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Obscure Hedgehog

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 21 / 25
Date: August 17, 2005
Author: Amazon User

For Sonic The Hedgehog, he has been one of the most enduring video game icons of all time. Since his debut in the 1990's, he has been recognized with being so fast, he hasn't been stopped. A few years ago, Sega conjured up the Sonic Mega Collection for the Nintendo Gamecube, which was arguably the most definitive nostalgic reflection from the blue speed demon and his Genesis days. While there were some that were upset that some games were overshadowed, the Playstation 2 & Xbox had improved versions of the Mega Collection which maintained to be more definitve than before. Yet, there still was somthings that were not there for die hard owners like the overshadowing of Sonic CD. Now, the classics keep on ringing.

Sonic Gems Collection is more like a supplement to the critical Sonic Mega Collection for Gamecube owners. The compilation is mainly consisted of some lesser known greats Sonic had been featured in. The main games are really the diamonds in the rough. Sonic CD, the cult classic from the Sega CD days, has been reissued here and remastered graciously well as the main diamond for die hard Sonic fans. The other ones also please very nicely including Sonic The Fighters, a cult classic video arcade fighting game that was released overseas from the Saturn era, but now has made its U.S. debut right here. This is a pure delight for anybody who is into classics like Street Fighter II, and Mortal Kombat days. The other game, the only one of 2 Saturn games for the U.S. Sonic R is also featured. This mad dash racing game is really fun and great to play from the mastered P.C. version a few years ago. It is a pure fan pleaser for die hard fans of the Mario Kart era, and a great challenge for all who want to be in a mad dash for the chaos gold.

While the main games are showcased well, the compilation of games from Sega's handheld Game Gear era are fair, but could've been a little more that should've been desired. The list includes greats like Sonic Triple Trouble, Sonic Spinball, and Sonic 2 to name a few. Unfortunately, there were a few omissions here that should've been showcased that were featured from the Playstation 2 & Xbox Sonic Mega Collection Plus editions: the original Game Gear version of Sonic The Hedgehog, and the well-compiled and mad dashing 1993 Sonic Chaos games, instead of lesser games like Tails Adventures and the Mario Kart knockoff Sonic Drift 2. There also a few greats that also are worth unlocking here, the cult-classic Genesis Vectorman series which was just a pure exciting smash as one the last greats from the 16-bit era.

Despite a small amount of flaws, Sonic Gems collection is a pure delight for die hard Sonic fans. There are just some great challenging games here, but more could've been added to be as definitive as before. This is great for anybody who played the Genesis era games from before in the Mega Collection for Gamecube, PS2 and Xbox. The hedgehog still keeps on rolling out and not stopping for rings.

Graphics: B+

Sound: A-

Control: A-

Price: B

Game Gear Collection: C 1/2+

Sonic R, Sonic CD and Sonic The Fighters: B+

Fun & Enjoyment: B

Overall: B 1/2-

Think of this as Sonic Mega Collection part 2.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: January 22, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I received this as a birthday present last September and I must say I am very impressed with the amount of fun Ive had playing this game.Sonic CD(old Sega CD game) is back in all it's glory as well as Sonic R(from the Sega Saturn) and the obscure yet totally addictive Sonic Fighters from the arcades.Of these 3, Sonic CD is my favorite but the 6 Game Gear games are a nice bonus as well. While Im not to nuts about the Tails titles or the Game Gear version of Sonic Spinball I'm glad they decided to put the Game Gear version of Sonic The Hedgehog 2 on here and the Game Gear exclusive Triple Trouble on here.Sonic 2 is probably my favorite of the Game Gear games that I've played as it's a little different than the Genesis ones as it brings some new twists like hang gliding and riding in a cart.The music and graphics are bright and upbeat and all of the end bosses are fun to beat.Triple Trouble is a tad like Sonic The Hedgehog 3 and most of the levels are fun and enjoyable all the graphics and music could have been improved a little bit. My favorite games on this Game Cube disc are going to go in this order according to the ones I like the best:
1. Sonic CD (A+)
2. Sonic The Hedgehog 2(A)
3. Sonic The Fighters(A)
4.Sonic Triple Trouble(A-)
5.Sonic R(B+)
6.Sonic Spinball((B)
7.Sonic Drift 2(B-)
8.Tails' Sky Patrol(C+)
9.Tails Adventures(C)
Overall this is a good collection but I recommend you buy Sonic Mega Collection first.

A few "gems" of the Sonic the Hedgehog game library

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: October 04, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I got this game a few weeks ago. I heard about it from one of my friends, and when I heard that it included Sonic CD, I decided right then and there that I had to have this game. So now, here I am, with Sonic Gems Collection in the palm of my hand. If I have to give it a full letter grade, it would be a C. It didn't live up to all of my expectations, but I'm glad I own it.

There are a total of 9 games (plus two unlockables, Vectorman 1 & 2) but I will only discuss the main three and Vectorman. Let's first start with Sonic CD.

The story of Sonic CD is simple: Sonic must save the cute Amy Rose and a whole 'nother planet from the iron grip of Dr. Eggman (a.k.a. Dr. Robotnik). Eggman's created a new robot: the villainous Metal Sonic (the coolest enemy in Sonic history, as far as I'm concerned). The goal is to guide Sonic through 7 Zones, picking up rings, beating Eggman and his robots, and scoring big points. Seems pretty simple, right? But there's a catch: to fully conquer this game, you need to collect the seven Time Stones. That's where my first complaint comes in. Getting the Time Stones was an aggravating experience. The Special Stages were nice-looking and all (for Sega CD graphics, that is), but the goal of hitting poorly placed UFO's that dodge your every attack is really hard to achieve. It's better to work on Time Attack and unlock the good ending. At first, I thought this game was too short. But when you throw in the unique time traveling gimmick, which allows you to go into the past and future of each Zone, the game can be a little longer and more fun (though not quite as fun and exciting as Sonic 3 & Knuckles, which can be found in Sonic Mega Collection, which I also own). The game even has a great soundtrack; I love "Sonic Boom". All in all, a fair game (and the race against Metal Sonic was awesome!).

Sonic the Fighters...when I first played this game, I didn't like it that much. I thought, "Sonic was never meant to be a fighting game." But now, I'm growing to like it. It's a good game to play every once in a while, and the good thing is that it's not too addictive. The final battle against Metal Sonic is hard, but awesome. Challenge a fellow rival for more fun.

Sonic R...this is the best, and only, Sonic racing game I've really taken the time to play and enjoy. The controls are simplistic, nothing complicated. You can choose from four characters in the beginning, and gradually unlock other characters. Like Sonic CD, this game has a good soundtrack. My personal favorite is the main theme of Sonic R.

Vectorman...one of the best games for the Sega Genesis is now availible on this Gems Collection. I'm not going to bore anyone with the storyline, as it's the typical "save the earth" deal. But it's fun, and plays sort of like the Mega Man games (though nowhere near as hard, unless you decide to set this game to the highest difficulty rating). Vectorman 2 is more of the same.

There are a bundle of other Sonic the Hedgehog games on this disc, so it's well worth your money to buy this game: it's at a darn good price. I'd recommend this to aspiring Sonic the Hedgehog fans and Sonic the Hedgehog veterans like myself. Just be patient while playing these games, as I stress with all the games I've reviewed.

Pretty Good...

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: December 09, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Sonic Gems collection brings back some of the games I loved since I was three. Although I never played some of the Game Gear games. It was fun to try them out. Ever since I sold my Sega systems, I've missed those games really badly. It was really fun to play those games more.

Controls: Sonic Gems collections controlls are very good. They made it feel right to play it. Plus, you can switch controls also, if you feel like playing an alternate way. But I HATE Sonic the fighters controls though, because I keep on forgeting which button is which. (A-).

Gameplay: Interesting, you could hardly tell the difference, but they could at least do some editing.(B+)

Extra features: Let me think about this... nope. ZIP! NONE! There is barely any Extra features! This is what I hate most about the game! There is no extra features! But with the Japanise version, thats a whole diferent story. In the Japanise version, there are loads of extra features. Unlike the American version (C), (A+)

Overall: This is a game I would recomend you get. Even if you're not a Sonic fan, the games are still fun. (B)

PS: I got the overall by doing an average.

A must-have! The Sonic game of all Sonic games!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: September 28, 2005
Author: Amazon User

A must-have on the Gamecube! here are my descriptions on the games..
*Up to 5, these mean how good it is!
________________________________________
Console list

Sonic CD (Sega CD and PC) *****
Speed, control, suprises! A rare game hits PC! What a goodie! I have this!

Sonic Championship (Arcade) *****
The most rare Sonic game hits console! What action!

Sonic R (Sega Saturn and PC) *****
I have the PC edition, but get this, no matter what!
________________________________________
Sega Game Gear game list

Sonic Spinball **
Not because it is slow, but because no meters show up in this game, ever.

Sonic Drift 2 *****
Speedy! The meters always show up!

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 ***
I sure wish the meters would stay in the screen during the boss fights.

Sonic The Hedehog Triple Trouble ****
Perfect! But once third acts start, the meters are already outside!

Tails' Skypatrol *****
I never played it, but it looks interesting!

Tails' Adventure *****
Perfect! Awesome!

My Review and my "Adventure" to find it!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: August 17, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Before I start my review this is what happened to me today: We got and left at 9 in the morning to get this, we checked Target, Wal-Mart, Best Buy and we called Gamestop, so, on the last stop, me and my little brother wanted to go into EBGames, we did. I was depressed I didn't find it, so I thought checking out some games would make me happier. My mother asked if they have it, they did...

Okay, on with the review! This is for the 3 main games, the extra's and the collection rating:

Sonic the Fighters:

PRO'S: THEY UPDATED THE GRAPHICS: It looks much smoother now! MANY CHARACTERS AND COMBOS: From the basic 3 punch to a pulling of the tounge, this game has plenty of humor! 2 NEW-COMER CHARACTERS: Two new characters, Bean the Dynamite and Bark the Polarbear! VERY CHALLENGING: This game can give you a easy time at the begining, but when you get to Bark the Polarbear through Metal Sonic, yout probobly gonna have a rough time... 2 PLAYER ACTION: Have a friend of a family member nearby? Give them a smackdown they won't forget! MULTIPLE STAGES: The stages go from a beautiful ocean on a boat to a showdown in space! Plenty of varitey!

CON'S

CAN GET BORING: If you play this one to long by yourself, your probobly going to feel bored and annoined, so to fix this, make some friends and if you don't have a brother or sister, grab your parents, they might want to play to! REPETTAIVE MUSIC TO THE MAX: Boy, if you are one if the people who HATE repettive music, you may want to turn the sound down, pop in your "Sonic Adventure 2" Soundtrack. Your ears will feel better in no time! ANNOYING CPU: When you are blcoking, they grab you, when they are blocking, you break the shield and they attack you, see the pattern? It does this to you ALL THE TIME! (Espicially when you are fighting Bark the Polarbear...)

OVERALL RATING: 9.2

This is my fave game on the collection, this is the REAL Gem of the CD (Not that the rest of it isn't)

Sonic CD

PRO'S: TIME TRAVEL INTO THE PAST OR FUTURE: Another one of these time traveling games? Man, amazingly, this is one of the good ones! Go to the past, find items and treasures that were discoverd thousand's of year's ago and keep them for yourself, or you can go to the future, Where Dr. Robotnik (A.K.A. Dr. Eggman) and Metal Sonic have taken over! The world has come to an end!... Or has it? CLASSIC SONIC GAME GOODNESS: When you think of Sonic, this is the type of game you think of! With a spin dash and fast speed, this is the only traditional Sonic game in this collection! THE APPERENCE OF METAL SONIC AND AMY ROSE: This game introduced Sonic's robotic doppleganger, Metal Sonic, and Sonic's lover, Amy Rose!

CON'S: THIS GAME IS TO SHORT: This game is almost as short of Sonic the Hedgehog 1! That's pretty short! (Why did they add a save feature?) THE SPECIAL STAGES ARE AMAZINGLY HARD: You have to hit the all the UFO's and do this while running, sound's easy, huh? Wrong... AMY CAN GET ON YOUR NERVES: At the end of level one, Amy runs up to you and hugs you and you have to jump to get out of it! This can get on your nerves when you are trying to look up and down for something!

OVERALL RATING: 8.7

This is my 2nd fave game on here, all because of the original-ness of it! It's like a mixture of Sonic 1,2 and Sonic & Knuckles!

Sonic R

PRO'S: 4-PLAYER MODE: This game offers the player amounts of 1,2,3 and 4! Perfect for a party, get-together or just for the family! ALTERNATE EGGMAN VERSION'S OF MOST PLAYERS: We have Metal Sonic, Metal Knuckles, Puppet Tails, Eggbot and, although not a Dr. Robotnik robotic character, Super Sonic and Eggman himself! RUN AT SUPER-FAST SPEEDS: Playing as Sonic, Knuckles, Metal Sonic, Metal Knuckles and Super Sonic is going to be a thrill because of the speed!

CON'S:

BARLEY ANY LEVELS: With only five levels, there is not much of a variety when it comes to enviroments... Let's see... We have a Beach, City, Pyramid, Waste Dump and Space.... Hmm... Not much of a variety, eh? AMY IS SO SLOW: A Snail could probobly beat her! And her boost, although it does make her as fast as Super Sonic (or faster!) You can't control it besides making the car wiggle a bit. So, yeah, she isn't that good of a character, but if you want a challenge, pick her. VERY EASY: This may be good in some opinions, but I like challenging games, and this isn'y very challenging....

Overall Rating: 8.3

Game can be boring if there is no one to play with and it is unchallenging but if you want a nice game you can beat in One Hour, then this is the game for you!

Bonus Material

I will rate them instead of review them:

120 Artwork piece challenge: 7.5
Vectroman 1: 6.3
Vectorman 2: 5.6
Manuals: 6.7

For a game collection, there really aren't many unlockables. I just plainly don't like those "Vectorman" Games, I own both, and I don't like either very much... I do like some of the pieces of artwork they threw in, some are nice, but it is rather easy to unlock if you have alot of time on your hands! The manuals extra isn't that phenominol, but it is nice to have your own manual for a game!

Collection Rating: 8.9

The collection is very nice, although it does feel weird about those Gamegear games in there, those should have been replaced with Knuckles Chaotix, Sonic Pocket Adventure, Waku Waku Sonic Police Car and some others (SegaSonic the Hedgehog woulden't work because it used a special rollar ball, maybe a Nintendo Revolution port? Anything can happen...) but yes, it is a very nice collection. The games are:

Sonic the Fighters/Championship (ARC)
Sonic CD (SCD, PC)
Sonic R (SS, PC)
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (GG)
Sonic the Hedgehog Triple Trouble (GG)
Sonic Drift 2 (GG)
Sonic Spinball (GG)
Tails Skypatrol (GG)
Tails Adventures (GG)
Vectorman (SG)
Vectorman 2 (SG)

I hope you enjoyed my VERY long review, bye!

I like this game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: July 23, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I don't have this game, but after all the movies I've seen on it, I am beginning to like it. I told my dad to get it for me as a birthday present. My sister, a big Tails fan, would love the Tails' Adventures & Tails Skypatrol games. (Sonic CD,) The game I have most desired to play, will make my dreams come true. I understand there are nine games, so are there any unlockable games?

Land of the Lost Hedgehogs

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 5
Date: August 18, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I picked it up at Toys R Us last night. The guy at the counter was also a big fan, and he said he would import it. Here's my review of the impressive collection. On a scale of 5 stars:

Sonic CD - ****. A bit slower-paced than all of the other 16-bit offerings, this game is more complex but still fun and creative! To be honest, the soundtrack on the American release is really, REALLY bad. The bland, novelty restaruant-reject lounge tunes make elevator music sound like Metallica. Why SEGA had to replace the Japanese soundtrack with Spencer Nielsen's horse manure is beyond me. The game is still good though. The time travel concept is difficult to enable: after passing a pole labeled "PAST" or "FUTURE", you must keep running non-stop. Since about every 4 feet there's a wall, this is annoying. But I did like the colorful stages very much. Very much. A better name would be, "Sonic's Wonderful World of Color." Just kidding. The special stages in a faux-3D world involve awkwardly destrying UFOs.

Sonic the Fighters - ***. It's not a button-masher. Whether you mash the buttons or not, Bark the PolarBear will tear you a new one on your first few tries. It's a blast once you get used to the controls, though, just to ram Tails into the ground! The music is nice.

Sonic R - ***. The characters control like runaway trains the first time you play, but it feels way, way, WAY better to play this on my TV than my barely-a-foot-tall computer. The music is Europop with vocals, nice & upbeat, but soon the songs sounded ripped from an exercise video (actual lyrics: Work it baby/work it!) The best part: you can take shortcuts and CHEAT! Beware of the optional missions involving popping 5 balloons: on Resort Island, after combing the tiny island for 10 minutes, I found one. The other aspects of the game are fun.

Game Gear stuff: ** 1/2. Boy, are they old. And available on Sonic Adventure DX. And still, they have better music than Sonic CD'S American soundtrack. The mind wobbles. Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Sonic Drift 2, 2 Tails games and some other stuff.

Vectorman: ** 1/2. Run. Shoot. Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

Extras: ***. Over 120 illustrations.

It was good, but Japan got a better game, with a superb Sonic CD soundtrack, and some Streets of Rage games, which were cut to get an E rating in the U.S. LAME! I hope SEGA makes Sonic Gems Collection 2! The games they need:

Sonic CD (Japanese soundtrack version!)

Knuckles Chaotix (Sega 32X)

Virtua Hamster (No relation whatsoever, but it was on the Sega 32X.)

SegaSonic the Hedgehog (Arcade)

Sonic Schoolhouse (PC)

Tails and the Music Maker (Sega Pico, a children's computer)

Mecha's pro review

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 3
Date: August 21, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Fun=***** Its a video game and an awesome one.
Educational=** Uhh it teaches you about old games,I guess.
Durable=*** Its a CD so it's not that durable.

Now on with the review,

Sonic the Fighters:The best game on the disk.Its a fighting
game and a fun one.This is the first time its ever been on
a console.It has 8 playable characters(Sonic,Tails,Knuckles,
Amy,Espio,Fang,Bean,and Bark)and 2 non-playable characters
(Metal Sonic and Dr.Robotnick).It has 9 stages.My favorite
is South Island.Each character also has their own set of attacks.
Score:9.5

Sonic CD:This game reminds me of the original sonic games.It
has a cool little time travel that lets you go to the past or
future.The past looks like prehistoric times,and the future
is a world taken over by Metal Sonic and Eggman.Also when you
finish a level with a certain amount of rings you go to a bonus
level where you destroy UFOs.A pretty fun game.
Score:8.2

Sonic R:Another good game.This ones a racing game.
It has 4 default characters(Sonic,Tails,Knuckles,and Amy)And 6 unlockable
characters(Dr.Robotnick,Metal Sonic,Doll Tails,Metal Knuckles,and
Egg Robo)There are also 5 tracks(Resort Island,Radical City,Regal
Ruin,Reactive Factory,and Radiant Emerald.
The controls take a while to get used to,but once you get the hang of it its pretty
fun.
Score:9.0

Plus 6 bonus GameGear games,

Sonic the Hedgehog 2:A regular Sonic game.Its okay.
Score:6.3

Sonic Spinball:Some type of pinball game.The worst of the GameGear games.
Score:5.1

Sonic the Hedgehog Triple Trouble:Look at Sonic the Hedgehog 2,
but you can play as Sonic or Tails.Its okay.
Score:6.7

Sonic Drift 2:A kart racing game with 6 charcters(Sonic,Tails,
Knuckles,Amy,Dr.Robotnick,and M.Sonic).I think its fun,just hard.
Score:7.4

Tails Skypatrol:In this game you only play as Tails and if you
hit anything,you lose health.
This game was only avalible in Japan.The only way you can play this game here is through Sonic
Adventure DX(Another great game) and this game.Pretty good.
Score:7.8

Tails Adventure:In this game you can only play as Tails.You also
have to equip your weapons which are bombs.
You can also equip character powers that let you do special abilities like Sonics
Spin Dash.The best of the GameGear games.
Score:7.9

I havent unlocked the Vectorman games but when I do I will review
them here.I hope you liked my review!Signing out.Oh yeah one more
thing before I go,GET THIS GAME!!!
-Mecha

Good selection overall, could be better.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 3
Date: September 29, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This is the third collection of Sonic games released by Sega. First was Sonic Jam for the Saturn, then Mega Collection for multiple Systems, and now this.This game does include some excellent titles that are hard to find on theire orginal consoles. Having covered three separate consoles (Sega CD, Saturn, and Game Gear), this collection is impressive. Being able to play them all on one system makes for convenience, and a money savor if you try to find them all separately.

First off, including Sonic CD was a good move. This is a classic game that really changed the way you typically play sonic. I would have enjoyed it more if the opening and ending were the original Japanese ones (even though they are still in English), but I'm glad it was re-released.

The Game Gear titles were impressive as well. Having owned all but one of the games on this collection, I can definitely say Sega made a good selection. I do find Sonic Spinball more apprealing on the Genesis rather than the Game Gear, but I'll take what I can get for convenience sake. Tails' Adventure is another awesome game and I can't find a flaw in it. Sonic Drift 2 is great, especially because of the fact that the 2 player mode is so easy, what with not needing two systems and a link cable. Tripple Trouble is enjoyable, as is Sonic 2. The real treat is Tails' Sky Patrol. This game had very few US releases, and is one of few games to focus on Tails alone. Good selection for the Game Gear portion.

The Saturn games are the real suprises. Sonic R had really bad control and handling, but the game itself was enjoyable. You can race with your favorite characters, who wouldn't like that? This version cleaned up the pop-up graphics in the background that the Saturn wasn't strong enough to control. Also included is Sonic the Fighters, which wasn't even released in the US. You can play awesome characters like Bark the Polarbear and Bean the Dynamite (a green duck), only found in the US in Fighters Megamix, another classic Sonic Game. Espio the Chameleon is playable, as is Fang (sometimes referred to as Knack) the Weasel. Awesome game. Great choices.

The only downfall with this collection is that its rarites could be better. I think this game would have been more impressive if it included Knuckles Chaotix, originally for the Sega 32X. I'm fortunate enough to own a working console, but for convenience sake, I'd love to own this on a newer console. It starred Knuckles and his Chaotix team, some of which are found in Sonic Heroes, and others that are not, like Mighty the Armadillo, a classic character. I would have also liked to see Sonic Arcade. This game was an arcade-only release with three players. Sonic, Mighty, and Ray the Squirell were playable. Really cool game, probably only available for download as a ROM at the moment. The original Sonic Drift, rather than Sonic Drift 2, would have bee nice too, but I think Knuckles Chaotix and Sonic Arcade would have really made the Sonic Gems Collection phenomenal. Hopefully there will be another collection soon.

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