No doubt all you Sonic fans are relished the upcoming Sonic Mega Collection. But do we really want retro games on Gamecube? Our staffs thoughts.

With Sonic Mega Collection on the way, do you really want to see retro games on Gamecube?

Jim: I imagine for the younger gamers (8-12 year olds) news like this would be very exciting for them. It gives them a chance to play the games that built the character that they have come to love in the 3D worlds. When my brother heard the news of the Sonic Mega Collection he was rather excited. Being a 14 year old, the late days of the SNES are as far back as he recalls as a gamer. Therefore collections like this are something he really wants to play, to see exactly what built Sonic all those years ago.

However for me, being almost 18, i grew up on games like Sonic and Mario. I have always had the same view on remakes - I don't want to play games that i beat as a 6 year old. However, that doesn't mean that there is no market for these games. Given that they are released at a below average price, I will always welcome collections like this onto the GameCube - but that doesn't mean I'll be buying them

Will: Well I think that the move from Sega to have a mega-collection with all the old games is a smart move. Everyone is moving into playing their old games recently, you know digging out their old consoles and having a quick go which turns into an hour which turns into a night. And for those people who sold their old consoles , well they either have to go and buy a console again, download an emulater or just lump it. But with these mlti-classic titles being made it means that you can experience those old games on your Gamecube without the trouble of having to swap consoles and mess around with loads of leads, plus you get to play lots of games that would have cost you around �40 a game then for �40 for about 8 games. But the one game i didnt see on the list was Sonic Spinball which is one of my favourite games.

Now are there any collection games I would like to be made? Well there are none off hand and i cant think of any other series more popular than Mario or Sonic. So once these have been made into Mega-Collections, I cant see there being anymore.

Link: Retro games on a new console in collections? I'm sure that a lot of people will love playing these games, but right now I am looking for new experiences. The GameCube is said to stick around for quite some time so maybe in a couple years time I will want to buy some older games put together on one disc. I think, though, that any problems with the games should be fixed and some enhanced graphics, bonus characters, or FMVs should be added to make the game worth replaying. One good thing about these "collections" is that they are sure to provide hours of gaming, something that is lacking in present games. Classic games like the Zelda series (and possibly OoT) would be a great addition to my GC collection, but only if there's that extra level or character.

I still have my NES and can play Zelda whenever I want so what's the point? The games that I think should be brought over to the GC should be PSX or DC games that we missed. FF sure would be nice and so would Chrono games. But, like I said, developpers should be concentrating on new ideas and games right now and when they start running out of ideas then they can start making collections.

Conor: Well, it depends. If for example, Nintendo finished making Mario, Metroid and Zelda and then deciedd to do a retro collection of , say, Mario games, then I'd be pretty happy. They would deserve a short break where they can just port over classic games.

But as for Sega, they really haven't established themselves enough on Gamecube. Sonic Adventure was pretty crap, dido for Virtua Striker, and the ports of 18 Wheeler and the like. Super Monkey Ball and Sega Soccer Slam (which isn't released over here yet) have been their only great titles. I would rather see them working on a brand new Sonic game than giving us old ones (although I did like them a lot).

If handled well, retro collections can be great. I'd love to see one with classic Nintendo titles on it, like the earlier Marios and Zeldas. As long as the retro games are good enough, and the price is low enough, then I think retro collections can do quite well. But they should only be made if considerable time and resources are'nt wasted that could be used to work on a really great new game. No doubt we'll see more retro collections on Gamecube though.

Join us next time on the Cube-Europe Roundtable when we will be discussing our experiences with the Mario games. The latest one is getting released in 5 days like.