With hindsight being 20/20, console add-ons weren’t the best idea. They were often as expensive as an individual console and didn’t offer that many exclusives of their own. They may have had some cult classics, like Castlevania: Rondo of Blood on the PC Engine Super CD-ROM². But they were ultimately fads that did more economical harm than good, like the Sega CD.
Made to hook up to the Sega Genesis, the device could play audio CDs, CD+Gs for karaoke, and video games with enhanced graphics and audio capabilities. But most of its library consisted of rough FMV games and Genesis ports that didn’t really use the add-on’s extra power. However, with enough looking, 90s kids could satiate their buyer's remorse with the Sega CD's best games.
Updated on February 21, 2024 by David Heath: The Sega CD is about as fondly remembered as a high school confession gone wrong. Yet it's practically a success compared to some of its rivals. Retro Gamer magazine managed to find enough games for their 'Perfect 10' feature, where they pick out 10 of a device's best games. But they could only find 5 for its failed follow-up, the Sega 32X.
Its cult classics, like Sonic CD and Snatcher, have kept it going in its afterlife, either fondly remembered by fans who got to play them at the time, or younger audiences who got curious and gave them a go via emulation. So, this list has been updated with a few more top entries for the old device that they might want to look back on, or even play again if they can find them in the wild.
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While we might have to choose between either Xbox, Playstation, or Nintendo for our video game consoles. But back in the day, that wasn't the case.
14 Star Wars: Rebel Assault
GameFAQs Score: 3.06/5 Stars
- November 1993.
- Developer: Lucasarts.
- Genre: Rail Shooter.
The Sega CD version of Star Wars: Rebel Assault comes with caveats compared with its other ports. Unlike the 3DO, DOS, and Mac releases, the graphics are a little fuzzier, Stage Seven got cut out, and players can't choose between the male or female rookie. They can only play as the guy as, like Luke Skywalker, they go from being a moisture farmer on Tattooine to an ace fighter pilot.
They can still blast away at threats across the series, from the Star Destroyer and AT-AT walkers right down to the Death Star. It could be challenging too, as the different cannons, asteroids, TIE fighters and more would bring the player down if they weren't careful. The game is a compromised port, and it's much easier to get the original PC version via Steam/GOG today, but at the time it was a solid option for dogfighting fun.
13 AH-3 Thunderstrike
GameFAQs Score: 3.5/5 Stars
AH-3 Thunderstrike
- Released
- January, 1993
- Developer(s)
- Core Design
- Genre(s)
- Flight Simulator
- Platform(s)
- Sega CD
Before Core Design shifted focus to the PlayStation via a certain raider of tombs, they made a lot of games for Sega’s consoles, including the Sega CD. Heimdall, Jaguar XJ220 and the Chuck Rock games all made it to the add-on, but they were also available for more affordable machines like the Amiga and the Genesis on its own. As good as they are, they didn’t really make the most of the CD format.
AH-3 Thunderstrike (aka Thunderhawk) was different as, while it hit the Amiga and Atari ST first, it made a bigger impact on the Sega CD. Players took an attack chopper into different war zones to complete a series of missions, from escorting convoys to blowing up targets. The Sega CD port offered more intuitive gameplay than the microcomputers and had improved graphics. It still makes for a fun, explosive time today too.
12 Road Avenger
GameFAQs Score: 3.6/5 Stars
- Released: December 1992.
- Developer: Data East.
- Genre: FMV vehicular combat.
FMV games were all the rage in the mid-1980s because they were interactive movies. Dragon's Lair, Space Ace, Time Gal, etc., looked like proper cartoons next to the eight-bit and sixteen-bit machines that surrounded them in the arcades. But by the time consoles got powerful enough (and affordable enough) to bring them home, they lost their shine. Behind their flashy looks, they were ultimately a long quick time event.
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But if there was one FMV game worth playing on the Sega CD, it would have to be Road Avenger (aka Road Blaster). In it, players take control of a vigilante seeking to avenge his wife's death at the hands of a biker gang. It was essentially the same as its rivals-press the right buttons at the right prompts- but it told a fun 80s action movie-style story, with an art style resembling old-school anime classics like Mobile Suit Gundam and Macross.
11 Silpheed
GameFAQs Score: 3.67/5 Stars
- Released: July 1993.
- Developer: Game Arts.
- Genre: Third-person space shooter.
Nowadays, it's not that odd to see a retro game get a release on a flashy console via one retro bundle or another. But they were a harder sell back in the day when they were still sold separately, and required their own cases, manuals, and other extras. The Sega 32X had a great port of Space Harrier, but an arcade hit from 1985 wasn't going to save a console add-on from 1995.
Likewise, Silpheed began life as a PC-8801 game from 1986, and wouldn't have done much for the Sega CD if it was released as a straight port. So, GameArts spruced it up by using polygon models against pre-rendered backgrounds, with a few cinematic cutscenes here and there. It still played like a classic vertical shooter which, while great, lacked the wow factor Star Fox's into-the-screen gameplay had. But it outdid the SNES classic in looks, with better-detailed models and worlds.
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9 Keio Flying Squadron
GameFAQs Score: 3.77/5 Stars
- Released: August 1993.
- Developer: Victor Entertainment.
- Genre: Scrolling shooter.
If stoic, 3D sci-fi vertical shooters weren't to players' tastes, they might prefer a wacky, 2D, technically historical horizontal shooter instead. Keio Flying Squadron sees Rami, a bunny girl alien from Keio-era Japan (1865-1868), try to get the Key to the Secret Treasure back from Dr Pon Eho, a genius thief who happens to be a tanuki. All she needs to get past his hordes are her dragon, Spot, and a range of power-ups.
Like its spiritual cousin Parodius, the game takes nothing seriously, parodying Japanese folklore, history, sci-fi tropes, and more. UK fans who subscribed to Sega Pro CD magazine back in the day got lucky when their free demo actually featured the whole game. Normally, it would end after Stage One, but if players used the level select code, they could access the rest of the levels. Nowadays, it's easier to get hold of the full release, though not necessarily cheaper.
8 Earthworm Jim: Special Edition
GameFAQs Score: 4/5 Stars
Earthworm Jim
- Released
- December 16, 1994
- Developer
- Shiny Entertainment, Playmates Interactive Entertainment, Gameloft
- Genre(s)
- Platformer, Action
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Game Boy, Nintendo Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, PC, PS3, Sega CD, Sega Game Gear, Sega Master System, Sega Genesis, SNES, Xbox 360
This game needs little introduction. Earthworm Jim was a classic on both the SNES and Genesis, which saw an earthworm gain sentience via a supersuit that fell from the sky. Naming himself Jim, he now has to save Princess What's-Her-Name while avoiding villains who want his supersuit for themselves. It played and looked great on cartridge, so its CD port needed more than crisper graphics and sound to sell it.
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Earthworm Jim: Special Edition still had that, and included redesigned, extended levels. It also threw in a new level that didn't make it into the cartridges or the HD remake. ‘Big Bruty’ had Jim deal with an invincible but blind monster called Bruty that he had to lead using his scent. One wrong move, and he'd become Bruty's lunch. For an extra treat, the game had different endings for the Easy and Difficult settings, which was a nice extra.
7 Dark Wizard
GameFAQs Score: 4/5 Stars
Dark Wizard
300 years ago, the ruler of the kingdom of Cheshire and his allies defeated the demon Arliman. They imprisoned him in a crystal and made the immortal Velonese his guardian. But over the past few centuries, Arliman's influence corrupted Velonese and turned him into the titular Dark Wizard. Gaining a burning hatred for Cheshire, he summons four evil generals to take over the land while trying to free Arliman from his jewel-based prison.
It’s up to the player to save the day by picking one of four heroes: Prince Armer IX, Robin the Cavalryman, Krystal the sorceress, and Amon the vampire. From there, they have to retake chunks of Cheshire hexagon by hexagon, using their character’s strengths and units to overcome Velonese’s forces. It’s a fun Fire Emblem-like game for fans of turn-based strategy games.
6 Shining Force CD
GameFAQs Score: 4/5 Stars
Shining Force CD
- Released
- March 22, 1995
- Developer
- Sonic! Software Planning
- Genre(s)
- Tactical, RPG
- Platform(s)
- Sega CD
Speaking of Fire Emblem, its closest Sega counterpart was the Shining Force series, and one of its standout games made it onto the Sega CD. Shining Force CD was actually a combined remake of the Shining Force Gaiden games on the Game Gear, where it split its story across four ‘Books’ that can be played sequentially or on their own. But players had to beat the first two to unlock the latter set.
Players can even carry over their built-up stats from earlier books to later ones, though doing this on real hardware required a backup RAM cart. Still, it was a neat feature that came in handy as Nick, the hero of Book 1, had newer, bigger threats to face in Books 3 and 4. While Book 2 saw Deanna and their party journey to save Nick from the dark kingdom of Iom.
5 Final Fight CD
GameFAQs Score: 4/5 Stars
Final Fight
The SNES was ultimately the best console for Final Fight fans, thanks largely to its exclusive sequels. Final Fight 2 and 3 had two-player local co-op and three to four selectable characters. But the SNES port of Final Fight 1 was single player only, censored (no Poison or Roxy), and cut out stages and a playable character. People who wanted to play the ninja Guy would have to get the rental exclusive Final Fight Guy, or get a Sega CD.
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Final Fight CD had all the cut content intact, from Guy to the Industrial Area stage, and had two-player co-op support. The game was less censored (Poison and Roxy return), got an extra time attack mode, and had rearranged audio, complete with voice acting for the cutscenes. The only drawbacks were its slower gameplay, fewer enemies, and washed-out color palette. Still, outside emulated arcade ports, it's the best version of the game.