Sega Genesis Collection
Score: 76% ESRB: Teen Publisher: Sega Developer: Backbone Entertainment Media: DVD/1 Players: 1 - 2 Genre: Platformer (2D)/ RPG/ Arcade
Graphics & Sound: Sega Genesis Collection is a collection of, you guessed it, games from the Sega Genesis console. If you don't know what a Sega Genesis is, follow this link. Also, bless your dear heart. When you buy a collection of older games, you're usually looking to recreate the experience you had on the older system. This means you expect the graphics, sound, and all other elements to be perfectly preserved and served up just as they were back then. Sega Genesis Collection does just this. You get what you would have gotten over a decade ago. To present all these games, there's a spiffy animated menu done in a modern graphical style. It's nice to see Sega didn't just dump a bunch of games into a bland, colorless menu. Though it's only the menu, great presentation is a good thing to see. The bonus interviews from developers and box art are a great addition. I say there can never be enough of these little gems. Luckily for those not buying this collection for the nostalgia kick, the graphics and sound aren't too jarring to experience now. Some of my favorite game music came from Phantasy Star and Sonic the Hedgehog. Graphically, most games are colorful and bright. For a good while, Sega had a more powerful system than its rival Nintendo at the time, and you'll see the ways they tried to show it off in these games. Ecco the Dolphin was one game I remember for being particularly impressive in its day. The attention to detail still shows, and the realistic movements of the dolphin still look nice. Of course, all the games in the collection aren't equally impressive. You'll play Gain Ground not for its bland graphics, but for its challenge. The same could be said of Flicky and Bonanza Bros., which sorely show their age.
Gameplay: Here are all the games included in Sega Genesis Collection: Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle Altered Beast Bonanza Bros. Columns Comix Zone Decap Attack starring Chuck D. Head Ecco the Dolphin Ecco II: The Tides of Time Ecco Jr. Kid Chameleon Flicky Gain Ground Golden Axe Golden Axe II Golden Axe III Phantasy Star II Phantasy Star III: Generations of Doom Phantasy Star IV: The End of the Millennium Ristar Shadow Dancer: The Secret of Shinobi Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master Sonic the Hedgehog Sonic the Hedgehog 2 Super Thunder Blade Sword of Vermilion Vectorman Vectorman 2 Virtua Fighter 2 One thing that makes people wary of buying a collection of retro games is seeing one good game listed, then seeing 5 or 6 "filler" games they've never heard of. It comes down to a matter of taste, and one's fond memories of the games in a collection to make or break the deal. Luckily, with SGC, you're getting a great selection. Most of these are the games that most people who owned the system played over and when they originally came out, but also games that most gamers would be familiar with, even if they didn't play them. That being said, a couple of these games stand out as being drudgery to play. If Sword of Vermillion were simply a random encounter, turn-based RPG, it might not be such a pain to play. But alas, it is a game with an unintuitive map system and a frustrating side-scrolling battle system. It seems like someone was trying to pack too many different styles of play into what should be a simple RPG. The second game I speak of is Super Thunder Blade. It’s not the mindless shooting fun that it could be because of its frustrating attempt at being a 3D game. This goes for most games on this system that attempted 3D. To simulate 3D movement, you’re given jerky size changes in the landscape and objects on it. This makes it difficult to judge when and where to move. Beyond those two low-lights, you get a variety of gameplay with, for starters, platform games like Sonic the Hedgehog and Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle. You get traditional menu-based RPG gameplay with the Phantasy Star series. You can get your puzzle fix with Columns. There's arcade-style, side-scrolling action in Golden Axe and Altered Beast. There's even a fighter game in Virtua Fighter 2. There are a few real stars in this collection. The Sonic the Hedgehog games are the pinnacle of great control and great gameplay. It offers lots of secrets and is still just a blast to play. The Golden Axe games and Altered Beast stand out as being the best 2-player games. They’re simply better to play with two people since they invite cooperation. There are a lot of sequels packed together in this collection. I would have to say that is a good thing, though some may disagree. I believe that being picky about the game that you include from its series will end up disappointing more fans than it pleases. Also, it's great just for continuity and for completing those sequels or earlier games you were somehow were never able to play back then.
Difficulty: When you're used to playing games from the last few years, going back to these older games can be a shock to one's system. They can be unforgiving, confusing, and just plain annoying. It takes a bit of retraining and patience to get through most of these games now. Take the RPGs in Sega Genesis Collection. If you've played any type of RPG in recent years, you usually get a tutorial when you are made to do something for the first time, like go into battle. When you pick up and play any game in SGC, you're given no explanations, save for a listing of the button functions. If you know the basics of RPGs, you can figure it out. Still, you may miss the simple things that are standard in modern RPGs, like having a shop display whether a weapon is better or worse than what you're carrying (back then, you just had to buy it and find out.) You may have to take notes, or even (gasp) make maps to get through these games. This being said, it would have been nice to have the instruction manuals included or at least referenced somewhere in an Option menu. If you're picking up this collection with no other reference, you may be doing a lot of trial and error just to figure out how everything works in each game. Luckily, you do have the option to save whenever you like. Or if you want toughen yourself up as a gamer, you can still choose to save through whatever method each game originally allowed you to.
Game Mechanics: Let me warn you again that Sega Genesis Collection can be frustrating. Most of the games included are traditional platform games. If you played these games years ago, you'll get flashbacks to your moments of yelling, "Jump! Jump!! What hit me!? I didn't touch that guy!" In some of these games, you need to learn not only how to play the game, but play by its rules. If you have a slow jump, you learn to jump earlier. If attacking slows your character down, you need to learn to attack only when you need to. Many of these games give you little leeway for error, and you just need to learn to work with that. None of the games are too complicated to learn, and you have to remember that the original Sega Genesis controller had only 3 buttons and a directional pad to play with. The mastery of most of these games involved repetition and quick reflexes. It is pure and simple gaming. As I said before, you may have a hard time if you're playing these games for the first time. SGC is probably a guaranteed winner for anyone who owned a Sega Genesis. The games are simple, but may be too difficult for young kids (who also have bigger, flashier games to hold their attention nowadays). I got a kick out of the extra content, and since it was unlockable, it provides a reward for gameplay, at least for a while. This is a good collection, with some good extras. The only thing I'd ask for are for more games and more extras, but for the price, SGC is not bad.
-Fights with Fire, GameVortex Communications AKA Christin Deville
Every Extend Extra Warhammer: Battle for Atluma