Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection for Xbox 360 Reviews by Gamers

I've reviewed a number of compilations here at IGN, and none have brought about a flood of nostalgia like Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection. When I see Kid Chameleon, I'm playing it in a living room packed with friends waiting to go to my birthday and declaring that this is one of the toughest games of all time. When I see the character select screen for Golden Axe, I'm sitting on the edge of my bed and using the cheapo strategy of walking enemies into a pit so I don't have to fight them. When the Sonic the Hedgehog music starts up, I'm hot-dogging though the lava pits in Marble Zone Act II while my friends marvel at my moves and my mom chastises me for being a showoff.



Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection is my childhood on a disc.



There are 40 SEGA Genesis titles as well as nine SEGA Master System and arcade games in this collection, and if you grew up in a SEGA-lovin' house like I did, many of these games are going to bring back warm and fuzzy memories. I'll never forget punching through Streets of Rage in my basement with Michael Boylan or seeing Ecco the Dolphin on display in Toys R Us, and thanks to this collection, I can relive those moments whenever I feel like turning on my Xbox 360.


The Kid is back in our videos.



Reviewing a collection's always a bit tricky. Rather than reviewing it like a normal game -- beat it, write about it -- you have to look at the games that were chosen, how they play, what kind of extras the developer included, and so on. I think I've already made it clear that most of these games are great -- Couldn't we have dumped Altered Beast for Sword of Vermillion, Toe Jam and Earl, or anything else? -- but Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection excels just about everywhere else as well. The controls are simple, displayed before every game, and work. Jumping in Sonic 3, crouching and shooting in E-SWAT, and shooting poop monsters in Vectorman are solid experiences now just like they were back in the day. The games allow for movement via both the D-Pad and Left Stick, the face buttons govern the other actions, the Start Button pauses the title, and the Back Button brings up the options for the Ultimate Collection. Sure, the graphics seem dated, but they are bright, colorful, and there's no forced widescreen.



Now, as someone who has played a lot of ho-hum collections, what makes this one stand out is the options and bells and whistles. From the Select Button screen, you can save anywhere during any game. Want to quit in the middle of a Dr. Robotnik battle? Feel free. Lots of these titles have control options so that you can invert flying, specific sound options, and local two-player just like the old days. Oddly, there's no online multiplayer for any of these games nor are there any leaderboards to compare your score to the world. Now, I say "oddly" because a lot of these games are out on Xbox Live and feature these abilities. It seems like it should've been a breeze to carry those multiplayer options over for Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection, but that didn't happen.



It's also worth mentioning that a large sampling of these games appeared on the PS2 and PSP in the SEGA Genesis Collection, although that sampling only had 28 Genesis titles and five unlockable arcade games. The transition lost stuff such as Shadow Dancer and Virtua Fighter 2 (which sucked) but gained stuff such as the Streets of Rage trilogy and Shining Force. Seems like a good deal to me.



Still there are plenty of other goodies on this disc. For every game, you can click a button and be taken to the title's museum. Here, you'll get a look at the original box art and cartridge design, the history behind the game, and a few "Did You Know?" facts. I did not know that the ancient Phoenicians of 1000 B.C. did not have SEGA Genesises to play Columns on; thank you, SEGA. Another nifty feature is the ability to rate and sort these games. When you're on the main menu -- which actually is designed to look like you're staring at the top of a Genesis console -- you'll have the list of games, and next to each one is a series of five red lights. These lights are your way of rating your personal favorites. Thought Sonic Spinball sucked? Give it one light. Can't get enough Altered Beast? Give it five, you idiot! Aside from giving the appearance to your friends that you've played all the games in this collection, the lights help you sort the games. See, by clicking the shoulder buttons, you filter your list of games by year, genre, alphabetically, or by the ratings you've set up.



Aside from all that, there are a handful of extras to unlock in this game. Sure, there are those nine SEGA Master System and arcade titles (No Ghost House? WTF?!), but there are also eight interviews with the folks who brought you these original games. Now, rather than just handing all this stuff out, you're going to have to work for it. To learn more from the creator of Sonic The Hedgehog, you're going to have to find a Chaos Emerald. To play Zaxxon, you're going to have to collect five bonus coins in Decap Attack. If you want Shinobi Arcade, you have to finish the first level of Shinobi III without using a continue. These mini-feats make a game out of this collection of games for people who don't want to sit down and just play the Phantasy Star titles. That's cool in my book.

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