A very good collection that could probably only be surpassed by a Blu-Ray collection of all the Final Fantasys.
Kid Chameleon- Apparently not everyone else is a psyched about this game being on as I am. I got to play this at my cousin's house when I was little and it was just so much fun. The basic premise is that a virtual video game got too real and now a young man must defeat the evil... guy. Really the story has very little importance here as with most 2-D scrollers, but the ability to transform into numerous useful classes such as the Samurai, and the Knight. Golden Axe- Yes! Golden Axe is here! This game was short but, oh, so sweet. This game is living (-ish) proof that simple can be fun. You have three warriors (one to two players) to pick from and basically you go from left to right in a quasi-three-dimensional environments a la Streets of Rage (This was 3-D before 3-D) killing everyone with your weapon or respective magic. There is also a tournament mode to fight countless enemies in succession.
Sonic the Hedgehog- This one has been done to death so I'm going to keep it short: it plays exactly like the original which is to say, "Perfectly," which surprisingly has been seriously botched before (See Game Boy titles.) (For the current generation botch-jobs see the game of same name on X-Box 360- here's to hoping they fix it in the PlayStation 3 verison.).
Phantasy Star II, III, IV- This is, or rather "should," probably be the highlight of the collection as this was the role-playing series that rivaled Final Fantasy at one point. Sadly, recent years appear to have been cruel to our dear friend (See Phantasy Star Universe.). But these games are true gems. The story is, of course, not voiced (you kids today are spoiled.) and in text form, so, really it leaves a lot to the imagination. The battles take place, as was standard fare in role-playing games at the time, in a battle screen using menu options. These make for a good piece of gaming history. Be sure to check them out.
Shinobi III- I enjoyed this game so much on the Sega Genesis and, of course, it plays the exact same as the original here, and I'm very happy about that. I don't know anything about the story, but basically you go from beginning to end of each level and then kill a boss and move on. Prettty simple, right? As luck would have it your character is a (gasp!) Shinobi and so you've got quite a few "magic spells" to work with. There is a strong sense of style and "coolness" to this game that actually transitioned quite well into 3-D (See Shinobi, PlayStation 2). Unfortunately, the transition included a huge boost in difficulty that turned away many. If you're looking for a challenge, check it out. If you're looking for a good game this is it.
Comix Zone- This is a very good game with a truly innovative style. In the opening sequence a comic book artist named Sketch Turner (...) gets trapped in his own comic and the comic's villain tries throughout the game to kill him by drawing enemies to fight (apparently he either can't, or is too stupid to just scribble Sketch out (or maybe it's a... "game" to him). This game is one of the earliest examples of an action game blended with an actual story (you know, with people talking and giving reasons why you're going to a place that's under three feet of snow.) A modern mix of this and Streets of Rage with a delightful twist is available (of course) on the PlayStation 2 (See God Hand.)
Altered Beast- I'm including this one merely because everyone else seems to think it's so great. I think it's all right, but it doesn't really wow me in the old-fashioned (wow, it's already considered old) sense. In addition to the twenty-odd games in this one little disc, there are plenty of extras to unlock; interviews, trailers, and a game or two. Furthermore, with each game there is a little history page to tell you about the game and little trivial facts.
This is an amazing bargain when you consider how much you'd be spending to buy them on some "Virtual Console." Be sure to pick it up!