Sega Mega Drive Classics
BLAST processing hits The CURRENT consoles
When it comes to Mega Drive emulation inconsistent is perhaps the best word to sum up Sega’s official output. Its 3DS ports have been absolutely phenomenal, offering endless emulation options and being virtually indistinguishable from the real thing, Sega Forever on IOS, however has been more disappointing (although numerous updates have made a big difference to it). So where does Sega’s latest effort lay? Somewhere between them if we’re honest.
It starts off well with an excellent animated intro that sees various game characters rushing around the screen in order to form a Mega Drive. The presentation is good as well, with the setting for the compilation featuring the same virtual room that the earlier PC version uses. You can go over to nearby shelves and choose from the 52 available games, play certain games online, check scoreboards, compete in challenges and even play on a virtual TV, rather than play with a full screen.
Playing in fullscreen mode gives you the option of choosing from various funky borders or simply stretching the image to fill a widescreen TV (something we wouldn’t recommend) there are also several filters you can use and the ability to add scanlines. Interestingly, the scanlines don’t currently work when you play fullscreen but they do on the PC version, so we’d imagine this should get fixed via an update. While the presentation of Sega Mega Drive Classics is great, the emulation itself isn’t quite as good.
The Mega Drive’s sound chip always seems to cause issues for coders and it’s no different here. For the most part, it’s fine and many will be hard-pressed to tell the difference, but every now and then we did notice an odd stutter and the occasional hissing and popping on certain pieces of music. Considering
how excellent M2’s 3DS offerings are, it’s disappointing that the same quality hasn’t been achieved here.
Another issue we’ve noticed is input lag. It’s only a couple of frames at most and for many it won’t be noticeable at all (it certainly hasn’t ruined our enjoyment of the games) but it is there and, like the C64 Mini, it could become more of an issue depending on your TV. Interestingly, we didn’t notice any on the PC version that’s already available, so we’re confident it can be fixed. It’s still disappointing, but thankfully, there’s plenty about the new compilation that Sega does get right.
For starters that range of games is largely excellent and covers virtually all of the big hitters that Sega released or published on the system. Sonic 3 and the Ecco games are bafflingly absent, but you’ve otherwise got the cream of Sega’s Mega Drive output and most genres are represented meaning that no matter your gaming tastes, you should find plenty of games to enjoy. There’s a distinct lack of racing games (most likely due to licences) but many of Sega’s arcade conversions of the time are here, as well as the vast majority of Treasure’s output. This is particularly interesting as the likes of Alien Soldier not only pushed the Mega Drive to its limits, but are now insanely expensive to buy, which further adds to the value of Sega’s compilation.
Of course, with so many games included it’s inevitable that a few duffers feature, but in general the quality is high, with weak links, including the likes of Space Harrier 2, Super Thunder Blade, Virtua Fighter 2 and Fatal Labyrinth.
Sega has also been paying attention to other compilations and Mega Drive Classics also features a cool challenge mode, which is similar to the one found on the magnificent Rare Replay. There are 20 challenges and they range from finishing the second stage of Streets Of Rage II without picking anything up to collecting all 123 photons found on the second stage of Vector Man 2. They vary in difficulty challenge, from easy to ridiculous, but they should still take you a good time to get through.
Other additions that Sega have included are four save points for each game (highly useful for the many included RPGS) the ability to fast forward or rewind, as well as an interesting mirror image mode that effectively flips the games and makes them surprisingly tough to play. There’s also the option to switch regions as well, meaning you can play the uncut version of Bare Knuckle 3, although not all games include this neat little option.
It’s certainly not perfect, but Sega Mega Drive Classics still manages to represent great value for money due to the sheer quality of games that are included. The niggling emulation issues are a shame, particularly when placed up against the M2 3DS games, but it shouldn’t stop you from enjoying some of the finest games to ever grace Sega’s 16-bit console.
In a nutshell
There are some annoying emulation issues, but there’s no denying the sheer quality of the vast majority of included games and the many extras Sega has added. A good effort that should certainly please fans of the classic console.