Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection

I submitted this review to the Escapist a few weeks ago and have not yet received any sort of reply on whether or not it would be published there, so I'm just going to publish it here.

Game Title: Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection

Developer(s): SEGA/Backbone Entertainment

Publisher: SEGA

Platform: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 (Xbox 360 version reviewed)

 

I don’t consider myself a “retrogamer.”  Mainly because I do not like the term, and I don’t like the term because it implies that said gamer only ever plays retro games (but we call those people “emos”).  You wouldn’t call someone who watches movies that all happen to be from a period before 1980 a “retrowatcher,” would you?  Movies are movies and games are games no matter what time they’re from.  Besides, “retro” is such as arbitrary term.  I consider Super Mario Bros. 3 to be retro, but someone else might say that Majora’s Mask is retro, which I disagree with.  I see no reason to have more than two main categories of gamers anyways: mainstream and core.

But all my qualms with the labeling of gamers as such did not stop me from being very retro after picking up Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection.  I saved up about $60 dollars, purchased Sonic’s UGC and immediately went out to procure some supplies with the extra cash.  Upon returning from the grocery store I moved my Xbox 360 to the analog TV set in my bedroom, hooked up the appropriate AV cables and proceeded to plop down on the floor.  Just like the old days.  With a 6-pack of Mondos, a box of Dunkaroos and a whole mess of Bagel Bites I was set to enjoy my childhood days all over again. 

Given that this game is just large collection of other games I’ll just review how polished everything is and how well the games translated over to those newfangled controllers.

There is definitely one thing about this compilation that no one can disagree with: it’s packed the brim with content.  However, it’s basically an expanded edition of an earlier compilation, SEGA Genesis Collection for the Sony PlayStation 2 and PSP. There are 49 games by my count (including the 9 unlockables) along with histories and artwork for each game and interviews with SEGA of Japan.  Even Dynamite Headdy, a game from the geniuses at Treasure Co., makes an appearance.  The inclusion of DH, however, only made me question why Gunstar Heroes, also from Treasure, was not incorporated as well.

As with the last collection there are still some games that seem to be included just for the hell of it (Who really wants to play Flicky again?).  And what’s worse is if you only have the Xbox 360 gamepad to play with.  Sure, some of the games, like Streets of Rage and Golden Axe, translate well to the analog controls, but most deserve the d-pad treatment.  I have not played the PS3 counterpart, but I imagine the d-pad on the Sixaxis/Dual Shock 3 controller is much more manageable.  Luckily, I have my trusty arcade stick.  If you have the Street Fighter IV fightpad, then that might be the best solution.

If memory serves, the audio and graphics are perfectly emulated from their Genesis, Master System and arcade counterparts. I have heard that the PS3 version only supports HD up to 720p while the Xbox 360 supports up to 1080p.  Honestly, I don’t see that being a problem because I doubt that there is much difference between the two settings if all you really want is to see some pixilated graphics.  The menu music is nice, and graphically it looks very sleek.

The main menu is well formatted.  The user is given the ability to rate the games and sort them according to the alphabet, ratings, genre and year released.  It sounds trivial, but that option is very satisfying for whatever reason.

Bottom Line: It’s a solid collection with gems like Shining Force II, Dynamite Headdy and Ristar.  I was disappointed to not see the inclusion of Virtua Fighter 2 Genesis, but that didn’t stop me from really enjoying everything else.

Recommendation: Rent it first to see if the amount of games you’ll actually end up playing is worth your $30.  Other than that, I wholeheartedly recommend that all gamers pick up a copy.  And if you have a 360 and PS3, pick up the PS3 version solely for the d-pad.