Proving once again that you never know when Nintendo will strike, we're back with a surprise episode of the Nintendo Switch Online Review crew. That's because Expansion Pack owners are now able to play through three of Sega's classic 16-bit games, including the 3D launch game Space Harrier II, tactical role-playing great Shining Force II and the always-entertaining (and incredibly timely) Sonic the Hedgehog: Spinball. But here's the question: Are any of these games worth revisiting in 2022? In order to answer that question, I decided to flip through the pages of Electronic Gaming Monthly, Mean Machines Sega, GamePro and more classic magazines to see what the critics said when these games first came out. Come, join me for another jam-packed episode of Nintendo Switch Online Review Crew!


For a system that struggled with scaling and rotation effects, the Genesis launched with two high-profile 3D shoot 'em ups. You had the realistic take with Super Thunder Blade, as well as the fantastical journey that is Space Harrier II. The critics preferred the latter, though not by much. This was a 16-bit follow-up to Space Harrier 3D on the Master System, as well as the 1985 arcade original. It offered impressively detailed sprites, a bunch of new bosses and the same old trippy stages you've come to know and love from the first two games.

But even with these enhancements, critics were largely indifferent to this launch game. Electronic Gaming Monthly's Steve liked the presentation, but complained that "instead of throwing in some new features, Sega has done little more than rewrite the original using the advanced graphics and sounds of the Genesis. Not bad, but it could have been better." Donn disagreed, calling it a "great game. Space Harrier 2 is a good sequel to the original that offers the same type of shoot 'em up thrills with highly detailed 16-bit graphics."

Aside from EGM, all of the reviews I could find of Space Harrier II came from the UK. You saw Sega Pro give it a so-so score of 63% and Mean Machines go as high as 76%, which is also the highest score I could find. If you're curious about the lowest score, that belongs to Sega Force, who concluded that "this will appeal to die-hard fans of the coin-op, but all-round shootie fans can find better for their money." The most baffling review came from Raze, who basically just recounts the Space Harrier II story in the text. They raved about the graphics and playability, but complained that the sound didn't stack up. And because of that the game scored a 60%? I don't know. I wish they would have been a little clearer in justifying that score. This is barely a review. Seriously, what's going on, Raze? I think we need to move on.

1994 was a weird time for role-playing games, especially those of the tactical persuasion. After years of largely dismissing the genre in favor of more action-oriented adventure games, magazine critics were starting to warm up to the whole turn-based thing. You can see this very dynamic play out in the reviews of Shining Force II. Half of the critics loved it, going as far as to give it near perfect scores. While the other half were quick to dismiss the RPG, complaining that it's not their thing. Had Shining Force II come out only a year or two later, you likely would have seen a point or two added to some of the lower scores.

A good example of this is GamePro, who gave Shining Force a very middle-of-the-road 3 out of 5. They concluded that "this RPG is way too familiar. The cuteness and elvishness of this game will really annoy you after a while, and that's not the half of it. The game progresses at a pace that would slow the Road Runner down. If you're looking for something special in the Genesis RPG arena, don't use the Force, Luke." Electronic Gaming Monthly, on the other hand, sidelined the review to the edge of page, suggesting could get a bunch of people to give it a score, but not write up a short paragraph about the game. "A worthy follow-up to the first RPG, with bigger areas to explore and characters to meet. This will definitely appeal to fans of the first one, and to RPG fans in general. It assumes you've played the first Shining Force, but the story could use a few more twists and turns. The music is very good, as is the easy-to-learn control configuration."

EGM and GamePro may not have understood the brilliance of Shining Force II, but Game Players gave it a near-perfect 95%. And they weren't alone, as Mean Machines Sega gave it a 91% and compared it to a classic horror franchise: "As sequels go, this is in the Friday the 13th category -- you wonder if you haven't stepped into the first movie by mistake. Size is everything to the programmers: four extra megabit put into extra battles, more characters and a greater developed plot. Those who missed the meager roll out of Shining Force last August should benefit from a greater commitment by Sega to push Shining Force II." They concluded that "the Shining Force saga is one of the best ever uses of the Mega Drive." And now that you can play it using the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack, you can decide who got it right.

From the moment we saw Sonic bouncing around like a pinball game in the Casino Night Zone, gamers everywhere had the same exact idea -- why not put the blue hedgehog into a pinball game? Released in 1993, Sonic the Hedgehog: Spinball is one of those concepts that sounds great on paper, but somehow underwhelms as an actual video game. That's not to say the game is necessarily bad, but as you'll see from these reviews, the critics were letdown by the squandered potential.

The most generous review came from GamePro, who gave Spinball a high score of 4.5 out of 5. "You'll be going back for more if you lose, and you'll definitely find yourself playing over and over again, even if you beat this game. As for the little blue hedgehog, hey ... he's rolled up in a ball most of the time, so put the spin on Sonic." The EGM editors were a lot less forgiving of some of the game's faults, with Al giving it a score 6 out of 10 and complaining that "on the downside, the graphics don't appear shar and the sound was unimpressive. At times, it's hard to get into other areas of the pinball and you'd end up going in circles." If you watched our EGM Ranks Sonic the Hedgehog series, then you already know that the game came in 26th place out of 43. Not great.

When it comes to the UK magazines, the scores and opinions are largely in lock-step. Spinball got an 82% from Sega magazine, as well as an 83% from Mega. Mean Machines Sega came in the lowest of the three, but just barely. With a score of 81%, they liked it, but complained that there wasn't enough to the game. "Once you're really into the game, it's all over. Yes, the levels are quite large, but there are only four of them, with the game complete in a week. At fifty pounds, it's just not worth the cash. Dragon's Fury remains the definitive pinball sim, making that the preferred game in the office."

Of all the reviews published back in the 1990s, it was Die Hard Game Fan who sounded the most annoyed by the game. "There's not much Sonic about Sonic Spinball. The title was obviously programmed here, because it is missing that Japanese edge that the action games have. The music is especially chunked. As a standalone pinball game, however, Spinball is excellent. In fact, only the original Devil's Crush is better ... so fans of the genre should be happy." Good pinball game, but bad Sonic outing? I guess you'll have to decide for yourself when you play it on the Switch. Personally speaking, I think all of these scores are far too generous.