The first objective of any video game to its players is to entertain, to give them the sense of enjoyment and satisfaction. However, I rarely get that sensation whenever I dive into a retro compilation. I have this theory that most developers release these compilations more for archival purposes, as a way to remind people what they churned out in the past. I say this because a lot of the collections I've played have a list of games with varying degrees of quality. I know it's going to be impossible for every gamer to love every title in a compilation, but that's not what I'm getting at. I'm talking about the crap games, the ones that have absolutely no business being in a collection supposedly showcasing a company's finest moments.
That brings me to Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection, which is basically a remixed version of the Sega Genesis Collection that was released for the PlayStation 2. The list of games from that collection have been kept mostly intact, with only some games being removed and replaced with something else. Now, with the compilation making a bold claim at being an ultimate in Genesis collecting, one would easily assume it has a fantastic array of Sega titles. However, that assumption goes flying out of a 15-floor window when you realize Super Thunder Blade is in this ultimate collection. You're seriously telling me that Shadow Dancer, a fun Shinobi game, was removed, yet this botched, on-rails shooter got to stay?
Don't get the wrong idea that SUGC is filled to the brim with horrible titles, because there's quite a bit of quality games featured, like the four main Sonics (the exclusion of lock-on is a huge turn off, though), The Best Shinobi Game Ever™ (Shinobi III), the original Phantasy Star series, and Streets of Rage III. But, as a whole, this ultimate compilation is rather questionable in its attempt at being ultimate, making you wonder, constantly, about certain decisions. Why not include the arcade version of Thunder Blade, instead? What's the point of having both the Genesis and arcade versions of Altered Beast? How did two horribly-designed platformers starring a green robot make it on the list? And why... why is the menu music so catchy?
There's easily a number of other Genesis titles to show off than what was dumped into this collection, like After Burner II, Super Hang-On, and Space Harrier II. Hell, those aren't even fantastic games, just ones that are superior to the bad titles that made it. They really fumbled with the opportunity to actually create an actual ultimate collection of Sega games. The producer has stated that they worked under a tight development schedule, specifically when talking about passing on including the lock-on feature for Sonic & Knuckles. He even went as far as saying that they would have to drop games just to make it happen. Hey, that would have been fine with me, since I doubt I would lose any sleep knowing titles like Comix Zone, Sonic Spinball, and one of the Altered Beasts ended up being cut...
Look, the next time you make a similar "ultimate" collection in the future, don't fill half the compilation with legit, quality titles, like the platforming classic, Dynamite Headdy, the strategic Shining Force games, and the arcade version of Shinobi (it's one of the extras), then just half-ass it the rest of the way with stuff like the dreadfully repetitive Fatal Labyrinth. And at least pick decent games to show off if you're going to do it anyways. It's a good thing the quality titles have more weight in their enjoyment than the horrible ones with their crappiness, or this collection would have been in really bad shape.
Overall Rating: 7/10
You can also see this review on GameFAQs and HonestGamers. If you spot this review anywhere else, I didn't post it there.