Sega Sega CD

Yes, you do want this. One of the BEST systems ever produced to play 2D games the we now call "CLASSIC GAMING".

It will play expanded or enhanced versions of games you already like from the Sega Genesis such as Shadow Of The Beast II, Chuck Rock & Chuck Rock II, Flashback; Quest For Identity, B.C. Racers, Radical Rex, Hook, Mickey Mania & Wolfchild.

But it also has a few gems only available on the Sega CD such as Sonic CD, Wild Woody, Snatcher and Wonderdog. Also worth noting are the Lunar series games originally released only for the Sega CD. Both Lunar: The Silver Star and Lunar: Eternal Blue are prized games for this system (look them up! These are excellent RPG's) as both have deep stories, excellent gameplay and great visuals among their peers.

A couple of my favorites for the Sega CD expansion are Shadow Of The Beast II, Sonic CD, Wonderdog, Shining Force CD, VAY, Popful Mail, both Lunar games, Keio Flying Squadron, Lords Of Thunder, Robo Aleste and Slipheed.

There are games to avoid such as the games that rely on a button push at an exact time during a FMV (full motion video) sequence, or games that rely almost entirely on FMV.
These games include Dragon's Lair, Cadillacs and Dinosaurs, The Lawnmower Man, Loadstar: Legend Of Tully Bodine, Microcosm, Revenge Of The Ninja, Road Avenger, Sewer Shark, Space Ace, Star Wars - Rebel Assault and Time Gal.
These types of games, while interesting at first, seem to lack game play value and are usually frowned upon by gamers. Night Trap and Switch/Panic! are 2 more games that should be added to the DO NOT BUY list even though they may have value for a collector - Night Trap is famous! but the game still stinks.

Games such as these, in the end, gave the Sega CD unit a bad reputation. Sega was quick to move on to the next CD based game system, the Sega Saturn, which cut short the life of the Sega CD unit.

To play 32X disks you will need this unit and the 32X expansion module attached to your Sega Genesis but 32X disk games are rare and very few titles were ever produced. Of those that were produced, none are of any particular interest.

There are two versions of the Sega CD unit. The model 1 attaches under your Genesis unit and has a motorized disk tray and can be used with the Sega Genesis model 1. The model 2 attaches to the right side of your Genesis and has a flip up door panel to put Sega CD media in and out of the unit. The Sega CD model 2 can be used with the Sega Genesis model 1 and 2.

The Sega CD has some internal memory built in for saving games, but not much. You can buy a memory card that inserts into your Genesis cartridge slot. These are rare but for some games, such as Shining Force CD, are necessary to access all hidden levels in the game.

BOTTOM LINE:
This is the only way to play some great classics, several games ported to the Sega CD from the Genesis were expanded or enhanced. Avoid the duds and you will love this expansion. The Sonic CD game may be the best 2D Sonic game ever produced. Graphics and sound on Sega CD games much improved over the Genesis alone.

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