Gaming Target - Dreamcast: Sega Smash Pack Volume 1

Written by Ryan Smotherman on June 28, 2001

Review: These titles might be oldies, but they are definitely some goodies.

This review might be a tad bit late, but I just wanted to express my views on this remarkable title. When I first heard Sega was going to release a greatest hits CD, this warm sensation filled my body. That feeling? It was an overwhelming case of nostalgia. Just the thought of playing all those classics from my yester years on my Dreamcast made me all teary eyed. And I believe the collection has gotten a bad wrap from most of the gaming press, so I'm here to defend it, sort of anyway. Sure the emulation isn't what it should be, in return, sound has been horribly downplayed and some games even experience a little minor slowdown, but just getting to experience these games again (or for the first time) makes the game well worth owning.

Sonic the Hedgehog
This was a no-brainer for Sega wouldn't you say? Let's see, put one of our greatest and most popular games ever on our greatest hits collection, well duh. If it's been awhile since you've played this gem, you owe it to yourself to pick this up just to experience Sonic's greatness once again. And if you've never played it, shame on you. Seriously, if you've never played Sonic the Hedgehog you better go get this collection, NOW!

Shining Force
One of my personal favorite RPG's of all time. This strategy/RPG is in my opinion the greatest Sega RPG ever created, right next to Skies of Arcadia anyway. Shining Force fits very nicely into this collection, and a lot of people have yet to experience it. Right here we have one of the top reasons to own the Smash Pack.

Phantasy Star 2
Phantasy Star 2 was first Phantasy Star game to appear on the Genesis console, and probably the best. Now while I myself have never been a big fan of the Phantasy Star series (minus PSO), it certainly has a huge fan base. And for all those who wonder where Phantasy Star Online's roots are, you should without doubt check this out. (I rhymed)

Revenge of Shinobi
The ninja is back baby! A lot of the newer Sega fans might not recall the Shinobi games of the past. And for good reason, the last Shinobi title appeared way back during the beginning of the Saturn's lifespan. But this Shinobi title was one of the best; mark this up as another top-notch title on the Smash Pack.

Altered Beast
This arcade-to-Genesis translation of the action/werewolf game was one of the first Genesis games released. And its age definitely shows, it has probably some of the worst graphics on the whole disk, and it also offers one of the most challenging experiences on it. But all in all it's worth a play or two.

Vectorman
Right behind the Sonic games, Vertorman was easily the best platform game to appear on the Sega Genesis (Matt will back me up here). And it's still hella fun to this day, and one of the best reasons to pick up a Smash Pack.

Streets of Rage 2
Streets of Rage 2 is Sega's rendition of the beat-em gameplay that has been seen in such titles as Final Fight and more recently the PS2 title Bouncer. And man is it great, even in today's million dollar game budgets and super graphics world, it's quite fun (me and Arthur took it for a test drive a while back). When Sega finally decides to revive the series, I feel for all the wanna-be's out there.

Columns
I'm not really a fan of puzzle games (besides Tetris) so this title really doesn't appeal to me much. I guess Sega just wanted to throw a lot of variety into the package. So here's one of your puzzle games, and it's not too shabby either.

Wrestle War
As big a Sega fan that I am, I've never ever heard of this game till the Smash Pack came out. And there's probably a good reason for it, it blows big time. It's easily the worst title on the Smash Pack and not worth your time or attention. To tell you the truth though, I'm just mad at this game cause Arthur dominated me in it.

Golden Axe
This title is up there with Streets of Rage 2 for the best Sega beat-em up of all time. Instead of the present city streets world found in Streets of Rage, Golden Axe is set in a medieval type world, which I personally like better, but the gameplay still isn't as fine tuned as Streets of Rage's. But overall it's quite fun and well worth playing. (Speaking of another Sega games which needs an update, hmmЕ)

Sega Swirl
Not much to really say here. Sega Swirl is another puzzle game by Sega that has been available free with many of the Dreamcast demo disks for a while now. It's also the best Dreamcast puzzle game out there. In addition, Sega Swirl is one of those titles that you must give a shot, especially if you like puzzle games.

Virtua Cop 2
This is the arcade-to-Dreamcast conversion that was only released in Japan. And to think, they most likely had to pay $40 bucks for it while we get it on the Smash Pack, can't beat that. But I see why it never came here separately, the conversion is quite bad, hell, the graphics are on par with the Saturn's version. However, it's still the best home version of Virtua Cop 2 around.