The Video Game Critic

I'll let this guy do most of the talking, but apparently Sega is making some moves and getting ready to make a huge comeback. One of their new initiatives is "Sega Forever" which looks to be a subscription service to allow people to play Sega's old IPs on various devices (including SMS and Saturn). Comments welcome.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ypr_5kMaoSk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40T48L6FMsE

If I couldnt emulate everything for free, it would be cool.

Id like to see them release a "classics" console that connects online and streams the games and will also play carts and discs. That I might be in to just because I like throwback consoles, otherwise it does nothing for me.

Well, they finally revealed it. It's basically free-to-play classic games on mobile devices. Games from all consoles will be included eventually.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPnCBe0cLos

Seems a great idea hopefully they can bring it to console and PC's asap.

Unfortunately, the quality of the games they've released so far is horrific. They're not emulations but rather recreations in Unity, and they lag far more than 20-to-30-year-old games have any right to on modern technology, and let's not even get into how touchscreen controls completely cripple games that require utmost precision like Kid Chameleon. It's a repeat of Capcom's Mega Man 1-6 mobile ports debacle. Fortunately, the excellent (provided you're using a game pad) mobile port of Sonic 1 we've had for a few years hasn't been altered from what I can tell besides getting the free-to-play aspect shoved unceremoniously into it.

What really worries me is that Sega has announced that it plans to bring Saturn and Dreamcast games to this service too. If they can't even get Genesis games right, what the hell makes them think they can handle games on more powerful systems?

Other than crashing a couple times with Phantasy Star and Crazy Taxi, it works pretty fine. I might need to tinker more to see how bad it goes.

I do like the fact you can opt to pay £2 and remove the ads. Presentation is nice and sharp can't say I've noticed any frame issues in my iPhone 6s yet.

As a criticism Sega could have put a better cross section as the first release rather than just Mega Drive games.
Perhaps Revenge of Death Adder or Outrunners would have got long time Sega fans salivating.

I love the fact that SEGA is recognizing it shouldn't ignore its heritage. However, this isn't anything that I'm interested in. I don't want to play these games on mobile devices. I want to play them on a console...connected to a TV. This whole thing just seems kind of lazy.

I'd much rather have a SEGA Collection on the PS4 or Switch. They've already done an awesome job with the Genesis collection on the PS3/360. Why not do a compilation of only Arcade games?

If they're so keen on cashing in on their bankable nostaglia (which I'm totally fine with)...why not give us some new games in those classic SEGA series? Bring back Shinobi. Give us a Kid Chameleon sequel. How bout a proper Altered Beast sequel? Just channel what made those games awesome in the first place and try not to re-invent the wheel.

I'm glad Sega is finally recognizing its back-catalog (only about 10 years too late) but the phone is not the proper platform for these. I know it's easy money for Sega but these were not meant to be played on a touch screen.

I have them all on console, but it's cool that a new generation of people can experience them, and get to know the IP that us here already know by heart. If this service comes to consoles, then it's an even bigger win.