Sonic Gems Collection

So when SEGA released its first Sonic compilation, Sonic Mega Collection, fans of the blue-hued speed demon snatched it up. Lucky for them, Mega Collection offered enough Sonic goodness to conjure a mean case of nostalgia. Regardless, fans wanted more. Sure, they got a chance to revisit the first three Sonic the Hedgehog games, as well as Sonic & Knuckles, but where was Sonic CD? Where were all those other Sonic titles?

Apparently, they were all hiding in Sonic Gems Collection, the second compilation to come from SEGA starring its most cherished and well-known character. Fans will greatly appreciate that Sonic CD made the cut this time, as well as a few other noticeable additions, including Sonic R and Sonic the Fighters. In addition to these three games, which together form Mega Collection's main attraction, there are six Sonic Game Gear titles and two unlockable games as well.

Not a bad list of games by any stretch. But how do they stack up to today's paltformers, fighters and racing games? Apart from diehard Sonic nuts, will anyone else want to buy Sonic Gems Collection? The answer is maybe. Thing is, if you didn't like Sonic to begin with, you really won't like it today. Modern games put these SEGA classics to shame in terms of visual and aural presentation. And as far as gameplay goes, you're either a Sonic fan or you're not. Simple as that.

Then again, Mega Collection features two games, Sonic R and Sonic the Fighters that certain US gamers may have missed. Sonic the Fighters, for one, never saw a home release and never swept through US arcades. Sonic R, while somewhat clunky in terms of execution, shipped for the Sega Saturn but never really found an audience. Combined, these titles provide a non-nostalgic reason to check out Gems Collection. The two "secret" unlockable games, Vectorman 1 and 2 both offered some of the best platform action of the 16-bit era.