After the initial shock of Sonic The Hedgehog appearing on Nintendo platforms had worn off, SEGA decide to give Nintendo-doers (and hopefully a different generation of gamers) a chance to experience Sonic during his best era.
Following on from the successful release of Sonic Adventure 2 Battle several months earlier, Sonic Mega Collection (SMC) consists of all of Sonic's Mega Drive/Genesis outings with a helping of non-game Sonic related material for the fans.
This is not the first compilation of Sonic games to appear. The previous was Sonic Compilation on the Mega Drive/Genesis and the significantly more extensive Sonic Jam released on the Saturn in 1997.
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OVERVIEW
SMC is essentially an elaborate menu system holding an emulator and collection of ROMS. Emulation of SEGA's Mega Drive/Genesis console is courtesy the company VR-1 of Japan. It has enough games to keep gamers whom never played any of the classics happy for quite a time especially if each game is completed fully which usually means collecting all the Chaos Emeralds.
Some games are playable by default and there are more to be unlocked, and for some reason these differ between the releases in different regions.
As for fans who know these games inside out already there is not much to be found other than the extra material which consists of case art, videos and comic covers, however there are a few non-Sonic games to be unlocked.
For in-depth info on the Sonic games in the collection, click on the title screens below to be taken to their respective features.
Default Games |
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The original and some say the best. This is how Sonic was presented to the world in 1991. This compilation has the 3 versions of this game. The default version that you play is the tweaked Japanese release. The code to switch between the versions is detailed below. |
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The sequel which had the gaming world going crazy. This game introduced the character of Miles 'Tails' Prower and Sonic could become Super Sonic with all the Chaos Emeralds in his possession. |
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The 3rd instalment and first part of a mega adventure. The compilation also brings emulation of the save state functions of the original cartridge. |
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As the name suggests, play as either Sonic or Knuckles in a new adventure concluding what began in Sonic 3. The locked-on versions e.g Sonic 3 and Knuckles must be unlocked. |
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Sonic 3D Blast/Flickies Island Sonic's first foray into 3D and last Mega Drive/Genesis title. This game was not created directly by Sonic Team and was also released on the Saturn. Playability seems to have actually improved slightly with the use of the analogue stick on the Cube's controller. |
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SEGA of America's spin-off title. Sonic infiltrates Robotnik's Veg-O-Fortress embedded inside an active volcano and protected by a pinball style defence system. The version on the PAL compilation of SMC is the correct European/PAL one. |
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Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine A Puyo Puyo clone set against Dr Robotinik's works drones. Eliminate the beans by stacking 4 same coloured beans together. Attack the opposition by creating combos. Yee harr! Does get quite challenging on the last few rounds. |
Unlockable Games |
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Play through a multitude of generated Sonic 3 Special Stages. |
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Play Sonic 2 with Knuckles and explore old zones like never before. Collect all the Chaos Emeralds to become Super Knuckles. |
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Possibly the ultimate 2D Sonic adventure; 3 playable characters becoming super then hyper, 26 acts in 13 zones with 14 special stages and 3 bonus rounds with different endings on offer. |
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This is a port of an arcade game from 1984. Flicky is the blue bird saving his/her friends from hungry house cats. It is a loose connection to the Flicky Birds in Sonic 3D. |
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One of the Mega Drive/Genesis later titles released in 1995 and a cult favourite platformer. Ristar is on a mission to save a solar system being terrorised by an evil force. He is under considerable pressure as the planetary hero has already been captured. It's connection to Sonic stardom is through Ristar's designer Yuji Uekawa who was involved with some of Sonic's animation in later titles. It is one of the platforms most impressive titles and had a Game Gear version. |
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A stylish and unique beat'em up set inside a comic book. Sketch Turner is an artist in New York when one day as he draws a thunderstorm brings his comic to life. It was created at STI (makers of Sonic 2 and Sonic Spinball) and shows some impressive use of the 16-Bit hardware. |
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You play as a strange viscous substance which is the remnants of a once Dr. Craine looking for revenge against his corrupt employers. This cartoony action/puzzle game came at the end of the systems life and was rather inventive. It is another game created by STI and has become a rarity in the consoles library. |
Each game in the collection plays exactly as it's Mega Drive/Genesis original and the controls (for Sonic games) fit extremely well with the layout of the Gamecube's controller. A nice touch is being able to use either the analogue or the D-Pad. Any games that have two player modes (for example, Sonic 2's split screen) are emulated also.
At any time during play the Button Z on the Gamecube's controller will pull up a menu allowing to quit to main menu or return to the title screen of the game via reset.
The collection itself has very few options to tweak. These are the usual stereo/mono switch, controller configuration, language and being able to view the credits options.
Instruction manuals for each game are in digital format and are the US versions. They can be moved about and zoomed in on screen if you really want to. These can be accessed by pressing Button X when selecting a game to play.
Sonic Mega Collection. Digital Manuals, Illustrations and Comics
Extras
The extra content for the non discerning Sonic fan are as follows:
- Comics - Scans of cover art for Archie Sonic Comics issues #1-115, Sonic The Hedgehog Firsts, Knuckles Comic issues 1#-32, Super Sonic Special #1-15 and x15 other misc comics such as Sonic Blast and Sonic Live.
- Illustrations - Some character art from the post-Dreamcast era of Sonic Adventure and Sonic Advance.
- Movies - Sonic CD Opening and closing movies in full screen, full animation and clean soundtrack as they were meant to be seen. These are the remixed US "Sonic Boom" version by Spencer Neilsen.
- Adverts for Sonic Adventure 2 Battle and Sonic Advance 2.
- A mock history video showing some Sonic games which eventually becomes another Sonic Adventure 2 Battle advert.
IMPRESSIONS
From a technical viewpoint the emulation of the Mega Drive/Genesis is pretty accurate. Some sound effects can be scratchy at times but this would only be noticeable to the trained ear.
Successful emulation of the lock-on technology which Sonic & Knuckles uses is superb.
Ristar is a pleasant addition to the collection since its limited exposure back in the day and Sonic fans will appreciate this addition.
There are a few disappointing parts though.
The fan related material that wraps up the whole collection is a little thin to say the least and makes the collection pale in comparison to Sonic Jam. One would assume that most of the content in that game would have been automatically included.
The dropping of Sonic World from Sonic Jam could be excused though.
Again Sonic CD has not been included. The official line from SEGA on this subject is that Mega-CD/SEGA-CD emulation is too complicated to achieve. People with PC's and Xbox's will contest that it is certainly possible to play this game via emulation. In reality the most probable reason it is continuously pushed aside is Sonic Team leader Yuji Naka has no particular love for the title since it was not created by his team.
Another cult favourite of Sonic fans would have been Sonic Fighters from the Model 2 arcade machine. Emulation of this has not yet been achieved but considering SEGA made the machine they may have been able to do it if they had tried. A port would have been nice and really brought something to the collection. Even just a movie as most non-Sonic fans would not even be aware of it's existence would have been interesting to see.
CHEATS AND TIPS
Old Skool Codes
For each of the Sonic games, the cheats are the same as their original counterparts. Check out the pages for each game for the cheats via the links above.
You will have to perform some button translation if using the default configuration.
Gamecube Mega Drive/Genesis
B A
A B
X C
Unlocking The Extra Games
Games are unlocked depending on how many times they are played. This simply means loading the game. You need only run the game long enough to access the title screen and then exit.
Sonic Team fans are awarded these games more quickly if there are save states from other games present on the system.
To access the unlocked games you will have to exit the games menu back to the main menu then back into the games menu to be notified that a game has been unlocked.
Game Unlocked Notification
Unlock Blue Spheres Game (Sonic 1 and Knuckles)
Load Sonic The Hedgehog and Sonic 3D Blast 20 times each.
If there is a save file from Phantasy Star Online Episode 1 and 2 present, then this is unlocked automatically.
For a list of some passwords checkout the Sonic and Knuckles page.
Unlock Knuckles in Sonic 2 (Sonic 2 and Knuckles)
Load Sonic The Hedgehog 2 and Sonic Spinball 20 times.
Unlock Sonic 3 and Knuckles
Load Sonic The Hedgehog 3 and Sonic & Knuckles 20 times to unlock this massive game.
Unlock Flicky
Load Dr Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine 30 times.
If there is a save file from Sonic Adventure 2 Battle present then this is unlocked automatically.
Unlock Ristar
Ristar is unlocked when Blue Spheres, Knuckles in Sonic 2 and Sonic 3 & Knuckles have been loaded 30 times.
Cheats
DOFEEL - Time Attack
ILOVEU - Level Select
MUSEUM - Fight only Bosses
MIEMIE - See hidden items
MAGURO - Tone deaf sounds
SUPER - Super hard mode
SUPERB - Very hard difficulty
XXXXXX - cancels all codes
Different versions of Sonic The Hedgehog (1)
The PAL version of SMC supports the 60Hz option which allows the game to be played at full screen at its original speed but allows either the US/European or Japanese Ver 2 iterations to be played.
The default version loaded is the tweaked Japanese original. If the standard 50Hz mode is selected the cheat no longer works and only the PAL (US/European) version can be played.
Differences between this and the first US/EUR and Japanese release is a few graphical effects - mostly moving clouds and rippling water.
To play the earlier US/European versions of the game select Sonic The Hedgehog and on the next screen describing the controls press Up, Z, Down, Z, Left, Z, Right Z. A sound will play and 'US' will appear next to the screenshot.
The play the bug fixed Japanese version, select Sonic The Hedgehog and on the next screen describing the controls press Z,Z,Z,Z,Z,Z,Z,Z,Z, Up, Down, Left, Right. Next to the screen shot will be JP2.
The Japanese version 2 fixes the well known spike bug where Sonic continues to take damage on spikes even when he's flashing which you will most likely encounter in Green Hill Zone.
MISC INFO
- Release Dates Europe 07/03/03 US 15/11/02 Japan 19/12/02
- Initially there were plans to include Sonic CD in the collection. Hackers discovered menu elements and a copy of the European manual inside an image of the game. We could speculate that the reasons for the game being dropped were SEGA's lack of knowledge about Mega-CD/SEGA-CD emulation or lack of space on the DVD which is the lamest of all excuses.
Related
SEGA Mega Drive/Genesis Console Feature
Sonic Mega Collection Plus Feature
