I felt like I needed to give this game justice with all the mixed feelings going around. So, SCC review it is!
First off, I know that's a picture of the Sonic 1 title screen and that there are 4 Sonic titles in the series. I just wanted something else other than boxart.
Second off, many people are complaining about JenesisDS vs. this, since both are using emulation and both have programming from the same guy. Let me say this: I review my games as someone whose not a pirate/owns a flashcart. I am a pirate and use my flashcart, but I review like I'm not one. This means I'll take into account price point with most of my reviews as well as pretend to be someone without access to homebrew/emulators. It seems only fair since there's a large amount of people who aren't pirates or flashcart owners. I also haven't spent much time with JenesisDS, so this keeps me from drawing comparisons between the two and bitching about it.
Third off, I'm reviewing this as someone relatively new to these Sonic games. I've played them before, yes, but I never played them a lot nor did I play them in their full glory on the original Genesis console. So I'm not a Sonic purist here. And seeing as Sega made the game to "[introduce] some of the most influential Sonic the Hedgehog titles to a whole new generation of DS gamers" (that's copy/pasted from their own description), I guess it's fairly accurate.
Fourth off, I know the game was only dumped hours ago and then nuked, so as of now there is no official release. However, the release I have is working fine and dandy and you honestly only need to play all the games for a decent amount of time to get a fair representation of the game. If you want to feel better, call this a "first impression" review.
Anyway, Sega set out here to bring the biggest and best 4 Sonic games to the DS: Sonic 1, Sonic 2, Sonic 3, and Sonic and Knuckles. They could've taken a few paths with doing this. The first one was doing a port. or remake The games would probably run well but they'd lose some of their authenticity. The second choice was emulation, which would be the most authentic, but would also have the same problem that most emulators do and that is not having it run perfectly, especially on a relatively limited hardware such as the DS. Sega chose the later, and whether that's a good choice or not is up to you. Some want authenticity, some want gameplay. Outside of that, they did introduce a "Save Anywhere" feature that allows you to save in all the games that previously didn't support saves. You can also pause the games at any time as well as load your save any time. Classic Sonic fans may bitch and moan about how you can just save at a point and constantly restart the game from that point until you succeed, taking away from the difficulty, but who fucking cares? You don't have to use it. It's regardless a nice feature to implement saving and makes the title portable.
For the gameplay itself, we're talking about 4 classic platforming games. Some of the best ever made, honestly. For those of you who are braindead/under a rock and never played Sonic, they're platforming games with a heavy dose of speed. Sonic is notoriously fast and he'll go zooming through the courses, fighting off Dr. Eggman's evil-controlled animals. The gameplay formulas and level designs are from decades ago but still work great today. While the games being great is a no brainer, the main thing at hand is how they run, and I have to say they run quite well. Yes, there is some minor slowdown in places, but the game will run at full speed most of the time. The ones that have the biggest trouble is probably Sonic 3 as well as Sonic and Knuckles, but even then both have good speeds. Even when the framerate does drop, it never severely dips nor does it get choppy or chugs. The core of the matter here is that you've got 4 excellent, top-notch platformers that play extremely well, and that's something to be thankful for.
As for graphics and audio, this game is rated a little differently. The graphics are decades old, so obviously can't really be compared to today's games. Same goes for the audio. However, the original games still age very well in these categories, having bright, colorful graphics that were some of the best of their era. The sound also has some incredibly memorable tracks and is some of the best video game music made. Cheery, catchy, and every bit awesome. Both come out rather well here in the emulation (mind you, I still haven't played the original games in quite some time). The only thing I mainly noticed was some occasional graphical glitches, such as an occasional line of screen distortion (like a thing line that would be a little off and would pop up now and then). Still, they are only slightly noticeable and really don't detract from the game. On the other hand though, Sega is a big name in the video game market and I would've much appreciated for them to iron out every crease in this game before sending it off.
Overall, people should look at the game for what it is: 4 classic Sonic title that run well and are perfectly playable. Bitching and moaning about how lazy Sega is or how they're emulated is irrelevant. They're 4 great games that shouldn't be missed, plain and simple. Still, the big thing is that if you can find a better way to play these games (whether it's through a different compilation that runs the games better or if you own the originals), those are probably better options, unless you want them portable and have a DS.
Presentation: The decision to do emulaiton over porting or remaking is a debatable one, but regardless the games do run. The game has some extras like art galleries and the like, but aren't all too interesting. The menus are nice looking and reminiscent in layout to Super Mario All-Stars. The bottom screen is used well during the game. 7.5/10
Graphics: Even for a decade-plus old games, they're still great looking. Colorful, bright, cheery, and with some great effects. There are some minor graphical glitches on the screen though, which probably could've been fixed with more time though. 8/10
Audio: Sonic has always featured a great, cheery soundtrack. Catchy and memorable songs, some of the best in video game history. Being emulation though means the soundtrack isn't going to be perfectly replicated, but it's done pretty well. 8/10
Gameplay: The games run at full speed a large majority of the time, with some slowdowns at parts. All four games are great platformers and classics, and being able to play them well is a great. The merits on how they're being played is something people will bitch about, but the fact is that they're four awesome, classic platformers that are completely playable. 9/10
Lasting Appeal: You've got 4 games to play, two of which have alternate characters to play as. They're challenging and fun. You'll probably want to come back now and then to try and get a higher score though, and repetition through the games is recommended. Still, eventually you'll get sick of them and there's not much else to do after that. 8/10
Overall: 8/10
A small note: this isn't a "WHEN IS THIS GAME GONNA GET FIXED???" or a "WHEN IS A NEW DUMP COMING OUT????" thread, it's my review. Don't post your nonsense. Also take into account that it's the game that counts.
First off, I know that's a picture of the Sonic 1 title screen and that there are 4 Sonic titles in the series. I just wanted something else other than boxart.
Second off, many people are complaining about JenesisDS vs. this, since both are using emulation and both have programming from the same guy. Let me say this: I review my games as someone whose not a pirate/owns a flashcart. I am a pirate and use my flashcart, but I review like I'm not one. This means I'll take into account price point with most of my reviews as well as pretend to be someone without access to homebrew/emulators. It seems only fair since there's a large amount of people who aren't pirates or flashcart owners. I also haven't spent much time with JenesisDS, so this keeps me from drawing comparisons between the two and bitching about it.
Third off, I'm reviewing this as someone relatively new to these Sonic games. I've played them before, yes, but I never played them a lot nor did I play them in their full glory on the original Genesis console. So I'm not a Sonic purist here. And seeing as Sega made the game to "[introduce] some of the most influential Sonic the Hedgehog titles to a whole new generation of DS gamers" (that's copy/pasted from their own description), I guess it's fairly accurate.
Fourth off, I know the game was only dumped hours ago and then nuked, so as of now there is no official release. However, the release I have is working fine and dandy and you honestly only need to play all the games for a decent amount of time to get a fair representation of the game. If you want to feel better, call this a "first impression" review.
Anyway, Sega set out here to bring the biggest and best 4 Sonic games to the DS: Sonic 1, Sonic 2, Sonic 3, and Sonic and Knuckles. They could've taken a few paths with doing this. The first one was doing a port. or remake The games would probably run well but they'd lose some of their authenticity. The second choice was emulation, which would be the most authentic, but would also have the same problem that most emulators do and that is not having it run perfectly, especially on a relatively limited hardware such as the DS. Sega chose the later, and whether that's a good choice or not is up to you. Some want authenticity, some want gameplay. Outside of that, they did introduce a "Save Anywhere" feature that allows you to save in all the games that previously didn't support saves. You can also pause the games at any time as well as load your save any time. Classic Sonic fans may bitch and moan about how you can just save at a point and constantly restart the game from that point until you succeed, taking away from the difficulty, but who fucking cares? You don't have to use it. It's regardless a nice feature to implement saving and makes the title portable.
For the gameplay itself, we're talking about 4 classic platforming games. Some of the best ever made, honestly. For those of you who are braindead/under a rock and never played Sonic, they're platforming games with a heavy dose of speed. Sonic is notoriously fast and he'll go zooming through the courses, fighting off Dr. Eggman's evil-controlled animals. The gameplay formulas and level designs are from decades ago but still work great today. While the games being great is a no brainer, the main thing at hand is how they run, and I have to say they run quite well. Yes, there is some minor slowdown in places, but the game will run at full speed most of the time. The ones that have the biggest trouble is probably Sonic 3 as well as Sonic and Knuckles, but even then both have good speeds. Even when the framerate does drop, it never severely dips nor does it get choppy or chugs. The core of the matter here is that you've got 4 excellent, top-notch platformers that play extremely well, and that's something to be thankful for.
As for graphics and audio, this game is rated a little differently. The graphics are decades old, so obviously can't really be compared to today's games. Same goes for the audio. However, the original games still age very well in these categories, having bright, colorful graphics that were some of the best of their era. The sound also has some incredibly memorable tracks and is some of the best video game music made. Cheery, catchy, and every bit awesome. Both come out rather well here in the emulation (mind you, I still haven't played the original games in quite some time). The only thing I mainly noticed was some occasional graphical glitches, such as an occasional line of screen distortion (like a thing line that would be a little off and would pop up now and then). Still, they are only slightly noticeable and really don't detract from the game. On the other hand though, Sega is a big name in the video game market and I would've much appreciated for them to iron out every crease in this game before sending it off.
Overall, people should look at the game for what it is: 4 classic Sonic title that run well and are perfectly playable. Bitching and moaning about how lazy Sega is or how they're emulated is irrelevant. They're 4 great games that shouldn't be missed, plain and simple. Still, the big thing is that if you can find a better way to play these games (whether it's through a different compilation that runs the games better or if you own the originals), those are probably better options, unless you want them portable and have a DS.
Presentation: The decision to do emulaiton over porting or remaking is a debatable one, but regardless the games do run. The game has some extras like art galleries and the like, but aren't all too interesting. The menus are nice looking and reminiscent in layout to Super Mario All-Stars. The bottom screen is used well during the game. 7.5/10
Graphics: Even for a decade-plus old games, they're still great looking. Colorful, bright, cheery, and with some great effects. There are some minor graphical glitches on the screen though, which probably could've been fixed with more time though. 8/10
Audio: Sonic has always featured a great, cheery soundtrack. Catchy and memorable songs, some of the best in video game history. Being emulation though means the soundtrack isn't going to be perfectly replicated, but it's done pretty well. 8/10
Gameplay: The games run at full speed a large majority of the time, with some slowdowns at parts. All four games are great platformers and classics, and being able to play them well is a great. The merits on how they're being played is something people will bitch about, but the fact is that they're four awesome, classic platformers that are completely playable. 9/10
Lasting Appeal: You've got 4 games to play, two of which have alternate characters to play as. They're challenging and fun. You'll probably want to come back now and then to try and get a higher score though, and repetition through the games is recommended. Still, eventually you'll get sick of them and there's not much else to do after that. 8/10
Overall: 8/10
A small note: this isn't a "WHEN IS THIS GAME GONNA GET FIXED???" or a "WHEN IS A NEW DUMP COMING OUT????" thread, it's my review. Don't post your nonsense. Also take into account that it's the game that counts.
