StarSoldier1's Full Review: Smashpack Vol.1 for Dreamcast
Sega Smash Pack Volume 1
(Spring 2001)
I had to write this review because if I can help just one person avoid this bad collection then I did my job!
BEWARE!! Although you get twelve legendary classics on one GD-Rom disc, 10 of them are emulated, and rather poorly I might add. The 10 emulated games are old Genesis/Mega Drive classics; Sonic the Hedgehog, Altered Beast, Wrestle War, Streets of Rage 2, Revenge of Shinobi, VectorMan, Golden Axe, Columns, Phantasy Star II, and Shining Force. Not a bad collection of games, eh? "Wait till you play them!"
Altered Beast
The original pack in game for the 1989 Sega Genesis. In this 2 player game you have to save Zeus daughter and you have the power to transform into different beast to help on your 5 level mission. The game was never all that great and the choppier animations don't help improve the game's image.
Columns
This was Sega's answer to Tetris but it was never considered to be that good to begin with. The game seems even worse now thanks to the weaker sound on this disc. Hardly any fun here.
Golden Axe
In this 2 player medieval hack and slash game like Double Dragon or Final Fight, you guide one of three warriors on a mission to kill the evil Death Adder: holder of the Golden Axe. The main problem here is the music didn't translate very well and now it sounds even worse than the Sega Master System version of Golden Axe. "It's true!"
Phantasy Star II
Easily one of my favourite games for the old Sega Genesis. In this huge game you help two warriors solve the mysteries of their planet but it won't to easy. The version is a little slower but it's all here and you can even save your game to the VMU. This game is very hard to find on the Genesis, so playing this on the Smash Pack may be your only option but it's still a distance second to the real Genesis PS2 game.
Revenge of Shinobi
The awesome sequel to the arcade classic also as it's problems in the sound department. The music was so great on the Genesis version and this doesn't do it justice. It plays fine but Yuzo Koshiro's music is a big part of Revenge of Shinobi and Sega ruined it here.
Sega Swirl
One of the coolest puzzle games for the Dreamcast is this simple little game. Although this great game is very addictive, it's also available FREE on other Demo discs so you don't need to get the Smash Pack to play it.
Shining Force
Another great RPG by Sega! The sound was never all the great in the Genesis version any ways, so I don't mine playing this game so much on here. Like Phantasy Star II this game is very addictive but it's still not as good as the real thing.
Sonic The HedgeHog
This awesome platform game helped Sega to beat Nintendo from the top spot for a few years. Sadly though you'll see tons of glitches like failed transparencies (like the start up screen where you can see Sonic's stomach hanging out) and slower game play too. You can easily buy the old Sega Genesis for $2 and it's way better than this sorry excuse for programming.
Streets of Rage 2
In this game four Street Fighters try to rescue their friend Adam in this two player action game. Another Final Fight clone (although a good one) but with cartoon-like sound effects. Just Jumping alone sounds really goofy and out of place.
Vector Man
The amazing looking and action packed Vector Man with 17 levels is not so action packed now thanks to the slower game play and weaker visual effects. The game no longer runs at 60 frames per second.
Virtua Cop 2
VC2, like Sega Swirl, is not a Genesis emulated game here and works and sound great unlike the others. This game was fun and it looks very smooth. This game helped to avoid the 1 star rating.
Wrestle War
Yuck! I don't know what happened here but this game is absolutely awful! The animation is poor and the hit detection is weak at best.
Bottomline: Why Sega, WHY!?
First in Golden Axe and Columns, the music is absolutely horrible. Second in the games like Wrestle War and Sonic the Hedgehog have tons glitches compared to their 16-bit originals! Games like Phantasy Star II and Shining Force fair a little better but still have their problems too. Emulated games suck because they are suppose to be FREE and not $49.99!
"Please RENT this Dreamcast game first, I beg of you!" You may think it's the greatest collection ever or the worse. You would think the all powerful 128-bit Dreamcast would be able to improve the weak 16-bit games but the opposite happened believe it or not! This is NOT a shot at one of my favorite game systems, (Sega Genesis) this is just my opinion of some really bad remakes. Avoid this game especially if your a true Sega Genesis fan.
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