32X vs. 3DO vs. Jaguar

[Tanegashima]

Saturn still wins, and I meant the sequel to Alone in the Dark. Excuse me.

[j_factor]

You are not excused!

[Tanegashima]

I can't handle your pure jawusumness J...we all know that it will always be that way.

[Timstuff]

For some reason, the 3DO still holds a great deal of mystique to me. I've never gotten to play one for a long period of time, and I know that it has a reputation for having a pretty crappy library, but still-- the 3DO was one of those legendary things when I was a kid. Me and my friends all loved our Super Nintendos and Sega Genesises, but there was always that one kid who's rich cousin had one, and he'd tell us amazing tales of the glories of CD-rom gaming. There was even a kid from my brother's class who found on in a garbage bin once, which was only marginally damaged and he was able to fix simply by tightening a screw.

I only have one vivid memory of actually playing a 3DO. It was at an electronics superstore in the early 90's that no longer exists (I can't recall the name), and I briefly played Super Wing Commander. I couldn't play long since my mom did not want to stay in there longer than necessary, but I remember being mesmerized by it (I think this may have been before I had my Super Nintendo, but I'm not sure). It probably wasn't anything that special, but I was young enough that it left an impression on me, and having not really had any experience with the 3DO since then it's kind of stuck to me.

Roughly 10 years ago (good lord that makes me feel old), I saw a 3DO with 2 controllers and a few games at a tag sale for $40. I begged my parents for it, but they said no. "You already have Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis. This one is just going to collect dust, and you don't even have the money!" Needless to say, me and my brothers were crushed, but my parents were probably right that it wouldn't get much use compared to our other systems. Even so, I still kind of wish I had gotten to sample the fruits of 32 bit CD gaming. Believe it or not, the Sega Dreamcast ended up being my first disc-based game console.

[StarMist]

Actually this thread is pertinent to another discussion. And damn is this one long, how did it ever reach 400+ replies?

3D0. That's my choice. For games such as:

Hell: A Cyberpunk Thriller
PO'ed
Road Rash
Crash n Burn
Super Street Fighter II Turbo
Samurai Shodown
Psychic Detective
star Control 2
Mad Dog Mcree 1 and 2 (they suck but they're funny)
Brain Dead 13 (")
Strahl (")
Alone in the Dark
Corpse Killer
D
Lucienne's Quest
Myst
Immercenary
Novastorm
Heart of Darkness

...in short for pretty much everything but Gex.

[sheath]

Wow, you are very skilled with the search function, I obviously have not seen this thread yet. I vote 3DO as well, while collecting for it is just as expensive today as Jaguar or 32X collecting, there is just a lot more to look at. The 3DO should be more properly compared to the Sega CD in library and as a contemporaneous CD-ROM console. I like either the Sega CD or the 3DO better than the Jaguar or 32X, but I like them all for different reasons.

[StarMist]

Yeah but it shares too many titles with the SCD and despite that in FMV and output (both I believe natively and that S-Video is a standard option on the Panasonic models) the 3D0's will be superior that little difference doesn't mean much at all to me nor will anything that can be asserted in its favour do anything to overpower the local Sega favouritism. I mean, the 32X is winning and the 32X is nowhere near the SCD--especially with the JP MCD's exclusives thrown in.
But 3D0 also wins for the oddball factor which is disproportionately large for us hinterland gamers. Back when these things were new and costly a bad game was a sore point, but now to pick up something like Love Bites or Sex or Blonde Ambition could be a lot of fun.

-----Some more obvious additions to the 3D0's list of strengths (sure they've been mentioned many times already, this is just a refresher):
Doom.
Wolfenstein 3D.
Defcon 5.
Iron Angel 1 and 2.
Flashback.
Out of this World. (Though the SNES version's still probably the best).
Space Hulk
Total Eclipse.
Syndicate (full version I believe).
Wing Commander III
Who Shot Johnny Rock
Yuu Yuu Hakusho

[Barone]

Flashback.

I'd take the Sega CD version over the 3DO due to the in-game music. It keeps me excited on the later levels when things get more "repetitive".

Out of this World. (Though the SNES version's still probably the best).

The Sega CD version (included in Heart of the Alien: Out of this World Parts I and II) is far superior to the SNES one and keeps the original backgrounds (I don't like the semi-digitized graphics of the 3DO version). The SFX were vastly improved compared to both Genesis and SNES versions.

Syndicate (full version I believe).

Two believers now.

[Barone]

@StarMist
Do you like Lethal Enforcers I/II? This question came to my mind since you listed several titles that should be played using light gun.
The LE games, more II than I, gave me many great moments with the Sega CD. I have the pink gun and play it with a friend is very cool.
The Genesis version has annoying music (I can't stand that) and bad sfx. I also played it on the PS1 (much better graphics), but the difficult levels are all too hard for human beings.
I still play the Sega CD version with my friends...

EDIT: Of course, I miss the Sega CD on this poll but I voted for the 3DO.

[StarMist]

My preference order:

3D0
3D0/Sega CD ie this covers their duplicate titles, meaning if I didn't have a SCD (which I don't) the 3D0 would count twice as much as the consoles below it.
32X
Jaguar

@ Out of this World on SCD: I read it has a changed soundtrack. Now I haven't played the SNES game in quite some time, and don't recall any of its music, but that's how I'd like it to say. Assertive music doesn't fit that kind of game well, eg Abe's Odyssey, I've no musical impression from that save for the little dramatic rush that comes up when being chased. Perhaps it's not bad though, I'm not out to dismiss the machine.

[eddiespruce]

I voted for the 32X. While it may not have many games, it has a small handful of greats. Jaguar would come in 2nd place, as it has a few fun platformers, and two great pinball games, one of them exclusive to the Jaguar. The 3DO for me, comes in last place, as I personally see no reason to own one, as the majority of all it's games have better ports on different consoles.

[sheath]

I usually hesitate to say that one platform is a greater interest for me because of volume, but in the case of the 3DO and the Sega CD, that volume also includes more games that interest me. Since StarMist has applied the level headed language of "preference", I feel free to agree that the 3DO and Sega CD hold my preference above the other two in this thread.

I would likely have a harder time choosing between the Sega CD and the 3DO, I'm pretty sure I'd argue with myself round around about image fidelity versus affordability back in the day and come to one of those 55/45 decisions in favor of the Sega CD and its library.

I'd also be tempted to compare the 3DO's polygonal 3D titles exclusively against the 32X and Jaguar, and first year Saturn and PS1 games, and exclude them from the Sega CD comparison.

[TrekkiesUnite118]

Of this list I'd say in order of which I'd prefer would be as follows:

1) 3DO
2) 32X
3) Jaguar

If the Sega CD was included I'd have a very hard time deciding which to put in first and second place.

[Thenewguy]

3DO, its a whitewash.

Also its not 3D0, the system is 3DO, it was named to sound like Video, or Audio

[StarMist]

3DO, its a whitewash.

But the polls have the 32X ahead by 14%......Are you denying the infinite widom of Sega-16?