Sega Nomad: Sonic and Knuckles

Putting the Sega Nomad on this list may feel a bit like cheating. While this was definitely a badly-selling and now mostly-forgotten system, the whole point of the Nomad is that it was a portable Sega Genesis.

So to determine which game was best for the Nomad, we need to decide on the best title for the Genesis.

The best possible choice is Sonic and Knuckles. This was the apex of Sonic the Hedgehog gameplay and also added some backwards functionality to titles like Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and 3.

And the cartridge save feature is particularly handy when playing on a system with dismal battery life.

Sega 32X: Shadow Squadron

The 32X was Sega’s failed attempt to get a bit more life out of the Sega Genesis. But it was a failed system that launched very shortly before the Sega Saturn, so even Sega loyalists thought twice about buying this strange system.

There were still some standout games, though, including Shadow Squadron. This was a space combat game with killer graphics and slick gameplay.

Ultimately, this ended up feeling like more of a Star Wars experience than the Star Wars Arcade game on 32X.

Game.com: Mortal Kombat Trilogy

Nowadays, Game.com leads to a pretty boring website. But in 1997, this was the first system that could connect to the internet.

The ability to send emails and browse the internet (text only) on a game system was neat enough, but the game selection (mostly ports) was very limited.

Maybe the best game was Mortal Kombat Trilogy. It didn’t look or play exactly like its console cousins, but this was the best handheld way to play Mortal Kombat at the time (which, honestly, is a very low bar to clear).

The 3DO: Road Rash

When it first came out, the 3DO looked like the future of game systems. But it also looked like a luxury. It cost $699 back in 1993, putting it out of reach for most gamers.

So between the high price and lack of exclusive titles, this system was sure to fail. But if you can find a 3DO in a bargain bin, there are some games worth checking out.

The best was Road Rash, a 3DO port that added better graphics, new levels, fun FMV sequences, and a killer soundtrack.

To this day, this port is the most definitive way to experience Road Rash.

The Epoch Cassette Vision: Astro Command

Despite the name, the Epoch Cassette Vision used cartridges and not the kinds of cassettes that went in your Walkman. It was actually the most successful game system in Japan until Nintendo’s Famicom came along and kicked its ass.

Nintendo’s new system effectively killed the Epoch Cassette Vision, which only had 12 games. The best of these titles was Astro Command, which is a shoot 'em up that shamelessly ripped off Scramble.

But if you like shmups, this was the best thing you could have at home for a short period of time.

R-Zone: Panzer Dragoon

The R-Zone is a failed gaming system that couldn’t figure out what it wanted to be. It started as a crappy system you wore on your head and ended as a crappy handheld system.

Needless to say, it sucked in both forms and was pretty hated even when it was new. But there were some fun games on it, though the best were ports of some stripe or another.

The best was Panzer Dragoon, which gave you a good (if not great) way to experience this Sega classic on the go.

The Fairchild Channel F: Pac-Man

The Fairchild Channel F doesn’t get enough love. This was the first system to use gaming cartridges, a technology pioneered by early gaming legend Jerry Lawson.

But the system never really sold well and couldn’t properly compete with competitors like the Atari 2600.

It had some standout titles though, including Pac-Man. It looks primitive now, but it was a killer port at the time, and it both looked and played much better than the infamously bad Pac-Man port on the Atari 2600.

Atari Lynx: Blue Lightning

In some ways, the Lynx was the beginning of the end for Atari. Despite the infamous video game crash of the early '80s, Atari was still the face of video games to millions of people.

But they could never properly compete with Nintendo, and the Lynx (a color handheld intended to compete with the Game Boy) was a major flop.

But for a period of time, the Lynx was the best way to play portable games. Blue Lightning, a jet-fueled dogfighting game, looked great and played incredibly.

To this day, it’s mind-boggling to think it came out in 1989.

Apple Bandai Pippin: The Journeyman Project: Pegasus Prime

Even to major fans of Apple, the Bandai Pippin may come as a surprise. This was Apple’s first and only attempt to make a game system, but it ended up being one of the worst-selling systems of all time.

That doesn’t mean there weren’t some great games. Perhaps the best was The Journeyman Project: Pegasus Prime, a remake with new features and actors.

You can download the game today on Steam and discover just how good it really is.

Pioneer LaserActive: Rocket Coaster

Some words are like time capsules unto themselves. One such word is laserdisc, which seemed to once be the future of both movies and gaming before the advent of DVD.

The Pioneer LaserActive was an attempt to bring the world of games to the world of Laserdisc, but it failed to even compete with another system on our list, the 3DO.

But there were some diamonds in the rough of their game library, including Rocket Coaster. It’s a pretty game with multiple racing vehicles, multiple courses, and some truly trippy visuals you won’t soon forget.

Nokia N-Gage: Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater

Nowadays, the premise of the Nokia N-Gage seems downright quaint. Back in 2003, it was the first real attempt to blend a cellphone with a game system.

But this system never sold well and was discontinued a little over a year before the launch of the first iPhone.To its credit, the N-Gage had some impressive titles. The best was their port of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, which brought the fun of the original game to a portable format.

While playing a PSX-quality game on the go may seem simple now, keep in mind that the N-Gage came out a couple of years before Sony gave us the PSP.

Philips CD-i: Link: The Faces Of Evil

You don’t always want to be the first one through the gate. That is what Philips found out after giving us our first CD-based gaming system, the CD-i, way back in 1988.

It was undeniably ahead of its time, but this system never really made waves with consumers. Which is a shame because it had some surprisingly great games.

Believe it or not, the best one was Link: The Faces Of Evil. While it’s become the stuff of cheesy meme legend, this game was a refreshing departure from the typical Zelda formula and gave us fun FMV scenes to flesh out the world of Hyrule.

Gizmondo: Sticky Balls

The Gizmondo was a game system that looked like a really chonky Tamagotchi. There were very few games for this forgotten system, and it was damned hard at the time to even find games to buy (you could literally only buy them from shady mall kiosks).

Of those games, the best was the unfortunately-named Sticky Balls.

Despite the juvenile name, this title mashed up the fun of playing pool with puzzle elements straight out of Bust-a-Move. The end result is a fun and mellow way to kill a few hours.

TurboGrafx-16: Castlevania: Rondo of Blood

The TurboGrafx-16 is more beloved than many of the systems on this list. But it always had trouble competing with Sega and Nintendo, and outside of an attempt to make the TurboGrafx-16 Mini happen, it has largely faded into obscurity.

But this little system had several killer titles. The best was Castlevania: Rondo of Blood, the game that directly preceded the fan-favorite Symphony of the Night.

Come for the killer gameplay and stay for the awesome franchise world-building

Vectrex: Space Wars

The Vectrex specialized in vector graphics. And for a hot moment, it was the closest thing you could have to an arcade experience at home.

But it never properly penetrated the home entertainment market and is mostly remembered as a curiosity.

The best game for this system was definitely Space Wars. True to the title, this was a multiplayer game that pitted your starship against a friend or the AI.

It may seem simple now, but the challenge of balancing offense and defense and winning dogfights in space was truly ahead of its time.