“HOLD ME CLOSER SHADOW DANCER! SEGA MEGA DRIVE CLASSICS COMING TO PLAYSTATION 4 AND XBOX ONE ON MAY 29” is the enthusiastic start to Sega’s latest press release. While more memes and classic gaming moments are quoted throughout the release, the first line sets the story pretty damn well. Hold me closer, indeed.

I make no secret of being a semi-Sega fanboy. Sure, Sony and the PSone (in particular) is what will always get my retro gaming juices flowing – but I also have a huge love for Sega, especially if either the Mega Drive or Dreamcast is involved. And yes, I know. Including the mention of flowing juices is gross, but I don’t care. I’m excited for this compilation.

And get your dirty mind out of the gutter. Geez.

Sega Nerds broke this story on the 13th when Sega inadvertently uploaded all the press kit assets to their news website. Sega then asked Sega Nerds to remove their story, however, they made the official announcement the following day anyway. Nothing stays secret on the internet, as you can imagine.

This new collection will include a whopping 50 games (full list below). Highlights include Sonic 1 and 2, Virtua Fighter 2, Altered Beast, Toe Jam & Earl (as well as Panic on Funkotron) and Gunstar Heroes. And as are becoming staples, the collection will include features like save states, the ability to rewind, video filters and achievements/trophies. What’s not the norm, however, is online multiplayer co-op for certain games. While no solid details have been released yet, I’m sure that it will become a very popular feature that (hopefully) gets picked up by other publishers for future compilations. I’m looking at you Nintendo. Make it happen for the N64 Mini!

Physical releases will be a thing for the PS4 and Xbone and as an added bonus, will include a double-sided poster featuring Golden Axe on one side and Streets of Rage on the other. While there is no disk-based release for the PC, you’ll be able to find it digitally on Steam. Better yet, if you already own SEGA Mega Drive Classics on the platform, this compilation will be included as a free update. However, it appears the Nintendo Switch misses out this time around. Bummer.

Without further ado, though, here is the complete list of games for your perusing leisure:

Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle
Alien Soldier
Alien Storm
Altered Beast
Beyond Oasis
Bio-Hazard Battle
Bonanza Bros.
Columns
Columns III: Revenge of Columns
Comix Zone
Crack Down
Decap Attack
Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine
Dynamite Headdy
ESWAT: City Under Siege
Fatal Labyrinth
Flicky
Gain Ground
Galaxy Force II
Golden Axe
Golden Axe II
Golden Axe III
Gunstar Heroes
Kid Chameleon
Landstalker
Light Crusader
Phantasy Star II
Phantasy Star III: Generations of Doom
Phantasy Star IV: The End of the Millenium
Ristar
Shadow Dancer: The Secret of Shinobi
Shining Force
Shining Force II
Shining in the Darkness
Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master
Sonic 3D Blast
Sonic Spinball
Sonic the Hedgehog
Sonic the Hedgehog 2
Space Harrier II
Streets of Rage
Streets of Rage 2
Streets of Rage 3
Super Thunder Blade
Sword of Vermilion
The Revenge of Shinobi
ToeJam & Earl in Panic on Funkotron
ToeJam& Earl
Vectorman
VectorMan 2
Virtua Fighter 2
Wonder Boy III: Monster Lair
Wonder Boy in Monster World

If you would like more info as it comes, there is a newsletter you can subscribe to here on their purpose made website. Otherwise, check out this kick-arse trailer they released along with the initial announcement.

Brendan Meharry Brendan Meharry (149 Posts)

Growing up while the fifth generation of consoles reigned supreme meant that Brendan missed out on much of the 80’s and early 90’s of gaming the first time around. He either lacked the cognitive ability to play them, as naturally, he was a baby - or he simply didn’t exist yet. Undeterred, Brendan started a blog called Retro Game On in 2011. This followed his exploits as he collected and played everything he could get his hands on no matter what the release date. While RGO is mainly YouTube focused these days concentrating on video reviews and historical features, the itch to do some old fashion writing never went away. More recently, Brendan has been a staff writer for the gaming website, GameCloud, mostly focusing on the indie gaming scene in his locale of Perth, Australia.