I'm dating myself here, but playing Sonic CD again really took me back. It took me back to a time when I had saved up money from my part-time job (and borrowed a bit more) to buy that really ugly Ver. 2 "sidecar" Sega CD attachment for my Sega Genesis. It was a lot of money, but I was so happy. Seeing that full-motion video in Sewer Shark was a thrill, but what I really wanted was upgraded experiences that were even more spectacular than blast-processed 16-bit goodness that I had fallen in love with. What I really wanted was to see the evolution of Sonic.

Sonic CD didn't turn out to be quite the evolution I dreamed of (that nightmare would come later). It turned out to be a lot like the Sega Genesis Sonic titles. But the cool perspective tricks, time travel gimmick and the slick CD audio soundtrack were enough for me. And I must have watched the fully animated introduction movie 50 times. Somehow this became my favorite Sonic game. It still is.

Now Sonic CD is a digital release on Xbox Live and PlayStation Network. Times have changed.