Rare and/or unreleased games for Sega CD

[motley6]

Couple of questions:

1) Are there any other PAL Mega Cd's that did not receive a US release besides
a)Cannon Fodder
b)Sensible Soccer
b)Syndicate
b)Theme Park

2) What are the unreleased Sega CD games that are rumored to be floating around either in prototype or iso format for either US or European Sega CD

3) Has anyone made a translation for Shadowrun Japanese Mega CD yet?

[christianscott27]

these guys have released a few sega CD games

http://www.gooddealgames.com/inventory/scd.html

[Jorpho]

3) Has anyone made a translation for Shadowrun Japanese Mega CD yet?

There don't seem to be many complete translations at all for CD-based systems. It's understandable, as trying to pick out a script from 650+ MB of data can't be easy, especially if there's no standard way to store or reference the data (as there tends to be with carts).

[scooterb23]

Penn & Teller's Smoke & Mirrors.

I believe it was finished, I know I personally played a demo (or podssibly a level on the real game) at EB a long time ago. I read the review in GamePro. I got a CDX wanting this game, only to find out it never got released :(

Maybe someday...

[jasonegitto]

Sega CD didnt really get any good games. Most of the games probbobly are rare and unreleased.

I did see the Lunar games and Shining Force CD. Those games cost around $100 alone. I am looking for some that are cheap. Half.com has them, but Im not in the mood to spend that much money on games I already have, but I will soon end up buying them because they will be needed in order to complete the... uh... complete collection of Sega CD games.

[Cauterize]

i dont wanna thread jack, but was monkey island a USA only release? i need to know this badly!

[pr8cjb]

AFAIK Cannon Fodder did NOT get released on CD, only on cart. If it did no-one has ever seen or heard of one, and it can go in the rarity list at #1 above Fatal Fury Special.

Caut - Yes, Monkey Island only ever made it as far as the US. It was meant to be released in PAL, I remember the review in MegaDrive Advanced Gaming magazine - it got over 90% and I waited forever for it to appear.

[motley6]

I have never seen Cannon Fodder on Mega CD either but it is listed as being an exclusive European release in the Sega CD Faq.

Maybe a protoype or iso of the prototype is around the internet for the Penn and Teller game. I will do some searching.

[pr8cjb]

Looks like the US didn't get "The Smurfs" either. No great loss.

[motley6]

It is if you lust after the girl Smurf........or Papa Smurf.........if that's your thing.......

[fishsandwich]

Sega CD didnt really get any good games. Most of the games probbobly are rare and unreleased.

I did see the Lunar games and Shining Force CD. Those games cost around $100 alone. I am looking for some that are cheap. Half.com has them, but Im not in the mood to spend that much money on games I already have, but I will soon end up buying them because they will be needed in order to complete the... uh... complete collection of Sega CD games.

Blasphemy! The Sega Cd does have a lot of crap games, but the Lunar games and Shinig Force certainly aren't the only good ones.

Do a search on this site and you'll find some enthusiastic praise for at least 20 Sega Cd games.

Cheers

:D

[pr8cjb]

It is if you lust after the girl Smurf........or Papa Smurf.........if that's your thing.......

I actually have a spare copy if anyone here cares to admit to that...

And yes, the Mega-CD got several good games, it's a pity all it's remembered for is a slew of FMV "interactive movies" and crap cart conversions.

Edit: The DP online guide has "Sensible Soccer" down as released under "Championship Soccer 94" in the U.S.

[Cauterize]

Caut - Yes, Monkey Island only ever made it as far as the US. It was meant to be released in PAL, I remember the review in MegaDrive Advanced Gaming magazine - it got over 90% and I waited forever for it to appear.

:( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :(
my fav computer based game never made it to the uk on consoles :(
ah well ill track down the usa one!

[motley6]

I did some more searching and this is a list of games that were supposed to come out but didn't. Anybody seen any prototypes?


Battle Frenzy (Core) (WAS released as "Battlecorps")
Braindead 13 (Readysoft)
Citizen X (Digital Pictures)
Clue
Crime Patrol 2: Drug Wars (American Laser Games)
Dai Bing
Dark Seed (Vic Tokai)
Dragon's Lair 2 (Readysoft)
Exterminators (Sony Imagesoft)
Flying Nightmares (Domark)
Myst (Broderbund)
No Escape (Sony Imagesoft)
Penn & Teller's Smoke and Mirrors (Accolade)
Power Drift
Prince VVCR (Sega) ("Prince", as in "SymbolMan")
Side Pocket (Data East)
Space Pirates (American Laser Games)
Young Indiana Jones (Sega)

[Vroomfunkel]

Battle Frenzy is not the same as Battlecorps. It is another name for Bloodshot. It was released in PAL under both names (Bloodshot in the UK and Battle Frenzy in Germany. Not sure exactly what the other European countries got it as ...)

It was also released in NTSC by Good Deal Games in late 2003, I think, along with Marko's Magic Football (which was also not originally released in NTSC). It's not too bad of a game actually.

Vroomfunkel

[motley6]

Yeah the Battle Frenzy thing was in the Sega FAQ and I cut and pasted it. outdated information. I have seen the Good Deal Games releases and it seems that they were all releases of games that were supposed to have come outbut didn't. I wonder if they have gained the rights to any of those other prototypes.

[Sniderman]

Maybe a protoype or iso of the prototype is around the internet for the Penn and Teller game. I will do some searching.You'll be wasting your time. :) Scooter is right, Penn & Teller *was* finished. A working, finished, ready-to-play copy has been displayed at CGE (amongst other venues) several times. I even have photos/video of it running. So why isn't it released?

1. Since it's a licensed product, you'd need permission from both P&T and the game's original programmers/company of release. The guys who have the proto have been working on securing permission for years, going so far as to actually meeting several of those involved, including P&T.

2. The game is programmed so that the instructions/paperwork is VITAL to play. Since those have been lost to the ages, it has yet been cracked as to how to progress further into the game than just a few screems. Imagine playing a game, when it suddenyl asks you "Pick a number between 1 and 1 million." And if you guess wrong, the game is over and you have to start from the beginning. Yeah, it's kinda like that - frustration-wise. They've been trying to track down ANY documentation that still exists, as well as having code-crackers and playtesters try to figure out" what's needed to play further into the game. No luck as of yet.

3. The ROM has not been dumped. No way. No how. And I don't believe it's gonna be at this time. We sometimes thumb our noses as to "the real copyright holders." But do *YOU* want to be the one to turn up as a blip on P&T's radar? :eek 2: Nooooooooo.

[digitalpress]

Ripped from the beta area of our database... Does this help?

Rumor Mill
Braindead 13 (by ReadySoft, for Sega CD). Shown in various ReadySoft press materials and even included as a trailer in some of their games. Released on several other systems.
Clue (by Parker Bros, for Sega CD). Developed by Sculptured Software. Announced for Sega CD but only released in cartridge form for Genesis. Also released on CD-i and SNES.
Dai Bing (by DigitalPictures, for Sega CD). This game actually became Digital Pictures' Supreme Warrior, which was released.
Darkseed (by Cyberdreams, for Sega CD). Announced but released only on CD32. A graphical adventure inspired by the art work of H.R. Giger.
Dragon's Lair II: Time Warp (by ReadySoft, for Sega CD). Based on the 1991 Leland coin-op. The fast-paced laserdisc classic's sequel was nowhere to be found on Sega CD. If you must play it, you can find it on the CD-I.
Drug Wars (by Amer Lasergames, for Sega CD). Announced for Sega CD but unreleased, you can find it on 3DO and CD-I.
Flying Nightmares (by Domark, for Sega CD). This PC game was announced for Sega CD but never released. The original was designed by Jonathan Newth, David Payne and Chris Tubbs (Simis), a fairly complex sim which requires takeoff and landing tactics, not for the arcade combat sect. You can also find the game on 3DO.
Myst (by Broderbund, for Sega CD). Original game designed by Rand Miller and Robyn Miller. Appeared on just about any system that could play CD-ROMs in the 1990's. Released on just about every platform ever conceived, but surprisingly didn’t quite make it to Sega CD.
No Escape (by Sony, for Sega CD). Developed by Psygnosis/Bits. Announced for Sega CD but released only in cartridge form on the Genesis and SNES.
Power Drift (by Sega, for Sega CD). Based on the 1988 Sega coin-op. The home version of this arcade game was announced for Sega CD and finally released on Saturn in Japan.
Prince VVCR (by Sega, for Sega CD). Appears on a number of "partially developed" lists like the Sega CD FAQ you can find on the DP site, but very little else is known about this one.
Side Pocket (by Data East, for Sega CD). Based on the 1986 Data East coin-op. Announced for Sega CD but released only in cartridge form on NES and SNES (as well as several handhelds).
Space Pirates (by Amer Lasergames, for Sega CD). Based on the 1992 American Laser Games coin-op. Several American Laserdisc games were announced but scrapped on the Sega CD platform. You can find this one on 3DO.
Young Indiana Jones: Instruments of Chaos (by LucasArts, for Sega CD). Announced for Sega CD but only released in cartridge form on the Genesis.

[pr8cjb]

Battle Frenzy is not the same as Battlecorps. It is another name for Bloodshot. It was released in PAL under both names (Bloodshot in the UK and Battle Frenzy in Germany. Not sure exactly what the other European countries got it as ...)

They're identical on the discs, really, it's only the artwork that's different. Boot a "Bloodshot", pick German as your language and you get a "Battle Frenzy" title screen. Boot Battle Frenzy and choose English you get "Bloodshot". I never checked what the other languages do though.

[motley6]

I found this site with some more information on Sega Cd protos and unreleased. The scan of the cover of Darkseed is really interesting because it suggests that some were actually produced.


http://www.segacd.org/expression/site_3/segabase/CD/SegaBase-SegaCDGames.html

[Cryomancer]

I've got a burned copy of what claims to be a beta of citizen X, but it wouldn't run in any emulators on on real hardware i tried it in. Sega CD one thinks it's a CD+G of silence and blackness.

No idea if this is helpful at all.

[Melf]

Don't forget Eric Quakenbush's Shadow of Atlantis, which was canned when the Sega CD was discontinued.

http://www.q-design.com/images/sega/Shadowbox.gif

http://www.q-design.com/20k/NAUTLAB.JPEG

http://www.q-design.com/images/sega/shadow/Beach.jpg

[-hellvin-]

I think I'll throw in:

Indiana Jones & The Fate of Atlantis

I've read a review for it in sega visions and it looked completed but as far as I know, it never came out in any form. The only thing I can think it might of come out on is Mega CD but I've never heard of it.

[slownerveaction]

Don't forget Eric Quakenbush's Shadow of Atlantis, which was canned when the Sega CD was discontinued.

Wasn't that going to be a 32X CD game before Sega realized how few people had both add-ons?

[fishsandwich]

Don't forget Eric Quakenbush's Shadow of Atlantis, which was canned when the Sega CD was discontinued.

Wasn't that going to be a 32X CD game before Sega realized how few people had both add-ons?

I believe I heard that as well... that it was going to be a 32x game. I hear it was also finished.

I still can't believe that someone said the Sega CD had no good games besides the Lunars and Shining Force.

Silly, silly man!

LOL

[Cthulhu]

I could have sworn I saw Braindead 13 for the Sega CD, but I'm probably just mixing it up with another version.

[suppafly]

I've got a burned copy of what claims to be a beta of citizen X, but it wouldn't run in any emulators on on real hardware i tried it in. Sega CD one thinks it's a CD+G of silence and blackness.

No idea if this is helpful at all.

I have a working version of the game. I found it around 1999 in the net. Its a bad game...

[Sniderman]

I could have sworn I saw Braindead 13 for the Sega CD, but I'm probably just mixing it up with another version.Yes, you are. I actually had Sega CD Braindead 13 on reserve for months and months until it was finally cancelled without release. You've gotta be thinking of the PSX version....I think. :hmm:

[evildead2099]

Sega CD didnt really get any good games. Most of the games probbobly are rare and unreleased.

I disagree. Although its true that the Sega CD saw a ton of crappy games, the same can be said of the Sony Playstation.

I suggest that you try...

The Terminator (CD edition)

Sonic CD

Rise of the Dragon

Snatcher

Eternal Champions: Challenge from the Dark Side

Star Blade

Final Fight CD

[evildead2099]

Darkseed (by Cyberdreams, for Sega CD). Announced but released only on CD32. A graphical adventure inspired by the art work of H.R. Giger.

Now THAT is a game that I'd really like to try! What's CD32? O_O

[Sniderman]

Sega CD didnt really get any good games. Most of the games probbobly are rare and unreleased.

Sonic CD is CONSTANTLY cited as the best Sonic game created, and I - for one - agree. An amazing game. Wish they'd friggin' released it in the Sonic Mega Collection.

And Snatcher rocks HARD. As does Vay. And Shining Force CD.

Kee-ripes, some of the "best games" PERIOD were found only on the Sega CD it seems.

[suppafly]

Sega CD didnt really get any good games. Most of the games probbobly are rare and unreleased.

I disagree. Although its true that the Sega CD saw a ton of crappy games, the same can be said of the Sony Playstation.

I suggest that you try...

The Terminator (CD edition)

Sonic CD

Rise of the Dragon

Snatcher

Eternal Champions: Challenge from the Dark Side

Star Blade

Final Fight CD

Dont forget:

Soul star
Lords of thunder

[Sniderman]

Darkseed (by Cyberdreams, for Sega CD). Announced but released only on CD32. A graphical adventure inspired by the art work of H.R. Giger.
Darkseed was also released for computers. I used to have it and the sequel.

EDIT: And The Underdogs (http://www.the-underdogs.org/game.php?name=Dark+Seed) have it and the manual! Go try it ... if you dare!

[suppafly]

[quote=jasonegitto]Sega CD didnt really get any good games. Most of the games probbobly are rare and unreleased.

Sonic CD is CONSTANTLY cited as the best Sonic game created, and I - for one - agree. An amazing game. Wish they'd friggin' released it in the Sonic Mega Collection.

And Snatcher rocks HARD. As does Vay. And Shining Force CD.

Kee-ripes, some of the "best games" PERIOD were found only on the Sega CD it seems.

Another great SEGACD exclusive (not found on ANY other system, nor in PCs) is the sequel to "another world": Heart of the alien.

Its a great game...believe me...you just need to THINK 8-)

[GrayFox]

A Sega CD is worth the price of admission for Sonic CD itself.

Sure, there's other stuff as well that kicks ass, but I don't need anything other than the glory that is Sonic CD.

[digitalpress]

Ah, it's good to share the love of Sega CD. It's true. There are some really bad games on the system, but the good ones make the system well worth its cost, which is VERY cheap these days.

Remember...

AH3 Thunderstrike
Cobra Command
Dark Wizard
Dungeon Explorer
Ecco the Dolphin
Eternal Champions: Challenge From the Dark Side
Final Fight CD
Flashback: The Quest for Identity
Keio Flying Squadron
Lords of Thunder
Lunar 2: Eternal Blue
Lunar: The Silver Star
Mickey Mania: Timeless Adventures of Mickey Mouse
NHL '94
Popful Mail
Road Avenger
Sega Classics 4-in-1
Sega Classics 5-in-1
Shining Force CD
Snatcher
Sonic CD
Ultraverse Prime / Microcosm

[Melf]

I think I'll throw in:

Indiana Jones & The Fate of Atlantis

I've read a review for it in sega visions and it looked completed but as far as I know, it never came out in any form. The only thing I can think it might of come out on is Mega CD but I've never heard of it.

According to Michael Thomasson, Indiana Jones never got past the planning stage (no actual game coding was completed). I too have that issue of Sega Visions, and I honestly think they reviewed the PC version.

[suppafly]

I think I'll throw in:

Indiana Jones & The Fate of Atlantis

I've read a review for it in sega visions and it looked completed but as far as I know, it never came out in any form. The only thing I can think it might of come out on is Mega CD but I've never heard of it.

According to Michael Thomasson, Indiana Jones never got past the planning stage (no actual game coding was completed). I too have that issue of Sega Visions, and I honestly think they reviewed the PC version.

A scan would be cool! :)

[slownerveaction]

We've got people listing off Sega CD games left and right but no mention of Flink? O_O That game is graphically gorgeous and one of the most innovative platformers of the 16-bit era.

[suppafly]

We've got people listing off Sega CD games left and right but no mention of Flink? O_O That game is graphically gorgeous and one of the most innovative platformers of the 16-bit era.

It has great graphics...but I didnt like it that much...the character moved a little too slow, dont you think?

[-hellvin-]

A scan would be cool! :)

No problem.

Now, I'm not the best scanner in the world, I did this really quickly. Some of the smaller caption text isn't too readable, sorry. It's really weird that they have all sorts of screen shots, hints and crap and it never saw the light of day. Oh well, that's Sega for ya.

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y20/hellvin/indy1.jpg

[suppafly]

Cool thanks

Theres a guy here on DP that used to work on sega visions right? Maybe we could ask him where did they get the screenshots for this game :)

[zmweasel]

Cool thanks

Theres a guy here on DP that used to work on sega visions right? Maybe we could ask him where did they get the screenshots for this game :)

They're most likely screenshots from the PC version or the color-downgraded Amiga port. And the hints and tips are based on the PC version, since the SEGA CD version didn't have any new or reworked gameplay.

-- Z.

[slownerveaction]

It has great graphics...but I didnt like it that much...the character moved a little too slow, dont you think?

Oh I must disagree. Yes, Flink is no Sonic, but he speeds up to an acceptable speed after a walking for a second or two. It's still a slower-paced and more deliberate game than most platformers, but that's also part of its charm!

[sharp]

I agree there are quite some good games on the Sega-CD. Sadly a lot of great games never saw a Pal-release. But still I love games like Keio, Road Avenger, Sonic CD, Shining Force and so many more.




Now THAT is a game that I'd really like to try! What's CD32? O_O

The CD32 was a system of Commodore and in fact a console based on their Amiga 1200 computer (there are even add-on's to make you CD32 a real Amiga 1200). It sold decent numbers in some parts of Europe, but never gained much popularity outside. The system has some great games, but I would recommand a normal Amiga 1200 over it.

Oh for a picture http://www.ifrance.com/ninjaw/cd32/_Images/med-CD32.jpg

[Jorpho]

Cool thanks

Theres a guy here on DP that used to work on sega visions right? Maybe we could ask him where did they get the screenshots for this game :)

They're most likely screenshots from the PC version or the color-downgraded Amiga port. And the hints and tips are based on the PC version, since the SEGA CD version didn't have any new or reworked gameplay.

Well, considering that they did use the same version of SCUMM, it would have been relatively (key word) easy to swap out the Monkey Island game data for the Fate of Atlantis game data. The color downgrading would be the big problem, methinks.

...By the way, I know such discussions always grow tiresome, but if the Amiga was based on a Motorola 68k, wouldn't that make the CD32 a 16-bit machine?

[digitalpress]

Thought I'd step in and assist here.

Here's a really big image so you can get a good look at the pictures and text from that page in Sega Visions. I also contacted Bill Kunkel to see if he has any recollections of this game.

http://www.digitpress.com/archives/segavisions/decjan94_p58_sm.jpg (http://www.digitpress.com/archives/segavisions/decjan94_p58.jpg)

Click for IMMENSE picture :)

[slownerveaction]

...By the way, I know such discussions always grow tiresome, but if the Amiga was based on a Motorola 68k, wouldn't that make the CD32 a 16-bit machine?

I believe the CD32 was based around a 68020, which is a 32-bit processor.

http://www.cpu-world.com/CPUs/68020/

The graphics processor was probably 32-bit as well.


Here's a really big image so you can get a good look at the pictures and text from that page in Sega Visions. I also contacted Bill Kunkel to see if he has any recollections of this game.

Hmmm... those screenshots look like they were simply PC shots run through a bad filter. I had a couple of the Amiga conversions of LucasArts adventures from the time (not Indiana Jones, but the Monkey Island games and maybe a couple others) -- they looked way better than this. And it can't be the scan 'cause it looks crystal-clear otherwise.

[motley6]

Yeah the Indiana Jones thing is interesting. Since it did operate under Scumm, it seems like it would be simple (relatively) to port it to Sega CD.

Plus there are many Japanese Mega Cd games that are begging to be translated like Shadowrun, Illusion City, and Record of Lodoss War. From what i have gathered, Record Mega CD is basically the same as the SNES version. Since that version has been translated, it seems like it could be patched or something.

The Darkseed thing is really interesting especially with this original cover being scanned.

http://www.segacd.org/expression/site_3/segabase/CD/CD-DarkSeed(U)_box.jpg

[CRV]

The Darkseed thing is really interesting especially with this original cover being scanned.

Darkseed also came out on the Saturn in Japan, but I would assume it's all in Japanese.

[BillKunkel]

Thought I'd step in and assist here.

Here's a really big image so you can get a good look at the pictures and text from that page in Sega Visions. I also contacted Bill Kunkel to see if he has any recollections of this game.

http://www.digitpress.com/archives/segavisions/decjan94_p58_sm.jpg (http://www.digitpress.com/archives/segavisions/decjan94_p58.jpg)

Click for IMMENSE picture :)

Zack and Michael T are almost certainly correct. While Fate of Atlantis was a huge success on the PC, it never arrived on the Sega-CD to my knowledge, nor, I suspect, was the project ever seriously considered beyond the "oh yeah, we're gonna do that too some day, aren't you impressed?" phase. I was the Sega CD reviewer (at whatever magazine we were working on at the time, which was probably the 90s version of EG) throughout the system's brief lifespan so until I unburdened myself of the collection, I had virtually every game that was released for the system (which meant a whole lot of really bad games and some terrible partial-motion video along with a few gems) and certainly everything from Sega and I did NOT have IJ&TFOA among them. If it had come out on the CD it would have been a VERY big deal and I'm sure I would remember it.

[Jorpho]

Plus there are many Japanese Mega Cd games that are begging to be translated like Shadowrun, Illusion City, and Record of Lodoss War.

Ooh, Shadowrun! Is it a port of the Genesis game or the SNES game? Or is it once again an entirely different game?

[Melf]

It's completely different, and quite good, actually.

[motley6]

Apparently, Penn and Teller has been leaked. I read on some blog that the Darkseed ISO is around now too.

[suppafly]

Sega CD didnt really get any good games. Most of the games probbobly are rare and unreleased.

I did see the Lunar games and Shining Force CD. Those games cost around $100 alone. I am looking for some that are cheap. Half.com has them, but Im not in the mood to spend that much money on games I already have, but I will soon end up buying them because they will be needed in order to complete the... uh... complete collection of Sega CD games.

I strongly disagree. There are at least 10 Sega cd games that I think are great...

[Iron Draggon]

Darkseed also came out on the Saturn in Japan, but I would assume it's all in Japanese.

Darkseed and Darkseed 2 were both released on Saturn in Japan, and yes they're both entirely in Japanese... wish I could find a walkthrough for 'em

[77punk]

yeah i wish i could find a walk through (in english) for my Airs Adventure for JP Saturn. The game looks very good.. i just cant get out of the first city.. Doh!

[fennec fox]

I'm glad this thread got resurrected because I'm trying to complete my Japanese Mega-CD collection right now. I have 5 games to go (out of around 122) and have leads on three of them, so if any of you happen to own Fahrenheit or Psychic Detective Series Vol. 4: Orgel on JP Mega-CD, let me know! I'll pay you a lot!

[Xizer]

Apparently, Penn and Teller has been leaked. I read on some blog that the Darkseed ISO is around now too.

Yes...about two years ago! In October 2005, to be exact.

Here's the original threads about it! :)

http://www.digitpress.com/forum/showthread.php?t=72120&highlight=
http://www.digitpress.com/forum/showthread.php?t=80175&highlight=

[Graham Mitchell]

Anybody who said the Sega CD had no good games never played Snatcher or Popful Mail.

Now, I could swear that Darkseed was actually released on Sega CD--I seem to remember seeing it in a store in Bellevue Washington and thinking I should buy it before it went out of print, but I chose to get a Saturn game instead because I was more interested in getting software for my new system.

Am I confused? Does anyone else remember this?

[motley6]

To my knowledge it was never officially released. It did get reviewed and I have seen a couple of pictures of the original box. I think that a few original copies got out. Anyway I saw the ISO as well as Penn and Teller the other day on emule.

[Michael Thomasson]

Hi Guys,

I've been reading...

I pesonally have NTSC playable betas of Battle Tech: Grey Death Legion and Time Cop. So, they certainly exist, and I'm surprised that they never appeared earlier in this thread.

Concerning Penn & Teller: Smoke adn Mirrors: When Zach found the game years ago, one of the discs (it was a two cd-rom game) was damaged and was not working. We were able to carefully retract the data and make a new build, so both discs of the game would play.

Michael

[motley6]

I've never heard about Battle Tech: Grey Death Legion. Give us some details. Also is your Time Cop beta the one level demo that has been floating around or is it the whole game?

[Fantastic_Duck]

Sega CD didnt really get any good games. Most of the games probbobly are rare and unreleased.....

YOUR POST AM FAIL

[motley6]

Well, it's been about a year. Any news on the unreleased Sega CD front?

[Iron Draggon]

Anybody who said the Sega CD had no good games never played Snatcher or Popful Mail.

Now, I could swear that Darkseed was actually released on Sega CD--I seem to remember seeing it in a store in Bellevue Washington and thinking I should buy it before it went out of print, but I chose to get a Saturn game instead because I was more interested in getting software for my new system.

Am I confused? Does anyone else remember this?

You probably saw a teaser box. Towards the end of the Sega CD's lifespan, right before the much anticipated release of the Saturn, a large selection of unreleased Sega CD games appeared on the shelves of one of my local EB's. Or at least their preorder boxes did. That happened with pretty much every unreleased Sega CD game, so that's why we have the artwork for most of them. They were apparently placed to test interest, but there wasn't enough interest in anything on Sega CD anymore with the Saturn already out in Japan! And so the Sega CD went out the same way that it arrived. As one big TEASE of what could've been, if they had focused on ORIGINAL content and NOT FMV original content, instead of on BAD FMV and barely enhanced versions of games previously released on Genesis or other systems. We did get a few gems and miracles though, like the English version of Snatcher!

[Graham Mitchell]

You probably saw a teaser box. Towards the end of the Sega CD's lifespan, right before the much anticipated release of the Saturn, a large selection of unreleased Sega CD games appeared on the shelves of one of my local EB's. Or at least their preorder boxes did. That happened with pretty much every unreleased Sega CD game, so that's why we have the artwork for most of them. They were apparently placed to test interest, but there wasn't enough interest in anything on Sega CD anymore with the Saturn already out in Japan! And so the Sega CD went out the same way that it arrived. As one big TEASE of what could've been, if they had focused on ORIGINAL content and NOT FMV original content, instead of on BAD FMV and barely enhanced versions of games previously released on Genesis or other systems. We did get a few gems and miracles though, like the English version of Snatcher!

Exactly. I was extremely excited when the Sega CD came out because I had already spent a lot of time playing my friend's Turbo CD, which had stuff like Y's I and II, Y's III, Valis III and a couple of other games which were well-made (I still think Y's Book I and II is my favorite game of all time) and showed the clear benefit of the CD format--games with length and depth in addition to red book audio. But for God's sake, Sega hardly even through me a bone with this stuff. But we did get a few gems, like you say.

As for the CD ports of cart games, I actually think the Sega CD version of the first Ecco the Dolphin is definitive, and a must-own for fans of the machine. It's much better than the cart version, mostly because of the sound. The improved music and realistic splash noises (replacing the shitty white noise of the cart version) add that final touch that makes it a masterpiece instead of a good attempt limited by crap hardware.

[eday_2010]

We started making a list of unreleased Genesis and Sega CD games at the Sega16bit Forums (http://forum.sega16bit.com/index.php?topic=131.0). I've stuck oodles of scans from magazines in that thread talking about games that never did make it out.