Rise of the Retro Sets

Once upon a time, retro collections were rapidly thrown together catalogues of old games. These were roms, and other than a menu connecting them together, nothing else had changed. Gone are the days.

Capcom has another Fighting Collection on the way. A Tetris set is in the works too. This is awesome news. And I’m especially aware of it, because I’m working through the incredible Sonic Origins collection right now.

First, Fighting Collection 2. Any set that includes the Power Stone games is a set worth getting. You’ve been well-covered recently if you’re into 2D fighting games. It’s nice to see something for the rest of us in this collection. It also includes museum content, rollback netcode and a training mode. In short: fans of these games will be provided for.

The Tetris set – which includes games most of us will have never even heard of, let alone tried – also comes with a documentary.

Many older games haven’t aged as badly as people might think. That’s true for pretty much every genre outside of 3D action adventures. Giving these older games a new coat of paint and all important context within the release itself is genius. And not just for fans. Working through the games as a whole becomes an experience in itself. The journey spans multiple titles, across multiple consoles.

Another Kingdom Hearts release anyone?

Put aside that pie-in-the-sky suggestion for a moment, because I want to talk about Sonic Origins. As far as retro releases go, it’s hard to see anything much better than this.

Sonic Origins – Retro Releases Done Right

There is another important thing about these retro sets. If you have an interest in Sonic 1, it’s easier to play it for free than to pay for it. You can find it on your phone, or playable on no shortage of websites. The rom is widely available. Some of these might take some technical knowledge, but not really.

SEGA’s competition when releasing Sonic again is 25 years of freebies. It is their own readily available collections. They could choose to hold their breath and stamp their feet and demand you buy the latest version. It has happened before, it will happen again.

You can’t emulate what Sonic Origins offers. Fresh cutscenes, an adventure mode that makes the games more accessible than ever before, and a mountain of museum content. Want to compare the EU, Japanese and US manuals for Sonic 3? Yes I do, and here I can.

And that is without mentioning the changes to the games themselves. Widescreen, and looking as perfect as ever. These were effectively ported to modern consoles.

And while I desperately want more, more more (the lack of Knuckles Chaotix is especially egregious) I am happy with what I’ve paid. As a Sonic fan who fairly frequently goes through these games, I am very happy with the result.

That’s the point isn’t it? To bring in new people, to appease old fans. To present these games in a new way, so that they are fresh and special again. It’s not easy to do, but as multiple companies are proving, it’s worth the effort.