Sonic Mega Collection Plus

"There's hardly a reason not to buy this game"

Sonic the Hedgehog: what can one say about the quick little blue critter that hasn't been said before? Anyone who has picked up a controller knows Sonic as Mario's former longtime rival, and that now the two mascots are sharing a home on the GameCube. Sonic's most recent outings, however, haven't exactly reignited the fires in his sneakers since the Sega Genesis days. Sonic Riders, Sonic Heroes, and Sonic for the XBox 360 have all gotten poor to mediocre reviews, and Mario now rules the platforming genre, both for 2D and 3D games. In light of this, Sega made a smart move: re-release all of the Sonic games everyone loved, package it into one game, and sell that game for a mere $20. The result is Sonic Mega Collection Plus.

The "Plus" in the title refers to the fact that this game already saw a release on the GameCube earlier. The main series of games, Sonic 1-3 and Sonic & Knuckles, return for the PlayStation 2 and XBox releases and Plus adds even more Sonic fun with a collection of Game Gear games, as well as some non-Sonic games such as Ristar and Blue Sphere. There are 17 different playable games overall, and 21 if you count the Game Gear ports of certain titles, and Sonic 2 & 3 when playing as Knuckles. To increase the replay value of Mega Collection, some of these games have to be unlocked before they can be played, making Mgea Collection a game in itself. If you're a fan of Sonic, or classic games in general, the package is well worth the $20 price tag.

The games still play like they used to on the Genesis and Game Gear and are still just as fun. In most games, you'll take Sonic through a series of levels, each having their own unique twist and set of paths, getting past traps and enemies using Sonic's speed and your fast reflexes.

Mega Collection also adds the handy feature of being able to save whenever and wherever you want during the course of any game, an addition that comes in handy for those parts you just couldn't get past when you first played the games. Even if you fail and lose all of your lives, or simply have to stop playing to go to dinner, you can load up the game from where you last saved. The only problem with this aspect, and the entire game for that matter, is that saving and loading games is quite slow. This can be frustrating to fans of the original cartridge games, similar to how ports of Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy IV, V & VI on the original PlayStation frustrated fans of those games. Fortunately, this is really the only qualm anyone may have about purchasing the game.

Sonic Mega Collection Plus is not just a great compilation of classic games. It serves as a source of nostalgia for people who haven't played these games in a while, and a unique way of seeing how the Sonic series gradually evolved to what it is today. It can be easily recommended to any fan of video games, especially considering it costs 20 bucks.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 01/03/07