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Sonic Mega Collection
Sonic Mega Collection is a 2002 video game compilation developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega for the GameCube. It is a compilation of several Sonic the Hedgehog games originally released for the Genesis, along with a few other Sega-published titles for the system.
According to the director, Yojiro Ogawa, the purpose of the compilation was to introduce younger players to the original games in the Sonic series. The games are played through a Genesis emulator developed by Sonic Team themselves. Outside of the games, the compilation includes Sonic-themed videos and illustrations, as well as high-resolution scans of the instruction manuals and Sonic the Hedgehog comic covers. In 2004, the compilation was re-released for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, and Windows as Sonic Mega Collection Plus with additional Sonic games originally released for the Game Gear.
Reception to Sonic Mega Collection as well as Plus was positive, with praise going to its faithful emulation, strong core games, nostalgic value, and low price. Criticism was directed toward the absence of Sonic CD (1993), lackluster extras, weaker spin-off titles, tedious unlocking mechanics, and some visual issues in Plus. A second compilation focused on rare and obscure Sonic titles, Sonic Gems Collection, was released in 2005.
Sonic Mega Collection compiles 14 emulated games originally released for the Sega Genesis, limited to only 12 in releases outside of Japan. Seven games are available by default, while the remainder are unlocked by launching other games repeatedly. These include three games that recreate the Sonic & Knuckles "lock-on technology" to allow for new modes and/or playable characters in the first three Sonic games, and four non-Sonic games published by Sega, two of which are exclusive to the Japanese release. High-resolution instruction manual scans are included for each game. An "Extras" section features over 100 scans of comic covers from Archie Comics' Sonic the Hedgehog series, illustrations of Sonic characters throughout the franchise's history, and a handful of videos promoting other Sonic games, including the opening and ending cutscenes from Sonic CD.
Sonic Mega Collection Plus includes all 14 of the games from the original release in all regions, plus the addition of six Game Gear games. The compilation's user interface has been updated, and all games now support the ability to save the player's progress mid-level using save states. The illustration gallery has been expanded with artwork from games released since the original Mega Collection, while all videos from the original release have been omitted, replaced by a gallery of storyboards and in-production renders of cutscenes from Sonic Heroes.
Mega Collection was developed by Sonic Team, the studio behind most games in the Sonic series. According to director Yojiro Ogawa, Sonic Team's goal with the compilation was to introduce children to older games in the series and showcase what made Sonic successful. Sonic Team chose to focus on including all the Genesis Sonic games. Rather than porting them from the Genesis, they collaborated with VR-1 Japan to develop an emulator to run the games' ROM images. Series co-creator Yuji Naka, who served as producer, said the team intended to include the 1993 Sega CD game Sonic CD, but storage constraints prevented this. Sonic Team also considered including BlueSky Software's Vectorman (1995). CD and Vectorman later appeared in Sonic Gems Collection (2005), a successor to Mega Collection focusing on rare Sonic games. Sonic Team had trouble gathering materials for the compilation because it had been a decade since they made the games and "Sega's not that good about keeping history." For instance, Naka wanted to include the original prototype of the first game but Sonic Team could not find its ROM image.
Sega announced Mega Collection as a GameCube exclusive in early July 2002, and revealed which games would be included later that month. The compilation went gold the following November; Naka said Sonic Team felt a sense of accomplishment when they completed it. Mega Collection was released in North America on November 12, 2002, in Japan on December 19, 2002, and in Europe on March 21, 2003. In European territories, Infogrames distributed the compilation. When Sega began to expand support for the PlayStation 2, it commissioned a version of Mega Collection for that console and the Xbox. This version, Sonic Mega Collection Plus, was announced at E3 2004. Plus was released in North America on November 2, 2004, in Japan on December 9, 2004, and in Europe on February 4, 2005. A Windows version was released in Europe on March 31, 2006, and in North America on March 9, 2007. It was later included in the Sonic PC Collection (2009).
Reviews for Sonic Mega Collection were "generally favorable" according to Metacritic. Chet Barber of Game Informer and Fran Mirabella III of IGN regarded it as one of the best compilations of its time. Critics considered it a great value for Sonic fans and newcomers, especially those without access to a Genesis, and its low price tag was said to complement its value. However, Michael Cole of Nintendo World Report and Johnny Liu of GameRevolution deemed it less essential to those who already own the originals or Sonic Jam. Sonic Mega Collection was a runner-up for GameSpot's annual "Best Platformer on GameCube" award, which went to Super Mario Sunshine.
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Sonic Mega Collection
Sonic Mega Collection is a 2002 video game compilation developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega for the GameCube. It is a compilation of several Sonic the Hedgehog games originally released for the Genesis, along with a few other Sega-published titles for the system.
According to the director, Yojiro Ogawa, the purpose of the compilation was to introduce younger players to the original games in the Sonic series. The games are played through a Genesis emulator developed by Sonic Team themselves. Outside of the games, the compilation includes Sonic-themed videos and illustrations, as well as high-resolution scans of the instruction manuals and Sonic the Hedgehog comic covers. In 2004, the compilation was re-released for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, and Windows as Sonic Mega Collection Plus with additional Sonic games originally released for the Game Gear.
Reception to Sonic Mega Collection as well as Plus was positive, with praise going to its faithful emulation, strong core games, nostalgic value, and low price. Criticism was directed toward the absence of Sonic CD (1993), lackluster extras, weaker spin-off titles, tedious unlocking mechanics, and some visual issues in Plus. A second compilation focused on rare and obscure Sonic titles, Sonic Gems Collection, was released in 2005.
Sonic Mega Collection compiles 14 emulated games originally released for the Sega Genesis, limited to only 12 in releases outside of Japan. Seven games are available by default, while the remainder are unlocked by launching other games repeatedly. These include three games that recreate the Sonic & Knuckles "lock-on technology" to allow for new modes and/or playable characters in the first three Sonic games, and four non-Sonic games published by Sega, two of which are exclusive to the Japanese release. High-resolution instruction manual scans are included for each game. An "Extras" section features over 100 scans of comic covers from Archie Comics' Sonic the Hedgehog series, illustrations of Sonic characters throughout the franchise's history, and a handful of videos promoting other Sonic games, including the opening and ending cutscenes from Sonic CD.
Sonic Mega Collection Plus includes all 14 of the games from the original release in all regions, plus the addition of six Game Gear games. The compilation's user interface has been updated, and all games now support the ability to save the player's progress mid-level using save states. The illustration gallery has been expanded with artwork from games released since the original Mega Collection, while all videos from the original release have been omitted, replaced by a gallery of storyboards and in-production renders of cutscenes from Sonic Heroes.
Mega Collection was developed by Sonic Team, the studio behind most games in the Sonic series. According to director Yojiro Ogawa, Sonic Team's goal with the compilation was to introduce children to older games in the series and showcase what made Sonic successful. Sonic Team chose to focus on including all the Genesis Sonic games. Rather than porting them from the Genesis, they collaborated with VR-1 Japan to develop an emulator to run the games' ROM images. Series co-creator Yuji Naka, who served as producer, said the team intended to include the 1993 Sega CD game Sonic CD, but storage constraints prevented this. Sonic Team also considered including BlueSky Software's Vectorman (1995). CD and Vectorman later appeared in Sonic Gems Collection (2005), a successor to Mega Collection focusing on rare Sonic games. Sonic Team had trouble gathering materials for the compilation because it had been a decade since they made the games and "Sega's not that good about keeping history." For instance, Naka wanted to include the original prototype of the first game but Sonic Team could not find its ROM image.
Sega announced Mega Collection as a GameCube exclusive in early July 2002, and revealed which games would be included later that month. The compilation went gold the following November; Naka said Sonic Team felt a sense of accomplishment when they completed it. Mega Collection was released in North America on November 12, 2002, in Japan on December 19, 2002, and in Europe on March 21, 2003. In European territories, Infogrames distributed the compilation. When Sega began to expand support for the PlayStation 2, it commissioned a version of Mega Collection for that console and the Xbox. This version, Sonic Mega Collection Plus, was announced at E3 2004. Plus was released in North America on November 2, 2004, in Japan on December 9, 2004, and in Europe on February 4, 2005. A Windows version was released in Europe on March 31, 2006, and in North America on March 9, 2007. It was later included in the Sonic PC Collection (2009).
Reviews for Sonic Mega Collection were "generally favorable" according to Metacritic. Chet Barber of Game Informer and Fran Mirabella III of IGN regarded it as one of the best compilations of its time. Critics considered it a great value for Sonic fans and newcomers, especially those without access to a Genesis, and its low price tag was said to complement its value. However, Michael Cole of Nintendo World Report and Johnny Liu of GameRevolution deemed it less essential to those who already own the originals or Sonic Jam. Sonic Mega Collection was a runner-up for GameSpot's annual "Best Platformer on GameCube" award, which went to Super Mario Sunshine.