"Sonic CD, released on September 23, 1993 in Japan (quickly followed by North American and European releases), was developed at the same time as the beloved Sonic 2 by a team at Sega of Japan led by Sonic’s original designer, Naoto Oshima (a credit frequently given to Yuji Naka, who at this time was in America with the Sega Technical Institute working on Sonic 2). Originally, Sonic 2 and Sonic CD were intended to be the same game but once the development began diverging on the two titles, it was spun off into a separate entity. And we’re all the better for it. Sonic CD is widely considered one of the best, if not the best, Sonic the Hedgehog titles ever made and certainly one of the best 2D platformers of the era."
The Outerhaven writes: My Arcade debuts the Sonic the Hedgehog arcade mini-cabs, the mighty player and joystick player at CES 2025.
The Sega CD (aka Mega CD) had some classics that still live on today. Here's the 7 best Sega CD games & how to play them on modern consoles.
Series X/S + Dev Mode. It's a shame the retail mode emulators got removed, dev mode looks like a pain in the ass.
I use the Analogue Mega SG console coupled with a Mega SD everdrive that allows me to play Sega CD games through the cartridge without the need for the CD add-on. Have the 8-bitdo Sega Genesis 6 button wireless controller and it's the closest thing I can get to playing it as it was originally without owning old hardware.
Final Fight was a great game on the CD, not only on the system but as a fighting game of the time as well. Up there in some ways with Streets of Rage 2 IMO. It's too bad they didn't continue putting the rest of them on there, the music is top notch too.
I bought FF CD as a young teen after having loved the arcade/SNES version (despite the latter being watered down). Loved how immaculate a port it was.
There is some wrong information in this article. I just checked for Sonic CD and Shining Force CD on Nintendo Switch eShop (as stated in the article) across 4 different regions, and they are not available.
I know it's on Steam, but I don't recall seeing either of those games on Switch Eshop, I'm curios as to what region he found them on.
Yea, I checked US, UK, JP and Portugal (my region), not on any of those.
I'd want these handheld, so hopefully I can get a Steam Deck by the end of the year 🙏
Sega teased big things coming to the Sega Ages line of games but tapped out after about a year. I can't find any evidence that it was added to the Switch. The author must of mistaken it for the Shining Force 1 but even then that's part of the Sega Genesis collection not Ages.
Sonic CD is in the Sonic Origins Collection, that's what he meant.
As for Shining Force CD, I don't know if its on the eshop, but it seems unlikely.
Well I'm really happy you responded with this!
I must have completely missed or forgotten about Sonic Origins. I was just looking at it, and it has the Game Gear titles too on the Plus version! (I had a Game Gear back in the day) Man, especially in handheld, that should be great. I just wishlisted it and will pick it up on the next sale.
Thanks a ton!
Glad to have reminded you, but I do recommend checking out reviews on Sonic Origins Collection, while I own it (because I wanted the Japanese exclusive swag that comes with the Deluxe Pack), a lot of people are disappointed by it, and the Game Gear emulation, so some video reviews should help.
A lot of people complained that Sega should have emulated the superior Master System versions of the game, since they run at a higher resolution than the Game Gear ports.
Even if the Sega franchise strikes you as dabbling in old school gaming, it is well worth a look at the systems. Some of the original Sega CD (or Mega-CD in Europe) games have an astounding amount of appeal that lovers of all things gaming should consider giving a try.
Silpheed, Android Assault, Lords of thunder, Solfeace, flying squadron. That's why I own Mega cd.
Maybe one day Konami won’t be lame and they can release a Sega CD collection with Snatcher.
the only problem with owning a Sega CD is the hardware is less than reliable nowadays. I have an Analogue Mega SG which is an updated version of a genesis along with a Mega SD cartridge which allows me to play Sega CD games off of it. I have the entire Genesis / Sega CD library on the cart and it's great. Although many of these games do not hold up well, lol.
To be honest I own the original tech, but i also have a raspberry pi build with all Mega cd games I want. So the old tech doesn't die.
What a fantastic game this was, the best of the 90's Sonic games in my opinion.