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SEGA Classics Collection Review
PlayStation 2 Review by Graham Swann
This, as the Americans might say, is the darndest thing. On the surface it looks like a cracking deal, what with you getting not one, not two, not even three or between four and seven, but an incredible eight old Sega arcade games remade for PlayStation 2. Sega made the best old arcade machines ever, and now you're getting eight of them for 20 quid. What an amazing deal! It looks too good to be true!
And as with all bargains that look too good to be true, this one quickly falls apart under close scrutiny from Nicky Campbell and the Watchdog team. The quality of the conversions and upgrades is the big problem here - almost every game is a disappointing bland and underwhelming rehash.
What Sega - or the weird offshoot of Sega Japan responsible for these remakes - has done is not simply emulate the old games. Everything has been stripped down and rebuilt using today's modern '3D' graphics technology. So here we get polygon-based, more-than-16-colour-using remakes, that paste more colours over the original gameplay so 'the kids' think they're get the hot new stuff. But they're not.
The puzzling thing about these remakes is the way they look like PSone games, or at least some weird versions remade for a particularly powerful mobile phone. Don't think you're getting full-power PlayStation 2 graphics. It's disappointment all the way.
It's Columns. You really don't need to buy it AGAIN.
Take Golden Axe. No, really, take it. We got bored of playing it over a decade ago, and god knows why Sega insists on remaking it and re-releasing it every time it makes some duff old retro compilation for yet another format.
Here, Golden Axe has been rebuilt with spindly 3D characters and a '3D effect' scrolling floor. It's so heartbreakingly rubbish. If you're going to remake the characters in 3D, why not make them big, chunky, cool and sexy? PS2 can handle it. And also make them move properly while you're at it. Columns is part of this pack too, which must be the second most whored-out, emulated, retro-repackaged and tired old game in all of Sega's glorious back catalogue. Flipping heck, Sega, invent something new.
The best one on here is Virtua Racing. PS2 is powerful enough to do the original game justice and it's not yet been featured on any other retro compilations so feels quite new. At least, as new as a 13-year-old game ever can.
Thankfully, Virtua Racing has been left alone. They haven't crudely pasted textures over everything to make it look more modern as they've done for OutRun and Golden Axe. Instead, VR is pretty much arcade perfect - pop-up, triangular trees, road-built-out-of-tarmac-squares and all. If you're after a decent, smooth version of Virtua Racing to play in your house, Sega Ages Collection might just be worth 20 quid.
Appalling 3D remake. Charmless and ugly.
But the rest of the games are just plain dull. Take what they've done to OutRun. You don't mess with OutRun! The one thing you don't ever do is take the beautiful, beloved, fondly remembered classic and rebuild it in duff 3D. It's like McFly doing a cover version of Bohemian Rhapsody and expecting us to be grateful.
It's playable, but not right. Again, it looks like an awkward halfway house game positioned between Sega Saturn-standard graphics and something off the PC in 1999. The newer, 3D graphics have been stuck over the top of the same old 2D play of the original, 20-year-old OutRun, which confuses the brain. The poor brain is expecting something new, not the same simple OutRun handling only with 3D backdrops. It just doesn't cut it as a modern game. If this was an accurate emulation you'd be prepared to forgive its simplicity, but as a supposedly enhanced remake it's just inadequate.
Monaco GP is a weird choice. It's a top-down arcade game, that's been remade in a top-down style. So it's a bit prettier. Why do that? We should at least be getting Super Monaco GP, the infinitely better and 3D-er arcade sequel. You also get Space Harrier, Bonanza Brothers and Fantasy Zone, the latter of which has been made to look like a SNES Mario game and is actually quite a laugh for a hard old 2D shooter.
And there's another saving grace - we're very happy that Streets of Rage isn't on this collection. If Sega messed with SoR we'd have no option but to officially hand over our Sega Fan Badge and Virtua Cop light gun in protest. The day Sega ruins Streets of Rage 2 is the day Sega dies to us. Seriously.
The gem in the collection. 'Virtua'lly arcade perfect
This whole collection isn't exactly doing the mighty Sega brand any favours. It's not reliving happy Sega memories, it's annihilating and destroying them and there's absolutely no need for this to exist. If you're a hardcore retro gamer you either want to play the originals as they were meant to be or you'll already own the things in some emulated format or compilation. What you don't need is a bunch of half-hearted upgrades that ruin your sunny, youthful memories.
And, if you're a modern, fashionable youth into today's hottest and newest video games, you're not going to be best pleased with a pile of quite shoddy efforts. If you want to play something by Sega that's remade and new, get OutRun2 on Xbox, and if you've already got that wait a few weeks and get OutRun2 Coast 2 Coast. That's almost certainly going to be vastly better than anything on here.
In short, this isn't going to please anyone, apart from the few of you who are after a decent Virtua Racing for the lounge. Sega, if you want to really please your fans, stop messing around with stuff like this and make us a Daytona USA that works on Xbox 360 or something, and use that Model 2 emulator from Sega Rally 2006 to do the ultimate Model 2 arcade compilation. And put Columns back in the cupboard. If we get another version of Golden Axe in three year's time we're not going to be happy.
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spidermanalf
07/02/06 @ 08:17
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Played G/Axe at my mates the other day, I stayed at teh left side pounding punch, he at the right, talking and drinking, only concentrating really on the last few levels where you have the stupid platformy bits, and completed it.
Very dissapointing. 4/10 is just about right! shame really as lets face it, all you need is a mod chip and a emulator and you have all the classics anyway, but thats naughty! As an aside I bought Virtua racing for 60 quid in HMV when it first came out! 2nd most expensive game I ever bought!
Edited 1 times,
most recently on 07/02/06 @ 08:17
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monkey_man
07/02/06 @ 08:29
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"It's like McFly doing a cover version of Bohemian Rhapsody..."
Some dalendless shids called G4 did a cover of this last year; you must have seen it, they were all over GMTV... |
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8 player daytona over xblive would make my year. I'd even pay 1200 points for it, like that rip off billiards game.
/imagines shouting 'UP!' into headset while nudging mates into that aggro pointy bit just before the tunnel (advanced track 4tw!) btw, NOT daytona2 thanks Sega. /awaiting your entry. |
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reality_cheque
07/02/06 @ 09:22
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I too would pay 1200 points for Daytona. I still play it in arcades whenever I get the opportunity.
They should release Streets of Rage 2 for XBL, so I can see if I can still finish it with 9 lives left on uber difficulty. Blaze kicks all kinds of ass. |
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"Do you guys have some kind of 'random reviewer name generator' hooked up now, or what?"
I was gonna say the same thing, Blerk. Let's just help 'em out, shall we? Robert Bukaris Shawn Wallmark Patricia Ghimmels Bere Sukal Miguel Schwarzheinz Gebo Simmons Ars Selis Salvia Morena Massa Palacarabassa |
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Rev. Stuart Campbell
07/02/06 @ 09:48
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Seriously - you should all have your consoles taken away from you by big men with scars, and smashed up in front of your eyes with a steel bar.
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Is Bonanza Bros. that side-scrolling platform cops 'n' thieves game, where you took control of two thieves (a tall thin one and a short fat one) trying to grab some booty without getting caught? It was funny, if memory serves... Does anyone know if it has been included in any other SEGA compilation ?
@ Campbell: Thanks for replying. Cheers.
Edited 1 times,
most recently on 07/02/06 @ 10:44
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Rev. Stuart Campbell
07/02/06 @ 10:13
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No, this is the first ever release of the arcade Bonanza Bros (as opposed to the not-very-good home ports of the 16-bit era).
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Come on then Campbell, what's your beef?
Just looking at that screenshot of Golden Axe is making my brain cry. And pah to anyone claiming to be sick of Golden Axe, including made-up reviewers - if Sega made an entirely Golden Axe-based compilation (Golden Axe, Revenge of Death=Adder, that shitty one-on-one fighter they did and, er, a new one or something) I'd be all over it like ugly on an ape. |
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Rev. Stuart Campbell
07/02/06 @ 10:50
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"Come on then Campbell, what's your beef?"
Christ, I hardly even know where to start. 1. The exact same reviewer, just a few days ago, gave 6/10 to a full-price release of Sega Rally 2006, a racing game acknowledged by the review as duff, but accompanied by a good port of a classic Sega arcade racer. (Albeit one missing substantial content compared to the previously-released Saturn version.) Now we've got a perfect port of another classic Sega arcade racer, with a lot MORE content than the coin-op, at HALF normal price, but accompanied by a ton of extra stuff the reviewer thinks is poor, and it scores LOWER? Huh? 2. The original version of Out Run is widely available already. It's in Outrun 2, it's in Shenmue 2, it's on emulator, it's on the Saturn, it's on the Dreamcast. What in the name of Buddy Jesus would be the point of punting it out yet again on here? The Ages version is in fact enormously better - nicer-looking, smoother, and accompanied by what's effectively a complete sequel, with all-new tracks and new gameplay elements and a time-trial mode and more. Play the original then the Ages versions for yourself one after the other, and see what a chump anyone who prefers the flickery, juddery original is. For a more detailed, less idiotic review of the Ages game, look here: http://worldofstuart.excellentcontent.com/review-outrun.htm And what the reviewer is wibbling on about by talking about its "2D gameplay" (as opposed to which other racers?), God only knows. 3. If this compilation contained only Virtua Racing and Out Run Ages for 20 quid, it'd be an awesome bargain. In fact you get seven other games thrown in too: - Golden Axe, which was rubbish in arcades and is rubbish now. Fair enough. (Although I can't help chuckling at the reviewer dissing GA while singing the praises of Streets Of Rage, which is to all intents and purposes EXACTLY THE SAME GAME.) - Bonanza Bros, an arcade-perfect port of a fun little game, and one never before available in its proper coin-op incarnation. Well worth at least a tenner on its own. - Tant-R, an amusingly weird party minigame thing. Not amazing, but it'll certainly provide some entertainment. - Space Harrier, an excellent remake featuring a sparing and well-judged collection of additions to the original. If you want the arcade-perfect original, once again it's widely available on Saturn, Dreamcast, Xbox (in Shenmue), emulator, 32X and more. Eaily worth another tenner on its own. - Fantasy Zone, a polished-up version of one of the best shooting games of its era, still challenging and addictive and cute now. Definitely worth another few quid. (And indeed, all these games were standalone releases when they first came out in Japan, and did well enough that the series is now up to about 25 titles.) - Monaco GP, which has messed-up controls rendering the "Arrange" mode all but unplayable, but whose "Classic" mode is a fun little brainless arcade twitch game, ideal for kids (the only controls being accelerate, left and right, and the average game lasting just 90 seconds) or after-pub high-score contests, and certainly worth the TWO POUNDS AND TWENTY-TWO SODDING PENCE that's being asked for it here (ie less than the average Spectrum budget game in 1993). Oh, and complaining that it isn't Super Monaco GP is a bit like complaining that Ridge Racer 6 isn't Super Sprint. The two games were in no way related to each other, and frankly Super Monaco GP was a pile of arse. (And in any event, is also widely available on other formats already.) - Columns, which is a fairly pointless addition that yet again is widely available elsewhere, but still a pretty good game if you don't already have it. So to sum up: Two completely brilliant games (three if you legitimately count Out Run's Arrange mode as being effectively a sequel), three really good ones, a couple of okay ones and one real duffer. For 20 quid. (Or, if you buy it from play.com, £15 delivered.) And THAT gets you 4 out of 10? Jesus, no wonder companies don't bother trying to give gamers value for money if that's the thanks they get. No wonder they just churn out unadorned collections of half-arsed MAME ports instead. This is the worst review I've ever seen on EG, not because the opinion differs from mine but because the reviewer can't even be consistent with himself, far less with the context of other game releases (Midway Arcade Treasures 3 got 5/10, and there isn't a SINGLE decent game on that). I bet if this had just been a £19.99 release of Virtua Racing on its own it would have scored at least five or six, but the reviewer seems to have actually DOCKED it points for including a whole load of extra games, and for not just churning out shovelware ports of games you can get in a dozen other ways already if that's what you want. Awful. Just awful.
Edited 2 times,
most recently on 07/02/06 @ 11:20
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4/10? Sounds about right. None of these games were in need of "newer, better" graphics, and Golden Axe 3D is really quite ugly. At least these are released as a compilation in Europe, Japanese gamers had to buy these remakes seperately.
I'm all for retro compilations and re-releases but they shouldn't mess with the classics. I bought the Japanese version of PC Kid (Bonk's Adventure) for Gamecube the other day, only to find out it was a new version with updated 3D graphics. Gameplay was spot on, but it made me fire up the Magic Engine emulator to properly get my retro fix. |
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MrGrumpy.au
07/02/06 @ 11:17
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I almost bought this last weekend just for Virtua Racing, now I'm not sure whether to pick it up or not. 4/10 but it has an arcade perfect port of VR (minus system linkup, I guess) is it worth it just for one title?
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reality_cheque
07/02/06 @ 11:41
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How can you say Golden and and SOR are the same game? They're both sideways scrolling beat-em-ups, but then so are a lot of games. That's like saying Halo and Counterstrike are the same because they're both multiplayer FPS.
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PearOfAnguish
07/02/06 @ 11:49
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Rev. Stuart Campbell = Guerilla marketeer. No doubt in my mind. At all.
And you are very, very wrong. http://www.worldofstuart.co.uk/
Edited 1 times,
most recently on 07/02/06 @ 11:50
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> And you are very, very wrong.
> http://www.worldofstuart.co.uk/ > There's someone in the universe who doesn't know who Stuart is? You're deaf, > right? :-) I stand corrected! My apologies Stuart. In my defence I never was much into Sensi-Soccer et. al. I still wouldn't buy this collection though. |
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D_arkTrooper
07/02/06 @ 12:00
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Had this on pre-order for ages from Play.com but cancelled it just before release.However the prospect of having a decent version of Virtua Racing has proved too strong so Ive ordered it again (thanks Blerk for the heads up on PowerplayDirect).
Use this code > POW1 < to get it for 11.99.
Edited 1 times,
most recently on 07/02/06 @ 12:41
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reality_cheque
07/02/06 @ 13:27
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I dunno, some people think that because they're associated with Amiga Power (incidentally my all time favourite games mag - TANKY TANKY! - even if it was only out on time once) they can compare SOR to Golden Gash in any other sentence than "Streets of Rage is infinitely better than Golden Axe" (unless they're talking SOR1 or 3, which were both pants)
"All time favourite games mag vs All time favourite sideways scrolling beat-em-up" is no competition a man should ever have to judge.
Edited 1 times,
most recently on 07/02/06 @ 13:27
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reality_cheque
07/02/06 @ 13:53
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Was ST Power religiously about a week late being released too? :) Hang on... ST Power, ST Power... that would imply you owned an ST? :O I've never met one of you types before... :P
I always considered my dream machine (well, when I was 12) to have the Amiga graphics chipset and Kickstart software, and the sound parts from an Atari. |
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Googly eyes
07/02/06 @ 14:51
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It's really a terrible collection. Virtua Racing needed two things fixed - The awful headache inducing sound your tires make even on the most gentle corner and more replayability (at least the 32X version had a good difficulty balance and a decent front end and options ). The Tournament mode and Free Play are a joke while the Arcade mode will just last you a day.
The less said about the other games the better. |
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reality_cheque
07/02/06 @ 15:18
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It was a sad day when atari stopped making hardware, commodore seemed to just stop trying after that. Still, at least they're making games now, unlike Sega who seem to be making bookends.
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PearOfAnguish
07/02/06 @ 15:23
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Not really Atari though, just Infogrames using the brand name to flog garbage like Driv3r.
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yagisencho
07/02/06 @ 19:27
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Sega got the message from fans. They scrapped their original plans to 3D-ize/doll-up the back catalog. Now they're releasing the original versions complete with fan extras. My only regret is that they weren't able to remake Phantasy Star 4. :(
Additional (unadulterated versions of) games in the series: Puyo Puyo 2 Perfect Set Virtua Fighter 2 Dragonforce Fighting Vipers SDI & Quartet Space Harrier 2 / Space Harrier Complete Collection (including original arcade version) Gunstar Heroes Treasure Box (Gunstar Heroes, Dynamite Heady, Alien Soldier) Panzer Dragoon Last Bronx Galaxy Force 2 Oh, and Amiga Power FOREVER!
Edited 1 times,
most recently on 07/02/06 @ 19:28
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yagisencho
08/02/06 @ 01:42
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I wouldn't count on a European release, but the Treasure Box is due out in Japan on February 23rd. Yes, that's a mere two weeks away. \^_^/
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MrGrumpy.au
08/02/06 @ 07:05
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Being a "self confessed SEGA nut" I caved in and bought it.
So all I can say if you enjoy the older classic SEGA arcade titles then buy it otherwise you most probably will hate it. The trick to enjoying Virtua Racing & Outrun in this compilation is to hook up an old style Thrustmaster PSone wheel instead of the DS2, it made a world of difference to both games (haven't tried Monaco GP with it yet). One word of warning about these games, PAL has once again been shafted and almost every game has the ridiculous massive top & bottom black borders which a 60Hz option would have fixed (Virtua Racing seems to be the only game not to suffer from this). Why they still do this type of thing is beyond me! Anywhere between a 4/10 to 6/10 would be fair -> generous .
Edited 2 times,
most recently on 08/02/06 @ 07:19
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Rev. Stuart Campbell
08/02/06 @ 08:12
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If they're bordered 50Hz conversions I take back everything I said (I have the US version). Except the part about the awful review, because it's 2006 and if a reviewer isn't telling us something like that then they need fucking shooting.
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MrGrumpy.au
08/02/06 @ 09:16
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Yep they are definately bordered (except VR). :(
EDIT: See my post on the next page for the screen captures showing the problems. It's the PS2 DOA2 port all over again, at least there was a 60Hz option in that game, something that is sorely missing from the Classics Collection.
Edited 4 times,
most recently on 08/02/06 @ 11:29
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Where's this Golden Axe backlash come from? For almost 20 years I've been under the impression that everyone loved Golden Axe in an openly sexual way. Now I find out that everyone actually despises it with a venomous passion. And now Campbell's started cussing too. Society is crumbling! Run! Hide!
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MrGrumpy.au
08/02/06 @ 11:11
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PAL Border problems with this game (continued....)
I've captured images of all the games on the DVD to show the old 60Hz->50Hz PAL border conversion problem. ...............Click here............... This should not be happening with games released in 2006... |
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