I once ordered a BLT at my workplace’s cafeteria. I didn’t think to check the contents of the sandwich until I was back at my desk. Why would I? It’s a pretty simple sandwich, right? Wrong (apparently). As I chewed on my first bite, the horrifying realization set in. There was no bacon on my BLT. What kind of psychopath doesn’t put bacon on a BLT? Its initial is in the damn name!
This kind of sums up how I feel about the new Sega Genesis Classics collection. Sega and Sonic the Hedgehog go hand-in-hand, so it’s more than a little bit confusing that neither Sonic 3 nor Sonic & Knuckles are included in the collection. That is half of the classic Genesis Sonic games that are missing in action. Sure, you have Streets of Rage, Altered Beast, and a bunch of other beloved titles… but… Sonic 3, man.
What makes this even worse is Sega’s history of refusing to re-release what is hands-down the best version of any 2D Sonic: Sonic 3 & Knuckles. The original S3 was originally supposed to be a much longer game with the ability to play as Knuckles the Echidna. However, it was eventually split into two titles, S3 and S&K. The latter came in the form of a game cartridge that you could stack other games on top of to enjoy added features. When S3 was plugged into it, it became what it was originally intended to be: the full game, from the opening stage of S3 to the final boss of S&K.
For some reason, Sega rarely includes this version in their classics collections. I think the last time it appeared was in a version for PlayStation 2 (I’m sure if I am wrong, someone will notify in a very polite manner, because this is the internet). So instead of finally giving us this awesome version of Sonic, they straight up didn’t include either of the parent games that made this wonderful Sega baby.
I understand that when game collections are released, some games don’t make the cut because of copyrights and all that legal shit, but this is a property that is owned by the company releasing the damn collection. It’s like giving a kid a happy meal without a toy or making a porno with no nudity.
But fuck it. I’m still getting it because I love Vectorman.
Last Bastion Gaming 