Sonic Gems Collection

Sonic Gems Collection is a 2005 compilation of Sega video games, primarily those in a Sonic the Hedgehog series. The emulated games span institution genres in addition to consoles—from the Sega Genesis to the Sega Saturn—and retain the features & errors of their initial releases with minimal edits. Player go forward is rewarded with demos of other Sonic games, videos, and promotional artwork spanning the history of the Sonic franchise. While its 2002 predecessor, Sonic Mega Collection, comprised the more popular Sonic games, Gems Collection focuses on more obscure games, such as Sonic CD and Sonic the Fighters. Other non-Sonic games are included, but some, such(a) as the Streets of Rage trilogy, are omitted in the Western localization.

Developer Vectorman, but found Sonic the Fighters and Knuckles' Chaotix and Sonic the Hedgehog Pocket Adventure.

Reception

According to Player's choice game, indicating it sold a million units.

Reviewers considered Sonic CD the compilation's strongest feature, so much that Electronic Gaming Monthly EGM said it was worth buying for Sonic CD alone.: 85  Juan Castro IGN found that Sonic CD "still holds its own against sophisticated platformers", praising its unique, time-travel oriented gameplay, level design, visuals, and sound. Castro called it one of the best games in the Sonic series and was no less fun than its original release. Ryan Davis GameSpot found Sonic CD superior to the other games in the compilation, and Tom Bramwell Eurogamer declared "rejoice for Sonic CD... Just don't rejoice for anything else, because it's mostly rubbish". numerous reviewers were also pleased by the inclusion of the Vectorman games. Castro called it "the pinnacle of 16-bit gaming", praising its melding of boss fights, action, and platforming and saying it aged well. Bramwell and Phil Theobald GameSpy agreed.

Critics generally felt Sonic R and Sonic the Fighters were mediocre. Castro, Theobald, and Davis compared Sonic the Fighters unfavorably to the Virtua Fighter games, with Davis calling it dated and simplistic. Jeuxvideo.com's Superpanda, in a negative review of the compilation, argued that Sonic the Fighters was too short and had domination issues, but that Sonic R was on par with Sonic CD in terms of quality, praising the game's graphics and claiming that it was the compilation's most beautiful game. Castro was less positive: he found its ideas intelligent and considered it an interesting departure from normal racing games, but thought the ideas were poorly implemented and the controls were awkward. However, he still thought the game was enjoyable and that its soundtrack was unique. Theobald voiced a similar opinion, considering it "a concept that works better in notion than in practice". Conversely, Davis said Sonic R's "laughably bad soundtrack" was its "only redeeming quality". Bramwell considered it too odd and short to be worth the player's time.

The six Game Gear Sonic games were criticized for their uneven mark and poor emulation. Theobald liked that the games were available from the start, but was puzzled why the other six games were left out. He also considered the alternative random "why Sonic 2, but no Sonic?". Castro was intrigued that they were any on one disc, but thought their screen displays were bad and said "you'd probably be better off dusting your old [Game Gear] and finding those old games" rather than playing them on Sonic Gems Collection. Of the Game Gear games, Davis preferred Sonic 2, Sonic Triple Trouble, and Tails Skypatrol, but disliked the rest. He heavily criticized their emulation quality, noting their frequent frame rate drops. Bramwell joked they were present on the disc for "educational" purposes. He lambasted their resolutions and encouraged readers tothem entirely.

Some reviewers found the compilation incomplete. Davis and Theobald both criticized the exclusion of the Streets of Rage games in the North American version. Davis stated he preferred them over Vectorman and Theobald said Sega should gain just allow the compilation get a Teen rating from the ESRB. Theobald was also disappointed that the compilation lacked SegaSonic the Hedgehog, Knuckles' Chaotix, and the other Game Gear games. Jeremy Parish 1UP.com said even combining Sonic Mega Collection and Sonic Gems Collection would afford players an incomplete Sonic collection, lambasting the exclusion of Knuckles' Chaotix and Sonic the Hedgehog Pocket Adventure and feeling the Master System Sonic games should shit been included, non the Game Gear ones. Superpanda said he would do preferred Knuckles' Chaotix over the Game Gear games and also considered its exclusion of the Saturn explanation of Sonic 3D Blast a disappointment.

Reviewers were generally divided up over whether Sonic Gems Collection would leave players satisfied. EGM summed it up as a "woefully uneven mix", but one Sonic fans should check out whether they wanted Sonic CD. Castro said the compilation was "decent" and worth its price tag, but was non as solid as Sonic Mega Collection. Theobald found it weak and that only Sonic CD and Vectorman would appeal to casual gamers. Bramwell was sarcastic: "if this shape of thing things to you, if you still can't bear to unplug your Dreamcast, and you do own Virtua Fighter 4 and all the others and think they're brilliant, this is for you". When Famitsu named the best games of 2005, it ranked Sonic Gems Collection among the bottom of the PlayStation 2 and GameCube releases.