All 16-Bit

Review #12704 Theme Park My kids play this in Roblox MD CD PAL 1995 Domark Strategy Strategy › RTS E 62 / 100 Your mileage may vary Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 3 / 5 Gameplay Controls work well despite using a controller. Camera pans when your cursor approaches edge of screen. Placing attractions and whatnot is imprecise due to the isometric perspective but it's manageable. Everything moves fast and frantic. It's like a fast moving SimCity. Build attractions, connect them with walkways and queues, and monitor key indicators which show how successful your design is. Fun One point off for the annoying Loading screens and bloat that comes with it being a CD game. 3 / 5 Level Design I quickly reached a point where I was watching rath...

Review #12703 Syndicate Cyberpunk 20XX MD CD PAL 1995 Domark Strategy Strategy › RTS F 53 / 100 Not Bad, but Flawed Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 2 / 5 Gameplay It's unique anyway. Take jobs and bring your team of four Matrix Agent wannabes out to shoot targets and civilians. Plays a bit like GTA mixed with Risk. Lots of in between level management of stats, weapons, taxation of areas conquered. Isometric view 3 / 5 Level Design The levels have varying objectives like kill all baddies or rescue a hostage. Seems like the primary speak. Objectives are hard to understand. Just wander around until the level ends. 4 / 5 Theme Cool cyberpunk setting 3 / 5 Art Style NES qual...

Review #12510 Pro Yakyuu Super League CD MD CD 1995 Sega Sports Sports › Baseball G 43 / 100 Bad Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 2 / 5 Gameplay Hitting is ridiculously difficult. Pitching and fielding are ok, although it's hard to put any movement on your pitches. But yeah, good luck getting a hit. 2 / 5 Level Design Requires a lot of menuing to get into a game. Season and Exhibition modes. Nothing fancy. 3 / 5 Theme Japan League license plus all of their players as well. Lot of Japanese text to contend with. 2 / 5 Art Style Large sprites in the batting/pitching view. Small sprites when fielding. One thing that really bothers me is that after making contact the ball very slowly h...

Review #12505 Egawa Suguru no Super League CD Care for some tea? MD CD 1995 Sega Sports Sports › Baseball G 41 / 100 Bad Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 2 / 5 Gameplay Slow speed, especially when fielding and baserunning. It's as if the game drops to 10 FPS. The transition between pitching to fielding is jaring and doesn't allow you adequate time to field within the infield. Also, fly balls are impossible to catch as you can't tell where your fielders are and they don't move to the ball by default. All movement is up to you. When batting the ball comes at you fast, making it hard to connect. And when pitching it's nearly impossible to place the ball at the right spot. Holding one direction sends the ball clear to that side of the screen. Even careful tapping...

Review #12136 WireHead Inspector Gadget as a "dumb dad" 90s sitcom Sega CD 1995 MGM Interactive FMV FMV › N/a X 17 / 100 You've been warned Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 0 / 5 Gameplay The definition of an interactive movie. You watch a movie and every two or three seconds you're presented with the choice of three directions - up, left and right. Only one choice is correct and will advance the movie while the others result in a game over. So, memorize or use a guide to watch the full movie. There's not else here. Why would someone want to do this? 1 / 5 Level Design There's nothing resembling gameplay or level design. It's a straight up movie with a button press to continue watching it. Still, this is technicall...

Review #12134 Wild Woody If THQ created Earthworm Jim Sega CD 1995 Sega Action Action › Platform X 22 / 100 You've been warned Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 1 / 5 Gameplay Plays like Earthworm Jim, if it was created by THQ. Truly awful, jerky controls. Terrible hot detection. Etc. etc. 2 / 5 Level Design Nothing terribly wrong with the level design, but far from good. Stages drag on far too long and have so many dead ends and useless branches that you'd think they were procedurally generated. 0 / 5 Theme Everything that's wrong with mid 90s sensibilities wrapped up in a neat little package. You are a pencil. Yes. A pencil. Once that has been animated by a mystic totem found by a modern Indiana Jo...

Review #12124 Surgical Strike I thought there'd be more doctors Sega CD 1995 Sega Shooter Shooter › Gallery X 5 / 100 You've been warned Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 0 / 5 Gameplay One of the last and somehow one of the worst of these interactive movies. A shoots a gun, B is rockets, and C allows you to steer at certain times, ala Sewer Shark. You never have enough time to get the reticle to the target and even if you do you rarely kill anything. Regardless, within 10 seconds you'll be dead as you seem to take damage constantly. This is well and truly unplayable. 0 / 5 Level Design The stage begins with a map showing a few key targets. Once in the game you can't see the map so you better have committed it to memory, I suppose...

Review #12118 Space Adventure: Cobra the Legendary Bandit If I die, will you play Chopin in remembrance of me? Sega CD 1995 Hudson Soft Adventure Adventure › Point n Click H 28 / 100 Horrible Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 1 / 5 Gameplay This is a visual novel similar to Snatcher. There's no need to move the cursor. You can simply select from a menu which reacts to whatever is happening in the story. Like Snatcher, revisiting the same menu option can produce different outcomes. Unlike Snatcher, you have almost no free will. Advancing the story requires you to visit everything repeatedly until you've satisfied all requirements to advance the story. There's no inventory, no combat, and no other interactivity. 1 / 5 Level Design As lin...

Review #12065 Lunar - Eternal Blue Full moon Sega CD 1995 Working Designs RPG RPG › Japanese C 80 / 100 Very Good Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 4 / 5 Gameplay Plays exactly the same as the first game. The only noticeable improvement is the ability to change formation and create three predefined auto-battle settings. Simple battle mechanics that work just fine. Easy game. 4 / 5 Level Design Again, just like the first game. Linear but easier to figure out what to do next. Each area looks and feels distinct, giving the world life. 4 / 5 Theme Epic story - especially compared to the first game. The big bad is introduced early and looms over the plot. a long, unskippable Less of Working Design's juvenile humo...

Review #12064 Lords of Thunder The cover art isn't the only downgrade from the TG-16 CD version Sega CD 1995 Sega Shooter Shooter › Horizontal D 78 / 100 Good Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 4 / 5 Gameplay Either this version is much easier than the TG-16 version or my skills improved in the last two hours. I'm leaning toward this first conclusion. This is a plus for me but maybe someone else would complain about it. A fair amount of slowdown, something entirely absent from the other, better version. Still a good experience though. 4 / 5 Level Design 4 / 5 Theme 4 / 5 Art Style Downgrade from the TG-16 version. Colors are muted and backgrounds are missing a lot of de...

Review #12041 Fahrenheit Flame On Sega CD 1995 Sega FMV FMV › N/a H 34 / 100 Horrible Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 1 / 5 Gameplay Every few seconds you're given a choice to pick a direction to go. The gameplay amounts to simply making a choice and hoping that you have enough air to survive. It's extremely simple and the game gives you a good amount of time to make your choice. As far as interactive movies go, this is about as good as it gets. 2 / 5 Level Design This is about as good as it gets for this genre. Lots of choices - not all which are bad. The levels are long without a ton of repetition. 4 / 5 Theme Some of the best acting in an FMV title. Intense firefighting scenes throughout. ...

Review #12042 Fatal Fury Special Super Fatal Fury 2: Turbo Champion Edition Sega CD 1995 JVC Fighting Fighting › 1v1 D 71 / 100 Good Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 3 / 5 Gameplay 15 fighters including all the FF2 bosses and a few from FF1. Plays the same as FF2 The pseudo 3D is here and it's somehow more annoying than in the previous games 4 / 5 Level Design Even more interesting levels. 3 / 5 Theme Again generic 5 / 5 Art Style Impressive animation. huge sprites and far more detail than the SNES version. One of the best looking fighting games of the era. 4 / 5 Audio Terrific sound quality of the music and voices, although the sound e...

Review #12037 ESPN NBA Hangtime '95 Sega CD 1995 Sony Imagesoft Sports Sports › Basketball G 41 / 100 Bad Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 2 / 5 Gameplay This wasn't the NBA Hangtime I thought I was getting into. Instead of Midway's NBA Jam sequel, this is a 2-v-2, halfcourt, pseudo-3D title that shares more DNA with Jordan vs Bird than NBA Jam. There's still a focus on slam dunks and flagrant fouls, but the realism is dialed up slightly. It's an even more repetitive and inconsistent experience than NBA Jam. Steals happen seemingly randomly, the AI is all too predictable, and you can't pump fake. There's not a lot of skill needed. Plus it's hard to know if you've passed the ball back far enough to "clear" the ball. Overall, it's ser...

Review #12039 Eternal Champions - Challenge from the Dark Side Challenge is the operative word Sega CD 1995 Sega Fighting Fighting › 1v1 H 36 / 100 Horrible Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 1 / 5 Gameplay Punishing difficulty, with no way to change the difficulty level. Enemies corner and stun lock you to death. I played for half an hour and never even won a single round. Stiff, laggy controls. I couldn't perform a single special move. 2 / 5 Level Design Only a story and versus mode. No difficulty levels which again is a massive bummer. 4 / 5 Theme I like the "characters from across time" theme. The opening cinematic sold it for me. 4 / 5 Art Style Looks like a ...

Review #12035 ESPN Baseball Tonight Good luck getting an out Sega CD 1995 Sony Imagesoft Sports Sports › Baseball H 27 / 100 Horrible Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 1 / 5 Gameplay View is behind plate and doesn't shift when ball is in play. Impossible to field. Throws travel incredibly slow Enemy AI is incredibly stupid. They never chase down or even throw when you retreat to a base, like if you tried to stretch a double to a triple but bailed and ran back to 2nd. If you have two players on base you can advance them every time and in some cases score one without a throw. Totally stupid Virtually no time to swing so you have to commit almost immediately 1 / 5 Level Design Only exhibition and home run derby modes. No season?! ...

Review #12032 Earthworm Jim - Special Edition The best version of this classic Sega CD 1995 Interplay Action Action › Gun C 84 / 100 Very Good Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 4 / 5 Gameplay Way too hard Floaty controls make platforming a chore Gun has no projectiles making it hard to aim Can't move while shooting Whip has a long animation so timing it is challenging when swinging or using a weapon 4 / 5 Level Design Tremendous variety. So many fun set pieces. One extra stage. Memorable levels like Heck, Puppy bouncing, Snot bungee, Submarine, Tires. 4 / 5 Theme Very very goofy and original 5 / 5 Art Style Impressive all around. Incredible animation is even better ...

Review #12031 Dungeon Master II - Skullkeep I don't like the dungeon Sega CD 1995 JVC RPG RPG › Dungeon H 27 / 100 Horrible Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 1 / 5 Gameplay Same old same old. This sort of game should not be played with a controller. I'd argue that this sort of game should never be played, but it's simply isn't compatible with a d-pad. 1 / 5 Level Design 2 / 5 Theme 2 / 5 Art Style 3 / 5 Audio More Sega CD reviews Browse all reviews

Review #12030 Dungeon Explorer A musical Gauntlet Sega CD 1995 Sega Adventure Adventure › Overhead E 64 / 100 Your mileage may vary Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 3 / 5 Gameplay Plays just like the original TG16 version, with a very small changes. Most notably is a timer/food meter that counts down and must be replenished with pickups or a return to the hub world outside of the dungeons. I hate this addition as it deiscourages exploration and backtracking and cause the labyrinthine level design and lack of map to be even more annoying than they need to be. Despite all that, it's fun, just like the TG16 version. I had a good time with it. 3 / 5 Level Design Huge open world. Lots of locked areas like any good Metroidvania. Unfortunately, I go...

Review #12025 Demolition Man Stallone puts his knitting skills to good use Sega CD 1995 Acclaim Action Action › Gun F 57 / 100 Not Bad, but Flawed Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 3 / 5 Gameplay Decent controls. Far less laggy that the SNES and Genesis original. I think those versions suffered from a lot of slowdown because this version plays much more smooth. Very short jump so you're mostly grounded. Uses a cover system where you duck and hide behind boxes. Can't just go guns blazing like Contra. But the top down levels are much faster. Switches between side and top-down, like two games knitted together. Practically no hit detection in side view levels. Typical western stuff like endless spawning baddies Enemies sometimes disappear instantly 3 / 5 ...

Review #12022 Corpse Killer Resident Fleaville Sega CD 1995 Digital Pictures Shooter Shooter › Gallery H 25 / 100 Horrible Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 1 / 5 Gameplay I give up. This is yet another FMV game masquerading as a gallery shooter with terrible hit detection and next to nothing in terms of gameplay. 1 / 5 Level Design Every stage is the same - scroll to the right and shoot the zmobies as they pop up. Unless you get invested in the story, there's nothing to look forward to. There's tons of video clips, I suppose. 2 / 5 Theme Campy, forgettable zombie island theme. 2 / 5 Art Style Small viewport. In-game graphcis are grainy and ugly, but the FMV is respecta...