![]() ![]() ![]() As for sound, it added 8 stereo sound channels to the 6 on the Genesis Yamaha chip and additional 4 PGS, which basically means it could make games sound really good. Sega CD adds an additional 12.5 mhz 16-bit Motorola 68000 processor, which is just a higher clocked version of the Genesis, that runs in tandem for CD games (and goes dormant for Genesis cart titles) adding minor video compression capabilities, improved visuals, and rotation/scaling (think Mode 7 for the SNES). In addition there is also the Sega CDX, a portable CD player and Genesis/Sega CD combo in one, and the rare JVC X’Eye, a licensed console that is also a Genesis/Sega CD in one. There are two consoles – the first version locks under a Genesis and has a slide out tray and is prone to mechanical failure these days due to the bands and screws that make up the device and the second being a top loading console that attached to the right of the Genesis, which has much less moving parts and rarely breaks down even today. All Sega CD games (imports from anywhere else will be labeled Mega CD) are compatible in all Sega CD consoles and the add-on peripheral itself is compatible with the Genesis 1 and Genesis 2 consoles, but not the Genesis 3 or Sega Nomad. Sega CD was kept under wraps so tightly that aside from technical specs, many developers of early games had no idea what console they were developing for.Īs a result of Sega’s “release everything” policy, the Sega CD has a few versions that can be found in the US market (ignoring importing, of course) and compatibility can be somewhat complicated. Like the PC-Engine CD, the Sega CD was able to upgrade visuals, considerably upgrade audio quality (especially with straight CD tracks in red and yellow book audio format), and increase capacity of discs to 600 mb when compared to the frail 32 megabit capacity of the Genesis. Sega CD emerged victorious but many would argue its victory was due more to the fact that almost every game that released in Japan came over here whereas an extremely meager amount of PC-Engine CD titles ever made it stateside. In the end both consoles did make their way stateside (NEC being very conservative with Turbo Duo distribution and Sega liberally releasing any and all hardware in every market) with hefty price tags ($300-$450). It was developed in Japan to compete with the PC-Engine CD (Turbografx-16 Duo in our country) and hopefully migrate the consumers of the time into the CD generation as an unassuming add-on instead of a full-blown machine. In truth the Sega CD (Mega CD in Japan and Europe) wasn’t designed for our market. In recent days the Sega CD has also dropped in price/value so it’s quite possible to get your hands on a Genesis/CD combo for roughly $50-$75, which isn’t too shabby even by today’s standards. Someone once told me that any console with at least three good games is worth being in existence and under that theory the Sega CD justifies itself at least three times over. Now I know it is popular opinion to crap all over the Sega CD and in full disclosure I’m an avid fanboy of this specific system, but somewhere in between lies its true value. Fortunately we are making up for that with tons of Sega CD coverage for the month of November, check in to see write-ups and gameplay on many of the titles that made Sega’s overpriced add-on a temptation in 1993. Okay, I know the Sega CD actually turned 20 exactly one week ago on October 15, but we’ve been very busy over here so we regretfully missed the window. SNES generally had better platformers and RPGs.Sega CD Model 2 with Genesis Model 2, the most common setup Genesis generally had better shooters and sports games. But from a slightly less biased point of view, I can make the following generalizations: If you let the Sega and Nintendo fanboys duke it out, it all turns into "all X ports are shitty". In other cases, both versions are good, but are such completely different games, that it is worth owning both, not just one or the other. ![]() What threw a wrench in the gear was discovering that some ports of the same game are actually completely differnt games! In some cases one is better than the other, and you might have missed out on the superior SNES version, having though owning the Genesis version was sufficient (or vice versa). The main inspiration for creating/finding these lists was because I already knew that a lot of games were ported to multiple platforms, and there is always the question of which port should you get.Īs a Sega fan, of course I give the edge to the Sega system, all other things being equal. I did additional research to fill in some missing info and add some additional lists. These lists are based on original lists by user SonicMegaDrive on.
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