First CD video game system by SEGA.Customer Review: Poor guy never got a chance. :(
While I can't stand the way Sega killed off their console marketshare with shoddy peripherals like the Sega 32x, I can't really berate the Sega CD. In all fairness, CD attachments were expected to be quite fashionable at the time-- The Turbo GrafX 16 and Atari Jaguar had them, and Nintendo was working with Sony to develop one for Super NES (which would later be released alone as the Playstation after Nintendo pulled out of the partnership). Then of course you had the Phillips CDI and a few other random CD-related doo-dads that never caught on. The CD age was coming, and everyone wanted to get their foot in the door early.
Unfortunately, customers didn't want to pay extra to access games on a system they already owned. The CD technology wasn't quite ready, offering slow loading periods and poor video quality. 64 colors on an image 1/4 the size of the screen didn't exactly feel "high tech" when even a crappy VHS cassette would have looked better. The massive storage, superior audio, and cool mode 7 effects were great additions to the Genesis's power, but unfortunately most American developers only used the Sega CD to unleash upgraded ports of games already found on the Genesis, because Sega sadly did not have enough dev kits to go around.
The system does have it's fare share of gems. Sonic CD, Snatcher, and Popful Mail are some of the system's brightest highlights, and then you've got a bunch of decent ports of old PC games. Sonic CD is probably the most notable though, because it's considered by many to be the best Sonic game ever made (it is also availible in the Sonic Gems collection for Gamecube and Japanese / PAL PS2, but the harcore player will always choose the original). If you find a Sega CD for a decent price, there's really not much excuse not to pick one up. How much you're willing to spend, is up to you. Considering this thing cost $300 when it came out, $25 at a yard sale is a steal.
Customer Review: Never reached it's potential...
I purchased my original front-loading Sega CD system the day it was released back in 1992. I had high hopes for this expensive ($300) Genesis add-on. The original Sega CD system was packed with a total of 7 games: A 5-in-1 Genesis compilation CD, the CD edition of Renovation's Sol-Feace, and a full-motion video Sherlock Holmes mystery game. Being packed with so many games seemed to justify the high price tag, especially considering that game cartridges routinely sold for around $60.00 at this time.
More than doubling the processing power of the Genesis, the onboard processor of the Sega CD ran at 12.5 MHz. It included hardware for scaling and rotation and a very nice 16-bit sound processor. Combined with the Genesis, this was a very formidable system for its day.
There were three categories of games available on the Sega CD: Full-motion video (FMV), enhanced genesis titles, and original (non-FMV) titles. The original titles were my favorites. These were games designed from the ground up to utilize the added processing power and storage the Sega CD offered. The result was higher resolutions, smoother animations and more detailed graphics (be sure to check out the images I uploaded!). Sonic CD is a great example of an original Sega CD title.
The enhanced Genesis titles were basically Genesis games with enhanced sound, thanks to the redbook CD audio and 16-bit sound processor. Some of these titles included animated cinemas as well. Otherwise, you were still playing a Genesis game. As an owner of a Sega CD system, I felt that when a certain game was released on BOTH cartridge and CD, I had to buy the CD version. The problem is that most Genesis games were not ported over to CD. So I found myself holding off for months for a CD version that would never come out. This must've had an impact on cartridge sales.
As for the full-motion video titles, this has become the stigma of the Sega CD system; there were way too many of these crappy games. Basically, these are nothing more than cheesy, pixilated movies with bad acting. The game player is given cues every so often, to control the direction of the video; you're not actually controlling the action. The only FMV games I liked on the Sega CD were the animated ones like Dragon's Lair, Road Avenger and Time Gal. These were a different breed than the Night Traps, Corpse Killers, etc.
For those pondering the purchase of a used Sega CD unit, by all means pick one up. There are certainly enough quality (non-FMV) titles available to justify the cost of a used unit. Several of these titles are among the greatest 16-bit games ever created; if you are a collector, you must own these. Here are the titles that should be considered: Sonic CD, Flink, Mickey Mania, Wonderdog, Chuck Rock 2, Ecco 1 & 2, The Terminator, Robo Aleste, Final Fight CD, Formula One World Championship, Lunar: The Silver Star, Lunar: Eternal Blue, Snatcher, Batman Returns, Eternal Champions, AH3 Thunderstrike, Earthworm Jim SE, Silpheed and Shining Force CD
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