SEGA , Limited Editions Can Be Very Rare – Arcade Smash Hits
SEGA Arcade Smash Hits came as a Limited Collector’s Edition, just wordplay or was it really what it said?
What exactly defines a collection as “limited”? Is it the number of copies produced, the specifics of the distribution deal, or perhaps the overall sales figures of previous releases included in the compilation? It’s a tricky question, especially when it comes to older SEGA and EPYX compilation boxes like this one. We know these titles sold incredibly well both in their original releases and through various re-releases and budget versions.
SEGA’s legacy is undeniable, especially when it comes to their arcade games, which remained lucrative long after arcades vanished from local burger joints and bowling alleys. Naturally, porting those hits to computers and consoles was inevitable. However, while SEGA often licensed their IPs to skilled developers, they also sometimes handed them over to less capable teams, resulting in mixed quality across the board.
This Limited SEGA Arcade Smash Hits collection includes 5 of their biggest games at the time it was released and by all means it was games that people played both at home and at the local arcade though most people fell that the quality variation of these ported games was absolutely rubbish on most formats they still played em and compared them more than they should have done to the Arcade machines as in most cases it led to a huge disappointment.
Re-Releases is a strange phenomenon, the original game release could differ from the re-release with cut down versions but in this compilation they managed to make some of the games work on a single floppy while the original release was on 2 floppies and while many of the developers wouldn’t acknowledge that in the past the game took ideas and compressions from the cracker scene and in some cases they even used the cracked version….
Other re-releases and budget versions sometimes had content cut entirely, like intro cutscenes and more. An even stranger case is this compilation, which included different versions than the original releases. Take Afterburner on the Amiga, for example: there are actually two versions out there, developed by two different teams. The games aren’t even identical, and in Afterburner’s case, one version is pretty good, while the other is… well, downright rubbish.
Outrun also had some tweaks, such as longer loading times and an adjusted timer, presumably to make the gameplay more balanced or enjoyable.
It’s worth noting that this kind of thing wasn’t limited to the Amiga—publishers and IP holders did it on the C64 too, with Flying Shark being just one of many examples.
This compilation was released on multiple formats, but somehow the controls got mixed up because they used the “other” version. At first, I actually thought my box and games were incomplete or maybe tampered with by someone at the printing or publishing houses.
Interestingly, although it says SEGA America on the box, this was a European release featuring the American versions—yet the pictures show European versions. I wonder what Activision has to say about that?
I’ve always loved those old registration cards. Many collections are missing them today since people either filled them out and sent them in or, in places like Europe, they were basically useless since they were only meant for American customers.
Back in the arcade and C64/Amiga days, there was definitely a way to get the best versions both at home and in the arcades—but only if you knew which version to get and where to find it. I’ve included some Amiga screenshots here, but no C64 ones this time…
— Outrun, for example — both Amiga versions were pretty disappointing, while the C64 version was actually quite good. If only someone had combined the best elements of both, we might have gotten a truly solid port.
Outrun by US Gold, just some minor changes…
Outrun by SEGA, US version, pretty much identical to the EU version…
Some animGIFs added…
—Alien Syndrome was great on the Amiga, but then again, so was the Commodore 64 version.
The only bad thing i can say about this game is the loading screen, which looks bad on both versions. Both C64 and Amiga versions are good games and play good, no slowdowns and boss battles are well made and a game you might even complete as it’s a wee bit too easy for its own good, but still great fun.
Some animGIFs added for you guys.
Shinobi’s ports on both the C64 and Amiga were pretty good overall, but the Amiga version’s graphics were a bit underwhelming — it didn’t really look like a true 16-bit game. Plus, some elements were missing, like certain transitions when exiting levels and some maps.
I’ve always been a fan of Shinobi’s opening — the music is fantastic and definitely worth a listen.
While it had fewer colours than the arcade original, it still played well and held up nicely.
Some animGIFs added for you guys.
—Thunderblade was much better on the C64, the Amiga version was rubbish.
Starts off with an awesome looking loading picture, but people who knew to game at the time were always wary when they saw the TIERTEX logo…
Looks quite ok but moves really choppy and unplayable (one would die every 5th second because of it hehe), the C64 (and Arcade) versions had none of those issues.
Some animGIFs added for you guys.
—After Burner, nothing comes even close to the Arcade version, but one of the Amiga versions was quite decent, but as i said…the other one was rubbish.
Great loading picture!
What’s up with those borders, then?
The game looks great and is much closer to the arcade original, but I’ve always preferred the other, less official version.
Most, if not all, early PC versions were absolute rubbish—wasting both time and money—at least until SVGA graphics arrived and the PC became a more attractive gaming platform.
SEGA’s ports, especially on the Amiga, improved significantly later on, with excellent conversions like Power Drift (the C64 version is one of the best driving games on that system), Dynamite Dux, Bonanza Bros, Golden Axe (also on C64), Action Fighter, and others.
The SEGA Mega Drive/Genesis and even the Master System had some really solid ports of their titles, likely thanks to SEGA’s direct supervision and bigger budgets.
So yeah, someone really dropped the ball on “some of the versions,” though I’m not sure if that was only the case for the C64 and Amiga editions or if PC, Atari ST, and console versions suffered too.
Either way, it’s an interesting compilation—hard to find these days—and a must-have for many collectors.
Some animGIFs added for you guys.
Finally, box shots and pictures come in varied quality due to the fact that i don’t want to open up posters and papers as the boxes and manuals, etc, are getting really old and i want to be as “gentle” as possible with them, that said… i will do better shots the day i get a bigger room for my collection(s).
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