Sega has been around for a long time, so it’s no surprise that it has a long list of famous franchises. But which ones are the best?
Since the 1960s, when it became a real company, Sega has grown into a huge multinational developer in the entertainment industry. The company made games that were exclusive to them and bought IPs and well-known characters that, for a while, could compete with Nintendo’s best games.
No matter if you’re a fan of Sonic, Shenmue, or even Hatsune Miku, there’s no denying that Sega has lived up to its name by making a lot of great and memorable franchises. With dozens of iconic intellectual properties in the company’s history, we can only highlight their best heavy hitters that have changed the gaming industry and how we play games.
Sakura Wars
Sakura Wars is at the top of our list at number ten. A tactical RPG series that may have been the first to use the subgenre of “dating sims,” which has since been used in many other video game franchises. With the recent “soft reboot” of the series, Sakura Wars has gotten a little bit of attention in the West. As of 2022, the IP had sold more than five million copies around the world.
In the same way that games like Fire Emblem have tactical elements in their turn-based battles, so do the games in the Sakura Wars series. Each part also has parts that are like visual novels and parts that are like dating sims. The goal is for the hero to get closer to all of the heroines in his party, which will change their stats and how well they might get along romantically. Sega has made six installments, but only two of them (Sakura Wars: So Long My Love and Sakura Wars) have been localized outside of Japan. This puts it at the bottom of our list.
Streets Of Rage
Streets of Rage, an IP that has gained a lot of fans over the years, comes in at number nine. Streets of Rage is Sega’s answer to Capcom’s highly regarded Final Fight series. It has slowly come out from under Final Fight’s shadow by making four games, comic books, a novella, and possibly a feature film.
Streets of Rage is a 2D side-scrolling beat ’em up like the Final Fight games. You can choose from a variety of fighters, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. In the first three books, Axel Stone and his friends keep fighting against Mr. X and his group of criminals in a city that is based on New York. Due to how hard the trilogy is, many Sega Genesis players have fond memories of Streets of Rage, while others have not so fond memories.
Phantasy Star
Phantasy Star, another popular RPG series from Sega, comes in at number eight. The first game in the Phantasy Star series came out in 1987, making it as old as Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, and Megami Tensei. Since Phantasy Star is as old as these classic IPs, it has been able to make a whopping twenty-six games.
It would be wrong to say that all Phantasy Star games are just like other Japanese role-playing games. Over the course of its history, the series has changed from turn-based to real-time action to MMO. With so many different types of gameplay and RPG subgenres in each installment, Phantasy Star has been able to branch out and reach a wider audience. On the other hand, the fact that it is still seen as a niche franchise keeps it from being higher on our list.
Shenmue
Shenmue was originally made and published by Sega, but now Ys Net and Deep Silver are the only ones who make it. Still, the change in development doesn’t stop the Shenmue series from coming in at number seven on our list. Some fans will say that the Shenmue games were like the Like a Dragon games before they came out. Still, whether or not you agree with that, the way both series play and fight in their “open-world” settings is very similar.
Throughout the story, you play the part of Ryo Hazuki, who is out for revenge to find the person who killed his father. The game lets you explore an open city and has fighting parts that are similar to Virtua Fighter and quick-time events. One thing that stands out about the Like a Dragon games is that they have a lot of minigames and side quests that you can do when you want to take a break from the main story. But be careful, because you only have so much time to finish the main quest.
Super Monkey Ball
The Super Monkey Ball franchise comes in at number six. This strange, funny, and cute series is in the Platformer and Party genres. Both kids and adults will enjoy the gameplay and art direction. This fun ball-rolling game first came out in 2001 as an arcade game. Since then, it’s been on almost every system you can think of, which is why it’s on our list.
You play the game by controlling either AiAi, MeeMee, GonGon, or Baby in a gachapon ball. The goal is to get them past wild and difficult obstacles while keeping them away from bottomless pits and dangerous hazards. With more than twenty games in the series, Super Monkey Ball has become one of Sega’s most popular series. AiAi, MeeMee, GonGon, and Baby have even shown up in other Sega IPs, like Sega All-Stars Racing and Sega Superstar Tennis, as Easter eggs and playable characters.
Virtua Fighter
Because it seems like every company that makes video games needs at least one fighting series, Virtua Fighter comes in at number five on our list. Virtua Fighter was the first fighting game series to be made in 3D. It has made five mainline games and a lot of different versions that are similar to Street Fighter. It’s also worth mentioning that Virtua Fighter’s use of 3D has led to the creation of other critically acclaimed fighting game series, such as Dead or Alive and Tekken.
The Virtua Fighter games and their characters are interesting because they show up as collectible figurines and minigames in other well-known Sega franchises like Shenmue and Like a Dragon. Virtua Fighter has become one of Sega’s most famous fighting games over the past few decades, thanks to a lot of advertising and arcade releases.
Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA
The fourth-placed series is the Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA series, which many gamers and fans think is the best rhythm game series ever. Using the popular voice synthesizer software Vocaloid, which has been a huge hit in Japan, the Project DIVA games have sold more than six million copies worldwide.
So far, there have been seven or more games in the Project DIVA series. These games are available on many different platforms, such as many PlayStation consoles, the Nintendo Switch, the Nintendo 3DS, and Microsoft Windows. Project DIVA is a rhythm game, and the famous Vocaloid characters Hatsune Miku, Rin, Len, Luka, Meiko, and Kaito sing hundreds of songs in the game. The songs, in particular, cover a wide range of styles and levels of difficulty, so that anyone can find something fun to play along to.
Megami Tensei
The Megami Tensei series started out as a very niche JRPG series that wasn’t as well-known around the world as it is now. However, it has since climbed the ladders to become one of the most famous JRPG series of all time. With spinoffs like Persona, Devil Summoner, and Shin Megami Tensei, MegaTen has worked on many different types of role-playing games, from real-time action to turn-based games to tactical games. MegaTen games usually have you go through dungeons while using demons as your battle partners. You can get demons through the series’ unique negotiation system or by carefully choosing which demons to fuse together.
Since Sega bought Atlus in 2013, Megami Tensei has quickly become one of its most important franchises. With Sega as its new parent company and thanks to the success of Persona, MegaTen has become a franchise with a wider fan base over the past few years. It is now Sega’s most successful acquired IP.
Like A Dragon (Yakuza)
Like A Dragon used to be known in the West as the Yakuza series, but recent games like Yakuza 0 and Yakuza: Like a Dragon have helped it become more popular. Like a Dragon goes back and forth between fast-paced action beat ’em ups and turn-based battle JRPGs. This has made it popular with fans of both types of games.
The Like a Dragon series is unique because it has a lot of extra content and minigames, as well as emotional, heartbreaking stories that keep you busy for hours and hours. Whether you like to sing karaoke, play pool, play Virtua Fighter, or beat up yakuza gangsters on the streets of Kamurocho, these games will keep you satisfied and entertained long enough for you to collect them all and look forward to the next games in the series.
Sonic The Hedgehog
We all knew from the start that Sonic the Hedgehog, the fastest hedgehog alive, would be the first one to cross the finish line. Since his first appearance on the Sega Genesis in 1991, the blue blur has become one of the most well-known video game characters of all time, rivaling Mario and Happy Wheels in popularity.
Sonic games have won the hearts of many new and old gamers with their fast-paced action and fast-paced platforming. Sonic has been around for 30 years. Even though Sonic’s many recent games have had ups and downs in terms of how good they are and how fun they are to play, his consistently high sales mean that he will keep making games for years and decades to come.