Nine Sonic games on one disc! That seems like a brilliant idea - and it was great the last time they banged a load of blue hedgehog for your buck onto a single disc. But is it so great this time around? Are these pure gems, or are they more chaos than emeralds?

The line up of games for Sonic Gems Collection seems a little thrown together, after all of the most famous offerings were put into Sonic Mega Collection Plus. This newer collection consists of Sonic CD (remember the Mega CD console? Well this is the Sonic game created for it), Sonic The Fighters (originally for the arcades), Sonic R (originally a Sega Saturn game) and six bonus Game Gear games. These six Game Gear 'classics' are comprised of Sonic The Hedgehog 2, Sonic Spinball, Sonic The Hedgehog Triple Trouble, Sonic Drift 2, Tails Skypatrol and Tails Adventures.

I looked to this collection with optimism; I mean, I already knew that Sonic R was going to be rubbish, but one in nine games isn't all that bad! Right? The other offerings all sounded good - but I had made one fatal error - it was the Megadrive versions of Sonic 2 and Sonic Spinball that I enjoyed so much as an adolescent. These were the poky, ugly, nasty-sounding Game Gear versions and their transmission to a bigger screen with bigger speakers isn't any more pleasant.

I played the Game Gear offerings first so I didn't get totally distracted by the main ones and forget to review them at all. I wish I hadn't bothered now, as playing them for long enough to give them a fair review was boring and borderline horrible. The first game I looked at was Triple Trouble, as I knew this game existed but I had never played it before and looked forward to seeing what I had missed. I had been wise to ignore this game previously though, because playing it proved to me that not all 2D Sonic games are enjoyable.

Starting the game up emitted ancient and tinny sounds from my hi-fi that I thought died with the Spectrum's demise. There has been no attempt made to improve the music or effects and having the sound levels turned up past average is coarse to the ears. Furthermore, while playing the Game Gear versions you only lose so many of the rings you have collected when you are hit by an enemy or are hurt. In better versions of the games, all the rings you have spray out when you are hit, so you have a chance to collect some of them again. This abnormality is because the Game Gear's power could not handle a lot of rings on screen at once, not as well as all the surroundings being generated.

Another thing that struck me was that the game is called Triple Trouble, but you can only choose from two characters: Sonic and Tales. Maybe you can unlock another character, but I really didn't want to stick around to find out. It is too compressed and compromised to call it an enjoyable Sonic game. After a few zones (levels) of the ugly graphics and archaic sound, it was time to take the depressed look off my face and try a different 'gem' in the collection.

So I loaded Sonic Drift 2 and the depressed look remained and the boredom sunk deeper - it's even worse! As you race against the characters from various Sonic games in a Mario Kart style face-off, the controls seem fiddly and the gameplay is about as exciting as fishing in the bathtub. Plus the visuals are awful and you can only see about two feet ahead of you; it's closer to a mobile phone Java driving game than a PS2 conversion. One race was enough for me.

I can assure you that I did play the other Game Gear conversions, but to mention them in detail would be wasting my time and yours. For those of you who enjoyed the originals, I wouldn't bother this time around, as they are more likely to induce a migraine than nostalgia.

Dismissing the other Game Gear titles allows me to move swiftly onto Sonic R, which I have already stated is rubbish. But now it is time for me to justify that view, as it is a disappointment from the very first time you load the game. When it comes to life the main menu screen displays a meagre three game modes: Grand Prix, Time Attack and 2 Player (which is much the same as Grand Prix). There is a modest number of nine racers to choose from, but five of these have to be unlocked (by completing the game, collecting emeralds while racing). These characters can then race across an abysmal amount of five courses… I have more than that when I go down the Chinese!

Although this game has a similar approach, it simply cannot compete with the bonus stages of Sonic 2 (which were repeated in Sonic 3D). The graphics are blocky, the racing is slow and dull, plus it never takes full advantage of the chance for characters to attack each other. Having said all that, the feature of Sonic R that is by far the worst is the music; this game has quite possibly the cheesiest music I have ever heard, take this bit of lyrical genius for instance: "Where do all the rainbows go? Is it somewhere I don't know? Wherever it is I want to go." I want to go there too, so I don't have to listen to such drivel anymore.

If I'm being generous, there is the odd clever feature such as collecting a certain amount of rings before you can take the course's shortcuts and some of the power ups from the 2D games make a welcome return (such as the magnet shield that attracts rings). Sonic R is a better racing game than Sonic Drift 2 at least, but that isn't saying much. Neither of these offerings can even compete with the mighty Mario Kart.

I've been immensely negative so far, because the ratio of good games to bad games in this collection is 2:7, but two of the main titles are actually an enjoyable experience - finally, I can be positive!

With Sonic The Fighters, the first thing I noticed was the superior sound compared with most of the other offerings. It has real quality but at the same time it uses similar effects and noises to the original Sonic games. As you might have guessed from the title, this is a beat 'em up game rather than the conventional platformer we are used to from the blue hedgehog. There are a number of characters to choose from, including Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Bark, Bean, Espio and Fang. When you first face-off against your opponents in one-on-one battles you begin to appreciate the colourful and stylised graphics. They are a little blocky, but they have aged gracefully, working well with the comical, cartoon style fighting. During play gold rings fly out from all angles when a powerful blow is landed and if you or your opponent is near an arena wall, one of you might just get splatted against it. This beat 'em up is very suitable for kids, as there is no gore or bone breaking moves to speak of; the fighting is just a bit of harmless fun and is amusing at the same time.

Button bashers can get away with their usual antics here, as long as they block every once in a while; there are no complex button combinations to pull off or super special moves/finishers, which may annoy veteran beat 'em up fans, but its simplicity is great for children. The rounds rarely last more than 30 seconds each and the opponents only get challenging towards the end, so the enjoyment certainly won't last forever. It's only really worth a couple of quick blasts now and again, but it is a laugh in two-player mode and it has a really quick learning curve.

And after that positive, it's time for another - I saved the best until last. The most satisfying title in this collection is easily Sonic CD. It has the best gameplay, the longest lifespan and a brilliant soundtrack. It has the best graphics of all the 2D games on offer here (and arguably the best in all cases - Sonic hardly ever looks right in 3D) plus there are some nice new features that weren't exhibited in Mega Collection Plus. For example, in Sonic CD you can go through checkpoints that send you into the past or the future. Although the shortcut sequence displayed during each warp through time gets tedious, the resulting change in scenery and music keeps the zone a fresh experience for longer.

The zones are new creations as well, but they do take a lot of inspiration from the originals. For example, Collision Chaos zone has many of the same traits as Casino Nights zone from the first game, Tidal Tempest is similar to the Labyrinth zone (only less annoying) and Metallic Madness is a lot like the Scrap Brain zone. But this is not necessarily a bad thing, as it allows veteran sonic fans to pick up and play; Tidal Tempest is similar to the Labyrinth zone, so you know that every once in a while you need to surface or to gulp an air bubble, otherwise you will drown just like in the first game.

Apart from the cut scenes between time-shifts, the only other negative thing about Sonic CD that I can come up with is its lifespan, because it won't take more than a couple of hours to complete, especially if you're a Sonic fan. It is a great 2D platformer though, and in comparison to the majority of the Gems collection, it is truly awesome.

It isn't worth buying Sonic Gems Collection unless you simply can't live without Sonic CD. Sega should have included it in Mega Collection Plus, which is a far better offering and well worth a look. Sonic The Fighters is another good game in here, but the laughs are short lived. If you are tempted by this collection, consider whether you are willing to place your hand in your wallet/purse for these two games alone - better to give this a rental or search the pre-owned shelves of your local game store. If you want them then great - just make sure to ignore Sonic R and all the Game Gear offerings - it will save you a big headache!

Reviewed by Liam Bennion for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).