A nostalgic trip back to the glorious 16-bit era when the name Sega meant so much more.
Of the 40+ titles on offer here, the following deserve special mention in my mind.
Alien Storm: Clever switches from side-scrolling action to first person. Ahead of its time.
Comix Zone: Short and difficult, but the comic book style visuals (jumping from one comic panel or page to the next) are brilliant.
Decap Attack: A humorous platformer starring a headless hero. The controls are ultra tight and it's just a good old-school romp.
Ecco the Dolphin: One of the hardest games ever, but the vibrant visuals and sound along with a serene oceanic atmosphere make this a work of art.
Phantasy Star IV: Parts 1-4 are all on offer here, but PS4 stands out as a true RPG classic. Looks and sounds great, but the story and characters are what shines.
Ristar: One of the most gorgeous and playable side-scrolling platformers ever. Heavily influenced by the Sonic games (possibly the same engine?), but for mine just as good as Sonic 2 or 3. Under-appreciated.
Shinobi 3: Probably my pick of the whole bunch. The graphics still look good now, the music is top notch, the backgrounds and themes varied and creative.Horse riding, surfing, ninja-fying, it's all here. Not easy but joy to play from start to finish.
Sonic 2 & 3: The best two games for me of one the truly classic platforming series. These two still hold up pretty well today.
Streets of Rage 1 & 2: Some of the best soundtracks of any games of the era. The first entry is solid, the second even better. Perhaps the greatest beat-em-ups of the era. For me the third was a letdown, but still not bad.
There are of course some very ordinary titles in the mix also. For me these include Bonanza Bros, E-Swat and Flicky as well as some of the older unlockable titles.
The extras include the ability to rate the games on a scale of 1-5 stars, then list them in order of favourites, by genre or alphabetically. I thought this was a great feature and I'd like to see it used more in future retro compilations.
Anyway, to break it down:
GRAPHICS: 7.5
Crisp HD and the option of smoothing help, but in the end we are talking about 20 year old games here. Some hold up surprisingly well, others don't.
SOUND: 9
Man I forgot how good some of these games sounded. The Streets of Rage games and Shinobi 3 are soundtracks I'll certainly hunt down.
GAMEPLAY: 8.5
It's simple. It's addictive. It's old school. I wish more games of the current era focused as much on simplistic yet enjoyable gameplay.
LASTABILITY: 9.5
Plenty of replay value to be found here. The thick bundle of lengthy RPG's will also keep those entertained who are willing to stick with them, icluding Phantasy Star I-IV, Shining Force 1-3, Golden Axe Warrior and more.
To sum up this is the most fun I've had with a retro compilation sinc Activision Anthology on PS2, and is heartily recommended for fans of the old school.