Sega Mega-CD - Reception

Reception

Sega wanted to showcase the power of the Mega-CD, however with the actual capacity of Mega Drive cartridges being small (hundreds of Mega Drive cartridges could fit on one CD), there were not many companies ready to adapt to the larger capacity of the storage medium, especially when they were hindered by the game systems' limitations.

Seeing the technology already in use for laserdisc classic arcade, and even a few titles on the PC Engine, video seemed to be the best choice at the time. So they focused on "FMV" games. Sega started off licensing and producing primarily "full motion video" games similar to earlier Laserdisc games, that were initially praised by reviewers (for example: Gamepro's "SWAT PRO" magazine initially gave Sewer Shark a perfect score, then later re-reviewed it with a much lower score as their feelings toward the system changed)

Eventually, most FMV games became universally panned by game reviewers, no matter which console the game was designed for. The Mega-CD's limited 512-color palette (of which a maximum of 64 colors were displayable simultaneously), combined with the processor not being well-suited for video, resulted in grainy, dithered images running at a lower framerate and resolution in most games.

Another criticism of the software library was that most titles consisted of "shovelware", in which a developer takes an existing title and adds minor new content (usually a CD audio soundtrack, or video sequences) while not expanding the original game itself. Few titles received major changes, but two exceptions were Earthworm Jim which featured additional levels and game changes, and The Amazing Spider-Man vs. The Kingpin, which featured many changes, which drastically restructured the game, making it less linear, and adding animated cut scenes.

Despite a somewhat lackluster library of games, the console introduced at least one notable franchise. The Lunar series, despite the relatively narrow circulation the two titles on the Mega-CD received, was critically acclaimed and became a cult classic, with both games receiving remakes for the PlayStation and Sega Saturn in the late '90s; and a prequel to the series for the Nintendo DS in 2005. Another notable title was the cult-classic Snatcher, a cyberpunk digital comic released by Konami and designed by Hideo Kojima. Though Snatcher was already available on several platforms, the Mega-CD version was the only one released in English.

One exclusive game that was published for the Mega-CD is the now-famous Sonic the Hedgehog CD, or Sonic CD. Sonic CD has been praised for its visual style, superior CD sound, and an innovative time-travel mechanic, allowing players to explore four versions of each stage.

The Mega-CD was awarded Best New Peripheral of 1992 by Electronic Gaming Monthly. In a special Game Machine Cross Review in May 1995, Famicom Tsūshin would score the Mega-CD 2 console a 17 out of 40.