Game Tech: Sega goes back to the future

The word ‘classic’ can mean ‘a work of art of recognised and established value’, but it can also mean ‘very typical of its kind’. In the Sega Mega Drive Classics collection, we get both.

Mega Drive Classics is the latest example of Sega packaging together the best games from their 1990s heyday. In this case, they have released 50 Mega Drive games in one collection for Xbox, PS4, and PC.

The collection contains some of the greatest games ever, alongside more typical releases that don’t warrant special praise. As always with retro releases, your own nostalgia is likely to determine if the price (€59.99) is right.

Let’s start with the undeniable classics. ‘Beyond Oasis’, ‘Dynamite Headdy’, all three ‘Golden Axe’ games, ‘Sonic 1’ and ‘2’, ‘Space Harrier 2’, and the ‘Streets of Rage’ series were brilliant in the ’90s and are still brilliant now. If you enjoy surreal roguelikes, then ‘Toe Jam’ and ‘Earl’ can be added to that list, too. Those games, alone expertly represent action RPGs, platformers, and beat-em-ups.

In fact, what quickly becomes apparent is how many of the 50 games fall under these three categories. If you enjoy old-school side-scrollers, especially those heavy on action, then the Sega Mega Drive collection really has you covered.

Alongside the classics above, you also have ‘Alien Soldier’, ‘Alien Storm’, ‘Altered Beast’, ‘Comix Zone’, ‘Decap Attack’, ‘Shinobi’, ‘Vectorman’, and ‘Wonderboy’. All of these involve walking to the right of the screen and taking out swathes of enemies, sometimes with a bit of platform action to break things up.

That’s no surprise. Such was the way of things in the ’90s. Much like the open-world games of the modern era, Mega Drives games were largely based on one template, which was partly a limitation of the hardware and partly down to market demand. Yet, despite that, some games did step outside such limitations. Some of them became more than classics — they became masterpieces.

These are the games that truly elevate the collection. The ‘Shining Force’ games, which pioneered turn-based strategy on consoles, combined exploration and a fantastic plot with chess-like battles, to outstanding effect. No games since have managed the same alchemy.

The ‘Phantasy Star’ series, but especially ‘Phantasy Star IV’, took risks that the ‘Final Fantasy’ series on Super Nintendo couldn’t, telling a mature and epic story across a series of in-game generations.

Finally, there is ‘Landstalker’, Sega’s attempt at a Zelda game, which created a truly unique experience. An isometric action RPG, ‘Landstalker’s’ diagonal view was both its strength and its failing.

Graphically, the world is unlike anything else created in the ’90s, or since, but the isometric view also led to some truly fiendish jumping puzzles. Judging leaps in ‘Landstalker’ was sometimes a matter of blind faith, but making those leaps was thrilling.

You won’t be taking a leap of faith in buying the Sega Mega Drive Collection. There’s enough here to make the package worthwhile. Meanwhile, Sega will continue releasing old games and do little about releasing worthwhile sequels. Classic Sega.

Hats off to Pokemon

It’s almost impossible to remember the classic Pokemon games now. Was it ‘Pokemon Yellow’? ‘Sun’? ‘Diamond’? There have been so many releases that all we remember is a boy in a red hat and a catchy theme song.

Nintendo recently added three new Pokemon games to that list, each one tailored to a specific audience. The first, ‘Pokemon Quest’, is a free-to-play game that’s available right now on Nintendo Switch.

It will be coming to smartphones at a later date.

Sporting Minecraft-style graphics, ‘Quest’ involves training Pokemon at a base and fighting off large groups of other Pokemon who attack. It’s a simple, strategic game.

The second game is called ‘Pokemon: Let’s Go’. This is more like a traditional entry for the series, with exploration and quests and a story, but ‘Let’s Go’ is more casual than previous releases and clearly aimed at the ‘Pokemon Go’ audience. Nintendo are hoping these new players will migrate when ‘Let’s Go’ releases in November.

Finally, in 2019, the series will see a ‘classic’ Pokemon release. This will have all the depth and nuance that veteran players expect. It should be one of 2019’s biggest sellers.