Review #784: Sega Classics Collection

 It's Sega.... on a budget!

 Sega Classics Collection is not yet another of Sega's various recompilation of their games. I mean, it is another compilation, but instead of reuniting its Arcade classics, it actually reunites a series of Japan only stand-alone releases of low-budget 3-D remakes of a few of their Arcade games. And I'm not kidding when I say low-budget, the graphics look like something out of a Playstation 1.5 and the gameplay can sometimes feel a bit janky. That said, these were very basic Arcade games in the first place, so even at its worst not much is lost. If you're up for alternate but not alienating takes on Outrun, Space Harrier, Columns, Bonanza Bros, Virtua Racing, Monaco GP, Tant R, Golden Axe, Fantasy Zone and Alien Syndrome, well, look no further.

 Outrun

 I really like Outrun. I mean, Outrun 2006 on PS2 is one of my favorite games of all time, and I won't lie, this Outrun remake is a big part of why I sought out this collection. And I'm happy to report that it's pretty dope!

 Outrun is not your average racing game, but rather, it's a driving game of you against the clock, you're constantly driving forward trying to get no the next checkpoint, and get a time boost, while avoiding curves and traffic. You get to pick different routes in between checkpoints by taking picking either the right or left fork at the end of every 'section'. This remake is more than just skindeep, but alongside 'Arcade' mode, that plays like the original, we also get Time Attack and Arrange. Arrange is what really matters, and I suggest jumping straight into it, for you see, it adds a completely new set of zones, heck, it adds MORE zones, for you see, a run in Arcade Mode lasts 7 sections, and it also adds Rivals to compete against, like Outrun 2006.

 While I managed to get into, and wound up loving, the drifting system in Outrun 2006, I'll admit that I've never been too good at the original Outrun. Thankfully, this game adds way to tweak the experience to your liking, you can select difficulty settings and increase your starting time. I think this is the first time I've ever managed to finish Outrun, and thanks to this, you can turn the game into a very chill experience, which is something I really liked. While you can pick any of the original music tracks to race with, you can also pick from 3 new remixes. The only issue I can think of with this Remake is that sometimes the camera angles are too low, so it gets a bit hard seeing any traffic in front of you.

 Overall, and I'm writing this before playing the next 9 games, I'll claim right here and now that this collection is worth it for this game alone. I don't care if what comes next is garbage, this is a very neat version of Outrun to own.
 8.0 out of 10

Columns

 I'm too slow in the head for this game, I don't feel any shame in admitting that. It's a bit like Tetris, since you have things coming down, but what actually falls are columns made out of three gems. You can press buttons to shift the order of the gems, your goal being to make vertical, horizontal or diagonal lines between gems of the same color. As you play the game and score higher, the gems will start dropping faster. I'm really bad at this game, which probably tinted how much I actually enjoyed it.

 The game can be played in Endless, VS Player and VS CPU, but you can also pick between two HUDs for Endless mode. There's the classic look to the game, which is very basic and a bit rough, just like it used to be, but there's also the new HUD that makes everything sleeker and prettier, now gems actually rotate on their spots, which is just a cosmetic visual effect, but adds more life to the game.

 I won't lie, I don't care about Columns. I'm not good at it, but the game doesn't interest me enough to want me to get good at it. Still, for what it's worth, it's not a bad take on the falling blocks type of puzzle games, and it has value in this collection since it adds something different from the rest of the games.
 6.0 out of 10

Tant R

 I didn't know that this game existed, but... it's Sega's very own WarioWare, for you see, this is a minigame collection. At first I didn't really like it too much, but it quickly grew on me. There are about 20 different minigames and they are rather fun, things like sharpening pencils by rotating the analog stick, put on the brakes on your car at the right time, figure out in which coffin Dracula is hiding through hints, stop a timer at the right time, put an 8 block picture in the right order and the such. It's not as bonkers as WarioWare, but I'm sure that for its era it was quite wacky. You can play the main game with another player, or play Free Mode with either 2 or 4 player, which is pretty neat.

 As far as the remake goes... I think they sharpened up the 2-D sprites, but not much work was put on sprucing up the presentation. Regardless, it's a pretty fun game for a short while.
 7.0 out of 10

Bonanza Bros.

 Bonanza Bros is actually somewhat hidden with Tant R, and is yet another game that keeps its 2-D look, heck, I don't think they changed it much. Regardless, it's a fun light stealth game in which you must infiltrate buildings and steal their valuables before escaping. You can hide on back planes, shoot to stun enemy cops or smash them on the wall when you open a door they are standing next to. By your lonesome it's a bit average, but with it's a fun time when played with another player.
 6.5 out of 10

Virtua Racing

 A racing game that I sorta kinda maybe think it looks better than the original, but not by much. It offers Arcade, Grand Prix, Free Mode and 2P, as well as 6 different tracks. The game is sorta fun, but I'm not a fan of the checkpoint system, for you see, while you have to run a certain amount of laps, you're also against a timer, and you only get time by passing checkpoints through each lap. It's weird. It's fun at times, but overall, pretty forgettable.
 5.0 out of 10

 Monaco GP

 Finally we're back with budget 3-D remakes! This is a top-down driving game that offers three modes: Arcade, Grand Prix, Time Attack and Versus Player. The game can be played in both Original and Classic modes. Original is very straightforward, the road might twist or curve a bit, but for the most part, you're moving in a straight line. Classic adds proper curves, but you must turn your car with the shoulder buttons, which is pretty original. You can also jump and grab power ups. The game is a bit boring, but the biggest issue is the framerate, any time there are more than two cars on screen at the same time the framerate will take a hit.
 4.5 out of 10

Fantasy Zone

 This remake is actually quite pretty because we get cellshaded models for the player ship and the enemies. It has three modes: Normal, Arcade and Challenge. Regardless, all modes have the same objective: You, as a flying ship, find and destroy big enemies until the boss arrives. Enemies drop coins that you can use to purchase temporary power ups. The main difference between Normal and Arcade seems to be that Normal doesn't have a story but has bonus rounds after bosses. Challenge Mode lets you pick from any stage, and purchase power ups for use in Normal and Arcade modes.

 Overall? It's a bit boring and it froze on me once.
 4.0 out of 10

Alien Syndrome

 The surprise wonder of this collection, I had played the original Alien Syndrome on one of Sega's other game collections, and I didn't really like it. But this one? This one is pretty good. It's a very basic top-down shooter in which you play as a space soldier thing that visits various spaceships, and after your character sets up the bomb, must rescue a minimum amount of alien prisoners before you can get to the exit, while under the bomb's time limit, and fight the boss. A better idea would've been to set up the bomb AFTER rescuing everyone, but I guess our hero fails to plan ahead. It can be played with either 1 or 2 players.

 It's a very simple game, but it's very fun. There are a fair amount of weapons you can collect, such as bombs(useless), homing rockets(USELESS on the third boss, I had to restart the level), flame missiles(really good), a flamethrower and a laser(best weapon in the game). You can also collect option bits that will hover around you, shooting when you do, but you can also press another button to make them explode for tons of free damage. You can shoot ahead of you with X or shoot in a locked direction, allowing you to strafe, by using the circle button. It's six stages short, with a seventh boss at the end, and although it has a few framerate issues.... as a whole, it plays relatively well. I swear, I didn't expect it to be this much fun, but this game was a pleasant surprise.
 7.5 out of 10

Space Harrier

 The bad news? It's a very ugly version of Space Harrier. The good news? It's just as addictive. So, you know the deal, it's a third person endless runner(or flyer in this case), constantly moving forward. Sadly, you are harassed by incoming enemies. Thankfully you can fly around the screen and shoot them down. This version adds a few new novelties: Aside from mashing the Square button to shoot, you can hold down X to shoot a weak, homing laser as well as collect bombs that clear the screen from basic enemies and deal damage to bosses. Supposedly, R2 is rapid fire but it seems to need a cooldown period or something? It's not reliable. Just mash square. There are also floating power ups that I've no idea what they do, but the floating B is a protective shield.

 I hate the main character's redesign, and at first I hated the fact that they removed the running animation.... but it's still there, you just need to play on a flat stage. Stages and enemies are a bit drab and boring when compared to the original, but after stage 7 it gets a bit prettier. While there are no continues, which is a bit harsh at first, after you reach stage 6 you can start a new game from there. You can turn off Fractal mode for simpler graphics on the floor, and maybe you should, it's more colorful that way. Regardless, it's pretty faithful to the original game, but, in my opinion, the added gameplay mechanics don't amount to much and the new art style leaves a lot to be desired. It's not ugly due to technical reasons, but merely purely artistic ones.
 6.0 out of 10

Golden Axe

 The other reason I purchased this game. While I've always loved beat'em ups, I always thought Golden Axe was very lame, however, I used to own a copy of the Japanese release of this game, under the Sega Ages label, so I kinda had to get it back! And that's how I discovered this collection. That said and done, by the time I finished the game I have to admit that I had a fair share of fun with it.

 The game offers a single/two player mode campaign, a VS battle against another player, and Time Attack and Survival offerings for single player. I think the campaign is a bit longer, because I don't remember having to go underground in the original. Regardless, the game feels as stiff as the original, while also feeling cheaper, floatier even. A few changes to the original were made, for instance, now you can earn magic points, for screen-clearing magic attacks, by defeating enemies, and we also get an overpowered back-slash that's SO good it even hits enemies in front of you. On the same token, rideable monsters are pretty much useless in this game because their animations are too slow and their attacks leave you open for way too long. The most common rideable beast turns around every time you press attack, which is a huge handicap most of the time.

 I've always disliked Golden Axe because even by beat'em up standards its too repetitive. There are no fun weapons to pick up and use, the monsters you can ride are more of a handicap than anything and it has about 5 different enemy types in total. The music, however, is downright amazing. My other big gripe with the game is something that they kept very true to the original: How cheap it is. Enemies love to surround you, and as soon as you start pummeling someone, an enemy will rush towards you and kick you in the back. Sometimes a new enemy might spawn behind you as you slash an enemy, and you are too slow to either jump or try to move sideways. It's too stiff. A few enemies seemed to have had a bit of trouble navigating the new third dimension, which sometimes works in your favor, as they get stuck leaving you open to finish off a few baddies. As with most games in this collection, it has a few framerate issues.

 I won't deny that the game had its ups and downs, but I think most of the fun I had with this game stemmed for the nostalgia I had for this remake. I have a ton of fond memories of playing through this very version of Golden Axe with my friends in highschool, so that might have tinted my enjoyment of the game.
 5.5 out of 10

 Sega Classics Collection is quite a mixed bag, some games are fun, some are dated and some are just dull, but at least we get a nice variety of genres, and I like the fact that most of this games are alternate takes on classic games. If you're into driving games or Outrun you'll probably get the most out of this collection, I mean, I was so content with the Outrun remake that the rest of the games could've been garbage and I would've been just as satisfied.
 8.0 out of 10