Back in the late '80s/early '90s, the creative minds at Sega joined forces to dream up a new mascot for the powerful, 16-bit Sega Genesis. Potential character concepts included a fluffy rabbit, speedy blue hedgehog, and a sentient celestial body. While Sonic was born from these talks, the latter idea for a playable star protagonist evolved into Ristar. For this week's Replay we're brushing the space dust off this forgotten gem.

Join Andrew Reiner, Dan Ryckert, Jeff Marchiafava, and myself as we blast off into a wonderful Sonic Team title that graced the Genesis late in its life cycle. Ristar can grab enemies with his stretchy hands to headbutt enemies or swing around his environment. Satisfying controls, colorful locales, and creative enemy design combine to make a title that should not be missed for fans of retro platformers. There's still nothing quite like it.

Check out more episodes at our Replay hub.