Sega Smash Pack Volume 1
| Sega Smash Pack | ||
|---|---|---|
 | ||
| Homepage | none | |
| Latest Version | n/a | |
| Downloads | n/a | |
| Release Date | 01/31/01 | |
| Author | Sega | |
| Based on | Sega | |
| Systems Emulated | Sega Genesis | |
| Best Available Emulator For this system(s)? |
No. We recommend Genesis Plus DC | |
| Active | No | |
| Refresh Rate | Unknown | |
The Sega Smash Pack Volume 1 was a compilation of older Sega games for the Dreamcast. A second volume was never released. The majority of the included games were Genesis games, while Virtua Cop 2 was a port of the PC version (which was a port of the Saturn arcade port) and Sega Swirl was a Dreamcast-original game that was also included on the PlanetWeb web browser.
The games on the compilation include Altered Beast, Columns, Golden Axe, Phantasy Star II, Revenge of Shinobi, Sega Swirl, Shining Force, Vectorman, Sonic the Hedgehog, Streets of Rage 2, Virtua Cop 2, and Wrestle War.
Emulation
The Genesis games available in this compilation were playable by means of emulation. Three days after the disc was released in North America, the pirate group Echelon released a warez copy of the game. In the release notes, they noted that it is possible to create a loader for the emulator to play any Genesis ROM. Mysteriously, an "Uncle Sonic" was given thanks in the release notes. Two days later, Echelon released the emulator binaries with its own frontend menu system so that users could put their own ROMs on a disc and play any Genesis games. While the group warned that the loader was a quick coding job and they were not into emulation, the loader was criticized for its hard-to-read text and lack of stability. In response, CrowTRobo of the software group Obsidian wrote a loader which they called the Lemec Loader, which addressed these issues and contained additional features.
Although the emulator was fullspeed, it has been criticized for its very poor sound emulation and its lack of compatibility with certain key titles like Sonic The Hedgehog 2. The emulator is not provided here because of copyright issues.
It was later revealed that Gary Lake, the programmer for the Sega Smash Pack, included a file on the retail GD-ROM named ECHELON.TXT, which spoke to the group about releasing an emulator loader frontend and took a shot at Sony, who had just defeated Sega in the console wars of that generation. In the text file, Gary references an "Uncle Sonic," which explains the shout-out in the original Smash Pack warez release.
