Sega Genesis Classics

 PlayStation 4
Metascore
75

Generally favorable reviews - based on 27 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 18 out of 27
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 27
  3. Negative: 0 out of 27
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  1. The Jimquisition
    Jun 3, 2018
    Sega have royally messed this whole thing up.

User Reviews

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User Score
7.4

Mixed or average reviews- based on 61 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 36 out of 61
  2. Mixed: 18 out of 61
  3. Negative: 7 out of 61
  1. HappySpaceInvad
    May 29, 2018
    5
    Well, this is slightly disappointing. It's a very similar set of games to "Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection" for PS3 and Xbox 360, butWell, this is slightly disappointing. It's a very similar set of games to "Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection" for PS3 and Xbox 360, but with a redesigned front-end and a few more emulator choices.

    This would all be ok and worthy of something well above 5/10, except that the emulation is actually shade worse than the PS3 release in two key areas:

    1. Sound: Ok, you may not have an "echoic memory" like I do, but if you played the original games back in the day, there are bound to be some moments where you realise the sound is off. The most noticeable are the noise Sonic makes as he spins through the end sign in the first Sonic the Hedgehog, and the noise made in Toejam and Earl when you cause parts of the land to appear.

    2. Performance: This emulator frequently stutters badly in certain parts of certain games. Often when transitioning to a new background screen, but I haven't yet narrowed it down. You will lose frames of animation and the music will noticeably stutter.

    Neither of the above are game-breaking, but shows a general lack of care and finesse, not to mention the fact that these issues don't occur when running the same games in emulation on a Raspberry Pi 3, which has a fraction of the processing power of the PS4 and Xbox 360.

    In terms of the games you get, it's easiest to compared with the PS3/X360 release. The following games have been dropped: Ecco The Dolphin, Ecco: The Tides of Time, Sonic 3, Sonic & Knuckles.

    ... and, in their place, we have: Alien Soldier, Bio-Hazard Battle, Columns III, Galaxy Force II, Gunstar Heroes, Landstalker, Light Crusader, Shadow Dancer, Space Harrier II, Sword of Vermillion, The Revenge of Shinobi, Toejam & Earl, ToeJam & Earl in Panic on Funkatron.

    These 14 new games are extremely welcome, but why did we have to lose 4 absolute classics to make way for them? A Sonic 3 + Sonic & Kuckles combination is surely long overdue Sega? I'm pretty sure the hidden games from the previous collection (such as the arcade version of Shinobi) have also been dropped, so the total number of games is roughly the same. Perhaps more games will be added via DLC? Time will tell.

    You can play the games in fullscreen with borders, or stretched (which is yuk!), or in a TV Mode where you're looking at a 14" Trinitron-like TV set with a slightly curved screen. That last one is actually quite cool, but my preference is fullscreen with black borders.

    The new emulator "pixel-hiding" settings may please some, but I personally find they ruin the look. There's a scanlines option, but it causes banding on large areas of the same colour (such as the blue sky background on Sonic) and causes a weird moiré effect in TV Set Mode. This is a shame, as other games such as Sonic Mania and the entirety of the SNES Mini collection managed a more convincing scanlines option.

    If you already have a working PS3 or X360 and a copy of the previous collection, it's difficult to recommend this unless you consider the 14 new games essential. If you've gone down any of the alternative routes towards Genesis/Megadrive emulation, then I think you're definitely wasting your money unless the convenience of being able to play specifically on a PS4/Xbox One is critical to you.

    It's possible the sound/performance issues could be addressed with patches, in which case add another couple of points to my score. For now though, this gets a "meh" 5/10.

    (Tested on: PS4 Pro)    … Full Review »
  2. Spoonman
    May 30, 2018
    7
    I wish Sega would put a bit more effort into their latest Genesis collection. Unlike their last one (Sonic's Ultimate) it doesn't have theI wish Sega would put a bit more effort into their latest Genesis collection. Unlike their last one (Sonic's Ultimate) it doesn't have the cool extras such as the high resolution box art, developer interviews, or interesting unlockable arcade games such as Shinobi, Space Harrier, Zaxxon, Fantasy Zone, etc..

    In fact they also left off Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles. Not cool Sega!

    I just heard they released a patch for VR support on the Steam version. Now where is the PSVR version of this update?! If they added this it wohkd defintely be something worthwhile, and would show that they do in fact care about their fans on all platforms.    … Full Review »
  3. GamergodsFail
    May 30, 2018
    7
    Sega Genesis Classics manages to have the largest selection of Genesis games yet, yet fails to feel as complete as last generation's "Sonic'sSega Genesis Classics manages to have the largest selection of Genesis games yet, yet fails to feel as complete as last generation's "Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection" due to the fact that both Sonic 3 and Knuckles are missing without good reason, as well as the Ecco games. There are also audio bugs heard in most games. It's still worth the $30, but I recommend the previous compilation, as that also came with unlockable Master System games on top of having every Sonic game that was released on the Genesis.… Full Review »
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