Depends on the game.  A good portion of Valkyria Chronicles' system looks to be ripped directly out of the later Sakura Taisen games.  Suffice it to say that it's a bit more complex than the average SRPG system.

There is a lot of talking/decision making though (at least there was in ST3).  Having a translation FAQ with you is a must IMO.

Gunstar Heroes may have not been made by Sega...but it came out on the Genesis. So there. I love Gunstar Heroes. Best game on the Genesis imo.

For best Sega franchise?

Virtua Fighter. Sonic since 2000 has sucked. Big time.

Wonder boy or shining force, but probably shining force.

Panzer Dragoon must be added on. It's the essential franchise other than Virtua Fighter from the Saturn days.

Oh and my pick is....wait for it...oh yeah! Panzer Dragoon baby!

...Sonic, I think.

Sonic

Sonic is he 2nd most known mascot, and sonic 2 was their best selling game of all time, so I say it has to go to sonic.

wow, sonic is currently destroying the competition.... well , i have whittled it down to my top 2.......

4th. Virtua fighter= The origional and best 3D beat em up, made 3D fighting games as popular as they are today and Virtua fighter 5 is the best one yet

3rd. Streets of rage= the 1st one may not have been AAA but it did build the foundations to 2 more great games.... the music was good in the origional and there were plemty of interestig and challenging boss fights........ then theres streets of rage 2, What can i say about this game.... BEST side scrolling beat em up of the 16 bit era..... BEST soundtrack of the 16 bit era.... more characters than the origional, more moves, much sharper graphics and overall a MASSIVE imppovement on the origional........ then theres streets of rage 3.. its a GREAT game but just failed to live up to the success of Streets of rage 2, this time there were 6 playable characters (2 hidden, roo and shiva) more moves including weapon specials, a roll and a dash to evade enemies... overall as a trilogy i think streets of rage is fantastic but Streets of rage 2 was the PINNACLE of 2D side scrolling beat em ups and i still play that GEM to this very day on XBLA

so im down to 2 games.......

Sonic and Shenmue...... aarrgghh.... i'll decide soon lol

Streets of rage series. Unline Sonic there isn't a bad streets of rage game made.

Streets of rage 3 is my fave for the special moves, crazy techno soundtrack and hidden fighters.

Virtua Fighter. I say VF is equal to Tekken as far as 3D Fighters are concerned.