Sonic Classic Collection

Sonic Classic Collection is a compilation game for the Nintendo DS, and is the eighth compilation in the series. It was released March, 2010 for all countries. It features Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Sonic the Hedgehog 3, and Sonic & Knuckles on one cartridge in similar fashion to Sonic Mega Collection and Sonic Gems Collection.

The games are an emulation of the Genesis/Mega Drive games rather than a port, and use the GenesisDS engine.

Development
It was officially announced December 2, 2009 by Sega of America, despite news of this circulating around gaming sites 2 weeks before when the Australian Government run OFLC posted its daily "Latest Classification Decisions" and had Sonic Classic Collection submitted by Sega Australia. A few days later, the UK's BBFC posted information in a similar manner to the Australian Government about the game, but revealed what the game contained. Sega's official press release about what the game contained confirmed what the BBFC found. This is the fourth time Sonic 1 is having a save feature (after Sonic Jam, Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection and Sonic the Hedgehog Genesis) and the third time Sonic 2 is having a save feature (after Sonic Jam and Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection).

Reception and Criticism
The game has received some minor criticism. Because the games are an emulation, the graphics have been "squished" from the Genesis' resolution to the DS' resolution. There is also minor slowdown, and the bugs and glitches are still prevalent. It was also criticized because Multiplayer was removed. Also, the only way to pause the game is a pause button on a touch screen as the Start/Select buttons will not pause the game. It was also criticized because illustrations was the games' only bonus content.

The game has been praised for having perfect replicated sound and tight controls, with good value for its price.

Merchandise
A special tin was concentrated to consumers in Spain and Australia. The tin included a special Sonic figurine and five collector’s cards.

Trivia

 * This games marks the first time Sonic the Hedgehog 2, 3, and its two expansions Knuckles in Sonic 2, and Sonic 3 & Knuckles, on a handheld console. It is the 2nd time that Sonic & Knuckles alone has been released on a handheld console.
 * The menu music is the same as the Sonic World music in Sonic Jam.
 * Sonic The Hedgehog 1's level select is now fixed. The list of the levels is now placed in the right order than it was when originally released.
 * If the player hits a super sneaker item box in any of the Sonic games, a higher-pitched version of the theme is played instead of speeding up.
 * In the EU and US release of this game, if one looks at the bottom right of the title screen of the actual game itself, it says (c) 2009 instead of (c) 2010 when the game was released.
 * The two-player modes for Sonic The Hedgehog 2 & 3 have been removed as well as sound tests for both games, as the options menu in Sonic 2 is absent.
 * Under the captions of Sonic & Knuckles there is a mistake. The caption says "Floating Island" when it should be Angel Island.
 * When facing a sub-boss in Sonic & Knuckles, the sub-boss theme from Sonic the Hedgehog 3 plays
 * The format of this game is very similar to  Super Mario All-Stars for the SNES. The reason being because they're both collections of enhanced remakes of the first 4 mainstream games of their corresponding series.
 * Sonic 3 & Knuckles was renamed Knuckles in Sonic 3, though Sonic & Knuckles Stages are still played.

Artwork
 File:Sonic Art Assets DVD - Sonic The Hedgehog - 7.png|Sonic File:Tails 35.png|Tails (Recycled artwork from Sonic Rush Adventure) File:Knuckles_7.png|Knuckles (Recycled artwork from Sonic Advance 2) 