is set to be released on the Nintendo Switch eventually. The original is easily considered one of the worst titles on the Sega Genesis, so the sequel doesn’t have a lot to live up to.

14 Can Dinosaurs Even Ride Skateboards?

This is what happens when you combine dinosaurs, skateboarding, fire-breathing creatures, evil magicians, sea creatures, lots of other monsters, and the Sega Genesis. Radical Rex played like a cross between Sonic and Donkey Kong Country, which probably would have been more appealing to gamers had it not featured a dinosaur that breathes fire and rides a skateboard. And fights monsters and magicians. It’s all just too much.

While featuring a lot of over the top antics and characters, the game also suffered from being far too familiar and far too lazy. A clone of the previously mentioned titles, Radical Rex was doomed to be forgotten. While copying may be the sincerest form of flattery, lack of originality in a game can be a death nail.

13 This Actually Came Out At Launch??

The Sega Genesis was home to dozens upon dozens of fast, side-scrolling beat-em-up action games. What makes Last Battle so forgettable is that it landed on the system at launch and would never be as good as any fighting game that came after it. Easily forgotten and hardly worth your time is always a bad sign in a launch title.

To make matters worse, the game felt impossibly difficult and created a sense of frustration in most gamers. It’s bad when a game isn’t much fun (or as fun as other similar titles), but it is even worse when the game’s difficulty forces a player to move on to something more fun. Last Battle is barely remembered and, when it is, it isn’t because of its glowing reception.

12 They Didn't Even Bother To Make A New Game

Video games have been ported for decades, but when Sword of Sodan was ported from the PC to land on the Sega Genesis, it was easily one of the worst ports ever done at the time. The Sega release is a watered-down altered version from the original that was released for the Amiga system. Gameplay has been changed, the number of enemies dropped, and the stages/areas have been reduced as well.

Sword of Sodan had the misfortune of being vastly popular on the Amiga (hence the desire to port it to a console) and completely underdeveloped for the Sega Genesis. The title was a complete wash, giving gamers absolutely no reason to play the Genesis version of the PC version. Once the differences were released, this Sega title was completely forgotten.

11 This Possum's Got Spunk

With a title like Awesome Possum Kicks Dr. Machino's Butt, how could this game ever be forgotten? The selling point of the game was that the main hero was a life-like possum that was fighting a mad scientist to save the universe. The concept alone is a complete rip-off of Sonic (replace hedgehog with different animal) and the gameplay is nearly identical (the character even spins in a circle as it traverses steep landscapes).

The game released in 1993 and was competing against a Sega Genesis lineup of hundreds of titles. With such a giant lack of originality, it’s easy to understand how this game was completely forgotten by most fans of the console. This is one awesome possum that should have played dead instead of trying to compete in such a loaded market.

10 These Robots Just Should Have Stayed Down

Easily considered to be one of the worst titles ever released on the Sega Genesis, Rise of the Robots has been forgotten by almost all who played it. The Sega release was similar to that of Sword of Sodan, in that it was originally released for the Amiga system and a watered down port was made for the Genesis.

Problems in gameplay and design landed on the game in large part due to the fact that the game was being ported from PC to multiple consoles (Sega Genesis, Super Nintendo, Game Gear, and 3DO). The game was horribly reviewed by the critics (even on the PC), with laggy graphics, poor controls, and terrible gameplay tanking its ratings. This is one miserable game that everyone should forget, if they haven’t already.

9 If You've Ever Wanted To Fight As Balls...

2D fighters were all the rage during the Sega Genesis/Super Nintendo console war era. Popular titles like Street Fighter II and Mortal Kombat lead the fighting genre by a large margin. And then there was Ballz, a horrible 2D fighter featuring circular shaped characters that gave the 2D game a 3D appearance. While the visual trick was a nice change of pace, the game lacked any real appealing quality to attract gamers away from the mainstay 2D fighting games.

This game lacked so much of what made the beloved 2D fighters so special–character. With both Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat, gamers had the chance to be invested in the personality and the attitudes of the characters they were taking control of. Ballz left players controlling odd looking shapes that left little to be excited about.

8 Tony Tiger He Ain't

Chester Cheetah’s Wild Wild Quest does not mark the first time that a food company attempted a marketing campaign using a video game tie-in. Dominos did it with their Noid games, as did 7-Up with their Spot games. And while Chester Cheetah was a memorable marketing character from the ‘90s, his adventure in the wild wild west was never a memorable title.

There was nothing new or exciting when it came to Wild Wild Quest. The majority of the game features the lead Cheetah looking cool and acting silly. The game, like so many on the Genesis, is essentially just a Sonic clone, with Chester twirling his legs quickly to run fast through the level. Gameplay-wise, everything here is so similar to dozens of games that came before it, it is easily forgotten.

7 A Rocky Return To A Loved Franchise

Bloodlines is the only Castlevania game ever published for the Sega Genesis and you would think that fact alone would make the game a memorable affair. Sadly, it’s constantly forgotten by gamers, in large part because Castlevania was never a household name on the Genesis (most gamers remember the titles being on the original NES and the N64). The game is actually quite good and one of the better titles for the Genesis system.

Bloodlines follows the heroes as they attempt to defeat Dracula’s niece, Elizabeth Bartley. The game is a side-scroller, like almost all Castlevania games, and features a boss fight at the end of each stage. The game features an abundance of blood and gore, which is always a welcomed feature in Castlevania games.

6 You Can't Win Real Money Here

The problem with Jeopardy games is that they aren’t for everyone. While the show has been a hit on television for several decades, the trivia and format aren’t appealing for all, especially gamers. And one surefire way to guarantee that your game is forgotten quickly is to focus solely on sports trivia. Sure, there’s a small appeal for a title like this, but not enough to make it a smash hit.

What’s worse is that sports trivia games become especially hard as the game ages. Things that were popular and trivial at the time fail to be remembered by the masses, making Jeopardy Sports Edition nearly impossible to play years later. It also didn’t help that there were several other Jeopardy titles released for the Genesis, ones that weren’t focused on something as limited as sports trivia.

5 An American Revolution Simulator

How can a game, set during the Revolutionary War, in which you can control either American or British commanders, possibly be forgotten by the masses? The gameplay literally has you either defending the American colonies (if you play as the Colonists) or attacking the colonies (if you play as the British). The game is historically accurate and features a wealth of challenging gameplay and complex difficulty.

One major aspect that makes the game forgettable is the fact that the amount of time it takes to finish just one playthrough is over 250 hours. That’s an insane amount of time to invest in any game, let alone a realistic Revolutionary War simulator. But if you are just dying to get your hands on a brilliant, retro war simulation game, look no further than this.

4 A Forgotten Tie-In

Comic book movies were all the rage in the early ‘90s, thanks largely to the grand success of the 1989 Batman movie. These comic book flicks generated a heap of video game tie-ins and Dick Tracy was no exception. The game was similar to ‘90s Batman games, in that you controlled Dick Tracy by walking him around various stages, punching bad guys and shooting objects.

The game was ultimately forgotten within Sega’s long list of game titles, mainly because it felt so similar in action and style to previous comic crime fighting games. It didn’t help that stages were highly repetitive, with seemingly unending hordes of bad guys in trench coats and hats falling victim to Tracy’s tommy gun. Each stage feels eeirely similar to those that came before it, with mob goons completely indistinguishable from level to level.

3 The Books Were Better

Dune was a classic science fiction tale that resonated well among fans of the genre, and it only made sense to bring the tale to home gaming consoles. The hype behind the movie, combined with science fiction fitting perfectly in video games, made it appear like this title would obviously be an instant hit. However, the game got stuck in development Hell with several different issues plaguing development.

The end product left diehard Dune fans off by the divisions in the story, and the game never really resonated well with non-Dune fans. Easily forgotten among the Sega Genesis’ incredible lengthy library, Dune was a well-made game that never really found a home. The complexity of the world and its characters typically sent gamers looking elsewhere.

2 This Is My Neighborhood

Home Alone was a smash blockbuster of the early ‘90s and spawned several sequels and video game tie-ins. Both the PC and the Nintendo had Home Alone games which featured almost direct takes on the film’s story, while the Sega Genesis version opted to deviate from the norm. While the player still pilots Kevin from the evil Wet Bandits, the Sega version has players defending the entire neighborhood instead of just the McCallister’s residence.

The decision to stray from the source material led to the Sega version of the game being viewed more negatively than the ones that stayed closer to the film. While it can be fun to play as the trouble-making Kevin, taking him on an adventure that had little to do with the film wouldn’t appeal to most fans of the Home Alone series.

1 Another Comic Book Misstep

Much like Dick Tracy, Judge Dredd is yet another comic book turned into a film, turned into a video game, that follows a main character as he fights his way through level after level beating up the bad guys. What makes Dredd a little more interesting than those that came before is that the player has the option to kill or arrest the antagonists.

Visually, the game is styled almost identically to Dick Tracy and the Batman games, even though Dredd didn’t hit consoles until 1995. The lack of originality found in the game design didn’t make Dredd a memorable experience, even if it had a refreshing take on defeating enemies. Not even Sylvester Stallone, in his ‘90s prime superstar status, could save this unmemorable adventure.