If you were a jewellery shop owner, and you decided to sell to your customers a collection of your most precious Gems, what would you decide the contents would be? A diamond, perhaps? A sapphire? A ruby or two?

SEGA, lapping up the (quite justified) success of Sonic Mega Collection, have decided to bung a compilation of apparently similar value featuring our favourite hedgehog. Sonic Gems Collection boasts an array of games that the fan just cannot pass up. Is the press release (and indeed, the box) accurate in this claim however?

Production of Sonic Gems Collection appears near-identical to Japan VRI’s Mega offerings, from the rather basic menus to the apparent humdrum extras. Just like Mega Collection, this title is no doubt going to be sided next to Sonic Jam in terms of just how well SEGA have treated us in the bonus content area. However, perhaps this comparison is both unfair and justified – whereas Mega Collection was more akin to Jam with the game content, thus making Gems rather exempt of scrutiny, the extras of Sonic Jam has no doubt set the standard for content to satisfy Sonic fans.

The offering of the games however, while excellent in Mega Collection, appears confused and rather inconsistent in Gems. For headlining titles, you get three: Sonic Championship (or Sonic the Fighters as it was known in Japan), Sonic the Hedgehog CD and Sonic R. Sonic CD, SEGA knows, is a star title that fans have been anxiously waiting for since Mega Collection was even announced – for many, Sonic Championship and Sonic R are simply hors d’oeuvres to the main course.

And a main course it is too. Sonic CD plays every bit as well on the Gamecube and PlayStation2 as it does on the Mega CD. The difference is that you don’t have the fiddly SEGA add-on console to worry about. It’s refreshing to play a solid version of Sonic CD on a console that has a stable savestate and is easily accessible. There is the odd technical glitch, but it doesn’t suffer too much. The Japanese version contains the glorious native soundtrack, yet the European version has been severely shot down with the unthinkable inclusion of the horrendous American soundtrack. It is sorely depressing to play this game on a European or American console – Spencer Nilsen gets you wanting to slit your own wrists come Collision Chaos Zone, the compositions are tame and unspeakably boring; the original atmosphere and ‘Sonic’ feeling found on the Japanese version has been lost on the US version.

Sonic R’s inclusion seems strange, considering that it’s age and the opinions held of it does not really justify its place in this Collection. Nonetheless, it’s still as enjoyable on the Nintendo Gamecube as on SEGA Saturn. Control is only a problem for those missing fingers – effective turning using the shoulder buttons makes for expert play, even if the idea of using these buttons to turn properly seems absurd. Perhaps due to the limitations on SEGA Saturn control input and architecture. Playing on a PlayStation2 however will give you several problems – the “Run” button is bizarrely placed on the “O” button while jumping is commanded with “X” – while it’s a simpler “B” and “A” button for Gamecube respectively. It is also much more difficult to turn using the PS2 shoulder buttons. Further, Sonic R is extremely limited in its offerings; Sonic fans who know their route through the game already will complete it well before even the 60 minute Sonic Museum mission.

Sonic the Fighters appears to be the only title to be truly considered a “gem” by which the collection defines; Sonic R and Sonic CD can be easily picked up on the PC for an extremely budget price. Being able to play this arcade rarity in your home is strangely satisfying, despite its extreme shortcomings. For Sonic the Fighters is indeed a very short game, and has little depth to it. One could argue that in the time of Virtua Fighter and Fighting Vipers, there was no real ‘techniques’ to speak of in 3D fighters. It simply did not exist at the time of STF’s conception. And being a spinoff title for quick plays at the arcade in any case, Sonic the Fighters is enjoyable in what it achieves and succeeds in providing a new, if short Sonic experience lost on a generation.

Alongside the three major titles, Sonic Gems offers a smattering of Game Gear games as well: Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Sonic Spinball, Sonic Triple Trouble, Sonic Drift 2, Tails Skypatrol and Tails Adventure. Despite the fact that Sonic 2, Sonic Triple Trouble and Tails Adventure are three extremely playable Game Gear titles, you will be hard pushed to even consider playing them. There’s just something about playing games with a stretched resolution on your huge TV to compensate for the small GG screen that deters you from playing them. Those looking for a complete ‘GG Collection’ on PlayStation2 will be happy though, as this will complete what Mega Collection + started. Gamecube owners, and even most PS2 owners, won’t see the point in their inclusion however. Especially considering all of these titles appeared on Sonic Adventure DX on GCN.

There are, however, bonus games of considerable quality. The Japanese version of Gems wins points for featuring Vectorman, Vectorman II, Bonanza Bros and the Bare Knuckle (Streets of Rage) series. Our castrated European copies leave us with the Vectorman duo – which are excellent in their own rights. The green robot dude with attitude holds two great and very playable games under his belt, but of course, for omitting Bonanza Bros and Streets of Rage (because a 2D comical cops and robbers and a simple on rails beat-em up may do the same damage to a child’s psyche as a 3D bullet to someone’s cranium in GTA, for some reason) SEGA have done their collection no favours.

Sonic Museum is another attempt at collating various Sonic related nik-naks to appease the fans inbetween the games. Sonic Mega Collection’s extras were poor. Mega Collection + had even worse bonus features. Sonic Gems Collection is surprisingly well endowed. There are hundreds of artwork pieces – all of which we have seen before, but most aren’t actually ripped from Sonic Jam for once. We have the ‘Sonic the Screensaver’ images that were in Sonic Jam naturally, however there are character and badnik design images for Sonic CD, track course renders for Sonic R and character poses for Sonic the Fighters, along with a bunch of random images (including, ironically, a page of Knuckles’ Chaotix stills). This gallery is strangely satisfying, and yet there remains several exclusive Sonic remixes and videos – the videos are good enough, but nothing to shout about. The music remixes are quite decent. When you consider Sonic Jam’s extras, the only things of note missing in Gems is a 3D explorable world, a Hall of Fame and Japanese commercials.

An assessment of a compilation must primarily focus on how the collection is presented; in this case, the extra features alongside the games it offers. However, the quality of the games themselves must also be taken into account, but on a somewhat subordinate level. On the first front, Sonic Gems Collection succeeds with its much improved Sonic Museum and its changes in unlocking such content.

On the second front, the games on their own stand up well, but their placement is misjudged in Gems. The inclusion of other ‘real’ gems to stand alongside Sonic the Fighters such as SEGASonic Arcade (or even Chaotix) would have been worth the wait. Instead, SEGA relied on the Sonic fighting game to help bolster a collection that was in fact just a way of selling a re-release of Sonic CD.

For £20 however, it is a good budget priced title for those missing Sonic CD. But we severely advise against purchasing the European or American version – only die-hard Sonic collectors should get Sonic Gems Collection, but having said that, only die-hard Sonic fans will have the good sense to import the Japanese version. For skipping on Streets of Rage and Bonanza Bros this collection suffers – which is a shame because if Sonic Gems offered what it advertised than the omission of these games surely wouldn’t matter. But for failing to localise the game for the European market – a third time SEGA has done this – and including the god-awful SatAM-wannabe American soundtrack for Sonic CD, the US and EU versions of Sonic Gems Collection really are stinkers.

Buy it by all means if you wish, but be sure it’s the Japanese version.

Japanese Version: 7/10

Western Version: 4/10

During our trip to Tokyo (more on this in our upcoming ‘TSS In Tokyo’ special, where we visit SEGA Joypolis and tour the many game shops in Akihabara), we snapped up a copy of Sonic Gems Collection. In the US this title remains a Gamecube exclusive, yet in Japan and Europe it is also available for the PlayStation 2. This article is a brief analysis of our first playtest of the game, ahead of our full review. We don’t want to give people the wrong review score, yet we strive to bring our readers the info as far ahead of its domestic release as possible, so expect these types of article to become a fairly regular feature.

SONICTEAM usually make a habit of including an English language set within their productions, which makes importing the latest Sonic games from Japan easy if you don’t happen to speak the language. Bizzarely, not so for Gems Collection. No English setting. The menus were fairly simple to navigate, yet we reckon the reasoning behind this is because the English language version of Gems has been altered in terms of game offering.

The games that are staring you in the face when you first boot up the game are the three headlining titles: Sonic the Fighters, Sonic the Hedgehog CD and Sonic R. More on these later. You also get a bunch of Game Gear titles; with the facility of savestates for the first time on Gamecube. Five unlockable titles are not available from the offset; Vectorman 1 and 2 and the Streets of Rage trilogy. Note that the Streets of Rage series is only available in the Japanese GCN/PS2 versions of Sonic Gems Collection.

Select Metal Sonic in the main menu and you access a list of manuals. This being the Japanese version, we were treated to an abundance of colourful and interesting manual scans and artwork; the Game Gear manuals and Sonic the Fighters scans are of particular interest. The bottom selection of the main menu, illustrated by Eggman, features the miscellaneous options, including the familiar ‘unlockable hints’ list and credits roll.

The proof in the pudding, aside from the games themselves, will ultimately come from the ‘Sonic Museum’, a gallery of images, music and movies for players to unlock. Regarding Sonic the Fighters, Sonic CD and Sonic R, unlocking artwork and other extras has been excellently handled – artwork becomes available once you complete Sonic the Fighters, or once you play Sonic R for intervals of 90 or 120 minutes. You actually have to play the games in order to obtain the rewards, which is a definite step in the right direction. Unfortunately, only the headlining games in this compilation have been reformatted and fiddled with by SONICTEAM: the Game Gear games still follow the aggravating ritual of the ‘Game Log’, where you have to “play” a game a certain amount of times to unlock some extras. And despite the objectives outlined in the major three games, there are still some ‘Game Log’ objectives for even STF, Sonic CD and Sonic R.

Despite this, the museum appears to be expansive; having played this for only a little while, we cannot lay a full review on the contents nor the compilation itself yet. However, the museum holds the artwork you remember from Sonic Jam, as well as artwork specific to Sonic CD, Sonic R or Sonic the Fighters that haven’t previously been on a collection. Other unlockables, aside from images, include special game remixes and movies – the latter of which includes a “History of Sonic” trailer… although we imagine our hearts will sink if it is similar to the “History of Sonic” trailer found in Mega Collection.

As for the games, for accessibility we tip our hat off to Sonic Gems Collection. Sonic the Fighters is certainly very basic, but its charm was never in its ability to mirror Tekken 3 (it was a spinoff game remember) but in the comic situations and the special moves that were authentic to Sonic the Hedgehog. Depending on your difficulty setting, Metal Sonic can be one MEAN boss as well. Certainly not extensive, and not particularly lasting in longevity, but then it is an arcade game, a title designed for quick plays on the seafront, not sessions lasting hours in your own bedroom.

Sonic CD is every bit as playable as on the Mega CD, and in some ways even more so. Despite the odd graphical glitch here and there (which are barely noticeable and don’t really impede on gameplay), it’s refreshing for someone like me to finally play this great title on a stable console. Those who have collected the Mega CD version can agree that it was a pain in the ass to setup your Mega CD system, then rather a traumatic experience worrying whether your Internal RAM had survived longer than two days. The Japanese version retains the original Japanese soundtrack, which is much more melodic and ‘Sonic’ than the American soundtrack, which sounds closer to a ‘SatAM’ wannabe tracklist.

Sonic R is the game that people love to hate, or love to love. Opinion on this game is divided (if you want TSS’ definitive verdict, check out the Sonic R section and read the review), but short as it is, it is quite playable once you get around the rather awkward controls. Just like on the SEGA Saturn, effective control is down to your advanced use of the trigger buttons. Once you began turning corners like a pro, you’re laughing. It’s a shame the game lasts a dedicated Sonic fan about an hour or two to complete, because the course design and format was something truly inspired – a real breath of fresh air compared to all the silly Mario Kart clones going around, Sonic R actually set a new benchmark in explorable courses. Something that hasn’t really been taken advantage of. Ahead of its time.

The Game Gear games are a bit of a mystery – why compile a shortlist of games already available on Gamecube in the form of SADX? For those with a PS2 weaned on Mega Collection +, this selection will complete your Sonic Gear Collection. And the savestate function is a first – and a godsend – for the GCN version. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and Tails Adventure remains some of the best Sonic Game Gear titles ever made, yet you could be hard pushed to actually play them regardless.

All in all, accessibility and the improvements over past collections will be sure to be stable good points for Sonic Gems Collection. While the downsides that will undoubtedly drag the final score down will be its questionable offering: where was SEGASonic the Hedgehog? Whatever the case, this will inevitably benefit those hardcore Sonic fans who chucked away their old Game Gears or couldn’t be arsed to faff about with a troublesome Mega CD add-on system back in the day. Sonic CD remains the star of this compilation by a long shot.

Stay tuned over the next few days for a complete review, the only definitive rating you can trust for Sonic fans. Only on The Sonic Stadium!