SEGA 3D Classics

That's really weird. I know I'm usually down on Sega things, but you're dead right with your list, mas - OutRun's for sure a classic. Puyo Puyo at least is a good game regardless of 3D graphics. Thunder Blade though? If the 3D isn't somehow spot-on that's going to be unplayable...
What the fuck's Maze Walker. I just looked it up, and was waiting for the GIF to de-interlace, when it turned out that was actual game.

See the thing is this was like the 3rd collection in Japan and is the one were getting in the west.

Why I don't know, as this is the collection people have been asking for since it came out in Japan. I'm guessing that the other collection's have the likes of Outrun which we can get on the eShop where Maze Walker isn't.

I'm looking forward to giving Power Drift a proper go. One of my earliest gaming memories was seeing the arcade cabinet in an amusements in Troon and thinking that it looked the bollocks.

Otherwise, aye, it pretty much goes without saying that Gunstar Heroes and Streets of Rage 2 are just a slight bit better than Altered Beast and Super Thunder Blade. Still, the other exclusive stuff compensates for those disappointments, I feel.

"What the fuck's Maze Walker" indeed.

Bumpity-bump.

Just letting folk know that a bunch of the 3D Classics are discounted for the next week only:

3D Fantasy Zone
3D Gunstar Heroes
3D Out Run
3D Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master
3D Space Harrier
3D Streets of Rage
3D Streets of Rage 2
3D Super Hang-On

All £2.20 each, all recommended (especially OutRun, Streets 2 and Gunstar Heroes).

Streets Of Rage 2 is calling me like woah. I will have enough change left over once Spirit of Justice has downloaded, too...

The Cappuccino Kid wrote:

Bumpity-bump.

Just letting folk know that a bunch of the 3D Classics are discounted for the next week only:

3D Fantasy Zone
3D Gunstar Heroes
3D Out Run
3D Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master
3D Space Harrier
3D Streets of Rage
3D Streets of Rage 2
3D Super Hang-On

All £2.20 each, all recommended (especially OutRun, Streets 2 and Gunstar Heroes).

I'm up for some of these actually - £2.20 to replay the three games you've mentioned is a steal. I'll probably give Streets of Rage a look too, even though its sequel shits all over it.

Got me a 3D Streets Of Rage 2. Played more in midair than I have on Terra Firma up to press. What an international jetsetter I am.

I rattled through Streets of Rage 3D the other day in a sitting - great little port, but that game isn't how I remember it. Horrifically frustrating at some points, mind-numbingly easy at others. Bring on Streets of Rage II 3D!

Japan are getting their THIRD SEGA 3D Classics Collection this December which might be the best of the 3 collections.

It has:
After Burner II
Alien Syndrome
Columns
Gunstar Heroes
Sonic the Hedgehog 2
Streets of Rage 2
Super Hang-On
Thunder Force III
Turbo Outrun

I don't know if based on how well the collection were getting (which is 2nd in Japan) in the west does, might effect if we get this 3rd collection or maybe the 1st collection released here.

The first collection has these just in case you're wondering:

Ecco the Dolphin
Fantasy Zone: Opa-Opa Brothers (Master System version is in the collection we're getting, while this is the Arcade version)
Out Run
Out Run 3-D
Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master
Space Harrier
Space Harrier 3-D
Streets of Rage

Just remembered that the Classics Collection comes out here next week - what a result.

Does anybody know where I can buy a physical copy of it ahead of the launch? None of the big online retailers seem to be selling it.

It is a Argos Exclusive from a tweet from SEGA but its not on Argos website.

Cheers for letting me know. That's a bit pish - I think I'll just download it instead. Puyo Puyo and Fantasy Zone are definitely the sorts of games that I'd play more if I always have them on the system.

You can now buy it if you want Cappa

I downloaded SEGA 3D Classics Collection at the weekend and played it while travelling yesterday (and while I should have been doing work today ). I was going to stick this in the review thread, but it makes better sense here. Game by game, here's my thoughts:



Power Drift was the game that I most looked forward to playing again – I played it loads in the amusements when I was a wee boy over twenty years ago, and I had a lot of good memories of it. But, alas, it’s not as good as it used to be. The track design is a bit over-elaborate and confusing, which doesn’t sit that well with the straightforward kart racing itself. I was a bit unmoved by it, truth be told.  Super Hang-On and OutRun are two similar-ish and ultimately better Yu Suzkui games that are already on the eShop – download those instead. 6/10.

Over the last three months I’ve played the first 3D Fantasy Zone to buggery – it’s a perfect handheld game. 3D Fantasy Zone 2 is just as good a 2D shooter, in that all it does is add quantity to the quality of before. It’s a unique and addictive game that doesn’t get the appreciation it deserves, sadly. 8/10.

The Master System version of Fantasy Zone 2 is here as well. I don’t know why. It’s not as good. 6/10.

Speaking of Master System games, M2 have chucked 3D Maze Walker in here. “What the fuck is Maze Walker?”. To best answer that, basically, 3D Maze Walker is not Sonic 3 & Knuckles, or Dynamite Headdy, or Comix Zone, or Virtua Racing, or indeed any of the dozens of other games that could have been ported instead. You run around hitting balls with Andrea's Big Stick. Looks arse, plays arse, shite, jobby. This might be even more boring than Animal Crossing amiibo Festival. 2/10.

It gets worse. Altered Beast is here again, stinking up yet another retro compilation in which is not at all welcome. Altered Beast was always keech. This must have been badly out-of-date before even the end of the 1980s. In 2016, it’s just a wee bit sad. The ancient Greek mythology stuff bores the arse off of me whatever the context, but I’d probably be more forgiving of that if the game wasn’t so basic, repetitive and unappealing. Surely nobody has any nostalgia for this anymore, do they? 2/10 (and half of that is just for “WISE FRWOM YO GWAVE” and “WELCOME TO YO DOOOOOM!”, natch).

Thunder Blade is a bit different. To be honest, the Mega Drive version is one of my least favourite games of all time, with it’s shitey graphics, scaling, soundtrack and difficulty. Terribly bollocks. But unlike Altered Beast this is based off of the arcade original, which is a wee bit better. The re-master itself is fantastic – all credit to the developer, it looks brilliant on the New 3DS. It’s still no classic, but once you tinker about with the in-game options it becomes a bit more agreeable. That said, whether on Mega Drive, in an arcade or on 3DS, Thunder Blade still takes less than fifteen minutes to finish. It’s probably best experienced in this collection, when you’re paying for other games too. 4/10.

Of all the games that have been ported and re-mastered as part of the 3D Classics range, I don’t any work as well as 3D Galaxy Force II. It was another one of those games that was ambitious but rubbish on Mega Drive, but M2 do it justice on 3DS. It looks superb – alongside OutRun, I think that it’s one of the best-looking games on the system. It's been given a new lease of life. In the end, it winds up as a all right game that I’ve been sort of enjoying on 3DS for a while now. It’s hard as fuck though. 6/10.

3D Puyo Puyo 2 is a nonsensical addition to the collection. As unquestionably decent as it is, it’s hard to get excited (or even particularly arsed) about a game that you’ve very probably seen, played and patched dozens of times before. Is it even in 3D? I can’t remember. What was the point in this again? 5/10.

At least the 3D Classics Collection houses the definitive version of the first Sonic The Hedgehog game. It’s an absolute classic, and it's honestly never been better. But it’s everywhere – I’ve got versions of this game on SEGAs, Nintendos, PlayStations, Xboxs, computers, mobiles, tablets, and carved into caveman walls. It’s the same basic experience, basically. 9/10.


I regret downloading this. Right enough, most of these games are good pick-up-and-play fayre, but I’ve already got 3D Sonic and 3D Galaxy Force II, and Power Drift isn’t good enough to carry the overall shitey-ness of Puyo Puyo 2, Thunder Blade and Altered Beast. I should have just downloaded Fantasy Zone II separately. You should do that too. Or, even better, just get a retail copy from Argos, spend a few hours with it, have your fun and then trade it in for most of your money back. £24.99 on the eShop is stupidly steep, as I’ve annoyingly found out.

tl;dr: it's inessential, 5/10.

That's a rather damming review especially after all the critics have given it nothing but praise.

Most games critics get their games for free, to be fair. Most games journos should probably work for free too, to be fair.

Yeah even we get free gamss.

Compilations can always be hit or miss depending on how much cack is included with quality. It's even tougher to deliver a solid compilation if the games are easily available as standalone purchases too. Cheers for the write-up, Cappa.

You all pleased M2 are continuing with this on Switch with AGES? The other thing I'm thinking is with AGES, ACA and wasn't another retro thing like that also announced for Switch how do you think this will affect Virtual Console if others are doing there selfs including Nintendo games?

Pleased if they get the game choice right, aye. I'll always welcome Sonic The Hedgehog, Streets of Rage 2 and Gunstar Heroes as they're genuine classics, but SEGA and M2 can bugger off if they're planning Round 5,589 of Altered Beast, Golden Axe and Super Thunder Blade. Mind you, if they do bring those to Switch, they'll likely be the best they've ever been: M2's work on the 3D Classics series was magnificent.

It sure was and they've talked about Phantasy Star for instance and how it's a reworking of the PS2 verison (which we never got) which includes things like save anywhere, speed up etc

Also rumours about Sonic's will be the iOS ports which got team Sonic Mania that the gig but the biggest news is they want requests including Saturn and Dreamcast games.

I've personally already tweeted, what about OG Xbox and Cube games like Billy Hatcher or Shenmue 2 (maybe why no Switch Re-Release announced).

I didn't really follow the news about SEGA AGES last week, but us that what this is, a further update of the old PS2 updates? If it is, I'm much less excited now - some of those were really dodgy. I don't remember any of the ones I played on the SEGA Classics Collection compilation being particularly good.

No, it's based on a Japanese only release of Phantasy Star sold on its own on PS2 part of a SEGA Ages collection which we've never had in the west, with updated features which the steam Final Fantasies basically did as well.



Not some port on a compilation and from that news it sounds like M2 is going to find the best version they've got of a game and bring that to Switch hence the iOS Sonic rumours.

I'd be up for playing some of the more recent retro offerings - I remember liking Billy Hatcher and I'd be somewhat interested to check out Sonic Adventure if only to laugh my head off during the cutscenes with the wacky voice acting. The older stuff, like Cappa mentioned, has been done to death and you'll only tempt me with the a-grade games like Gunstar Heroes.

If the updates are good then I'm up for replaying Sonic with the added stuff of Mania.