Sonic Classic Collection

[Wools]

I've had a chance to sit down and play a bit today and initial impressions are good.

Unlike other collections that were 50hz ports or missing some favourites from the main cannon of the Mega Drive games, this has them all. The game has Sonic, Sonic 2, Sonic 3, Knuckles and the the ability of using Knuckles with Sonic 2 & 3 which is a thankfull inclusion after the Mega Drive Collection last year.

Although I know the games like the back of my hand, the emulation or port diffrences are less observed, with what I've played so far being brilliant and to my mind, emulated perfectly. I'm aware the original games, espically Sonic 1, had slow down when you lost rings and a few other places and likewise, I'm spotting a few issues in Green Hill Zone. On Sonic 2 I've noticed that a few Palm Trees have flicker but on inspection of the original game, I'm noticing the same issue. It's too early to say it but it looks like Sega and Creative Assembly have done a good job of porting the games and Sonic 3 and Knuckles bear no such issues at all.

It's not a new game or an exhaustive collection, but all the main 2D Sonic Mega Drive games for ?17.99 is more than enough value in my eyes and the DS control is beautiful for old 2D movment.

I'm looking forward to finally completing Sonic & Knuckles for the first time!

[Dogg Thang]

I got this today and have to completely disagree with Wools on the emulation. It is far from perfect.

Yes there was slowdown on the Megadrive versions. But this has a severely choppy framerate that has to be a result of emulation frame skipping. That was most certainly not in the Megadrive version. Sonic 3 with Sonic and Tails is an atrocity, though it affects all games here.

They're choppy.

Due to the resolution of the DS, they're also squashed and bitty looking. There are a few graphical quirks that are almost like screen tearing - not bad at all but just one more layer on top of the other graphics problems.

And, for some reason I can't fathom given the brightness of the DS screens, the colours seem slightly dull.

The good news - they're playable. Nowhere near as bad as GBA Sonic 1. Playable.

But some of you may well not want to play them like this. They should have been better. I don't believe the DS is not capable of running these games better.

[noobish hat]

Surely these games can be emulated perfectly using one of those cards that everyone seems to have? I don't have one, so I may be wrong, but I was under the impression that this was well within the realms of possibility. At any rate, I'm in no doubt that they could all be enjoyed on the PSP with no problems whatsoever, right? I fail to see the point of this.

[Dogg Thang]

Well I have no real idea of what the DS can do - you could well be right. In terms of bought commercial games, though, Sonic 1 and 2 are on the PSP Megadrive collection and are fantastic on it but Sonic 3 and S&K aren't available. I have no doubt custom firmware can run them fine with an emulator though.

Really the PSP needs another Megadrive collection. Or Sega needs to put some effort into their ports.

[jezzace]

Gotta agree with dogg thang, the emulation is disappointing. They are jerky and blurry but they are playable, and now I can play Sonic on the train! One feature I quite liked was the ability to save whenever you like. It has certainly made the games a lot easier.

[sj33]

What's the sound emulation like? This is where such packages usually fall down.

[noobish hat]

Don't even worry about this anymore, lads, I have found a healthy compromise to the sonic emulation problem.


Playing my patented Wheel of Sonic, you can experience the original Sonic games in their purest form, as they were intended!*







*Please note - in order to make use of the lock-on cartridge technology, you will be required to purchase two Wheel of Sonicses (integrity of such a structure cannot be guaranteed). Use outside the home may require upwards of seven thousand million AA batteries (sold separately), or an extremely long extension cord.

[Dogg Thang]

What's the sound emulation like? This is where such packages usually fall down.

I've only heard it from the DSi speakers and not in the most quiet of conditions so I can't tell you all that much but it actually sounds pretty good to me.

Noobish, where can I purchase your amazing Wheel Of Sonic?

[JazzFunk]

An R4 card and jenesisDS seem to do a good enough job on the DS, plus I have the 2D Sonics not only in their original forms, but also on three different compilations, laying out an extra £18 for an 'extra' Sonic compilation - to quote Tony Harrison - it's an outrage!

The Wheel Of Sonic could catch on, but I think style-savvy, upwardly mobile-type, PS3-style gamers might prefer the duct tape to be in black.

[Nu-Eclipse]

An R4 card and jenesisDS seem to do a good enough job on the DS

jenesisDS is a decent enough emulator as far as DS-based emulators go, but it doesn't run the Sonic games 100% perfectly, especially Sonic 3. I haven't tried Sonic & Knuckles on it, but I would bet on it struggling to cope.

They should have been better. I don't believe the DS is not capable of running these games better.

I'm inclined to agree. Word is that Sonic Classic Compilation was coded with DSi/DSi XL architecture in mind and it runs better when played on those handhelds and not so well when played on a DS/DS Lite.

Having been optimistic about Sonic Classic Compilation when it was announced, I'm now a little bit 'meh' based on what I've seen and heard of it. The handheld factor and the price point seem to be the only positive things about it, otherwise I would've bought the 4 MD Sonic games on the Wii Virtual Console a while ago. I could tolerate Sonic CD and the 2P modes from Sonic 2 & 3 not being included (although I think Sega missed big tricks there), but I'm pretty disappointed with what looks like a shoddy and rushed emulation for little more reason than money-spinning purposes.

This is already available for ?17-18, depending on where you look. I think I'll wait for this to drop in price further before purchasing.

[kryss]

This might be a silly question but how well does it compare to the GameCube Sonic Mega Collection, and how well does that compare to the originals?

[D J Kix]

Fun Fact: Sega hired JenesisDS programmer (Stephan Dittrich/Lordus) to do the emulation for Sonic Classic Collection [DS].

[Wools]

Word is that Sonic Classic Compilation was coded with DSi/DSi XL architecture in mind and it runs better when played on those handhelds and not so well when played on a DS/DS Lite.

Intresting if so, I played the opening few levels and special stages of Sonic 2 last night and noticed no issues with the levels that were not an issue on the original game.

I'm aware the DSi & DSi XL have diffrent and faster processors than the original and Slim?

[Dogg Thang]

I'm playing on a DSi.

[abigsmurf]

As far as I'm aware, there are no camera-less games that take advantage of the boost in CPU and ram.