Unlike those two offerings however, it does not come in the form of a standalone mini-console; instead, it is a more traditional video game disc (or download), emulating over 50 titles, most of which will be familiar to older gamers who used to play these games in their youth.

The presentation is a bit of fun and pulls on those nostalgia heart strings.

Instead of the usual kind of straightforward menu, we are presented with a Sega-adoring teen’s room from the late 80s and early 90s that is chock-full of cool details like posters and Sega toys.

While many of these games can officially be played on PC and, more recently, on smart phones, it is still very fun to play them on a console.

Players — many of whom are probably well passed their teenage years — are taken back to that time, and that feeling, as they pick a game from the shelf, tinker with the speaker to adjust the audio settings, and even get on the phone with friends for a multiplayer session.

Some gamers might notice that a similar menu screen was used on Steam — though there players had to pay for the game individually, and at an overall higher price. This aspect of the collection plays a major part in the overarching sense of reminiscence of the whole package.

There is also an option to adjust the settings, including controlling the visuals and pixel scale — essentially making it possible to “improve” the graphics, though of course the goal of these kinds of collections is the authenticity of the experience instead of great graphics.

Anyone who buys this collection will be familiar with most of the titles, almost all of which are from popular, well-known series including Sonic the Hedgehog (though oddly Sonic 3, a standout in the series, isn’t included), Streets of Rage (also known as Bare Knuckle here), Golden Axe, Shinobi and Wonder Boy.

Aside from the well-known classic franchises, there are cool non-series ones such as Gunstar Heroes and ToeJam and Earl — a bizarre adventurer that was way ahead of its time — as well as RPGs like Shining Force and Phantasy Star.

Also, there is a delight in enjoying what 3D games were like at that time, with Virtua Fighter 2 and VectorMan, which looked amazing back in the day.

It is odd however, that some games that seemed like obvious inclusions are not included. These include the highly influential Ecco the Dolphin series as well as Sega titles that garnered fame even beyond the consoles and onto the arcade scene, such as Altered Beasts, which was often found on machines next to equally popular ones like Golden Axe.

As is the case with these kinds of classic collections, the overall gimmick of the experience offers as much satisfaction as the games itself. A lot of these titles were knockouts back in the era that they were released, but justifiably stand short next to modern games.

So, whether gamers will actually go through the trouble of playing, and even completing, these titles, will be tied to how deep they want to go through that nostalgia wormhole.

Still, there is no denying the visceral, simple fun some of these titles serve up. The nonstop whirlwind blast of Gunstar Heroes remains one of the most fun co-operative side-scrollers to ever grace consoles (it stands out even more as an old school shoot-em-up à la Nintendo’s Contra).

Another strong element is the decision to include some more obscure titles, such as the awesome fantasy scroller Wonder Boy In Monster World and the shooter Bio-Hazard Battle (which has the more dramatic title Crying in Japan). These games were not massively popular and thus are likely to be titles players have not played to death yet.

Players gunning for some lighthearted nostalgic fun could do worse than pick up Sega Megadrive Classics. There’s a huge gimmick factor here, and it is cheaper than individual purchases but not necessarily cheap, but it is not a buy Megadrive old-timers are likely to regret.

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Sega Mega Drive Classics

(Sega) Available on PS4 and Xbox One. Reviewed on PS4.

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