Published by: SEGA
Genre: Action Compilation
Release Date: August 2, 2005
Written by: Matthew Prunty












Sega’s front man, Sonic the Hedgehog, is one of the last true figureheads on the market that is making a mark and grabbing the attention of gamers around the world. Starting with he debut to the world on the Sega Genesis back in 1990, Sonic has ran at full speed and never looked back. From his stint in 2D, to his transition in 3D, Sonic has always brought a presence that puts him among the greats like Mario, Link, Kid Icarus, Sam Fisher, etc. For those who have followed Sonic career up to this point, know about of the two most recent collections that were released, Sonic Mega Collection (GCN) and Sonic Mega Collection Plus (PS2 and Xbox). Though both were excellent collections of some of Sonic greatest moments, neither one was complete, until now. With the announcement of Sonic Gem Collections for the Nintendo Gamecube, Sega aims at bringing back some more of Sonic glory day moments and some cult favorites that stood the test of time.


2 Fast 2 Furious

Unlike the previous collections, Sonic Gem Collection is bringing some heavy hitters to your television screen. Sega plans on including a mixture of titles, to keep things interesting. They range from the fan favorite Sonic CD, to the cult classic Sonic R, to even six titles that were release on the Game Gear handheld. But Sega isn’t stopping there. They plan to include a few more titles and even the arcade odd ball known as Sonic the Fighters. This collection is being build as the last one for Sonic, so Sega is making sure that gamers know why Sonic is the icon figure that he is today.

For anyone who has their doubts about whether these titles will live up to expectations, you can stop your worrying. Sega is insuring that all these titles bring the true essence of their time to the present with impressive graphics, visuals, and a awesome reworked soundtrack to keep things interesting and fresh for the gaming audience around the world.


Are you ready to loose?

One example of this is Sonic CD (Sonic flying at the speed of light through the past and presence), which saw critical acclaim on the Sega CD. This game was on-hand at E3 2005, and I must say that the Gamecube displayed the true essence of this title through impeccable visuals and displayed the titles 2D/pseudo 3D graphics like there was no problem at all. I’ll admit, the first time I played the game, it was hard to hear how the music was fairing due to the loud surroundings, but when I returned to the console later on in the day, right before E3 was closing on Day 2. I got a chance to sample the first level, and I must say that this title boast an impressive soundtrack. When you hear the music, it brings up that nostalgic feeling you get, like you are reliving the first time you played this title.


No one messes with the Blue Bomber!!

Another example would have to be Sonic the Fighters, which saw a limited release in the United States back in 1996. For those who don’t know anything about this game, it’s basically your average beat ‘em up fighting game centered on the Sonic universe. You have your familiar faces like Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Dr. Eggman and others, and then a bunch of characters that you probably haven’t heard of unless you really followed the franchise. If you had to compare the arcade version to the one included into this collection, I would have to saw that the character models are a lot smoother, and less blocky than the original version. Since the controls are based off Sega’s old 3-button format, it was very easy to get into the title with no problems at all.


Lets play follow the leader

I must admit, though there isn’t that much information to go on so far in regards to this ultimate collection, one thing is for sure, whether you are a fan of Sonic or not, this collection is definitely worth the time and effort. Fro reworked graphics and soundtracks, to rare titles not even released within the United States, this collection is definitely one to beat them all. So get ready because come this summer, Gamecube owners will have another reason why Sega is behind Nintendo and the Nintendo Gamecube.


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