Couponing to Disney

The console wars of today pale in comparison to what gamers witnessed during the 90’s. Nintendo may have revived the market which nearly collapsed and while SEGA didn’t necessarily make a huge impact in the United States with the release of the Master System, the Genesis became a huge rival to the Super Nintendo. As consoles evolved and SEGA released the Saturn, it wasn’t Nintendo that served up fierce competition but rather the newcomer, Sony. The Saturn was quickly abandoned, the Dreamcast launched shortly thereafter, but in the end, SEGA retired from the console industry and instead decided to focus on games. The rivalry that had existed for well over a decade soon came to an end.

With a vast catalog of titles, SEGA has never stayed away from having their library of games released on other systems. Some have seen longevity, for better or worse, such as Sonic the Hedgehog, but the company has also put together a number of different collections over the years as well. These have included a number of games which were released on the Genesis, some of which gained huge success and popularity while others became cult classics. SEGA Genesis Classics is yet another assortment of games from SEGA’s legendary console which once again brings some great titles from the history of gaming to consoles but sadly leaves out a few as well.

This may very well be one of the largest game collections from the library that SEGA has released yet. SEGA Genesis Classics features over fifty different games from the Genesis and many of these should be expected to find in virtually any SEGA collection. Several of the Sonic titles including Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Sonic 3, Sonic Spinball and Sonic 3D Blast. While this isn’t everything in the SEGA console library, it does cover virtually every game as far as the Genesis is concerned save for Sonic 3 & Knuckles.

If puzzle games are your sort of things you will find the Sonic spinoff Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine as well as Columns and Columns III. If you’re curious where Columns II is, that was actually released on the Sega Saturn. The release time might seem odd but the original Columns hit the Genesis in 1990 and arcades the same year. Interestingly, Columns II also hit arcades in Japan the same year, Columns III was console only and came out in 1993 while Columns II finally saw console release in 1997.

Other classics in the lineup include such titles as Altered Beasts, all three of the Golden Axe games, Shadow Dancer: The Secret of Shinobi and Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master, RPG’s such as both Shining Force games that were released on the Genesis, and Phantasy Star II, III and IV. There are side-scrolling beat ‘em up’s like Streets of Rage, fighting games like Virtua Fighter 2, sequels to arcade classics like Space Harrier II, and plenty of other games to keep just about any gamer busy. One thing however which is sadly absent in this collection are the Ecco the Dolphin games which have been incorporated into past collections.

Unlike some of the retro collections which aim at giving games old games but with facelifts, SEGA Genesis Classics merely presents the games exactly as they were back when the Genesis was one of the consoles to own. After selecting a game from the library of games available, players will see an old school television with a Genesis console underneath and the cartridge is inserted, just like in the good old days. The game has even gone to the extent that if you want to restart a game you will need to actually select the “restart console” instead of having the option available in a sub-menu.

There are some things however that the modern age of gaming does bring to this collection. Players have the ability to save their game at any time and return to play later which is something that many games didn’t provide back when the Genesis was still in living rooms across the globe. There is also a rewind option which can take players back in their game play. This will allow you to avoid deaths or for those looking to earn trophies, it is a unique means to cheating the system. The collection also has a spate challenge menu which will put you into various games at certain points with a task to undertake. Some of these are easy while others prove to be incredibly challenging.

Outside from the change in console, SEGA Genesis Classics presents the games exactly in the way that most gamers remember them. There’s no enhancements visually, no reworked soundtracks, and things you may remembers such as cheat codes are left exactly the way they were. While I’m not against some studios going back into classic games and modernizing them, there are times when classics should be left exactly as they are. This is one of those times.

SEGA Genesis Classics is a great flashback to the past. It was a time not only of console wars but also a moment in gaming history where often the games were a little more difficult to some degree whereas others were a far too easy. Gamers who have been involved since the early days are certainly going to appreciate everything that is packed into this collection. The new generation of gamers meanwhile is going to get a good trip back to the past to see where we’ve been and how far the industry has come.

Mike is the resident reviewer for Couponing to Disney and his own site Underland Online. He has a toddler daughter and is obsessed with Haunted Mansion and all things Disney. You can read Mike’s complete bio here.