Sega CD Console Review
Sega’s most memorable Genesis add-on
What a way to kick off 2014! Both the Sega add-ons (Sega CD and 32x) have made their way to the LOCR games room and provide the perfect way to define the show for the new year. I’ve got the chance to challenge myself, challenge the people who have dismissed the Sega add-ons as total bombs and just have a bit of fun with it. I’m starting the review off with the second model of the Sega CD (Mega CD for my PAL audience); it’s the more popular, successful and well remembered add-ons for the Sega Genesis but the 32x review is well on the way too.
For now, the Sega CD review will feature three games that had me personally excited about the system. Obviously Sewer Shark is one of the better remembered and easier to play FMV games. I picked it up through eBay for $5.
Sewer Shark was produced by Digital Pictures, a company most will recognise from the starting FMV’s in games like Night Trap, Ground Zero: Texas and Slam City with Scotty Pippen (among others). It feels that nearly single-handedly, Digital Pictures tacky 90’s-style video games defined the look for the Sega add-on (especially in the US). Personally, the games have aged terribly, but that doesn’t take away from the fact they were exciting enough at the time to warrant Sewer Shark being bundled with the Sega CD, going on to be the best-selling title for the system. Go America!
Thankfully, not everyone felt FMV games were the way to go and if you look at the entire library of Sega CD titles, there’s a lot of interesting, fun titles. I picked up Sonic CD and Final Fight CD in a lot for $45 (posted from the US). Expensive for loose games, but at least I’m confident in bringing you some good content for the Sega CD console that has aged well and is actually fun to do this day. Final Fight CD is one of the better home ports of Final Fight available on any system with it’s cooperative multi-player and all 3 characters included, it trumps the Super Nintendo port (Final Fight 2 & 3 on the SNES did address Co-Op).
Sonic CD is quite a black sheep in the Sonic family; developed between Sonic 2 and 3. It’s a game that sits outside the original trilogy and people tend to love it or hate it. I recommend trying it out for yourself, it’s not a hard game to track down anymore (recently released on iOS) and if you’re itching for some classic, 2D Sonic side-scrolling, I still believe this is worth checking out.
I really enjoyed the way Sonic CD utilised the hardware in the Sega CD to add some appropriate highlights to the game. While the main benefit of the Sega CD add-on was the extra data that can be stored in a CD (compared to a cartridge), it also added some extra hardware capabilities to the humble Mega Drive/Genesis to help it compete with the Super Nintendo. Hardware scaling and rotation were now available through the Sega CD, combined with a faster processor, more colours and better sound output. It’s also worth noting the add-on had it’s own RAM for booting and playing games, as well as extra memory for supporting save states within CD titles.
One of the bigger considerations I had when getting into the Sega CD was around copying games and how the community felt in general. Previously, I would have ignored the topic but I truly think the community has a lot more to add than I could in my little videos. I mention Snatcher as a fantastic game that only saw an English release through the Sega CD (a Japanese version was ported to the Playstation and Saturn). With prices on eBay generally starting at around $200, is it worth burning or dare I say, emulate, this game? Just to experience it?
A second consideration with burning titles for the Sega CD is the threat of ‘disc-rot’. All media formats have a period of functionality (cartridges, CD, DVD, Floppy Discs), there’s a point where the data may become corrupt or lost due to deterioration in the materials used. While it’s an incredibly scary, frightening thought (especially for collectors!), it appears disc rot has already started occurring in older CD’s, like those for the Sega CD. In cases where the console outlasts the media, does it become justified?
The Sega CD as a system feels like it carries this stigma of needless excess. Mega Drive games were ported to CD with enhanced soundtracks (but extra loading) and FMV games like Night Trap and Double Switch set the tone with over-the-top acting, zany stories and treat CD technology like a gimmick. I picked games I honestly wanted in my collection, but for a serious Sega CD fan, there’s some games that really benefit through CD technology. The RPG titles in particular actually utilise interspersed FMV sequences to add character, establish story and locations and move the plot along.
I’m a bit of a Sega fanboy and this attachment was on my watch list for years. I don’t think it’ll be enticing for the casual gamer just looking for something different but if you consider yourself a bit of a historian or hardware collector, the Sega CD is an interesting idea.
Tune in next time to watch the Sega Genesis 32x review, the second add-on Sega produced. It’s less popular, had less games and less marketing buzz, but it feels like a much more direct upgrade to the Sega hardware and the results were actually pretty impressive. Cheers!
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