Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection

sonics-ultimate-genesis-collection-box
8.0 Overall Score
Graphics: 6/10
Controls: 7/10
Gameplay: 8/10

Sega Genesis on your PS3 & Xbox 360

Some games have dated worse than others

Game Info

Game Name:  Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection

Developer(s):  Backbone Entertainment

Publisher(s):  Sega

Platform(s):  PS3/Xbox 360

Genre(s):  Compilation

Release Date(s):  February 10, 2009

ESRB Rating:  E10+

sonics-ultimate-genesis-collection-golden-axe

Burn baby, burn!

The Sega Genesis is back and Sonic the Hedgehog’s invited you to play.  With over 40 classic games, Sonic’s Ultimate GenesisCollection brings back your favorites and they are all on the next generation of game systems.

Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection (or sometimes just called Sonic’s UGC) is a nice grouping of some of the titles that made the Genesis a big player in the battle for the top home system.  A collection containing all the Sonics would be enough for most to buy this but you get most of the Genesis big titles like Ecco, Golden Ax, and Phantasy Star.  The games are also joined by a number of unlockable arcade games.

The package is smooth and does a great job presenting the games.  In addition to the normal games, the addition of Trophies and Achievements give you a bit of different direction on the games for the 360 and Playstation that allow you play the games in a different way for more variety.  Like many converted games however, the controls aren’t always ideal for the new more complex controllers (just give me a joystick and four buttons!)  Included on the game are interviews with some of the creators and original art from many of the games.

A complete list of games included on Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection:

Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle

Alien Storm

Altered Beast

Beyond Oasis

Bonanza Bros.

Columns

Comix Zone

Decap Attack

Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine

Dynamite Headdy

Ecco the Dolphin

Ecco:  The Tides of Time

ESWAT:  City Under Siege

Fatal Labyrinth

Flicky

Gain Ground

Golden Axe

Golden Axe II

Golden Axe III

Kid Chameleon

Phantasy Star II

Phantasy Star III:  Generations of Doom

Phantasy Star IV:  The End of the Millennium

Ristar

Shining Force:  The Legacy of Great Intention

Shining Force II:  The Ancient Seal

Shining in the Darkness

Shinobi III:  Return of the Ninja Master

Sonic the Hedgehog

Sonic the Hedgehog 2

Sonic the Hedgehog 3

Sonic & Knuckles

Sonic 3D Flickies Island/Blast

Sonic Spinball

Streets of Rage

Streets of Rage 2

Streets of Rage 3

Super Thunder Blade

Vectorman

Vectorman 2

Unlockable Games:

Alien Syndrome (Arcade)

Altered Beast (Arcade)

Congo Bongo (Arcade)

Fantasy Zone (Arcade)

Golden Axe Warrior (Sega Master System)

Phantasy Star (Sega Master System)

Shinobi (Arcade)

Space Harrier (Arcade)

Zaxxon (Arcade)

sonics-ultimate-genesis-collection-congo-bongo

Sonic’s UGC allows my sick obsession with Congo Bongo to continue

Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection is a must for fans of retro-games and kids that grew up with the Genesis.  I never had a Genesis so it is fun to finally get to play some of the games that my friends who had (in my opinion) the inferior Genesis when compared to the Nintendo/Super Nintendo.  Still there were games I wanted to play and now I get the chance.  It is also amazing to see some of these games and realize what a rip-off some of them would have been if you had paid full price at the time of their release.  Here you get them all for a nice affordable price so get your SEGA on!

Author: JPRoscoe View all posts by
Follow me on Twitter/Instagram/Letterboxd @JPRoscoe76! Loves all things pop-culture especially if it has a bit of a counter-culture twist. Plays video games (basically from the start when a neighbor brought home an Atari 2600), comic loving (for almost 30 years), and a true critic of movies. Enjoys the art house but also isn't afraid to let in one or two popular movies at the same time.

2 Comments on "Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection"

  1. Bolt_V3 May 14, 2012 at 10:06 am - Reply

    Can you play Sonic 3 & Knuckles, Sonic 2 & Knuckles, etc?

    I know the Sonic Mega Collection+ had that.

    • JPRoscoe May 14, 2012 at 10:18 am - Reply

      I didn’t know about the “Lock-On” ability of the original Sonic 2 and Sonic 3 that allowed you to play Knuckles in the game. According to Wikipedia these were left out of this collection because of time and it would have meant losing other games from the collection.

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