TheKnucklehead

Pretty great port of a pretty great game. As far as 2015 emulation goes, it really isn't bad at all. A few innaccuracies here and there, but they're very sparse and won't detract from your overall experience. There are only two (legal) ways to play the 1992 classic on the 3DS family of systems, either through the 2009 DS game Sonic Classic Collection, comprising of the four classic games and S&K's respective lock-ons, or this port. If you just want to play Sonic 2, then this is the one for you. It's much cheaper, looks and sounds a whole lot better (even with the few blips in the audio emulation quality here and there), has more customisation features, special unlockables, etc. A very solid port of the game indeed. The emulation here is also miles better than that of Classic Collection, which makes sense because this port came out half a decade after it, but still. As for the core Sonic 2 game itself, I personally have never liked it as much as many of the other early Sonic games. Don't get me wrong, it's not a bad game at all, but if I had to pick between Sonic 2 and pretty much any other major Sonic title released around the same era, I wouldn't choose Sonic 2. But it's a solid play, even if the level design can be slightly frustrating at times, especially in the later levels (I'm looking at you, Metropolis Zone). The soundtrack is great, every tune is a banger. Dreams Come True certainly knew how to use the Mega Drive/Genesis sound chip to the very best of its ability. When the level design is being as annoying as it possibly can, at least you'll have a funkin' tune to keep your spirits up (or just mock you, one or the other). Oh, one thing I haven't mentioned at all yet is the 3D itself. It's nothing to write home about, to be perfectly honest, but it's not bad. Just more of a novelty or marketing gimmick than anything else, I usually choose to play without 3D enabled but hey, it could be your thing. Overall, solid port, solid game, do reccommend for its very cheap price, go play it.

Brilliant game, decent port. For 2009, the emulation isn't half bad and still holds up impressively well, even by today's standards. So major props to that. I like the extra options, like being able to stretch the aspect ratio to whatever you want and togglable pixel smoothing, but they're nothing groundbreaking. The GUI is nice. Again, nothing special, but it doesn't need to be. Less is sometimes more. One thing I'm not too happy about is having to buy Sonic & Knuckles separately and as a different game. I mean, both games are pretty cheap, but for convenience's sake, I would have preferred having the full experience in one. A slightly higher price point I wouldn't mind. As for the game itself, it might just be the pinnacle of 2D platforming. Excellent design, head-boppin' music, brilliant art... the game is near flawless. All in all, pretty good port. If you just want a way to play the classic game on your Xbox 360, this is the way to go. But, for the definitive experience, not so much.

A fantastic port of a fantastic game! The 2011 remake of Sonic CD, released on Xbox 360, PS3, iOS, Android and PC, is by far the greatest way to play this 1993 classic. This remake boasts full 1080p support, improved physics and controls, an option to switch between the JP/EU and NA soundtracks, (yes, there are two completely-different soundtracks) and so much more! As for the main game, it's an absolute blast. The levels are well-designed and look nice, the soundtracks, both the JP/EU and NA one, are absolutely brilliant, the animated opening and ending cutscenes are absolutely stunning... I could go on all day. I honestly can't recommend this game any more, it's an absolute masterpiece from start to finish. Go buy it! It's super inexpensive, as well.

So, SEGA Smash Pack... I'm a bit of a mixed bag about this one. I have a lot of positives and a lot of negatives. Starting with the game distribution, it's a brilliant selection of brilliant games! SEGA Smash Pack Volume 1 consists of Sonic 1, Revenge of Shinobi, Streets of Rage 2, Phantasy Star 2, Altered Beast, Virtua Cop, Columns, Shining Force, Wrestle War, Golden Axe, Vectorman, and, as an added Dreamcast exclusive, Sega Swirl. Heck, this game got me introduced to Golden Axe, which is now one of my favourite Genesis/Mega Drive games. Now, how do these cult classics play out on the Dreamcast? Well... this was still early days of emulation, I fully get that, which is why the emulation is not the greatest. I mean, most of the time it looks 100% accurate to it's 16-bit counterparts, aside from a few palette glitches from time to time, like Labyrinth Zone in Sonic 1 always having the underwater palette, even when you're not in the water, but that's not too big a deal. But the music? Well, they took the 16-bit classic tunes and recomposed them as 8-bit chip tunes! I'm no technological mastermind, but even though this is early emulation, surely they could've taken the time to just record the original songs and put them in each of their respective games? Shouldn't be too hard, right? But I digress. So, how do the chip tunes sound? Most of them sound pretty gosh darn terrible, especially for people who are used to playing on their Genesis or Mega Drive. I kind of like Spring Yard Zone from Sonic 1's 8-bit recomposition, And the Columns main theme still sounds pretty good, but other than that, it's a crime on your ears to listen to. So, do I recommend it? Well, unless you're a serious collector and you simply must have it to complete your Dreamcast collection, then no. Don't get me wrong, it was brilliant for it's time but nowadays, there are cheaper emulations and far better ways to play all the games included in this compilation.

An absolutely BRILLIANT game! It takes all that was good in Sonic Adventure 1, and expands on it even further! The game is split up into 2 stories- Hero and Dark. In the Hero story, you must save the world from Eggman's **** doings, as you usually would. You can be Sonic, Tails or Knuckles, each controlling differently and have different goals for each stage they play. In Dark mode, you can be Shadow, Eggman and Rouge and you need to destroy the planet? Yes, this is the only Sonic game where you have the option to be the villain! Each story is fun, entertaining, and sometimes quite emotional. They all control very well, but Tails and Eggman's mech controls could be improved, but it isn't that big a deal. Then, as a little side plot, there's the Chao garden. Oh boy... the Chao garden is the most useless yet addictive side game of all time! By finding a Chao key in the stage you just beat, you get the option to visit the Chao World, where... you guessed it... chao live. (If you've been to the Chao World once before, you can then select it on the world map at any time.) You begin with 2 eggs, both of which will hatch in a few seconds and you get your first 2 Chao. Look after them by petting them and feeding them, and it'll change colour from blue to white or black, depending on the character you use. The more white or black your chao gets, the stronger it will be in their races. Races, I hear you ask? Yes, you can indeed race your chao in this game. But not the dreadful chao races from SA1, oh, no-no-no. These races are a fun test of your chao's skill and ability, and every time your chao wins, it gets happier and healthier, so it's a great way to get your chao stronger. You can even save your Chao to your VMU to train it on the go! There's so much more the Chao garden has to offer, but I'll leave that for you to find out. That's about it for the masterpiece that is Sonic Adventure 2, and do I recommend it? Yes! It's absolutely brilliant, and is pretty long, so it'll keep you occupied for months!So much fun, and I am still patiently awaiting that Sonic Adventure 3, SEGA...