| | by SwimmerBoy, November 08, 2005 |
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As a nice supplement to Sonic Mega Collection, Sega includes three rare Sonic the Hedgehog titles in their newest compilation for the GameCube: Sonic GEMS Collection.
The main highlight of this collection is Sonic CD. Fans were disappointed when Sega's last compilation didn't include the time-traveling masterpiece. Sega has finally answered many fans' prayers by including it in this collection. Sonic CD puts you in control of the blue blaze. This time, you must travel through time and destroy Robotnik's capsules to promise a good future for each zone. The music in this game is great as usually, but sadly due to licensing problems, it only has the American soundtrack. The Japanese obviously has the original soundtrack. It would have been a nice inclusion to switch between both soundtracks, but again... I think if Sega would have worked a bit harder, this could have been possible. The sounds effects are in mono and seem wav-like in quality. Of the three spotlight games, Sonic CD is the best in my opinion. There is nothing like classic Sonic action.
Another game they included in this collection was Sonic: The Fighters. This is an especially rare game that was only available in arcades, and now comes to a console for the very first time. You choose from a selection of eight fighters: Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Fang, Bean, Espio, and Bark. Each character has his or her own trademark moves. The game is simple enough to learn. Moves are executed with a series of button combinations. Each arena is essentially a square, with only cosmetic changes to seperate itself from the others. The music is catchy, but repetitive. I like this game less than Sonic CD, since it is a spinoff, but that's more than I can say for Sonic R.
The last game in this collection is the Sega Saturn racing title, Sonic R. I understand that the game is an early 3D title, but considering how naturally Sonic is as a racer, the game plays quite sluggishly. The controls are not intuitive, and they are frustrating. The music and sounds on the other hand are great! You don't have many courses to choose from. The idea is simple, you choose a racer (Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, or Eggman) and then choose a course. You race through the course for three laps and try to aim for first place. The best part of this game is the music. Other than that, many players may find this game vague and bland to play, even at best.
Along with the three spotlight games, there are six GameGear titles and two unlockable games. If you ever played Sonic Adventure DX for GameCube, you'll know that the Game Gear titles were included as unlockables, along with Japan-only handheld titles. The GameGear games are less than stellar. Since they weren't all that grand to begin with and they have all ready been released in Sonic Adventure DX, I'm not sure why Sega decided to include them here.
The two unlockable games are Genesis classics, Vectorman and Vectorman 2. This is a nice addition, but I was saddened to hear that Sega of America decided to take out the Streets of Rage game. It would have been a higher ESRB rating if it had been included, which is why Sega of America decided to cut it... but so what?
Further unlockable features include music, movies, and artwork. This is always a treat! Especially the music mixes of classic Sonic themes.
I can't help but compare GEMS to Mega Collection. There are more games that Sega could have included in GEMS. What about the 32X titles? Knuckles Chaotix anyone? Having only three titles, despite the fact of their rarity, kind of leads me to think, "too little, too late." Don't get me wrong, I'm happy that Sonic CD is finally available after all this time, but Sega didn't seem to challenge themeselves to make GEMS an even better compilation than Mega Collection.
All in all, GEMS is a nice supplement to where the real juice is: Mega Collection. If you want some real Sonic action, I would aim you to Mega Collection. But if you have all ready bought that game and are still itching for more classic hits, GEMS is the way to go.
I give this game a 7.5! |
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| | | by AnkitKapoor3, February 20, 2007 |
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| The main highlight of this collection is Sonic CD. Fans were disappointed when Sega's last compilation didn't include the time-traveling masterpiece. Sega has finally answered many fans' prayers by including it in this collection. Sonic CD puts you in control of the blue blaze. This time, you must travel through time and destroy Robotnik's capsules to promise a good future for each zone. The music in this game is great as usually, but sadly due to licensing problems, it only has the American soundtrack. The Japanese obviously has the original soundtrack. It would have been a nice inclusion to switch between both soundtracks, but again... I think if Sega would have worked a bit harder, this could have been possible. The sounds effects are in mono and seem wav-like in quality. Of the three spotlight games, Sonic CD is the best in my opinion. There is nothing like classic Sonic action.Another game they included in this collection was Sonic: The Fighters. This is an especially rare game that was only available in arcades, and now comes to a console for the very first time. You choose from a selection of eight fighters: Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Fang, Bean, Espio, and Bark. Each character has his or her own trademark moves. The game is simple enough to learn. Moves are executed with a series of button combinations. Each arena is essentially a square, with only cosmetic changes to seperate itself from the others. The music is catchy, but repetitive. I like this game less than Sonic CD, since it is a spinoff, but that's more than I can say for Sonic R.The last game in this collection is the Sega Saturn racing title, Sonic R. I understand that the game is an early 3D title, but considering how naturally Sonic is as a racer, the game plays quite sluggishly. The controls are not intuitive, and they are frustrating. The music and sounds on the other hand are great! You don't have many courses to choose from. The idea is simple, you choose a racer (Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, or Eggman) and then choose a course. You race through the course for three laps and try to aim for first place. The best part of this game is the music. Other than that, many players may find this game vague and bland to play, even at best.Along with the three spotlight games, there are six GameGear titles and two unlockable games. If you ever played Sonic Adventure DX for GameCube, you'll know that the Game Gear titles were included as unlockables, along with Japan-only handheld titles. The GameGear games are less than stellar. Since they weren't all that grand to begin with and they have all ready been released in Sonic Adventure DX, I'm not sure why Sega decided to include them here. |
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