First released in 1991 in Japan the Sega Mega CD was one of the most awesome things that I had ever seen! Now, I was a Nintendo kid and while I had plenty of friends who had a Sega Mega Drive, I never had one myself. Still, I would look in gaming magazines and be amazed at the Sega Mega CD and pray for the rumored Super Nintendo CD to be a thing. Well, we have already looked at my top five Sega Mega Drive games and now I am sharing my top 5 Sega Mega CD games.
Please keep in mind, this is MY top 5 Sega Mega CD games list so it may seem odd, but like all my other top 5’s. I wanted to put my favorite games and not the ones that “should” make up a list like this. Be sure to leave your own favorite games in the comments section down below.
Number 5
Samurai Showdown
Yes, I know that this is still nowhere near as good as the Neo Geo original, but this is a game that I spent a lot of time with thanks to my friend owning it. This was awesome, the characters looked so cool, it was violent and I loved how you could use weapons and even drop the weapons. I had rented this on the Super Nintendo and I felt that the Sega Mega CD version blew it away… granted looking closer now, I do not think the leap that this version had was as big as I thought it was, but I still have a lot of fond memories with this game. It is a fighting game that has some depth to it, but at the same time, you can just mash buttons and still have fun with it.
Number 4
WWF Rage in the Cage
Ok, this is a weird one to be on here, but if you look at my top five Nintendo 64 wrestling games list, you know that I am a huge wrestling fan. I remember seeing an advertisement for this in WWF Magazine. Seeing that it had 20 wrestlers, a cage match, and full motion video (that looks horrendous) made me want a Sega Mega CD so badly! As a matter of fact, in my 20s when I started collecting games, this was one of the first Sega Mega CD games I made sure to buy! To be honest, out of all the Acclaim 16-bit wrestling games, this one is not the best. It has a massive roster and many characters who were not in the other games. However, Royal Rumble and RAW offered way more as far as match types go. I cannot think of the Sega Mega CD without thinking of this game, that is why it makes my list.
Number 3
Road Avenger
Road Avenger blew my mind when I first saw this at my cousin’s house. For Christmas of 1993, he got the Sega Mega CD and we spent ages trying to beat Road Avengers just a couple of days after Christmas. At the time, the video quality blew my mind and even now, I think this is one of the more colorful games on the Sega Mega CD. Sure, some may say that it is all washed out and lacking color, but I thought it was incredible, add to this the epic soundtrack and I could not get enough of this game. Granted, it was nothing more than button presses, but people say Dragon’s Lair is a classic and I think that Road Avenger deserves the same amount of respect. If I had managed to get a Sega Mega CD as a kid, Road Avenger would have been one of the first games I wanted for the system.
Number 2
Batman Returns
I remember seeing ads for the Sega Mega CD and out of all the games that flashed on the screen, it was Batman Returns that caught my attention! The platforming/action parts of this game in all honesty are not that great, I would take the Super Nintendo version of Batman Returns over this any day. However, the vehicle sections that this version of the game has are worth the price of admission alone. This was another game that my cousin had and we would take turns passing the controller back and forth trying to beat these levels, which was easier said than done as they were brutally difficult. Still, as hard as this was, it was like a step up from the stuff we were used to on the Super Nintendo and the Sega Mega Drive at the time.
Number 1
Final Fight CD
I will be honest and say that I very rarely fire up my Sega Mega CD. Part of the reason is I am always terrified that the thing will not read a disc, but when I do decide to play on it, Final Fight CD is always the game I play. I would say that I prefer this over the arcade version! This is just an awesome port! It has big chunky sprites that move amazingly well, it has a great soundtrack, the voice acting is here and it actually has all three characters and you can play with a friend. Back in the early 00s when I got my Sega Mega CD (I still have the same Sega Mega CD 2 in my collection to this day) Final Fight CD was one of the first games that I sought out. I remember paying a hefty price for it £27,99! Which now when I see how much this game goes for I am so glad that even though I felt this was expensive for a Sega Mega CD game, I pulled the trigger on it! I have played through this game from start to end multiple times and it never gets old.
What no Snatcher??? No Lunar??? No Sonic CD??? Look, I have never actually played Snatcher or Lunar! Plus, I feel that Sonic CD is severely overrated and is quite a mean-spirited game, to be honest with you! When I think of the Sega Mega CD, these are the five games that always come to mind. Of course, a few others could have potentially made that number 5 spot, but I am happy with my list.
I would wager that most other people’s top 5 Sega Mega CD games list is different to mine so be sure to leave it in the comments section. I am always looking for new games to add to my collection or wish to add to my collection and then be put off by how much they are!