Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection (Greatest Hits) - PlayStation 3

Every now and then a game comes along that inspires me to open a review with a cliche phrase such as "Every now and then a game comes along that...". This game, is that game people! I'll just assume that if you are considering buying this, then you either had a Sega Genesis in the days of yore, or are at the very least way in to retro style games. With that caveat, I say to you that this game delivers, and keeps on delivering! Not only that but it delivers in a pretty attractive little package, and at a price point to the tune of 15 dollars, I suggest you pull on those red slippers and loop-de-loop your way on into town to snag a copy. Or... you could just pick it up right here, and have the hardworking delivery men bring it right to your doorstep! The Games Well enough of my general yammering. What you are interested in is the games, am I right? Well how about like 40+? Sure that's a few games alright, but what are we talking here? I don't know about you, but I'm not really into the prospect of a 40 game pack if like 5 of the games are like Bubsy1,2,3, Bubsy 4 "This Time its Personal", Bubsy 5 "the Bubsying"... You get the picture. We want quality... and quantity! This disc has it! All the genres are well represented, with several platforming, action, RPG, puzzle, arcade, and beat em up games on offer. Chances are you will even find at least a handful of games on here that you used to own yourself. The Highlights Chronic Sonic: You've got more Sonic than you can shake a stick at here.Or if not a stick, then some stick like object in the idiom of the Sonic Games, but I'm at a loss so proxy in your own wit here for me readers! Even the gut wrenching Sonic Spinball makes and appearance if you are a masochist. The Golden Age: Does the name Ax Battler mean anything to you? If it does then chances are you, like me, have been jonesing for the days where you could just walk around with a friend cutting down goons and punting potions out of gnomes! Well you get all three Golden Axe Games. Golden Axe 1, Golden Axe 2 This time its personal, and Golden Axe 3, the Axening. What a bargain! Phinal Phantasy??: For a few out there, the name brand for the early RPG Didn't use Fs for the FUh sound. Those boys and girls might just have been playing some Phantasy Star! ... Or maybe they just weren't hooked on phonics! Either way, you've got 4 full length retro RPGs here to discover, or rediscover, or even dediscover somehow. I don't know. Do as you will! Only thing is, these are quality games. Check the dates these things came out if you want to know just how ahead of their time they were. All the Rage: Now listen gamers if you are like me, then you dream of the days when you can show up at your friends door, do some buddy arm grab, and then set out across town beating the unholy hell out of everyone that looks different from you! Punk rockers, wrestlers, karate guys,ax juggling carnies, dominatricies(sp?), tubby fire breathing baseball players? No one will be safe from your punchy wrath! All three Streets of Rage games are back! Team up with a friend, and god help the criminally aligned counter cultures of your city! Shining recommendation: Sega's popular Shining Force games go up to numero dos on this disc, and you also get shining in the darkness, or Hard as **** the game, as I like to call it. These things still hold up really well, and the character portraits are pretty good for the time. Lots of fun, well worth a revisit. And All THAT!: There's more, much more, and readers please; just because my brain is like a sieve and I can't think of more specific games, don't take that to mean the rest are all third rate garbage! There are some seriously surprising little gems in there! Don't count out the always fun Altered Beast, or Fantasy Zone, or Gain Ground, Kid Chameleon, and many many more. The short story, is that if you had a Sega Genesis, you might want to just go ahead and pick this game up. For the price of a movie ticket you get a whole heck of a lot of games, and it takes up a lot less space than all those big clunky genesis boxes too yep!

If you're like me, you know Sega games only loosely or casually. I mostly played Nintendo 64 and now PS3. And while I enjoy the Wii Virtual Console, the offerings can be a bit expensive and difficult to switch between. Introducing the Sonic Ultimate Genesis Collection. The title is a bit curious to me, because most of the games are non-Sonic and several are for consoles other than the Genesis. Don't let the name stop you from buying this collection. And what a collection it is! Of the included games, I would say I've only played Sonic the Hedgehog before, as we all have. So it was a real treat to discover the beat 'em up series Golden Axe, the futuristic RPG series Phantasy Star, and the playfulness of Ecco the Dolphin. These are high-quality titles that have since been largely forgotten. Many maintain cult followings. Here you get the chance to experience what makes some people so crazy for these classics. I have only tried out a handful of the titles and was impressed with their quality. You'd be forgiven if you were expecting a dump of cheaply-licensed sequels and Sonic iterations. Instead, you're getting some of the defining Sega titles from when that company still made great games. Sometimes I get the feeling that, despite graphical advances, games haven't really progressed beyond the example set by titles like these. While pixelated, the stylistic effects are charming and creative. The collection is also well-assembled, with a robust interface and usable game controls. You can choose to play games either in their original 4x3 format, with a thematic background graphic instead of black bars. Or you can opt for a 16x9 stretched display. What's more, you have incentive to keep playing, with unlockable (free) content available for completing certain feats in the games. Switching between games is quick and efficient, and save data ensures you can pick up where you left off. Just think about the deal you are getting here. These are many of the classics of the 1990s, pulled together for less than a dollar per game. It's an easy sell if you ask me.

Case arrived very damaged, BUT I am so happy to receive the game, and the disc appears to be not damaged (haven’t checked) so I’ll still rate it 5 stars for now.

This review will be a little hefty as I plan on reviewing the main game collection as one and then I picked a game at random to review to give potential buyers an idea of what to expect from a typical 90s era SEGA game. GAME COLLECTION: PROS 1. Good set for the money. Lots of classics here – 7 or so sonic games, golden axe, altered beast, comix zone. There is a good chunk I am not familiar with, but paying 20 or so dollars for even just the sonic games is a pretty decent deal. 2. Decent amount of video options. Either a 4:3 pillar boxed– reminiscent of the old tube tvs – or a stretched 16:9 to fill a wide screen monitor – which looks like ass. You can also “smooth” the sprites, but they make everything look all melty and terrible. Just play without it 3. Games I tested ran smoothly – sonic 3, shining force, phantasy star II. Didn’t have any audio sync issues or weird video lag. 4. Games looked nice. Despite the age and technology, the sprites and backgrounds hold up really well in the HD presentation 5. You can remap controls if that is your thing. 6. Nice to be able to save from the console options rather than having to save in game at designated locations. CONS: 1. Despite having a “smoothing” filter, there are no other filters present that would be included in a typical emulator – scanlines, etc. 2. There are video and control options, but I wasn’t able to find audio options in the games I tested. I would prefer to hear the music track louder than the text scroll or game effects. I suspect the old games have everything mixed together which is why this option is omitted. 3. No way to speed up gameplay. Another staple of emulation is being able to speed up games 2X, 4X, 8X, or more to get through boring animations, text boxes, or just grinding out random battles. This option seems to be missing here. SHINING STAR: I wanted to pick a game I had NO familiarity with as to not let nostalgia bias my critique. I am playing this game blind, without any help from the internet. PROS: 1. Sprites are a good representation of what SEGA Genesis was capable of at the time. 2. Very straight forward story. Doesn’t drown you in exposition. You start the game and you are thrust into action. 3. Good gameplay – VERY similar to Fire Emblem or FF Tactics, which I like. Even has the promotion aspect to level your characters. 4. Interaction is a neat idea, but flawed in execution. 5. Interesting characters and locations. 6. Hard but rewarding battles. CONS: 1. Inventory is limited. Can only hold 4 items on a character and there is no backpack or caravan to dump items into. 2. No way to know what items do. Especially health items. You go to a shop and expect a quick menu or something that says the herbs will replenish 10 HP or something, but it just isn’t there. Only by using the items do you learn their properties. 3. Turn order is a mystery. No on screen meter or anything to let you know how many enemy turns it takes to be yours. 4. Enemy turns take forever. You will be up against about 15 – 20 enemies and you must watch ALL of their turns. Even if they do not move. There is no way to speed it up or skip it. 5. Cannot speed up or skip text, battle animations, turn moves. Everything happens in real time and is pretty slow once you are on about move 30 and just trying to kill the enemy. 6. I mentioned that the interaction is a neat idea, but flawed. The game ties everything to an action choice box pop up and you have to choose “talk” “look” item”. It is kind of like a point and click game on PC, but doesn’t really work on console. It would be easier if all inventory options like healing items, equipment, status were tied to the START button (like normal) and the A button (or X on PS3) just let you talk to people. I don’t know why search needs to be hidden under a popup, just have me talk/search with the same button. Overall the game is a product of its time. Most RPGs in the early 90s were still in their infancy. A lot of these quality of life options probably won’t be introduced for a few years, but it is definitely hard to go back and play an older game with modern game styles on the mind. I never would have liked this as a kid. Sonic games were my bread and butter and simple hack n slash games like Golden Axe. This game requires patience, strategy, forethought, and resource conservation. Nine year old me would have been miserable. No wonder I never heard of this game before I would recommend this collection if you can get it for under 20 dollars. Like I said, just getting the basic classics most people are familiar with makes having this worth it. There are definitely some lost gems to get introduced to, but be aware that these games are over 20 years old and probably won’t play like you wish they would.

I remember being nine years old and my dad buying a SEGA Genesis for me and my brother. I remember wasting hours and hours on this console, even skipping school to stay home and play. I don't remember when my console died but it was quite some time ago, I never bought another Genesis, and playing through a PC emulator never seemed quite the same. I took a chance and bought this, and I'm very glad that I did. Some of the games are 20 years old, and yet they have better gameplay and replayability than most modern games that I buy. Playing Streets of Rage with my nephew who has never even seen a Genesis, and having fun with it just proves that good games are timeless, and graphics are completely overrated. Speaking of graphics, you will be happy to know that this looks awesome on HDTVs despite the obvious technological time gap. The games are playing in a windowed mode, which avoids horizontal stretching, since these games were obviously not designed with HD resolutions in mind. The text in most games (haven't played them all yet) is very clear and easy to read. there appears to be no graphic problems whatsoever. Although this collection misses some really good games it is definitely worth getting. I am hoping SEGA makes more of these, and starts to re-release some of their awesome Saturn games.

Fun game!

Didn’t care for this game so much

Sonic Ultimate Genesis Collection - Playstation 3 I just got this yesterday, a day earlier than expected. And I gotta say, just about everything with this collection is wonderfully presented. The titles themselves are what I've come to expect, and I really like the library overall. It would've been nice to have Alien Soldier or something niche to spice it up, but considering we even got the arcade ports of Fantasy Zone and Altered Beast, I'm not gonna let that bother me. The games have been up-scaled to 720p, and they all look amazing on an HDTV. The games start up in a 4:3 aspect ratio box, which looks fine, but there's also a 16:9 option with no box that looks absolutely spectacular if you're playing on a big TV. There's also a smoothing option, but although it hides the pixels much better, it just looks bad overall. Wouldn't recommend using that feature, though I'm not sure I'd say it's useless. Packed in the collection are various interviews and extra games to keep your mind busy. You even have this little red box on the right of every game that lets you rank it from 0 to 5, which is a cute idea. (Can't do that with the bonus games though.) Overall, the definitive Genesis collection, bar none. You get save states, the games look and sound amazing, and the titles themselves are the classics. It's hard not to enjoy games like Golden Axe, Altered Beast, Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle, Gain Ground, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, etc. You get a variety of genres that blend well together, and overall, that's all that needs to be said. I've come a long way from those Jakks Pacific plug n' plays, and if you're a decent Sega fan and want to see what the system had to offer in a new upgraded light, then this is what you're looking for.