Battle of the Ports

[Yakumo]

I'm always looking for a new Mega CD although the original models now cost way too much money here in Japan They always have dead lasers and guess who makes the Laser? Yep, the same company famous for selling two of its first big hit consoles with ****ty lasers

[Solar]

edit nvm

[Team Andromeda]

The MCD had a 5mhz faster processor which could increase fps on scaling as you pointed out, but the hardware never offered any thing "new" other than CD sound

The Mega CD also had a ASIC chip which along with both the Mega CD CPU and Mega CD CPU could work in true parallel which could scale and rotate any and every bitmap on the screen - that is somthing the standard SNES, Neo Geo or MD couldn't do .
So the Mega CD was far more than just an exta audio chip - Sadly the Mega CD was so underused not least by SEGA Japan their self's

The PC Eng CD-Rom added nothing more than a soundchip - but that's beeing unfair to the unit as it was such a pioneer for the time and it too enjoyed some fine games

[nakamura]

The MCD was still rather poo though. Not perhaps as a unit but what we got from it. Pity it came during FMV boom. Or pity it wasn't just delayed and a new console.

[Team Andromeda]

The MCD was still rather poo though. Not perhaps as a unit but what we got from it.

That depennds on if people gave it the time of day and really got software for it - rather than just the usual Sonic, Final Fight, Thunderhawk . Look deeper and the Mega CD had some gems and plenty of really decent games too , its just a shame SOJ never used the scale chip for Arcade ports and SOA went too far down the FMV route after the Night Trap hype .

The Mega CD had the best 16 RPG's (for me) in the shape of Lunar 1 and II , Popful Mail was charming , Batman Returns the best 16 bit racer I ever played , it had the best console version of Wingcommader (which was a stunning game in itw own right), stunning ports of Snacther and Rise of the Dragon (for me better than Snacther) one of the best War Sim game I've ever played in World War III, F1 game that was way ahead of its time (for a console f1 game ) and for me the best 16 versions of NHL 94, Fifa and Sesnible Soccer and most prob the best Aleste game too . Plus i might be on my own by some of the FMV games were really, reallt good . Draclua Unleashed is one of the best point and click games I ever played , and Prize Fighter is a real clever FMV game and I liked the likes of Road Adv, Tim Gal, Tomcat Alley Ground Zero .

To me the the Mega CD is like the 3DO - It got/gets a lot of bad press (nor least for what they cost at the time) and people saying it only 1 or 2 good games, but the truth is both untits had a good number of classics and really good games , but only if you as a user were willing to look around the word for the better software and give it the time of day . I still think both systems are ace

[nakamura]

I don't like any FMV games myself and I don't agree it has a lot of great software. It has more if you add in the ports from other formats but that's not what I would ever buy new hardware for.

[Nu-Eclipse]

The Mega CD ports of Road Avenger/Blaster FX, Time Gal and Ninja Hayate are garbage when compared to the original coin-ops (perhaps stating the obvious, I know), and I say that as somebody who enjoyed them on the MCD back in the day.

It really isn't a good look to say that the Mega CD was quality when the best titles that can be cited for it are only slightly superficially better ports of what was already long available on the 16-bit consoles of the day.

[Team Andromeda]

I don't like any FMV games myself and I don't agree it has a lot of great software. It has more if you add in the ports from other formats but that's not what I would ever buy new hardware for

It really depends on the port (if the game is any good) and also if the port been done with care to make the game better : I mean I never really cared that POP on the Snes or the likes of Choplifter were ports of old games They simple were the best versions of the game on any system and I loved them , same goes for Mega CD ports . Also back in 1992/3 there was no way I could afford a PC set up that could ever give the likes of Wing Commander justice . On the Mega CD not only did it have the best versions 16 bit versions of Rise Of The Dragon and Wing Commader, those games all also had full speech where again really added to the games

It really isn't a good look to say that the Mega CD was quality when the best titles that can be cited for it are only slightly superficially better ports of what was already long available on the 16-bit consoles of the day

Again it depends on the port - The Snes versions of Wing Commander and Final Fight were simply laughable compared to the versions one had on the Mega CD . I'll also say the Mega CD versions of NHL 94, Fifa (which was again laughable on the Snes ) Sensible Soccer were the best has was games like Mickey Mania, Pitfall, Flink, Chuck Rock II, Another World and so on. Sure some times it was only the sound that was better , but in some cases that can really add to game

The Mega CD ports of Road Avenger/Blaster FX, Time Gal and Ninja Hayate are garbage when compared to the original coin-ops (perhaps stating the obvious, I know)

So are the likes of Aera 88 , Final Fight , Street Fighter II on the Snes . Almost any 16 bit port of a Arcade game lost out when heled up to the Arcade versions . But for most people , owning a Arcade system in their own home wasn't a option and so you had to make do with the best your 16 bit console could handle .

[Yakumo]

The Mega CD ports of Road Avenger/Blaster FX, Time Gal and Ninja Hayate are garbage when compared to the original coin-ops (perhaps stating the obvious, I know), and I say that as somebody who enjoyed them on the MCD back in the day.

It really isn't a good look to say that the Mega CD was quality when the best titles that can be cited for it are only slightly superficially better ports of what was already long available on the 16-bit consoles of the day.

The video was not good but the Mega CD port of roadblasters has the best soundtrack. Only the Mega CD version has an entire enhanced soundtrack which I wish other versions had. As for the Mega CD being crap, well there is a lot of **** but there are also some amazing exclusives. One of the best anime adventure games ever is on the Mega CD and it's not only a fantastic point and click but also technically impressive! That game is Urusei Yatsura dear my friends. Check out the Game Sack Mega /Sega CD special they did last month on YouTube.

[Leon Retro]

To me the the Mega CD is like the 3DO - It got/gets a lot of bad press (nor least for what they cost at the time) and people saying it only 1 or 2 good games, but the truth is both untits had a good number of classics and really good games , but only if you as a user were willing to look around the word for the better software and give it the time of day . I still think both systems are ace

The Mega CD suffered for various reasons:

1. It was too expensive. I thought it looked really cool, and as an obsessive gamer, I did want one, but when my local importer had it for ?299, I just couldn't justify asking my parents for it. Anyway, I was still really happy with my Mega Drive & SNES games.

2. Most games didn't take advantage of the extra power. Imagine if Konami had made new versions of Contra & Castlevania specifically for the Mega CD - it would have really compelled people to splash the cash. Top publishers who had the best creatives, didn't embrace the Mega CD. That is such a shame, because the MCD could have played host to lots of truly stunning games. Instead, we got some lame Mega Drive ports, FMV crap, and a few games that showed a glimpse of the MCD's power, but ulitimately weren't big AAA titles. There are only a handful of MCD games that feel like the developer put effort and skill into creating them.

3. I guess that publishers, developers and the general public were looking towards polygon 3D games. 2D sprite games were still everywhere you looked, but 3D was the future.
Despite that, If the MCD had launched with lots of top quality, must-have AAA sprite games, then it would have created a huge buzz, and more publishers would have committed to the machine. It's easy to embrace the MCD now and savour the good games, but at the time, it did feel like good games were few and far between. Sega simply didn't deliver enough on their part - and they certainly didn't get top publishers onboard.

So, the life of the MCD was similar to the 3DO's in many ways. The 3DO was a capable machine, but developers and the public weren't very interested in it. People hadn't heard of 3DO, the machine was very expensive, and people in the industry knew that it would soon be outdated tech. Within the blink of an eye, the PlayStation was the 'big thing' and developers and consumers loved it. The 3DO never stood a chance for various reasons. I loved my 3DO, as it did have some special(for their time) games, but I always knew its time was limited. Once the Saturn & PlayStation were shown off at trade shows, the 3DO was dead.

My point being that the MCD & 3DO offered good hardware, but they launched at strange times, when most people didn't feel a strong need to own them. Both had a lot of things against them, but I'd say the MCD could have fared better than it did. The 3DO, though, was never going to be anything more than a big flop. I have found memories of my US 3DO, though, and still use it now and then. When it comes to retro gaming, I like to have both bits of hardware in my collection.

[Nu-Eclipse]

So are the likes of Aera 88 , Final Fight , Street Fighter II on the Snes . Almost any 16 bit port of a Arcade game lost out when heled up to the Arcade versions . But for most people , owning a Arcade system in their own home wasn't a option and so you had to make do with the best your 16 bit console could handle .

I'll give you Final Fight and SFII for sure, but plenty of people prefer SNES Area 88/UN Squadron over the original coin-op (I'm not one of them, for the record).

[Nu-Eclipse]

The video was not good but the Mega CD port of roadblasters has the best soundtrack. Only the Mega CD version has an entire enhanced soundtrack which I wish other versions had. As for the Mega CD being crap, well there is a lot of **** but there are also some amazing exclusives. One of the best anime adventure games ever is on the Mega CD and it's not only a fantastic point and click but also technically impressive! That game is Urusei Yatsura dear my friends. Check out the Game Sack Mega /Sega CD special they did last month on YouTube.

Fair point about MCD Road Avenger's soundtrack. Brilliant stuff from J-Walk, especially the classic intro theme.

[nakamura]

I prefer SF2 on SNES and Area 88. Not Final Fight though. Arcade all day long.

[Team Andromeda]

I'll give you Final Fight and SFII for sure, but plenty of people prefer SNES Area 88/UN Squadron over the original coin-op (I'm not one of them, for the record)

They all came up way short , but for most people that was all they could really hope for . Most people couldn't really afford a New Geo (never mind its games) so even if the MD, PC-Eng and Snes ports came up way short compared to the Neo geo versions , for most users they'll only be able to afford the Snes, PC-Eng or MD ports and so that all most people had to go on . I really , really doubt many people inthe early 90's had Road Adv, Time Gal laser disc Coin up's in their home .

The video was not good but the Mega CD port of roadblasters has the best soundtrack. Only the Mega CD version has an entire enhanced soundtrack which I wish other versions had

Yep and it was done in Biaural Sound too , which made the game sound really really good when using headphones .

I prefer SF2 on SNES and Area 88. Not Final Fight though. Arcade all day long

Aera 88 was a complete joke on the Snes 'for me'. It wasn't a great port and had too much slowdown and was far far too easy and well give me the MD version of SF II anyday of the week . But if we're just on about faithfulness to the Arcades most Snes and MD ports came up way short in one form or another

[Team Andromeda]

1. It was too expensive. I thought it looked really cool, and as an obsessive gamer, I did want one, but when my local importer had it for ?299, I just couldn't justify asking my parents for it. Anyway, I was still really happy with my Mega Drive & SNES games

Well back in those days memory and CD-Rom drives just weren't cheap .

Most games didn't take advantage of the extra power. Imagine if Konami had made new versions of Contra & Castlevania specifically for the Mega CD - it would have really compelled people to splash the cash.

Yep that's the worst part and where SOJ should really have taken the lead. It wouldn't have much difference to the units sales , but if SOJ had made some real use of the hardware and gave the Mega CD ports of Space Harrier , After Bunner II, OutRun, Hang on and Super Hang On all with scaling and Arcade perfect music and near to dam it sound effects . Then it really would have helped with the Mega CD image imo.

I guess that publishers, developers and the general public were looking towards polygon 3D games. 2D sprite games were still everywhere you looked, but 3D was the future

The Mega CD came out in 1991 , not even SEGA Arcade teams were using polygon Hardware back in those days

So, the life of the MCD was similar to the 3DO's in many ways. The 3DO was a capable machine, but developers and the public weren't very interested in it.

Yep.. Both machines were overpriced and not really used to their fullest, but both system had some classic and some really really good games - But the release schedule for both systems sucked where you would go for months with out any half decent games out for the systems