Sega 32X

"Sega's "Mars" didn't make a big enough impact."

A lot of people say that the 32X is one of the worst things to ever be released in gaming. I don't really see how that could compare to crap like that Tiger thing that will only play games in Black and White, or the Virtual Boy, or the Power Glove. Anyway, yes the thing did fail, but I feel way too many people give it exceedingly bad rap. Back then I could probably understand but if anyone does nowadays they're just ignorant.

The 32X was supposed to upgrade the Sega Genesis to a 32 bit system, which it did and it officially surpassed rival Nintendo in specs, the main problems with the thing though was the price and the games. 32X went for $150 at launch and that was a little much considering that the 32X library had some mediocre Genesis ports, and some lackluster games. But the most important thing about it was, it was simply a victim of the times. Sega of America and Japan were busy giving each other the cold shoulder and had no idea what each one was doing. Japan was developing the Saturn and America was developing the 32X, the part where the 32X was the victim was the fact that it was just too late.

Appearance

Most people say that the 32X looks like a big black mushroom, while I wouldn't call that accurate that's really the only way to describe it in layman's terms. It's actually a nice looking add-on however. It's got the cart slot on top and the 32X Genesis logo below it, if you have a Model 1 Genesis with a Model 1 Sega CD you'll have a monster of a console, if you have Model 2 Genesis and Model 2 Sega CD it'll look a lot more natural and better period. It's still a rather large combination though. The 32X can also go along with a CDX but supposedly it has problems with a CDX, something I'm not sure about though.

Score : 8.0 – Good

Library

The 32X library is very limited, somewhere around 32 to 40 games I think, I really think it's 36 but I'm not real sure. While it's true the 32X library is small and not exactly amazing or anything, it does have some nice gems within it. The real bane of the machine was the pointless Genesis ports, but on top of that some of the actual 32X games weren't all that great either. Some of the best games however are Mortal Kombat II, Afterburner, Blackthorne, Knuckles Chaotix, Virtua Racing,Virtua Fighter, and Spiderman Web of Fire. Basically when you're getting a 32X and it's not for a collector's reason, you're gonna want to be careful with what games you're looking to purchase.

If you are interested in getting one for gaming, you should do as much research on any title as you possibly can because some of these games can end up going for pretty heavy prices. I got my copy of Chaotix for $27 and that is considered cheap in some circles. Luckily all the titles I've mentioned except for Chaotix go for very fair prices, Except for Spiderman Web of Fire, that game can go anywhere from $50 to over $100! No matter what though, you're probably only going to end up getting only 7 or 12 games for it anyway, such is the fate of a console/add-on with a very limited library.

Score : 4.0– Banal

Overview

The 32X might've done better if it was released 2 years before it's actual release along with the Sega CD, not sure if that would've been possible or not but it would've been infinitely more effective and useful, and not a waste of good potential. Honestly if the 32X had a few more years under it's belt its hard telling what type of games we could've gotten, it had a lot of potential, it was just far too late for it to be released. Just remember, if you're planning on getting one they are cheap, most games are cheap, and choose your games wisely.

Overall Score : 6.0 - Banal

Modified score of 6/10 for Gamefaqs.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 07/24/06