If you're an older gamer who grew up playing SEGA Mega Drive games in the early 90's, then this collection is for you. There is an updated version (SEGA Mega Drive Ultimate Collection) on the PS3 with more games and extras. But if you only have a PSP then you'll have to make do with this.
SEGA Mega Drive Collection consists of 27 Mega Drive games released between 1988 and 1996. There's no doubt about the stand out game, which is Sonic The Hedgehog. You can relive Sonic's better days by speeding through the zones, collecting rings and chaos emeralds, and defeating the evil Dr.Robotnik. Not far behind is Sonic The Hedgehog 2. This time Sonic is joined by Tails the two-tailed fox. The sequel provides more zones to race through and far more challenging bonus sections to find in order to get the chaos emeralds.
Away from the Sonic games there are other note worthy performances. Alex Kidd In The Enchanted Castle is a light-hearted platform game that allows you to play as SEGA's old mascot, Alex Kidd, in his one and only Mega Drive outing. Comix Zone is a tough game that sees you beating up enemies whilst jumping between the panels of a comic book! Kid Chameleon is another platformer with a Super Mario Bros.-esque feeling to it; whilst the Phantasy Star games (II, III and IV) are long RPGs that will keep you occupied for quite some time.
The collection does have some duds. Ecco The Dolphin and its sequels are confusing and most of the time leave you wondering what you're suppose to be doing, especially if you've never played them before. Meanwhile Virtua Fighter 2 only offers you 2D pixalated fighters and not the arcade 3D polygon versions due to the Mega Drive's limited graphical powers.
The extras involve a museum, which provides you with a synopsis for each game, a couple of Did-You-Know facts, and a few tips on how to play the games. There are also interviews with some of the developers on the Mega Drive games, albeit the interviews are in Japanese with English subtitles; and there are some old 80's arcade games to play. These extras need to be unlocked by playing the Mega Drive games. The arcade games are not really that much fun to play. You might get ten minutes worth of fun out of them but that's it.
Some of the games offer 2-player modes, so you can hook up with other PSP owners and pit your wits against each other in these classic Mega Drive games. All in all this is a neat package. This is a must for older gamers, and even the younger ones should give it a try. Think of it as a history lesson in school, but a cool one!