Daniel Thomas
07-01-2005, 02:03 AM
Well, I finally got off my duff and wrote a long essay about Sonic CD for my 'classics' series. I know I should put these out faster, yadda yadda. This is almost like the old zine days. We'll open up with a letter from Russ Perry, Jr.
Anyway, here's a short excerpt with a link:
http://www.danielthomas.org/Assets/soniccd1.gif
Sonic CD - videogame classics (http://www.danielthomas.org/pop/classics/soniccd.htm)
I knew a friend of mine who bought himself a Sega CD soon after it was released. I suppose he thought it would boost his popularity or "status" with other gamers. Unfortunately, lady luck just didn't seem to go his way. For starters, the unit cost $300, which at the time was a rediculous amount of money to spend on a videogame machine, especially when the Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo cost $150.
To compund problems, the games for the Sega CD turned out to be duds. Complete, utter flops. Despite months of endless hype, all we had to show for it was barely enhanced versions of Genesis cartridge games. Sure, it was kinda cool watching the cartoon intro to Sol-Feace, but that was only good for five minutes.
I suppose you could suggest the Full-Motion-Video games, but the novelty on those, ahem, "games" wore off pretty damn quick. Sherlock Holmes, Consulting Detective at least was fun for twenty minutes or so, but what good is that? And the less said of Sewer Shark, the better.
So, my friend ended up paying $300 for a doorstop. I eventually bought it from him for a song, which probably wasn't the wisest decision from me; but that's largely because I believe money should never be exchanged between friends.
Perhaps this will give you an understanding of why so many gamers from the 16-bit era will swear on a stack of holy book that Sonic CD was the greatest thing to come along since sliced bread, perhaps even the greatest of all the Sonic games. At the time, we were seriously starved for anything good, and the Sega CD debut of Sonic exceeded our wildest dreams.
The game's long disappearance from future compilations and greatest-hits packages only seemed to strenghen its status. Sonic CD achieved the status of mythic legend.
It wasn't until now, in the year 2005, that Sega finally brought its classic back from the mists and onto a console again. What will the average Playstation 2 owner think? There's more to overcome than the passage of time; the two-dimensional platform game has become all but extinct.
I don't think it should be too difficult. All you need is a chance to sit down with a controller in hand and a couple minutes. Sonic will have sunk his claws into you by then. Anyone who isn't seriously hooked should question their love of videogames. You know, real games, not pre-rendered movie clips.
Anyway, here's a short excerpt with a link:
http://www.danielthomas.org/Assets/soniccd1.gif
Sonic CD - videogame classics (http://www.danielthomas.org/pop/classics/soniccd.htm)
I knew a friend of mine who bought himself a Sega CD soon after it was released. I suppose he thought it would boost his popularity or "status" with other gamers. Unfortunately, lady luck just didn't seem to go his way. For starters, the unit cost $300, which at the time was a rediculous amount of money to spend on a videogame machine, especially when the Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo cost $150.
To compund problems, the games for the Sega CD turned out to be duds. Complete, utter flops. Despite months of endless hype, all we had to show for it was barely enhanced versions of Genesis cartridge games. Sure, it was kinda cool watching the cartoon intro to Sol-Feace, but that was only good for five minutes.
I suppose you could suggest the Full-Motion-Video games, but the novelty on those, ahem, "games" wore off pretty damn quick. Sherlock Holmes, Consulting Detective at least was fun for twenty minutes or so, but what good is that? And the less said of Sewer Shark, the better.
So, my friend ended up paying $300 for a doorstop. I eventually bought it from him for a song, which probably wasn't the wisest decision from me; but that's largely because I believe money should never be exchanged between friends.
Perhaps this will give you an understanding of why so many gamers from the 16-bit era will swear on a stack of holy book that Sonic CD was the greatest thing to come along since sliced bread, perhaps even the greatest of all the Sonic games. At the time, we were seriously starved for anything good, and the Sega CD debut of Sonic exceeded our wildest dreams.
The game's long disappearance from future compilations and greatest-hits packages only seemed to strenghen its status. Sonic CD achieved the status of mythic legend.
It wasn't until now, in the year 2005, that Sega finally brought its classic back from the mists and onto a console again. What will the average Playstation 2 owner think? There's more to overcome than the passage of time; the two-dimensional platform game has become all but extinct.
I don't think it should be too difficult. All you need is a chance to sit down with a controller in hand and a couple minutes. Sonic will have sunk his claws into you by then. Anyone who isn't seriously hooked should question their love of videogames. You know, real games, not pre-rendered movie clips.