Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection

 PlayStation 3
User Score
7.9

Generally favorable reviews- based on 68 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 54 out of 68
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 68
  3. Negative: 9 out of 68
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  1. ChazS
    Apr 6, 2009
    9
    Very good game all the way around. Of course there are several games on this collection that sucked 10 years ago but for the most part this collecion is a definate win. I really liked the fact that you can smooth the pixles via the select option and adjust the screen ration. good stuff
  2. RetoReto
    Feb 11, 2009
    9
    An awesome collection. My only complaint with it is that you can't play Sonic 3 with Sonic & Knuckles as a whole game, but other than that a must buy.
  3. AlO
    Feb 14, 2009
    10
    Bargain, look at all the classics on this game. This has to be 10/10 Ristar is my personal favourite, can you imagine downloading all these games from the Wii network? Any old school gamers need this game.
  4. ArkonBlade
    Jul 18, 2011
    9
    pretty good deal for $30 getting some real good classic genisis games like shining force 1 and 2 , shining in the darkness , phantasy star 1 , 2 , 3 and 4 , golden axe 1 , 2 3 , streets of rage 1 , 2 3 and more . they are all emulated perfectly now in HD . i felt sega missed abunch of great games they could have added to this pack like master of monsters , star flight , virtau racer , andpretty good deal for $30 getting some real good classic genisis games like shining force 1 and 2 , shining in the darkness , phantasy star 1 , 2 , 3 and 4 , golden axe 1 , 2 3 , streets of rage 1 , 2 3 and more . they are all emulated perfectly now in HD . i felt sega missed abunch of great games they could have added to this pack like master of monsters , star flight , virtau racer , and alot more also online co -op for games like golden axe and streets of rage would have been great . even though you get alot for your money and its well worth it to play some great classics . over all im just happy it has shining force 1 and 2 in HD :)… Expand
  5. Funkymonk
    Dec 14, 2010
    9
    This is tremendous value for money and represents one of the greatest retro collections ever. Well ok, it would be pretty hard for Sega to mess this up, given that the Megadrive had one of gameings best back catalougues. But this is conclusive proof (if it was needed) that the 16 bit era really was as good as people of a certain age remember. Some of the games here genuinely belong amongThis is tremendous value for money and represents one of the greatest retro collections ever. Well ok, it would be pretty hard for Sega to mess this up, given that the Megadrive had one of gameings best back catalougues. But this is conclusive proof (if it was needed) that the 16 bit era really was as good as people of a certain age remember. Some of the games here genuinely belong among the greatest games of all time - Streets of Rage 2 must be the best scrolling beat em up ever and Sonic 2 possably the best platformer ever and i'd say of the 40 games at least 25 of them are excellent. Ther's some baffling omissions such as Strider and Toe Jam and Earl especially when tripe such as Fatal Labyrinth and Super Thunder Blade have been included but ther's only about 5 duffers in this collection.
    The only reason i didn't give this a 10 is that it only features games made by Sega themselves and no third parties (apart from 1 game Dyneamite Headdy by Treasure) and therefore shouldn't really be called the "ultimate" collection.
    For oldies looking to relive the golden era it's as good a collection as you're likely to get for the foreseeable future and ther's bound to be at least some gems that even Megadrive veterans won't have played before. If you're a youngster that still needs convincing then all i can do is advise you to look past any preconceptions about the graphics and sound and just give it a go. If you still don't get hooked on at least some of these games then you simply wouldn't know decent gameplay if it spin dashed you in the face!    … Expand
  6. Harry210
    Dec 13, 2010
    8
    Sega Mega Drive Ultimate Collection (Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection in the US) is a great treat for gamers craving for some nostalgia gaming. I didn't own a Mega Drive due to the fact I was too young back then when the Mega Drive was released but this collection does a good job at showing me what I would have experienced if I owned one. 40+ games in this collection is brilliant valueSega Mega Drive Ultimate Collection (Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection in the US) is a great treat for gamers craving for some nostalgia gaming. I didn't own a Mega Drive due to the fact I was too young back then when the Mega Drive was released but this collection does a good job at showing me what I would have experienced if I owned one. 40+ games in this collection is brilliant value for money considering that this game has been out for a while and these games included cover loads of genres like platformer, shooter and RPG's which means there's something for everyone. At least you're not forced to play every game that you don't fancy. Some of these games (like Decap Attack and Bonanza Bros) I've played are unique in their own way with interesting and innotive game play. Some games like Dynamite Headdy and Altered Beast and probably some others will require a lot of patience to get through because they are quite hard in terms of difficulty. At least these provide a good (if sometimes frustrating) challenge that these newer games don't seem to give us. Things are made easier through a "state save" feature (which is commonly found in Emulated games played on a PC) which can be used to save anywhere during game play. This takes some of the frustration away considering most Mega Drive games send you back to the beginning of the game when you lose all your continues or lives, you can just continue from your last save state. The games in this collection are presented and run well on the PlayStation 3 and can either be played in their original screen ratio or be stretched to fill a wide screen TV. This does reveal individual pixels more clearly when the games are viewed like this but at least Backbone have had the courtesy to add a "Smoothing" option. Another good thing with this collection is that you can rate the games (out of 5). All of the games may not appeal to you depending on what kind of video game genre your into but Sega Mega Drive Ultimate Collection is a well put together collection of Mega Drive games and is a must have title for anyone who wants a break from all of the high technological games we're playing today.… Expand
  7. KtulluEats15
    Mar 5, 2011
    9
    Love this game and will keep it until the new consoles are released. Basically you get 40 games that were the best in Sega Genesis history and you get to play them in high definition. You get to hear the collection of rings from Sonic 1 through 3 including Knuckles and spinball (which is a hard trophy to get) and playing Golden Axe, kicking the crap out of little elves for magic pots,Love this game and will keep it until the new consoles are released. Basically you get 40 games that were the best in Sega Genesis history and you get to play them in high definition. You get to hear the collection of rings from Sonic 1 through 3 including Knuckles and spinball (which is a hard trophy to get) and playing Golden Axe, kicking the crap out of little elves for magic pots, brings back memories. My only problem is why not put all of the games that were released for the Sega Genesis, I don't mind playing the crappy games and punching the walls while swearing at the same time (at least it gets the anger out). But anyways its a great game with a lot of interviews from the people who made it and play the original arcade games such as Alien Syndrome or Congo,which is my favorite. You should try and relive those days even for young ones who don't know what Genesis is this will be their first.… Expand
  8. skyminster
    Jun 11, 2012
    9
    Megadrive ultimate collection is a really good collection. A lot of the games are classic and amazing (examples: Sonic the hedgehog 1-3 and knuckles, Shinobi 1 and 3, Dr. robotnik's mean bean machine, shining force 1 and 2 and more!). Of course, some of the games aren't as good as other ones on the collection. Mostly, this is a quality collection!
  9. GamergodsFail
    Jun 30, 2015
    9
    This is the greatest compilation I have ever played. It has all the essential Genesis games, from every Sonic, to every Streets of Rage, to every Golden Axe and all the Phantasy Star games. However, there are a few games I feel are truly missing from this package such as Toejam & Earl, Gunstar Heroes, and Revenge of Shinobi. They should re-release an even bigger compilation for PS4 andThis is the greatest compilation I have ever played. It has all the essential Genesis games, from every Sonic, to every Streets of Rage, to every Golden Axe and all the Phantasy Star games. However, there are a few games I feel are truly missing from this package such as Toejam & Earl, Gunstar Heroes, and Revenge of Shinobi. They should re-release an even bigger compilation for PS4 and Xbox One, that includes the 3 missing games I mentioned.… Expand
  10. Kai82
    Mar 15, 2021
    9
    Like each collection you appreciate it much more when you played the games in your childhood (aka nostalgia and fond memories) and this is the main consideration for you. For itself it has a good variety of games with all Sonic games but sadly no combined Sonic 3 / Sonic and Knuckles, all 3 Streets of Rage, both Shining Forces games, all 3 Golden Axes, the 4 Phantasy Stars to name theLike each collection you appreciate it much more when you played the games in your childhood (aka nostalgia and fond memories) and this is the main consideration for you. For itself it has a good variety of games with all Sonic games but sadly no combined Sonic 3 / Sonic and Knuckles, all 3 Streets of Rage, both Shining Forces games, all 3 Golden Axes, the 4 Phantasy Stars to name the bigger franchises. Overall it has 48 games (Remark: Some games must be unlocked and there are some Master System games added too). I am mostly O.K with the selection but like everyone I would have wished that some games were added and I don't care about some included games. For example: I would have liked Soleil, Landstalker, NBA Jam, Alexx Kidd in Shinobi world or the Langrisser games added to the collection atop of Sonic and Knuckles / Sonic 3 combined. Also I don't care about Flicky, Decap Attack, Super Thunder Blade, Altered Beast and Fatal Labyrinth. However this is just me and it is not possible to please everyone. On the technical side all games I played worked well and I encountered no bugs. Take this with a grain of salt as I have not beaten all games and will not do it as for example Comix Zone is much to hard for me and most other players (Awesome art style by the way) and the Ecco Games have not much appeal to me. Graphically and soundtrack wise the games look and feel like I remembered them from my childhood. I must warn you that the analog controls are not good enough for all games. I got frustrated at my lack of skill in the bonus zones from Sonic 3 until I switched to the four way digital cross. I got accustomed to analog controls and switched back here avoiding them in total which helped a lot. In total I was more than satisfied with the game and found the hidden gems Beyond Oasis (Story of Thor), Shinobi and Shining in the Darkness quite good (The Shinobi series was not popular in my region). Overall a well done compilation that I recommend to Genesis fans. Be warned that it has less appeal if you don't experienced it during childhood. For example I enjoyed this and the Minin NES / SNES but the C64 or PC Engine equivalent has not much appeal to me and my circle of friends. If you liked the games or want to check them out after all the years this is a good opportunity.… Expand
  11. Alvokun
    Oct 5, 2017
    8
    This was one my first PS3 games (and my first platinum trophy), and I still have a good memory of it.

    The selection of games is quite varied; it could probably be larger, but also much more reduced. Evidently enough, there will be some games you may not like, but there are really good games overall: Streets of Rage, Altered Beast, Comix Zone, Golden Axe, Alex Kidd and, of course, some    This was one my first PS3 games (and my first platinum trophy), and I still have a good memory of it.

    The selection of games is quite varied; it could probably be larger, but also much more reduced. Evidently enough, there will be some games you may not like, but there are really good games overall: Streets of Rage, Altered Beast, Comix Zone, Golden Axe, Alex Kidd and, of course, some Sonic.

    There have been many subsequent classic video games compilation, but this is most likely one of the best.    … Expand
  12. D3D_Controller
    Dec 13, 2022
    10
    This is just my childhood game(s) right here So many memories... Especially from STH 3, Flicky and all of the streets of rage games.
  13. GlennLosio
    May 13, 2023
    10
    This game was epic and fantastic for both PS3 & Xbox 360 it was totally amazing.

Awards & Rankings

56
#56 Best PS3 Game of 2009
69
#69 Most Discussed PS3 Game of 2009
76
#76 Most Shared PS3 Game of 2009

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
80

Generally favorable reviews - based on 35 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 29 out of 35
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 35
  3. Negative: 0 out of 35
  1. GamesRadar+
    80
    We can't blame you for being hesitant, but the odds are pretty low that you have even half of these that will play on a current system. While every game isn't a winner, Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection is the best you can do, outside of Japan anyway. At least until the next, even more Ultimate Collection.
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  2. IGN
    90
    Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection is a slick package, a lot of unlockables, and 49 games; it can all be yours for $30. That's a steal, and I can't recommend picking this one up enough.
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  3. GameDaily
    80
    You'll get more than your $30 worth from this nifty little package. Nearly two decades later, Genesis still does what Nintendon't.
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