Sonic Mega Collection

Sonic Mega Collection is a 2002 video game compilation developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega for the GameCube. It is a compilation of several Sonic the Hedgehog games originally released for the Genesis, along with a few other Sega-published titles for the system. According to the director, Yojiro Ogawa, the purpose of the compilation was to introduce younger players to the original games in the Sonic series. The games are played through a Genesis emulator developed by Sonic Team themselves. Outside of the games, the compilation includes Sonic-themed videos and illustrations, as well as high-resolution scans of the instruction manuals and Sonic the Hedgehog comic covers. In 2004, the compilation was re-released for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, and Windows as Sonic Mega Collection Plus with additional Sonic games originally released for the Game Gear. Reception to Sonic Mega Collection as well as Plus was positive, with praise going to its faithful emulation, strong core games, nostalgic value, and low price. Criticism was directed toward the absence of Sonic CD (1993), lackluster extras, weaker spin-off titles, tedious unlocking mechanics, and some visual issues in Plus. A second compilation focused on rare and obscure Sonic titles, Sonic Gems Collection, was released in 2005.