The Genesis debuted in 1989 and got off to a pretty strong start, but it began to struggle once the technologically-superior Super Nintendo entered the 16-bit market with a barrage of high-quality titles. Attempting to give themselves an edge over their new competitor, Sega developed and released a CD-based addon, hoping the allure of full motion video and CD-quality audio would entice fans to give the Genesis another look. Unfortunately, most of the games they were promoting were simply not very good and severely lacking in the gameplay department, or just barely-improved Genesis games that tacked on a few cutscenes and new music tracks and called it a day. Even it's much-touted full motion video capabilities were lackluster (with 64 colors, choppy framerates, being boxed into a tiny portion of the screen and a lot of ugly compression), so the Sega CD proved to be unpopular and didn't sell very well. That didn't mean it didn't have good games, though; as with the Saturn and Dreamcast they were there, just denied their due by a lack of promotion on Sega's part. So, let's take a look at some of my favorites.
5. The Secret of Monkey Island (Lucasfilm Games, 1993)
The first entry in what would become a long-running series, Secret of Monkey Island is a humorous point-and-click adventure starring the bumbling Guybrush Threepwood, who is tasked with completing three trials to become a pirate. These take the form of some brilliantly funny puzzles - the insult-swordfighting is a particular favorite - and eventually culminate in a showdown with the vicious ghost pirate LeChuck, who would become Guybrush's recurring nemesis throughout the series. The Sega CD version is a surprisingly good port - aside from some darker graphics and noticeable load times, it doesn't lose a step from its computer counterparts.
4. Shining Force CD (Sonic! Software Planning, 1995)
Speaking of tactical RPGs, the Shining Force series also made an appearance on the Sega CD. Chronologically it takes place between the first and second Genesis games and design-wise is more or less a remake of the two Game Gear titles (one of which was never officially localized), though with some new content added. In terms of gameplay it's not terribly different than its predecessors, but that's no bad thing as it still plays great - command a wide variety of characters (from archers to mages to knights some wilder ones like centaurs, birdmen and flying squids) and battle your way through large maps full of enemies. All with colorful backdrops and a charming anime style presentation. Good stuff.
3. Sonic the Hedgehog CD (Sonic Team, 1993)
I know I've sung the praises of almost every Sonic game from the 16-bit era, but it really was a standout franchise for its time; smooth animations, fast-paced gameplay, crazy and imaginative stages and some of the best music in all of gaming even today. But of all the classic Sonic games, Sonic CD might just be the best. It combines all the strongest elements of both the first and later Sonic games into one solid package with its complex stages (each with four different layouts representing the past, present and a "good" and "bad" future), puzzle-solving elements and numerous routes, and its presentation is fantastic thanks to some colorful visuals, fluid animations and a soundtrack that manages to be very mellow and mesmerizing (and yes, I prefer the reworked US soundtrack to the peppier Japanese one). It brought so many innovations to the formula while losing none of the fun. The series may be a target of ridicule these days, but classic 16-bit Sonic will always be one of the greats in my book.
2. Snatcher (Konami, 1994)
One of many acclaimed games from legendary developer Hideo Kojima, Snatcher was a memorable take on the graphic adventure genre. The plot was something akin to Terminator meets Blade Runner, complete with all the gory deaths and intense shootout scenes that descriptor implies. Stack that up with strong visuals (including some clever technical tricks to display 128 colors onscreen at a time - double the number the Sega CD was normally capable of), an
excellent soundtrack and the Kojima standard of a large cast of surprisingly complex and well-written characters, Snatcher was definitely something to behold. Even the voice acting was surprisingly good for the time and holds up quite well today. Well alright, you can tell they're not professional actors, but at least they're trying to make it sound good. The real tease here, though, is that it ends on a cliffhanger for a sequel, which they still hadn't delivered on twenty years later (and given the current state of Konami, probably never will)...
1. Lunar 2: Eternal Blue (Game Arts/Studio Alex, 1995)
The sequel to Game Arts' Lunar: The Silver Star, and it's a logical step forward in almost every respect. It still sports the same unique combat system, but the dialog and cutscenes have been expanded to an unprecedented 50+ minutes apiece, and were remarkably well produced and acted for the era (albeit with some of Working Designs, erm, "colorful" accents added). Working Designs also implemented some changes to the original release, toning down the difficulty for some extremely difficult battles and implementing a unique save system that required a certain number of points to be earned (as they saw little challenge in letting the player save at any time). It later received wider recognition and some substantially refined gameplay and presentation on the Playstation, but the original Sega CD release is still a standout title for the platform, as well as one of the games that helped to revolutionize the way stories were told in games.
The sequel to Game Arts' Lunar: The Silver Star, and it's a logical step forward in almost every respect. It still sports the same unique combat system, but the dialog and cutscenes have been expanded to an unprecedented 50+ minutes apiece, and were remarkably well produced and acted for the era (albeit with some of Working Designs, erm, "colorful" accents added). Working Designs also implemented some changes to the original release, toning down the difficulty for some extremely difficult battles and implementing a unique save system that required a certain number of points to be earned (as they saw little challenge in letting the player save at any time). It later received wider recognition and some substantially refined gameplay and presentation on the Playstation, but the original Sega CD release is still a standout title for the platform, as well as one of the games that helped to revolutionize the way stories were told in games.