Sonic Mega Collection

"Your favorite classics are back!"

Old-school Sonic is back for more! All the classic Sonic games you enjoyed as a child from the Sega Genesis have returned for this compilation on the Nintendo GameCube. There are a total of 12 games that are playable, however, 5 are secrets. The 7 games that are playable from the start are:

Sonic The Hedgehog
Sonic The Hedgehog 2
Sonic The Hedgehog 3
Sonic & Knuckles
Sonic 3D Blast
Sonic Spinball
Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine

Now for the review:

Presentation (6/10):
Boring menus with bland music that gets very irritating after a while. Direct ports of the Genesis titles with absolutely no new features of any kind. I think it would've been nice to possibly add a save feature to the games that didn't have one.

Graphics (9/10):
Nothing has changed here. Not the greatest or most sophisticated graphics (for today's standards), but keep in mind these games are almost 10 years old. Considering that, I think the graphics are great.

Sound (10/10):
Ah..... such memories brought back, hearing all these great tunes again. As a kid, I used to put my tape recorder up to the TV and record music from some video games that I liked. Sonic games are no exception. In my eyes, many of the levels have such catchy tunes that you may want to play them just to hear them.

Control (8/10):
Basically the same as it was on Sega Genesis. Run left and right, push a button to jump, hold down and push a button to spin dash. The buttons have been changed from A, B, and C (Genesis) to B, A, and X (GameCube), although they can be changed in the Options menu. The control stick on the GameCube controller may be easier for some to use than the small control pad. Some new features would've been nice, but then again, it's best not to mess with classics.

Replay Value (9/10):
12 classic Sonic-related titles, entire in-game manuals for each title, extras including comics, illustrations, and movies (including the intro and ending cinemas from Sonic CD, a trailer for Sonic Adventure 2: Battle, a trailer for Sonic Advance 2, and a History of Sonic movie, showing Sonic's history and games in great depth. Great replay value, although I wish they would've included Sonic CD and Sonic R.

Overall
(9/10)

If you haven't played these titles on Genesis before, then most definitely pick this game up. You won't regret it. If you have, like me, than pick it up if you're a big Sonic fan. The extras alone may not make the game worth it, but they help. These classics are great games and will never die.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 11/17/02, Updated 11/17/02