Michael Foster-Sanders
senior producer
Game preservation is a big deal in the world of video games these days.
Physical media is prone to dying, gaming companies are being bought, sold and original assets are sometimes lost or destroyed. The need for modern gaming releases is dire.
One company that always seems to have one foot in the game is Sega. It’s known for re-releasing things like games, mini-systems or compilations with almost every new generation of game consoles. Sega is in the business of making sure the gaming community knows what it has contributed to the culture, despite its last gaming system, the Dreamcast, being released in 1999.
Sega decided to bring out another compilation from its 16-bit Genesis platform that showcases games throughout the lifespan of the system. It has some heavy hitters, and some deep cuts that Sega decided to include surprisingly.
Does this history piece deserve a one-credit-clear achievement, or deserve a game over for being dumpster truck juice? Sega has the skills to pay the bills.
“Sega Genesis Classics” comes with 50 games that have a diverse collection from each genre of yesteryear. The software company “Treasure” developed pure action titles for the system such as “Alien Soldier,” “Dynamite Headdy” and “Gunstar Heroes.” Headdy is an action-packed platformer with a twist, and Soldier, on the other hand, is a boss rush injected with drugs. It will destroy most seasoned gamers. Heroes is a regular on “Best of Genesis” gaming lists, and it’s a Run N’ Gun that even Nintendo fanboys had to bend their knees to because of its gameplay.
The role-playing games that Sega included are no slouches either. “Phantasy Star’s” three sequels are here to show it could go toe to toe with Square’s “Final Fantasy” series. The “Shining Force” series gave players tactical RPG gameplay for a different experience with science fiction elements.
Shining stars of this walk down memory lane is the “Streets of Rage” series which changed the beat ‘em up genre completely with its mechanics, gameplay and soundtrack by veteran composer Yuzo Koshiro. The first two “Sonic The Hedgehog” games are featured, and last but not least, the “Genesis Shinobi” trilogy. Every gamer should play these games at least once to experience their awesomeness.
To be fair and just, there are some weird inclusions of games on this list that shouldn’t have been cut such as Golden Axe 2 and 3, the abysmal “Alex Kidd and The Enchanted Castle” and the demake of “Virtua Fighter 2.” Why didn’t Sega include Sonic 3 and the lock on features from other games? But some deep cuts such as “Gain Ground,” “Beyond Oasis” and “Comix Zone” make up for the shortcomings.
Let’s get this out of the way. Emulation will never beat playing the original game, so what the developers were able to pull off is great. The only way one would notice something slightly off would be to run these games side by side with an actual Genesis, and even then, only die-hard gamers would be able to notice. But this compilation is not for them, it’s for people who want to learn about the company that dared to challenge Nintendo during the 16-bit gaming wars, and almost won.
Grab a copy of the “Sega Genesis Collection,” and see what Blast Processing is all about.
