Can someone post a little review of the Sega Genesis collection? Some of the previous collections were butchered and I am curious to see how this one turned out.
Thanks!

Sure, I'll post a little one up here.

It's a pretty big collection, with a couple of surprises (that I was HOPING to see, but didn't think it too likely... at least at this point in time). Here's the complete list of games featured:

Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle
Altered Beast
Bonanza Brothers
Columns
Comix Zone
Decap Attack
Ecco The Dolphin
Ecco: The Tides Of Time
Ecco Jr.
Flicky
Gain Ground
Golden Axe
Golden Axe II
Golden Axe III
Kid Chameleon
Phantasy Star II
Phantasy Star III: Generations of Doom
Phantasy Star IV: The End of the Millenium
Ristar
Shadow Dancer: The Secret Of Shinobi
Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master
Sonic the Hedgehog
Sonic the Hedgehog 2
Super Thunder Blade
Sword of Vermillion
Vectorman
Vectorman 2
Virtua Fighter 2

There are a few hidden titles that are unlocked by a certain amount of points being hit in a few of the games listed above, and in all honesty I don't have that list in front of me. And anyway... I wouldn't want to ruin the surprise.

Now, on to the games. The emulation is done pretty well in most of the games, but there are a few common issues. First off, if you pay close enough attention, the sound is off on nearly every title. Not heavily off (as in music playing at the wrong time, wrong sound effects, etc.), but more like the sound is being washed through a metal drum, it sounds like it has more of a metallic edge than the original, in-cart titles had. It's really noticable in the opening screens of both Sonic titles. Altered Beast seems to be the only one that I didn't notice any issues with; it's in just about as perfect form as I remember it.

The games play very nicely, though I can't admit to spending hours and hours with every one of them. The controls work, the PS2 has what can only be considered one of the best all-around controllers I've ever used. It's perfect for classic collections because it's not too complicated to hold, all of the buttons are easily reached, and what one might think of as the default button layout actually IS the default layout. It's practically second-nature. Each game is easy to pick up, and even if after spending time it isn't just press the Select key and scroll down to find out which buttons do what. Easy access.

What surprised me the most with this collection is that Sega actually decided to release a handful of their RPGs on it. I don't think Super Thunder Blade is, and I honestly don't know about Gain Ground (yeah, kinda inept, I know), but there are four, decent, known-name role-playing games on the disc: the three Phantasy Stars and Sword of Vermillion. All of them play as they do on the Genny console, and look spectacular. With the potential of, say, a paultry fifteen hours each, extends the life of this disc a whopping sixty hours! Not counting how much time can be spent just playing through any of the more arcade-y titles with friends and family!

Some of the games stand out above the rest in my eye, namely the ones that aren't as big of names and haven't been on compilations in the past. Comix Zone, Decap Attack, Golden Axe... and finally can gain the respect that they deserve. Some games make their return to the compilation release, like Ristar and the two Sonic titles, and shine just as they had before. Vectorman has returned in fine form, as has its sequel (maybe to get together more support for a possible Vectorman shooter down the line...?), along with Shinobi III and Shadow Dancer (gotta love ninjas!), and everybody can find something they like.

There are plenty of extras also, some are easily unlocked (just playing a game sometimes opens up an extra), some not so easy (a certain amount of points in a certain game), and some of the extras themselves are so fun (classic arcade games, anyone?). You always have access to what those extras are (you can see what they are on the screen, as well as how to unlock them), and as soon as they're unlocked you're immediately informed. The interviews are much of the quality you'd expect if you've watched an interview on a PS2 disc before, very "home movie"-ish, which isn't bad, but to be honest does make me personally want to just skip them and play another game.

Overall it's a good collection, I've had a minor confliction or two with the emulation itself, but overall it's solid and the games play without incident. I've had a lot of fun with this collection... if you like the Genny, then you will too. And yes, I can say that with confidence.

I also didn't think I was going to take that long, sorry 'bout that. Didn't want to leave any out. Did I miss anything?

Probably. I'm not very good at writing reviews. lol

Wow, GREAT review - THANKS!

No prob, I was hoping it wasn't too bad. lol

Just wanted to cover everything. :)

The Phantasy star series is enough for me all the rest is just bonus :lol:

Thanks for the info! I have always wanted to play phantasy star 4

Just wondering, and bringing this one back to life, has anyone played the PSP version of this? I've been meaning to pick it up, but if it's JUST the same stuff then I don't know if it warrents another purchase... I heard there was more in it, maybe an extra arcade game unlockable or something, but I dunno for sure and I'd like to know before I plunk down another 30 bucks.

Might be a silly question, as I just might be the only person here with a PSP... lol