Gaming Graphics - The Taste You Can See

There has been a lot of speculation when it comes to gaming graphics and their importance to gaming in general. More and more, graphics have increased in complexity and detail to the point where even the most minute water droplet is depicted to crisp perfection. That's all well and good, but why? Why are graphics so important to some people? Since when has the book's cover become a means for such harsh criticism?

It's become something of a stigma that each generation of video gaming requires a drastic hike in graphics and creating a game has become so convoluted that it requires at least 10 years to fully finish a large scale product, keep it within budget and prevent developers from growing exhausted and/or burned out. That is the kind of time publishers don't have. To stay afloat and to keep the big wigs fat and happy, they need to meet an annual quota and that means they will cut as many corners as is necessary. This means pressuring developers, cutting game mechanics and features, compromising quality assurance and any other number of troublesome trends we've been seeing in the past decade.

This is all due to the fact that graphics need to be pristine, even immaculately implimented. This is overtly stupid and nonsensical, especially when you stop and think about how the decade of the 2000's are seen as the best games ever created. The era that brought us the Sega Dreamcast, N64, Gamecube and PS3 are cited as the most remade and referenced games from then on. 

They did not need the shiniest graphics to make that happen. Skyrim was marred with glitches, but given the game's nature and fan reaction, it is still being rereleased to this very day. Minecraft's graphics are laughable and yet people still spend a collective millions upon millions of hours playing it every year since its release.

I still play the Sega Saturn, Dreamcast and Nintendo Gamecube to this day. What is the hang-up? These graphics do what they set out to do and they do so unrelentingly, no matter how much they age.

Downplaying the importance of graphics is probably the best thing you could do to help the gaming community. It does not need to be pixelated or polygonal to the very core, it simply needs to look good enough to serve its purpose and get on with the rest of the game features. Cutting graphics to save the rest of the game is preferable to cutting out its singleplayer mode or even entire levels. And yes, this has happened more than once. Games have been straight up shortened to a massive degree, entire online features trashed and huge sections like sandbox features have been left out in order to make way for shinier, more detailed graphics. Was it truly worth it?

There are going to be nay sayers. There are going to be people who cannot live without water reflections and Raycasting in their lives. If you need to see the pores in your character's skin or the sheen in your character's gun metal, then maybe it's time you start questioning how much you actually like gaming. If eye candy is worth sacrificing entire environments in a map, maybe it's time to take up game design and graphical classes to see just how difficult these things can be.

These developers work their fingers to the bone to appease brutal, unrealistic demands and deadlines. Game development has become so unsustainable, publishers are having to set aside five or six years toward a single game's development and that could still end in crunch time for designers depending on the progress. Some of it has to do with a game's complex mechanics but you can surely bet that a great deal of it is for the graphics and the polishing thereof.

Why not go back to 32-bits or 64-bits and create better, more glitch-free games at a fraction of the time and cost? You could work on three or four at a time with the size of the team and money you're spending now and retro gamers would eat that up. Hell, modern gamers would more than likely join in the fun, considering the game dry spell that seems to be getting longer every year. 

Reaching a point in graphics where we can say enough is enough seems like a simple matter. There would be some backlash but let's face it, would it be as bad as the backlash from Cyberpunk 2077 or Battlefield 4 upon their initial releases? Simplifying these things and getting the gaming community back to a creative, more maintainable medium seems far more paramount than seeing each individual strand of hair on a character's head. 

Is it this simple? No, nothing this big ever is. This is merely a suggestion and words of wisdom from someone on the outside, looking in. I am seeing smaller developers begin to thrive with retro style shooters and less graphically inclined games. This is not new. If AAA gaming companies hopped on the trend, it would make a lot of people happier and pull us out of this stigma of releasing half-finished games at full price. Sometimes, less is more and the higher we go, the more room we have to fall. Let's hope someone listens, or at least puts out a pool so we can fall into some water.

Shining the Holy Ark - There is the Dungeon!

The 32 bit era was a landmark for several different game franchises. It allowed many of them to change the perspective of their entire game and bring us even closer to the action. The Shining series brought their games to this landmark as well and we got some great titles as a result. Shining the Holy Ark is no exception to this! The RPG genre was boosted to a whole new level and the push to 3D was a resounding success!

With haunted mansions and an entire barrage of monsters to face throughout caves and other dreary landscapes, you will never grow bored. There is also a cascade of beauty in green forests and grasslands. When you and your band of mercenaries are hired to take down a strange ninja, you embark on a journey that is far beyond what you’d expect. With characters that use melee weapons and characters that are mastered in the arts of magic, you need to make your strategy an effective one if you want to get through all of the ridiculous obstacles.

Now, is the game perfect? No, in fact there are several parts of the game that force you to grind a lot of your progress. If this is your thing, then the game will give you a lot of it. You can easily get lost in the tunnels and caves and this can be a problem when you are running out of magic and items to survive.

The characters are one of the saving graces of the game. There’s enough of a story to keep your involvement solid, while leaving your character enough of a blank slate to make them your own. The monsters can get a bit difficult in spots of the game, but overcoming them gives you a great sense of satisfaction.

The real problem with the game is it can get repetitive and there isn’t a great deal of replay value attached. However, after a long while between playing, it is very easy to pick up once again. The graphics are an example of the time and many have compared playing this game to playing the ever popular Final Fantasy VII. Any Fantasy RPG fan will most likely love this title. The Shining series is a fantastic Sega franchise that boasts several games that are more than worth trying for yourself. Give it a try!

Typing of the Dead Overkill (PC) - Beyond Parody

House of the Dead is no stranger to Planet Virtua. We don't love all of them, but the first two games from the arcade, Sega Saturn and Sega Dreamcast were some of our most celebrated titles! Overkill has found brand new life, since its introduction on the Wii, and it is some of the greatest the brand has to offer, bar none. 

Oh, yes, this is some of the corniest, cheesiest horror movie parody you could possibly ask for. Since the old days of the grindhouse movies in the dollar theaters, horror fans have had a fascination with slasher/zombie movies with a shoe-string budget, stupid one-liners and questionable effects in both makeup and pyros. As crappy as these movies were in production, they had their own beautiful charm to them. 

House of the Dead: Overkill captured this perfectly, and if you don't have a gun to shoot the screen with, now there's Typing of the Dead. That's right, you can now shoot zombies using the English language and that is yet another point of celebration! Now, you are going through strip clubs, old mansions and dark places, taking down zombies with your typing skills. This is especially endearing because now you can play it with a normal gun, mouse or the keys on your keyboard plugging holes in zombies. 

The real problem with this game is that it is unbearably short. By the time you're ready for another bout of the main characters' hilarious one-liners, it's basically over. Some of the action can get a little disgusting and grotesque, especially with the final bossfight. 

It's very easy, aside from the typing. The typing gives it a wonderful exercise for your fingers and while I type 100 words a minute, I do make typos and the game penalizes you if you have too many at once. Of course, it's a railshooter, and it's going to have the sudden enemies that appear at the bottom of the screen and some of the more unfair things therein. With the typing, this is toned down a great deal because you kind of need to do that when someone has to literally read and word and very quickly type it. This is a little more difficult than it sounds. 

With the Typing version, this game has been given new life and it is wondrous! This is definitely an addition to the House of the Dead series that belongs on your gameslist and do not pass it up. It is better than the House of the Dead remake, for certain. 

Sonic R - Life is Not a Race

I have talked at length about how Sonic has not had the greatest relationship with the Sega Saturn. With a title like Sonic 3D Blast not meeting a lot of expectations, that is a well long dried up in terms of enticing conversation. It’s not a horrific game, but it certainly doesn’t blow up the skirts of those looking for the high octane action of the original trilogy. Sonic Jam was a massively awesome title, but that’s more because it ported Sonic’s success on the Genesis over to the 5th generation. Not only could you play all three original titles, but you can play all of them with Knuckles as well. Total Sonic win!

Then there is a title that many have overlooked for many reasons. Sonic R is not what we would call a celebrated title among the many games on the Saturn. There are legitimate reasons for this for sure. The graphics are not the greatest by any means. The framerate can dip to some single digits and the glitches in the gameplay can make your skin crawl. Then the controls come along, and yes, you need to get used to them in a very steep learning curve. When you are trying to win this game, it can be a bit of a hassle.

However, when you are going into this game with the idea of “fun” in mind, you can have all kinds. It’s really not hard at all. With a bit of practice and a few friends playing, you can engage in some minigames that the game comes with from the very start! On top of the racing, you can also play tag! That’s right! A racing game with a tag feature! With the awesome characters at your disposal, you can have high speed games of cat and mouse with free exploration of the vast maps as far as the eye can see.

When you have a child to entertain, the possibilities are endless! Quality time can be spent scouring the race tracks for a balloon minigame. Finding the balloons sounds childish as all getout, but why not? Isn’t the point of a game to be fun in our own little ways?

No matter how much this game gets lambasted by the critics and snidely turned down by framerate snobs. This game is still a lot of fun to play. This is not a troll, nor is it saying that it’s the GREATEST SONIC GAME by any means. The love for this game stems from a mixture of both its wide variety of gameplay, its characters and its amazing soundtrack.

The music in this game can never be overstated. It is some of the most energetic, majestic, lyrical tunes on the Sega Saturn. If I were to pit this up against Daytona USA, Sonic R would come out on top, and that’s really saying a lot. From start to finish, this game hits the beats hard and does not stop.

Sonic R is far from perfect and it certainly won’t make a whole lot of favorite games lists. However, there are those of us who still love it for both its pros and its cons. Would I recommend it? No, it’s more for a certain group of people and those willing to forgive its flubs in the graphics and gameplay. On a conventional scale, this game is not good and it deserves all of its critical panning. On another level, the subjective, nostalgic, bleeding heart level, this game is endless fun and deserves a second glance if you’ve got the time. If you’re a Saturn fan, give this game a try and don’t drown in the water. Drink it.

Final Fight Revenge - There is no Revenge

This is a fighting game. More accurately, a 3D fighting game. This particular game was developed by Capcom as a Saturn exclusive (aside from the arcade port) and released only in Japan. It is the only fighting game in the Final Fight series, which normally features beat'em up games. Final Fight has come out with a great number of beat'em up games that have received a great deal of acclaim in both arcades and console versions. 

This game, again their only fighting game, is a bland experience. It is so by the numbers and so mediocre that there's really not a whole lot to talk about here. The stages are beyond bland and the fights are about as unimaginative as you can imagine. Imagine that! It's not that it's terrible, there is just nothing to write home about. The graphics are decent for 32-bits and the character designs made a good conversion over to 3D from their 16-bit counterparts. That's about all the good that can be said about it. 

The fighting is boring. You fight the opponent, they block a whole lot, and you spend the entire time trying to get around their blocking. In hard mode, that is accentuated to a glaring degree! It's not hard, it's tedious! Some of the characters control terribly, because they lack the drive to move forward as they attack, making their controls sluggish! 

One thing that other fighting games have going for them is that they either have cool special moves, fancy footwork and interesting martial arts styles to keep the gameplay fresh. This game does not have any of that stuff. There are punches, kicks and grapples. The best you have to mix things up is Poison with her whip and a few other characters with weapons. Oh, and Guy has shuriken that he throws en mass in hard modes. Woot...

That's the real problem with this game. It looks and plays as bland as white bread and the AI for your opponents does nothing but spam block and throwing attacks while also shooting off their ultimate attacks. The ultimate attacks are about as good as it gets when it comes to the aesthetics, but they are teeth-grindingly cringeworthy when you've seen them for the seventh time. 

The most noteworthy aspect of this game is that your final boss is a zombie. It's a zombie version of Horace Belger. That's it. There's nothing interesting about this other than he falls into pieces and throws those pieces at you while they explode. Yeah, that's pretty cool but when it's your only trump card, it's pretty sad. Yeah, he does the Michael Jackson Thriller dance in the credits but by this time, you've already gone through six lackluster fights against people who spam block and grapple moves. It's cute, but too little, too late.

If you're looking for a 3D fighting game, there are obviously worse out there. This was made by Capcom, though and you would expect a lot more out of them. Obviously, there were problems with the production. This game screams "Under Developed" and it was obvious that they either did not have their prime talent on this game or they were not given nearly enough time to polish it and make it any good. It's boring, predictable and not worth going out of your way to pay the scalping price. This game became one of those rare, expensive relics that people ask way too much for. Just skip it and try something else. Try some water, it's more exciting. 

Gauntlet Legends (Dreamcast) - Red Wizard is about to Kill!

Reaching back into the annals of history, there is a smallish franchise that has sadly not seen the light of day as of late. The arcades and the NES were both graced with the presence of Gauntlet, a top-down multiplayer fantasy game Ed Logg and Rob Zeigler of Atari in 1985. Like many fantasy video games, it was inspired by Dungeons and Dragons and brought to life for arcade cabinets with gameplay basically ripped from Dandy and Time Bandits. 

Gauntlet is a game series of survival, shooting various ranged weapons into various mobs and making your way to a goal on the other side of the map. Gauntlet Legends is a cut and paste of the 2D game from 1985 brought to the arcades, Dreamcast, N64 and Playstation. While it does tilt the camera at a more isometric angle, the top-down qualities of the game are still in tact.

You fight mobs made up of orcs, ghosts, wraiths, etc. with one to four players, collecting power-ups, avoiding traps (one including Death himself) and making your way through locked doors and blocked paths. Each level is part of a hub world that you return to when you either die or beat said level. As you progress through each of the levels, more of the portals in this hub world open up and you start to unlock more secrets and level up your characters as you fight. 

It is almost essential to have at least two players, especially in some of the later levels. This may not be the deepest of games and it may be somewhat repetitive with its gameplay but there is no denying that it's fun. Employing each of your special abilities in a fight as an Archer, Wizard, Warrior or whatever class you choose is part of your own contribution to the fight. Wizards have catastrophic ultimate attacks that can clear out large amounts of enemies. As you collect potions on the battlefield, they will each have different effects that will help you fight the long line of enemies coming your way. 

The spawn points for the enemies need to be destroyed. If you don't make sure they are down to their lowest point, they will continue to spawn enemies for as long as there is room in the area to have them. This means that the mobs will come from this spawn point and attack you from anywhere on the map. If you leave them unattended, you will have a long line of monsters to battle in order to backtrack and destroy the trap to its fullest. Some of the traps start at a high level and they produce stronger enemies. The more damage you do to these spawn points, the weaker enemies will spawn. 

If you needed an excuse to have over some friends and play a fun little game that's simple and enjoyable, look no further. Gauntlet has always been a game that is very familiar to those who play Dungeons and Dragons and that is always enjoyed most with a small group of people. This is arguably the peak of the franchise in both graphics and gameplay. The iconic quotes like "Red Warrior is about to die" or "Blue Wizard needs food badly" always seems to exist in some gaming circles. Do yourself a favor and give this game a try. Virtua Axe Throw! 

Virtual On (Saturn) - Lasers! Missiles! Laser Missiles!

 

As soon as you hear the phrase "Get Ready!" for the first time, if you hadn't practiced before hand, you were not ready! Virtual On is a game that takes some practice but then you will not put it down! This is hours of fun on single player and years of fun against your friends! Everyone has to at least try this game in order to feel the rush and zap your opponents with just about every type of laser! You will munch metal, tear titanium and sever steel with your own chosen mech! I could douse this game in hyperbole all day, but let's get slightly more objective before I turn this arena into a scrap heep!

If it wasn't clear, this game rocks. It is a third person 3D fighter that puts you in control of your choice of war machine. There are several to choose from and they come in all shapes and sizes. Whether you want the heavy weapons fighter that doesn't run quite as fast or one of the more slender models that are far more agile, this game has you covered. The Saturn graphics really shine with this title. Each machine is very unique, even though each stage is pretty much the same aside from different placements of cover. 

The real problem with this game is that the controls really do take practice to get use to and the game can be very unforgiving in its learning curve. It is moderately hard to learn but somehow very easy to master once you pick it up. All you need is some dedication in order to learn your chosen fighting machine and you can come out swinging! Learning how to throw the bombs, when to fly upward and when to use your ultimate attack without wasting it are all essential. The biggest challenge is the movement and going faster and firing with better accuracy than your opponent is also a very large part of the strategy. All of these elements help the immersion and puts you in that state of concentration that gamers florish in while you grind your opponent into pulp! 

It is very hard to find a fault in this game. The learning curve can be a little annoying at first but it can also be easily overcome. The graphics may seem menial today, but those who appreciate the 32-bits will absolutely relish in its quality and detail. The game has glitches but they are very few and far in between. It would be nice to have a bit more variety when it comes to stages and levels, but even then, they look different and function properly, so why fix what isn't broken? Even the short single player campaign can be forgiven because it has such a great 2-player function. The framerates can take a rather low dip! There we go, there's a fault in the game! There's the smudge on the Mona Lisa! Yes, the framerate can go down rather low, especially when there are the larger explosions. Even then, though, this game is amazing. 

If you have read either my Top 20 Saturn Games or my Top 10 Saturn Games lists, you will probably realize that this has been my favorite Saturn game for a very, very long time. Even after a very high boost in the number of games I've played on this system, Virtual On was never dethroned. This game is high octane action and top rate competitive gameplay for the whole family, so long as your grandpa enjoys turning mechanized warriors into can openers! VIRTUA BEAM!!!!!

Sonic The Hedgehog Movie - Red vs Blue for Real!

At long last, after all of the delays, we finally have it. This was something that Sonic fans of old have been waiting for and dreading for decades. Part of us wanted this more than anything while the sensible side of us never wanted it to come about, for fear that the quality would be so absurdly dreadful. Who in their right minds could blame us for thinking this? Not only was it a fish-out-of-water movie, not only did it have a CGI protagonist working with real life actors and not only was it a video game movie, but the original sonic character design spoke volumes for the content therein. 

That original character design seemed to project a horrific omen of doom and damnation. If Sonic looked so terrible in the trailers, chances were that the rest of the movie was equally repugnant. This movie was sending us mixed signals from the very beginning. As terrible as the original design was, we still had a perfectly suitable actor for the antagonist. Jim Carrey seemed to be the one saving grace for this otherwise depicted dumpster fire. Even after the studio reacted well to the backlash of fans and movie-goers, the outlook was bleak to say the least. They agreed to change the design and that surprisingly worked out well in the end.

Then the movie came out and it was quite pleasa--wait, what?! The movie was good? Hold on, I think I skipped a paragraph or two. By all rights, this movie should never have worked to begin with. James Marsden couldn’t hack it with Russell Brand as the Easter Bunny in a very similar type of film, how in the holy land of crap did this actually pan out? 

The movie was funny, charming, character based and focused on entertaining the audience while telling a compelling story. Sonic wasn’t quite the cool rockin’ dude we grew to love, but that’s because he had next to no human interaction for his entire life. The vast array of differences from the video game were well explained while also being very well executed. We didn’t spend too much time away from our main protagonist and antagonist. In fact, their interactions and solo scenes not only perfectly outlined exposition through the narrative, but also didn’t focus too much on mediocre backstory or stupid character traits. It was balanced. 

Yes, we are not going to persecute them for ruining the original Sonic design. They paid for that in sweat and money and we got what we wanted from it. Now, Sonic looks like Sonic actually should. The CGI effects were well executed. It was very easy to suspend your disbelief, especially when it came to Dr. Robotnik’s mechanical drones. They looked like they were actually part of the movie. 

Sonic’s speed and running effects were ridiculously well pulled off. There was even a great effect where it looked like he was running circles and there were hundreds of him because he was moving faster than the naked eye could comprehend. That’s some great detail. 

Where the visuals undercut was hither and thither. At the beginning, when we first see Sonic as a child, the character design is very underwhelming. Beyond that, there are some nitpicks that I could go into, but just know that they are not a deal breaker and they are easily forgotten about as the movie progresses.

Where this movie thrives is the soundtrack. Gangster’s Paradise was so out of place in the trailer, so it’s good that it wasn’t in the actual movie. However, the music is lively and sometimes even gives you the nostalgia feels as you recognize some of the Blue Blur’s original music. 

Sonic’s voice is sadly not Jaleel White, but Ben Schwartz was still superb. Even if you’re use to the old Sonic voices of the TV shows, it will take seconds before you get used to his take on the character. Without a doubt, he pulled off just about every line with flawless humor and wit. Sure, some of the dialogue was cheesy and some of it didn’t ring all that true, but that’s a minor nibble.

Focus, that’s the key word here. The story was tight and focused while also giving us the visuals and plot points to keep up the pace as it went along. Characters worked and coincided without feeling contrived or forced into easily avoidable situations. Whatever distractions they do put on the screen do not waste a whole lot of time and do not out stay their welcome. You get enough character backstory to relate to the characters and even care for them. 

One major change from the source material is the mythical rings. Their function is vastly different from what we’re used to, but at the same time they perfectly fit where they sit. Instead of the rings being a source of energy, they serve to move the plot along at a good pace. 

To call this a road trip movie would be quite shallow, as the driving sequences, while densely packed, do not take up a terrible portion of the overall film. Besides, the main driving scene is so action packed you kind of forget the road trip feel all together. 

Let’s not kid each other, this is not high art. It is not going for any Oscars and it’s certainly not going to appeal to a universal audience. Therefore, the themes are more what you’d find in your bargain bin Dreamworks and Pixar movies. There’s the friendship quality that’s rather obtuse and palpable throughout the whole thing. Then there’s the evil inherent in a careless government and staying true to your modest roots as well as to yourself. It’s about what you’d expect. They’re ham-fisted, but not at all unwelcome. 

That’s one great thing we can share with our kids, is the power of 90’s Nostalgic Kids Intellectual Properties. Sonic is perfect for the kids. If there were any cursing, it wasn’t noticeable. There’s no real violence or gore. Another great and surprising fact about this movie, aside from the overall quality, is that there is one single fart joke in the whole thing. It’s not entirely wholesome, though, there are small bits of fighting as well as a few jokes that only grownups would find a bit strange and oddly cruel. There was no raunchiness or overall shocking material, though. Bring the younglings.

Everyone pulled their own weight. Sonic and Robotnik were perfectly cast and James Marsden did what he needed to while still being overall likeable. He fit into the plot wonderfully and was not overly accepting of this outlandish situation, especially at first. Along with him was Tika Sumpter, an actress who was actually somewhat under utilized. She joined in on some of the adventures, but she was so likeable, I wouldn’t argue if she were in more of it. 

Jim Carrey was a bright spot on the radar, for sure. From the very beginning, everyone sang the praise of his inclusion. What a perfect concept of a 90’s nostalgic movie featuring one of the 90’s sharpest comedic talent. He brought Dr. Robotnik to life in more ways than one. He was hateable in the most wonderful way and you really didn’t want him to leave the screen when his scenes ended. 

All of the other minor characters served their purpose. There were no terrible performances, though some were a bit stiff. The cast was probably the real glue that made this whole movie stick together so well. 

One place where this movie falls short is picking the plot out in a lineup. Yeah, it’s the alien in the real world who befriends a human and sets out to do something that will take a lot of gusto and fighting to accomplish. It’s bare bones as storylines go. Yet another reason why this movie should not have worked in the first place. 

As a Sega fan, a Sonic fan, a 90’s kid and a part of the movie going public, I absolutely loved this film. One major factor in grading a movie is whether or not I would go see it again. I was ready to buy another ticket for either that day or the next day to see it again. It was just so much fun and so easy to watch. I think I never cringed once. If I did, it was quickly forgotten.

Is it for everyone? Obviously not. However, if you have kids and some time to kill, this movie is ideal. There is a reason why Sonic has lasted so long as a character. He is so easy to love and fun to look at that he has survived this long on charm and a handful of legendary games. This movie is going in my Bluray collection.

Virtua Sonic #5 - The Cube is the Game is the Cube

 

You do not know how strong your favorite game series is until you've played a collection that you truly fall in love with. Sonic the Hedgehog has survived through the years through imagination and a strong foundation of great games. Even the bad games are fun to play and will be worth the charge of just a few compilations, Sonic the Fighters is proof of that. The Gamecube brought about a quiet dignity to the gamers of the mid-2000's that was unappreciated in its time. Since then, a great community of fans have kept this system among the mainstream gamers for generations. The Sonic Gems and Sonic Mega collections were a Hedgehead's best way to cash in on some of the most legendary titles. 

Of course, this means that they had the first three games in the Mega Collection. In fact, a lot of his best titles. Though if I may be subjective for a moment, I have to say Sonic Spinball and Sonic 3D blasts are memories that aged about as well as a banana in the refrigerator that everyone’s seemed to have forgotten about. Sonic Spinball is a little more challenging and unfair than I remember. Maybe I had a better fix on the game as a child, because I remember seeing more levels in my youth. Maybe I just had more time and patience as a child but that doesn’t sound like a child I remember being. 

And Sonic 3D Blast is still just as slow as I remember it. There are a decent about of tiny speed ramps here and there but the game overall is far too slow to be a Sonic game. And let’s face it, chasing animals and collecting them for a pile is just boring. 

That being said, Sonic’s original three titles including the Knuckles editions of two and three bring this collection to new heights of replayability. Whoever skips out on these titles for any system cannot consider themselves Sonic fans. Your opinion is duly noted but Sega would not be in the place it was were it not for these exclusive titles in the first place. How wonderful it is that Nintendo grinned, kidnapping our dear Hedgehog and laughing maniacally as they start piledriving titles to rub it in Sega’s face. This is so apparent that there was even a port of Sonic Adventure and Sonic Adventure 2. They sure didn’t wait long to start attacking those Dreamcast titles. 

However, even the Saturn graced it with its presence. Yes, the Gems collection had Sonic 3D Blast, but I will not stop being subjective in this review, just because I’ve always loved to see that more and more people are coming out to praise Sonic R. This version is even updated with some polished graphics here and there and it’s great to see so many people come out and show love to this title. There have been a few famous reviews that called it out on its ineptitudes but really it only needed a bit of practice. Even if you call it nostalgia goggles, those are things I will wear until my dying days. Unlocking Super Sonic is well worth it for those who can appreciate the effort to bring him about. Yes, some of those levels can get a little overbearing but they are not impossible. 

There is also a serious look back at the other collection from a much more obscure console. The Sega Gamegear gets a closer look in the Sonic Gems collection. Even Tails gets two titles, acting as a single main character in his own platformer game. Is it as good as the original three? No, not even close. In fact, they would be strained to go under the title of “good” but then again, they were born on the Sega Gamegear, so we do need to give them a little bit of credit. That’s like making fun of water for being wet. These games can’t help but be awful!

Tails Skypatrol is a game that couldn’t handle any real movement from the bad guys, nor could it afford any control of any kind. Even when you’re flying, the controls are so bad, the game has to compensate by making you hook onto random moving objects to see that you control just a little better. Don’t hit those little moving things, then expect to run into some random wall that will kill you immediately! One wrong move and you’re toast. These walls and platforms come out of seemingly nowhere because they look so generic that they’re in the background. They don’t seem to pop out as an obstacle or a threat. Was it really so much to ask for for just a simple moving ladybug robot or maybe a ball with spikes? Something that looked the least bit like a danger of any kind would be really nice.

Sonic Drifts 2 is just awful. You drive at high speeds down a road which you have no view on. Your control is sluggish to say the least. This is an asinine design for a racing game. You could make a case for some of these other platformers, but you can’t render a racing game on something that couldn’t produce a proper framerate to save its life! It’s bad enough to control the Gamegear Sonic 2 or Sonic The Hedgehog Triple Trouble. Those two games are made easier for the sake of making up for its lack of “BLAST PROCESSING” or any semblance of the proper graphics to handle any speed. The problem is you run to the other end of the screen and it has to catch up. Hopefully, there’s nothing in front of you to knock some rings out of you. 

This title had tons of samey Sonic slamfests (I ran out of nouns, bite me) but if I keep getting into them, this article will go way too long. Just trust that you can assume their gameplay and control pretty much blows tremendous amounts of chunks. It also has Vectorman games, but this isn’t called Virtua Vectorman! Moving on!

Sonic Advneture DX and Sonic Adventure 2: Battle were both ported to the Gamecube as upgraded and cleaned up Sega Dreamcast games! In fact, as nostalgia goggles go, this was probably the best they’ve looked in a while. They also had extra levels and extra modes to play! Everyone loves raising chao babies and now everyone can shoot their least favorite Sonic characters in the FACE! Not only were they made better, but Sonic Adventure 2 deleted almost ALL of the Big the Cat cameos! That’s a part of Sonic Adventure we’d prefer to forget, of course.

The Gamecube brought about quite the library for our favorite blue speedrunner, in fact, I’ve barely scraped the surface of this collection. Sonic was actually treated better on the Gamecube than he was his own systems from before. Even Sonic R was treated with respect. Though, it would have been amazing if we got a port of Sonix X-treme, but that may have been expecting a bit too much. Not only did the Gamecube polish up old games, but it released titles such as Shadow the Hedgehog and Sonic Heroes. Even counting Sonic Riders, at least they were trying new things. 

There are many reasons I personally consider the Gamecube a spiritual sequel to the Sega Dreamcast. It's funny how things turn out, isn't it? No one back then would think Nintendo could make such a good Sega System. Underappreciated in its time but still a timeless none the less. Give it a try and play some rockin' Sonic titles! Remember to get that Robotnik jerk and drink plenty of water!