Busy with work, busy playing games and busy with life.
But I'm still a retro-gamer and besides playing my consoles, I also enjoy writing about them. Today I would like to show one of my favourite. Some call this an abomination, the mega drive's life support which failed and a number of YouTube reviewers think that it is just purely garbage.
We're talking about the Sega CD (US) or the name it goes by in Japan, Mega CD. As an add-on it has 2 variants, the model 1 and 2. In this episode we are going to see first the model 1. It also comes as a fused console, but that will be a story for another day.
This console was first released in 1991 in Japan and a year later in the US, and was discontinued in 1996 due to poor sales. It was SEGA's first attempt to use CD-Rom as a game media, with popular and controversial titles such as Night Trap, Sonic CD and a number of others.
One other thing is most of its games are in the form of FMV (full motion video) where you don't actually play the game but decide on the direction of the game as it plays through by pressing certain buttons (like playing a movie and get to decide how the story develops rather than play the character of the game).
This is what it looks like when a Model 1 Mega Drive is connected to it. A Model 2 Mega Drive can also be connected to it but this combination looks far better and balanced (since a Mega Drive 2 is smaller and will leave a blank on the left corner.
This is what it looks like on its own. You can see a small hinge at the right upper shoulder where it is connected to the mega drive.
All the buttons at the front of the console are actually not buttons, but indicator lights, so you can't push them. The only way to operate this is via the menu on your tv screen and you navigate with your gamepad controller, even to eject the tray!
This console is also region-locked, so you can only connect a japan Mega CD to a Mega Drive, and a Sega CD to a Genesis.
You still use the same MD controllers attached to your MD/ Genesis.
The downside of this add-on is that it has its own power supply, meaning if your MD/Genesis is attached to a 32X and a Sega/Mega CD, you will end up having to hook-up 3 adapters.
At the back of this console there is a separate AV in that you do not use, a power jack for the Av adapter and a small audio jack ("mixer"). This mixer slot needs to be connected with the MD/ Genesis 1 audio jack. If you connect a model 2 genesis, you can ignore this.
Below it you can see the serial number and a few vents. The console has 4 small feet which I think shows the elegance of its design and how meticulous SEGA is when they make something.
The above is a picture of an opened right end of a model 1 Mega Drive/ Genesis where the expansion chip is exposed. This is the thing which is connected to the Mega CD's hinge (the very first picture).
There are a total of 209 titles for the Sega CD, and you can browse them here
http://www.gamefaqs.com/segacd/category/999-all
http://www.sega-16.com/sega-cd-reviews/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Sega_CD_games
Personally I really like the design of this console. It rejuvenates the Mega Drive/ Genesis and it feels you are upgrading the hardware. In other words when you add a 32X and a Sega CD to the Genesis, you feel like 3 transformer robots combining to form a larger robot, you know, stuff like that.
Sure it is a hassle to have 3 power adapters, and the cables are a mess, but when you see how the consoles stack up, you really feel the awe.
Gameplay wise you can see how improved it is compared to the 16-bit era.
I really enjoy playing the Sega CD, even until today. My favourites are Heavy Nova and Night Trap.
Get a Mega CD/ Sega CD near you today!
Game Doc out.
