Was the Sega 32x the least understood Add-on for the Genesis?
As promised in the Sega CD review, I’m going to check out the Sega Genesis 32x. Probably known best as the less-popular Sega Add-on, the Sega 32x feels more like a direct upgrade than the Sega CD. But with less support and a less clear marketing strategy, it never really stood a chance in the market.
It’s easy to mock a lot of Sega’s decisions bringing this add-on to market, but in a perfect world where this thing gained a bit of support, it could have satisfied a significant portion of gamers who wanted the next generation of graphics and game play at a fraction of the cost.
In the real world, the Sega 32x divided the Genesis’ market more than the Sega CD managed to and failed to entice developers to support the add-on. The Sega 32x did show it had the guts to render some enjoyable 3D titles and might have made a great entry level system bundled with the Sega Genesis up against the more expensive 32-bit ‘Super Consoles’ (as they were called in the 90’s; Sega Saturn and Sony Playstation).
As it happened, history didn’t smile on the Sega 32x. It was ousted as a terrible idea and was officially supported for a year before being discontinued. It’s probably worth throwing in a quick defence here and mention this was originally going to be an entirely separate console to run alongside the Sega Saturn. Sega was competing with Sega. And that would have been a lot more expensive than failing with a badly managed add-on. This might actually explain why the 32x had to have it’s own power source and direct link to Genesis’ AV output. While also being directly attached through the cartridge slot as well.
Unfortunately, a year is not a particularly long time to develop and release a game and with Sega Japan pushing ahead with the Sega Saturn. The 32x was doomed as a stop gap measure. All things considered, the Sega 32x launch showed that there was demand for the next generation of gaming and Sega ultimately couldn’t keep up with the orders over Christmas ’94.
“The Mars project, later named “Sega 32X” was designed by Sega of America for a western audience, and despite being a product of the same company, was developed independently from the Saturn/Jupiter systems, later emerging as a stopgap between the Mega Drive and Saturn consoles” Sega Retro on the history of the 32x.
Checking out 32x add-on was fun. Especially for a system I’m incredibly familiar with like the Mega Drive. I got to see my favorite console cranked to the extreme with some exclusive 32x titles. Such as Kolibri, Spiderman: Web of Fire, Knuckles’ Chaotix and Star Trek Academy. Sega also managed to start bringing some of their arcade library to the system. Presented in big, crisp polygons we also got Virtua Fighter and Virtua Racing.
The Sega 32x isn’t for everybody. Do your research, know what you’re getting into and consider the limited library before diving in. Unfortunately, most of that library consists of slightly better versions of games already available for the Mega Drive.
Top 5 Sega 32x games
How would you start a 32x collection? What games are worth owning on the system? When I purchased my system, I had a very clear idea how I wanted my collection to look. Small. Here’s my top 5 picks to give you a great Sega 32x experience.
Knuckles Chaotix’
The only Sonic related game to get released on the Sega 32x is Knuckles Chaotix’. Following our favorite red echidna and a bunch of his friends.
Developed by the Japanese Sonic Team who also brought us Sonic CD. The style and aesthetics feel similar. Mechanical and surreal with a lot of very saturated colors.
The main game play component revolves around the characters being ‘tethered’. Each stage allows you to pick two characters with different abilities and attributes. It’s up to you to navigate the stages and obstacles together. My Knuckles Chaotix’ hack; pick Charmy Bee. With the ability to fly, you’ll never get stuck.
Knuckles Chaotix’ started with a concept Sonic Team were exploring for the Mega Drive. You can read more about the prototype, Sonic Crackers and download the ROM if you need more ring-binded Sonic action.
Star Wars Arcade
Ported directly from the arcade and released on the Sega 32x as the only home-console port available. As a launch title for the Sega 32x system, the game clearly shows off the capable graphics.
What didn’t impress people was the lack of game play variety. Star Wars Arcade is repetitious. There’s an added 32x gameplay mode to supplement the arcade action. As well as a 2-player mode where one player controls the ship. The other controls the gun.
There’s some novel ideas but this game served one purpose. Selling Sega 32x units. It’s great for showing off the power and potential of Sega’s add-on. It’s still worth picking up, but don’t expect to hang around for longer than half an hour.
Metal Head
I love the concept of Metal Head. A 3D city, with texture-mapped polygons and fighting robots. The game summarizes the strengths of the Sega 32x Add-on.
We can see the 3D graphics hard at work. And games like these stand out considerably to what the Sega CD was able to produce. If we treat Metal Head as a demonstration for the Sega 32x, and consider it’s cheap price. This is one game worth owning simply to show off what the system was capable of doing.
Virtua Fighter
A great demonstration of what was to come. Virtua Fighter was first released by Sega in the arcades and showed us what the future of 3D gaming really looked like. It was bright, crisp, and most importantly, first. Sega were setting the trend for 3D games in the arcades, and with the 32x, they started doing it for home consoles too.
Virtua Fighter for the Sega 32x obviously isn’t as polished as the Sega Saturn port, but there’s obviously load times. The Sega 32x came out a year after the game hit the home console market on the Saturn, but it’s another excellent example of how powerful the 32x was and how well it could handle a few of Sega’s best arcade games. Especially compared to the Super Nintendo.
Cosmic Carnage
A simple 2D fighter. But unique to the Sega 32x. The library of 32x games was incredibly small, with a lot of the best titles being ports. So having an original fighting game is worth pointing out here. Again, it’s an affordable game. It’s not an incredible game. But when collecting for a system like the 32x, I wanted to ensure I had a solid mix of unique titles, games that showed off the 3D capabilities and multiplayer games. Cosmic Carnage fits neatly into why I enjoy owning and discussing the Sega 32x.
