Well, Sonic Generations took my personal spotlight for the Best Sonic Game Ever, but Sonic CD is still one of my top favorite Sonic games, and now that there's this remake, everyone will get to see why I love it so much (To come to think of it..Maybe this remake and Generations get my top spot).

Sonic CD was released for the notorious Sega CD, an add-on for the Sega Genesis. It was the only game on the add-on to sell around a million copies. But even then, many fans haven't heard of this game. At least it was re-released in Sonic Gems Collection. And now, it's gotten full-time respect with a remake of the game that now includes the Japanese soundtrack AND US soundtrack, Tails, and a whole bunch of achievements!

As for the main game itself, Sonic CD took what made Sonics 1 & 2 so awesome, and multiplied them 10 times over! This game has all the high-speed Sonic action you could ever want. Not only is the platforming action top-notch, but the new levels are better than ever! And they are full of extremely colorful detail. Plus, in the Special Stages, you can navigate Sonic around roads to destroy UFOs to gather Time Stones (Alternate version of Chaos Emeralds basically) in a Mode-7-like view; a unique goal for a Special Stage.

Besides the achievements and the 2 soundtracks, Tails was another reason why to get this new version of the game. You see, Tails looks like as if he was ripped right out of Sonic 3, complete with the ability to fly.

Overall, this is one Sonic game you have gotta try! If you like the Genesis Sonics, you will LOVE Sonic CD. It's better than every Sonic game there is, with the exception of Generations. Plus, you can buy this for just a measly $5 bucks. It's a steal! Just be sure to have Steam installed.

My best friend had a Sega Genesis growing up, but he didn't get the SegaCD addon until pretty late, and he never got this game. Consequently, while I played all the other 16 bit Sonic titles in their heyday, I only played this later, when it was first ported to PC (there have been two PC ports of this game, one for pre-XP Windows and one for pre-Vista Windows).

If, like me, you missed out, then you should know Sonic CD is a different animal than Sonic 1, which it most closely resembles. The main routes through levels are very short, but the explorable area of each is huge- bigger than the levels in Sonic 3 in some cases. Not only that but each level has 4 explorable time periods- the past, present, and good and bad futures. To earn the best ending, Sonic must travel to the past in each level and destroy a target. This turns the level's future from a dismal wasteland to a happy glittering theme park. Of course you can also just beat all the special levels and find the 7 magic rocks, as per usual. What makes this game really different though is that while Sonic 1 rewarded graceful, flowing speed, Sonic CD punishes velocity. Springs and hills lead straight to spike traps, enemies drop from the ceilings with alarming frequency- in essence, this game takes how you learned to play sonic in the past, and forces you to change all your strategies, much like the Japanese Super Mario Brothers 2 did on the NES. Make no mistake, Sonic CD is HARD.

That said it is tremendous fun to explore the game. Thanks to the SegaCD's ability to add a few colors to the Genesis' palate, Sonic CD is brilliantly colorful (although a bit more visually busy and unpolished than Sonic 2 and 3). Since this release is a true port and not just emulation of the original ROM, the game also runs in true widescreen, and it looks fantastic. For the audio, this port incorporates both the US and Japanese soundtracks- the JP soundtrack is full of happy dance music while the US audio is kind of funk electronica- In my opinion the US soundtrack is better MUSIC, but the Japanese suits the game better.

In any event this is a great price for a wonderfully ported game. If you are a Sonic fan, you owe it to yourself to play this right away- or once again.

PROS
-Fantastic audio, razor-sharp controls, and graphics that are truly state of the art (by early 90s standards)
-A true port with support for modern display ratios
-Fun additions like time trials, achievements, and more

CONS
-Due to copyright issues, the Japanese opening and closing themes are instrumental only
-Once you play this you will be sad about how bad modern Sonic games are, and how lazy the other 16-bit titles' PC releases have been.

I've always had the CD from when it came out years back, but could never get it to work. Of course for this reason I bought it once I realized it was available. It was everything I remembered. The only flaw, if any, is how the music was changed from the original. I really liked Sonic Boom. Otherwise, its a piece of nostalgic gold worth buying.

Sonic CD is by far one of the greatest games of all time, and in my opinion is the best 2D platformer game ever made. While most of Sonic Team's leadership was in America crafting Sonic 2, Sonic Team Japan was left to run with the original Sonic 1 engine, and take it to its limits on Sega CD.

In one of the first console-to-computer ports, Sonic CD was the best selling game for Windows 95. It was also the first game upgraded to use DirectX technology. It's a key landmark in the forest of computer gaming.

As such, many insisted on using hacks to keep this game running long past the stale date. You can get this game, originally intended for Windows 3.1, to run on Windows 7 and Windows 8. But, with the smartphone revolution, it was time for a rebuild.

Sonic CD 2011 is a complete engine rebuild, as SEGA unfortunately lost all of the Genesis-era source code. While some may be apprehensive, in reality, this game was built by one of the most prolific Sonic game hackers in history. He hand-crafted the game and pitched it to SEGA. After decades of mis-management, SEGA for once did the right thing and embraced his efforts.

The result is the equivalent of a flawless shot-for-shot remake, as if every single element of the Sonic CD engine was rewritten by hand, by the original developers. I would have paid $50 for this port. It's that good. It's well worth whatever sub-$10 price point they're offering right now. If you have even a passing interest in the 16-bit era, grab this game now!