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When it comes to retro releases, Sega has a pretty weird track record. One of its first revivals, the old PC Sega Smash Pack, was actually a licensed version of a fan-made Genesis emulator. It also produced a few "Sega Ages" releases for the Saturn, bringing back a few classic arcade productions, but Working Designs had to publish those in America. Later, the Sega Ages name wound up headlining a series of rather questionable 3D remakes.

Finally, though, Sega's figured out how to do it right. The PlayStation 2 Sega Genesis Collection is the work of American developer Digital Eclipse, past masters at retro emulation projects. They're the ones who gave us the killer Midway Arcade Treasures series, and now they've done the same job on the cream of the 16-bit era.

There's a heck of a lot of game in this collection. The three Phantasy Star RPGs alone could occupy something like 200 hours. Combine that with a pretty deep catalog of extras and the result is all the retro a gamer could ask for.

I Love the '90s

Well, some might have asked for a little more (or a little different). Though it's dense enough, this Genesis Collection isn't as eclectic as it could have been. For this project, Sega preferred to collect multiple examples of fewer franchises. Among the 28 total games (not counting unlockable arcade games), there are three Golden Axes, three Phantasy Stars, and even three Ecco the Dolphin games.

Depending on how you look at it, it's a fair enough trade-off. In the short term, it feels like a slightly raw deal, especially since those Golden Axes are all more or less alike. If you take the long view, though, and assume that Sega plans to make a series out of this (with Streets of Rage, say, and some other fan favorites coming packed in a future volume), it makes more sense to keep a franchise in one place instead of scattering the sequels around multiple releases.

Sega also seasoned the collection with some very cool one-off choices. Games like the innovative side-scroller Comix Zone, the quirky arcade actioner Gain Ground, and the near-forgotten RPG Sword of Vermilion help leaven the game list and keep things varied. It's great to see the spotlight on lesser-known titles -- Sonic and the other big names are still fun, but the Genny had something for everyone.

Bringing Out the Dead

For each game, Digital Eclipse handled the emulation up to its usual standards. The sound reproduction is accurate, and there don't appear to be any other technical problems to note. This collection even cleans up some of the slowdown in the Sonic games (no longer does the engine choke when Sonic loses all his rings), and features progressive-scan video for preposterously high resolution.

D-E's experience shows in other ways, too. The extras archive, for instance, is very smartly handled. None of the video interviews are with the top of the Sega heap, the famous studio heads like Yuji Naka and Yu Suzuki. Instead, they're mostly staff from a rung or two down the ladder, folks who spent more time working on the guts of their games -- Daichi Katagiri for Virtua Fighter, Yuji Uekawa representing Sonic Team. They're not quite so famous, but they don't lack for interesting observations.

Also locked in the extras is a handful of arcade games, and this is where the package gets just beautifully obscure. Maybe you've heard of games like Zaxxon and Altered Beast, but have you ever played a Future Spy machine at the arcades? Unless you're pushing 40, it's not very likely.

Sega Preserve Us

It is true that some of these games have not aged incredibly well. The Genesis Golden Axe never looked that great against the arcade original, and without the flashy graphics it's a pretty thin beat-'em-up. A couple of others were always a little on the iffy side -- why Sega bothered making a 2D Virtua Fighter 2 remains one of gaming's unsolved mysteries.

They're still worth checking out as historical curiosities, though, curiosities that otherwise might have just disappeared. That's an underrated aspect of a retro pack's quality. Like any game software, they're meant to be fun to play, but they're also an important way of preserving gaming history.

This Genesis Collection does that. Some of the selections aren't exactly lasting favorites, and others might not necessarily be for everyone. Take it all together, though, and it's a pretty clear snapshot of what made Sega's 16-bit console worth remembering. It's a great nostalgia trip, an even better history lesson, and hopefully the first in a long series of Genny revivals.

Video produced by: Matt Keil