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Celebrate Sonic's roots with 20 classic titles!


— Trailer description

Sonic Mega Collection (ソニック メガコレクション Sonikku Mega Korekushon?) is a video game compilation of twelve to fourteen Sega titles (depending on region), ten of which are from the Sonic the Hedgehog series. It was developed by Sonic Team and released for the Nintendo GameCube by Sega in 2002.

The purpose of Sonic Mega Collection was to introduce younger players to the original games in the Sonic series.[5] The games in the compilation use a Sega Genesis/Mega Drive emulator developed by Sonic Team themselves. The games aside, the collection also includes high-resolution instruction booklets for the games, scans of Sonic the Hedgehog comic books published by Archie Comics, and Sonic-themed videos and illustrations. This game also marks an early appearance of Cream the Rabbit for North American audiences, who makes a cameo amongst the artworks in the extras section, as this game's release predates Sonic Advance 2's Japanese release date by a month.

An updated version of the game, Sonic Mega Collection Plus, was later released for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, and Windows PC in 2004.

List of games[]

Unlockable games[]

Western regions[]

Japan[]

Gameplay[]

SMC GC Main Menu

The main menu of Sonic Mega Collection.

The games in Sonic Mega Collection themselves are virtually identical to those that were originally released. In addition, the game is given a selection menu for the different titles it contains. They can be accessed via the "GAMES" option on the main menu after exiting the startup menu. The control of the selection menu is done with movement controls: by moving up and down, the player can select the different games.

In addition to the default games, Sonic Mega Collection features the following additional games that can be unlocked when the following requirements are met:

Other modes[]

Extras[]

Comics[]

Comics is the extra menu where players can view contents from the Sonic the Hedgehog-related comics published by Archie Comics:

Illustrations[]

Illustrations is the extra menu where players can view profiles and artworks from the Sonic the Hedgehog series:

  • Sonic the Hedgehog: Contains a short profile for Sonic the Hedgehog and six artworks of him with written backgrounds provided for each of them.
  • Miles "Tails" Prower: Contains a short profile for Miles "Tails" Prower and six artworks of him with written backgrounds provided for each of them.
  • Knuckles the Echidna: Contains a short profile for Knuckles the Echidna and six artworks of him with written backgrounds provided for each of them.
  • Dr.Eggman/Dr.Robotnik: Contains a short profile for Dr. Eggman and six artworks of him with written backgrounds provided for each of them.
  • Other Characters: Contains illustrations of Sonic's old and new friends from Sonic Adventure, Sonic Adventure 2: Battle, and Sonic Advance 2. This includes a total of nine artworks for the following characters:
  • Illustration 1: Contains the latest package designs of the Sonic series, as well as Sonic's new look for Sonic Adventure and Sonic Advance. This includes four artworks of the following subjects:
    • Sonic Adventure International package illustration.
    • Sonic Adventure 2 package illustration.
    • Sonic Adventure 2: Battle package illustration.
    • Sonic Advance package illustration.
  • Illustration 2: Contains CG illustrations of Sonic and his allies and enemies. This includes six artworks of the following subjects:
    • A poster of the main characters in Sonic Adventure.
    • A poster of Sonic the Hedgehog from Sonic Adventure 2.
    • A poster of Sonic the Hedgehog from Sonic Adventure.
    • A poster of Sonic the Hedgehog and Amy Rose from Sonic Adventure.
    • A poster of Sonic the Hedgehog and Dr. Eggman from Sonic Adventure.
    • A poster of Sonic the Hedgehog and Knuckles the Echidna from Sonic Adventure.
  • Illustration 3: Contains illustrations from Sonic's recent appearances, from magazine covers to cards. This includes five artworks of the following subjects:
    • A 2001 calendar illustration of Sonic the Hedgehog.
    • The Japanese calling card for Sonic the Hedgehog from Sonic Adventure.
    • A Christmas-themed magazine illustration of Sonic the Hedgehog.
    • A Japanese calling card for Shadow the Hedgehog from Sonic Adventure 2 with an old logo for the game on it.
    • A Christmas card illustration of Sonic the Hedgehog, Miles "Tails" Prower, Knuckles the Echidna, Amy Rose, and Chao.

Movies[]

Movies is the extra menu where players can view videos related to the Sonic the Hedgehog series:

Manuals[]

Manuals is the menu where the player can view scans of the instruction booklets for several of the games in Sonic Mega Collection:

  • Sonic the Hedgehog: A complete and readable scan of the instruction booklet for Sonic the Hedgehog (16-bit).
  • Sonic the Hedgehog 2: A complete and readable scan of the instruction booklet for Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (16-bit).
  • Sonic the Hedgehog 3: A complete and readable scan of the instruction booklet for Sonic the Hedgehog 3.
  • Sonic & Knuckles: A complete and readable scan of the instruction booklet for Sonic & Knuckles.
  • Sonic 3D Blast: A complete and readable scan of the instruction booklet for Sonic 3D Blast.
  • Sonic Spinball: A complete and readable scan of the instruction booklet for Sonic Spinball.
  • Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine: A complete and readable scan of the instruction booklet for Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine.
  • Flicky: A complete and readable scan of the instruction booklet for Flicky.

Options[]

Options is the settings menu for Sonic Mega Collection where the player can change and save various game settings:

  • Audio: Select "STEREO" or "MONO" (Monaural).
  • Controller Configuration: Select between "DEFAULT 1", "DEFAULT 2", or make a customized key configuration.
  • Credits: Automatically displays the ending credits for Sonic Mega Collection.
  • Save & Exit: Save option setup to Memory Card (system file).

Development[]

Sonic Mega Collection was developed by Sonic Team.[1] As stated by the game's director, Yojiro Ogawa, the goal Sonic Team had in mind with Sonic Mega Collection was to introduce children to older games in the series and show them what it was that originally made the Sonic franchise successful.[5] Sonic Team chose to focus on including all the Sonic games for the Sega Genesis.[6] Rather than porting them from the Mega Drive, they collaborated with VR-1 Japan to develop an emulator to run the games' ROM images.[1] Series co-creator Yuji Naka, who served as the compilation's producer, said the team intended to include the 1993 Sega CD game Sonic CD, but storage constraints prevented this.[6] Sonic Team also considered including BlueSky Software's Vectorman.[5] In addition, Sonic R and Sonic Shuffle were expected to appear in Sonic Mega Collection at one point.[7] Eventually, Sonic the Hedgehog CD, Vectorman, and Sonic R appeared in Sonic Gems Collection, a successor to Sonic Mega Collection that focused on rare Sonic games.[5] However, Sonic Team had trouble gathering materials for the compilation because it had been a decade since the original games had been made/released and "Sega's not that good about keeping history."[6] For instance, Naka wanted to include the original prototype of the first game but Sonic Team could not find its ROM image.[8] The compilation went gold the following November;[9] Naka said Sonic Team felt a sense of accomplishment when they completed it.[6]

When Sega began to expand support for the PlayStation 2, it commissioned a version of Sonic Mega Collection for that console and the Xbox.[10] This version, Sonic Mega Collection Plus, was announced at E3 2004.[11]

Promotional[]

Sega announced Sonic Mega Collection as a Nintendo GameCube exclusive in early July 2002,[12] and revealed which games would be included later that month.[13]

Reception[]

 Reception
Aggregate scores
Aggregator Score
Metacritic 75%[14]
Review scores
Publication Score
GameRevolution B-[15]
GameSpot 7.2[16]
GameZone 8.8/10[17]
IGN 7.5[18]
Awards
Entity Award
Guinness World Records Best Selling Retro Game Compilation

The reception for Sonic Mega Collection was generally favorable, with the game's Metacritic score sitting at 75%.[14] Louis Bedigian of GameZone praised the controls as "top-notch" including that "even the thumbstick is usable, and it works flawlessly."[17] Game Informer declared Sonic Mega Collection to be "perhaps the best compilation ever."[19] Fran Mirabella of IGN praised the compilation as "a wonderful little collection that, while not perfect, is a great value."[18] Jeff Gerstmann of GameSpot suggested that "if you're fiending for Sonic the Hedgehog and either don't have or are unwilling to drag out a dusty Genesis from the closet, don't hesitate to give it a shot."[16] However, Johnny Liu of Game Revolution advised "just blow the dust off the old Genesis, because there isn't enough good extra stuff here."[15] Nintendo Power described Sonic Mega Collection as "the ultimate compilation of Sonic adventures."[20] It was a runner-up for GameSpot's annual "Best Platformer on GameCube" award, which went to Super Mario Sunshine.[21]

The Guinness World Records awarded Sonic Mega Collection the title of "Best Selling Retro Game Compilation".

Trivia[]

  • This was the first Sega game to reunite the classic "SE-GA" chant since the early-late 1990s' (Sonic 3D Blast has the "SEGA!!" scream).
  • The game includes both the American and Japanese version of the original Sonic the Hedgehog, but if the player sets the framerate to 50fps, it will unlock the European version with slower music.
  • In Japan, the compilation was released at the same time as Sonic Advance 2.
  • When Sonic 3 & Knuckles is unlocked, the game displays the "Now you can play Sonic 3 & Knuckles" message in the "Data Select (Game Save) Screen" section in the instruction manual for Sonic & Knuckles.
  • Sonic Mega Collection was the first ever Sonic game with a PEGI 12+ rating.
  • A remix of the title screen music appears in Sonic Generations. In the the console/PC version it can be heard in the Network Mode, while in the Nintendo 3DS version it serves as the main menu theme.
  • The "Menu" theme returns in Sega Heroes, also as the main menu theme.
  • The intro theme was reused for the Sega Forever video of the 2013 remaster of Sonic the Hedgehog 2.
  • in the gallery some covers are slight edited to blur the super heroes references, like the covers of Sonic Super Special #7 and Sonic the Hedgehog #104.
  • Sonic Mega Collection is the only Sonic game on GameCube that lacks progressive scan support.
  • While the game's emulator used for the Sonic games developed by Sonic Team is mostly accurate to the original Sega Genesis/Mega Drive releases, there are some sound effect issues such as in explosions. This may be due to the Gamecube's hardware limitations.

See also[]

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Cole, Michael (13 January 2003). Sonic Mega Collection. Nintendo World Report. Archived from the original on 13 June 2021. Retrieved on 16 December 2018.
  2. ソニックメガコレクション (Japanese). Sega.
  3. Sonic Mega Collection. Nintendo Power. Nintendo (US). Archived from the original on 19 February 2003.
  4. Sonic Mega Collection. Nintendo (UK). Archived from the original on 18 May 2019.
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 GameSpy Staff (22 July 2005). Yojiro Ogawa Interview. GameSpy. Archived from the original on 18 March 2012. Retrieved on 21 February 2018.
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Sonic Team Q&A (18 February 2004). Archived from the original on 13 JUne 2021. Retrieved on 15 December 2018.
  7. Lake, Max (9 July 2002). Sonic's Mega Collection Revealed?. Nintendo World Report. Archived from the original on 13 June 2021. Retrieved on 16 December 2018.
  8. Towell, Justin (27 June 2011). Super-rare 1990 Sonic The Hedgehog prototype is missing. GamesRadar+. Archived from the original on 6 February 2021. Retrieved on 15 December 2018.
  9. Sonic Mega Collection for the GameCube soon. GameSpot (1 November 2002). Archived from the original on 13 June 2021. Retrieved on 15 December 2018.
  10. C. Perry, Douglass (14 October 2004). Sonic Mega Collection Plus Impressions. IGN. Archived from the original on 13 June 2021. Retrieved on 16 December 2018.
  11. Gantayat, Anoop (7 May 2004). More Sonic for PS2. IGN. Archived from the original on 13 JUne 2021. Retrieved on 16 December 2018.
  12. New Sonics Coming to Cube. IGN (1 July 2002). Archived from the original on 14 March 2021. Retrieved on 16 December 2018.
  13. IGN Staff (12 July 2002). Sonic Mega Collection Details. IGN. Archived from the original on 13 June 2021. Retrieved on 16 December 2018.
  14. 14.0 14.1 Sonic Mega Collection: Reviews. Metacritic. Archived from the original on 22 January 2022. Retrieved on 13 June 2021.
  15. 15.0 15.1 Liu, Johnny (1 December 2002). Game Revolution GameCube Review Page. Game Revolution. Archived from the original on 24 April 2006. Retrieved on 13 June 2021. "If you already have some of these games, I'd advise just blowing the dust off the old Genesis, because there isn't enough good extra stuff here."
  16. 16.0 16.1 Gerstmann, Jeff (18 November 2002). Sonic Mega Collection for GameCube Review. GameSpot. Archived from the original on 13 June 2021. Retrieved on 13 June 2021. "If you're fiending for Sonic the Hedgehog and either don't have or are unwilling to drag out a dusty Genesis from the closet, don't hesitate to give it a shot."
  17. 17.0 17.1 Bedigian, Louis (21 November 2002). Sonic Mega Collection Review - GameCube. GameZone. Archived from the original on 16 December 2008. Retrieved on 4 December 2008. "The controls are top-notch -- even the thumbstick is usable, and it works flawlessly."
  18. 18.0 18.1 Mirabella III, Fran (12 November 2002). Sonic Mega Collection. IGN. Archived from the original on 20 April 2022. Retrieved on 4 December 2008. "A wonderful little collection that, while not perfect, is a great value."
  19. Game Informer: 128. December 2002.
  20. Nintendo Power: 218. December 2002.
  21. GameSpot Staff (10 December 2002). GameSpot's Best and Worst of 2002. GameSpot. Archived from the original on 7 February 2003.

External links[]

Sonic the Hedgehog game compilations
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