Five Sega CD Full Motion Video Games that Pushed the Envelope

When you think of Full Motion Video (FMV) video games you probably think of tons of no interaction video playing between simple choices. FMV games are the bastard children, the black sheep, of gaming. What was once the beloved category for gamers as well as developers and publishers quickly became something that shall not be named. Ever. Again.

Full Motion Video games were a very high-profile failure. Companies were pushing their FMV games hard, as they should have since they were quite expensive to make. While the Sega CD was not the first commercial CD-ROM product it was around third behind the Halcyon and then the Turbo Grafx-16 CD-ROM attachment. Both previous pieces of tech offered FMV games but on the Sega CD the genre saw the most success, for what that is worth now.

For me, my first experience with FMV was with Kingdoms: The Far Reaches on 3DO, then I grabbed a Sega CD and, try as I may I never got Night Trap, but I did get Cobra Command, and the other games on this list. I know the genre all but offers little replay value but seriously, how many times do people watch Star Wars or Seinfeld re-runs expecting something different to happen? At least with FMV games, that can happen.

First up on my list is Night Trap. Yep, I am taking an easy one right off the bat. Why? Because Night Trap pushed the envelope in a different way. It was not a technological marvel, it was not the best FMV game ever either. No, Night Trap pushed video games into the mainstream, got national news coverage and even got gaming on Capitol Hill for some discussion at the highest level of the land. What other game can claim that? Mortal Kombat of course. Even that is a FMV game of sorts since the actors are all digitized, just they went with sprites instead of straight up video with that one (probably a smart move). You are tasked with protecting a house full of “hot” sorority girls from the evil vampires that are literally in the walls. This one is notable for starring Dana Plato (star of the television show Different Strokes). Night Trap even saw a release on the 3DO and PC’s. The envelope Night Trap pushed was a social one. A debt that the Sony and the Playstation probably will never repay, or even acknowledge.

Next, we have Ground Zero Texas. Night Trap pioneered the idea of using Full Motion Video in CD-ROM games, at least made it popular (there were plenty of FMV games before Night Trap was released) but Ground Zero Texas took it a few steps farther by adding replay value and challenges other than timing button presses. Aliens are taking over a small town in Texas and you are not going to stand for it. Using security cameras (like in Night Trap) you could swap around the compound and take out any aliens in the area with your remote-controlled weapons. As the aliens figure out you are using cameras, they will target them and try to destroy them keeping you from being able to surveil the area. The interactivity was much higher than that in Night Trap.

Okay, what if I told you the best FMV game ever made was a black and white game? Then what if I told you that black and white game was a boxing game of all things. From the first-person view. It also has Michael Buffer (of “Get Ready to Ruuuuuuuuumble” fame). Would you be interested in playing it? You should be. I got Prize Fighter with my JVC X-Eye and loved it. Every bit of it. The game is quite awesome in how they handled the FMV part of the game and how they implemented real controls (they used short clips to offer quick changes in the video). Simply awesome game and one that must be seen to understand, even better, play it. Love it.

Another title, this time in color, that uses the first person view is Supreme Warrior. Much like Night Trap Supreme Warrior made the jump to 3DO with much better graphics. What you can expect here is less professional boxing and more Jackie Chan action flick. The action is quick and furious in this one so if you fancy playing a kung fu movie, Supreme Warrior may be right up your alley.

Finally, we have a horror title in Dracula Unleashed. I am a huge fan of the Dracula mythos and when I heard about this game, I had to grab a copy when I had a chance. Here was a retelling of the Dracula story. Years before the release of Resident Evil this game was doing horror (DU was not that scary), of course years after Rescue on Fractalus but we can’t have it all, right? What was unique about Dracula Unleashed was that it showed FMV games can have a great story, replay value, mature storylines (without scantily clad women) and the story was great.

The Sega CD was a pioneering add-on that failed hard thanks to developers taking the easy way out when it came to making games for it. From crappy FMV games to ports that had horrendous loading times, the Sega CD was kind of doomed early on.

Got a Full Motion Video game I need to know about? Let’s hear it in the comments. What are some newer ones? How about that obscure guilty pleasure?