GAIN GROUND!

[TuxedoMarty]

There is nothing you can say or do to convince me that this is NOT one of the greatest games that SEGA has ever produced. Despite being included on every single Genesis collection since 2006, I feel that this game does not get enough recognition at all. When people talk about the greatest Genesis games of all time (Gain Ground was originally an arcade game FTR) or what their all time favorite Genesis games are, they usually just have the same old stuff. Sonic, Altered Beast, Revenge of Shinobi, Phantasy Star II & III, Golden Axe, Streets of Rage, etc, but you never hear ANYONE mention Gain Ground. And it's a shame, because this game is worthy enough to be in the same league as those classics I just mentioned. I admit, the first time I played it, I thought it was pretty meh, and didn't think it was all that interesting, but while accidentally learning more about the game than I intended on doing, I started to grow more interested in it. And now I love it so much! Whether you are playing it on original hardware, or an emulated version on a classic game compilation for a modern day console, there's no denying that this is a classic. If you have a Nintendo Switch, you must check out the SEGA AGES edition they released for it!



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFbhxlZkZQQ&t
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mc3XgXE67bs&t

[TrekMD]

I don't think I've ever seen much about this game before.  Looks interesting.

[onthinice]

Never played Gain Ground. Admittedly it was the above mentioned games that I was playing. It does look good.

[poundlander]

I've played it over the years.  It's definitely original.  Makes me feel like there's hope for single screen games

[DeadVoivod]

Gain Ground is definitely a great game!

I also have the PC-Engine Super CD-ROM version called Gain Ground SX.

[davyk]

Looks like a hybrid of Smash TV and Gauntlet. The port looks pretty accurate too. Never heard of it.

[zapiy]

Never heard of it either, very interesting looking game.

I will have to check it out.

[wyldephang]

I've been receiving notifications that Yahoo! Answers is closing down for good and purging all archives. This is only nominally relevant to the topic because many years ago, when I was semi-active on Answers, I helped a person identify a retro game based on the description that it takes place on a battlefield where the objective is to advance multiple characters to the exit at the top of the screen. I guessed Gain Ground and I was right.

I'm still proud of that moment.

Oh, right. The game. I do have some fond memories of playing this one with a friend. I believe our version of choice was Gain Ground on the Sega Genesis Collection for PlayStation 2. Despite the simplistic gameplay, there's a good deal of strategy involved as you cycle through the various heroes in the game. We never completed the game, but we made a decent push and got several stages in.

[DaveySloan]

I LOVE Gain Ground.  And you're right, it's been on pretty much every Megadrive compilation for decades & it still somehow gets overlooked!!

I think it's the fact that although it looks like a blast everything that moves arcade game like Robotron, Smash TV or Gauntlet, there's a really deep strategy to it, of bringing out just the right character at just the right time to complete the screen.

Love playing it with my mate Pete, who gets wound up something shocking because I usually tend to go a bit too gung-ho & end up losing characters.

Great game!

[TuxedoMarty]

I LOVE Gain Ground.  And you're right, it's been on pretty much every Megadrive compilation for decades & it still somehow gets overlooked!!

I think it's the fact that although it looks like a blast everything that moves arcade game like Robotron, Smash TV or Gauntlet, there's a really deep strategy to it, of bringing out just the right character at just the right time to complete the screen.

Love playing it with my mate Pete, who gets wound up something shocking because I usually tend to go a bit too gung-ho & end up losing characters.

Great game!

Well said!