Gems Collection is burned into my mind as one of my Gamecube staples. Being able to activate Super Sonic at the end of Fighters and trying to figure out what people saw in CD are some of my oldest memories of the series that aren't directly linked to the Adventure games. Those unlockable music pieces were amazing too.
If Sonic Origins is a hit when it comes out next year, I’d love to see another compilation game of Sonic games that haven’t been widely played outside of their original platforms. Picture this: a hypothetical modern Sonic Gems Collection that includes Sonic the Fighters, Knuckles’ Chaotix, the Sonic Advance Trilogy, Sonic Battle, Sonic Pocket Adventure, Sonic Spinball, Sonic Shuffle, Sonic Heroes, Sonic Rivals 1 & 2, maybe even Riders 1 & 2 and some of the Japan-exclusive arcade games. Many Sonic games that have been left behind that deserve to be brought back on current-gen systems. (Though I’m not so sure if Rush or Chronicles could be ported due the design architecture of the DS.
A big part of CD's appeal, honestly, was its almost mythical status. It was released for a console add-on nobody owned, got one PC port a few years later and was forgotten for years. That combined with the concept of a time travel game, its unique aesthetic, anime intro, and the debates about the two soundtracks made it kind of a white whale for a lot of fans. Something that was always in discussion but few had experienced firsthand. (Plus, that Peel Out animation just looked really cool, dammit!) I had the PC version growing up, so I was already familiar with it by the time Gems Collection came out. The Christian Whitehead port finally made the game easily accessible beyond GameCube owners. But in becoming so easy to obtain, it lost its biggest draw: its obscurity. I enjoy Sonic CD, but I can totally understand why it doesn't jive with a lot of people. It's a bizarre game.
@@GamingintheAM0801 I understand you think it’s obscurity was an important part of Sonic CD, but in my opinion no good game deserves to be left forgotten and inaccessible.
@@GamingintheAM0801 Are you saying that some really good Sonic games should remain inaccessible?! That would not jive well for die-hard fans, especially if it’s a good one like Pocket Adventure or the Advance Trilogy.
@@benmalsky9834 Oh no, not at all! It was just an observation from someone who's been in this fandom for a long time. Once the 2011 re-release came out, public opinion on Sonic CD really started to shift toward the negative, which was such a change from the days when it was an obscure relic that people would call the "secret best Sonic game that nobody's played." When it lost that mystique, people started to think the game was maybe overhyped a bit.
Mega Collection Theme hits different Edit: even if Origins lacks bonus content, i will buy this collection with a big smile on my face. Unlocked 3&Knuckles on Mega Collection naturally and was blown away. Still cant get enough of these games.
Yeah dude all the classic games remade and remastered in widescreen on modern consoles, it's perfect. Wish Knuckles Chaotix was included though, that game has a lot of room for improvement and the remakes have done nothing but improve.
I remember i immediately cheesed the game to unlock S3&K (the opening and closing) I had already beaten S3 as a kid so i wanted to do knuckles since we only rented S&K as a kid. Didnt bother getting the Chaos emeralds because i assumed knuckles didn't have a super transformation like tails. Only to beat launch base zone and find out about super emeralds. Then got the rest of the chaos emeralds, then the super emeralds and unlocked Hyper Knuckles. Then i HAD to get them as Sonic and my brain was blown.
Sonic Mega Collection was like the one game I love playing. The extras music was huge part of my childhood whenever I had a bad day at school or having problems the music always helps me calm down. Listening to it now brings me to tears.
Mega Collection remains a GameCube favorite of mine, but I had Gems Collections forever tattooed into my subconscious because a lot happened the day I got it: it was the summer before I started middle school, i tried Orbit's then-new Sweet Mint flavor (my family gets it pretty often) and my dad took me to see Sky High in Theaters. If any of those things come up, I almost always think of the others. Quelling my nerves before school chewing gum and playing an obscure Sonic fighting game...2005 was wildin.
The track called "History" in Sonic Mega Collection is low-key one of my absolute favorite pieces of VGM, ever. I have such a strong nostalgic and calming response whenever I hear that track.
36:28 Thank you for actually mentioning New Zealand. Everyone seems to fail to acknowledge that we exist and that we also got this collection. Great video, as well!
Sonic Jam will always be the best Sonic collection imo. I have lost so many hours of my childhood in Sonic World running around and watching those videos over and over again
A few months ago I booted up Sonic Mega Collection on my Gamecube out of sheer boredom. I had not played it once since I was 7-10 years old and couldn't remember much of anything of it at the time. As soon as that title screen came up and the music started playing a rush of memories came flooding back to me of forgotten friends and small blurry televisions that I would gaze at for hours while playing Sonic games on my new Gamecube. It made me realize just how long I've followed this series and is honestly the strongest hit of nostalgia I've had in my entire life. Thanks for making such a great and in depth video.
Being a Sonic fan back in those days was the best thing that can happen to you back in the day, even if video games were stigmatized during the time. I was already a fan of the series before we had Sonic Mega Collection. In fact i first experienced Sonic at a kiosk in Toys R Us with my dad playing a kiosk version of Sonic Adventure 2 Battle when i was 5. Eventually i gotten to play Sonic 1 in a Genesis collection that had only 5 games in one during that year i remember. Sonic 1, Revenge of Shinobi/Super Shinobi, Streets of Rage 1, Golden Axe 1, and Columns. Eventually a couple of years later i gotten a Gamecube from my dad and his girlfriend before they split with Sonic Mega Collection and later on next year the Sonic Adventure Duology. I also gotten Gamecube from my Grandmother to play at her house the same year i gotten the other one and Sonic Heroes for it a year later. Along with already having Sonic Advance 1, 3, and at that same day Sonic Battle for Game Boy Advance. Then on my birthday the following year i gotten Sonic Advance 2. Being a Sonic fan during that time was an adventure in and of itself and i wish i could go backk and experience it all again before the dark ages arrived.
I miss Sonic at store kiosks! I still remember freaking out in a Circuit City when they had an SA2 DC demo running White Forest. Who was this other hedgehog, look at those speed lines, oh my god the music!! Seven-year-old me was in a whole other world...
It bothers me that Sonic Jam didn't feel properly marketed when it. Seeing ads for it, I assumed it was just the four main Sonic games that I already had and put hundreds of hours into. I had no idea about the hub world, extra features, or changes to the levels.
Great video dude! Your research is really top notch! Fun tid bit about the 3d classic collection. The developers of the project M2 pushed the 3ds to its limits trying to get Sonic 1 to run smoothly and even got in touch with Yuji "don's steal my engine" Naka, to get tips on how to implement the spin dash into the games code years after he left Sega to work on other things.
If this video already wasn't so long, and if the 3DS' 3D was possible to show through CZcams video, I'd have loved to spend some time on that collection. I dearly love those 3D SEGA releases, bought each and every one of them and each one was a delight. Shame we didn't get them all physically, but man, what a great line up.
I'm in a weird spot where I have a lot of nostalgia for the genesis originals but ALSO mega and gems collection. Loved both of those releases and dropped so many hours into both gc games. Great job on the vid! A fun trip down memory lane
I wanna say I heard somewhere that Gems excluded the Streets of Rage games in the US because it would be bumped to a T rating. I may be mistaken, though.
@@MykonosFan your welcome also nice to see that you covered sonic classic collection in this video I grew up with that game and it was neat to experience classic sonic on a hand-held gaming console it was also my first experience with sonic 3 and sonic and knuckles and knuckles in sonic 2 and sonic 3 and knuckles
Came here from The Golden Bolt's new SA2 essay!!! Awesome history video! Wish more developers had the same time, care, and money to continue to make detailed compilations a regular thing. I grew up with the DS collection as my only way to play the classics. It wasn't perfect, but I'm grateful for what it did have...
Thanks for coming over! TGB is a close friend of mine so it's nice to see. I can't help but agree. There have been some great ones here and there, hat SNK 40th anniversary collection is obscure to young ones like us, but it's a high bar that others should be striving for imo. Fingers crossed for more great ones!
Fun fact: on the PC version of mega collection plus you can code the game file's to unlock all games and hints plus you can make the screen resolution better.
Mega Collection Plus and Gems Collection were so close to being a complimentary complete collection. The dream would be what I will dub "ultimate Classic Sonic Collection" or something to that extent
When you were talking about the inane methods of unlocking those other games in Mega Collection, I had a slight panic attack about Flicky cause I did get that unlocked for the collection, but couldn't remember how so I was fretting over whether or not my brother or I had played that much Bean Machine back then. So once you said "SA2B on memory card", I felt very relieved lol
Sonic Jam was what made me love Sonic (and played the classics on easy for my young skill set) Sonic Mega Collection Plus made me fully complete the classics as intended and also introduced me to the archive comics (I'm from the UK so i had Fleetways Sonic the comic which was awesome too)
I'm looking forward to Origins as well - I'm a new Sonic fan and I hope sega can make as many compilations and ports as possible of the older games so I can experience them.
After Rare Replay, my dream Sonic collection became something similar but for Sonic Team. It'd be so cool to just have everything from 1991 to 2001 tossed into a comprehensive set. All of the Sonics, NiGHTS, Burning Rangers, Chu Chu Rocket...Samba de Amigo and Phantasy Star Online probably wouldn't work, but I'd be over the moon!
19:55 HOLY SHIT! I was also introduced to Sonic 1 via the Sega Smash Pack compilation. Actually, my introduction to Sonic in general was on the Dreamcast, with SA1, SA2 and Sonic 1.
Exactly the way I got into Sonic! That and catching the end of the Sonic OVA on Starz as a kid, I don't know why we had Starz but man it was so cool seeing it. All that cemented me as a helpless Sonic fan for life lol.
I miss when the final boss fights were intense, Darkspine Vs Alf Layla Wa Layla is honestly the most intense and pretty gruesome with Darkspine Sonic, remember when Sonic mercilessly assaulted a big heart? Good times.
These days I go to Kirby for that. In Kirby Star Allies he too assaulted Void Termina's beating, bleeding, "heart". Kirby also often gets new powers before the final battle like Sonic used to do.
My *earliest* memory is playing Sonic 2 on my Genesis and the series was literally life. While I played tons of games from the series I didn't get to play all of the Genesis or Gamegear games until Mega Collection, DX and Gems collection so getting collections of these games that I didn't even know existed absolutely blew my 10 year old mind. I was always mad that 3D Blast was the Genesis version and not the Saturn version that I was so familiar with. I really wish that Sega would port that version instead of the Genesis one like we always get. Also I spent so much time in mega collection's galleries reading every comic and manual that was available and looking at all of the illustrations and videos. I must have sunk hundreds of hours into that disc alone.
Yeah, the big reason to use sth/ sonic classics is because it gives you a selection on which blue sphere stage you can play, the other cartridges only give one stage assigned to a id number in the code of the game
Phenomenal video!! What a trip down memory lane. There actually was a Sega Smash Pack II that was released for PC, though it seems to be a little obscure nowadays. But it included Sonic 2, Flicky, Comix Zone, Shining Force, Vectorman 2 and others I'm sure I am forgetting about. It was actually my first time experience any of those games along with the Sonic and Knuckles Collection and Sonic CD PC rounding off my introduction to Classic Sonic haha!
@@MykonosFan No doubt! As rough as Sega's post-Dreamcast future was for a bit, they did such a phenomenal job of making sure their legacy titles could reach new players on PC early on. I probably never would have become such a huge fan without them being willing to do that!
Finding out the Sonic and Garfield pack WAS ACTUALLY real and not a Twitter joke threw me for a loop. I saw it on Twitter like you said and totally thought it was a photoshop. Wild.
Sonic Mega Collection has a special place in my mind and heart. Its the game that got me in to Sonic the Hedgehog. I remember going to target one day after school on Friday back in 2004. I saw the game and my uncle bought it for me. After playing it nonstop after getting home that day, I just fell in love with Sonic. The music, games, sound effects... everything about Sonic Mega Collection makes me reminisce about my childhood days being in to Sonic.
Hey man, this is a fantastic look at all the collections! Great job! As a kid I lost my mind trying to figure out how to unlock the hidden games in Mega lol
9:54 Nice video so far and...wait...is that...no...this mad lad put the Heathcliff theme song in this! Thus masterpiece was just elevated to a certified hood classic my dude
Sonic Jam was one of the high lights of the Saturn, just a cool look at his past along with a glimpse of the future to come. I remember playing the originals on the Genesis to death and while I never owned a Saturn my best friend growing up was all about Sega so he of course had Sonic Jam. We used to mess around in Sonic World for hours, especially when Super Mario 64 got us all hyped for a 3d Sonic title.
I think the reason Sonic Jam, Mega Collection, and Gems Collection provide really good content is because of Yuji Naka. I know people like to give him some crap nowadays because of Balan Wonderworld and him just being the programmer of Sonic, but he genuinely respected the craft it took to make Sonic games back in the 90’s and respected the character.
What Yuji Naka doesn't respect are other developers. Sorry but I lost all respect for him, when hearing the way he routinely sabotaged the careers and even well-being of other people just to make his own position in the company look favorable, and how genuinely disrespectful he is to western developers and his own staff.
oh man it's cool yet strange hearing your voice without any of the other guys alongside it the vid gave me a few chuckles and I like the deep cut music choices from the extra Sonic CD music
Sonic & Knuckles Collection was my introduction to the series. My elementary school would let kids play it while waiting for the school bus, and I loved it so much I had my mom buy me the Sonic Action 4 Pack from a toy store one day. I have lots of nostalgia for the games that were included in the 4 Pack, especially 3 & Knuckles.
Sonic Jam is one if not my favorite Sonic game ever! I'm so glad my childhood had this amazing game. Mega Collection kept me entertained in my High School years!
Sonic Mega collection on Gamecube still holds a special place in my heart God the many hours where i literally just sat there in the history section listening to one of my favorite soothing music in any game ^_^
Played Sonic 2 on Genesis at about 2 years old, but actually got into Sonic (and what I'd say Properly introduced to the series) through Mega Collection throughout elementary school. Going home every night, throwing my bag down and instantly jumping into Sonic 2 and 3 was a blast, and unlocking Ristar was the absolute best.
Never knew their was so many collections of sonic, well I did to a certain extent lol but I still have my sonic mega collection since 2002 and it gives me tingly nostalgic feelings every time I even look at the cover art I love the music of the menus , so many sonic games better than most compilations/collections from past to new and also all the good extras that’s jam packed is basically the icing on the cake and the cherry on top. I love every bit of it. Nostalgic vibes
I spent so much time with Mega Collection and Gems Collection on GameCube. I still have vivid memories of sitting in my room late at night, playing Sonic CD and listening to the Samurai Champloo soundtrack on loop
Sonic 1 & 2 on the mega drive have a special place in my heart. But so does Sonic jam, because my friends copy of that is where I was introduced to S3&K and I played it all the time with my childhood friend. I have so many memories attached to that collection.
There used to be a discount book shop near where I live that for some reason in 2015 suddenly stocked a bunch of Sega 10 in 1 PC games made for like Windows XP.
29:39 Finally... Vindication for how I always pronounced "Ristar" 😂 For real though, really great video! Sonic Mega Collection was how I fell in love with those old games when I was a kid, and it's so nice to see it talked about here. And I remember opening and closing those individual games just to unlock the extra ones, I was persistent when it came to Sonic 😂.
My first compilation was Mega Collection Plus, and I didn't know about 3k, 2K or Ristar, so I only played those on the DS classic collection and Mega Drive Ultimate Collection.
I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU FORGOT THE SONIC COLLECTION WITH THE VIDEO OF HIM MAKING OUT WITH MARIO THIS IS AN OUTRAGE!!!!! This video was a freaking banger, good shit boy.
Here’s all the Sonic Collections I have. Sega Genesis Classics for Nintendo Switch The Sega Genesis games with Nintendo Switch Online Sonic Classic Collection for the Nintendo DS Sonic Gems Collection for the Nintendo GameCube I have that Sonic 25th Anniversary AtGames Sega Genesis Classic system And I have the Deluxe version of Sonic Origins pre-ordered on my Switch I do wanna get the other collections too someday. Like Sonic Jam, Mega Collection, Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection, and the Sega Genesis Mini.
The only Sonic the Hedgehog-related compilation games that I do not go for are the ones that do not include Sonic 3 (aka Sonic 3, Part 1), Sonic & Knuckles (aka Sonic 3, Part 2), Sonic 3 & Knuckles (aka the full version of Sonic 3), Knuckles in Sonic 2 and Blue Sphere on them.
Crazy intro, my first game was gems collection, specifically sonic r with fighters right behind. My cousins bought it to me as a gift for my GameCube and man I used to play it alot
I became a Sonic fan largely because of Sonic Mega Collection Plus on PS2. I’m super glad they released SMC again with more Game Gear games for PS2, because I don’t think I would have ever learned about Sonic until the movie came out if I never got Sonic Mega Collection Plus as a kid.
Me finding a 40 minute video from a small creator on a topic I was interested in all I could think was, "please have a good speaking voice". Suffice it to say, the speaking voice was indeed good. As was the video. Subbed!
I'd just love a convenient way to play all the game gear games. But if I could get a way to conveniently play the advance or maybe even rush games, that'd be hunky dory too.
The Museum Theme for Gems is one of my favorite tracks of anything. It honestly edges out the Mega Collection one for me slightly in terms of tear-jerking nostalgic sound. I remember one day as a kid with one of those cheap little battery powered MP3 players, I'd bring it to school and download the Gems OST off khinsider and listened to it on the way back home. All of Gem's included remix tracks and menu songs pretty cemented my taste in music.
I remember I was about 6 years old when I got Mega Collection Plus. I remember really wanting to buy Sonic Heroes but I ended up with Mega Collection instead, which was much greater of a value. I got to download my little brain with classic Sonic goodness (or at least the first two acts of each game since I was terrible at precise platforming). After many years though, it's great to return to these classics and play through all of them in their entirety in one package, but I am really crossing my fingers that Sonic Origins becomes like a new definitive classic Sonic compilation. Fullscreen support will be awesome for Sonic 3&K.
First game in "Sonic Mega Collection" (and Plus) was also revised to include spike bug fix (finally) in real Mega Drive ROM. Unfortunatelly, later releases of "Sonic The Hedgehog" were downgraded - SEGA Mega Drive Collection on PS2 uses first revision (US/EU), SEGA Mega Drive Classics Collection on Windows (from 2010-2012 which still on sale) uses second release (Japan).
The funny thing is that my first experience with Sonic was with Mega Collection Plus and Gems Collection both on the PS2, I don't even remember where I got Gems lol.
What a great idea for a video! I played a few Sonic games as kid beforehand, but the first Sonic game I ever owned was Mega Collection on the gamecube. I played the heck outta that thing! It’s also how I was introduced to the Sonic OVA (I mistook the CD opening for part of the “Sonic Movie” a friend had told me about) and the Archie Sonic comics. Big nostalgia for that game.
i couldn't tell you how much sonic mega collection plus means to me besides it being my introduction to the sonic series at age 11 but introduced me to sonic 3 one of my favorite 2d platformers of all time and i still listen to the start up menu and main menu music to this day
Actually glad I was able to find Sonic Mega Collection(also have the + version for my PS2) & Gems Collection for my GameCube. One of my favorite finds. Took me yrs to find Gems. But I got it
You actually get the blue spheres game in S&K regardless of what game you attach, you could plug in any other game than sonic 2 or 3 and it would give you the blue spheres minigame
I didn't even know you guys didn't get gems collection on PS2. That was the first sonic compilation I ever got and it was £1. My aunt let me pick between that and a Tom & Jerry game. Safe to say, there wasn't much of a choice
Sonic jam was the first compilation I played. It was awesome at the time I thought, as it was more convenient to have all the megadrive (Genesis) games on one C.D instead of 4 separate cartridges. Plus playing sonic in 3D blew my mind (even if was just a mini game)
Gems Collection is burned into my mind as one of my Gamecube staples. Being able to activate Super Sonic at the end of Fighters and trying to figure out what people saw in CD are some of my oldest memories of the series that aren't directly linked to the Adventure games. Those unlockable music pieces were amazing too.
If Sonic Origins is a hit when it comes out next year, I’d love to see another compilation game of Sonic games that haven’t been widely played outside of their original platforms. Picture this: a hypothetical modern Sonic Gems Collection that includes Sonic the Fighters, Knuckles’ Chaotix, the Sonic Advance Trilogy, Sonic Battle, Sonic Pocket Adventure, Sonic Spinball, Sonic Shuffle, Sonic Heroes, Sonic Rivals 1 & 2, maybe even Riders 1 & 2 and some of the Japan-exclusive arcade games. Many Sonic games that have been left behind that deserve to be brought back on current-gen systems. (Though I’m not so sure if Rush or Chronicles could be ported due the design architecture of the DS.
A big part of CD's appeal, honestly, was its almost mythical status. It was released for a console add-on nobody owned, got one PC port a few years later and was forgotten for years. That combined with the concept of a time travel game, its unique aesthetic, anime intro, and the debates about the two soundtracks made it kind of a white whale for a lot of fans. Something that was always in discussion but few had experienced firsthand. (Plus, that Peel Out animation just looked really cool, dammit!)
I had the PC version growing up, so I was already familiar with it by the time Gems Collection came out. The Christian Whitehead port finally made the game easily accessible beyond GameCube owners. But in becoming so easy to obtain, it lost its biggest draw: its obscurity.
I enjoy Sonic CD, but I can totally understand why it doesn't jive with a lot of people. It's a bizarre game.
@@GamingintheAM0801 I understand you think it’s obscurity was an important part of Sonic CD, but in my opinion no good game deserves to be left forgotten and inaccessible.
@@GamingintheAM0801 Are you saying that some really good Sonic games should remain inaccessible?! That would not jive well for die-hard fans, especially if it’s a good one like Pocket Adventure or the Advance Trilogy.
@@benmalsky9834 Oh no, not at all! It was just an observation from someone who's been in this fandom for a long time. Once the 2011 re-release came out, public opinion on Sonic CD really started to shift toward the negative, which was such a change from the days when it was an obscure relic that people would call the "secret best Sonic game that nobody's played." When it lost that mystique, people started to think the game was maybe overhyped a bit.
Mega Collection Theme hits different
Edit: even if Origins lacks bonus content, i will buy this collection with a big smile on my face. Unlocked 3&Knuckles on Mega Collection naturally and was blown away. Still cant get enough of these games.
Yeah dude all the classic games remade and remastered in widescreen on modern consoles, it's perfect. Wish Knuckles Chaotix was included though, that game has a lot of room for improvement and the remakes have done nothing but improve.
I remember i immediately cheesed the game to unlock S3&K (the opening and closing) I had already beaten S3 as a kid so i wanted to do knuckles since we only rented S&K as a kid. Didnt bother getting the Chaos emeralds because i assumed knuckles didn't have a super transformation like tails. Only to beat launch base zone and find out about super emeralds. Then got the rest of the chaos emeralds, then the super emeralds and unlocked Hyper Knuckles.
Then i HAD to get them as Sonic and my brain was blown.
Sonic Mega Collection was like the one game I love playing. The extras music was huge part of my childhood whenever I had a bad day at school or having problems the music always helps me calm down. Listening to it now brings me to tears.
Mega Collection remains a GameCube favorite of mine, but I had Gems Collections forever tattooed into my subconscious because a lot happened the day I got it: it was the summer before I started middle school, i tried Orbit's then-new Sweet Mint flavor (my family gets it pretty often) and my dad took me to see Sky High in Theaters. If any of those things come up, I almost always think of the others. Quelling my nerves before school chewing gum and playing an obscure Sonic fighting game...2005 was wildin.
The good old days, friend
The track called "History" in Sonic Mega Collection is low-key one of my absolute favorite pieces of VGM, ever. I have such a strong nostalgic and calming response whenever I hear that track.
Me too buddy
Ah, Sonic Mega Collection Plus, the nostalgic memories. Here’s to hoping Origins re-use the music
Especially the credits song from Plus holy fuck it's a buried gem
36:28 Thank you for actually mentioning New Zealand. Everyone seems to fail to acknowledge that we exist and that we also got this collection. Great video, as well!
i live in new zealand
19:36 But... Sonic Jam *is* the game I think of when it comes to Sonic collections! :P
Sonic Jam will always be the best Sonic collection imo. I have lost so many hours of my childhood in Sonic World running around and watching those videos over and over again
A few months ago I booted up Sonic Mega Collection on my Gamecube out of sheer boredom. I had not played it once since I was 7-10 years old and couldn't remember much of anything of it at the time. As soon as that title screen came up and the music started playing a rush of memories came flooding back to me of forgotten friends and small blurry televisions that I would gaze at for hours while playing Sonic games on my new Gamecube. It made me realize just how long I've followed this series and is honestly the strongest hit of nostalgia I've had in my entire life.
Thanks for making such a great and in depth video.
Being a Sonic fan back in those days was the best thing that can happen to you back in the day, even if video games were stigmatized during the time. I was already a fan of the series before we had Sonic Mega Collection. In fact i first experienced Sonic at a kiosk in Toys R Us with my dad playing a kiosk version of Sonic Adventure 2 Battle when i was 5. Eventually i gotten to play Sonic 1 in a Genesis collection that had only 5 games in one during that year i remember. Sonic 1, Revenge of Shinobi/Super Shinobi, Streets of Rage 1, Golden Axe 1, and Columns. Eventually a couple of years later i gotten a Gamecube from my dad and his girlfriend before they split with Sonic Mega Collection and later on next year the Sonic Adventure Duology. I also gotten Gamecube from my Grandmother to play at her house the same year i gotten the other one and Sonic Heroes for it a year later. Along with already having Sonic Advance 1, 3, and at that same day Sonic Battle for Game Boy Advance. Then on my birthday the following year i gotten Sonic Advance 2. Being a Sonic fan during that time was an adventure in and of itself and i wish i could go backk and experience it all again before the dark ages arrived.
I miss Sonic at store kiosks! I still remember freaking out in a Circuit City when they had an SA2 DC demo running White Forest. Who was this other hedgehog, look at those speed lines, oh my god the music!! Seven-year-old me was in a whole other world...
@@MykonosFan Swap Emerald Coast and Toys R Us and you have my childhood.
It bothers me that Sonic Jam didn't feel properly marketed when it. Seeing ads for it, I assumed it was just the four main Sonic games that I already had and put hundreds of hours into. I had no idea about the hub world, extra features, or changes to the levels.
Great video dude! Your research is really top notch!
Fun tid bit about the 3d classic collection. The developers of the project M2 pushed the 3ds to its limits trying to get Sonic 1 to run smoothly and even got in touch with Yuji "don's steal my engine" Naka, to get tips on how to implement the spin dash into the games code years after he left Sega to work on other things.
If this video already wasn't so long, and if the 3DS' 3D was possible to show through CZcams video, I'd have loved to spend some time on that collection. I dearly love those 3D SEGA releases, bought each and every one of them and each one was a delight. Shame we didn't get them all physically, but man, what a great line up.
@@MykonosFan 3D videos can actually be uploaded to CZcams and there's probably a way to record 3D 3DS footage either via emulation or a modded console
@@kellymountain A 3D video must be specifically uploaded to CZcams _as_ a 3D video, though, with proper 3D support.
Sonic Mega Collection > Sonic Origins
Correct 💯
I'm in a weird spot where I have a lot of nostalgia for the genesis originals but ALSO mega and gems collection. Loved both of those releases and dropped so many hours into both gc games. Great job on the vid! A fun trip down memory lane
I wanna say I heard somewhere that Gems excluded the Streets of Rage games in the US because it would be bumped to a T rating. I may be mistaken, though.
Ahh, yes I think I heard that too now that you mention it! Shame to miss out on great games, but that does make sense.
It's fantastic to see thiers a video going over all of the different sonic compilations you did a fantastically good job on this
Thank you! I really appreciate that.
@@MykonosFan your welcome also nice to see that you covered sonic classic collection in this video I grew up with that game and it was neat to experience classic sonic on a hand-held gaming console it was also my first experience with sonic 3 and sonic and knuckles and knuckles in sonic 2 and sonic 3 and knuckles
Came here from The Golden Bolt's new SA2 essay!!!
Awesome history video! Wish more developers had the same time, care, and money to continue to make detailed compilations a regular thing. I grew up with the DS collection as my only way to play the classics. It wasn't perfect, but I'm grateful for what it did have...
Thanks for coming over! TGB is a close friend of mine so it's nice to see. I can't help but agree. There have been some great ones here and there, hat SNK 40th anniversary collection is obscure to young ones like us, but it's a high bar that others should be striving for imo. Fingers crossed for more great ones!
Fun fact: on the PC version of mega collection plus you can code the game file's to unlock all games and hints plus you can make the screen resolution better.
Send the link plz
@@YetAnotherSADXFan I don't have a link
Mega Collection Plus and Gems Collection were so close to being a complimentary complete collection. The dream would be what I will dub "ultimate Classic Sonic Collection" or something to that extent
When you were talking about the inane methods of unlocking those other games in Mega Collection, I had a slight panic attack about Flicky cause I did get that unlocked for the collection, but couldn't remember how so I was fretting over whether or not my brother or I had played that much Bean Machine back then.
So once you said "SA2B on memory card", I felt very relieved lol
Allow me to relieve you further...I mean...what
@@MykonosFan 😳
To this day the history music from Mega Collection will ALWAYS manage to take me back to my younger years. Same thing with Melees trophy music.
Omg Mega and Gem Collection music took my love of Sonic to a whole new level. That intro to mega collection my favorite title theme of all time.
Sonic Jam was what made me love Sonic (and played the classics on easy for my young skill set) Sonic Mega Collection Plus made me fully complete the classics as intended and also introduced me to the archive comics (I'm from the UK so i had Fleetways Sonic the comic which was awesome too)
I'm looking forward to Origins as well - I'm a new Sonic fan and I hope sega can make as many compilations and ports as possible of the older games so I can experience them.
After Rare Replay, my dream Sonic collection became something similar but for Sonic Team. It'd be so cool to just have everything from 1991 to 2001 tossed into a comprehensive set. All of the Sonics, NiGHTS, Burning Rangers, Chu Chu Rocket...Samba de Amigo and Phantasy Star Online probably wouldn't work, but I'd be over the moon!
you sound like a professional chef and i love it
jarsh finx
42:11 SONIC CLASSIC COLLECTION LETS GOOOO
19:55 HOLY SHIT! I was also introduced to Sonic 1 via the Sega Smash Pack compilation. Actually, my introduction to Sonic in general was on the Dreamcast, with SA1, SA2 and Sonic 1.
Exactly the way I got into Sonic! That and catching the end of the Sonic OVA on Starz as a kid, I don't know why we had Starz but man it was so cool seeing it. All that cemented me as a helpless Sonic fan for life lol.
I miss when the final boss fights were intense, Darkspine Vs Alf Layla Wa Layla is honestly the most intense and pretty gruesome with Darkspine Sonic, remember when Sonic mercilessly assaulted a big heart? Good times.
These days I go to Kirby for that. In Kirby Star Allies he too assaulted Void Termina's beating, bleeding, "heart". Kirby also often gets new powers before the final battle like Sonic used to do.
My *earliest* memory is playing Sonic 2 on my Genesis and the series was literally life. While I played tons of games from the series I didn't get to play all of the Genesis or Gamegear games until Mega Collection, DX and Gems collection so getting collections of these games that I didn't even know existed absolutely blew my 10 year old mind. I was always mad that 3D Blast was the Genesis version and not the Saturn version that I was so familiar with. I really wish that Sega would port that version instead of the Genesis one like we always get.
Also I spent so much time in mega collection's galleries reading every comic and manual that was available and looking at all of the illustrations and videos. I must have sunk hundreds of hours into that disc alone.
Well, that last part certainly did age like milk.
I remember the PC release of Sonic and knuckles collection back when I was a kid
Game compilations : the most recent is the best
Sonic compilations : guess i'll go backwards
Fun fact: You get the Blue Sphere game for games that aren't compatible with Sonic and Knuckles. It does that for every other genesis game
Yeah, the big reason to use sth/ sonic classics is because it gives you a selection on which blue sphere stage you can play, the other cartridges only give one stage assigned to a id number in the code of the game
I wonder what stage we get if, shall we say, inserted home brew games like Xeno Crisis, Tanglewood, Tänzer, Paprium, Pier Solar and others, on it?
I recall there being a Sega smash pack 2 on PC back in the 90s as I still have my copy
Phenomenal video!! What a trip down memory lane.
There actually was a Sega Smash Pack II that was released for PC, though it seems to be a little obscure nowadays. But it included Sonic 2, Flicky, Comix Zone, Shining Force, Vectorman 2 and others I'm sure I am forgetting about.
It was actually my first time experience any of those games along with the Sonic and Knuckles Collection and Sonic CD PC rounding off my introduction to Classic Sonic haha!
That's a pretty decent lineup! Looks like it also had Super Hang-On, man. If that had came to Dreamcast, kid me would have flipped out.
@@MykonosFan No doubt! As rough as Sega's post-Dreamcast future was for a bit, they did such a phenomenal job of making sure their legacy titles could reach new players on PC early on. I probably never would have become such a huge fan without them being willing to do that!
Finding out the Sonic and Garfield pack WAS ACTUALLY real and not a Twitter joke threw me for a loop. I saw it on Twitter like you said and totally thought it was a photoshop. Wild.
Sonic Mega Collection has a special place in my mind and heart. Its the game that got me in to Sonic the Hedgehog. I remember going to target one day after school on Friday back in 2004. I saw the game and my uncle bought it for me. After playing it nonstop after getting home that day, I just fell in love with Sonic. The music, games, sound effects... everything about Sonic Mega Collection makes me reminisce about my childhood days being in to Sonic.
Hey man, this is a fantastic look at all the collections! Great job! As a kid I lost my mind trying to figure out how to unlock the hidden games in Mega lol
i know this is a video about sonic game collections, but i couldn't help but notice the gene gadget act 1 saturn version, great taste my guy
8:46 THE MOMENT WE ALL HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR WHEN CLICKING THE VIDEO
Sonic Mega Collection Plus is how I grew up with the Genesis games without being a 90’s kid
9:54 Nice video so far and...wait...is that...no...this mad lad put the Heathcliff theme song in this! Thus masterpiece was just elevated to a certified hood classic my dude
This was a nice and cozy video. Hopefully Origins reaches the highs of Mega Collection but we'll see I suppose!
Sonic Jam was one of the high lights of the Saturn, just a cool look at his past along with a glimpse of the future to come. I remember playing the originals on the Genesis to death and while I never owned a Saturn my best friend growing up was all about Sega so he of course had Sonic Jam. We used to mess around in Sonic World for hours, especially when Super Mario 64 got us all hyped for a 3d Sonic title.
"Hey all, Scott here and DAMN IT I own Sonic Jam!"
I think the reason Sonic Jam, Mega Collection, and Gems Collection provide really good content is because of Yuji Naka. I know people like to give him some crap nowadays because of Balan Wonderworld and him just being the programmer of Sonic, but he genuinely respected the craft it took to make Sonic games back in the 90’s and respected the character.
What Yuji Naka doesn't respect are other developers. Sorry but I lost all respect for him, when hearing the way he routinely sabotaged the careers and even well-being of other people just to make his own position in the company look favorable, and how genuinely disrespectful he is to western developers and his own staff.
oh man it's cool yet strange hearing your voice without any of the other guys alongside it
the vid gave me a few chuckles and I like the deep cut music choices from the extra Sonic CD music
also my introduction firsthand was the DS collection hell yeah
oh shit i've also been to that mothman statue with the ass too
Sonic & Knuckles Collection was my introduction to the series. My elementary school would let kids play it while waiting for the school bus, and I loved it so much I had my mom buy me the Sonic Action 4 Pack from a toy store one day. I have lots of nostalgia for the games that were included in the 4 Pack, especially 3 & Knuckles.
Sonic Jam is one if not my favorite Sonic game ever! I'm so glad my childhood had this amazing game. Mega Collection kept me entertained in my High School years!
3:20 and of course sonic the hedgehog ... ONE 😂 snap cube references never get old 😁
Sonic Mega collection on Gamecube still holds a special place in my heart
God the many hours where i literally just sat there in the history section listening to one of my favorite soothing music in any game ^_^
Mega collection on Gamecube was my most familiar Sonic Compilation
I remember the spindash being louder than usual in Sonic Classic Collection
Yep me too
Played Sonic 2 on Genesis at about 2 years old, but actually got into Sonic (and what I'd say Properly introduced to the series) through Mega Collection throughout elementary school. Going home every night, throwing my bag down and instantly jumping into Sonic 2 and 3 was a blast, and unlocking Ristar was the absolute best.
Never knew their was so many collections of sonic, well I did to a certain extent lol but I still have my sonic mega collection since 2002 and it gives me tingly nostalgic feelings every time I even look at the cover art I love the music of the menus , so many sonic games better than most compilations/collections from past to new and also all the good extras that’s jam packed is basically the icing on the cake and the cherry on top. I love every bit of it. Nostalgic vibes
I spent so much time with Mega Collection and Gems Collection on GameCube. I still have vivid memories of sitting in my room late at night, playing Sonic CD and listening to the Samurai Champloo soundtrack on loop
21:19 It has to be a crime to absolutely murder Yuzo Koshiro's soundtrack like that...
It's pretty atrocious! Haha
Sonic 1 & 2 on the mega drive have a special place in my heart. But so does Sonic jam, because my friends copy of that is where I was introduced to S3&K and I played it all the time with my childhood friend. I have so many memories attached to that collection.
Lmfao @ 9:57 you have Heathcliff music for Garfield.👌👌💯
There used to be a discount book shop near where I live that for some reason in 2015 suddenly stocked a bunch of Sega 10 in 1 PC games made for like Windows XP.
29:39 Finally... Vindication for how I always pronounced "Ristar" 😂
For real though, really great video! Sonic Mega Collection was how I fell in love with those old games when I was a kid, and it's so nice to see it talked about here. And I remember opening and closing those individual games just to unlock the extra ones, I was persistent when it came to Sonic 😂.
@@StarluxeTheShyGuy thanks for the correction!
Mega 6 Volume 3 was a pack in cartridge for the Mega Drive II in the UK for a while. Good way to start a library.
My first compilation was Mega Collection Plus, and I didn't know about 3k, 2K or Ristar, so I only played those on the DS classic collection and Mega Drive Ultimate Collection.
I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU FORGOT THE SONIC COLLECTION WITH THE VIDEO OF HIM MAKING OUT WITH MARIO THIS IS AN OUTRAGE!!!!! This video was a freaking banger, good shit boy.
I will find you, Jtart9.
@@MykonosFan you wish you could
When I saw the post about this I didn't understand what you meant. But you are reviewing a collection of collections damn this is a hefty boy!
15:37 this is the most enjoyable theme I've ever heard from a Sonic Album
Here’s all the Sonic Collections I have.
Sega Genesis Classics for Nintendo Switch
The Sega Genesis games with Nintendo Switch Online
Sonic Classic Collection for the Nintendo DS
Sonic Gems Collection for the Nintendo GameCube
I have that Sonic 25th Anniversary AtGames Sega Genesis Classic system
And I have the Deluxe version of Sonic Origins pre-ordered on my Switch
I do wanna get the other collections too someday. Like Sonic Jam, Mega Collection, Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection, and the Sega Genesis Mini.
The only Sonic the Hedgehog-related compilation games that I do not go for are the ones that do not include Sonic 3 (aka Sonic 3, Part 1), Sonic & Knuckles (aka Sonic 3, Part 2), Sonic 3 & Knuckles (aka the full version of Sonic 3), Knuckles in Sonic 2 and Blue Sphere on them.
Crazy intro, my first game was gems collection, specifically sonic r with fighters right behind. My cousins bought it to me as a gift for my GameCube and man I used to play it alot
Sonic Classic Collection is my first Sonic game
I became a Sonic fan largely because of Sonic Mega Collection Plus on PS2. I’m super glad they released SMC again with more Game Gear games for PS2, because I don’t think I would have ever learned about Sonic until the movie came out if I never got Sonic Mega Collection Plus as a kid.
dropped in for the channel name, stayed for the video, greetings from Greece brother 🇬🇷
I’ve played Sonic R multiplayer via Gems collection quite a bit. It’s a really fun game
Me finding a 40 minute video from a small creator on a topic I was interested in all I could think was, "please have a good speaking voice".
Suffice it to say, the speaking voice was indeed good.
As was the video. Subbed!
I'd just love a convenient way to play all the game gear games. But if I could get a way to conveniently play the advance or maybe even rush games, that'd be hunky dory too.
The Museum Theme for Gems is one of my favorite tracks of anything. It honestly edges out the Mega Collection one for me slightly in terms of tear-jerking nostalgic sound.
I remember one day as a kid with one of those cheap little battery powered MP3 players, I'd bring it to school and download the Gems OST off khinsider and listened to it on the way back home. All of Gem's included remix tracks and menu songs pretty cemented my taste in music.
The Archie Sonic heroes BEFORE the SGW was a gift.
I remember I was about 6 years old when I got Mega Collection Plus. I remember really wanting to buy Sonic Heroes but I ended up with Mega Collection instead, which was much greater of a value. I got to download my little brain with classic Sonic goodness (or at least the first two acts of each game since I was terrible at precise platforming). After many years though, it's great to return to these classics and play through all of them in their entirety in one package, but I am really crossing my fingers that Sonic Origins becomes like a new definitive classic Sonic compilation. Fullscreen support will be awesome for Sonic 3&K.
First game in "Sonic Mega Collection" (and Plus) was also revised to include spike bug fix (finally) in real Mega Drive ROM. Unfortunatelly, later releases of "Sonic The Hedgehog" were downgraded - SEGA Mega Drive Collection on PS2 uses first revision (US/EU), SEGA Mega Drive Classics Collection on Windows (from 2010-2012 which still on sale) uses second release (Japan).
The funny thing is that my first experience with Sonic was with Mega Collection Plus and Gems Collection both on the PS2, I don't even remember where I got Gems lol.
What a great idea for a video! I played a few Sonic games as kid beforehand, but the first Sonic game I ever owned was Mega Collection on the gamecube. I played the heck outta that thing! It’s also how I was introduced to the Sonic OVA (I mistook the CD opening for part of the “Sonic Movie” a friend had told me about) and the Archie Sonic comics. Big nostalgia for that game.
Hell yeah. I only wish kids today could get a similar experience tbh. Not sure Origins is gonna be "it", so to speak
Sega Smashpack on the dreamcast was my game as a kid, Virtua Cop 2 was the absolute slap
Nice topic to cover. Sonic Mega Collection all the way 👌
Holy shit Classic Collection was my JAM when I was young
Your SONIC JAM?
@@jojonono2679 yes
Sonic classic collection was the first sonic game for me. Man simple times
i couldn't tell you how much sonic mega collection plus means to me besides it being my introduction to the sonic series at age 11 but introduced me to sonic 3 one of my favorite 2d platformers of all time and i still listen to the start up menu and main menu music to this day
Actually glad I was able to find Sonic Mega Collection(also have the + version for my PS2) & Gems Collection for my GameCube. One of my favorite finds. Took me yrs to find Gems. But I got it
I'm glad I found this gem of a retrospective. You just earned a sub my friend.
I'm happy you enjoyed it!
Great video!
21:46 Sega Smash Pack 2 was a PC exclusive release. You can even see it shown earlier in the video during the intro section.
Yeah haha. I probably should have specified it "never came to Dreamcast".
You actually get the blue spheres game in S&K regardless of what game you attach, you could plug in any other game than sonic 2 or 3 and it would give you the blue spheres minigame
Thank you do much for making
this much needed video. 👍
I had the Sonic Mega Collection for the PS2. The bonus comics were an amazing read and that's how I found out about the Archie Sonic Comics.
Trivia: Sega reused Sonic Mega Collection menu theme on the ill-faded Sega Heroes mobile game.
the ooze is a hidden gem for sure the music rocks 2 and the story line is dope another game sega ip that could have been great on Saturn or Dreamcast
Sonic Classic Collection is also notable for being a DSi-enhanced game. Play it on a DSi or 3DS and it runs a bit better.
I didn't even know you guys didn't get gems collection on PS2. That was the first sonic compilation I ever got and it was £1.
My aunt let me pick between that and a Tom & Jerry game. Safe to say, there wasn't much of a choice
Great stuff, Chris!
I'm glad you enjoyed it, bud. 😎
Sonic Mega Collection Plus was my first Sonic game.
Sonic jam was the first compilation I played. It was awesome at the time I thought, as it was more convenient to have all the megadrive (Genesis) games on one C.D instead of 4 separate cartridges. Plus playing sonic in 3D blew my mind (even if was just a mini game)
I loved mega collection and gems collection on GameCube