PLAYSTATION 2 GAME RECOMMENDATIONS |

[#] Sega Classics Collection (Sega, PlayStation 2, 2004)

A rather confused and very damp squib.

This is the weirdest game in my PS2 collection for a couple reasons. The box says Sega Genesis Collection, which according to the Internet, is a properly beloved and lovingly assembled collection of emulated Genesis games on one disc. What's in the case is a lot stranger. Sega Ages is a long-running series of ports of classic Sega games to home consoles, and the 2500 series remade individual games in 3D and sold them as budget titles in Japan, with this here Classics Collection collecting nine volumes in all: Monaco GP, Fantasy Zone, Space Harrier, Golden Axe, Bonanza Bros., Columns, Virtua Racing, OutRun, and Alien Syndrome.

It's a strange lineup. Glaring omissions from the 2500 series aside--Virtua Fighter 2 and Panzer Dragoon come to mind--Virtua Racing instead of Daytona or Sega Rally? No Streets of Rage? C'mon. That these games weren't all remade for one cohesive package is also demonstrated in their bizarre, inconsistent menuing and saving systems. Some games prompt you to save the moment you boot them up, while others don't autosave at all. The 3Difying is similarly inconsistent. Some games are tarted-up monstrosities, while Virtua Racing is a digital donger from 1992 right in your face. No, there's no museum component or extras to these games.

All's forgiven if the games are there at least, right? Maybe. Columns' Egyptian gem stacking is as mind-bending as ever, the best game here. OutRun's music and branching raceways still prove iconic, but the controls are way too touchy for how fast you go, and the car-ass-up-to-the-camera view seems extra obtrusive. (Space Harrier has the same obstructed viewpoint issue, but at least your space dork's death screams are amusing.) Virtua Racing is sluggish, Fantasy Zone is a cutesy Defender clone with bizarre physics, and not much else kept my attention. The only winner here is the asshole that made off with my copy of Sega Genesis Collection. Curses!

Recommended for... the aforementioned game-pilfering asshole. Your dick stinks. Fuck you.

Reviewed	My favorite part
July 11, 2026	Columns

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