Best. Game collection. Ever.

The first thing that stands out about Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection is its sheer value, whether monetarily or via the halcyon channels of nostalgia.

For starters, you get 49 SEGA games (nine of which are from the SEGA Master System and must be unlocked before you can play them) for $30. I could stop writing right there and give you a full recommendation to go pick this one up solely on this criterion, but there’s more to this collection than that.

See, Ultimate Genesis Collection is chock full of great games from SEGA’s 16-bit workhorse. The set goes far past the best adventures of the company’s own blue hedgehog.

The Streets of Rage trilogy, Ecco the Dolphin, Columns, Phantasy Star, Shinobi, Golden Axe, Vectorman—damn near every Genesis game worth owning is present and accounted for on this disc, no matter what genre.

Oh, and did I mention that you can enjoy Sonic, et al’s adventures in HD? Let me repeat that, as it deserves emphasis: You can play Sonic and company’s games—that’s every game on the disc—in silky smooth 720p. I think I just died and went to gamer heaven.

Granted, a lot of these Genesis games have been released before, either in one of the many Sonic-exclusive compilations or the last-gen’s SEGA Genesis Collection, and for some younger gamers (you poor bastards) these 16-bit classics might not hold quite the same appeal as they do for the older crowd. Hell, I still catch myself humming Sonic‘s Green Hill zone music from time to time.

Ultimate Genesis Collection is damn well put-together, too. The interface is slick, with a “playlist” of sorts of games (which you can give star rankings to as on an iPod) and a very Genesis (as in, black and red) aesthetic.

When not playing the games you can read up about their history, watch behind-the-scenes interviews with some SEGA former-heavyweight creators/designers, look at the original cartridge and box art and, yes, even earn trophies per game.

Thus, between an HD option and the ability to save at any time by pressing the select button, this is a no-brainer. The only downside is that between previous compilations and downloadable retro titles on the Wii and 360, you may own a lot of these games already.

Backbone Entertainment, previously responsible for last year’s fantastic Capcom-throwback revival 1942: Joint Strike, clearly knows how to do nostalgia justice. This is the way Genesis, a system which often got shafted in the midst of the power and glory that oftentimes defined the SNES, was meant to be played.

So, $30 for a lifetime of childhood memories? Sounds like a steal to me.