SEGA Classics Collection (Sony PlayStation 2, 2005)

Perfect for any Sega fan, for the most part.

As the name would state, this is a compilation disk of over 10 fun and unique games released over the years by Sega. Unlike most compilation disks however like Sega's own 'Sonic Mega Collection' and 'Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection', rather than just containing straight roms of the games, this compilation stands above others by containing enhanced remakes of some of Sega's most beloved arcade games.

Present here are 4 of my personal favorites; Space Harrier, Fantasy Zone, Outrun, and Bonanza Brothers. Along with them are Golden Axe, Virtua Racing, Monaco GP, Tant-R, Alien Syndrome, and for some reason, Columns.

As far as the highly touted graphical enhancement is concerned, the visuals are terribly unsatisfying. Every game is presented in 3D but most of them; especially Golden Axe are so blocky, dim, and dirty looking, they look like Sega Saturn games.

Some look slightly better than others, but that's because; through research I've found that most of these games are from a whole other compilation series only released in Japan called Sega Ages, all of which have differing graphic boosts. It actually makes me wish we in America could have that series; since it has great enhanced ports of the Phantasy Star series, After Burner, Virtual-On, Gunstar Heroes, Fighting Vipers, and many more.

Instead we get Columns... I must ask, why does Columns need a remake? And why does it need to be on this collection? While that might be a weak addition, it's not quite as bad as Golden Axe. Don't get me wrong, Golden Axe is a difficult and extremely fun series, but I don't remember the levels in the original arcade being this long, this drab, and this monotonous.

Aside from those two, the rest of the collection fairs quite well. All games have multiplayer, some even going up to four simultaneous players. The most fun game for this however, is Bonanza Brothers, since it's built specifically around teamwork and team competition.

There's also quite a great variety here, with racing, puzzle, shooting, rail shooting, beat-'em up, and mini game. What's mind boggling though is how there's no fighting game like Virtua Fighter or Fighting Vipers when one of Sega's greatest achievements is creating the 3D fighting game genre.

All and all, this is a decent collection: rather paltry considering how huge Sega Ages is, some of the games look nowhere near as good as they should, and some look and play worse than their original incarnations. If one would want to play Sega games, than it'd probably be better to go with "Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection," with it's huge line-up, and picture perfect emulation. But if you're a Sega fan and aren't willing to spend a fortune importing Sega Ages, this is as close as you'll get.

Sega Classics collection is a remake collection of some pretty decent games from the eighties and nineties. Instead of releasing them in their original format they were redesigned and released in a sort of 3D format which basically ruins the games for any fans of the originals.

The compilation includes remakes of Fantasy Zone, Golden Axe, Monaco GP, Tant R/Bonanza, Alien Syndrome, Columns, Outrun, V.R. (Virtual Racing), and Space Harrier. Most of these games I never even heard of let alone played. Golden Axe, one of my favorites, was basically completely redone with fancy cut scenes and extra un-needed graphics. What made the game fun was the campiness and the original gameplay not the Final Fantasy style CGI scenes which are now included when you use magic. At least you can still play in the two player mode which keeps some of the original game intact.

Space Harrier, Outrun, Monaco GP, and Virtua Racing are still ok games that will give you a "hey, I remember playing that" memory flashback but that's about it. The rest of the games, except Golden Axe, are basically unknowns and aren't worth waiting for them to load in.

If you're looking to play some classic games buy Midway Arcade Treasures (PS2). This has over twenty classic video games including Defender, Joust, Gauntlet, Rampage, Robotron 2084, Spy Hunter and much more!

If you like classic Sega games, then you'll like this compilation for the PS2. The graphics are a little updated but the game play is still the same as the classics. My favorites are Outrun and Golden Axe. It's a blast back to the past but it can get a little boring after a while. But if you just want to go back to the 80's for while then this is for you.

I got this for virtua racing which i own as an import. Before i had to use a special disc to play it but this is for u.s. consoles. This is a great collection of old games but remade. Some are almost just ports and some are complete remakes. Virtua racing is almost arcade perfect but it's actually better. The screen doesn't shake a lot and the graphics are slightly cleaner then the arcade but keep the look of the arcade. There are a few extra features but for the most part it's the arcade spiced up a slight amount.

If you are a classic Sega fan, you owe it to yourself to get this compilation! All of the games still have their arcade feel, but have been seriously upgraded. Not much to complain about here!