Sega Cd... Is it worth the money?

[bluejay]

I just ran across a model 1 Sega CD at a local video game store, for $235, and I'm pretty sure I can convince the owner to give me a Genesis and some games at pretty much the same price(that guy owes me for getting the cib ColecoVision off their hands that's been sitting on a rack for more than 10 years). Is that worth the fairly expensive price(compared to their normal price: heavy sixer and a game for $70 and all cib bad condition c64, vic20, 1541 for $200) or are Sega CDs just collector's items and have terrible games?

[dj_convoy]

That's a lot of money, and the SEGA CD is a fickle beast. It gets a bad rap, but there are a lot of solid games for the platform.

 

for a little more money (and some elbow grease), you could get the Mega SD, which will play everything, including the expensive stuff, like Snatcher, Keio Flying Squadron and the other stuff you won't be getting a good deal on anytime soon.

 

Good games include

 

Road Avenger

Sonic CD

Android Assault

Dark Wizard

Shining Force CD

Popful Mail

Keio

Robo Aleste

LUNAR and it's sequel

Snatcher

Final Fight CD

Lords.of Thunder

Adventures of Batman and Robin (and Batman, if you turn off the platform section)

Panic

Lethal Protectors (if you get it with the gun and have a CRT)

Loadstar

Mickey Mania

Rise of the Dragon

Terminator

Quite a few more, but those are some highlights

 

 

[HatefulGravey]

I love the Sega CD. I can't speak for that price as I haven't been in the market for a long time. Seems the model 1 tends to want a replacement part or two if it is all original. For me the Sega Genesis isn't complete until you add the 32x and CD to it, and I like my consoles the size of space stations so it's model 1 for me. 

[BydoEmpire]

I had one for years and very rarely played it.  I like the Genesis a lot, but I sold my Sega CD because it just didn't get much use.  YMMV of course, but for me I'd say "not worth the money."  You can buy a lot of other classic gaming goodness for $200+ (plus the cost of games).

[nick3092]

Not to mention the model 1 CD has issues that you would have to deal with, if someone hasn't already. Primarily leaky SMD capacitors on the main PCB.

 

Plus the tray mechanism probably needs a good cleaning and lube job, along with a new belt to make sure it's operating correctly. And it's fairly common to find the pico fuse inside blown and needing to be replaced.

 

Depending on your skill set, these may be easy tasks to do yourself or additional costs to have someone else do them. 

Edited September 12, 2019 by nick3092

[Austin]

I can't imagine having a Genesis without a Sega CD, that's how much I enjoy mine. Though, I wouldn't bother with a Model 1 for that price and would spring for a Model 2 instead. It will be cheaper and more reliable.

Edited September 12, 2019 by Austin

[gorfcadet]

Model 2 all the way.  I have a CDX, but its more of a shelf piece since I don't ever want to get it worked on.  I've heard they're a bit of a nightmare.  I play through Lunar, Sonic CD, and Dark Wizard pretty often.

[Guest]

On 9/11/2019 at 10:08 PM, BydoEmpire said:

I had one for years and very rarely played it.  I like the Genesis a lot, but I sold my Sega CD because it just didn't get much use.  YMMV of course, but for me I'd say "not worth the money."  You can buy a lot of other classic gaming goodness for $200+ (plus the cost of games).

Same here. I sold my model 2 CD unit after only owning it for a year or so. I made someones day last year, he got a sweet deal on it, less then $100 with 8 games all boxed.I'll miss playing Dungeon Master on it.

I get way more use out of my 32X. I still day dream about a Neptune release. If the Mega Sg adds 32x support I'll consider grabbing one.

[+Yurkie]

On 9/23/2019 at 8:36 PM, gorfcadet said:

Model 2 all the way.  I have a CDX, but its more of a shelf piece since I don't ever want to get it worked on.  I've heard they're a bit of a nightmare.  I play through Lunar, Sonic CD, and Dark Wizard pretty often.

I had a beautiful CDX a few years ago that worked perfect and decided to sell it because I too didn't want to ever have to deal with repairing it. A CDX remake with flip up LCD screen and HDMI out would be so awesome!

[+Yurkie]

Kind of a late reply but I would say the coolness factor of the Model 1 is worth the issues. There is a guy on ebay that sells model 1 Sega CD refurbished with warranty. While I don't know him, his reputation, or have any affiliation it would be something to consider as the fuse, belt and cap issues are VERY real

[Asaki]

There are some really great games for Sega CD (and a lot of weird FMV games that I shouldn't enjoy as much as I do), but that price seems a bit steep to me.

 

But I've spent the last ten years or so thinking that everything is way too expensive, so my opinion might not count.

[+Yurkie]

19 hours ago, Asaki said:

There are some really great games for Sega CD (and a lot of weird FMV games that I shouldn't enjoy as much as I do), but that price seems a bit steep to me.

 

But I've spent the last ten years or so thinking that everything is way too expensive, so my opinion might not count.

When your old like me (will be 51 on 12/21) you feel like everything is expensive.