If you're as old as me, you like playing games from your past. The Sega Genesis came out while I was in college but it collected a lot of arcade games from my teenage years. It's been relaunched dozens of times since the original black plastic console launched with 24-point type proclaiming "16-BIT" in big white letters: they've done console redesigns, micro redesigns, portables, CD versions, embedded the hardware into computers and televisions, and most recently, licensed third parties to make clone hardware. At the same time, the company has released software collections for computers and game consoles.
Most of these re-releases include the same core titles over and over again: Sonic the Hedgehog, Golden Axe, Altered Beast, Columns. Recently, a few lesser-known titles, such as Japanese imports Golden Axe III and Arrow Flash have begun to appear.
Conspicuously absent are licensed games such as Spider-Man vs. The Kingpin or ToeJam and Earl; violent games like Eternal Champions; and games from other publishers such as Capcom, Electronic Arts, Tengen, Ballistic, and Acclaim.
The Sega-owned catalog isn't represented consistently in their collections, either:
- One example is the early Genesis game Revenge of Shinobi isn't on any of the modern collections, despite appearing in the multi-game cartridges. Is it because some versions of the game include a licensed appearance by Spider-Man? Or is it because the game doesn't compare well with the arcade game of the same name or its sequels?
- Similarly, Shadow Dancer doesn't appear on the 360 and PS3 Genesis collections, presumably because our ninja's dog is used as a fighting character, which is not permitted in Germany?
- Apart from one appearance in the Windows Smash Pack, the Genesis version of high-speed racing game Outrun hasn't been seen since its release on cartridge. Is this because of the Ferrari-licensed modern sequels?
- Where are Space Harrier, AfterBurner, Super Monaco GP, and Hang-On? The Genesis games are technically sequels, but they belong here as much as Super Thunder Blade ever did.
- We know why Michael Jackson's Moonwalker isn't there, but should this really be lost to the sands of time (and abandonware)? RIP MJ BTW.
For the completist, emulators are the clearly way to go: they don't cost anything and the lawyers can't stop you from stacking Electronic Arts games next to Sonic 2. There's a decent Genesis for just about every device with a screen and a CPU, and the whole catalog fits in less than a gig of disk space.
As far as commercial, legitimate gaming goes, however, the options aren't too bad. The Wii's Virtual Console has the broadest selection, but at $8 a title, this gets expensive quickly. Sega's collections gather much of the best stuff available, but as you can see from the matrix below, there's a good amount of repetition and double-dipping.
The first four columns are portable systems, which I think is a great way to experience and enjoy these older games. The controls are generally well-suited and the small screens really highlight the older pixel art.
-Sega Genesis Collection for PSP is only $13 at Amazon and does a nice job of collecting some of the best titles, though the Streets of Rage fighting games are strangely missing, not to be seen unless you get them on Virtual Console or the PS3/360 collection. Like its PS2 brother, you can save the state of any individual game you're playing, making this collection the most portable-friendly of the bunch. It's hobbled by shipping on the wretched UMD format, but perhaps we'll see a downloadable re-release of this one soon.
- The Portable MegaDrive is available for $40 from Play-Asia, and has a fair collection of 20 titles, all of which look nice on its AAA-battery sipping tiny screen. This player is supposedly coming to the USA soon, but I would assume it's going to keep the same built-in games.
- GameBoy Advance got several games officially ported/emulated, and they're released in small collections in cartridge form. Most notable is the Phantasy Star Collection, which includes PS 1 (a Master System game), PS2, and PS3 on one little cartridge. Internet lore says savegames can be flaky however, so you might be better served by playing these long role-playing games on another system.
- The iPhone and iPod Touch recently saw Sonic the Hedgehog and Golden Axe released to the App Store for $5 each. Tellingly, Sonic is labeled "Sonic 1" in the home screen after purchase, which probably means we'll be seeing more of these soon. Touch controls arranged as a virtual D-pad work, and the graphics look nice on this big portable screen, but sadly, gameplay and music are a little slow on my iPhone 3G. Golden Axe in particular seems to be stuck in the mud, running at about 75% normal speed.
That's it for the portable systems, and now on with the chart, compiled from Wikipedia sources as well as my own collection. Why am I such a sucker for re-buying this stuff? Maybe because I didn't have such an exhaustive list of what's already out there.
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