The Sega Mega Drive (known as the Sega Genesis in the U.S.) was (and still is) Sega's most popular console. It featured arcade-quality games with a 16-bit Motorola 68000 processor (the same one used in the original Macintosh). Here, you can download all of the Sonic games that were released (and unreleased) for the Mega Drive.
 Sonic the Hedgehog |
Originally released June 23, 1991 in the United States, it became an instant hit on the Sega Genesis. Although Sonic 1 is lacking some features such as the spindash and Tails (feature or bug?), it is one of the best Sonic games ever. If you've never played the original Sonic, download this and play it right now! |
Sonic the Hedgehog (Japanese) |
Sonic 1 Japanese is pretty much the same as the original, except it has a few bug fixes and other miscellaneous features, such as moving clouds in Green Hill Zone, a ripple effect in Labyrinth Zone, and the level select is in the correct order. |
 Sonic the Hedgehog 2 |
The second game in the series, Sonic 2 was the best selling Mega Drive game of all time. With 11 levels and Sonic's new sidekick Tails, this game is another must-have for any Sonic fan's collection. |
 Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (BETA) |
Originally found by Simon Wai in January 1999, this ROM has become the landmark of Sonic hackers. Sonic 2 ETA has several levels and features not found in the final version - the most important of which is Hidden Palace Zone. Hidden Palace Zone is still in Sonic 2, but you need a cheating device to get it. Once you get there, it's just a load of garbage. In the ETA, Hidden Palace is available for play in its full glory. Other cut-out zones are in the ETA, as well as different renditions of zones that are in the final. |
 Sonic the Hedgehog 3 |
The third game in the series, Sonic 3 introduces a new character named Knuckles. Sonic 3 has 6 levels, but they're long compared to the levels in Sonic 1 and 2. The level select is the weirdest in the entire series - it lists three zones not in Sonic 3 (Flying Battery, Mushroom Valley, and Sandopolis), plus it uses the Sonic 2 level select icons. Not only that, but one of the 2P Vs. levels has the Hidden Palace Zone icon, which is quite odd since Hidden Palace Zone was removed before Sonic 2 was released. |
 Sonic & Knuckles |
The first (and only) Mega Drive game to use "Lock-On" technology. With this technology, you can play as Knuckles in Sonic 2, or better yet, in Sonic 3 - and also when locked onto Sonic 3, you get to play in 14 zones compared to 6 or 8! Now here's where the fun dissolves: Sonic 3 was supposed to have all of the zones from Sonic & Knuckles - the level select in Sonic 3 proves this. One theory as to why it was split up is due to time constraints. Another theory was for money. I don't know which one is right - and you shouldn't care either. To lock Sonic & Knuckles onto another ROM, use Sonic HackingWiz Pro II, which is available at the SHWP-II page. |
 Sonic 3D Blast |
Sonic 3D was a technological marvel on the Mega Drive - no one thought it was possible to put a pseudo-3D game on the 16-bit console. It was done, but Sonic 3D is definitely not as good as the Sonic Adventure series in terms of gameplay. Techie notes: When played on a European console, Sonic 3D Blast is called Sonic 3D Flickies' Island. Also, on the real console, if you hit the cartridge in the right way, it will say "CONGRATULATIONS - YOU HAVE FOUND THE LEVEL SELECT SCREEN", and then take you to the level select. That's some weird error handler - imagine if that happened when MS Windows crashed... |
 Sonic Spinball U.S. Version (S2) U.S. Version (Std.) European Version Japanese Version |
When Sonic 2 was released, Casino Night Zone became the most popular zone in the game. Thus, SEGA decided to spin off Casino Night Zone with Sonic Spinball. Unfortunately, it fell short of expectations. The first version released had a remix of the Sonic 2 title theme, which was written by Dreams Come True. Since the Sonic Spinball team didn't have the license for the theme, they quickly composed a new title theme and reburned a master cartridge - this was after several thousand cartridges with the S2 theme had already been shipped. Also, the Japanese version has different Game Over music than the other three versions. Download all 4 for collector's value. |
Sonic Spinball ( ETA) |
The second important Sonic ETA that has been discovered, this is the weirdest ROM I have ever seen. First off, it's 1.25MB - the extra 256KB is part of another game, Sub-Terrania. Not only that, but when Sonic Spinball ETA is already in BIN format, the Sub-Terrania portion is in SMD format. Also, there's a cracktro in the ROM, which probably overwrote some of the other ETA code. |
 Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine |
Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine doesn't have anything to do with Sonic, except the fact that Dr. Robotnik and characters from the 1993 TV show "Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog" are in it. The game is basically a tetris clone - get four or more beans to touch each other, and they disappear. You have to beat Dr. Robotnik's robots and himself to win the game. Nerdy note: This game is actually based off of Puyo Puyo - it was probably changed to appeal to U.S. audiences. |
Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine ( ETA) |
Another ETA of a Sonic game (er, semi-Sonic) - this one doesn't really have much ETA material, just a few coloring differences. |
 Puyo Puyo |
Puyo Puyo was the original game that Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine was based on. I don't read Japanese, so I can't really figure out the storyline  - however, the gameplay is the same. |
 Sonic Compilation |
Sonic Compilation was released by Majesco Sales, inc., in 1997. It has Sonic 1, 2, and Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine on one cartridge. The only reason I'd have the ROM is because there are a few technical glitches in the ROM which cause some of the palettes to show up weird. |
 Sonic Crackers |
Of all of the Sonic games created in the past 11 years, this one has the most innovative title screen. It is rumored that Sonic Crackers is an alpha version of Knuckles Chaotix for the 32x. However, judging by the name, I'm assuming that Sonic Crackers was "cracked" before it ever appeared on any ROM sites. There are no sound effects (besides the music), and this game is buggy as hell. (It's even buggier than Microsoft Windows ETAs - well, maybe not.) |