If you've used any form of installer to set up mods, like the Dreamcast mod installer or BetterSADX, then you've essentially replaced the actual Steam version with the original PC version, which did have the minigames menu. The official version doesn't.
I've probably already said this in this thread (or somewhere else), but it is kind of funny to see how Sonic Mega Collection is held up as like, the gold standard for compilation efforts. Looking back on it, it was definitely solid, but I also remember the old fandom days when people (including myself at first) were livid that it was missing games like Sonic CD, Knuckles' Chaotix, Sonic R, etc. or like how the lock-on versions of S&K were presented as "bonus games!" as if we wouldn't have just expected them to be there. Quite a few hardcore SegaSonic fans who also took umbrage at Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine being included, like it was tainting the Genesis series to have to sit shoulder to shoulder with a game prominently featuring Robotnik's DIC design (and, you know, "Robotnik"). You know, back when people gave a shit about this and were constantly warring with each other over which Sonic canon was superior, but thankfully now the fandom has set aside their differences and oh wait they still do that, nvm. FWIW I appreciate Mean Bean's inclusion if only for how many people got introduced to Puyo Puyo in general because of it. I had it on Genesis but it was my first Puyo game there too. Anyway, nostalgia aside I would say Origins is easily better than Jam or Mega Collection. Maybe that's a low bar because you'd hope a remastered collection in 2022-23 could beat the pants off similar collections from 1997 and 2002, but even those two are still perfectly serviceable ways to play the originals, and still manage to have a few things over Origins. It'd be nice if Origins was a truly definitive collection that combined the best of all worlds, and maybe Plus will nearly get us there, but the Sonic 3 music situation alone will be enough to make that impossible without modding. Also count me among those who'd like to see the Saturn version of 3D Blast brought over. I'd take a straight port over Burton's Genesis hack as long as it cut down on the load times. Throwing in 3D Blast, R, Chaotix, SegaSonic, Fighters, Spinball and Robotnik would make this the definitive pre-DC/modern Sonic collection.
I like Director's Cut, not just for the gameplay improvements, but having an actual extras besides the main game which many of these enhanced remakes try to have, a 'No Flickies' time attack, stage menu, level editor, post game 100%, etc. It's basically an enhanced remake without technically being a remake. Only big downside is the lack of save system in favour of passwords, which a system like Origins could provide. Maybe with a good emulator team, even widescreen could be possible? Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Director's Cut actually still have the option of the original game untouched as well? It might be something worth asking Jon Burton to help with over Stealth/Taxman however, especially if they considered making a Saturn/PC version counterpart. I think the problem still kinda stands however, improved or not, it's still 3D Blast, a much more divisive game than the mainline classics. It would likely get a good few fans interested if packaged with a few other gems, but not to the same level as say, people buying Origins purely to have an official widescreen remake of S3K at long last.
I'm one of those people, and we had good reasons to be frustrated. (Not about the Mean Bean/Spinball/AOSTH nonsense, that was just people being dumb). Compared to the numerous features, improvements, and amazing extras seen in Sonic Jam for the Saturn? It was a massive step down. Although I'll admit that Sonic Jam's sound emulation had some weird things about it, but it also fixed other sound issues present in the original genesis versions that were still a problem in emulation (sky sanctuary ost and ring sounds being stuck on the same channel, for one). None of that is an issue now, and anything Sonic Jam had is either already present, or could be modded into Origins with ease. Having said that, I recognized that for the average player, it was a good, even great collection. Those collections saved Sonic after Sega's console downfall. And Gems collection and SADX filled in the gap for everything classic era but Chaotix/SegaSonic at the time. And 3D Blast Saturn, once again.
Sonic Jam is kinda dated now but still has some pretty cool bells and whistles that even Origins lacks, proper difficulty modes, a more developed time attack mode and of course the Sonic World hub. All of these admitedly kinda feel like things Origins kinda scraped the surface of, Mirror Mode, leaderboards, they even have World's theme play in the 3D-but-only-cosmetic menu. I do wonder if a cool addition for another compilation would be to actually remake or pay homage to Sonic World as a hub for another batch of games. Expand the level and add some more missions and it could be a cool time waster.
Sonic World and all those extras would be best saved for this 32-bit collection we've been bantying about, but at this point it's tragically unlikely such a collection will ever be made. And the worst part is... even if it was? I'd probably just want something else obscure like Sonic Pocket Adventure to be rescued. Heck... now that I think about it, can Sega even rescue/rerelease the non-Sega portables at all? They'd have to either natively port them or emulate hardware they never owned rights too.
Nintendo rereleased the Advance series on the Wii U Virtual Console, but only in Japan because of complications with THQ owning copyrights in the west.
How many of them cared about Spinball as well? or were people just ignorant of the fact that it's pretty much the SATAM game? If they can save Goldeneye, they can save Sonic Advance 3, god damn it! Edits: I had to edit this thing so many god damn times to fix the quotes.
It's a shame that 3D Blast's equivalent to a Taxman/Stealth version from an (un)official source has been left to the wayside, especially with the potential there for Saturn version additions. But at the same time, I can't say fans and Retro Engine folk alike have been clamouring for a proper 3D Blast remaster like they did with S3&K. Same with the 8-Bit games, even though some fans have done their own renditions of what that would be like. And I doubt Sega would opt for just the existing ROM hack not made by them, they'd have to check everything inside it and what not. If I had a nickel for every Traveller's Tales game in desired official remake limbo... I'm not sure where RSDK remakes would go from here after Taxman and Stealth have finally collectively conquered all 4 mainline classics with additional polish in Origins Plus. If they want to continue with original projects or even original Sonic projects, I can't really blame them, and even the rarer obscurities like Chaotix and SegaSonic would go over fine just being rereleased at all, instead of extensively remade from the ground up to satiate a niche interest. Was that ever confirmed? I once did a whole Reddit post on scepticism about that.
The more I look at this, the more I realize the vast majority of Sonic titles from 1995-2009 are unplayable for most people after Origins Plus drops, save 5 game gear titles, the Steam emulated Genesis 3D Blast, and current ports of SA1 and SA2. Sure, some like Shadow and 06 they'd like to forget, but I still have good memories with quite a few of them.
We still haven't gotten ports of those difficulty modes even though it seems so easy to port them over. It's bizarre, it seems like a good selling point.
People keep saying this, but I've never seen any evidence to substantiate it. The other major portable Sonic game tied up in rights issues is Pocket Adventure, and SEGA's not even allowed to namedrop that one, which is definitely not true for the Advance games. I feel like I even remember hearing someone on the official side was asked and said that it was all in SEGA's hands, though I couldn't tell you where I read that.
On Twitter, ThqNordic (who gained all of THQ's assets) confirmed that Sonic Advance is not a title they have any rights to. There's only fragments of the tweets left online, but there's a page that summarizes it here: https://www.reddit.com/r/SonicTheHe...thq_nordic_doesnt_seem_to_own_the_publishing/ Sonic Advance was also released in the West on N-Gage and BlackBerry. There was also a Gameloft port for Java mobile phones. Although confusingly, there was also an Android port that was Japan only. So it’s hard to know what to make of it all!
Maybe we all just complained about Dimps too much after Sonic 4. I’m being half sarcastic, but it does seem like a Sega move to throw the baby out with the bath water.
Not sure why this is in the Origins thread, but okay? Why would THQ Nordic hold any rights to those games anyway? THQ died and was sold off piece-meal, INCLUDING stuff bought by Sega. If anything wouldn't any rights have they did have (if any) just go right back to Sega upon the companies' death? It's not like Nordic Games originally had anything to do with THQ in the first place besides also buying up stuff from THQ, including the named trademark itself and then just changing their name anyway. I didn't even know that this was a question people were asking.
I think it's a pretty valid concern when games are published by external companies across different regions. The fact that there can still be these problems with Sonic Pocket Adventures when Sega was a publisher in all regions and SNK's name is completely absent from the game's rights on the title screen, makes it natural that people would assume similar problems may have arose with THQ, especially when the game seemingly has no such problems in the regions in which Sega was the publisher.
It's worth noting that the Japanese Wii U Virtual Console only had 7 Sega-published titles in total (Sonic Advance 1-3, Shining Soul 1-2, Shining Force: Kuroki Ryū no Fukkatsu and ChuChuRocket!) all of which were GBA games, and none of which were released on the American or PAL Virtual Console. As far as I can tell, ChuChu Rocket! GBA was published by Sega in America and Europe, but the Sonic Advance & Chu Chu Rocket! "2 games in 1" cartridges were published by THQ in Europe. According to Sega Retro, the three GBA Shining games were published by Sega in Japan and Europe, and Atlus in America. In Europe, Shining Force and Shining Soul II were distributed by THQ and Shining Soul was distributed by Infogrames. So Sonic Advance 1-3's absence from Wii U outside of Japan could simply be due to Sega of America and Sega of Europe choosing not to support the Wii U Virtual Console in general.
Were any gba virtual console games available on the Wii U in the US? I don’t remember them existing at all.
