Sega Mega Drive Classics - Review

Review for Sega Mega Drive Classics. Game for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch, the video game was released on 01/06/2010 The version for Nintendo Switch came out on 06/12/2018 The version for PlayStation 4 came out on 29/05/2018 The version for Xbox One came out on 29/05/2018

On October 29th Mega Drive (console known in the United States as Genesis) will blow out its first thirty candles. For the occasion, Sega not only announced Mega Drive Mini, but also released Sega Mega Drive Classics, a collection containing 53 games from that golden age.

Before proceeding with any evaluation, it is advisable to start with the list of titles available, all immediately (in brackets the versions of the game you can choose from):

1. Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle
2. Alien Soldier (/ JAP)
3. Alien Storm
4. Altered Beast
5. Beyond Oasis
6. Bio-Hazard Battle
7. Bonanza Bros.
8. Columns
9. Columns II
10. Comix Zone
11. Crack down
12. Decap Attack
13. Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine
14. Dynamite Headdy (/ JAP)
15. ESWAT: City Under Siege
16. Fatal maze
17. Flicky
18. Gain Ground
19. Galaxy Force II
20. Golden Ax
21. Golden Ax II
22. Golden Ax III
23. Gunstar Heroes
24. Kid Chameleon
25. Landstalker (/ EN / FRA / GER)
26. Light Crusader
27. Phantasy Star II
28. Phantasy Star III: Generations of Doom
29. Phantasy Star IV: The End of the Millennium
30. Ristar (/ JAP)
31. Shadow Dancer
32. Shining force
33. Shining force ii
34. Shining in the Darkness
35. Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master
36. Sonic the Hedgehog
37. Sonic the Hedgehog 2
38. Sonic 3D Blast
39. Sonic Spinball
40. Space Harrier II
41. Streets of Rage
42. Streets of Rage II (/ JAP)
43. Streets of Rage 3 (/ JAP / EN)
44. Super Thunder Blade
45. Sword of Vermillion
46. The Revenge of Shinobi
47. ToeJam & Earl
48. ToeJam & Earl in Panic on Funkotron
49. Vectorman
50. Vectorman 2
51. Virtua Fighter 2
52. Wonder Boy III: Monster Lair
53. Wonder Boy in Monster World

The list roughly follows that of the numerous volumes of the Sega Mega Drive Classics Collection released since 2010 on PC, but missing important names like Ecco the Dolphin and sequels, but especially Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Sonic & Knuckles, as well as, of course, Sonic 3 & Knuckles, their combined version. Net of these defections, the titles are those of Sega Mega Drive and Genesis Classics on Steam, as well as the hub - designed as a "bedroom" of a Sega fan, with themed posters and game shelves - is the one developed by D3T and launched on Valve's platform a couple of years ago. Someone, at this point, might find the Steam option for Workshop support preferable.

Clearly here it is absolutely impossible to dwell even briefly on the games contained. We limit ourselves to observing that some we have already spoken in a sufficiently accurate way (such as Gunstar Heroes, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Streets of Rage and sequel), while others will be the subject of future insights by our (mine, Ed) column Back in Time, so stay tuned. All in all, there is something for all tastes: from platformers - represented not only by the Sonics, but also by the oldest Alex Kidd, by Ristar and others - to JRPGs - not only series like Phantasy Star and Shining Force, but also gems like Light Crusader and Sword of Vermilion; from puzzles - like the Columns and Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine - to beat 'em ups - like Altered Beast and the various Golden Axes - through shoot' em ups - like Gunstar Heroes and Treasure's Alien Soldier. You could be "trapped" in it for hundreds of hours.

Le kit options are abbastanza satisfactory, mostly on the video side: we have five different pixel resizing modes (none, bilinear, EPX, HQ4X, XBR; you can have an immediate feedback of the filter effects by observing the Sonic square inside the bedroom), scanline filter, the possibility to choose between different edges (remember that at the time the aspect ratio was 4: 3!) and other secondary options, such as the mirror mode or the one that simulates the rounded look of the old CRTs.

Nothing particular, however, as regards the audio, but remember that, in addition to the hub settings, each game retains its originals. The controller configuration options are disappointing, there are only two: we miss the reason why the keys are not freely mappable by the player.

The extras are solid, but not massive. First of all, there are online features for the games that support them, that is, those that provide multiplayer rankings and compartments. Then there are 25 Trophies/ Objectives: five are related to the collection, while the other twenty are related to individual games; As a result, more than half of the titles in Sega Mega Drive Classics do not unlock anything.

Complete the kit twenty challenges, linked to as many games, which unlock three Trophies. It involves passing a stage or a score (depending on the title) under particular conditions: just to give a couple of examples, that of Streets of Rage requires you to win the first stage with a full health bar, while that of Columns requires the achievement of 5000 points starting from a predefined (non-rosy) game.

Sega Mega Drive Classics is a nice solid collection, even if it was not the result of a particularly heavy work: the house of the blue hedgehog limited itself to slapping 53 games (with some significant absences) in a disc, the application that acts as a hub launched on Steam two years ago and some ordinance extras. That said, it is still a collection full of masterpieces, which turns out to be congenial especially for the new generation (let's say those born from 1995 onwards) with at least curiosity towards retrogaming.

► Sega Mega Drive Classics is a type game developed by D3T and published by Sega for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch, the video game was released on 01/06/2010 The version for Nintendo Switch came out on 06/12/2018 The version for PlayStation 4 came out on 29/05/2018 The version for Xbox One came out on 29/05/2018