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Game Title: Sega Mega Drive Collection
Platform: PlayStation 2/PlayStation Portable
Developer: Digital Eclipse Software Inc.
Publisher: Sega
Genre: Compilation
Age Rating: PEGI: 12+
Release Date: 2nd February 2007
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Game Score: 8.0/10
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Summery:
This is a good compilation for those who want to experience Sega's 16 bit classics.
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The Sega Mega Drive (or the Sega Genesis for North American players) was the console to originally to compete against Nintendo's 8 bit NES console but ended up competing against the Super Nintendo. The console had it's library of really impressive games like Sonic, Golden Axe, Streets of Rage, Columns, Phantasy Star IV and so forth. Sega Mega Drive Collection for PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable allows players to experience some of the many classics that Sega released for their 16 bit games console.
Featured in the game are 27 games for the Mega Drive although in the American version there are actually 28 in which the only game missing from the Pal version is Shadow Dancer: The Shadow of Shinobi which isn't a big deal but it is worth noting. While their choices are great I don't understand why Streets of Rage was not included in the collection alongside ToeJam and Earl which is a disappointing but instead titles like Flicky and the questionably awful port of Virtua Fighter II. I already covered a review on that on my channel so feel free to go check that out. Dispute the choices this compilation has plenty of worthwhile Mega Drive classics, I like that they actually managed to place not only the 3 Golden Axe games especially the Japan only 3rd one but also the 2 Sonic games, the 3 Ecco the Dolphin games, but what makes the collection worth it if you own a PS2 and PSP are the RPG titles. You get Phantasy Star II, III and IV which are all really good but also this collection has Sword of Vermillion included as well making it a very sweet deal. There are also unlockables like arcade version of Altered Beast on the PS2 version as well as other different arcade classics between the PS2 and PSP versions. You can also unlock illustrations and interview videos which alongside the arcade games are done by fulfilling conditions in certain games. You can also view hints, box cover art and learn a bit of history of the various Sega games which is a very unique touch.
The emulations of all the games work really well and they all sound and look just like they normally would on a proper Mega Drive console. I did play on a real Mega Drive when I was younger and I do notice that the border now stays as black instead of being blue or multicolor as was the case of converting the games on the system into PAL. I also noticed that the music in the games are kept to their original form like they would sound in their NTSC counterparts. Normally games converted into PAL like Sonic 1 or Phantasy Star IV have the music slowed down a bit alongside the frame rate which is noticeable if you played any of the games on a European Mega Drive console, so this collection fixes all that only in Sonic 1 when you get the speed shoes power up the game's music track doesn't speed up for some reason. It's not a huge deal or anything but it is technically worth noting.
I also do like that you can edit the controls for each of the games if you so please which is a good thing if the default setup feels uncomfortable for PlayStation controller setup. You can even use Save and Load states on games so that you easily restore where you last left off, this is done in similar way to playing console games on an emulator where you can use Save and Load states to easily restore your progress in a game that doesn't originally use a save feature.
As for the games themselves many of them are great. Games like Sonic, Golden Axe, VectorMan, Ristar and the Phantasy Star games are fantastic classics of the Sega Mega Drive while there are other games that do not hold up very well. Games like Altered Beast, Alex Kidd and Comix Zone might be very short but they are very difficult without any continues and require skill to complete them, Flicky has possibly the worst music I ever heard in a Mega Drive game and Ecco the Dolphin can be very difficult when you have no idea what to do. The Mega Drive version of Virtua Fighter II like I said before is a horrible port of the arcade fighting game with missing characters, awful graphics with a terrible frame rate at the final boss and a broken down fighting system.
Dispute the choices of not including Streets of Rage or ToeJam and Earl and that some of the game don't hold up well in the slightest this collection is a must have for players who owned a Mega Drive in their childhoods. There are plenty of classics to enjoy in the disc and for those who own a PSP it's a great choice to be able to take the various Mega Drive games out on the go and also your best bet to play Phantasy Star II, III, IV and Sword of Vermillion on the go. Most second hand stores are likely to sell the compilation for a cheap price so if you own either a PS2 or PSP it's a very good deal. In the future I might cover several Mega Drive games in full detail.
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The Good Points:
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1. Both Arcade and Mega Drive versions of Altered Beast in the PS2 version are featured
2. Phantasy Star II, III, IV and Sword of Vermillion are together
3. Some Mega Drive games have their music in original form in 50hz mode
4. Several Mega Drive and Arcade classics from Sega
The Bad Points:
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1. Does not include Streets of Rage, ToeJam and Earl and if you live in Europe Shadow Dancer
2. Some games don't hold up or age well
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Reviewed by: Anthony Hayball (AQWBlaZer91)
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