The most important aspect of retro compilations are the titles, there are a staggering thirty games included with Sega Mega Drive Collection, the thirty games included are: Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Super Thunder Blade, Super Vermilion, VectorMan, VectorMan 2, Virtua Fighter 2, Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle, Altered Beast, Bonanza Bros. Columns, Comix Zone, Decap Attack, Ecco the Dolphin, Ecco: The Tides of Time, Ecco Jnr., Flicky, Gain Ground, Golden Axe, Golden Axe II, Golden Axe III, Kid Chameleon, Phantasy Star II, Phantasy Star III, Phantasy Star IV, Ristar and Shinobi III.
Even if you used to own a Mega Drive then Sega Mega Drive Collection still comes highly recommended, there may be a few titles you've played repeatedly (such as Sonic 2) but it's very unlikely that you used to own all of these games. If you used to own a Super Nintendo and missed out on the Mega Drive then this collection is the best way to catch up on lost games. If you're too young to actually remember these consoles then this is your chance to see just how good 16 bit gaming used to be.
Memories...
Some of the games included on the compilation have been re-released before such as Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and Ecco the Dolphin. However, there are some titles which we haven’t seen on a retro collection before including Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle and Bonanza Bros. As the game is budget priced, the sheer number of games also means you’re only paying a couple of bucks per title. It's worth mentioning that although a few of the games such as Sonic the Hedgehog and Ristar are available on Nintendo's Virtual Console, you're paying about five times as much for the privledge to play the game on Nintendo's console. The PlayStation 2 editions of these games even include a short history of the games you're playing.
Digital Eclipse handled the emulation for the games and they've done a great job. It's nearly perfect, all games run at a great speed and the colours remain vibrant, making the games look as good as ever. The sound has turned out well too. Great emulation may not seem all that hard to execute, but quite a few compilations suffer from poor emulation which can slow titles down. PAL gamers will also be pleased to know that you can change the scan rate to 60Hz, although this option is hidden in the menus.
A classic.
Even though Sega Mega Drive Collection is a budget title the presentation in game is fantastic. For every title you're able to bring up a short history which tells you when the title was released and provides a short write up on the game. There are also a few “did you knows?” for each game. This kind of presentation is really what sets this collection apart from previous retro compilations, which usually take on a bare bones approach. Impressively the loading in the game is minimal, with only a few seconds of loading for each title. This makes it very easy to jump in and out of games quickly. If you don’t think you can complete each title in one sitting then you can also save your game at any time.
Sega have also included eighteen unlockables which range from interviews with key developers through to a Virtua Fighter 5 trailer and a Sega Cheat book. These extras are unlocked in a variety of ways but generally all you need to do is play a game or get to a certain point in a game and you’ll have unlocked a bonus. The game will notify you by way of a pop up when you’ve unlocked an extra. If thirty games isn’t enough then there are also four other titles to be unlocked: Future Spy, Tac / Scan, Zaxxon and Zector. The PlayStation 2 version of the game also includes the original arcade version of Altered Beast. The amount of unlockables really is very impressive and should have you coming back to this collection quite frequently. All games which originally featured two player modes still allow you to play with a friend as well.
Not quite as freaky now is it?
Sega Mega Drive Collection is an easy to recommend retro compilation. The game comes with thirty of the best Mega Drive titles released as well as five bonus unlockable games. There are still a few notable exceptions, Streets of Rage is disappointingly nowhere to be found, but we’re pleased that obscure titles such as Ristar and Bonanza Bros. made it into the game. If you're an old school gamer or just new to gaming then there is plenty of fun to be had with Sega Mega Drive Collection. Both the PSP and the PlayStation 2 version are budget priced as well so there is no doubts in our minds that Sega Mega Drive Collection is one of the best compilations ever.
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