It may seem impossible to believe today, but back in the early 90s Sega was a leading competitor in the console market. Going up against the Super NES, the Mega Drive (aka Genesis in America) gained popularity with some of the best titles of the era like Sonic the Hedgehog, Altered Beast and Golden Axe. Now, Sega has compiled a ‘best of’ lineup for the Mega Drive Collection. 

The compilation features 28 Mega Drives titles, ranging from simple platformers and shooters to the epic role playing games of old. Some of these games have not seen re-releases since the Mega Drive, so it is a blast to see some old forgotten gems in this collection. While there are notable absences from the lineup such as the Streets of Rage trilogy and some questionable definitions of the term ‘classic’ with the inferior Mega Drive port of Virtual Fighter 2, this anthology is made up of enough solid classics to interest anyone who enjoys great games.

The Mega Drive was released back when 16-bit graphics were still cutting edge, but despite the age many games still retain great style and charm in their designs. Again, this is a testament to the quality of many of these games packed into the collection. While the visuals still pack a punch in many of these games, the music and sound effects show their age more so. Die hard Mega Drive veterans will notice some small changes in the sound department but it is nothing that will ruin the nostalgia experience.

Gameplay and controls have not been altered in any of the games. If you remember a game being fun back when they were first released then they are still fun today. At the same time if a game was on the other end of the quality bar then it remains just as bad. As stated before, this is one of the better game collections available with the majority of the games being unique and fun. Game types range from action to role playing and everything in between and what is on offer remains quite simplistic compared to newer games. Simplicity is far from bad in this case however, instead working to demonstrate how deep games were over 10 years ago using minimal button commands.

It immediately obvious that gamers are getting a solid bang for their buck with Mega Drive Collection. Some titles like Sonic the Hedgehog and Shinobi 3 will take a few short sittings, while bigger games like the Phantasy Star games can last over 20 hours each. In addition to the 28 Mega Drive titles, there are even more arcade games, interviews and additional bonus content to unlock. You won’t find much better value for the price of a single PS2/PSP game.

It’s easy to overlook the missed classics when you look at what is still on offer in Sega Mega Drive Collection. Fans of the classic system looking for their nostalgia fix have every positive reason to pick this game up. At the same time if you missed the hype of Sega’s glory days, now is just as good an opportunity as any to see what all the fuss was about.

Version reviewed: Playstation Portable

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