SEGA Mega Drive Classics Reviews
Sorry SEGA fans, but this collection doesn't feel like anything more than a cheap cash in.
For £25 though you are getting your moneys worth. There’s a hefty amount of classic gaming here and if you can look past the somewhat iffy versions of your childhood titles and you aren’t too bothered amount what’s missing, the added extras and the included challenges may this your go-to collection if you’re playing on PS4. Anywhere else? You’ll find superior standalone versions of these games on the Xbox Store and Steam. Spend your money on those instead.
After spending some time with SEGA Mega Drive Classics, the nagging feeling is why these compilations are always riddled with issues. There aren't many complaints to be had when it comes to the library, yet the emulation is never up to snuff. Perhaps dedicating such a large amount of resources to the UI wasn't the right call. A number of features are poorly-realised and implemented. It's hard to enjoy the games when nothing sounds or feels quite right. The stuttering is especially baffling. While its appearance is rare, it should be non-existent. In short, fans of the console deserve better.
The technical issues may not be as noticeable in some titles, but they utterly break the likes of Alien Soldier.
SEGA Mega Drive Classics does a great job at modernising the classics, bringing in some games that we haven't seen in a release like this before, but at the same time drops some true classics like Sonic 3. While a plethora of features and some slick presentation make this feel like less of a cynical cash grab than it could be, the omission of these titles and cumbersome navigation makes this collection serviceable but less than definitive.
Most gamers are going to find something to enjoy here, with literally hundreds if not thousands of hours in these 53 titles, but hardcore purists will be put off at the absence of arcade ports, unlockable curiosities, game box art, and other fun bonuses that they’ve come to expect with these types of packages.
Sega Mega Drive Classics is a very well put together retro collection that takes a group of games that are well remembered and drags them into the 21st century. It's not going to overly surprise, but nor is it meant to.
Many of the games featured were great back in the day, but if we're going to revisit them now, it'd be nice to have some more features for the nostalgic amongst us to enjoy.
This collection shines with the underlying impressive emulation of Mega Drive hardware, the variety of visual options you get to switch between realistic and pixel-heavy versions of each game, and the quality of life stuff like rewinding and picking up where you left off. And thanks to over 50 titles in the collection there are gems to find that you may not have played before - including Phantasy Star and Alien Soldier.
Mediocre collections of retro games. There are more titles than in the previous version of this bundle, yet still some classics are missing. The emulation is also not that great.
Review in Polish | Read full review
At the end of the day, Sega Genesis Classics is simply a collection of 50 games from 25 years ago that will inspire brief moments of nostalgia. It's not the first collection of Sega games to release, and I'd be hard pressed to say it will be the last.
For any fans of classic SEGA games, this is a must-have. You’ll certainly get excited and have those moments of remembering playing these as a kid.
Truthfully, the quality of Sega Genesis Classics is almost wholly dependant on one's own taste in 16-bit-ness. Those with a burning adoration for the titles on offer will have a complete and utter blast with this retro offering, and maybe even newbies can find a thing or two to smile about. Despite its minor flaws, Sega Genesis Classics is what it is: An simple but effective compilation at a decent price.
I can sit down with my seven year old son and both of us will be having heaps of fun
Overall, the Sega Mega Drive Classics collection is a decent addition if you are craving some more retro game time. Unfortunately, the omission of a lot of really good titles hampers this collection as a whole. Of course, there are licensing issues but you can easily see where they tried to cram titles in just to fill the collection up.
It manages to package together some of the greatest games ever produced, throw new challenges your way, deliver a nice mixture of visual options, and provide the retro feel 90s babies will rejoice over. The Sega Genesis Classics collection stands out as the preferred method to enjoying Sonic and his mascot buddies on current-gen consoles.
Overall, Sega Genesis Classics is not a bad selection of games from the Genesis library. There's a very competent emulation of the gameplay from the original hardware. However, it lacks some key games and extras we got in past compilations, and the sound emulation is lacking.
The emulation is perfect, the extra features are great and the Switch is the perfect system for this bit of nostalgia. Unfortunately, the collection of games is a little lacklustre, with the real standouts games that we've seen bundled together many times before.
All in all, this collection is fine. I can't criticize the game selection based on what it's not. It's just tiring having yet another incomplete look at SEGA's games for their most popular system ever.
This collection of titles from a golden age of Sega has some of the greatest 16-bit games ever made included, and also features a few important, if dated, gems. The extra challenges and nifty menu screen are pleasing additions, but thanks to minor latency issues and the existence of multiple Sega game collections over the years, this is only really recommended for the sake of convenience and/or curiosity.