Before Sonic the Hedgehog made his way into 3-D, he starred in some strong 2-D side-scrolling adventures, all perfectly crafted by the folks at Sonic Team. It all started in the early 90's with the debut of Sonic the Hedgehog, which was a fun alternative to Super Mario Bros. that provided hours upon hours of enemy-bopping, platform-hopping thrills. Then came the obvious sequels, followed by many spin offs and even a puzzle game, Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine. But chances are that if you haven't played the games, you're either too tired to go and track down a Genesis machine and the cartridges, or you've just moved on to greener pastures. Well, sit down for a minute and get ready to soak in Sonic Mega Collection Plus, Sega's retro packaging of everything Hedgehog.

The game includes a wide variety of Sonic titles for the Genesis and the handheld Game Gear system, and here's the full list:

- Sonic the Hedgehog (Genesis)
- Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Genesis)
- Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (Genesis)
- Sonic and Knuckles (Genesis)
- Sonic 3D Blast (Genesis)
- Sonic Spinball (Genesis)
- Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine (Genesis)
- Sonic & Knuckles lock-on games (Sonic 3, Sonic 2, Sonic 1)
- Sonic the Hedgehog (Game Gear)
- Sonic Chaos (Game Gear)
- Sonic Drift (Game Gear)
- Sonic Labyrinth (Game Gear)
- Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine (Game Gear)
- Sonic Blast (Game Gear)

That's a lot of Sonic value right there, and with Sonic Team on the project, you can bet that the emulation is perfect, for the most part. These games are well represented, just like their classic editions, with only some slight problems here and there (minor slowdown). Furthermore, Sonic Team has also included analog control. Of course, you can still use the D-pad if you want.

The presentation menus are a lot more sophisticated than when this game came out on the Gamecube a little while back. It features a neat little flashback system with images of the Sega Genesis and a friendly menu that allows you to save a game anywhere at anytime; a real bonus for when you're playing something along the lines of Sonic 2 and get stuck in a particular spot.

However, not all is right with Mega Collection. First, the game is clearly a retro package, so those looking for Sonic's newest Dreamcast adventures are likely to be disappointed as neither of the Sonic Adventures made the cut. Also, some of the games are rather lame. Sonic Spinball? Sonic 3D Blast? Remember The Ooze, that lame platforming/strategy game where you were a pile of toxic waste seeking revenge on, um, drums? What's it doing here, and where is Sonic CD, one of the biggest and best Sonic games around? You can't tell me that Sonic Team couldn't have made some sort of effort to emulate it for this collection. Also, some Game Gear games and the failed 32X effort Knuckles Chaotix failed to make the cut.

Even with its faults, there's still plenty of joy to be found here, like the long-lost Game Gear cart racer Sonic Drift, the exciting beat-em-up Comix Zone, Ristar, Sonic the Hedgehog 3, and Bean Machine, a Puyo Puyo spin-off that will keep you and your friends busy for hours.

Sonic Mega Collection Plus isn't exactly what I would call an ideal Sonic collection, as it's missing some significant games and includes some useless ones that will probably fail to hold your interest, but it still offers a great deal of retro fun and won't hurt your wallet.

Our Final ScoreOK

What did you think of this game? Post Your Own Review