Sega CD Appreciation

I love the Sega CD! I think it gets a lot of flack from the modern generation because of the poor FMV quality and games completely based around FMV. The reality is that it was actually a moderately successful add on and definitely the most successful CD based system of the time. People can joke all they want about it, but the fact is that it taught developers a lot of lessons on the dos and don'ts of the CD medium.

Incoming Speculation: Now this is just my theory, but I know CD's as a medium were destined to become the norm eventually, but it might not have flourished as soon as it did on the Playstation 1 had it not been for the time Sony spent learning the ropes while releasing some games on the Sega CD. I think this might be one of the reasons why Nintendo decided to go with cartridges again for the Nintendo 64, simply because they lacked the resources and R&D experience to run with the CD medium. Again that's just my theory though.

Genesis/Mega Drive 2 and the Sega CD 2. Sega sure could design a sexy console.

Now for some suggestions on what to play on Sega CD. The consensus I get from comments on the internet are that the average person thinks either the entire Sega CD library is made up of FMV games, or they don't really know of any other games besides Sonic CD and Night Trap. Let's see if I can help with that. Whether you don't know much about the Sega CD or if you're a seasoned player just looking for more game suggestions, maybe this list can help.

Sonic CD is an obligatory mention. It's the one Sega CD game EVERYONE knows about. Thankfully for all the hype it gets it's actually a good game to boot! For more on what I think about it, check out my review of the re-release here to get the general idea.

Night trap is oddly satisfying when you get the traps to actually work and nail the baddies. There are tons of misconceptions that will likely eternally surround Night Trap. First of all the quality of the acting is on par with a lot of horror flicks of the 80's, but particularly the straight to home video variety. In other words, it's not absolutely atrocious as some people describe (but it's still pretty bad). Second there's nothing tremendously violent or sexual that happens at all in the game. [More of my speculations incoming] A lot of this was insinuated by Nintendo to get the government to target Sega as a perpetuator of violent video games. In reality I think the first violence in video games investigations were orchestrated by Nintendo to try and throw a wrench in the success of the Genesis over the SNES in those early years, but that's perhaps a story for another post. The bottom line is that you're not going to miss anything by skipping Night Trap.

Popful Mail is a really cool action platformer RPG in the vein of the Monster World series. Great audio...except for the voice acting depending on your tastes, but I think it was good for the time.

Earthworm Jim CD is the definitive version of the first game, at least until it was released on Xbox live and Playstation network.

Same goes for Final Fight CD. For a long time this was the only console port that featured all three characters and 2 player co-op, with a newly arranged sound track as well!

Both Lunar games are awesome 16 bit era RPG's that always felt more mature than the Final Fantasy series to me.

Road Avenger is one of those "quick time event" movies in the vein of Dragon Slayer. really entertaining to watch and play, especially if you're into that late 80's early 90's anime art style.

Road Rash is a really great port featuring the actual music tracks from popular artists of the time. It makes more effort at a story and character interaction too, albiet with really creepy stylized artwork.

Snatcher is more of a graphic novel experience if you ask me. I love the look of this game and the influence Blade Runner had on the world of Snatcher. Expect a full review from me later this year.

Ecco the Dolphin CD is pretty much a re-release of the Genesis game but with CD quality audio that's just amazing to hear.

Spiderman vs. the Kingpin is another beefed up port of a Genesis title. It has improved CD quality audio and actually makes use of the bigger storage capabilities of the medium to include comic book scans as well as FMV cut scenes.

Robo Aleste is kind of like a sequel to M.U.S.H.A. on the Genesis. It's a verticle shoot em up where you pilot a mech suit in feudal Japan of all places. It has an awesome sound track and the kind of non stop action only a true shmup fan can appreciate.

Silpheed is a vertical shoot em up that blends the use of polygons and FMV backgrounds to create an impressive graphics presentation for the time.

Android Assault is a horizontal shoot em up that reminds me a lot of the Thunderforce series with it's huge multiscreen vertical stages and art direction.

The bottom line is, there are tons of fantastic games for this system without ever having to touch an FMV game. My list here is made up of the ones I've played myself, but there are lots more if you're willing to do some research. I highly recommend the Sega CD for any Sega fan that's loves the fast paced arcade action Sega is known for delivering.

Thanks for reading!