SEGA Mega Drive Ultimate Collection review

gamesweasel

15 years ago

Segas Mega Drive Ultimate Collection (also known as Sonics Ultimate Genesis Collection in different countries) takes 40 games that appeared on the 16-bit console and puts them onto one handy disc with a simple menu so you can get straight into them with little fuss. Games include:-

Alex Kidd In The Enchanted Castle
Alien Storm
Altered Beast
Beyond Oasis
Bonanza Bros.
Columns
Comix Zone
Decap Attack starring Chuck D. Head
Dr. Robotnik’s MBM
Dynamite Headdy
Ecco The Dolphin
Ecco II: The Tides Of Time
E-Swat
Fatal Labyrinth
Flicky
Gain Ground
Golden Axe I
Golden Axe II
Golden Axe III
Kid Chameleon
Phantasy Star II
Phantasy Star III: Generations Of Doom
Phantasy Star IV: The End Of The Millennium
Ristar
Shining In The Darkness
Shining Force
Shining Force 2
Shinobi III: Return Of The Ninja Master
Sonic 3D Blast
Sonic And Knuckles
Sonic Spinball
Sonic The Hedgehog
Sonic The Hedgehog 2
Sonic The Hedgehog 3
Streets Of Rage
Streets Of Rage 2
Streets Of Rage 3
Super Thunder Blade
Vectorman
Vectorman 2

However there are a few gems in here I remember from the past so it was interesting and nostalgic to have another fiddle with them. Notably, the games I was most excited about were Golden Axe, Altered Beast and Streets of Rage. Of course there were others I was curious to play too having never played them, including the Golden Axe sequels, Shinobi III and the Phantasy Star RPGs.

So, what you get is the original games playing through what must be an emulator on the disc. There are limited continues on some of the arcade titles but it’s nice to see you can pause the game and save the state in one of three save slots. Of course this means you can save as you go and see later levels from games you’ve never seen before. Altered Beast was one of those games, I never knew you turned into a Tiger as well!

On the back of the box it says the games are ‘now in HD’ but this isn’t really the case. In fact, playing these lo-res games on a 42” HD plasma TV shows every pixel in the game and weirdly they did look better playing on a small CRT telly back in the early 90s. They have included a ‘smoothing’ mode which attempts to fix the pixilation but this actually makes everything looks like it’s been coated in wax and in some ways ruins the nostalgia.

Of course, Sonic’s in there too but I’ve never been a Sonic fan so these ones haven’t been touched. And if you liked playing Ecco the Dolphin back in the day, that’s in there too. Annoyingly, there’s no Revenge of Shinobi which, for me anyway, goes down as one of the best 2D platform fighting games ever made.

So, is it worth the money – especially if you’ve already shelled out for some Sega classics before on the Wii and on the Xbox Live Marketplace? If you’re under 25 I’d leave this one well alone. These games are only really fun because they remind older gamers of a time when gaming was more simple and immediate. It also brings back loads of memories. For anyone that didn’t play these first time around, they’re really nowhere near as good as people remember them and you really are best playing the games of today.

There’s plenty in here to keep older gamers amused and there’s extra trivia and unlockable videos as you go, not to mention lots of easy achievements and trophies to earn. This latest collection from Sega gets 6 out of 10.