"...if they really wanted to make Volume 3 fly off the shelves, they should consider a second controller option. I'm just suggesting."

---from the review

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Sega Genesis Arcade Legends: Volume 2

Click Picture to Order system

Review by Steve

I was never too attached to the original Sega Genesis Arcade Legends unit, if only because it was as well made as it was poorly made. Sure, it was the first battery-powered classic game player I know of which actually offered the option of a plug-in power source, via its socket for a 6V transformer (which, sadly, you had to buy elsewhere). Sure, its controller was a nice replica of classic Genesis controllers of yesteryear. Yet its sound was almost ear-piercingly bad, its game selection was Sonic the Hedgehog and...that's it, and well, let's just say the good news: with Volume 2, they seem to have finally gotten it right.

While the software (and we must presume, internal hardware) is slightly improved, the overall unit is almost exactly the same. There's still a port for an external wall socket power supply (why don't more battery-powered TV game players offer this?), as well as a place for four AA batteries if you prefer the portability option. Both battery case, power switch and 6V power socket are in a miniature salute to the Genesis console, connected to a genesis controller by cord, a la an actual Sega Genesis. Oh, one more thing; to distinguish volume 2 from volume 1, both the controller and the box are red. Keep that in mind if you wish to go searching for it on your own.

What games...? Well, you guessed it: they must have the obligatory Sonic 2. How could they not, with both "Sega" and "2" in the title of the game unit? The good news is that they finally got the sound right, so it doesn't sound bad anymore. Players of the original Sega Genesis Arcade Legends will tell you tales of music so scratchy you might as well have played the games with the mute button on. This time they have the volume, as well as the sound itself, down pat. In short; this is a perfect translation of Sonic 2...provided you haven't already played it via Sonic Mega Collection, so many times.

The other 5 games are Sonic-free, so you probably haven't seen or heard of them since the Genesis last left store shelves. The titles in Volume 2 include (in addition to Sonic 2, of course): Alex Kid and the Enchanted Castle, The Ooze, Ecco the Dolphin, Gain Ground, and Columns. In case you never played one of more of these games: Ecco is a cute underwater action-adventure game, of sorts, where you must help a dolphin find his family, in a uniquely designed side-scrolling game unlike any you've probably played before (unless, of course, you already played Ecco). Gain Ground is quite frankly a rather sub-par (if you're asking me) arcade game set in medieval times. Columns is the resident Tetris clone, though in this case, you can link crystals diagonally, as well as up and down and across; neat! Then there's The Ooze, about a quasi-hero turned into a living sludge. This is a unique choice of games.

One plus or minus, depending on your outlook, is how these are exact replicas of the original games. This can lead to inadvertent design flaws, like how most games seem to provide a two player option, of which this one-controller game unit has none. Sure, it would be a cheap sales ploy, but why not have the controller for the inevitable "Volume 3" be modular? The console would have two ports; friends who bought the same game player could unplug their controller from their system, plug it into yours and voila, a two player game. Of course this is belittling how difficult a hardware upgrade this would be. All they really had to do for Volume 2 is make the color of the controller red and change the software. Yet if they really wanted to make Volume 3 fly off the shelves, they should consider a second controller option. I'm just suggesting.

Then there is the documentation. I guess it's safe enough for the designers to presume that buyers are already aware of these classic games, or else they'd be buying a newer game. That's still no excuse to make the entire instructions limited to one double-sided sheet, that quite frankly provides barely any knowledge of the games. You are told what you must do on the most cursory level. While this is all well and good for similar "Play TV" style classic game units like Space Invaders, these are far more advanced games, and need more advanced instructions! Good luck finding out on your own how both Alex Kid and The Ooze can only defeat enemies while moving at the same time. That would've been simple enough for the documentation to tell me in advance, I would like to think. My point is: when making such "exact replicas" of each game, they should replicate the original game instructions too.

Yet if you want to play these games again, this is the best way to do it. Unlike the sadly disappointing Atari Flashback, these are exact replicas of the original games, right down to every music sound byte. When buying a game unit with the intention of reliving a fond memory; that's good news. That optional port for a 6V wall adapter is cool too. Why don't more game systems offer this great feature? I just felt like asking...again.

---Steve