''Sega Smash Pack'' (''Sega Archives from USA'' in Japan) is a series of game compilations featuring mostly
Sega Genesis
The Sega Genesis, known as the outside North America, is a 16-bit Fourth generation of video game consoles, fourth generation home video game console developed and sold by Sega. It was Sega's third console and the successor to the Master Syst ...
games.
Pack 1 (Windows)
The first pack titled ''Sega Smash Pack'' (''Sega Archives from USA Vol. 1'' in Japan) featured eight games.
*''
Altered Beast''
*''
Columns
A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression membe ...
''
*''
Golden Axe''
*''
Out Run''
*''
Phantasy Star II''
*''
Sonic Spinball''
*''
The Revenge of Shinobi''
*''
Vectorman''
Pack 2 (Windows)
The second pack titled ''Sega Puzzle Pack'' (''Sega Archives from USA Vol. 2'' in Japan) featured three games.
* ''
Columns III
is a puzzle arcade game published by Sega in Japan in 1993 and by Vic Tokai in North America in 1994 as a sequel to '' Columns II: The Voyage Through Time''.
Gameplay
''Columns III'' is a competitive two player game. It includes a single-playe ...
''
* ''
Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine''
* ''
Lose Your Marbles
''Lose Your Marbles'' is a puzzle video game developed and published by SegaSoft and released for Microsoft Windows on August 19, 1997.
A version of the game was included in Microsoft Plus! 98.
Gameplay
In ''Lose Your Marbles'', the player moves ...
''
Pack 3 (Windows)
The third pack titled ''Sega Smash Pack 2'' (''Sega Archives from USA Vol. 3'' in Japan) featured eight games.
*''
Comix Zone''
*''
Flicky''
*''
Kid Chameleon''
*''
Sega Swirl''
*''
Shining Force
is a 1992 turn-based tactical role-playing game for the Mega Drive/Genesis console. While primarily a traditional fantasy-themed game, it contains some science fiction elements.
The game has been repeatedly re-released: in Sega Smash Pac ...
''
*''
Sonic the Hedgehog 2''
*''
Super Hang-On''
*''
Vectorman 2''
Console (Dreamcast)
The console version of ''Sega Smash Pack'' was released for
Dreamcast titled ''Sega Smash Pack Volume 1'' and featured the following twelve games:
*''
Altered Beast''
*''
Columns
A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression membe ...
''
*''
Golden Axe''
*''
Phantasy Star II''
*''
The Revenge of Shinobi''
*''
Sega Swirl''
*''
Shining Force
is a 1992 turn-based tactical role-playing game for the Mega Drive/Genesis console. While primarily a traditional fantasy-themed game, it contains some science fiction elements.
The game has been repeatedly re-released: in Sega Smash Pac ...
''
*''
Sonic the Hedgehog
is a Japanese video game series and media franchise created by Sega. The franchise follows Sonic, an anthropomorphic blue hedgehog who battles the evil Doctor Eggman, a mad scientist. The main ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' games are platformer ...
''
*''
Streets of Rage 2''
*''
Vectorman''
*''
Virtua Cop 2''
*''
Wrestle War''
Jeff Gerstmann from
GameSpot
''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. In addition ...
gave the console version a 4.5/10. He criticised the console version for its patchy performance and poorly emulated music.
The Genesis emulator built inside the compilation gained popularity with homebrew groups, as
Echelon
ECHELON, originally a secret government code name, is a surveillance program ( signals intelligence/SIGINT collection and analysis network) operated by the five signatory states to the UKUSA Security Agreement:Given the 5 dialects that ...
released a kit that allowed users to add and load their own Genesis ROMs. Gary Lake, the programmer, had himself deliberately left a documentation of the built-in emulator, with the documentation seemingly intended at them due to the filename (ECHELON.TXT). Additionally, ''Sega Swirl'' and ''Virtua Cop 2'' were the only non-Genesis games in the compilation.
Handheld (Game Boy Advance)
The handheld version of ''Sega Smash Pack'' was released for
Game Boy Advance
The (GBA) is a 32-bit handheld game console developed, manufactured and marketed by Nintendo as the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001, in North America on June 11, 2001, in the PAL region on June 22, 2 ...
simply titled ''Sega Smash Pack'' and featured three games, two of which had been included in the first Smash Pack. While ''Ecco the Dolphin'' and ''Sonic Spinball'' were developed using the original source code, ''Golden Axe'' had to be recreated from scratch.
*''
Ecco the Dolphin
''Ecco the Dolphin'' is a series of action-adventure video games developed by Appaloosa Interactive (previously known as Novotrade International) and published by Sega. They were originally developed for the Mega Drive/Genesis and Dreamcast vi ...
''
*''
Golden Axe''
*''
Sonic Spinball''
Craig Harris from
IGN gave the handheld version a 6/10. He criticised the handheld version for several technical issues and lack of
cooperative multiplayer in ''Golden Axe''.
It was nominated for ''GameSpot''s annual "Most Disappointing Game on Game Boy Advance" award, which went to ''
The Revenge of Shinobi''.
References
{{Sega Retro Compilations
1999 video games
Dreamcast games
Game Boy Advance games
Sega Games franchises
Sega video game compilations
THQ games
Windows games