Multi-platform releases

[Bewbs]

Hi

I'm a newcomer to the scene and have a few questions about multi-platform releases. Currently I'm looking to buy a Sega CD or a Dreamcast (or possibly a Saturn) but have yet to make a firm decision. Both consoles have titles I want to play but I'm concerned that some versions of games available to the Mega-CD might be inferior ports from other systems.

So far (see the list below) I've highlighted games that I'm interested in for the Sega CD which all saw a multi-platform release. If you could help me out and tell me which ones are worth bothering with, I'd be extremely grateful.

Furthermore, as you may have gathered, I'm interested in RTS, P&C, Space combat/simulation and cyberpunk games, so if you have any other suggestions of games on the Sega CD, let me know. Thanks

Btw, I've already played Snatcher on an emulator and loved it, so there is no need to recommend it. In fact, it is one of the reasons why the Sega CD interests me so much.

I'm only interested in how these games compare to other console versions. Not their DOS/Windows counterparts

Dark Seed PlayStation, Sega Saturn*

Flashback 3DO, Mega Drive/Genesis, Sega CD, Super NES

Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure Super NES, Sega Mega-CD, Sega 32X, Mega Drive/Genesis

Prince of Persia see above

StarBlade Sega CD, 3DO, PlayStation

Syndicate Sega Mega Drive, SNES, 3DO

Wing Commander Sega CD, Super NES, 3DO

SimEarth TurboGrafx-16 / TurboDuo, Sega Mega-CD, Super NES

Powermonger Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, SNES, Sega CD

Magic Carpet PlayStation, Sega Saturn*


* I'd like to know how these Saturn games compare to the Playstation version

[A Black Falcon]

Sega CD games are generally better than Genesis versions of the same games -- they have the same exact graphics, usually, but with CD audio and sometimes prerendered cutscenes. Some people prefer the cartridge audio in some games, but most of the time the CD versions are better. Load times usually aren't too bad, though obviously they're longer than with a cart.

SNES versions are a bit trickier, though; the SNES doesn't have the video or CD audio, but does have more colors on screen... this probably depends on personal preference.

3D0, Playstation, and Saturn versions are indeed usually better.

So... I'll cover some. Maybe more later.

Syndicate -- exact same as Genesis, but with CD audio and prerendered FMV. (That is, it's a somewhat upgraded version of the SNES/Genesis Syndicate game). The 3D0/Jaguar version is evidently not a version of the simplified 16-bit release, but a different version much more similar to the original PC game, so they're not the same thing. It was also Europe-only on Sega CD, of course, requiring either a converter cart or a region-modified ISO to run in a US system. It's very easy to modify the region of a Sega CD game, you simply use ConvSCD on the ISO file (needs to be a ripped ISO+Wav format with cuetable; Sega CUE Maker can make the cuetables easily), choose what region it is, and what region you want. The Sega CD has no problem running CD-Rs (though burn as slow as possible!). Using actual other-region discs on a Sega CD system is much more complicated, though, either requiring one of those expensive region-changer carts or switch mods to both your Genesis AND Sega CD to work. Given how easy it is to adjust ISO regions, this probably isn't worth it unless you really want to use the actual other region discs in your system, and not region-edited copies of those discs.

Flashback -- exact same as Genesis, but with CD audio and prerendered FMV. The additions are nice, and it's a pretty good version, only bested by the 3DO and PC CD versions. (Oh, and in addition to the consoles you listed there, the game's also on Jaguar and CD-i, console-wise)

Starblade -- the Sega CD version is interesting. It's the same game as the arcade game or Playstation ("Starblade Alpha") and 3DO ("Starblade") versions, essentially, but with limited continues and wireframe 3d graphics for the enemy ships.

On continues, you get infinite in the arcade or PSX, but three credits makes the game very challenging. I own it on Sega CD, but haven't gotten anywhere near the end... I believe the 3DO version is the same here as the PSX one, infinite continues.

As for the graphics, the wireframe graphics creates an interesting effect; while in the arcade, PSX, or 3DO you get shaded polygons for everything, and on PSX and 3DO you can also choose a second upgraded mode with fully textured polygons, on Sega CD, it's Red Alarm-style wireframes... but only for the enemy ships and things you can shoot. The background prerendered FMV is made up of normal shaded polygons. The disparity may sound odd, but it's really not that bad. It really makes the things you can shoot stand out, they're the wireframe elements...

Overall it's probably worth trying the Sega CD version even if you also have it on PSX or 3DO, if you like the game that is. It is a very simple railed lightgun-style game, after all... I find it fun, though, once in a while.

Wing Commander -- 3DO is probably best... the only console Wing Commander game I've played, though, is Wing Commander: The Secret Missions for SNES, so I can't really say. That game, though, was a decent port, but the gamepad controls are very complicated... that kind of game really needs a flightstick-style joystick! Evidently the two 3DO Wing Commander games -- Super Wing Commander and Wing Commander III -- both support the CH Flightstick Pro for 3DO, so that'd be the best way to play them (Wing Commander IV on PSX supports the Playstation Analog Joystick twinstick joystick, too; Wing Commander III likely doesn't, though.).

Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure (it's on Jaguar too) -- Very similar on all platforms, really. Sega-16 has reviews of the Genesis, Sega CD, and 32X versions... they're by three different people with very different opinions on the quality of the game, so the different numbers do not reflect differences between the versions, but just different opinions on how good the game is.

http://www.sega-16.com/review_page.p...an%20Adventure
http://www.sega-16.com/review_page.p...an%20Adventure
http://www.sega-16.com/review_page.p...an%20Adventure

The 32X version has the second-best graphics after the PC version (somehow the Jaguar version was, evidently, messed up...or at least is no better), and has one exclusive stage, but I'm not certain if it has all the levels of the Genesis version... the game evidently has 10 or 11 levels on SNES/Genesis but 13 on Sega CD. Not certain how many there are on 32X, just that there is one exclusive one. Music is obviously best on the CD versions, PC CD or Sega CD.

[Bewbs]

Thanks for the detailed reply and the review links.

So the general rule of thumb is that the CD version tends to have Red Book audio and maybe some FMV, and little or no graphical enhancement. In hindsight, perhaps I should have worded my question differently and asked which (if any) games have been badly affected by being ported to the Sega CD. Is there a guide on that covers the differences of games released on a number of platforms? That would be really useful.

Re: Syndicate. I'll be playing on a PAL system so I won't have any trouble playing it; however finding the game may be a trickier proposition. Regardless, you advice has been invaluable - looks like I'll be checking the guides again to see which games were US only.

Thanks again for the info on Wing Commander and StarBlade. Tbh, I don't think they will have much of a bearing on my final decision (after all the DC has Starlancer) but the Sega CD library is somewhat limited and I need other reasons aside from Syndicate, Rise of the Dragon and Snatcher to warrant me purchasing a Sega CD.

[roushimsx]

Oh man, Wing Commander's controls on SNES took a while to get used to.

Shame that review copy of Wing Commander 2 for SNES never leaked online. That game was totally better than Tie Fighter on PC (YEA, I SAID IT) and I've always wanted to see how well it turned out on the SNES. Double shame that the developers of Wing Commander Prophecy on GBA didn't go the sprite-based route like the earlier Wing Commander games and instead tried (unsuccessfully) to mimic the look of the PC release. Boo-urns.

Syndicate's controls also kinda blew on consoles, fwiw.

Oh and btw, Power Monger runs dog slow on Genesis/SegaCD. Like seriously game-breaking slow. It's nearly unbearable. If you played Populous on SNES and thought, "damn, this is slow" then stay the hell away from Power Monger. It makes the SNES version Populous look like Uniracers by comparison.

[CosmicMonkey]

It's possible to play Flashback and Another World on the Dreamcast with REminiscence. You can also play the old Lucasarts point n' click adventure games with the DC port of ScummVM.

[j_factor]

Dark Seed - I don't know much about this game, but I do know that the Saturn version was only released in Japan. So probably the Playstation version wins by default, because I'm pretty sure this game has a good amount of text/dialog in it.

Flashback - I actually found the Genesis (cartridge) version to be best. The CD versions have 3D/cg style FMVs, and I found the cartridge version's cutscenes to be nicer. The CD audio doesn't really add anything to the game. The SNES version has choppy cutscenes compared to the Genesis version.

Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure - The Sega CD version is definitely my favorite. The CD soundtrack is amazingly good and it has some extra content.

Syndicate - The Genesis and SNES versions are actually a simplified game, compared to the others. Not really the same. It was on three other consoles, which were ported directly from the Amiga version: 3DO, Jaguar, and CD32. I haven't played them enough to compare really, but I'm sure you can't go wrong with any of those three.

Wing Commander - The 3DO version wins by a landslide, with remade graphics specific to that version, full speech and cinematics, and, aside from including the Secret Missions add-on, it also adds in a new expansion in between.

Magic Carpet - About the same, really. The Saturn version controls a little better (but it doesn't add analog support or anything).

Prince of Persia - This one's kind of a difficult call. On the one hand, the SNES version has a bunch of extra levels, making it almost twice as long as every other version of the game. On the other hand, it's kind of glitchy. There's a point late in the game where you have a swordfight while there's a conveyor belt on the screen, and apparently the conveyor belt is taxing, because that particular swordfight is very choppy and messed up. I could never pass that one part. Also, graphically, it's pretty well-drawn, but suffers from a lower horizontal resolution compared to other ports. The Genesis cartridge version actually has the best graphics of them all, including the Amiga version and everything (whoever ported it redrew everything and it looks very nice), but the audio is awful, and it has this thing where every time you move to the next screen, it fades for a second, making the multi-screen jumps unnecessarily difficult. The Sega CD version has worse graphics, having been ported from the Turbo CD rather than the Genesis (not that the Turbo CD has inferior graphics in general, it's just that different versions were ported by different groups, who did the graphics differently). But, it has nice audio, animated cutscenes, and a speed setting so you can make the game move faster or slower (handy to slow down the hard parts, and on replaying the game, to zoom through the easy parts), and it doesn't have the fading problem. The Turbo CD version is almost identical to the Sega CD version, except it doesn't have the animated cutscenes, and the graphics are slightly better. Graphically, the two CD versions are about on par with the SNES version (maybe slightly worse actually), except running at a better resolution. It's one of the few Turbo games to use one of the system's higher-resolution modes (although all that means is that it equals the resolution of most Genesis/Sega CD games), whereas the SNES version uses the system's default 256x224 (the same as the Turbo's default). Screens for comparison (lifted from HG101):

Genesis:


Turbo CD:


Sega CD:


SNES:


The SMS version actually looks pretty nice, not that it competes with the above:


Compare that to the NES version, ugh:


Bottom line, I say go with the Turbo version. The cutscenes exclusive to the Sega CD version are simply not very good.

[A Black Falcon]

What? Bah, the US Prince of Persia Sega CD intro is awesome...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idwHgWXWNlM

Oh, SimEarth. It's a Japan-only release on the Sega CD, so that one's probably not worth getting... there was actually a US release of the Turbo CD version, though, as well as the SNES one. If you want a console SimEarth, probably get one of those... I've only played it on the PC, though. Very, very complex game... it was too complex for me when I was younger, I think, back when I tried to play the DOS version of it which we had. SimCity I liked quite a bit, even Unreal Selection I could handle eventually... but SimEarth somehow just seemed too complicated. But anyway, the Sega CD one wasn't released in the West.

Oh man, Wing Commander's controls on SNES took a while to get used to.

Yeah, it uses every button on the controller, and most of them have multiple functions. It really takes a while to get used to and is really clumsy. It'd be no better on Sega CD... and I can't even imagine it with only a 3-button controller, it could barely handle it on eight...

Re: Syndicate. I'll be playing on a PAL system so I won't have any trouble playing it; however finding the game may be a trickier proposition. Regardless, you advice has been invaluable - looks like I'll be checking the guides again to see which games were US only.

Ah. Yeah, as long as the PAL/NTSC thing isn't a problem, that process will absolutely work the other way too, for playing US or Japanese games on a European system.

Thanks again for the info on Wing Commander and StarBlade. Tbh, I don't think they will have much of a bearing on my final decision (after all the DC has Starlancer) but the Sega CD library is somewhat limited and I need other reasons aside from Syndicate, Rise of the Dragon and Snatcher to warrant me purchasing a Sega CD.

They're completely different kinds of games, though. Wing Commander is a simple flight sim, but StarBlade is a target-shooting game where you simply move the cursor around while travelling along a railed path. It's much better than your average Sega CD game of that type because it's not a live-action video FMV game like too many games on the system (Mad Dog McCree, Midnight Raiders, etc, etc...), but it is a very simple game. You fly along the route, enemies passing you... you don't have to kill them all to progress,you just keep going forward until you die (or somehow manage to win despite the limited continues). As I said I like it, but it's a completely different kind of game from a Wing Commander.

Furthermore, as you may have gathered, I'm interested in RTS, P&C, Space combat/simulation and cyberpunk games, so if you have any other suggestions of games on the Sega CD, let me know. Thanks

Well, for space sims there isn't much, just Wing Commander really. There are several on the 32X, though -- Star Wars Arcade and Shadow Squadron are both very highly recommended if you ever get a 32X! Particularly Shadow Squadron, it's one of the system's best games (but don't even bother without a 6-button controller, the controls are terrible that way). It doesn't look like it got a European release... too bad. Great game. Star Wars Arcade is fine, but compared to Shadow Squadron it just doesn't hold up. Shadow Squadron is short, but while it lasts it's a lot of fun and impressive.

Back to the Sega CD though. There is also SoulStar, which is pretty spectacular and really is a must-play for any Sega CD owner who wants to see a game that really pushes the hardware. Core Design did way better than most on the matter... the game is part rail shooter, part free-roam sort of simmish flight game (kind of like the "All Range Mode" parts of Star Fox 64 or Star Fox 2, but with somewhat more complicated controls). Make sure to have a 6-button controller! The controls are better with one... The game is all sprite-based, making great use of the system's scaling and rotation chips. It's difficult, challenging, and great. The soundtrack is every bit as great as the graphics.

Oh, Core's Battlecorps is also recommended. It's a mech game pretty much. Not a complex one, it's pretty FPS-ish, but it does feel like you're in a mech, if just from the great 'walking' sound effects, and rotating upper part (so you can shoot in one direction and walk in another)... very, very good game, and pretty great looking too. The only downside that like SoulStar, it's really hard, and has no saving. It doesn't even have the infinite continues of SoulStar, I believe. Oh well... it's more than great enough to be worth playing. There is a level-select cheatcode, at least.

There are good space-based shmups though, of course, like most all older consoles... Sol-Feace, Android Assault, Silpheed... Silpheed has some of the better graphics on the system, too.

As for cyberpunk, there are a couple. The adventure game Rise of the Dragon is Blade Runner-inspired sci-fi. It is a PC port though, somewhat censored in comparison to the original PC version. Still, it's a fine game. The other major one other than the as you say very rare Syndicate is Shadowrun, which is not a port of the Genesis or SNES games but is actually an entirely original title that sadly was Japan-only. It was the last game released for the Sega CD anywhere, and they didn't port it... which is really too bad for those who don't know Japanese, because it's supposedly quite good.

Oh, Night Striker is a futuristic 'dark future scifi'-ish rail shooter where you drive a flying car. Fun game, even if the graphics are incredibly blocky... the CD audio option is pretty nice though, and it manages to be fun despite the graphics. It's a Japan-only release, but has no Japanese in it at all. Oh, if you do know Japanese though, there's also the RPG "Illusion City", which is definitely dark-future sci-fi. Being a JRPG though, obviously it wouldn't be much fun without knowing the language. But the Sega CD does have two Japan-only dark-future sci-fi RPGs.

You probably know the Sega CD's adventure games. Snatcher, The Adventures of Willy Beamish, Secret of Monkey Island, and Revenge of the Dragon. Some FMV games are also much point-and-click adventure games, though, including both Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective volumes, Dracula Unleashed (NOT Bram Stoker's Dracula, that is a terrible FMV sidescroller! Unleashed is an adventure game.) and Mansion of Hidden Souls. All are worth at least checking out, for adventure game fans. Willy Beamish and Monkey Island have some brutal load times... and they're PC ports too, so they're probably better just played in DOSBox, even if you don't get the CD audio.

As for strategy games... hmm. Well, the system has some good TBSes of course, in things like Shining Force CD and Dark Wizard (hex grid! ), but there is Dune and Third World War, both of which are absolutely worth checking out. Third World War's overworld map is turn-based I'm pretty sure, but battles are real-time (very slow paced, but real time)... complicated game, but worth it if you get into it. Dune is a conversion of the PC/Amiga game you may be familiar with, an adventure/strategy game based on the sci-fi book series/movie.

Third World War gameplay: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWAv7kgxjio

(Oh, it was a US/Japan only release, I believe.)


I do like the Sega CD quite a bit, though. My top 10 would probably be somewhat standard... (only the first one is set; the others are not in a definite order)

1. Lunar: Eternal Blue
2. SoulStar
3. Dark Wizard
4. Sonic CD
5. Battlecorps
6. Keio Flying Squadron
7. Ecco the Dolphin 2 (and 1) (the CD soundtracks are AMAZING! 1 has no other additions, 2 adds prerendered FMVs too...but the soundtrack is spectacular)
8. Silpheed
9. Popful Mail
10. Star Wars: Rebel Assault (I know, everyone hates it... I don't. Nostalgia perhaps? )

Honorable mentions: There are plenty of other decent to good games. I can't list them all... Shining Force CD, Lunar: The Silver Star, Wild Woody, Mickey Mania, Devastator, Ninja Warriors, Robo Aleste, Final Fight CD, Earthworm Jim SE, Adventures of Batman & Robin, etc... there's more.

... and maybe some FMV games if you really want. Loadstar maybe... for some reason I kind of like that game. Time Gal's not terrible either.

The Saturn and Dreamcast are pretty good systems too, though, for sure... but I won't get into those now.

[bangtango]

Hi

I'm a newcomer to the scene and have a few questions about multi-platform releases. Currently I'm looking to buy a Sega CD or a Dreamcast (or possibly a Saturn) but have yet to make a firm decision.

Welcome to the scene. Now with the formalities out of the way......

Let's cut to the chase, shall we? The debate is really between Sega CD, Saturn and Dreamcast. Sega CD is the worst out of those three by a landslide. There are probably 50-60 threads here that will back that up. You shouldn't even think of buying the Sega CD until you have the other two.

End of story.

[tom]

Pitfall, Flashback, Syndicate play best on Atari Jaguar

[j_factor]

7. Ecco the Dolphin 2 (and 1) (the CD soundtracks are AMAZING! 1 has no other additions, 2 adds prerendered FMVs too...but the soundtrack is spectacular)

Incorrect! Differences between the cartridge and CD versions of Ecco (1):

- CD soundtrack, obviously
- Also improved sound effects, and use of Q Sound
- The CD version has 6 additional levels
- When you die in the CD version, you restart at the last glyph rather than restarting the whole level every time
- There are two (optional) FMVs in the Library
- The difficulty of some of the enemies was slightly toned down (especially the seahorses)

[roushimsx]

Well, for space sims there isn't much, just Wing Commander really. There are several on the 32X, though -- Star Wars Arcade and Shadow Squadron are both very highly recommended if you ever get a 32X!

Don't even waste your time with Star Wars Arcade. Stellar Assault / Shadow Squadron is the game that Star Wars Arcade wished it could have been.

[Bewbs]

Welcome to the scene. Now with the formalities out of the way......

Let's cut to the chase, shall we? The debate is really between Sega CD, Saturn and Dreamcast. Sega CD is the worst out of those three by a landslide. There are probably 50-60 threads here that will back that up. You shouldn't even think of buying the Sega CD until you have the other two.

End of story.

Yes, undoubtedly the DC has a superior back cat. but the Sega CD is not without its merits.

Primarily, I was thinking of a DC for Shenmue, Rez and L.O.L. Of course there are more great titles available, not to mention the homebrew scene, that make it an attractive proposition. The only sticking point for me, is the fact that there are not that many Adventure/P&C/RTS titles available. Also, by buying a CD (and obviously a genesis) it means that I'll have more titles to choose from. For me, the most important part of a video game, aside from the gameplay of course, is the story....something which has become less important on newer systems. Actually, maybe that last point isn't strictly true.

As for the Saturn, well, I would love to have one but the games I really want to play (Radiant Silvergun, Panzer) are extremely expensive. I suppose there are other ways of getting these games, but I would really rather have the originals.

[Bewbs]

Oh man, Wing Commander's controls on SNES took a while to get used to.

Shame that review copy of Wing Commander 2 for SNES never leaked online. That game was totally better than Tie Fighter on PC (YEA, I SAID IT) and I've always wanted to see how well it turned out on the SNES. Double shame that the developers of Wing Commander Prophecy on GBA didn't go the sprite-based route like the earlier Wing Commander games and instead tried (unsuccessfully) to mimic the look of the PC release. Boo-urns.

Syndicate's controls also kinda blew on consoles, fwiw.

Oh and btw, Power Monger runs dog slow on Genesis/SegaCD. Like seriously game-breaking slow. It's nearly unbearable. If you played Populous on SNES and thought, "damn, this is slow" then stay the hell away from Power Monger. It makes the SNES version Populous look like Uniracers by comparison.

Thanks for the reply. Perhaps I'll pass then. RTS is slow enough with out the long Sega CD load times

Dark Seed - I don't know much about this game, but I do know that the Saturn version was only released in Japan. So probably the Playstation version wins by default, because I'm pretty sure this game has a good amount of text/dialog in it.

Looks like I'll have to pass on this too. Btw, if you haven't played it I suggest to dl it from The Underdogs. Classic adventure game with an creepy, atmospheric adult theme

Flashback - I actually found the Genesis (cartridge) version to be best. The CD versions have 3D/cg style FMVs, and I found the cartridge version's cutscenes to be nicer. The CD audio doesn't really add anything to the game. The SNES version has choppy cutscenes compared to the Genesis version.

I'll have a scout around and see how they both compare in terms of price if the 2 versions aren't that different. If the audio was an improvement then it would be a different matter.

Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure - The Sega CD version is definitely my favorite. The CD soundtrack is amazingly good and it has some extra content.

Ok, I'll add that to my list of potential targets if I go down the Sega CD route

Syndicate - The Genesis and SNES versions are actually a simplified game, compared to the others. Not really the same. It was on three other consoles, which were ported directly from the Amiga version: 3DO, Jaguar, and CD32. I haven't played them enough to compare really, but I'm sure you can't go wrong with any of those three.

Tbh, I'll be lucky to find this at a reasonable price. If the version on the Genesis is a solid port then I'll probably buy it instead. Syndicate..what a game

Wing Commander - The 3DO version wins by a landslide, with remade graphics specific to that version, full speech and cinematics, and, aside from including the Secret Missions add-on, it also adds in a new expansion in between.

Yeah, I've read somewhere that the 3DO was the best version. It's just a shame that there isn't too much else that interests me, except Star Control 2

Magic Carpet - About the same, really. The Saturn version controls a little better (but it doesn't add analog support or anything).

I was curious about this title because I never owned it on the Amiga. Perhaps if I catch the bug and start building a collection of consoles then this is one to keep a eye on.

Prince of Persia - This one's kind of a difficult call. On the one hand, the SNES version has a bunch of extra levels, making it almost twice as long as every other version of the game. On the other hand, it's kind of glitchy. There's a point late in the game where you have a swordfight while there's a conveyor belt on the screen, and apparently the conveyor belt is taxing, because that particular swordfight is very choppy and messed up. I could never pass that one part. Also, graphically, it's pretty well-drawn, but suffers from a lower horizontal resolution compared to other ports. The Genesis cartridge version actually has the best graphics of them all, including the Amiga version and everything (whoever ported it redrew everything and it looks very nice), but the audio is awful, and it has this thing where every time you move to the next screen, it fades for a second, making the multi-screen jumps unnecessarily difficult. The Sega CD version has worse graphics, having been ported from the Turbo CD rather than the Genesis (not that the Turbo CD has inferior graphics in general, it's just that different versions were ported by different groups, who did the graphics differently). But, it has nice audio, animated cutscenes, and a speed setting so you can make the game move faster or slower (handy to slow down the hard parts, and on replaying the game, to zoom through the easy parts), and it doesn't have the fading problem. The Turbo CD version is almost identical to the Sega CD version, except it doesn't have the animated cutscenes, and the graphics are slightly better. Graphically, the two CD versions are about on par with the SNES version (maybe slightly worse actually), except running at a better resolution. It's one of the few Turbo games to use one of the system's higher-resolution modes (although all that means is that it equals the resolution of most Genesis/Sega CD games), whereas the SNES version uses the system's default 256x224 (the same as the Turbo's default). Screens for comparison (lifted from HG101):

Bottom line, I say go with the Turbo version. The cutscenes exclusive to the Sega CD version are simply not very good.

Bummer. Well I've played it enough times to last me a lifetime so I suppose it's not that much of loss. Thanks for the comparison btw.

What? Bah, the US Prince of Persia Sega CD intro is awesome...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idwHgWXWNlM

Oh, SimEarth. It's a Japan-only release on the Sega CD, so that one's probably not worth getting... there was actually a US release of the Turbo CD version, though, as well as the SNES one. If you want a console SimEarth, probably get one of those... I've only played it on the PC, though. Very, very complex game... it was too complex for me when I was younger, I think, back when I tried to play the DOS version of it which we had. SimCity I liked quite a bit, even Unreal Selection I could handle eventually... but SimEarth somehow just seemed too complicated. But anyway, the Sega CD one wasn't released in the West.

Yeah, it was one of those games I passed on when I was younger as it seemed too complex. Looks like I have to pass on that if it is Japan only. Who knows, perhaps it will come out on WiiWare

They're completely different kinds of games, though. Wing Commander is a simple flight sim, but StarBlade is a target-shooting game where you simply move the cursor around while travelling along a railed path. It's much better than your average Sega CD game of that type because it's not a live-action video FMV game like too many games on the system (Mad Dog McCree, Midnight Raiders, etc, etc...), but it is a very simple game. You fly along the route, enemies passing you... you don't have to kill them all to progress,you just keep going forward until you die (or somehow manage to win despite the limited continues). As I said I like it, but it's a completely different kind of game from a Wing Commander.

Thanks again. The reason why I was asking about wing commander was that I was after a game similar to Elite: Frontier. Like SimEarth, it was another game that was too complicated for me at the time, but now I really wish I had had more patience and put more time into it. I suppose I can always play Oolite instead.

Well, for space sims there isn't much, just Wing Commander really. There are several on the 32X, though -- Star Wars Arcade and Shadow Squadron are both very highly recommended if you ever get a 32X! Particularly Shadow Squadron, it's one of the system's best games (but don't even bother without a 6-button controller, the controls are terrible that way). It doesn't look like it got a European release... too bad. Great game. Star Wars Arcade is fine, but compared to Shadow Squadron it just doesn't hold up. Shadow Squadron is short, but while it lasts it's a lot of fun and impressive.

Back to the Sega CD though. There is also SoulStar, which is pretty spectacular and really is a must-play for any Sega CD owner who wants to see a game that really pushes the hardware. Core Design did way better than most on the matter... the game is part rail shooter, part free-roam sort of simmish flight game (kind of like the "All Range Mode" parts of Star Fox 64 or Star Fox 2, but with somewhat more complicated controls). Make sure to have a 6-button controller! The controls are better with one... The game is all sprite-based, making great use of the system's scaling and rotation chips. It's difficult, challenging, and great. The soundtrack is every bit as great as the graphics.

Oh, Core's Battlecorps is also recommended. It's a mech game pretty much. Not a complex one, it's pretty FPS-ish, but it does feel like you're in a mech, if just from the great 'walking' sound effects, and rotating upper part (so you can shoot in one direction and walk in another)... very, very good game, and pretty great looking too. The only downside that like SoulStar, it's really hard, and has no saving. It doesn't even have the infinite continues of SoulStar, I believe. Oh well... it's more than great enough to be worth playing. There is a level-select cheatcode, at least.

There are good space-based shmups though, of course, like most all older consoles... Sol-Feace, Android Assault, Silpheed... Silpheed has some of the better graphics on the system, too.

Not really into the whole Mech thing but I'll have a look at SoulStar. From what I've seen Shadow Squadron looks great fun but there aren't enough games on the 32x to warrant me buying one yet. I just wish the thing wasn't so damn ugly.

As for cyberpunk, there are a couple. The adventure game Rise of the Dragon is Blade Runner-inspired sci-fi. It is a PC port though, somewhat censored in comparison to the original PC version. Still, it's a fine game. The other major one other than the as you say very rare Syndicate is Shadowrun, which is not a port of the Genesis or SNES games but is actually an entirely original title that sadly was Japan-only. It was the last game released for the Sega CD anywhere, and they didn't port it... which is really too bad for those who don't know Japanese, because it's supposedly quite good.

Oh, Night Striker is a futuristic 'dark future scifi'-ish rail shooter where you drive a flying car. Fun game, even if the graphics are incredibly blocky... the CD audio option is pretty nice though, and it manages to be fun despite the graphics. It's a Japan-only release, but has no Japanese in it at all. Oh, if you do know Japanese though, there's also the RPG "Illusion City", which is definitely dark-future sci-fi. Being a JRPG though, obviously it wouldn't be much fun without knowing the language. But the Sega CD does have two Japan-only dark-future sci-fi RPGs.

Never heard of Night Striker before. I'll see if I can find a review and a clip on youtube. Rise of the Dragon on the other hand is reason #2 to buy a Sega CD imo. Decisions, decisions

You probably know the Sega CD's adventure games. Snatcher, The Adventures of Willy Beamish, Secret of Monkey Island, and Revenge of the Dragon. Some FMV games are also much point-and-click adventure games, though, including both Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective volumes, Dracula Unleashed (NOT Bram Stoker's Dracula, that is a terrible FMV sidescroller! Unleashed is an adventure game.) and Mansion of Hidden Souls. All are worth at least checking out, for adventure game fans. Willy Beamish and Monkey Island have some brutal load times... and they're PC ports too, so they're probably better just played in DOSBox, even if you don't get the CD audio.

Yeah, I'v played most of them before and thoroughly enjoyed them. I keep hearing about these brutal loading times for Willy Beamish, who brutal is brutal?

As for strategy games... hmm. Well, the system has some good TBSes of course, in things like Shining Force CD and Dark Wizard (hex grid! ), but there is Dune and Third World War, both of which are absolutely worth checking out. Third World War's overworld map is turn-based I'm pretty sure, but battles are real-time (very slow paced, but real time)... complicated game, but worth it if you get into it. Dune is a conversion of the PC/Amiga game you may be familiar with, an adventure/strategy game based on the sci-fi book series/movie.

Third World War gameplay: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWAv7kgxjio

I already have my eye on 3rd World War. As I've mentioned before it is exactly the type of game that I would have steered clear of in my youth, but it is the sort of game which interests me now.

I do like the Sega CD quite a bit, though. My top 10 would probably be somewhat standard... (only the first one is set; the others are not in a definite order)

1. Lunar: Eternal Blue
2. SoulStar
3. Dark Wizard
4. Sonic CD
5. Battlecorps
6. Keio Flying Squadron
7. Ecco the Dolphin 2 (and 1) (the CD soundtracks are AMAZING! 1 has no other additions, 2 adds prerendered FMVs too...but the soundtrack is spectacular)
8. Silpheed
9. Popful Mail
10. Star Wars: Rebel Assault (I know, everyone hates it... I don't. Nostalgia perhaps? )

Honorable mentions: There are plenty of other decent to good games. I can't list them all... Shining Force CD, Lunar: The Silver Star, Wild Woody, Mickey Mania, Devastator, Ninja Warriors, Robo Aleste, Final Fight CD, Earthworm Jim SE, Adventures of Batman & Robin, etc... there's more.

... and maybe some FMV games if you really want. Loadstar maybe... for some reason I kind of like that game. Time Gal's not terrible either.

The Saturn and Dreamcast are pretty good systems too, though, for sure... but I won't get into those now.

Do you have a favourite FMV game? It seems that opinion is divided as to whether any good came out of Sega's foray into FMV gaming. Personally, if I was to get a Sega CD, my collection wouldn't be complete without one

Thanks for the suggestions, your advice has been EXTREMELY helpful

[j_factor]

There are actually a few good FMV games IMO. Night Trap (sega cd) of course, and then there's its pseudo-sequel, Double Switch (saturn). Time Gal (sega cd) is also fun, and animated rather than live-action, so it doesn't look grainy. Mansion of Hidden Souls (sega cd or saturn, two different games with the same name) is good, but it's more of an adventure game that happens to use FMV. D (saturn/psx/3DO) is basically an FMV game, and a damn good one at that. And It Came From the Desert! (turbo cd) holds a special place in my heart.

tl;dr get Night Trap, Time Gal, and Mansion of Hidden Souls for Sega CD.