Sonic the Hedgehog is a character familiar to just about everyone who knows anything about video games. Sonic Mega Collection is a compendium of seven of the hog's 16-bit outings--including the landmark original--converted for play on Nintendo's GameCube. As with all retro collections of this sort, Sonic Mega Collection caters not only for new and curious gamers but also for hardcore fans. Features such as artwork folders and commercials, for example, will appease the latter group, while the games included here will satisfy the retro longings of all. To be precise, full versions of the following are immediately playable: Sonic the Hedgehog 1, 2, and 3, Sonic & Knuckles, Sonic Spinball, Sonic 3D and Dr Robotnik's Mean Bean Collection. And that's just for starters; continued play unlocks other Sonic-related games, such as Flicky and Ristar.
Value for money, then, isn't in question. All that remains to be debated is whether or not these titles continue to entertain in the 21st century. Generally, they do. The few duds in this collection (the overbaked Sonic 3, for instance) are far outweighed by the ever-enjoyable likes of the original Sonic the Hedgehog and Dr Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine. While Sonic's importance today is far less significant than it was, Sonic Mega Collection is a timely reminder of the excellent qualities of the series. --Johnny Cornelius
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