SEGA Mega Drive & Genesis Classics is out now for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Windows and (drum roll) Linux.

The £25/$30 compilation includes 53 games ripped straight from my childhood summers.

So, put down your pogs, pour a glass of Sunny Delight, and prepare to take a trip back to the 1990s.

SEGA Genesis Classics Linux Release

SEGA game collections aren’t new, but this release is somewhat special. Not only does it come with official Linux support but a few seriously cool features are on offer.

For instance, the SEGA Genesis Classics pack also introduces supports online 2-player in all games that featured multiplayer originally.

That means you can relieve classic two-player challenges in Sonic the Hedgehog 2, team up to hack and slash your way through hordes of monsters in Golden Axe, and pummel your pals in to submission in a violent bout of Virtua Fighter.

A new mirror mode can flip game level layouts horizontally to up the challenge (and the controller-thrown-at-the-wall rate).

Graphic enhancement filters are also included. SEGA say these “make sure the old games still look great on your spangly, new-aged televisions” — and, one assumes, high-resolution IPS curved monitors ;)

A decent selection of screen borders are included too. These help make sure games created for 4:3 screens look less isolated on a modern widescreen monitor.

Other features include:

Leaderboards

Challenge Modes

ROMs from other regions for games

Fast-forward and rewind

“Anywhere” saving

VR support

Yes, VR support. Presumably that “support” means games can “play” linearly on a VR headset rather than adapting 16-bit game landscapes into a wraparound virtual experience…

You can also button-mash your way through your favourite Mega Drive games using the Steam Controller (other Steam compatible gamepads will work too), sparing you the hassle that manual emulators and joypad config tools cause.

Sega Genesis Classic Games List

Some 53 games are included in the SEGA Genesis Classics collection, with various genres and gameplay styles catered for.

Among the titles are stellar side-scrollers, brilliant beat ’em ups, and puzzling platformers like:

[one-half]

Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle

Alien Storm

Altered Beast

Beyond Oasis

Bonanza Bros

Comix Zone

Golden Axe 1, 2 & 3

Gunstar Heroes

[/one-half][one-half last=y]

Landstalker

Shinobi III

Space Harrier II

Super Thunder Blade

ToeJam & Earl

VectorMan 1 & 2

Virtua Fighter

Wonderboy in Monsterworld

[/one-half]

But that’s not all…

A Wild RPG Draws Near

RPG fans are well catered to with the SEGA Genesis Classics collection.

Included is Phantasy Star II, Phantasy Star III: Generations of Doom,and Phantasy Star IV: The End of the Millennium — all bonafide JRPG classics. No word yet if there are any hidden unlockable Master System games (like the original Phantasy Star) but let’s hope so!

The quest continues with Shining in the Darkness, Shining Force and Shining Force II, which are part of the line-up alongside the oft-overlooked (if a little easy) Sword of Vermilion.

Sonic Has Completed Act 1, and Act 2, and…

No SEGA collection would be worth buying if it didn’t include a sizele helpful of the famous blue speedster.

Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic 2, Sonic 3D Blast, and the Puyo Puyo inspired Doctor Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine all are included (and impatiently tapping their toes waiting to be played).

Confusingly there’s conflicting information about the status of Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles. The Steam store listing says these games are included, but all press information being put out by SEGA says they are not included..

Buy SEGA Mega Drive & Genesis Classics for Linux

You can purchase the SEGA Mega Drive & Genesis Classics game from the Steam Store. It currently costs £24.99/$30.

Buy SEGA Mega Drive & Genesis Classics on Steam

I should note that while the collection does have Linux support the Steam store is not showing this. Hopefully this issue will be sorted shortly.

Oi SEGA, a word…

SEGA Genesis game collections aren’t new. Heck, SEGA has been releasing them in one form or another pretty much since the Genesis/Mega Drive existed!

So I find it mildly frustrating that SEGA always include the same titles each time they push out a new one.

I appreciate there are complex issues that prevent it, but surely a company of SEGA’s stature could strike a deal to include other classic games from the Mega Drive era on one of these best-ofs?

How awesome would it be to play the likes of Desert Strike, Micro Machines, Castlevania: Bloodlines and Mortal Kombat II on your PC or console with a modern controller and some of these newfangled online connectivity?

Very awesome is the answer.

And while I’m having a whinge about this (otherwise) positive news, why is there never any love for the 32x and SEGA CD/Mega CD? Shining Force CD would compliment this set extremely well, as would Sonic CD, Knuckles Chaotix, and Star Wars Arcade.

Let us know your favourite Mega Drive/Genesis game in the comments below!

It’s great to see SEGA making more of their back catalog available on Linux. Here’s hoping this sells well enough to tempt them in to porting over even more…