Sega Genesis Collection
There was a time, way back when, a time when the world was two dimensional. Well, the video gaming world was, at least. The side-scroller, the top-down shooter, and the overhead RPG ruled the roost. Then came rumblings within the industry. Sega, Nintendo's main competitor, was going under. Their systems after the Genesis were not well received, and sold poorly. Nintendo and a new rival Sony both released consoles with an amazing innovation: 3D graphics. Led by Super Mario 64, 3D quickly became the norm for gaming, whether it was better or not. Some games clearly benefited from the change. Others, not so much. But no matter what you thought of 3D, it was here to stay. Quicker than you could say "Holy Polygons, Batman!" the idea of 2D gaming on console platforms died. Handhelds still held fast, but the console world was irrevocably changed.
And so it is that here we are, at the dawn of yet another console generation, the third since the N64/Playstation One. The graphics are infinitely more lifelike, while the physics get more complex every six months. However, there are still those who yearn for the days of classic 2D gaming. And for those, Sega has decided to dip back into the vaults and present a collection of some of the best games available on its Genesis system.
Gameplay:
The Sega Genesis Collection offers 28 games, and even though several of them are sequels, there is a massive amount of variety on display here. Some of them, like Sonic The Hedgehog, are no-brainers. Others, like Ecco The Dolphin and the aforementioned Phantasy Star games, are some of the most beloved games on the system. And others, such as Kid Chameleon, leave you scratching your head wondering why they bothered to include them at all.
This collection is definitely an exercise in nostalgia. And while some of the titles here may give you the sense of excitement you had when you popped in the old 16-bit cartridges, the fact is that a lot of these games have lost their lustre. The controls on most of them are not very sensitive, making split-second manuevers a general impossibility. Playing Vectorman, for example, I found it very hard to jump over the bullets being fired at me, even though if the game were redesigned and put on the DS, it wouldn't have been a problem.
Of course, not every game comes off so badly. The Sonic games still have the classic controls that never seem to fade in quality, and other surprises like Comix Zone are still deliriously fun. However, it seems as if the best of intentions have been squandered here, as the PS2's controller is just not suited a majority of these games. The D-Pad in particular, with its individual buttons, doesn't have the same range of motion as the Genesis' pad. So that leaves you with the analog stick, and the conversion is iffy at best. Also, the button mapping isn't always the most intuitive, and sometimes I would find myself shooting when I should be jumping, or firing my sonar instead of rushing, etc.
Again, that's not to say the collection isn't without its pleasures. There are several RPGs here, each one capable of giving you days of exhilirating gameplay that the march of years cannot diminish. And it's hard to argue with most of the choices Sega has made, although the unending sequels gets a bit tiresome. Did we need Golden Axe 1-3, both Vectormans, two Sonics and Ecco Jr.? I think not. But then, those are a drop in the bucket when you get 20 more games to play, and that's not even including the unlockables, which include several arcade games. So don't get me wrong, this is a great collection, it's just not a perfect one.
For the curious, here is a list of all of the games included in this collection:
Alex Kidd In The Enchanted Castle (1989)
Altered Beast (1989)
Bonanza Bros. (1991)
Columns (1990)
Comix Zone (1995)
Decap Attack (1991)
Ecco The Dolphin (1993)
Ecco: The Tides Of Time (1994)
Ecco Jr. (1995)
Flicky (1991)
Gain Ground (1991)
Golden Axe (1989)
Golden Axe II (1991)
Golden Axe III (1992)
Kid Chameleon (1992)
Phantasy Star II (1989)
Phantasy Star III (1990)
Phantasy Star IV: The End of the Millenium (1994)
Ristar (1995)
Shadow Dancer: The Secret of Shinobi (1990)
Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master (1993)
Sonic The Hedgehog (1991)
Sonic The Hedgehog 2 (1992)
Super Thunder Blade (1988)
Sword of Vermillion (1990)
Vectorman (1995)
Vectorman 2 (1996)
Virtua Fighter 2 (1996)
Graphics:
As far as I can tell, the graphics have been completely untouched. I know that often older games get filtered when being put on newer consoles, and unfortunately, I don't have access to the old games to check and see if this is the case here. They certainly look the way I remember them, and I couldn't detect any sort of touching up.
Let's not forget, then, that these are 16-bit games. Detail is going to be low, and textures will be generally soft and muddy. It's almost unfair to score it, since there's no way in the world this collection would ever stand up to today's games. So instead of looking at the number score, just know that this collection faithfully recreate the graphics of the games contained within.
The game also includes an extensive library, with the original box art (front and back) for each game, as well as promotional shots and a summary of the game's story. There's actually a good deal of information and some cool graphics that can be found in these libraries, to the point where you might spend more time looking at the information about the game rather than playing the game itself.
Audio:
Same on the audio side. While the menu features a lot of beeping and booping, the games themselves have the same midi-style soundtracks that still have the power to enchant today. While they don't create vast soundscapes or suck you in with the realism of the effects, the best music on here is great and really helps establish the sense of nostalgia that this collection is trying to create.
Conclusion:
28 games for $20. Good deal. Granted, not every game as a winner, and the controls feel far less responsive than they should, but overall, there's too much value here for anyone to pass up. Fans of 16-bit gaming should own this already, but for those who always wondered what video games were like before particle effects, this is the collection for you. Recommended.