SEGA 3D Classics Collection 3DS

This is a superb selection of older (classic!) Sega arcade, Mega Drive and Master System games - all custom made for the 3DS by developer M2, so none of the sound issues and frameskipping that tend to plague the usual half-baked emulation. There's some nice obscure entries in here, all re-worked with top notch use of the 3D part of 3DS - although it can take a bit of getting used to in a couple of titles and is often more impressive in its subtle moments.The games? It's worth buying for Thunder Blade alone, as it's never had a halfway decent home port until now (most of Sega's sprite scaling based 3D games at least got a near-perfect Saturn port). Gameplay is split between top down shoot 'em up and 3D "into the screen" as per Space Harrier/After Burner. In the top down sections, you can't move up the screen but instead change your altitude - you can dive down for faster kills, but face a greater risk of being hit. In both modes you have to adjust speed to stay slow enough to avoid crashing into something but not so slow you're overwhelmed by enemy fire. Think fast! Difficult to get the hang of but rewarding when you do. Galaxy Force II is along similar lines to Thunder Blade's "into the screen" stages, with some impressive tunnel/interior environments - mind the corners! Both look stunning - using just sprite layers and scaling, no polygon graphics.Fantasy Zone gets three entries here (tap the bottom left in the extras menu to unlock Fantasy Zone) - two Master System titles and the arcade Fantasy Zone II. A very bright, cute left/right scrolling 2D shoot 'em up - the games are all very similar (defeat all the enemy-spawning bases to get to the boss) but feature different stage layouts and enemy patterns. Far more devious than its colourful exterior will have you think!Power Drift is a nice early 3D arcade racing game, drift-style handling as the name suggests, and the tracks are very cool indeed - more like rollercoasters than racing circuits! It's not just a novelty though, as it's a good arcade racer in its own right. Maze Walker (released for the Master System in Europe as Maze Hunter 3D) is a nice curiousity but ultimately is a simple overhead view action/maze title which served more as a tech demo for the Master System's 3D glasses than anything else - definitely one for the Sega 8-bit fans though, particularly if you never had the 3D glasses.Finally you have three games that'll no doubt be familiar to more people - the original 16-bit Sonic the Hedgehog, brutal but addictive puzzle game Puyo Puyo 2 (if you've not heard of Puyo Puyo, you probably know Dr Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine - which was Puyo Puyo's Western release) and Altered Beast. Yes, Altered Beast again. I think every console must've seen a port of this game by now and it's still as naff to play as it always was. How much more mileage is there in "wise fwom your gwave"? Strictly for nostalgia purposes only, that one.As if the games weren't enough, each has a mind-boggling array of options to not only let you customise your game, but give you extra reasons to keep coming back. Such as:- Adjustable difficulty (the defaults will mostly be fine for veteran retro gamers, though everyone could use a bit more energy in Galaxy Force II)- Display options (including simulated TV or arcade cabinet)- Control mapping (button assignments, analogue stick assignments, axis inversion)- Extra modes (region variations, version revisions and arrange modes)- Sound customisation (including option FM sound for Master System games, sound modes for original and Mega Drive 2 hardware revisions)In all, it makes for an extensive compilation that's perfect for anyone with an interest in classic gaming.It's worth noting that this isn't the complete set of the Sega 3D Classics line by M2. Two other compilations were released in Japan (thanks region locking) along the same lines - mostly classics with a few oddities thrown in. But I gather most (if not all) of the rest are at least in the 3DS eshop should the titles on this compilation have you interested. It's a shame we couldn't have dumped out Altered Beast in favour of Out Run or Space Harrier though!

Ask my son.

Gret selection of Classic Sega games. Missing M2 conversions of Outrun and After burner for some reason Plus Streets Of Rage.

Good mixture of games on here. Takes me back to old mega drive days