Sega Compilation on PS2/PSP - 28 Genesis Games

[Chacrana]

Ripped from Joystiq: http://www.joystiq.com/2006/06/25/relive-your-genesis-days-this-november/

Relive your Genesis days this November

Posted Jun 25th 2006 6:10PM by Robert Summa
Filed under: Sony PlayStation 2, Sony PSP, Retro
While at the Sega holiday event last week, one of the more promising titles I came across was the upcoming Genesis Collection for the PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable -- due sometime in November. Normally, I shy away from these collection-type games, but Sega has a special place in my heart. Growing up with just about every console, my fondest memories are the ones with the good ol' Genesis.

As for this collection, it pretty much will have the essentials. Not all of the 28 games included -- there will also be an additional three to unlock -- have been officially announced, but here are a few that were on the version I saw:

* Shinobi II
* Sonic the Hedgehog
* Golden Axe I, II, and III
* Virtua Fighter 2
* Altered Beast
* Ecco the Dolphin
* Phantasy Star

I've always wondered why Sega never released this kind of collection before, but it's about time they did. A Sega rep assured me that all the titles would be direct representations of the originals. So, no George Lucas-like revamps here. Are there any games missing from that initial list that you'd like to see included? ToeJam & Earl anyone?


This is the best news I've heard in a long time. I'm more excited about this than anything at E3. Assuming Sega doesn't screw up, this will be the ultimate compilation. For the record, I shat myself once and ejaculated on the computer screen 4 times while reading this. Anyway, all Sega has to do now is get Treasure to do a Guardian Heroes treasure box and then all the old school Sega games that matter will be on the PS2.

[jkam]

Sounds cool hopefully the emulation will be faithful to the originals. Streets Of Rage 2...please.

[Chacrana]

Sounds cool hopefully the emulation will be faithful to the originals. Streets Of Rage 2...please.

It helps that Sega specifically said they're staying true to the original games... seems they really wanna do an adequate job of porting and they're not doing Sega Ages style remakes which were atrocious (at least for the first 16 or so games.)

[Rei no Otaku]

If it doesn't have the Streets of Rage games I don't want it.

[rodeojones903]

That is fucking awesome. Ill buy that for the PSP at release. :D

[The Mana Knight]

I'd like to have it on PSP, since most of my classical compilations perform better on PSP (feels better suited for handheld). Awesome news. :D

[Chacrana]

If it doesn't have the Streets of Rage games I don't want it.

It probably will, but even if it doesn't, those games are still on Sonic Gems Collection...

[Rei no Otaku]

I thought that was the Japanese only release. Didn't we get Vectorman?

http://www.1up.com/do/previewPage?cId=3141853&did=1

Yup, I was right. So like I said, give me SoR this time or I don't want it. I'd also like the Panzer Dragoon games on there. Also how about Phantasy Star IV, we all know it was the best one.

[Chacrana]

I thought that was the Japanese only release. Didn't we get Vectorman?

http://www.1up.com/do/previewPage?cId=3141853&did=1

Yup, I was right. So like I said, give me SoR this time or I don't want it. I'd also like the Panzer Dragoon games on there. Also how about Phantasy Star IV, we all know it was the best one.

Bah, everybody knows that importing is the way to go for Sega's classic games. Japan also got Vectorman so the US version is a hackjob. I doubt we'd see Panzer Dragoon on it since this compilation is clearly focused on Genesis games, but Phantasy Star IV is probably a safe bet.

Hell, will this even come out in the US? It seems that we try and bat away any good classic compilations as fast as we can.

[RAMSTORIA]

sounds good to me, id love for multiple streets of rage games and toe jam and earl to be on there

[JohnnyDrama]

Where's Streets of Rage? This list still looks good though

[furyk]

Just keep Sonic off of that list and this could be a great compilation. Nothing against Sonic, but I'd rather have Dynamite Heady and Gunstar Heroes then Sonic Spinball... again.

[HumanSnatcher]

If they're bringing some games that used the 6 button pad, I'd like to know how the hell thats gonna work without irking the hell out of people?

[CAG 79]

If it doesn't have the Streets of Rage games I don't want it.

Word.

[ValkyrieVF-1S]

How did virtua fighter II play on the genesis?

[Rei no Otaku]

How did virtua fighter II play on the genesis?
With magic.

[ValkyrieVF-1S]

err, I meant was the game any good?

[Chacrana]

err, I meant was the game any good?

No. IIRC, it didn't have 3D models... just 2D sprites for the characters.

I know for a fact that it sucked though.

[ValkyrieVF-1S]

Then do you guys think we will be getting a genesis port of the game, or an arcade port? Because I don't see the reason of having it in there if the game is terrible. =/

[Apossum]

Then do you guys think we will be getting a genesis port of the game, or an arcade port? Because I don't see the reason of having it in there if the game is terrible. =/


it's worth having....to poop on.

[Rei no Otaku]

It's Sega, they don't know what the fuck they're doing. Just like how they have all these great IPs (NiGHTS, Panzer Dragoon, Burning Rangers, etc.) that they do nothing, or not enough with. Instead they make new ones like Billy fucking Hatcher.

Knowing them this collection will be "updated" with crappy 3D graphics, voice acting from D list celebrities, and music by 50 Cent.

[evilmax17]

I'd pick this up if Toejam & Earl is on it.

Agreed that they need to keep Sonic off of it. We already have enough Sonic compilations.

[Supercake]

I'm enough of a fan to buy it without question, but still, it really needs Streets of Rage on it. It's good that it'll have Golden Axe 3, since there was never a US release.

[Apossum]

which Phantasy Star is it? sucks that this is a Genesis comp (sorry, not a fan.)


Where's the Saturn stuff already? or is that next gen...

[terribledeli]

So is Shinobi II supposed to be Revenge of Shinobi? Or Shadow Dancer? Or even worse...the game gear game?

I figure the Phantasy Star is a typo, unless Sega is making the compilation of all their older titles.

I'd like to see Super Hang-on and Super Thunder Blade make an appearance.

[The Mana Knight]

Sega needs to do a Shining Force III collection, containing all the scenarios, sometime. That would rock.

[furyk]

Amen to that.

[Scrubking]

What ever happened to the Phanasy Star collection that was supposed to be released last year??

[Roufuss]

Cmon people... they have only listed 9 out of 28 games so far, give them some time. Golden Axe 1 - 3 is an awesome awesome start though.

What else does this comp need? Streets of Rage 1 - 3, Shinobi 3, Shining Force 1 - 2, and Phantasy Star IV, then it'll be pretty much everything I need from Sega that they put out on the Genesis.

[Chacrana]

On a somewhat related note, it's seems as though Sega's continuing with the Sega Ages series. There's good news and bad news though. The good news is that there's a chance of games like Guardian Heroes getting the SA treatment (not specifically stated anywhere, but c'mon... it's gotta happen.) The bad news is that Sega Ages Vol. 28 (the only new one announced so far) is a Tetris collection. Fuck Tetris.

[robbyH]

No. IIRC, it didn't have 3D models... just 2D sprites for the characters.

I know for a fact that it sucked though.

maybe they are talking about the Saturn verison?

[Roufuss]

On a somewhat related note, it's seems as though Sega's continuing with the Sega Ages series. There's good news and bad news though. The good news is that there's a chance of games like Guardian Heroes getting the SA treatment (not specifically stated anywhere, but c'mon... it's gotta happen.) The bad news is that Sega Ages Vol. 28 (the only new one announced so far) is a Tetris collection. Fuck Tetris.

WTF? Tetris? They should have at least made it Columns or something.

[Rei no Otaku]

WTF? Tetris? They should have at least made it Columns or something.
Nope, we need more Tetris collections! Can never get enough of those!

[Chacrana]

maybe they are talking about the Saturn verison?
I don't care which version they're talking. There's enough variations of Tetris and enough releases on current systems... Sega could at least spend that time developing a Sega Ages game that's y'know... not garbage.

Hopefully they'll hurry up and announce more soon.

[geotech]

So it is genesis? I'd rather have the arcade versions of Golden Axe and Shinobi like in Midway's arcade classics. Just a thought.

[furyk]

WTF? Tetris? They should have at least made it Columns or something.

They did do Columns. I think it was one of the first ones they tried, and it made it stateside with the Sega Classics Collection.

[Zero_Kirby]

Wheres gunstar hero at?

[The Mana Knight]

For those who can't wait for the Nintendo Wii's Virtual Console or for Xbox Live Arcade to increase its library, Sega has just announced what's potentially the greatest retro collection yet: Sega Genesis Collection for the PS2 and PSP. With over 30 Sega Genesis titles in one pack, the collection is not only a terrific snapshot of what gaming was 15 years ago, but an opportunity for a whole new generation of gamers to experience the titles that once defined Sega as one of gaming's most revered publishers.

There are the games that birthed franchises that live on today -- Sonic the Hedgehog, Shinobi, Phantasy Star, and Golden Axe (which will see a sequel on PS3 and 360) -- but also the greats that have for one reason or another long been forgotten -- Vectorman, Sword of Vermillion, Comix Zone, or Alex Kidd. There's also a lot of great history to many games found in the collection. One of the titles, Ristar, was once planned to be the next Sonic the Hedgehog-style success story for Sega (in fact, the idea for the character Ristar actually predated Sonic -- he evolved from the character designs of what Sonic was originally to be: a rabbit). Unfortunately, the game never achieved such success, but it's interesting to now play the game that was once supposed to be the next Sonic. "We aimed Ristar to be the next big character for Sega," Yuji Uekawa, character creator told us for this story. "We hoped the focus on action -- grabbing things with his extendable arms -- would make it much different from Sonic." Sega's doing its part to give these games context with numerous unlockable interviews with the original developers and a museum with trivia on the disc.

According to Sega, the games will be reproduced with "the utmost accuracy to the originals as possible" by developer Backbone Entertainment. And as a special cool bonus, the PSP version will allow -- for the first time ever -- wireless multiplayer for several of the games.

Could a title like Alex Kidd, which was essentially a cuter version of Mario, see a sequel today? Probably not. "Violent games are getting more popular lately," Rieko Kodama, who helped design the original Alex Kidd games, told us. "A rocket launcher-carrying Alex Kidd just wouldn't be Alex Kidd anymore." Akira Nishino, the director of Ristar and now a studio head at Sega working on next-gen titles, agreed with that sentiment. "As a game creator, I'd love to do another Ristar. But maybe it's best to leave him be. A new game wouldn't feel the same without us using the Genesis' specs." But perhaps that's the point of a collection like this -- perhaps sequels aren't necessary for games that already stand the test of time. "People still enjoy these traditional action games, especially now that we're able to bring them to the newer consoles," said Nishino. "These games can be appreciated by everyone as they were."

Here now is a list of all the games in the collection and why you should be excited to play them when it hits this fall: Link (http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3152778)

Games (PS2 and PSP version)
Alex Kidd — The Enchanted Castle
Altered Beast
Bonanza Bros
Columns
Comix Zone
Decap Attack
Ecco the Dolphin
Ecco: The Tides of Time
Ecco Jr.
Eternal Champions
Flicky
Gain Ground
Golden Axe
Golden Axe II
Golden Axe III
Phantasy Star II
Phantasy Star III
Phantasy Star IV
Ristar
Shadow Dancer: Secret of Shinobi
Shinobi III
Sonic The Hedgehog
Sonic The Hedgehog 2
Super Thunderblade
Sword of Vermillion
Vectorman
Vectorman 2
Virtua Fighter 2

PS2 version only:
- Zaxxon (unlockable)
- Tac/Scan (unlockable)
- Zektor (unlockable)

Wow, this is one of the best things Sega could do, release a collection of Genesis games (instead of making certain other games that didn't turn out too good). I'm definitely buying this game. I'll probably end up getting it for PSP, due to most classical compilations doing well on PSP, but this is still great news.:D

[Roufuss]

No Shining Force 1 and 2, that kinda sucks, should have had those instead of the Sonic games, but Phantasy Star IV? Shinobi 3? All the Golden Axe's? Alex Kidd??

I just wish that Eternal Champions game was the Sega CD version, but still, awesome collection. I'll get it just for Phantasy Star IV alone.

Time to sell my Genesis Shinobi III ;)

No Streets of Rage games kind of sucks too. Maybe they are saving some stuff for a future compliation?

[The Mana Knight]

Shining Force II is what I want most, since I've been dying to get that game for years.

Hopefully, the collection does well, and we'll see more, containing Shining Force games, Streets of Rage, Space Harrier II, After Burner II, G-Loc Air Strike, etc.

That collection alone tells me I get rid of a lot of Genesis games. ;)

[Roufuss]

Yea, lets hope they go all out and release a second collection. I still don't see the need to add Sonic 1 and 2 yet again, or that shitty Genesis port of Virtua Fighter 2.

I don't know what those PS2 exclusive games are, either. Too bad it's not the Streets of Rage series.

Anyways... too bad they didn't get Digital Eclipse to do these ports, they are damn good at what they do, imo.

[furyk]

A good... not great collection of games. Like everyone else, I'm disappointed by the lack of Streets of Rage/Shining Force. The inclusion of an Alex Kidd game makes me happy as does Phantasy Star IV. Eternal Champions is great too. Still, the lack of Treasure games (Dynamite Heady/Gunstar Heroes) is a bit disappointing.

[Roufuss]

A good... not great collection of games. Like everyone else, I'm disappointed by the lack of Streets of Rage/Shining Force. The inclusion of an Alex Kidd game makes me happy as does Phantasy Star IV. Eternal Champions is great too. Still, the lack of Treasure games (Dynamite Heady/Gunstar Heroes) is a bit disappointing.

I've got to imagine this compliation is coming out in Japan too, where there is already a Treasure compliation called Treasure Box that has Gunstar Heroes, Dynamite Headdy, and Alien Soldier.

[The Mana Knight]

An idea for another collection, although some may not be Sega properties (due to just pulling Sega published games on Genesis):

After Burner II
Alien Storm
Beyond Oasis
Bio Hazard
Chakan: The Forever Man
Dynamite Headdy
E-Swat: City Under Siege
G-Loc Air Battle
Galaxy Force
Greendog
Gunstar Heroes
Kid Chameleon
Landstalker
Light Crusader
Michael Jackson’s Moonwalker (This would probably never come, but it would be funny)
Midnight Resistance
Outrun
Outrun 2019
Ranger X
Revenge of Shinobi
Shining Force
Shining Force II
Shining in the Darkness
Sonic & Knuckles
Sonic The Hedgehog 3
Space Harrier II
Streets of Rage
Streets of Rage 2
Streets of Rage 3
Super Hang On
Super Monaco GP
Super Monaco GP 2
Toe Jam & Earl
Toe Jam & Earl In Panic On Funkotron
Virtua Racing
Wonderboy V

[Roufuss]

Yea, I forgot about the Toejam and Earl games too... it seems they purposely left out enough games to cram into a second collection if this one sells good.

[evanft]

Any news if it'll have a save anywhere feature, like the Xbox version of Sonic Mega Collection?

[Chacrana]

I would assume it'd have a save anywhere feature... I'd think Sega would see it as a step backwards to not include it since Sonic Mega Collection had it.

[Scrubking]

I'm still fucking waiting for the Phantasy Star collection with Phantasy Star 1 on it!

And I give this compilation a 50/50 chance of getting the craptacular enhancement treatment. People can't seem to make a compilation without scratching the itch up their ass and tweaking something. If this isn't 1000% true to the originals I'm not buying.

[Chacrana]

I'm still fucking waiting for the Phantasy Star collection with Phantasy Star 1 on it!

And I give this compilation a 50/50 chance of getting the craptacular enhancement treatment. People can't seem to make a compilation without scratching the itch up their ass and tweaking something. If this isn't 1000% true to the originals I'm not buying.

They're not doing remakes. They said they weren't. Hell, why would that even be a consideration here since there's around 30 games on this?

The shitty remakes were only for the first several Sega Ages collections (those were developed by D3 rather than Sega IIRC) while Sega took over production of those starting with Vol. 20... since then, the quality has improved dramatically and with several games, there's only been the original versions included. Others, like Panzer Dragoon, had remakes that merely gave the game better textures while leaving everything else in tact. Sega's fucked up before, but I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt here.

[VanillaGorilla]

I guess when you haven't made a decent game since 2001, you have to cling to your backlog. No Shining Force is a joke, and further proof that SEGA thinks that series is the Stephen Baldwin to Phantasy Star's Alec.

[Chacrana]

I guess when you haven't made a decent game since 2001, you have to cling to your backlog. No Shining Force is a joke, and further proof that SEGA thinks that series is the Stephen Baldwin to Phantasy Star's Alec.

Well... Yakuza's supposed to be awesome and that just came out within the last year. Sega's also published some good shit under the Sega Sammy title like GGXX Slash... actually, there's a lotta good stuff.

[zerolens]

A couple of stores online have it listed for 11/8 release and have PS2 at $20 and PSP for $30. Even though I played Phantasy Star 3 and 4 it's been so long since I have that I've forgotten most of the game. Phantasy Star 2 I haven't though and just those 3 combined make this worth the $20. Sword of Vermilion I'm interested in trying and everything else is just an added bonus.

I'm glad to see a company finally put some RPG's on one of these sets, and getting 3 solid ones for $20 is a good deal IMO. Sega will get $20 from me for this one, good work.

[Chacrana]

Wow... $20 would be awesome. Hell, I'd pay $50 for it, but then, some people think I'm a little crazy. And yeah, RPGs on the collection is a good thing since one can get a hell of a lot of play time out of those games... This is potentially the best compilation that we've ever gotten assuming that the price is correct.

[Chacrana]

Picked the collection up today (for the PS2, of course.) Fantastic. The emulation in the games I played was spot on... Shinobi III and Shadow Dancer are still absolutely fantastic games and from the looks of it, there's a shitload of bonus content which includes some good stuff like interviews. Interestingly, the game also supports progressive scan, but I haven't been able to try that yet since I'm at home and my HDTV is at school.

[Rei no Otaku]

I got it as well, and it is a well done collection. Can't wait to dig into PS4 again. I loved that game so much back in the day. One game that didn't hold up for me was Bonanza Brothers. I used to play that with my friend like everyday. I tried to play it yesterday, and it just wasn't happening.

[Chacrana]

I got it as well, and it is a well done collection. Can't wait to dig into PS4 again. I loved that game so much back in the day. One game that didn't hold up for me was Bonanza Brothers. I used to play that with my friend like everyday. I tried to play it yesterday, and it just wasn't happening.

I never played any of the Phantasy Star games... sadly. Have those games aged well and which one would you recommend starting with (or which one is the best?)

[Rei no Otaku]

I never played any of the Phantasy Star games... sadly. Have those games aged well and which one would you recommend starting with (or which one is the best?)
RPGs always age well for me. Since graphics were never a big draw it's easy to dive right back into them.

I believe PS4 is definitely the best one, followed by 2. I'd actually start with 2, since it might be hard to go back and play it coming off of 4.

I have to say, 3 was horrible. I don't know what they were doing with that one, but it was just horrific. The first main character was like an abusive drunk or something.

[slidecage]

is there any way to walk faster in these PS games. man they walk so freaking slow


golden sun 3 looks bad on psp.

sword of something you can tell the psp isnt set up to handle something like it. the background smears when you walk in towns

[MadFlava]

The Sega Genesis collection is now in stock in most Best Buys. I got it for $14.99 with the GGC. An awesome collection of games. I can't wait for the the second Genesis collection that will come out or better yet, when will be get Sega Saturn Collection?

[Puffa469]

I never had a genesis back in the day (or now) so alot of these games are new to me, and so far Im having a blast with this collection.

The first game that immediately blew me away was Comix Zone. This game looks sooo awesome and the gameplay is so fun! It really pulls off this comic book come to life feel, and the graphics seem amazing for a genesis game.

Another title that seemed cool was Bonanza Bros. It had this Elevator Action feel to it, and EE is one of my fav games ever.

I def hope they put out another collection with the Streets of Rage games and all the other stuff i remember and people have sugested, but I still like this one alot so far.

btw- god I hope there is a way to make the characters walk faster in Phantasy Star!

[slidecage]

DO NOT GET THIS FOR PSP. It seems the PSP can not handel these games or something


Sword of vermillion background gets darker when you walk in town.

Pha. star 4 gets darker in the caves when you walk

P. Star 2 moves so freaking slow you dont want to play it

P. Star 3 background blurs when you walk


Sadly i had major high hopes for this game BUT i guess its just too many games for the PSP to pull off. DOes anyone know if the PS2 version has these same problems cause i might dump my PSP one and grab a PS2 version

[Roufuss]

DO NOT GET THIS FOR PSP. It seems the PSP can not handel these games or something


Sword of vermillion background gets darker when you walk in town.

Pha. star 4 gets darker in the caves when you walk

P. Star 2 moves so freaking slow you dont want to play it

P. Star 3 background blurs when you walk


Sadly i had major high hopes for this game BUT i guess its just too many games for the PSP to pull off. DOes anyone know if the PS2 version has these same problems cause i might dump my PSP one and grab a PS2 version

Those problems you listed, like the blurring and the caves getting darker when you walk, that's a problem with the PSP's LCD screen. I've had the blurring occur on a ton of games, it's just how the LCD screen is set up.

Believe me, it's not too many games, I highly doubt it even fills up 1/8 of a UMD.

[slidecage]

Those problems you listed, like the blurring and the caves getting darker when you walk, that's a problem with the PSP's LCD screen. I've had the blurring occur on a ton of games, it's just how the LCD screen is set up.

Believe me, it's not too many games, I highly doubt it even fills up 1/8 of a UMD.


so are the ps2 dont do this then right?

i might just go grab the ps2 version and dump the psp verison in a few weeks after i beat PS 2 the colors on the psp just look too messed up to really enjoy these games sad to say. At least the PS2 version is only 15 at best buy after coupon

[evanft]

So, do the games have the save-state feature from the Xbox Sonic collection?

[blueweltall]

so are the ps2 dont do this then right?

i might just go grab the ps2 version and dump the psp verison in a few weeks after i beat PS 2 the colors on the psp just look too messed up to really enjoy these games sad to say. At least the PS2 version is only 15 at best buy after coupon

If you decide to do that pm me! I'm willing to buy or trade for it. There's nothing wrong with the ps2 version that I notice.

[Chacrana]

So, do the games have the save-state feature from the Xbox Sonic collection?

Yes. There's three save slots per game. You don't have to overwrite your Shinobi III save if you want to make a Sonic the Hedgehog 2 save, for example.

[MadFlava]

Man I love this collection, I just unlocked Zaxxon! Man I haven't played that game since I was 8.
One game that's sorely missing is Herzog Zwei. I hope they add it to the sequel to this collection.

[evanft]

Yes. There's three save slots per game. You don't have to overwrite your Shinobi III save if you want to make a Sonic the Hedgehog 2 save, for example.

Oh FUUUUUUUUUUUCK yeah. Now I want it.

[Roufuss]

so are the ps2 dont do this then right?

i might just go grab the ps2 version and dump the psp verison in a few weeks after i beat PS 2 the colors on the psp just look too messed up to really enjoy these games sad to say. At least the PS2 version is only 15 at best buy after coupon

It shouldn't happen on the PS2, because chances are your television dosen't have the same screen a PSP does ;) But yea, it's really noticeable on the PSP espically with blacks.

[MadFlava]

It shouldn't happen on the PS2, because chances are your television dosen't have the same screen a PSP does ;) But yea, it's really noticeable on the PSP espically with blacks.
I've been playing the PS2 version and I haven't noticed any problems. They look great on my TV just like they all those years ago. Another big plus is that the games supports 480p Progressive Scan. This is awesome for anyone that wants to play it on an HDTV.

Update: So back in the day I was pretty good at Revenge of Shinobi. Playing Shinobi 3 brought back a lot of good memories, It's pretty good follow up and the only thing I don't like is that the music doesn't stand up to Yuzo Koshiro's masterpiece of a soundtrack on Revenge of Shinobi. So I'm cruising through the game until the very last level which is freaking near impossible. So I get to the last obstacle before the final boss where you have to wall jump before you get crushed by the closing wall and realize how bad the wall jump mechanic is. I mean, both Ninja Gaiden and Strider got this right and those games came out years before Shinobi 3.