Like many gamers, I have grown up playing Sega games. People new to gaming may be shocked to learn that Sega used to kick ass, and that they literally owned the arcade market with hits from their System 16, and Model 1, 2, and 3 arcade boards. With such an incredible wealth of truly awesome franchises, it’s a no-brainer to release an arcade compilation of sorts to the masses. And that is precisely what Sega has done with their
"Nearly every game on the disc is a bastardized version of the games you fondly remember from your youth "
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PlayStation 2 title Sega Classics Collection. Well, kind of.
Always keen on the business decisions, Sega has chosen to port such arcade classics as Outrun, Space Harrier, Virtua Racing, Monaco GP, Tant R, Golden Axe, Columns, Fantasy Zone, Bonanza Bros., and Alien Syndrome. Yeah, not quite the list I would have picked either, though there are some big name games on that list to get excited about. Unfortunately, the "enhanced graphics" that the majority of these ports contain flat out suck – bad -- to the point that you’ll wonder why the hell they didn’t just directly port the low-res 2D sprites from the originals.
Time bonaah!
Nearly every game on the disc is a bastardized version of the games you fondly remember from your youth (if you remember some of these titles at all...). For the most part, these games play similarly to the originals, sometimes with new power-ups or additions, other times with massive slowdown and clunky controls. Despite all these negatives, I found at least some enjoyment with a few of the games featured, and one absolute gem (Virtua Racing). Forgive me if you were looking for detailed impressions of Tant R, or Monaco GP. They aren’t fun, and I don’t feel the need to elaborate. Golden Axe (a true Sega classic) is a mess, with sloppy controls and some frame rate issues. Columns, is well... Columns.
Fantasy Zone is pretty much just as fun as I remember it from the Sega Master System days. It’s an interesting take on the side-scrolling shooter in which you can freely travel either in a left or right scrolling fashion. You still collect coins from destroyed enemies, and you still upgrade your ship at the weapons shop. New to the remake is a 3D bonus stage in which you fly after the defeated boss collecting coins and dodging obstacles.
Outrun and Space Harrier both feel very much like the famous arcade games, but now with some of the worst 3D graphics ever. It’s like that budget PC title they shipped with the very first Voodoo graphics
"...there is one game in this collection that easily warrants its purchase in my opinion. That game, of course, is Virtua Racing"
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cards. Maybe its all a part of Sega’s genius: You’ll get to experience retro gaming on two levels now. Surprisingly, I found that the new 3D graphics actually work relatively well with Space Harrier for some reason. Maybe because of the oddly trippy, even campy, atmosphere the game always had.
Alien Syndrome, turned out OK. It, of course, has some terribly outdated 3D graphics to go along with its outdated gameplay mechanics, but I’ll be damned if it isn’t still a decent time killer, especially when slaughtering masses of aliens with the duel analog control set up.
Bonanza Bros. was actually a bit of a surprise for me, as I never played the original game at all. Basically, this is one of the rare examples of the stealth genre from the old days. You play as one of two thieves and steal loot from various locations, all the while avoiding and knocking out various guards. You have to successfully time your movement to coincide with predictable guard patterns in order to sneak past them, shoot them, or knock them out. It’s all presented in a stylish manor, with very basic CG (almost LEGO) looking characters.
While some of the above games are decent enough, there is one game in this collection that easily warrants its purchase in my opinion. That game, of course, is
"Outrun and Space Harrier both feel very much like the famous arcade games, but now with some of the worst 3D graphics ever. "
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Virtua Racing. As a long time fan of VR, and having played through many incarnations of the game (Genesis, 32x, and Saturn) it’s nice to finally see a (better than) perfect arcade port. VR was one of Sega’s first games on its revolutionary Model 1 arcade board. It featured exclusively flat shaded polygons, fast Formula One cars, and the awesome track design Sega arcade racers have been known for ever since. Now, the PS2 version has upped the framerate to a non-wavering 60fps, and even added a very subtle (minor) reflection map to the car. The PS2 version also features the extra courses and cars found in the 32x game!
The control feels just as responsive, and the game has all of the trademark sounds and voices ("Time bonaah!"), but it also disappointingly has all the pop-up as well. Why the developers decided to up the framerate and add other subtle improvements, and leave the pop up in is unexplainable. Regardless, it’s nice to have the game at home finally intact. It’s also great to see the 32x exclusive content in all its Model 1 glory.
Sega’s classic collection is a pretty bare bones compilation. It would have been nice if they had decided to add some sort of relevant information including the history of Sega and the games they have deemed classics. As it stands, it’s hard to recommend this to anyone aside from those who have fond memories of Virtua Racing.
