Sonic Mega Collection Plus

Sometimes there are times when gamers want to play old games. That's understandable- much like watching old movies, games do not necessarily lose their entertainment value as they get older. As systems get more and more complex, many gamers will yearn to go back to the days of cartridges and cords and play the games of their youth, getting back to the root of gaming itself. Of course, this is one big pain in the rear- getting a (working) console, along with the games you wish to play and the money to afford it all, is usually beyond the average gamer's ability. And while some resort to emulation, there is always a legal threat associated with it.

So what is one to do?

Well, generally, companies with older franchises re-make them to still cash in on them- and this time around, it's Sonic. Of course, I have mentioned before that Sonic has NEVER really been anything but a cash cow, but this time Sega has made it obvious by cramming the entirety of most of the old Sonic games all on a DVD so you can play your oldschool games on your shiny new system.

And that is what Sonic Mega Collection Plus is about- reliving old days. The game itself is a laundry list of old Sonic games from the Sega days- Sonic 1, 2, 3, Sonic and Knuckles, Sonic Spinball, Sonic 3D, Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine, and a plethora of old games that contain the prefix ?Sonic?. This is quite nice- it is, by far, the most comprehensive attempt by Sega to provide their old games in any medium, and they do quite well in providing what everyone wants- the main Sonic games.



The kicker to this whole collection is the fact that it shows how abysmal most Sonic games are. Other than the main games (Sonic 1-3 and Sonic and Knuckles), this collection is something akin to walking into a ?Worst games of all time? hall of fame and being able to see why the past really wasn't that great. While games like Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine show you blatant theft of the Puyo Pop style, games like Sonic 3D make you wonder how Traveler's Tales (working for Sega on the game) ever made any money. One of the new features to the ?Plus? facet of Sonic Mega Collection Plus is the addition of Game Gear games- which are stretched and basically manipulated to fit on the TV screen in some way so you can relive the days of almost breaking your wrists. All of this is done via an emulator system much akin to what people have programmed (for free) for XBOX Modders, which leads me to suspect that very little work was put into this collection.

But I digress.

I would never say that the core games are not fun. Everything is literally emulated perfectly in order to play as it ?used? to, albeit with a next-gen controller. The Sonic games (well, the main ones) always show the level of polish everyone was used to with the phenomenal games, and the speed and entertainment value of the games has obviously not depreciated over the years. The speed and frame rate always go along quite well on the mega-beefy systems, and it is a trip down memory lane to see and hear the same experience one did years ago. Of course, as everything is emulated perfectly, all of the same bugs are still there- which is either a blessing or a curse, depending on how you look at things.



But let us not get sidetracked- this collection on the average is horrible. If I were to give an individual grade for each game, Sega Mega Collection Plus would probably come out with a 2 out of 5 star average, purely because I would give so many games zero stars. Most gamers will probably agree with me in this facet- there are scant few games in this collection that are actually worth playing, the rest seem to exist only to fill DVD space and give an excuse to purchase this game over the ?Sonic Mega Collection? that came out previous to this collection.

Speaking of the ?Plus? nomenclature, the disc contains a ton of extra features, most of which basically consisting of scanned in manuals and comics that you can read for whatever perverted reason you have. This literally was meant to fill disc space (I know, I looked at the structure of the files in the disc) and become an excuse to release this package- because other than the Game Gear games, nothing is new here that we haven't seen in previous Sonic collections.

Long story short, Sonic Mega Collection Plus is yet another reason why I think Sega should stop making Sonic games. In all honesty, Sonic has since passed his prime, having done well in the past and now desperately needing retirement from the game industry. Sonic 1-3 and Sonic and Knuckles are phenomenal games always worth looking back at, but the way in which Sega has basically sold them out in this package (along with shoving other games on there to augment the list) is somewhat depressing. If you are absolutely desperate to play some Sonic games from your youth, this is not that bad of a purchase- but in no way is this collection completely worth it, as any gamer picking this up will have to wade through a whole lot of bad to get to a little bit of good.

2.5 star(s) out of 5

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