The Biasphere

Skambu (gaming profile | personal site)

Joined: Sat Oct 11, 2008 11:56 pm EDT
31 Game Reviews

Sega MegaDrive Collection (known as Sega Genesis Collection outside of EU and AU), features loads of MegaDrive games, and was released for the PS2 aswell as the PSP. Apparently the game's hard to find, so when I found it pre-owned at a Local Store for $20, I bought it right away. So, does this game blow, or is it worth hunting down?

Seeing as I was more of an SNES kid, I never owned a MegaDrive/Genesis at a kid and I haven't played half of these games. I was really impressed to see how good the Megadrive's graphics were compared to the SNES. I've played maybe 2 or 3 of these games on different compilation discs, but I haven't played them much, maybe 10 minutes each. So when I found this game, I PLAYED IT TO THE GROUND. It was awesome, I admit it, I was addicted. I had no idea how good the games that I was missing out on as a kid were. I realized that the MegaDrive had games that could easily match up to the SNES's library.

This compilation features many, many awesome Genesis games. Some of the better games include Decap Attack, Altered Beast, Phantasy Star, Comix Zone, Kid Chameleon, Golden Axe, Virtua Fighter, Vectorman and Ristar.

Since there's not much original content on the disc itself, it'd be pretty pointless to do a complete review on that alone. I'll review 3 games on the disc, then I'll review all of the other features that the disc boasts.

Vectorman's on the disc, but instead of reviewing that, I'm gonna do a review on it's sequel, Vectorman 2. Vectorman 2 is a 2D platforming game where you shoot 'photons' at your enemies. The game's really hard, 4 hits and you lose a life, lose 3 lives, you need to start the entire game over again. The main character Vectorman now looks more like a puke-greenish color, which is.. awkward. The game also has far less music (at least in the earlier levels) than the original. The game is still an awesome platformer, but I'd say you should play the original first.

Virtua Fighter 2 is the only fighter series I know of that was on the SNES or MegaDrive, apart from Street Fighter. The graphics look decent for a fighter, though they are further back from the screen than in Street Fighter, making it look slightly awkward. Virtua Fighter 2 was originally a 3D fighter made for the arcades, Sega Saturn and Windows, but Sega decided to strip it down, and port it to the Genesis. You get to choose from 10 characters, though I always play as either Akura or Kage. You walk insanely slow, and the sprint button only lets you sprint for a few meters, then it stops. There's 2 attack buttons, though you're never told of any combos, so I just mash buttons basically. I'm guessing the other versions were better, with improved graphics and such, but the Megadrive version is obviously inferior to the others.

The final game I'm gonna review is Golden Axe. It's a Beat Em' Up/Hack n Slash game, where you get to choose from 3 characters, an Amazon, a Warrior, and a Dwarf. Golden Axe is incredibly hard, I can only make it towards the end of the 3rd Level, even with the easiest settings. There's a Jump, Magic, and Attack button, though the Magic barely does anything, at least for me anyway. I have no idea how I'll ever beat this, and I doubt I will. The disc also features Golden Axe II & Golden Axe III, so you can really get into the series if you enjoy it.

You can unlock Extras by completing challenges. You can unlock interviews, new games, trailers and cheats. To unlock everything, it makes you play basically ever game, which is a great incentive to get you into the collection.

BUY IT, BORROW IT, OR BREAK IT?
This is definitely a must-own for any Retro fan, or anybody who just loves a fun pick-up and play game. If you've never played the Genesis before though, you should rent it because it isn't exactly for everybody.

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