It’s said that familiarity breeds contempt but no matter how many times we re-play Sonic The Hedgehog’s debut outing on the Sega Mega Drive, it simply never gets old.
Now it’s possible to enjoy all four of the spiky one’s 16-bit adventures in one package, and while the presentation and execution leave a little to be desired it’s a thoroughly entertaining dash down memory lane.
A fistful of SonicWhat we have here is Sonic, Sonic 2, Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles. These games are regarded by many hardcore fans as the absolute cream of the crop, and it’s easy to see why.
Before Sega’s mascot became concerned with 3D environments or attempting to out-do rival Mario in everything from tennis to racing, he was the biggest show in town - and these games prove it.
Tight gameplay, lush visuals, and an incredible sense of speed make these retro classics as fresh today as they were over a decade ago. Sonic is arguably best when he’s tied to a two dimensional world (and with the recent announcement of Sonic 4, it would appear that Sega is finally coming round to this way of thinking).
Sadly, the process of cramming four games onto one DS cart has resulted in some sacrifices. The DS isn’t capable of replicating the Mega Drive’s native resolution, so the image is slightly squashed, but it’s not all that apparent and only hardcore fans are likely to notice.
Rather more worrying is the occasional slowdown during faster moments - when Sonic is running at full-pelt the game stutters unnervingly, something which wasn’t present in the original titles (and we’ve played them enough to state that with considerable authority).
Sonic boomNeither of these issues is enough to completely break the package, and the addition of an in-game save system (which allows you to restart at the beginning of any level) helps make this a more intriguing proposition when you’re out and about.
There’s no mistaking the quality of these four titles, and having them all in one place is a definite bonus, but the concessions that have been made in order to bring this venerable quartet to Nintendo’s humble handheld take some of the impact away from the overall experience.
Sonic Classic Collection
While the quality of the four titles featured here is beyond reproach, the standard of the emulation falls a little short and ensures the spiky blue one is stopped short of true mobile greatness
Damien McFerran
Damien's mum hoped he would grow out of playing silly video games and gain respectable employment. Perhaps become a teacher or a scientist, that kind of thing. Needless to say she now weeps openly whenever anyone asks how her son's getting on these days.