Huge Genesis/Sega CD discussion(some questions)

[Zoltor]

Ok, well seeing how I maybe getting a Sega CD for Pier Solar(especially if that music from the game scenes Video is indeed from the CD combo, and not an outside source/soundtrack) I started looking around for other games, and from hind site, the Sega CD seems like it might've been the biggest sleeper/underrated system in the history of the gaming industry(I'm not totally sure that is the case yet, but there is plenty of indication to imply, it could very well be).


I have some questions:

How good is Vay, compared to the SNES RPGs(it seems to be rated fairly high, but some insight would be nice)?

How is Luna 2(SCD Really, could've sworn this game in general was never originally released in the US), and how is the Lunar Siver Star complete, compared to the PS remake?

Is Sonic CD, which has been considered the best game on the sega CD as good as people claim it to be(also is it an original Sonic game or a remake of one of the Genesis Sega games)?

Is Shinning Force CD, a remake of the normal Shinning Force on the Genesis?

PS. I was also suprised to learn that RotTK 3 was realeased on the Genesis(I always just figured it wasn't released outside of Japan, however I bet that's a faily rare game).

[josekortez]

As a guy who recently gave the Sega CD a chance, I wouldn't say that it's the most underrated system of all time, but it does have some interesting curios if you're willing to give the system a chance. I think it makes more sense to look at a system for what it is and the games that it has than what people think it should have accomplished when it was around. A lot of folks tend to talk about a system's failures instead of applauding what it did right. I'm not a big fan of full motion video games, but they're slowly growing on me. I like Cobra Command and Dragon's Lair all right, but some of the others like Night Trap and Double Switch haven't kept me entertained.

I have Sonic CD, and I enjoy it, although not more than the first two Sonic games on Genesis. It is an original game. Apparently, Yuji Naka (creator of Sonic) wasn't involved in making it, but it's pretty decent. I don't have any of the Sega CD role-playing games so I can't comment on those. The RPG prices are too steep for a system that I barely play, but that's just my opinion. However, I have been playing a lot of Panic (a fun but weird game if you don't go in expecting too much from the experience) and Amazing Spider-Man vs. Kingpin (the gameplay is pretty basic but the cutscenes are pretty good for the time). After playing those, I wouldn't mind getting my hands on some more Sega CD games since the price for most of the games, RPGs notwithstanding, isn't too steep.

[Blanka789]

Sonic CD is an amazing game, and a very underrated gem. Also be sure to check out Rise of the Dragon, Keio Flying Squadron, and Time Gal (If you're into FMV).

[Natty Bumppo]

Vay isn't bad - not nearly as good as the two lunars though.

Shining Force CD is a compilation of two shining force games that were originally on the game gear (not the genesis ones) with some extra stages added - including what is arguably the most challenging Shining Force battle ever.

Another game to look at that is very good is Dark Wizard - a huge and complex strategy rpg. (Like most console strategy rpgs it suffers from an AI that is generally dumber than a box of rocks.)

Popful Mail, Dune and Snatcher are also interesting (depending on your tastes).

[Zoltor]

Vay isn't bad - not nearly as good as the two lunars though.

Shining Force CD is a compilation of two shining force games that were originally on the game gear (not the genesis ones) with some extra stages added - including what is arguably the most challenging Shining Force battle ever.

Another game to look at that is very good is Dark Wizard - a huge and complex strategy rpg. (Like most console strategy rpgs it suffers from an AI that is generally dumber than a box of rocks.)

Popful Mail, Dune and Snatcher are also interesting (depending on your tastes).

Ok, so both Lunars are pretty damn good, I take it?

Oh really, well looks like I'll want Shinning Force CD for sure.

Yea, I have been looking at the Dark Wizerd, it looks like it would be a pretty good game, but I had no questions, so I didn't list it. However I think I'm gonna get it. Well that's not a big deal, since the old school tactic/RPGs usually have enemies that are OPed anyway, so it offsets the dumb AI for the most part.

PS. To the Sonic CD posters: Ok, I'll probally pick that up sometime, as well then.

[Icarus Moonsight]

Final Fight CD is full of win too.

[Zoltor]

Final Fight CD is full of win too.

Well listing Fighting games are just pointles(any other genre ok, but fighting games no), when you've played Street fighters, Marvel Vs Capcom 2, and Soul Calibers, random fighting games/non godly fighting games wont do, but thanks for the suggestion anyway.

[LiquidPolicenaut]

I am a HUGE Sega CD supporter and fan/owner since Day 1 so here are my opinions:

Vay - I really wanted to like it, but I just couldnt. It isnt a horrible game, mind you, just nowhere in a class I would consider "great"

Lunar TSS and Lunar EB - I still consider these 2 of the best 16-bit RPGS. I still prefer them over the remakes for too many reasons to go into here lol. Suffice to say, in comparing SSSC to TSS, the remake has very nice animated cut scenes, 2 new characters/main enemies and an "extended" storyline. The bad? Music is FAR superior in TSS and the world map is gone in the remake. Simply put, BUY BOTH OF THEM!!! :)

Sonic CD - I also think it's underrated and it is a fine Sonic game. You will hear people argue over the soundtrack but this comes down to personal opinion. I got the game on release day and waited like 10 years to finally hear the import soundtrack and, guess what? I STILL like the US one better (The Japanese opening kills me! ugh). Still a worthy purchase...

Granted, there are a lot of crappy Sega CD games but here are a few of my recommendations (decide if the genre it is in is something you want to try):

-Snatcher - If my sig doesnt give it away, I love the game :) MUST BUY!
-The Terminator - standard action game with awesome soundtrack and some grainy FMV cutscenes (Look at later FMV games and just imagine THAT size in the Terminator *sigh*)
-Popful Mail
-Final Fight CD
-Silpheed
-Lords of Thunder
-Road Avenger
-Keio Flying Squadron
-Rise of the Dragon
-The Adventures of Willy Beamish (load times are horrible though :( )
- Adventures of Batman & Robin (not too great controlling 3d racer with awesome animated sequences!)

If you want to try FMV games, my two favs on the system are Night Trap and Dracula Unleashed..

If you want to try Japanese Mega CD games, I recommend 3x3 Eyes and Urusei Yatsura

[Icarus Moonsight]

If that's the case, you'd probably like Sonic for 360 more than Sonic CD... O_O

I was about to throw in Sengoku Denshou too, but I don't know if MegaCD stuff is banned too.

[Kitsune Sniper]

Well listing Fighting games are just pointles(any other genre ok, but fighting games no), when you've played Street fighters, Marvel Vs Capcom 2, and Soul Calibers, random fighting games/non godly fighting games wont do, but thanks for the suggestion anyway.

Final Fight CD is not a fighting game. It's a beat'em up.

[Zoltor]

Final Fight CD is not a fighting game. It's a beat'em up.

Oh ok, that's a bit different(in fact now that you mention it, I think I recall hearing about the Final Fight in Sega CD, being a non fighting game unlike the others, but yea a beat'em up instead), my bad, I suppose I could look into that then.

[chrisbid]

the sega cd is not the epic failure the internet makes it out to be. it was on the market for several years, has several hardware revisions, and a library of well over 100 games. it is by far the best selling console expansion ever released.

the fmv games get bashed ad nauseum, but at the time it was thought they were going to be the next big thing in video games. and in a way they were... in the form of CG produced FMVs of the playstation generation.

[Smashed Brother]

The previous posters pretty much hit the nail on the head as far as games go. Some of my favorites are:

Ecco the Dolphin (both of them) - basically just the Genesis versions with better music, but the music is some of the best that I've ever heard on this system!

The Terminator - A decent run-n-gun with some large levels and also, really cool music!

Final Fight CD - A nearly-perfect arcade port, but with an awesome soundtrack.

Snatcher - not so much a 'game', in the typical sense, but still an experience that every gamer should have. Be prepared to pay quite a bit for this one!

Earthworm Jim Special Edition - An upgrade over the Genesis version, with an extra level and a new weapon as well as some other minor things thrown in. Great soundtrack too!

Mickey Mania - fun platformer that I think is far superior to any Mickey Mouse game.

Hopefully those put some more ideas into your head!

[Oldskool]

Can't forget Lord of Thunder and Robo Aleste for the Sega CD as well if you like shooters.

Others shooters to recommend for the Genesis are Herzog Zwei, any of the Thunder Force games including Lightening Force, M.U.S.H.A if you can get your hands on one, and Gaiares!!! Those are some of my favorites. There are some lesser known/popular shooters out there as well like Truxton, Atomic Robo Kid, Insector X, Arrow Flash, Sol Feace, Insector X, the list goes on and on.

[TonyTheTiger]

I don't care what people say. Sewer Shark is damn good fun. I'd give it a whirl.

[kupomogli]

Lunar, Lunar 2, Dark Wizard, Snatcher, Road Avenger, Popful Mail, Batman Returns, and Batman and Robin are the best games.

Might and Magic 3 is good also but the Sega CD version is in Japanese. Play it for PC(or maybe PCE. How is the PCE version anyways?) Avoid the SNES version like the plague.

[Breetai]

How is Luna 2(SCD Really, could've sworn this game in general was never originally released in the US), and how is the Lunar Siver Star complete, compared to the PS remake?
You just shat all over my favourite game!

It's called "Lunar: The Silver Star" on the SCD, not "Silver Star Story". Lunar 2 was most definitely released in the US and is a completely awesome game. IMO, the Sega CD Silver Star is the best of the versions because the music is better. Yup, the music really is that good on it. The Sat/PSX version is also great, but I still go for the Sega CD version as my first choice. As for the Sonic CD soundtrack debate.... I own both the US and Japanese games, so it's a non-issue for me. :) If I HAD to pick one soundtrack... I'd go with the US version (!).

Eternal Blue is a toss up. Both versions are really, really good.

In fact, I think so highly of the first Lunar (and the second) that I often rate it in my top 3 favourite games. Heck, TWO Sega CD games are there. My top 3 are Lunar: The Silver Star, Sonic CD and Castlevania Symphony of the Night. FYI, Mega Man 2 is usually top 5 for me, but the 5th game often changes between things like Mario 3, Mario World, Phantasy Star IV, Final Fantasy VI and Chrono Trigger.

[csgx1]

What? No love for Kriss Kross or Marky Mark on Sega CD? J/K

Heart of the Alien....I was a huge fan of 'Out of this World'(Another World) back in the day.

[Breetai]

Well listing Fighting games are just pointles(any other genre ok, but fighting games no), when you've played Street fighters, Marvel Vs Capcom 2, and Soul Calibers, random fighting games/non godly fighting games wont do, but thanks for the suggestion anyway.
Final Fight CD isn't a fighting game... It's NOTHING like Street Fighter, MvC2, Mortal Kombat and other 1-on-1 fighters. It's a beat 'em up like Street of Rage and Double Dragon and it TOTALLY worth picking up. Do you understand that?

[T2KFreeker]

Everyone seems to forget that in order to get the awesome third part of Shining Force CD, you need the back up RAM cart also. Amazing game.

Also, the first three Final Fight games were bash em' brawler games. There was no fighting game for Final Fight until Final Fight Revenge. Think of Streets of Rage when thinking about Final Fight as you must have it confused with something else.

[Cryomancer]

If you enjoy texty adventure games, try Space Adventure Cobra. Boobies managed to get smuggled across the ocean via that game.

[Natty Bumppo]

Everyone seems to forget that in order to get the awesome third part of Shining Force CD, you need the back up RAM cart also. Amazing game.


IIRC you can play it without the cart - you have to erase whichever book you played first (after completing the other one) - that will create room for the third book and the museum battle.

[Orion Pimpdaddy]

[QUOTE=Zoltor;1691654]the Sega CD seems like it might've been the biggest sleeper/underrated system in the history of the gaming industryQUOTE]

I have read a lot of the interviews that SEGA 16 had with programmers who made games for the Sega CD. Those programmers all seem to say that the Sega CD was basically a very good storage device for data, and had some additional scaling features the Genesis lacked, but overall was not the advanced machinery they were hoping for.

So I wouldn't say it was underated at all. If anything, it promised a little too much.

[Zoltor]

Lunar, Lunar 2, Dark Wizard, Snatcher, Road Avenger, Popful Mail, Batman Returns, and Batman and Robin are the best games.

Might and Magic 3 is good also but the Sega CD version is in Japanese. Play it for PC(or maybe PCE. How is the PCE version anyways?) Avoid the SNES version like the plague.

Hey, I though the SNES version was very good.

To Natty Bumppo : Ah ok, well depending on how many games I end up with, that it would be nice the fame a second save(since I'm mainly into RPGs, I'll most likely want more then one save), I'll be getting the Backup Rom(it seems to be fairly common on Ebay anyway).

[PC-ENGINE HELL]

Well listing Fighting games are just pointles(any other genre ok, but fighting games no), when you've played Street fighters, Marvel Vs Capcom 2, and Soul Calibers, random fighting games/non godly fighting games wont do, but thanks for the suggestion anyway.

WTF? Seriously? The Sega Cd had few fighters anyway, but Eternal Champions on it is awesome. Theres so much quality content to that one its not even funny. Tons of characters, combos, fatalities, stage fatalities, ect. You'd be crazy to love fighting games, own a Sega CD, and willingly pass that one up. And, as the others said, Final Fight is a beat'em up. And its badass. Easily one of the best titles the Sega cd has to offer.

[Nintega Grafx-16]

WTF? Seriously? The Sega Cd had few fighters anyway, but Eternal Champions on it is awesome. Theres so much quality content to that one its not even funny. Tons of characters, combos, fatalities, stage fatalities, ect. You'd be crazy to love fighting games, own a Sega CD, and willingly pass that one up. And, as the others said, Final Fight is a beat'em up. And its badass. Easily one of the best titles they Sega cd has to offer.

Eternal Champions is horrible....

[PC-ENGINE HELL]

Stalking much Ninny? Oh well, add you to ignore.

[Gameguy]

Can't forget Lord of Thunder and Robo Aleste for the Sega CD as well if you like shooters.

Others shooters to recommend for the Genesis are Herzog Zwei, any of the Thunder Force games including Lightening Force, M.U.S.H.A if you can get your hands on one, and Gaiares!!! Those are some of my favorites. There are some lesser known/popular shooters out there as well like Truxton, Atomic Robo Kid, Insector X, Arrow Flash, Sol Feace, Insector X, the list goes on and on.
Is Herzog Zwei a shooter? I thought it was just a real-time strategy game. I have it but didn't play it as I'm not into real-time strategy games that much. I do like Insector X, it's a really fun game.

[Nintega Grafx-16]

Stalking much Ninny? Oh well, add you to ignore.

Best that you do that because I don't think your little manchild brain of yours can handle my opinions.

Anyway about the Sega CD shooters.......

Robo Aleste for Sega CD is a very nice shooter. The port of Lords of Thunder tough isn't as good as the original Turbo Duo version mainly because it is a much easier game. I hear Keio Flying Squadron is a great cute 'em up although it is pricey. Android Assault rocks too. Also you can't go wrong with Silpheed since you can probably get it for much cheaper than the other Sega CD shooters like Sol-Feace.

[PC-ENGINE HELL]

Is Herzog Zwei a shooter? I thought it was just a real-time strategy game. I have it but didn't play it as I'm not into real-time strategy games that much. I do like Insector X, it's a really fun game.

Herzog Zwei was kinda of a hybrid RTS and shooter if I remember right. I have not played it in years. Maybe I should pick it up again.

[nectarsis]

Best that you do that because I don't think your little manchild brain of yours can handle my opinions.




Continue posting AFTER someone tells you are on ignore...just attempting to bait a fight,,continual trolling still eh?

[T2KFreeker]

WTF? Seriously? The Sega Cd had few fighters anyway, but Eternal Champions on it is awesome. Theres so much quality content to that one its not even funny. Tons of characters, combos, fatalities, stage fatalities, ect. You'd be crazy to love fighting games, own a Sega CD, and willingly pass that one up. And, as the others said, Final Fight is a beat'em up. And its badass. Easily one of the best titles the Sega cd has to offer.

Ah yes, I forgot about the second Eternal Champions game. That game is indeed awesome. Just because it isn't Street Fighter or Mortal kombat doesn't make it a bad fighter.

[Nintega Grafx-16]

Ah yes, I forgot about the second Eternal Champions game. That game is indeed awesome. Just because it isn't Street Fighter or Mortal kombat doesn't make it a bad fighter.

I don't know. I find western-made fighting games laughable. If there is one genre the Japanese are superior in making, it is fighting games. Mortal Kombat is just a shameless cash-in to the SFII craze. Only popular because of teh blood not its GAMEPLAY which Capcom and even SNK fighters excel in.

[josekortez]

I second Batman Returns. I got a copy in the mail a few days ago and just fired that sucker up. The 3D driving section at the beginning is pretty insane in 1990's terms. I can't wait to see what else is coming up in the game.

[T2KFreeker]

I don't know. I find western-made fighting games laughable. If there is one genre the Japanese are superior in making, it is fighting games. Mortal Kombat is just a shameless cash-in to the SFII craze. Only popular because of teh blood not its GAMEPLAY which Capcom and even SNK fighters excel in.

Okay? So basically by your comment then, because Japanese fighters are better than there can be no good US fighters? Please. I never said that Eternal Champions kills Street Fighter or King of Fighters, I just said it was an awesome game. And, for the record, I am not a huge Mortal Kombat fan, but the second game was well made and still very fun to play dude.

Eternal Champions Challenge from the Dark Side had fun, colorful characters as well as a well devised and deep storyline. The fighting engine was vastly improved over the first game plus the graphical boost, which was insane as the first game looked awesome for it's time. Add to that, More characters that are all original and not just some redrawn version of another character that already exsists, excellent controls, an awesome VS more, nice FMV for it's time, and a killer soundtrack, well seems to me you just might have a well put together game that might be worth picking up. Again, it doesn't kill Street Fighter II, but it is easily on the same level as the game just on a different field. Then again, to each their own I suppose.

[PC-ENGINE HELL]

I second Batman Returns. I got a copy in the mail a few days ago and just fired that sucker up. The 3D driving section at the beginning is pretty insane in 1990's terms. I can't wait to see what else is coming up in the game.

The Adventures of Batman & Robin is a great one too on Sega Cd. It can get tough in a few spots, but generally its a blast to play.

[Gameguy]

Herzog Zwei was kinda of a hybrid RTS and shooter if I remember right. I have not played it in years. Maybe I should pick it up again.
I'll give it a try then when I get a chance, I have the cartridge with instructions so I should give it a go.


I haven't really found too many Sega CD games so there's not too many I can recommend that haven't been mentioned already. I do like Sonic CD, it came out around the same time as Sonic 2 and introduced Metal Sonic and Amy Rose. It is different when compared to the other Sonic games on the Genesis.

So many of the games I want are the harder to find/more expensive games, for some reason Sega CD games don't turn up here as often as games for other systems.

[Voliko]

I would definetly reccomend Shining Force CD. Keep in mind that it is the only way to play Shining Force Gaiden (released on the Game Gear exclusively in Japan) in full english on a legitimate console.

The second part of the game is simply Shining Force : The Sword of Hajya (GameGear) with 16 bit graphics identical to the shining force's on Genesis. The bonus features are also quite nice. The soundtrack is exceptional as well.

Also, there are no "town roaming" sections in the game. The towns are treated like the towns in Shining in the Darkness on Genesis. So no plundering people houses and walking around like in Shining Force 1 and 2 on Genesis. Just battle upon battle, with text in between of course.

It's just a shame that Shining Force Gaiden 3 was not part of the deal. That way, one never knows how the saga ends, unless played via Game Gear emulator with a translation patch.

Shining Force CD is an overall great package that definetely beats playing the games on Game Gear.

[Gamingking]

Well listing Fighting games are just pointles(any other genre ok, but fighting games no), when you've played Street fighters, Marvel Vs Capcom 2, and Soul Calibers, random fighting games/non godly fighting games wont do, but thanks for the suggestion anyway.

Final Fight isn't like anything you mentioned, It's a beat'em up.

Edit: Didn't see it mentioned.

[Zoltor]

I'll give it a try then when I get a chance, I have the cartridge with instructions so I should give it a go.


I haven't really found too many Sega CD games so there's not too many I can recommend that haven't been mentioned already. I do like Sonic CD, it came out around the same time as Sonic 2 and introduced Metal Sonic and Amy Rose. It is different when compared to the other Sonic games on the Genesis.

So many of the games I want are the harder to find/more expensive games, for some reason Sega CD games don't turn up here as often as games for other systems.

You're better off looking on Ebay, you should beable to find a bunch. Yea for the most part the better games cost more, but they cost nothing compared to the SNES greats or even the PS1 greats(I keep finding the better CD games complete for like 20-25$ or whatnot).

Edit: However there are exceptions(yikes at the average Price of Shinning Force CD).

[j_factor]

I have read a lot of the interviews that SEGA 16 had with programmers who made games for the Sega CD. Those programmers all seem to say that the Sega CD was basically a very good storage device for data, and had some additional scaling features the Genesis lacked, but overall was not the advanced machinery they were hoping for.

So I wouldn't say it was underated at all. If anything, it promised a little too much.

I can't fathom how people could expect it to be much more than it was (hardware-wise). I understand the disappointment that Sega didn't include a new VDP to expand the color palette, but what else could you possibly (and realistically) want out of it? I mean the Turbo CD was just a CD drive with a limited amount of RAM and one added PCM sound channel. The Sega CD has its own CPU, faster than the Genesis's, and with the ability to use both. It has twice as much RAM as the Turbo Duo / Super CD, and several times more than the original CD-ROM2. It has a sound chip with 8 PCM sound channels (separate from the ability to play CD audio), which works in tandem with the two Genesis sound chips. And it has scaling and rotation effects significantly more advanced than the SNES's Mode 7. They really covered everything except the color palette. Some might argue for a faster drive speed, but that's really not realistic given the time frame, and not very necessary considering most of the games that came out for it.

[tomaitheous]

the sega cd is not the epic failure the internet makes it out to be. it was on the market for several years, has several hardware revisions, and a library of well over 100 games.

Yes it is. Given the track record of the Genesis, and huge number of great softs, the SegaCD is a huge-epic failure. There are about 10-15 titles worth owning. The Genesis in comparison has like over 100 minimum of just "great" games.

OP:

Sonic CD - I don't like it. Didn't like it when it first came out BITD. Couldn't put my finger specifically on why, but since someone posted that the original Sonic creator wasn't involved, that's probably the prime reason right there. I do like the sound track though (the US sound track).
Vay - Kinda boring RPG. It's one of those games you buy, only because you have the SegaCD and you'll play almost anything halfway decent on it that you would normally skip over on the Genesis/SNES.
Lunar(s) - Great games. Not as good as Square titles BITD in my opinion.
Snatcher - a must own. Graphic adventure game.
Terminator - never cared for this game. Be it cart or CD (I know the versions to different).
Final Fight CD - if you have a SegaCD, you'd be a fool not to buy this.
Popful Mail - nice little action RPG (more action, less RPG).
Road Avenger - It's a FMV title, yes, but it's an exception to the crappy FMV games. Unless... you like crappy FMV games, then this system is right up your alley.
Time Gal - not as cool as RA, but it's worth picking up for a try out.
Cobra Command - I think that's what it's called. It's ok. Better than TG, definitely not a cool as RA.
Robo Aleste - Badass! Get this game.

And... I think that's about it. I might have forgot some games and there are some other games some people find to be decent, but I care about those style of games - so they might as well be FMV crap ;)

BTW - both EC are really shitty. People like shitty games, that's fine. But you need to call a dog, a dog.

[Icarus Moonsight]

I'm sure he meant epic failure in the context of little to nothing of worth to be had in software... Which seems to be the general vibe out there.

It had/has a ton of potential that was mostly squandered except for the dozen or so titles that surpassed the quality bar. Take the Peir Solar HB release, game on cart, expanded audio option through the SegaCD... The market never even got that feature. Hell, I've had a SegaCD since it was a new thing, and I had no idea that was even possible...

Given the proper atmosphere and correct management, the SegaCD, relatively unchanged in hardware, would have a much different place in general gaming history than it currently occupies.

In some strange "What If..." Bizarro Universe out there, the 32X never existed and the SNES Playstation hit the market... Wonder what my Bizarro clone is playing these days. :hmm: He probably owns a Sega/Microsoft 360X and a Sony/Nintendo PSWii. LOL

[Zoltor]

I'm sure he meant epic failure in the context of little to nothing of worth to be had in software... Which seems to be the general vibe out there.

It had/has a ton of potential that was mostly squandered except for the dozen or so titles that surpassed the quality bar. Take the Peir Solar HB release, game on cart, expanded audio option through the SegaCD... The market never even got that feature. Hell, I've had a SegaCD since it was a new thing, and I had no idea that was even possible...

Given the proper atmosphere and correct management, the SegaCD, relatively unchanged in hardware, would have a much different place in general gaming history than it currently occupies.

In some strange "What If..." Bizarro Universe out there, the 32X never existed and the SNES Playstation hit the market... Wonder what my Bizarro clone is playing these days. :hmm: He probably owns a Sega/Microsoft 360X and a Sony/Nintendo PSWii. LOL

Yea I know tell me about it, the Pier Solar sound on the 2nd video blew my mind away. Simularly high quality music(even so, Pier Solar CD is probally a step higher in quality)has only been seen since the PS2(and even then, very rarely so). I never imagined the Sega CD was capable of such(in fact, even after that video, I couldn't believe that was coming from the CD, and not perhaps a soundtrack running off a PC or something in the backround).

There is no doubt in my mind, that if Sega properly advertised the Sega CD, and what it was trully capeable of(which mind you, clearly had the 3rd party support required), that Sega would be still in the console developing business today.

[todesengel]

Spiderman Vs. The Kingpin and Puggsy are two more really good Sega CD games I didn't see mentioned yet. Spiderman Vs. The Kingpin is completely different from the Genesis cartridge and Puggsy added two more bosses, FMV and CD audio compaired to the cart release. I know Puggsy isn't a CD exclusive but everyone else pretty much listed games I would've suggested.

[Icarus Moonsight]

Android Assault: Revenge of Bari-Arm and Robo Aleste. Two shmups, Android is sidescroll and Aleste is vert (of course). Sol Deace is alright, I prefer the cart version Sol Feace though. I get impatient when I'm in the mood to blow stuff up. :p

[Zoltor]

Android Assault: Revenge of Bari-Arm and Robo Aleste. Two shmups, Android is sidescroll and Aleste is vert (of course). Sol Deace is alright, I prefer the cart version Sol Feace though. I get impatient when I'm in the mood to blow stuff up. :p

I saw a glimse of Sol Feace in the AVGN Sega CD video, but sadly he only breifly mentioned(as it seems to be an actual good game, and the AVGN only reviews the shitty games that suck ass), so I'll probally check that out sometime.

Android Assault has been mentioned a few times already, so I'll probally go looking into that as well.

[Icarus Moonsight]

I'm not sure, but I could have swapped Deace and Feace... Oh, it doesn't matter much. They're both fairly cheap, and the CD version is a common pack-in. LOL

[Aussie2B]

Vay is pretty generic and "meh". The only reason it gets any attention is because Working Designs hyped up their releases beyond belief and Sega Genesis/CD owners were desperate for Japanese RPGs since they had pretty slim pickings.

My main problem with the Sega CD is that almost all of the lauded titles are on the uncommon and pricier side. They're not the kinds of games you're likely to find in the wild. Because of this, my collection is kind of so-so. I have come across Sega CD stuff quite a few times, but it's always junk like Sewer Shark and Tomcat Alley. I can back up Road Avenger and Rise of the Dragon, though. They're cheap and fun.

[Icarus Moonsight]

I can understand nuking Sewer Shark, though I do have a twisted fondness for it...

[A Black Falcon]

Vay - Working Designs made it really hard... only play if you like average oldschool RPGs with lots of random encounters and a high difficulty level.

Lunar: The Silver Star -- Fantastic game... I think I like the PSX version best, but it's actually fairly different on Sega CD, and definitely worth playing.

Lunar 2: Eternal Blue -- Even better game, this is one of the best games on the Sega CD. The PSX version of this one changed less than Silver Star Story Complete did; areas were redesigned and made smaller, visible enemies were added, some FMVs were added and others removed... I think this version's the better version, better than the PSX port, but both are great.

Sonic CD -- It's a great game, but it plays differently from any other Sonic game and there's definitely a learning curve. Also, it requires patience. You will not get the good ending if you just run to the right. Instead, you have to take things slowly, be careful to never hit a Future sign and then run fast enough to warp to the future, find a Past sign (much rarer than Future signs) and warp to the past, be careful to avoid all Future warps, find the hidden robot-creating machine in the Past, and destroy it by attacking it. Then you can go to the exit. Do this in stages 1 and 2 of every world to get the good ending. (Stage 3 of each world is the bossfight) Alterately you can get the good ending by getting all the Chaos Emeralds, but for me at least that's much more difficult... It took me a while to get used to the game, but it is pretty good.

Shining Force CD is fantastic. Dark Wizard is perhaps even better.

But yeah, the Sega CD is a pretty good platform with a good variety of good games...

Shmups -- Android Assault, Sol-Feace (also on Genesis), Keio Flying Squadron, Silpheed, Robo Aleste, Lords of Thunder (also on Turbo CD) -- All at least good, and the exclusives are all great, I would say.

Using scaling functions (3d-ish games) -- Battlecorps, AH-3 ThunderStrike, SoulStar, Batman Returns (driving stages), The Adventures of Batman & Robin, Night Striker (JP only). The first three are from Core Designs and are fantastic, but very difficult, games. SoulStar and Battlecorps really are standout Sega CD exclusives in my opinion, despite their very high difficulty levels and lack of saving they're well worth playing!

And then there are other platformers... most are Genesis ports, but still, Earthworm Jim CD is the best console version of EWJ1, Ecco the Dolphin 1 and 2 are outstanding titles with truly exceptional soundtracks, Flink (not released on cart in the US, but released on CD) is a highly under-appreciated game more people should play, Mickey Mania is probably the best version of the game, Wild Woody's really not that bad...

Yes, the Sega CD didn't do as well as it could or should have, but even so it has a fairly solid library of games and is definitely a good system. It wasn't a complete failure; I think that it gets blamed for more than it deserves thanks to the 32X and Sega dropping it somewhat early, but even so it did have a 3 year lifespan in the US and a decent library.


IIRC you can play it without the cart - you have to erase whichever book you played first (after completing the other one) - that will create room for the third book and the museum battle.

No, each one of the first two chapters requires its own save file, and each one of those save files fills the entire internal system memory (which is a massive 8KB).

In order to play the third book you need save files for both of the first two, which means you need the memory card. There are no third-party Sega CD memory cards, so you're stuck with the somewhat pricey Sega-brand ones. At 128KB though, they hold quite a bit.

[Oldskool]

Yeah Soul Star is freakin' amazing. It really pushes the Sega CD. That's a game that really shows off it's capabilities!! Thunderstrike was badd-ass too.

[KHELVIN]

No love for Dungeon Explorer? It's the only 4 player game I know of for the console, and one of very few rpg"ish" 4 player games. (think Gauntlet,.. well kinda)

That being said my favs for the system are

Snatcher--must own
Lunar 1, and 2-- both very good, some ways better than the remakes
Popful mail-- action rpg, Some of the best voice acting evah
Shining Cd-- found the genesis games to be better, still a great game however
Robo aleste--buy this
Android assault--this too
Dark wizard---- good strategy game, not great imo tho
Keio FS-- Personally don't think its worth the price, then again I bought it...
Snatcher---When I beat the game in the long long ago, I watched the ending jaw agape, and after the credits... I reset the game and beat it again. Since then I'Ve played through countless times. If this was the ONLY game for the system, I'd still own one... so yeah it's pretty much my fav game.
Monkey Island-- If you can stand the load time, this game is great. I almost peed myself laughing at "What pants?" and to this day when I cant think of an witty comeback I'll say "how appropriate you fight like a cow"
Double Switch--- worth it to me just to point and laugh at Cory Haim
Final Fight Cd---Good beat em up
Eternal Champs/Sonic cd/Ecco/--- meh, for the price good buys
Vay-- Forgot this one, I dunno, pretty good, but no Lunar

Sadly, that's about it imo,.. Oh wait did I mention Snatcher?

[A Black Falcon]

No love for Dungeon Explorer? It's the only 4 player game I know of for the console, and one of very few rpg"ish" 4 player games. (think Gauntlet,.. well kinda)

That being said my favs for the system are

Snatcher--must own
Lunar 1, and 2-- both very good, some ways better than the remakes
Popful mail-- action rpg, Some of the best voice acting evah
Shining Cd-- found the genesis games to be better, still a great game however
Robo aleste--buy this
Android assault--this too
Dark wizard---- good strategy game, not great imo tho
Keio FS-- Personally don't think its worth the price, then again I bought it...
Snatcher---When I beat the game in the long long ago, I watched the ending jaw agape, and after the credits... I reset the game and beat it again. Since then I'Ve played through countless times. If this was the ONLY game for the system, I'd still own one... so yeah it's pretty much my fav game.
Monkey Island-- If you can stand the load time, this game is great. I almost peed myself laughing at "What pants?" and to this day when I cant think of an witty comeback I'll say "how appropriate you fight like a cow"
Double Switch--- worth it to me just to point and laugh at Cory Haim
Final Fight Cd---Good beat em up
Eternal Champs/Sonic cd/Ecco/--- meh, for the price good buys
Vay-- Forgot this one, I dunno, pretty good, but no Lunar

Sadly, that's about it imo,.. Oh wait did I mention Snatcher?

Dungeon Explorer... kind of forgot that one. I don't really like the Sega CD one that much, really... I like Gauntlet a lot, so I like the style of game, but it's just kind of annoying and flawed. The levelling system isn't well thought out. Now, in the first Dungeon Explorer game (on TG16) you only levelled up when you killed a boss. I forget about the second one, but in this one you have a standard levelling system where you level up by killing enemies... but the problem is, the game is just too hard in single player. It's a very difficult, very frustrating game. It also has some exploitable elements, like the respawning money in the central area. It's an okay game, sure, but it's got some real problems. Oh, it's also pretty disappointing in the number of class options; there are only six, far fewer than the two TG16/TGCD games. The graphics and music are good, but that's not enough.

Popful Mail and Snatcher are fantastic, of course, yes. Definite must-plays. Expensive but fantastic games. (like Keio!) Popful Mail's pretty funny and a lot of fun to play for anyone who likes side-scrolling action-RPGs. Best version of the game, and the only one in English.

Keio's probably my favorite of the Sega CD shmups; Silpheed would be second, probably followed by Robo Aleste, Lords of Thunder, Android Assault, and well behind those five, Sol-Feace.

As for the adventure games, they're mostly FMV games, which I mostly dislike, or PC ports, which are better on the PC. I mean honestly, sure Willy Beamish has voice acting here but not on the PC, but that's not enough when the load times are such a horrendously annoying problem... play it on PC. Play The Secret of Monkey Island on PC too. Same for Rise of the Dragon; sure it's okay on Sega CD, but it's censored, while it isn't on PC... and there you get more colors too of course.

I haven't really played Eternal Champions Sega CD, but I do have the Genesis game, and I'm not a fan. It's ridiculously difficult and not much fun to play. I like Street Fighter style fighting games the best (either Capcom or SNK's are best). I'd take even Mortal Kombat over Eternal Champions, I think, and I've never been a big MK fan.

I mean, if you take the time to learn the moves and get good at it, I'm sure it's fun. But is it really worth that time when there are so many better fighting games out there? I'd say probably not, really.

The game is the best fighting game on Sega CD, though; its only real competition is probably Revengers of Vengeance, which is interesting enough to be worth trying, really; I mean, it's not exactly great at anything, but how many RPG-Shmup-Fighting games are there? :)

Oh, I've always kind of liked Rebel Assault... it was one of the first CD games I ever owned (for the PC), and the Sega CD version is just as entertaining. It's probably not a great game objectively, but I like it. There are several other rail/lightgun-ish shooters also worth mentioning -- beyond Night Striker, there's also Microcosm, Novastorm, Starblade, etc. All are perhaps worth a look.

There are plenty more if you look... Puggsy's worth a look too for instance. It does also have a US Genesis cart release, though, so Sega CD isn't essential, but it is good. And for imports Taito's other game (they also did Night Striker; both games were Japan-only), The Ninja Warriors, is also a good choicel for anyone who can play imports... it's a great port of the arcade game, with the 2-player mode intact, fantastic music, and the quite entertaining "Zuntata Mode" backstory video thing that is very odd, yet interesting (fully voice acted in English, with Japanese subtitles, noir-style story...).

Other imports of note include the 1 player only beat 'em up Annet Again (Anet Futatabi, whatever), that is a sequel to El Viento (which was a sequel to Earnest Evans), which is frustrating but can be fun, Devastator, a pretty good side-scrolling-action game slash shmup, etc.

Note that you can change a Sega CD iso's region via some apps, and then if you burn the iso+mp3 image (via a cuetable) you can play any Sega CD game on any region system without any kind of special cart required. You just need an iso image of the game's data file (and music tracks) and a CD-R.

[PresidentLeever]

If you happen to know Japanese, get Shadowrun. It plays like a combination of Snatcher and Shining Force.

Here's a neat article on the entire RPG library:
http://www.racketboy.com/retro/sega/segacd/2009/06/the-sega-cd-mega-cd-rpg-library.html

[chrisbid]

Yes it is. Given the track record of the Genesis, and huge number of great softs, the SegaCD is a huge-epic failure. There are about 10-15 titles worth owning. The Genesis in comparison has like over 100 minimum of just "great" games.



describing the sega cd as an epic failure is irresponsible adjective inflation.

epic fail is the 32x and virtual boy, systems on the market for less than a year and libraries of under 40 games

there is a wide gulf between epic failure and runaway success. the sega cd had a nice little run and fits nicely in this category. (once again) it was by far the most successful console expansion ever released. it had a better run than the intellivioice, mattel ecs, starpath supercharger, famicom disc system, alladin deck enhancer, turbo graphx cd, 32x, jaguar cd, n64 expansion pack or any other gimmicky console add-on you can think of.

[tomaitheous]

There is no doubt in my mind, that if Sega properly advertised the Sega CD, and what it was trully capeable of(which mind you, clearly had the 3rd party support required), that Sega would be still in the console developing business today.

How old are you!? The SegaCD was advertised like crazy, from the time it came out (and what hyped before that) till near the Genesis death. It wasn't advertisement, it was poor selection of games and an over bundance of crappy FMV titles. Had there been more titles like Pier Solar and the top titles most people list, that system would have been awesome.

Also,... the system uses CD audio. How can you *not* expect it to handle such music. Your amazement... amazes me.

[josekortez]

Spiderman Vs. The Kingpin and Puggsy are two more really good Sega CD games I didn't see mentioned yet. Spiderman Vs. The Kingpin is completely different from the Genesis cartridge and Puggsy added two more bosses, FMV and CD audio compaired to the cart release. I know Puggsy isn't a CD exclusive but everyone else pretty much listed games I would've suggested.

I mentioned Amazing Spider-Man vs. Kingpin in my first post. Outside of the voiced cutscenes, it really isn't that amazing of a game, no pun intended, but it is something that I'm glad I own for the system. Before I recently got a copy of that game in trade, I hadn't played many of the games I own for the SCD outside of Sol-Feace. But it is pretty good, although the sewer sections in Spider-Man remind me a bit too much of the sewer sections in Alien 3 on the Genesis.

[Zoltor]

describing the sega cd as an epic failure is irresponsible adjective inflation.

epic fail is the 32x and virtual boy, systems on the market for less than a year and libraries of under 40 games

there is a wide gulf between epic failure and runaway success. the sega cd had a nice little run and fits nicely in this category. (once again) it was by far the most successful console expansion ever released. it had a better run than the intellivioice, mattel ecs, starpath supercharger, famicom disc system, alladin deck enhancer, turbo graphx cd, 32x, jaguar cd, n64 expansion pack or any other gimmicky console add-on you can think of.

Yea, it is far from an "epic" failure, infact if you factor in the fact, that it was a addon, not a sepperate console, it did very good.

However it crearly could've done much better if Sega advertised it properly, and spent more resouces supporting it, instead of later coming out with that POS 32x.

[chrisbid]

Yea, it is far from an "epic" failure, infact if you factor in the fact, that it was a addon, not a sepperate console, it did very good.

However it crearly could've done much better if Sega advertised it properly, and spent more resouces supporting it, instead of later coming out with that POS 32x.


the sega cd had a TON of advertising. beavis and butthead was a monster hit in the early 90s, and its demographic was perfectly in line with segas target. there was a sega cd commercial on every week night during beavis and butthead.

but the sega cd, and cd-roms in general were an experimental platform. sega tinkered with different ideas on how to use the enormous space cds provided. however, the killer app, the sonic, the street fighter II, the mortal kombat was never found on the platform. lunar was indeed the killer app in japan, with that game selling nearly 1 for 1 to sega cd hardware sales there, but rpgs were more of a niche genre in the us in the early 90s.

[josekortez]

Yea, it is far from an "epic" failure, infact if you factor in the fact, that it was a addon, not a sepperate console, it did very good.

However it crearly could've done much better if Sega advertised it properly, and spent more resouces supporting it, instead of later coming out with that POS 32x.

I think if Sega CD hadn't required people to own a Genesis to get it to work, it might have sold better. I read the Retrospective article in Retrogamer magazine about Sega CD, and by the time, 3DO and CD-i came out, Sega CD was considered a technological relic. But Sega was a more well-known company in videogame circles at that time so if people could have bought it as a true successor to Genesis, I think it might have sold better. Of course, hindsight is 20-20.

[chrisbid]

I think if Sega CD hadn't required people to own a Genesis to get it to work, it might have sold better. I read the Retrospective article in Retrogamer magazine about Sega CD, and by the time, 3DO and CD-i came out, Sega CD was considered a technological relic. But Sega was a more well-known company in videogame circles at that time so if people could have bought it as a true successor to Genesis, I think it might have sold better. Of course, hindsight is 20-20.

i dont have the numbers in front of me, but im pretty sure the sega cd sold more than the cdi. im not sure on how well it sold versus the 3DO, but im fairly certain the 3DO was not miles ahead of the sega cd.

[josekortez]

i dont have the numbers in front of me, but im pretty sure the sega cd sold more than the cdi. im not sure on how well it sold versus the 3DO, but im fairly certain the 3DO was not miles ahead of the sega cd.

Oh yeah, out of the 3 of those systems, I'm sure the Sega CD sold the most. It was the cheapest of the three! Back in those days, a lot of us only got the system if our parents were willing to buy it for us. I didn't get a Sega CD until years later when I had my own money. Most parents would say, "Well, if they've got the Genesis and it's cheaper, then that's good enough." It's not like today when most of us who were kids and teenagers when Sega CD came out will charge our own $300-$400 PS3 and Xbox 360 systems. I've read articles that say that cost-consciousness is why system add-ons and more expensive systems like the Duo, CD-i and 3DO utterly failed in the end.

[PresidentLeever]

however, the killer app, the sonic,

Although it isn't a favourite of mine, I do consider Sonic CD a real Sonic game.

[tomaitheous]

describing the sega cd as an epic failure is irresponsible adjective inflation.

epic fail is the 32x and virtual boy, systems on the market for less than a year and libraries of under 40 games

No, it's your own interpretation of what epic fails means to you. You're just making excuses. SegaCD was a joke BITD. Most gamers knew it. Only hardcore Sega fans bought into it and those who had money (all the people I knew that had one were older, had a full time job, and bought solely for the novelty of watching low color, dithery/grainy FMV. Ouuu wow!). For the first half of the consoles life in the US, the system was dominated with FMV titles. Sega pushed those hard. That's a pretty big failure right there IMO. Secondly, the MegaCD in japan was totally lacking any real softs. Save for Popful Mail and the two Lunar games. The system was pretty doomed from the start. Unless you liked FMV crap or off-style EU games (and even at that, it was extremely small). Just because a lot of fools bought into Sega's idea of what was new/cutting edge, doesn't make it a success. There's a reason why the addon was laughed at for so long.

My list sums up pretty much the top titles of the system (titles worth getting the system for). And it's not like there's all these great Japanese imports you can play on the thing, quite the opposite. And the fact that the US region got Snatcher when the Japanese region didn't, makes the US region ahead. That's just sad.

I seriously would have been just happy with lots and lots of carts to CD ports. Add some cinemas, more animation, CDDA music tracks and I'm set. Unique CD titles from the ground up are nice, sure, but you need something else too, to fill the void. I would have loved to see Gaiares on CD. Or TF3 or even TF4 (because the compositions are great, but the instrument quality is annoying at too long of intervals). What about a PS title on the SegaCD? That would have been badass. But we don't get anything like that. Hell, even the bone they throw at us called Sonic CD - is such a let down. Nasty colors/graphics, poor level layouts, etc. The only reason I own the addon (two of them) is for the few gems it does have.


However it crearly could've done much better if Sega advertised it properly, and spent more resouces supporting it, instead of later coming out with that POS 32x.

I'll say it again. It WAS marketed to hell and back. What more do you want? A $299 price tag for an addon, coupled with crappy first year softs and pretty much through out the systems life. That's what killed it. And the fact that for an additional $300, you were still stuck with the same low color limitations of the Genesis (which really started to show it's ugly head when the SNES came around). Nintendo must have been laughing all the way the bank on that one.

[Az]

That being said my favs for the system are

Flink!

[Sosage]

I'm gonna just keep my replies to the Sega CD topics in a text file so I can copy/paste in the same thing I said in the other threads. :P Although everyone has said what I would have said anyways (hunh?!?). Snatcher/Final Fight/Lunar/Robo Aleste/Sonic CD/Etc, etc, etc. Double Switch...did I mention Double Switch yet?

How are we rating failure here? It has an abundance of FMV games? Really? I count 35 out of 250 (http://www.sega-16.com/master_list.php?sys=Sega%20CD&curr_page=0&search_in=title&by=title&way=ASC&search=). Considering FMV was supposed to be the next leap forward, I'd say the industry likely didn't do enough FMV games! That's only...where's my math...around 1/7th of the library?

It didn't sell well? Do we have numbers anywhere on this? If I just went off of the abundance of used systems I see, I'd say it is the most successful add-on system I've seen.

What I *think* the truth is about the Sega CD, my *opinion*...as someone that adopted the CD 2 and was playing on other people's CD 1, is that the machine and it's library did "ok". It's not sitting on one of the polar ends of the spectrum. It wasn't the SNES, but it wasn't the Virtua Boy either. It wasn't the second coming of Genesis, but it sure as hell wasn't the 32X either...but we need to quantify these things with either glaring success or utter failure. Not just "ok", which IMO is what the Sega CD was. It was a damn nice add on with a decent library sprinkled with gems...and shit...here and there. For most of us, it was an introduction to an era of games on CD. That's it. It wasn't mind blowing, but I never regretted owning one either.

Come to think of it, the people that tried to convince me I should regret owning one were people that did not have one. Hmmmm.

[j_factor]

How old are you!? The SegaCD was advertised like crazy, from the time it came out (and what hyped before that) till near the Genesis death.

I didn't see a single Sega CD advertisement once they started advertising the 32x. Earlier it was advertised pretty well. But it also sold pretty well. The first shipment of Sega CDs completely sold out before the second batch could be supplied. That may not sound too impressive nowadays, but back then there wasn't such a huge thing around console launches with every system selling out on the first day.

In any case, the thing has 50+ worthwhile games, easily. I hesitate to turn this into a list thread, but I will if provoked. :p

Regardless, I'm pretty sure the Sega CD, in the US, outsold every system that debuted after the SNES and before the Playstation (which is quite a few systems). I wouldn't be surprised if it outsold the Turbografx too. Not that I'd call it a smashing success or anything, but epic failure is just hyperbolic.

[chrisbid]

Although it isn't a favourite of mine, I do consider Sonic CD a real Sonic game.

sonic cd is a good game, but it wasnt the killer app that moved hardware

[chrisbid]

No, it's your own interpretation of what epic fails means to you.

so what is your definition of epic failure? any and all failure is epic? any system that fails to be number 1? is the n64 an epic failure? the xbox?

here are some more accurate terms you can use for the sega cd that can both maintain your negative feeling for the system, yet distinguish it from even lesser platforms

lukewarm
lackluster
disappointment
mediocre
meh
snoozer
lame
second rate
plain
generic

[Nintega Grafx-16]

Although it isn't a favourite of mine, I do consider Sonic CD a real Sonic game.

That game is a masterpiece. The Japanese and PAL versions especially. The US version has crappy music compared to the import.

[Arasoi]

A Sega CD is worth owning for the game "PANIC!" alone.

[A Black Falcon]

describing the sega cd as an epic failure is irresponsible adjective inflation.

epic fail is the 32x and virtual boy, systems on the market for less than a year and libraries of under 40 games

there is a wide gulf between epic failure and runaway success. the sega cd had a nice little run and fits nicely in this category. (once again) it was by far the most successful console expansion ever released. it had a better run than the intellivioice, mattel ecs, starpath supercharger, famicom disc system, alladin deck enhancer, turbo graphx cd, 32x, jaguar cd, n64 expansion pack or any other gimmicky console add-on you can think of.

That's not entirely true... the Turbo CD was actually very successful in Japan, and the N64 expansion pak had a pretty solid amout of support as well.

Turbo CD - 417+ games released worldwide (only a couple dozen got released in the US though)
Sega CD - 220 games released worldwide (most successful in the US)
Famicom Disk System - 212 licensed titles released, more unlicensed (Japan/Asia only system)
Nintendo 64 expansion pak - 65+ US-released titles support or require the expansion pak. The 64DD and its ten games require it. Some Japan and Europe titles also surely support it so the total is somewhere over 75, on a system with just around 300 releases.
32X - 40 games worldwide
Virtual Boy - 20 games worldwide
Jaguar CD - 12-13 games
The other things you mention - even fewer than that

Basically, in the US the Sega CD and Nintendo 64 Expansion Pak are by far the most successful console addons, but in Japan the PC Engine (Turbo) CD and Famicom Disk System are. The PCE CD was so successful, in fact, that more games were released on CD than HuCard for the system, and PC Engine CD was supported for years after HuCards had stopped being manufactured -- HuCard games stopped coming in 1993 in the US and '94 in Japan, but while '94 was it for CDs in the US (and even then it was only 1-3 titles), in Japan CDs lasted all the way until 1999. Similarly, while they slowed down after 1986-1987, when in Japan Nintendo focused heavily on FDS and released almost all of their major first party titles for the platform, Nintendo did keep releasing FDS games into the early '90s.


I didn't see a single Sega CD advertisement once they started advertising the 32x. Earlier it was advertised pretty well. But it also sold pretty well. The first shipment of Sega CDs completely sold out before the second batch could be supplied. That may not sound too impressive nowadays, but back then there wasn't such a huge thing around console launches with every system selling out on the first day.

Yeah, the Sega CD was heavily advertised in 1992-1993 in the US, that's for sure. Sega really wanted people to buy that system... and it did okay, but not quite as well as they were initially expecting here.


In any case, the thing has 50+ worthwhile games, easily. I hesitate to turn this into a list thread, but I will if provoked. :p

Regardless, I'm pretty sure the Sega CD, in the US, outsold every system that debuted after the SNES and before the Playstation (which is quite a few systems). I wouldn't be surprised if it outsold the Turbografx too. Not that I'd call it a smashing success or anything, but epic failure is just hyperbolic.

In the US it crushingly outsold the Turbo CD and Duo combined (20,000 each is a reliable estimate for those two), but those two sold very, very poorly here, so that isn't saying much. I don't know of any really reliable estimates for US TG-16 sales really. As for worldwide, I'm sure the PCE in all its forms combined outsold the Sega/Mega CD due to how much better it did in Japan.

Just comparing the CD addons, though, that'd be tough... honestly, the estimates for both systems are so iffy that I don't know if I can rely on either at all, so I'm probably better off just saying that I have no idea and it could be either way. The PCECD blew out the Mega CD in Japan, but wasn't even released in Europe and sold horribly in the US, so did that make up for it? I'd guess perhaps not, but it's possible.


No, it's your own interpretation of what epic fails means to you. You're just making excuses. SegaCD was a joke BITD. Most gamers knew it. Only hardcore Sega fans bought into it and those who had money (all the people I knew that had one were older, had a full time job, and bought solely for the novelty of watching low color, dithery/grainy FMV. Ouuu wow!). For the first half of the consoles life in the US, the system was dominated with FMV titles. Sega pushed those hard. That's a pretty big failure right there IMO. Secondly, the MegaCD in japan was totally lacking any real softs. Save for Popful Mail and the two Lunar games. The system was pretty doomed from the start. Unless you liked FMV crap or off-style EU games (and even at that, it was extremely small). Just because a lot of fools bought into Sega's idea of what was new/cutting edge, doesn't make it a success. There's a reason why the addon was laughed at for so long.

So basically, here you first say that advertising it as an FMV system was stupid, and then that a lot of people bought it because it was an FMV system... um, that doesn't make sense, and it's because you are falsely applying more recent standards to something that they do not apply to at all -- the early to mid '90s, when CD games were new and FMV popular.

Really, Sega marketed it as the FMV system, and released so many live-action-video games for the system, because they knew that that was popular at the time. That was a smart move, not a stupid one. Try to sell it just based on the non-FMV games and sales would certainly have been even lower, at least through the 1992-1994 period.

Of course, by 1995 the FMV craze was beginning to fade a bit, and the Sega CD was losing its identity, so then Sega perhaps did have a problem... and instead of trying to solve it they just dumped a last few live-action-video games on the thing and called it a day. So yes, I do think that Sega should have had more non-live action video games on the Sega CD... but I don't really think that their focus on them in their advertising, or the number of the games that they made, were mistakes. Those games were POPULAR then. People actually wanted them. Why should Sega deny people something that they wanted?

Of course after the 32X and Saturn they messed things up, but that was as much because Sega was just spread too thin to actually competently support the system as much as anything else. Also, of course, the system was a flop in Japan, selling only 380,000 systems (11% of Japanese Megadrive owners bought the thing, evidently, not that great a percentage -- but remember, the Megadrive was in third place there, well behind the PC Engine which was well behind the Super Famicom, so they did not have much of a base to work with there to begin with), discouraging Sega of Japan from putting too much effort into the thing. This left Sega of America's FMV games as a major staple of the system... but had Sega of Japan actually been making more games for it, we'd have had more non-live action video games because Sega of Japan didn't really make those games and probably wasn't going to be.

So yeah, I understand their strategy and think it wasn't a bad one. I just think that the Sega CD needed more focus from the company and more games, which it could only have gotten had Sega not been splitting its focus so much between so many different platforms.


My list sums up pretty much the top titles of the system (titles worth getting the system for). And it's not like there's all these great Japanese imports you can play on the thing, quite the opposite. And the fact that the US region got Snatcher when the Japanese region didn't, makes the US region ahead. That's just sad.

[quote]I seriously would have been just happy with lots and lots of carts to CD ports. Add some cinemas, more animation, CDDA music tracks and I'm set. Unique CD titles from the ground up are nice, sure, but you need something else too, to fill the void. I would have loved to see Gaiares on CD. Or TF3 or even TF4 (because the compositions are great, but the instrument quality is annoying at too long of intervals). What about a PS title on the SegaCD? That would have been badass. But we don't get anything like that. Hell, even the bone they throw at us called Sonic CD - is such a let down. Nasty colors/graphics, poor level layouts, etc. The only reason I own the addon (two of them) is for the few gems it does have.

The Sega CD probably had too many cart-to-CD ports as it was... and of course it's not possible to do everything on a CD that you can on a cart due to the system limitations so not all games would be possible 100%. But looking at other addons, for the most part most games are exclusive, and once they go to a mostly-also-on-the-main-system strategy, as did also happen to the FDS I believe, it was one of the signs of the system's fading from prominence.

I mean, more of those wouldn't have been bad really, it might have resulted in some interesting alternate versions of games... but what the system really needed were exclusives and games that really used the power of the system, not just more ports. Ports don't usually convince someone to buy a system, I think.


I'll say it again. It WAS marketed to hell and back. What more do you want? A $299 price tag for an addon, coupled with crappy first year softs and pretty much through out the systems life. That's what killed it. And the fact that for an additional $300, you were still stuck with the same low color limitations of the Genesis (which really started to show it's ugly head when the SNES came around). Nintendo must have been laughing all the way the bank on that one.

Hey, Sewer Shark was pretty popular... yeah now most people can't understand why, but then people wanted that kind of thing...

The price was high though, true, and they did need more first party Japanese stuff. I agree on those points. But I think you are too negative.

[j_factor]

That game is a masterpiece. The Japanese and PAL versions especially. The US version has crappy music compared to the import.

I actually prefer the US music for the game. The original soundtrack is great to listen to, but some of the tracks are a little weird and don't necessarily fit the stage. I can definitely see why SoA decided to change it.

[josekortez]

A Sega CD is worth owning for the game "PANIC!" alone.

Unless you have a Japanese PlayStation 2, although I still haven't played the PS2 version of the game to be able to tell if the port is better or worse.