It’s been more than a hot minute since we’ve seen some new Sega Genesis classics in the Nintendo Switch online library, but we’re finally getting some today. The Switch Online Expansion Pack brings the frantic platformer VectorMan, the run-n-gunner Wolf of the Battlefield: MERCS and the totally awesome ToeJam & Earl in Panic on Funkotron to the Switch’s classic games library.
VectorMan from BlueSky Software is a 2D platformer with impressive graphics for its time that often gets overlooked in the long hallway of the Sega Genesis’ legacy. The protagonist is a robot made of floating left on a resource ravaged Earth to clean up the mess humanity made when one of the supervisor robots named WarHead connects to a nuclear weapon and holds the planet hostage. VectorMan must blast his way through waves of enemies to free the Earth from WarHead’s clutches. So just think of VectorMan as Wall-E with a deathwish. The game has a pretty notorious degree of difficulty, but the slick graphics and fast pace of the gameplay makes VectorMan an underrated gem.
Wolf of the Battlefield: MERCS is a top-down military style shooter that started in the arcade before migrating to Sega’s Mega Drive and the Genesis in the early 90s. The concept is simple: run across the screen and shoot everything that moves before it shoots you. MERCS also has a huge arsenal of special weapons and some really cool boss battles that pit your puny mercenaries against a big ol’ battleship and even a harrier jet.
If you don’t know the names ToeJam & Earl, then welcome to one of the greatest slices of joy from gaming’s history. The most 90s video game duo ever got the sequel treatment with Panic on Funkotron in 1993. The second ToeJam & Earl title took its titular alien heroes away from the unique isometric map that made the first game so memorable to a more traditional 2D platform game but they are just as vibrant, goofy and animated in their second outing.
This is the first Sega Genesis update for the Nintendo Switch in over a year. The previous Genesis pack was released in June of 2023 and came with four games including Ghouls ‘n Ghosts, The Revenge of Shinobi, Landstalker and Crusader of Centy.
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