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Sega Genesis Collection Review
Written by Robert Falcon on Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Superb emulation; easy-to-use controls; a behemoth of unlockable goodies.
A couple of the game selections are lame; some classics are missing.
A long time ago, before CD technology was all the rage and gaming was on a simple level, the Sega Genesis was king. People couldn't get enough of Sega's classic 16-bit system and the number of brilliant games that were offered for it. If we weren't having a brawl-a-thon with enemies in Streets of Rage 2, we were running at the speed of blast processing with Sonic the Hedgehog. Now Sega's attempting to relive those good ol' days with a brand new collection for the Sony PSP, and it's one of the best retro collections out there.
Sega Genesis Collection features a wide variety of games to choose from out of Sega's classic closet, including favorites such as Golden Axe, Comix Zone, and the first two Sonic games, as well as less popular games such as Ristar, Kid Chameleon, and Ecco the Dolphin. The collection's very well spread out, and covers every genre imaginable. Those who want something different can soak in the appeal of the Ecco games; RPG nuts can go nuts with the Phantasy Star games; action gamers can easily enlist a few hours into Shinobi III and Shadow Dancer.
But the selection's not quite perfect. For every five games that strike well, there are those that don't feel like they belong, such as Golden Axe III (which never got a US release to begin with) and Alex Kidd In the Enchanted Castle (rock, paper, scissors gets old after awhile). The fact that such games as Toe Jam and Earl and Streets of Rage 2 got completely ignored is a downright travesty. Sega should've thought out their game selections for this get-together a little more closely. Unless they're planning a follow-up, I can't see why they got missed.
Aside from that, this is an awesome collection. The games have been perfectly emulated from 16-bit code by the programming masters at Digital Eclipse, who are familiar with this territory. The games look great on the PSP screen, formatted to fit just right without looking terribly overstretched for widescreen. The sounds are just as you remember them as well, complete with the original game soundtracks (including the Sonic theme) and sound effects. ("Rise from your grave!")
But it's the gameplay and extras that will keep you coming back. Each of these games, some better than others, have gameplay styles that will appeal to someone rather easily. Furthermore, two players can hook up together to take on two-player action in the likes of Golden Axe and Virtua Fighter 2, among others. It would have been nice to see some kind of Game Sharing option, ala Capcom Classics Collection Reloaded, but what can you do?
The unlockables are a treat. There's a Virtua Fighter 5 trailer, a bunch of interviews with classic Sega programmers (sadly, no sign of Yuji Naka or Yu Suzuki...wha?!), art galleries, and classic arcade games such as Astro Blaster and Congo Bongo. These are little morsels on an already scrumptious digital meal.
Sega Genesis Collection could've been a little better thought out in terms of what games to include in the package, but we won't complain that much here. The bottom line is that this is still a wondrous trip down memory lane, with loads of 16-bit titles to invest hours in all over again. It's almost enough to make you want to go to the flea market and hunt down a lumbering old Sega CD unit. Almost.
