Title SEGA Genesis Classics
Developer SEGA
Publisher SEGA
Release Date May 29th. 2018
Genre Various
Platform PlayStation 4, Steam, Xbox One
Age Rating Teen
Official Website

When I was growing up, I was the spoiled kid on the block that had both the SNES and Sega Genesis so I never got really involved in the console wars back then. I still couldn’t tell you which system was my favorite to this day, since both have so many classic games that I love. When SEGA announced they were bringing a brand new collection of Genesis games to the PlayStation 4, I was excited to check it out.

The collection includes 50 Genesis titles and there is a wide range of genres covered here. Some of the titles included: Streets of Rage 1-3, Shinning Force 1 and 2, Columns 1 and 2, Eswat, Golden Axe 13, Sonic Spinball, Toe Jam and Earl 1 and 2, Kid Chameleon, Gunstar Heroes, Vectorman 1 and 2, Phantasy Star 24, and much more. There is even an option to select the region for certain titles. This makes a huge difference in Streets of Rage 3 since our version was broken during localization. It would be very hard to tell you which one of these games was my favorite since there are so many great ones included, but I do really love Streets of Rage 2!

SEGA Genesis Classics | Shinobi
16-bit hotness!

Graphically the games all look really good. The emulator will give several options to play around with until you get the look that suits you. Some of these options are pixel scaling, scanlines, border art choices, stretched full screen and even a mirror mode. The mirror mode is really neat since it lets you play these classic games backwards. You wouldn’t think Sonic would be harder this way, but it kinda is. These options can be adjusted anytime in game by holding down the touchpad. You can also play your games on the simulated monitor this way if you’d like. There’s even a setting to adjust the display curve if you want that true CRT feel.

SEGA Genesis Classics | Streets of Rage on CRT
Its like a TV in a TV!

The audio here is kinda a mixed bag. Most of the music and sound effects in each are faithfully represented here, but there is some slowdown in certain games. Streets of Rage 2 is a big offender on this one. There is also this issue where the audio, and actually the entire emulator, will freeze for just a split second. This appears to happen in every game and it is completely random. This doesn’t really break anything, but it is pretty annoying at times.

SEGA Genesis Classics | Emulator Options
Options are always good!

The controls in each game are pretty responsive and tight which makes playing each game feel great. There is online mulitplayer and SEGA has also added some quality of life stuff here such as save states and a new feature that allows you to rewind or fast forward gameplay. That’s right, by using L2 and R2 on the controller you can fast forward or rewind you current game at will. Die by falling in a pit, just rewind and it try again. Its also really interesting to play Sonic while fast forwarding, this is true blast processing!

SEGA Genesis Classics | Bare Knuckle boss
This boss sure looks different in the Japanese version 😀

I have to say, I had a lot of fun revisiting these games after all these years. The 50 titles included certainly covers a lot of the greatest classics on the system, but it would’ve been nice to have the extra titles that were in Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection such as Fantasy Zone, Golden Axe Warrior and Phantasy Star. The lag in audio and split second freezing are kinda annoying, but this really is a minor issue. I’d have to say if you are a fan of classic Genesis games for $40 you will likely get a ton of enjoyment out of this one. I mean that makes these games less that $1 each and that is a bargain in any universe!

Review Score
Overallwww.dyerware.comwww.dyerware.comwww.dyerware.comwww.dyerware.comwww.dyerware.com

Game provided by Play-Asia. If you would like a copy of your own please use our link below.

 

 

Steve Baltimore
Steve started with oprainfall not long after the campaign moved from the IGN forums to Facebook. Ever since, he has been fighting to give all non-mainstream RPGs a fair voice. As the site admin, he will continue to do this and even show there is value in what some would deem "pure ecchi." He loves niche games and anime more than anything... well, except maybe Neptune.