Reviewed: December 11, 2007
Reviewed by: Justin Nixon
Publisher
SEGA
Developer
Backbone Entertainment
Released: November 18, 2006
Genre: Action (Compilation)
Players: 1-2
ESRB: Teen
9
8
8
10
8.9
Supported Features:
Screenshots (Click Image for Gallery)
When the first consoles of the 16-bit era started releasing kids around my home town were stuck between the Sega Genesis and the Super Nintendo. The original NES was such a huge hit, why wouldn’t you get a Super Nintendo? At the same time Sega was introducing the world to a little blue hedgehog by the name of Sonic. He was the anti-Mario. He was the anti-Nintendo!
I decided on taking a risk and going with the Sega Genesis. By “I” I actually mean my mother. I wasn’t old enough to make these kind of financial decisions yet. So, here I was running through lush tropical areas with my little blue Hedgehog. This was quite a change of pace from Mario. Not that I don’t like Mario, but Sonic was fast! He gave the world of gaming a sense of speed that had never been felt before. Mario would run and jump and shoot fireballs. Sonic would turn into a blur as he blazed through the tropical environments, destroying any enemies in his path. That was cool!
Of course, in today’s gaming world Sega no longer makes home consoles, and most, if not all, Sonic games are just horrible. It is for this reason that Sega, who is still in the software business, is releasing SEGA Genesis Collection for the PSP and PS2, loaded with 28 classic games. Some of the all-time greatest games are available on one disc. Now you can relive those glory days before Sonic actually sucked.
This tiny little disc holds quite a lot of bang for your buck. There are 28 games in the collection. That’s enough to keep you busy for weeks. Here are those 28 games that you can look forward to playing.
Altered Beast Bonanza Bros. Columns Comix Zone Decap Attack Ecco Ecco 2 Ecco Jr. Flicky Gain Ground Golden Axe Golden Axe II Golden Axe III | Phantasy Star II Phantasy Star III Phantasy Star IV Ristar Shadow Dancer Shinobi III Sonic Sonic 2 Super Thunder Blade Sword of Vermillion Vectorman Vectorman 2 Virtua Fighter 2 |
Astro Blaster Congo Bongo Eliminator Space Fury Super Zaxxon |
For the most part, these games have had huge impacts. Sonic introduced an unheard of sense of speed. Phantasy Star was one of the biggest RPG’s of the time. Golden Axe is considered, even by today’s standards, to be one of the best hack ‘n’ slash games of all-time. This collection brings all of those games to your PSP.
Now that I’ve explained the impact of this collection, let me just start by say that you will not be disappointed with this game. Every game is just as it was 10-20 years ago. The controls, although modified to fit the PSP, feel the same. You may have to take a minute or two for each game just to adjust to the new control scheme, but after that you won’t have any problems.
The interface for selecting the game you want to play is as simple as scrolling down to it and hitting X. You are then are presented with the controls for the game that you selected. You’ll probably want to look this screen over for a minute or two to get the controls down. After you hit start you jump right into the game.
If you enjoyed everything about the original games found in this collection then you will love these games. They are exactly the same. You can even play multiplayer via the PSP’s Wi-Fi. Nothing was added and nothing was taken out. I wouldn’t have had it any other way.
The only complaint that I have is that this collection, although great, could have been greater if it had some different games. Most of these games are good but some aren’t. Golden Axe is good but Golden Axe 2 and 3 aren’t. Ecco the dolphin is good, but I don’t see why they needed Ecco 2 and Ecco Jr. I loved Sonic the Hedgehog 3 but it, unfortunately, was left out. This is only a minor complaint though, and for the most part I was quite pleased with the selection that this game offered.
If you’ve played the originals then there isn’t much I can say. The graphics are perfectly intact, whether that is a good thing or a bad thing is up to you. I found the visuals to hold up quite well over time. Sonic still looks great as does many of the other games. You must remember that most of these games are between 10 and 20 years old.
The only thing that really stands out graphically, just because it’s new, is the opening movie when you first put the game into your PSP. It is kind of a slideshow of the more popular games in the collection. This really caught my eye because in the background you have a sharp blue and white mix and it is running slides of older games over it. This really makes them standout, and in a way show their age.
As with the graphics, the sound is the same as the originals. Sonic still has that fast-paced techno type music. You still hear the “BOING” as he jumps into any enemy or onto a spring platform. If you’ve played them before then you know what to expect. These games are classics and so are the tunes and sounds that they contain.
What if I told you that you could have 28 games for the price of one? Would you be amazed? Well that is just what I am about to tell you. All these games can be yours on one disc for less money than a crappy new Sonic game. That’s right; all of this for the one time low price of $29.99. This game is definitely worth the money and I highly recommend that you give it a try, especially if you are a Sega fan at all.
Going back and playing as that little blue hedgehog from my childhood was enough to sell me on this game. On top of that I had the pleasure of playing Golden Axe, and Virtua Fighter 2 along with many of the other games that I played as a child. This could possibly be one of my favorite PSP titles on the market.