Sonic Mega Collection Review

'Recent sonic fans get a piece of the past'

I'm no Sonic fan myself, but I know which ones are cooler than Snoop Dog and which are flatter than paper. But I'm stuck on this one, for some reason it feels like an old tiger ready to stop slashing at any moment and yet, there's still something fresh, something new about it that's hard to understand. It's such a mean trick, Sega should be sued for using it...

Like Sonic Adventure 2, this is a port. In fact it's a port of the classic Sonic games that appeared years ago. But this isn't like a half bitten piece of cake on a dirty tray like Sonic Adventure 2 was, it's exactly what got people interested in Sonic in the first place. Fast paced action, racing through collecting rings and NO endless streams of enemies lunging aimlessly around trying to wreck you. Nothing has been changed, touched or modified in the slightest. It's just how it was back in the 16-bit age. You'd have expected them to mess it up by adding crap new bosses, effects and sounds. Nope, pixel - perfect, not a single speck has been changed.

As for the actual recollection of games itself, there are 12 tasty treats to help yourself to, unfortunately some of them bitter, sour or mouldy. There are the running games, Sonic 1, Sonic 2, Sonic 3 and a host of others to keep you addicted. They feature the run, jump and bounce formula that made the series so successful. All the bonuses have been kept and a varied selection of new ones as well. You can go back onto the older Sonic games and play as Knuckles, awesome! These games never die of old age and you wonder why the 3D games have to so crap. Speaking of 3D, you get to play Sonic 3D. It's more of a pain in the ass than a missile been launched into your house, it's so slow-paced so you'll get bored. The backgrounds are lifeless and drab with ugly squares making up the floor and oh, what's this? A hideously bad isometric view so you can't see where you're going. Excellent! That's just what we need in our collection! A mediocre excuse of a game, with a gameplay pace riding on donkey. On the plus side, a tetris clone named Dr Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine. It's two player heaven and one of the most addictive games in the collection. It's almost like free Puyo Pop or Tetris! A pinball game is included in the marvellous collection, satisfying and hard. You'll have to unlock a few, but that's easy with a cheat book.

I don't know what to say about the graphics, if this was the typical Gamecube game I'd describe them as sloppy, poor, inconsistent and downright cat vomit. But since this is a varied 16-bit port collection I'll let it off. They could've improved a few things. The background in Dr. R's Mean Bean machine is particularly bad and turns you off the game. It's a shame when a relatively good Tetris-style game is ruined by a background blander than a piece of cardboard. Maybe I'm being a little evil by saying this but, maybe they could have gotten rid of those god-awful squares on Sonic 3D. They look very cheap, that combined with chirpy scenery results in every level being generic, flat and increasingly one-dimensional.

The controls have been mapped nicely onto the Gamecube, feeling comfortable and as good as the original. However, there was no real reason for this not to happen as there were less buttons on the Mega Drive controller. The music. The only thing I have a real problem with. On one side, I want the games to stay as close to the original games as possible. On another, I want the music to sound modern and less outdated. It's hard to decide what I want more. Sound is as glitchy as ever, but hearing the classic songs will bring a tear to the eye for any long time Sonic fan.

That's it. A really short review, but what else can you say about a 16 bit port.

Best Bit:
Playing games that have been brought back to life through the power of your Gamecube. I was around to see the Mega Drive Sonic games, but other people have not. It's their chance at experiencing Sonic at his moderate best.

Worst Bit:
Putting up with the crappy games. Sonic 3D is less 3D than a piece of sandpaper, the colourful sprites are ruined by the '3D aspect' as are the backgrounds which are disgustingly dull.

Graphics 82% 'Hard to rate'
The evil menaces at Sega are playing a trick on my reviewing mind. Should I be happy that every single pixel is the same as it was 10 years ago or should I be complaining that it looks like a an extremely crappy pirated video, viewed with broken glasses. Anyway, here's a random figure that I picked out of a hat.

Sound/Music 73% 'Completely Old Skool'
Anyone who has played the originals will be as happy as a rich bloke with a mansion to hear the original tunes. Everyone else will cover their ears, turn off the sound or destroy their TV when they hear the rough, glitchy music.

Gameplay 90% 'Fast, not furious'
The addictive original games are the highlight of the game, running at Sonic speed, collecting rings and kicking Eggman's butt at the end of a level. Then you have others to divert your attention. The highly appealing Pinball game, the less highly appealing Tetris-style game and them the totally morale-destroying Sonic 3D. You can choose what you want basically.

Value 84% 'Have fun, then dispose of'
When you finish it, YOU REALLY finish it. After all the games, the extra videos, the extra comics, you're done. Actually, there is a lot of extra stuff. But still, when you've finished it, there is nothing to attract you back to it. You played it in the 90's, you played it now. Wait until they make a port of this game on the next generation console, which they won't.

Overall Score: 82.25%

Verdict: Maybe you should rent it instead. It'll save you the disappointment of running out of things to do, especially if you're a die-hard Sonic fan. It's challenging, repetitive, unforgiving gameplay. That's what Sonic games are supposed to be!

What the game lacks:
Anything fresh. Usually a port ADDS something to the gameplay. But all we get is a couple of stupid comics. There are a few little inserts here and there, but something BRAND NEW would have been nice, even if the games are 10 years old.

What could make it better:
Uh, how do I put this. Something fresh. Oh crap, I'm repeating myself again. Sorry, but these games have nothing special in them that I can actually admire, make fun off or basically, well, review.

What it has:
- Super.
- Sonic.
- Stuff.

What it doesn't have:
- Enough Super.
- Too much Sonic.
- New Stuff.

This review was added on 10th February 2005 by nGaming user ProReviewer.