Sonic Mega Collection

Sonic Mega Collection compiles 14 emulated games originally released for the Sega Genesis, limited to only 12 in releases outside of Japan. Seven games are available by default, while the remainder are unlocked by launching other games repeatedly. These include three games that recreate the Sonic & Knuckles "lock-on technology" to allow for new modes and/or playable characters in the first three Sonic games, and four non-Sonic games published by Sega, two of which are exclusive to the Japanese release. The compilation's user interface has been updated, and all games now support the ability to save the player's progress mid-level using save states. The illustration gallery has been expanded with artwork from games released since the original Mega Collection, while all videos from the original release have been omitted, replaced by a gallery of storyboards and in-production renders of cutscenes from Sonic Heroes. ==Development and release==

Mega Collection was developed by Sonic Team, Sonic Team chose to focus on including all the Genesis Sonic games. Sonic Team also considered including BlueSky Software's Vectorman (1995). Sega announced Mega Collection as a GameCube exclusive in early July 2002, and revealed which games would be included later that month. The compilation went gold the following November; Naka said Sonic Team felt a sense of accomplishment when they completed it. in Japan on December 19, 2002, In European territories, Infogrames distributed the compilation. When Sega began to expand support for the PlayStation 2, it commissioned a version of Mega Collection for that console and the Xbox. This version, Sonic Mega Collection Plus, was announced at E3 2004. Plus was released in North America on November 2, 2004, in Japan on December 9, 2004, and in Europe on February 4, 2005. A Windows version was released in Europe on March 31, 2006, and in North America on March 9, 2007. It was later included in the Sonic PC Collection (2009). ==Reception==

GameCube version Reviews for Sonic Mega Collection were "generally favorable" according to Metacritic. Critics lauded the faithful emulation quality of the Genesis games, which provided an authentic experience. They emphasized that the controls adapted well to the GameCube controller. Although Mugwum of Eurogamer faulted the preservation of the games' flaws, he and Mirabella noted that the split-screen multiplayer mode of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 was improved from the original Genesis version to run at a full resolution. indicating sales of at least 300,000 copies in the United Kingdom. ==Follow-up==

A second Sonic the Hedgehog compilation, Sonic Gems Collection, was developed with a focus on rare and obscure titles such as Sonic CD, Sonic the Fighters, and Sonic R. and received mixed reviews from critics. == Notes ==