SO YOU WANT TO COLLECT…
MEGA-CD GAMES
The Mega Drive’s CD-ROM add-on may not have been a huge success but in its short life it still enjoyed a small selection of excellent exclusives and enhanced ports that make it highly collectible with Sega fans today
Words by Ashley Day
GOTTA GO PAST
SONIC CD
DEVELOPER: SEGA
RELEASE: 1993
EXPECT TO PAY
£25+ JAPAN
■ While Yuji Naka was over in the US developing Sonic 2 for Mega Drive, co-creator Naoto Ohshima remained in Japan and worked on an altogether different Sonic sequel; one powered by the exciting new potential of CD-ROM. Sonic CD was packed to the brim with content, including a gorgeous cartoon quality intro movie, a jaw-dropping bonus stage that used sprite-scaling effects to simulate 3D and, most importantly, three different versions of every stage. By speeding through gates marked past, present or future, Sonic could travel to vastly different versions of each zone, giving players a richer environment to explore, and more reasons to replay.
EXPECT TO PAY
£40 + EUROPE
» [Mega-CD] There’s no Tails or Knuckles in Sonic CD but you can thank this game for introducing Amy Rose.
With its hidden depths and slick gameplay, Sonic CD is a fantastic, somewhat underrated Sonic game. If you own a Mega-CD then it should absolutely be in your collection. Thankfully, it’s not too difficult to find and tends to go for a fair price. If you want a bargain US copy then search for the ‘Not for resale’ version, which was bundled with hardware and can be found for about half the price.
FAST FORWARD
The Music of Sonic CD
The biggest decision to make about Sonic CD is not whether to buy it (you should) but which version to get. The US release has a completely different soundtrack to the European and Japanese editions. The former has a more traditional platform game soundtrack for the era, whereas the original Japanese score feels unmistakably Sonic Team and takes advantage of the CD format with multiple layers and voice samples. Debate rages to this day about which soundtrack is the best, but if you prefer the US tracks then it’s important to know that you are very, very wrong.