Hands-On: Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection

Sega recently gave us another helping of Genesis love with the release of Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection for the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. We spent some time with the latter version, and after putting it through its paces (and getting all the achievements!), we've come away... less than impressed. This isn't a bad collection by any means, but it's also not a new one. Let's just put it this way: those of you who still own a copy of the 2006 Sega Genesis Collection for the Playstation 2 might want to think twice about trading it in. Read our full hands-on for all the details.

Nice read as usual :)

...and the Developer is Sega not Segal I think ;)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by TmEE

...and the Developer is Sega not Segal I think ;)

---

Knowing modern day Sega, I am pretty sure they are run by Seagulls.;)

I don't think there were any problems with the sound emulation on Streets of Rage 3. That's just how SOR3's 'music' is anyway.

The no S&K lock on smells of BS to me :)

I think you went over board about what games you personally wanted or did not want on this. Most people do not have the games you do.

Like for example, Revenge of Shinobi should be there, so should the Sonic games. These are all great Genesis titles and deserve to be on the collection, regardless of how many times you own it (do you seriously think Revenge of Shinobi is widely available to buy...?).

I just picked this game up and I haven't had any previous release until this so I didn't really realize how much of a letdown this really is. But to me it's really not a letdown, but I see exactly where you are coming from. And how come they couldn't put any of the original Mortal Kombats or NBA Jam, or Rygar? There's many-a-game they could have added to perfect this little throw-together of a Genesis compilation. I am also surprised to see no Earthworm Jim titles...

Great review, though!
Thanks Sega-16 for being so awesome!
16-bit gaming will live on!
:!:

Probably because SEGA never made any of those games...

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Kogen

Probably because SEGA never made any of those games...

---

Well... They were huge hits... You must agree that you believe they should make an appearance somewhere at least! They were for the Genesis so to me they are still "Sega" games.

Sega collections are almost always a collection of SEGA titles, not third-party titles for which they'd have to get the rights to re-release from other companies.

I owned "Sega Genesis Collection" for PS2 a couple of months ago, and unlocked all of its extras in a couple of hours. Apart from that, the selection of games was tiresome and limited, and having been spoiled by emulation after all of these years I traded it in at GS and went back to Kega Fusion.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Kogen

I think you went over board about what games you personally wanted or did not want on this. Most people do not have the games you do.

Like for example, Revenge of Shinobi should be there, so should the Sonic games. These are all great Genesis titles and deserve to be on the collection, regardless of how many times you own it (do you seriously think Revenge of Shinobi is widely available to buy...?).

---

You act like these games have never been offered before, and most have them have been released on several compilations over the past decade. How many times is Sega going to sell us the Sonic games? You can buy either Sonic collection for the GameCube, PS2, or Xbox dirt cheap now, they're on the Wii VC, Xbox Live Arcade, Sega Genesis Collection, etc. If you don't own them by now, it's because you haven't tried, not because they haven't been available.

There are games on this collection that have been offered almost half a dozen times in the last 10 years, while other great games haven't been offered even once. Considering how many compilations we've seen from Sega since 2000, I'd think it's about time we see some rotation in the list.

Look at the line up of this release. There are only four games that weren't on the Genesis Collection. How's that a good deal?

Sega would have been dumb not to put the Sonic games on this collection. Sega is Sonic and what makes them earn money, why else would they continue to whore him out so much? Putting some more obscure games there instead of Sonic would be an financial shot in the foot.

Look at it this way, Melf - there are a lot of kids out there where the PS3/XBox 360 is their FIRST game console. They've never even HEARD of the Genesis, much less ever owned a compilation of Genesis games. All the repeats are there for THOSE kids, not for you.

A lot of people sell/unhook their old consoles too. Of course people here already have all this, but average people probably do not.

Like I think most long-time fans were more interested in the arcade games.

what i would luv to know, is how does the 360 D-pad hold up when playing these games, I found it a nightmare when playing "symphony of the night" and "super puzzle fighter"
You just don't get half the control as you would with a megadrive 6 button controller, the D pad on that was perfect.

So how do recon the 360 pad holds up to the games on this collection?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Chilly Willy

Look at it this way, Melf - there are a lot of kids out there where the PS3/XBox 360 is their FIRST game console. They've never even HEARD of the Genesis, much less ever owned a compilation of Genesis games. All the repeats are there for THOSE kids, not for you.

---

If this were the first compilation of its kind released since 1998, I'd accept that argument, but Sega released practically this EXACT same collection only two years ago. The least it could have done was add a few newer games in. Alex Kidd? Fatal Labrynth and Flicky? Come on.

They made a random generator for including certain games. :D

My copy doesn't seem to have any sound problems on Beyond Oasis. Maybe that is only the Xbox360 version that does?

This looks like a good collection in all honesty, sure it doesn't have everything but it's not easy to get every game, licensing and third party etc, but it's just great that finally a compilation disc is out with all Streets of Rage titles, and also some other great classics aswell.

Also great that you can now play all these in correct aspect ratio for your widescreen HDTVs etc.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Genesis Revisited

And how come they couldn't put any of the original Mortal Kombats or NBA Jam, or Rygar?

---

OMG! Rygar was on the Genesis!? :o

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Joe Redifer

My copy doesn't seem to have any sound problems on Beyond Oasis. Maybe that is only the Xbox360 version that does?

---

Some people think the sound being 0.1% off is a sound problem.

HD Genesis model 1 only, et cetera.

What? Sega screwed up again? :fit:
Nice article, although I have Sega Mega Drive/Genesis Collection on PSP, and it does not have Shadow Dancer, unfortunately.

Sounds like the review is a bit harsh as I don't personally see the harm in bringing the Genesis Collection to other systems with some bonuses, even if I tire of Sega releasing ROM collection after ROM collection.

Anyway, I just bought the thing, but before I break the seal I need to know if these are fully emulated games. It bugs me how the XBLA Genesis titles are stripped of their title screen, attract demos, and options screens. Is it the same here? I hated how I couldn't access the sound tests and/or debug modes in Sonic 2 and Streets of Rage 2 on XBLA.

They have a cheat code menu for all the games; so no?

The title screens are there, etc. The only thing that is different is in the options mode, if you mess with the CONTROLS you wll be taken to a different screen.

Could it be that the emulation is running to fast ? I compared shinobi 3 on an modded megadrive @ 60hz and the emulation. Music is the same speed but it seems the fps are more at the xbox360 making the game harder. Or is it just imagination ?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Joe Redifer

The title screens are there, etc. The only thing that is different is in the options mode, if you mess with the CONTROLS you wll be taken to a different screen.

---

That's fine for me. I just need to get my Streets of Rage/Ristar intro sequences available and in full screen.

Overall it's a decent compilation, but I believe Sega's really lessening the value of its library rehashing them so often. Sega was willing to put the Altered Beast arcade on here, so where's E-SWAT, Moonwalker, and other arcade hits? The lack of Live support is damning, too, especially given how easily this ROM repackaging was likely thrown together.

I feel dirty buying this with the mindset that I'm just encouraging this behavior, green lighting yet another ROM disc release in 2010. I guess this sort of thing appeals to those not familiar with the system, but how many modern players are going to plunk down cash for old ROMs they could just as easily pirate and have more options available to them in the way of visual improvements and play methods? This kind of thing gives credence to how Valve insists that people pirate because developers are stupid when it comes to giving its fans what it wants.

Nice review. I personally am thrilled at this realese nice going Sega. Having the three Streets of Rage games on this collection was a huge plus for me.

Ken, is it possible to save games, also games that originally didn't have a saving feature?

It has save states.

The Madcatz SFIV control pad that was recently released works A DREAM for this collection

Looking on this I instantly though of the Megadrive Collection that came out a few years ago, I think Sega relies too much on these classics and never really bothers to just go out and produce new fresh games tbh, Streets of Rage, Shinobi ect... are begging for a new game.

"Get to the Chopper" is the most tedious thing I've done in some time, and this is from someone who became a master fisherman in World of Warcraft.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Mamba Tabac

The Madcatz SFIV control pad that was recently released works A DREAM for this collection

---

excellent. that the info i needed :)

Since my 360 red ringed last in 07, I got a replacement but SoR 2 is glitched and will not unlock the entire game. My question is, are the games that have multiplayer able to go online or is it just local like the Genesis collection?

Only local. Streets of rage 2 for xbl has online multiplayer.

I think this collection is still warranted for purchase to some. I have the original sonics for Genesis, mega collection for gamecube, mega collection plus for ps2, and sega genesis collection for ps2. Oh and also sonic 1 and 2 on live arcade. Yes I do agree the sonic games are appearing too many times, but it didn't hurt sega to include them in this latest compilation.

I have been living and working in various places around the world and I always feel the need from time to time to have some retro fixes. I usually only want to take one console with me, so now it's nice to have this collection for a current gen console...it's very convenient for me.

The games I most enjoyed on the ps2 collection were shinobi 3, the golden axe trilogy, and the phantasy star games. Last time I was staying in Japan I picked up sonic gems collection for gamecube so I could enjoy the streets of rage games. but now with this new collection all can be played conveniently from one console and one disc.

But perhaps the biggest draw of this compilation for me is Shinobi arcade. This is fantastic news as I haven't played this since high school so long ago. Yes it's a shame they didn't include the rest of the shinobi games, but they did put some games on there I really appreciate: Phantasy Star and Golden Axe Warrior. Incredible. I've never owned a game gear, but always wanted to play golden axe warrior, so I'm in heaven.

I still think this compilation deserves purchase for shinobi arcade alone though:p

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Nicpezer

Since my 360 red ringed last in 07, I got a replacement but SoR 2 is glitched and will not unlock the entire game. My question is, are the games that have multiplayer able to go online or is it just local like the Genesis collection?

---

I've seen this happen before - it happens on a few xbla games not just Streets of Rage 2. It's not a glitch its the fact that you are trying to play it on a console that isnt the original console the game was downloaded to. You can fix this by either transferring your licences via xbox.com, or by loading the game up, choosing 'unlock full game' and clicking on 'download TRIAL'. Once its done, go back to the game and it should become the full game again. Annoyingly this only applies for this session so you have to do this every time you load it up.

Speaking of this collection; on the ps3 version I can't get the 'Play all Genesis titles' trophy despite playing every game on the list at least twice. Any ideas?

You have to play them all in one session. If you've played some titles, powered off the system and then played the rest, you will not get the trophy. Boot up the game and then just launch each game to the SEGA screen and then exit out of it and move on to the next.

The same rule applies for the Watch All Videos trophy.

I have to really agree with the reviewer here as much as i hate to. Sega has flogged the Genny Sonics for far too long. It's time to give it a rest and start releasing other sega games which are just as good if not better. I have nearly 60 games for my genny and i can honestly say the sonic games are the least played...