Lame, and awesome VG compilations

[M4R14NO94]

The PC version is also amazing, since it has way more games and it also has the option for custom soundtracks, in the form of different radio stations (playlists)

So far I have the game's default soundtrack on one station, the soundtrack from the PS2/PSP versions on another (which I haven't gotten yet), the Namco Museum 50th Anniversary music on the third, then some random game compilation (eg. Taito Legends, GBA Activision Anthology, Sega Smash Pack) music on the fourth, and the fifth one's all MegaRace.

[QuickSciFi]

Lame: Phantasy Star and Sonic the Hedgehog compilations. I can't believe most of them are not inclusive of all the 16-bitters, and that's just lazy (especially in today's date and age). I could understand something along the lines of SNK Arcade Classics not being able to include every single Neo Geo AES game on it, but just WTF was stopping SEGA from releasing a complete Phantasy Star or 16-bit Sonic the Hedgehog compilation during the 5th or 6th gen? (I may take it back on the latest Sonic arrangement, though, for the PS3; that one does look very good. I'm talking 6th gen and prior).

Awesome: SNK Arcade Classics: Volume 1, Data East Arcade Classics, Ultimate Shooting Collection (Wii) and probably, though I haven't played them, all the Mega Man collections (which just seem rad, imo).

[Waterfaller]

all the Mega Man collections (which just seem rad, imo).

They ARE rad! Between a friend and I, we spent a weekend plowing through Mega Mans 1-6, and we took breaks watching the american made Mega Man cartoon series!

[M4R14NO94]

...but just WTF was stopping SEGA from releasing a complete Phantasy Star or 16-bit Sonic the Hedgehog compilation during the 5th or 6th gen?

I take it you haven't heard of this one...



Has the four main games and the spinoffs (Phantasy Star II Adventures and the Game Gear games)

[Zoltor]

I take it you haven't heard of this one...



Has the four main games and the spinoffs (Phantasy Star II Adventures and the Game Gear games)

Lol nevermind, read it wrong.

I sware Sega makes boatloads of great compilations, but next to non are released outside of Japan.

[jerry coeurl]

I take it you haven't heard of this one...



Has the four main games and the spinoffs (Phantasy Star II Adventures and the Game Gear games)

Well it didn't come out in America. I have no interest in playing games in a language I can't understand, at least games that are as reading intensive as RPGs.

[M4R14NO94]

Is that even real, the fact the box says Genesis, yet seems to be the Japanese box, is suspect, shouldn't it say Megadrive? Did Sega print the box art out when they were drunk or what?

Really? It says Genesis? Weird.

It is the legit boxart.

Also, I just learned that those XBLA compilations Sega announced a few months ago (the Monster World one and the Alex Kidd/Revenge of Shinobi/Super Hang-On triple pack) are in fact part of the Sega Ages Online series.

[Zoltor]

Really? It says Genesis? Weird.

It is the legit boxart.

Also, I just learned that those XBLA compilations Sega announced a few months ago (the Monster World one and the Alex Kidd/Revenge of Shinobi/Super Hang-On triple pack) are in fact part of the Sega Ages Online series.

I read it wrong, the way Sega Japan does english text on the boxes(aka Block letters, with no spacing), makes everything blend together, and I read it too fast.

[QuickSciFi]

@M4R14NO94: I'm sure you're fluent in the Japanese language, but here in America, thine point is moot.

[Black_Tiger]

Awesome-

Phantasy Star Collection for Saturn
Tengai Makyou Collection for PSP
Monster World Collection for PS2
Fantasy Zone Complete Collection PS2
Ys Complete for PS2
Ys I & II for Turbo-CD
Cosmic Fantasy Stories for Mega-CD
4-in-1 featuring Gate of Thunder for Turbo-CD
Capcom Generation 2 for Saturn/PSX
Capcom Classics Collection 1 for Xbox -480p + many exclusive console ports of arcade games plus sound tests
Capcom Classics Collection 2 for Xbox/PS2 -many exclusive console ports of arcade games plus sound tests
Sega Genesis Collection for PS2 -so many great games which are still much more than playable. A great value for the RPGs alone
Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection for Xbox360/PS3 -so many great games which are still much more than playable. A great value for the RPGs alone
Super Mario Allstars + Super Mario World for SNES


Not so great-

Phantasy Star Collection for GBA -I do not mind the limited save slots or PSG-only sound for PS1, that game alone makes this cart worth buying. But the already convoluted dungeons of PSII are completely broken in an extremely cropped screen due to the low resolution of the GBA screen. They should have used the horsepower of the GBA to scale the screen out whenever you want so that you have some kind of idea where you are going.

[The Coop]

-=Awesome=-

Capcom Classics Collection Vol.1 & Vol. 2 (XBox)- So many great arcade games (and one SNES game). Even if the emulation isn't perfect (not many compilations like this get it right anyway), it's still a lot of arcade goodness for $19.99.
Midway Arcade Treasures Vol. 1 & Vol. 2 (XBox)- The emulation in Vol. 2 was dodgy, but there were still some great games to be enjoyed in it. And Vol. 1 was just oldschool greatness. And hey, I was the one who pointed out the Primal Rage game freezing bug before anyone else as far as I can tell
MegaMan Anniversary Collection (PS2)- The first eight games in the regular series, plus two arcade releases, all emulated very well. What's not to love?
Sega Ages 2500 Fantasy Zone Complete Collection (Jap PS2)- Virtually all the Fantasy Zone games, emulated well. I believe there's an obscure one or two missing, but it's otherwise very complete.
Sega Ages 2500 Monster World Complete Collection (Jap PS2)- It's missing the US version of Wonder Boy II for some odd reason, but it's otherwise fantastic.
Sega Ages 2500 Galaxy Force II Special Extended Edition (Jap PS2)- Arcade Perfect GFII, the SMS and Genesis ports, and an enhanced version of the arcade game. Short, but damn fun.
Sega Ages (Saturn)- Fantastic ports of three arcade classics, with a little extra something for OutRun. Great stuff.
Taito Legends 1 & 2 (PC)- These are basically MAME ROMs, as they do actually run in that EMU. There are some issues here and there, but overall, these are great compilations with a lot of Taito goodness on them. Shame we never got a TL3 so we could have had the rest of the games that came out in Japan on the Taito Memories compilations.
Atari Anniversary Edition Redux (PS1)- Made up mostly of old Atari vector graphics games, it's a great compilation.
Super Mario Allstars (SNES)- The first four games, all packed together with redone graphics ala Super Mario World. It would have been nice to have the option for the original graphics too, but it's a great collection nonetheless.
Samurai Shodown Anthology (PS2)- Almost the entire 2D franchise (sans SS RPG and SSV Special). There are some quirks (effects that seem to be missing), but overall, this is a well done compilation with some classic fighters.
Metal Slug Anthology (PS2)- Yes, the controls are laggy (they were for me anyway; others had no problems), but it's still a great compilation with all the 2D Metal Slug games up to that point (1-6 and X).
Fatal Fury Battle Archives Vol. 1 (PS2)- Nicely done collection of the first four games in the series.
World Heroes Anthology (PS2)- It's a weird series, but I always kind of enjoyed it, and this is a well done compilation.
Vampire: Darkstalkers Collection (Jap PS2)- Pretty much spot on ports of all five arcade games, with hidden goodies. Yeah, it's all in Japanese, but it's a fighting game, and you can find FAQs with the short endings everywhere.
The King of Fighters: The Orochi Saga (PS2)- I wanted this game so much. KoF '94-'98 on one disc. And when I got it, the games played really well. But... well, the emulation isn't the best. Pixels get stretched, the sound glitches, there are load times for some unknown reason... it marred what should have been spectacular, and dragged it down to good.



-=Middle of the road=-

Namco Museum Vol.1 - Encore (PS1 + Jap PS1)- This series has so many ups and downs. There are great games on some (like Pole Position II, Rolling Thunder, Assault, etc.), but outside of Vol. 1 and Vol. 3, the good-to-meh ratio is lopsided more to the "meh" side. And with an average of six games per disc, that's not good.
Thunder Force Gold Pack 1 (Jap Saturn)- It's the MegaDrive games, nothing more. There's no reason for this to exist, outside of the build up to TF V.
Thunder Force Gold Pack 2 (Jap Saturn)- What the hell happened? We finally get TFAC home, a slowdown-free TF4, the ability to play as the Styx ship in TF4... and they utterly botched the sound effects. They're so tinny and wimpy sounding compared to the original cart/arcade games, it's amazing no one thought to fix it.
Sega Genesis Collection (PS2)- Not bad, but the sound emulation issues that kept showing up kind of killed some of the joy, as did the serious fuck up on Altered Beast (arcade). There's plenty to like on it, but...
Fatal Fury Battle Archives Vol. 2 (PS2)- After Vol. 1, I had high hopes. They got dashed when the game showed up censored.
Art of Fighting Anthology (PS2)- A meh series of fighters, given a pretty good collection in terms of emulation and so forth. I would have been more excited if the games had actually been... you know, fun.
SNK Arcade Classics: Volume 1 (PS2)- I really, REALLY wanted to like this. Last Resort and Magician Lord were my main reasons for getting it. Those two, and a few of the others, turned out pretty good. But the choice of games (a lot of duplicates from the other SNK compilations), emulation issues, and the bad slowdown that ruined Shock Troopers, hurt the collection overall. The Wii version is supposed to have been better handled though.



-=Lame=-

Midway Arcade Treasures Vol. 3- I wanted this one so much when I saw S.T.U.N. Runner and Race Drivin' were on it, only to find that the emulation was horrid. Sure, the games are still reasonably playable, but there's no reason this should have been released in this condition.
Arcade Party Pak (PS1)- What a dud. Five games you don't care about, and Rampage. No wonder it came and went with little attention.
Sega Classics Collection (PS2)- OK, what the fuck? Whose idea was it to take classic arcade games, and turn them into ugly 3D messes? Sure, some are decent (like Fantasy Zone), but why this came to The States is beyond me.



There are my opinions of the compilations that came immediately to mind.

[sheath]

Doh, I always get them mixed up. Sega Classics Collection is the first and only western release of the 3D Ages or whatever PS2 Sega games in Japan. Alien Syndrome, Outrun and Space Harrier actually aren't bad in that remake/compilation.

Sega Genesis Collection on PS2 is glitch city and makes me sad that most of the kiddos from the last ten years will only experience the Genesis, and Sega's stellar 80s Arcade games, that way.

[Curryman123]

SUPER LAME

Capcom Generations 3:Wow...I mean wow! They stuck 4 mediocre arcade games from early to mid 80s in a Sega Saturn disc, and expected fans to cough up for it. The Disc consists of:
Vulgus-shitty space shooter with repeating backgrounds and lame power ups.
SonSon-average platform game which is probably the best game in here.
Pirate Ship Higemaru-pathetic puzzle game (plays sorta like bomberman).
Exed Exes-another shitty space shooter that plays exactly like Vulgus.

There you have it. Capcom produced one of the shittiest comps out there.

AWESOME

MSX antiques collection for SEGA SATURN

Features 40 MSX games, with Nemesis 1,2&3, Salamander, Kung fu 1&2.

[The Coop]

Wow I'm going to have to completely disagree with you here. It has the best home version of SF Rush! It's why I got it in the first place in fact. But it also has a great version of Hydro Thunder. I'll admit I haven't played STUN Runner or Race Drivin' much but don't remember noticing any emulation issues on them.... which version do you have and what were the issues?

Xbox, the one that was said to run the best of the three systems MAT3 was released on.

Hydro Thunder is just a port of the Dreamcast version, which runs a bit better than the MAT3 version. S.T.U.N. Runner runs stupidly fast on the first track, then becomes more playable on the tracks after that, but the framerate climbs and drops all over the place. Race Drivin' has hit detection issues (fall through the ground? FUN!) and framerate problems. Badlands and Super Of-Road were rather dull, short-lived racers (even back in the day), but their ports are solid. Off Road Thunder is... OK. It's not horrid, but it's not as good as some of the other "thunder" games. The two "Rush" games and Hydro Thunder are about the only real selling points for MAT3, as the rest is just iffy in either quality, or emulation... and really, you can get two of the good three games on the Dreamcast (that's what the folks behind MAT3 did after all).

The whole package just didn't feel as polished as the first two, let alone as robust in terms of content and game count. It's like they ran out of ideas, while leaving the likes of Steel Talons, Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, and others out. Surely there were more games that could have been added in, and the emulation certainly could have been better (hell, MAME runs some of these games on my PC better). But none of that happened, and the end result was simply disappointing... IMHO of course.

[M4R14NO94]

@M4R14NO94: I'm sure you're fluent in the Japanese language, but here in America, thine point is moot.

Actually I don't even know Japanese. Hell, I wish I knew some, so that I could play some JP-only text-heavy games. I mentioned that one because, for the four main games at least, the English versions are included as well, something the previous compilation on the Saturn lacked.

The other option would be Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection since it includes all four Phantasy Star games (the first being an unlockable), but since from what I understand you don't have neither a PS3 or Xbox 360 this point is moot. You do have a modchipped or region-modded PS2, right?