"Se-ga!"

Remember back to the Golden Years of gaming, a time before the "casual gamer". Back when the console race existed between two dedicated games companies, who poured everything into their games, determined to see their console succeed. These two companies were of course Nintendo with the SNES, and Sega with the Mega Drive (Genesis in America). This era spawned the two most famous game characters in history - Mario and Sonic.

Sega's next console, the Saturn, failed, and the Dreamcast died prematurely, a console that was years ahead of the rest. Sega dropped out of hardware, and decided to become a games-only company. They made many games, including the new 3D Sonic games. Of course, these could never be as good as the 2D Sonic The Hedgehog games, which had made them famous. So, now, Sega have decided to re-release these classics on one disc for the Gamecube. Sonic Mega Collection is what any Sonic fan has always wanted - all their favourite games on one disc.

There are seven main games on the disc, with more to be unlocked. The first one is, as you might have guessed, the very first Sonic The Hedgehog. It's exactly the way you remember it (if you do remember it, that is). It's all here, from the classic music of Green Hill to the showdown with Dr. Robotnik in the Final Zone. As with most 2D Sonic games, there are two ways to approach the levels - go slow, and collect all the rings, lives, and extras, or run like hell through it, without even looking at what's ahead. I like to dash through them, and get to Robotnik as fast as I can. There are 6 Zones, each with 3 acts, and then a final zone, with just one act.

Next up is Sonic 2 (bet you didn't see that coming, eh?), with the introduction of Tails. This is my favourite Sonic game of the lot. Unlike the first Sonic, Zones only have 2 acts. There are 10 zones, and a last zone (I won't spoil it with the name) in this game. You can go through the levels as Sonic & Tails together, Sonic alone, or Tails alone. The levels are very well designed, and there's much more variety than Sonic 1, since there are 10 different zones. The music is typical of a Sonic game - bouncy, with high notes. However, there are one or two levels where the music is different. The graphics in this look better than the first.

Then there's Sonic 3, which brings another new character - Knuckles. He is not playable, but has been tricked by Robotnik into thinking Sonic is trying to steal the Chaos Emerald's from Knuckles' island. The chaos emeralds are in all games, but not needed to finish them, only to get the "real" ending. Once you have them, you can become Super Sonic, by collecting 50 rings. This is the first Sonic game where you can save, although it only save the zone you are on (there are 6, each with 3 acts). The music in this is the best of all the 4 2D platform games - just listen to Ice Cap Zone, and Launch Base.

After this, there's Sonic & Knuckles. In this game, Knuckles is playable. He is by far the best character. Sonic is fast, Tails can fly, but Knuckles can glide, and climb up walls. Tails, however, is not playable in this game. S&K is the hardest game of the four, because it is a continuation of Sonic 3. Depending on who you pick, there are more or less zones (8 for Sonic, 6 for Knuckles). The music is ok, but Sonic 3 has better music.

Gameplay is almost identical in all four games. Run, jump, roll, and fly/glide - that's about all that's to it. The controls for these four games are the same, and can be configured if they're not to your liking. The graphics get better with each game, with Sonic & Knuckles probably being the best. All of the games have memorable music - hearing Green Hill will bring you back.

Sonic 3D is a break away from the others, and the first time Sonic was in 3D (apart from those bonus games in S3, and S&K). It has an isometric view, and gets harder as you progress. Basically, you have to free 5 flickies in one part of a zone. They follow behind you, and if you get hit, they run away, meaning you have to catch them again. It's not as good as the other games, but at the time, it was a big step for Sonic. I remember playing it on the Mega Drive, and being amazed. Since the view is isometric, controlling Sonic can be awkward. Also, the music isn't that hectic - I've heard a lot better in other Sonic games.

The other two games are Sonic Spinball and Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine. These were pretty much cash-ins on the Sonic name. Spinball is pinball with Sonic as the ball. It gets boring and repetitive after a while, when you just can't seem to get where you want. The music in it seems to be there just because it has to be. Mean Bean Machine is a puzzle game in which beans fall from the top of the screen. You have to line up beans of the same colour in groups of 4 or more to let them "escape". It's strangely addictive, and the music makes it even more tense, and perfectly suited for the game. Mean Bean Machine is definitely the better of the two, and makes for a great multiplayer game.

Those are the seven games you can play straight away - there are more to unlock. There is Flicky, in which you must go around saving Flickies from lions. The graphics aren't a scratch on any of the Sonic games, and it gets boring fast. Ristar is a 2D platformer. I haven't got much of a chance to play it, but I can't really see the connection with Sonic- it looks similar to Rayman.

The other games are Blue Sphere, Sonic 2 & Knuckles, and Sonic 3 & Knuckles. When Sonic & Knuckles was originally released for the Sega Mega Drive, it came as a "lock-on" cart. You could put Sonic 1, 2, or 3, onto the S&K cart, and play as Knuckles in these games. However, Sega encountered a problem with Sonic 1 in playing with Knuckles. When the first game was being made, it was made in line with Sonic's colour palette. Since Knuckles is a different colour, to fit him in, the palette would be changed, and then the levels would look horribly weird, and so Sega ditched the idea. Instead, the came up with Blue Sphere, much like the bonus games for chaos emeralds in S3 and S&K. But, there were no problems with Sonic 2 and 3, and so these can be unlocked. All the extra game can be unlocked by playing other games a certain number of times e.g. to unlock Sonic 3 & Knuckles, play both Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles 20 times each.

But, there's still more on the disc! There are covers for 177 issues of Sonic The Comic, 47 illustrations of the Sonic and the rest of the characters, as well as 5 movies, including the History of Sonic. You can also see the manuals for the original games.

Some might call this a cash-in by Sega, and if it is, I welcome it. Sonic Mega Collection is a great collection of Sonic games, if only for the memories of playing them back then. The only gripe I'd have is it not having Sonic CD, but there's probably some reason for that.

Sonic Mega Collection brings back so many memories for me. The minute I turned it on and heard the classic "Se-ga!", I knew it was going to be something good. At first I wasn't sure whether it would be the same, but when I played it, all my fears were gone. Sonic Mega Collection is the best Sonic game you'll ever get. If you are a Sonic fan, you need this.

Final Verdict: 9/10

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 07/19/04