The Sega CD is a console I barely knew about a few years ago until I got to talking about games a lot with my boyfriend.  He was a bit obsessed with tracking one down along with a Sega Master System, and I truthfully had no idea what all the fuss was about.  It wasn’t until our third or fourth swap until he finally got one for himself, but because of the ridiculously high game prices, we didn’t end up buying very many games to play.  Until recently we only had Jurassic Park and Sonic CD, and now we can say we have a few more, including a 4-game Sega Classics compilation disc (Columns, Golden Axe, Revenge of Shinobi, Streets of Rage) shown in the photo below!  Before I mention anything else about the other games we got, I first want to show you a photo of the console.  It might not be what you’re expecting…

It’s the front-loader!  If you’re like me, you’ve only ever known about and experienced the side-by-side version of the console.  This alternative console release came boxed, and I’m really happy that the box and manual are in good condition, save a few buckles and normal wear and tear from storage.  In addition to being less common than the side-by-side version, the front-loading Sega CD is also a lot more practical than its bulky sibling when it comes to saving space.  The Sega Genesis sits on top rather than attached on the side, so it’s considerably more compact.  The photos below are of the side-by-side version.

The other thing I like about the front-loader is that it’s meant to accommodate the model 1 Sega Genesis rather than the model 2.  In the photo above we clearly have a model 1 attached, but in all my photographic prowess, I’ve cleverly hidden that the base plate is too short for that version of the console; the model 1 actually hangs over the edge of the base plate by a few inches.  The reason why I like the model 1 Genesis better is because it is superior in both sound and video quality compared to its successor.  Below, you can see how the front-loader and the model 1 were meant for one another.  They fit like a glove!

Another little trivia fact is that the front-loader and side-by-side Sega CD consoles have different start-up music.  When I get the ability to capture game footage back (my boyfriend is working on upgrading my setup so it’s all disconnected for the moment), I might record it for fun and post it here at a later date.  If your curiosity is burning away in the meantime, there are a few videos online to showcase the differences!  For console system start-up music, both versions are pretty groovy (this word is not-so-subtle foreshadowing to a game we got in the lot below… guess now, or forever hold your peace!)

Onward!  Now for the games!  As I mentioned above, the market for Sega CD games is phenomenally expensive.  There are some games for the console that are so rare and sought after that they go for hundreds of dollars on their own.  We definitely found a few winners in this game lot.  First off, we got Sewer Shark.  This game was a pack-in with some versions of the console and is a really strange rail shooter.  It really has some quirky full motion video moments.  I can’t wait to don my helmet and shoot some sewer bats!

Next, we got the non pack-in version of Sonic CD.  I absolutely adore the manual art for this game – I’m loving what appears to be a throwback to Metal Sonic.  Sonic the Hedgehog 2 for Sega Genesis is one of my favourite games of all time, so I’ve got a big soft spot for the Sonic series.  I’ve been told that this game is a lot of fun and beautiful to look at, but I’m also a little hesitant.  I still haven’t beaten many of the earlier Sonic games apart from the first two, so it feels a little like cheating to jump ahead to a well-done, fast-paced beauty like Sonic CD.

We also received Heimdall, a weird little RPG-ish game based on Vikings that I had never heard about until I was holding it in my own two hands.  Most of what I’ve read or heard about it is on the negative side, but I think it’s still something I’d like to try out sometime.  It’s poo-pooed for not having stellar graphics and music and for being a little convoluted, but if you guys know anything about me by now, it’s that my desire for perfect graphics and straightforward gameplay is practically non-existent.  Heimdall might just be a good time compared to some of the games I’ve been picking up to play lately!

Another game we got that I had never heard of before is called Heart of the Alien, a sequel to a much-loved game called Out of This World.  Conveniently, both games are on the disc so I will eventually be able to enjoy both, perhaps even back to back.  From what I’ve watched online about both of these games, they punish you a lot and force you to think of ways to maneuver through many different kinds of puzzles and predicaments.  They almost remind me of all the hardest parts of King’s Quest games that can make the story unbeatable, but instead of being an occasional occurrence, it’s the whole game.  It honestly looks like fun.  The death scenes are gory, and there’s nothing I like better than creative ways to die in video games.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve watched Prince Alexander or King Graham die in death compilation videos online.  Sounds sadistic, but when the writing/animation is good, it makes for a funny time.  I have a feeling the deaths in Heart of the Alien/Out of This World have a significantly more sombre tone though.

The Monkey Island series is hands down one of my very favourites out there.  I’d say that Guybrush Threepwood is one of the funniest game characters I’ve ever had the pleasure of playing through a game as, and I was absolutely thrilled to find The Secret of Monkey Island in the box with all of the Sega CD stuff.  Along with my elation came feelings of confusion since I had no idea that The Secret of Monkey Island had been released in this format.  I had the wonderful experience of playing through the remastered edition on PC, but there’s something about tackling the game in its original form that’ll be a lot of fun.  This was the only cardboard game box in the bunch, and it was in surprisingly good shape considering it had been in storage with many other games for so long.

Earthworm Jim: Special Edition is also now ours.  You may not know, but my boyfriend is in love with and is conveniently really good at the Earthworm Jim games for the Sega Genesis.  The Sega CD version is just a graphically and musically superior version of the first game with an extra level and some additional content.  It was a dream come true for him to be able to own this game.  Earthworm Jim: Special Edition is pretty scarce like many Sega CD games are, and when it does show up online for sale it tends to go for a lot of money.  Its price is one of the reasons we haven’t picked it up ourselves until now, but as part of an enormous game lot, we certainly weren’t going to say no!

As a small aside, I remember renting the Sega Genesis game growing up and wondering why Earthworm Jim sounded like a country bumpkin.  I used to watch the television show where Jim sounded like a regular North American human being without the “drawl” and wondered how they could get his character so wrong in the games.  I was shocked to learn that the games actually came first and that the TV show made him into a totally different “person”.  So strange!

Last but not least, we got an RPG (hooray!).  Lunar: The Silver Star is a game I’ve been wanting to own/play since finding out about the Sega CD.  I own Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete on the PS1, but I’ve been told that there are significant differences between the PS and Sega CD versions of the game.  I was happy to see Lunar come to us in such good shape.  It’s going onto my increasingly long list of things to get around to playing.  I need more hours in my days.

We definitely got some good Sega CD stuff here, and it’s nice to have nearly tripled our Sega CD library with this game lot purchase.  The only thing that keeps nagging at me is that Joe mentioned he had already sold some of the bigger Sega CD RPG titles a few years ago, like Popful Mail and Snatcher.  A little part of my joy for this purchase died when finding that out since those games are far, far beyond the price I’m willing to pay for a single game ($500+), and it would’ve been surreal to get them in this game lot.  I’ll likely never see either of those games come to my hands at that price.  Though it goes against the spirit of collecting physical media, thankfully the Sega CD can play burned games.  If I’m ever feeling desperate to play some of the hard-to-find RPGs for the system, at least I can.  In the meantime, I’ll keep my eyes open at yard sales and flea markets for $2 copies of these big titles.  Maybe some day!  Who knows?

I hope you all enjoyed this seemingly tiny snippet of our total findings in this game lot purchase.  There’s still a lot more to come!

Thanks for reading!

-GG