Five Sega CD Full Motion Video Games that Pushed the Envelope

in #games7 years ago (edited)

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?

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Triverse, thank you for bringing back the memories. I actually owned a Mega-CD and played the hell out of Road Avenger (loved that soundtrack). The FMV I played the most was ground zero texas. The acting was sooo bad but it was so much fun.

Man, these old-school FMV games are phenomenal. They might have been a failure at the time, but they served an important lesson in game development: it was more than just technology that pushed video games. It was a painful lesson, but one we all needed to learn.

Painful? What were you playing? lol

Dracula Unleashed was quite good, much better than Night Trap ever could be.

I was playing Night Trap and Corpse Killer, obviously. ;)

My condolences.

Night Trap might have pushed the envelope but it was so horrible. I'll tell you another game that pushed the envelope(albeit also terribly) and that is Zelda for the Philip CDi. It wasn't for Sega CD but it was a totally new concept for Nintendo to release their IPs to another company.

Yeah, I may have to do a CD-i article someday. I wanted one so bad back in the day. lol Still do but now just for collectors sake, not any real use point to it anymore (if there ever was).

Of course there was a use for Philips CD-I. Link voice overs haha. We will never heard Link speak again after that fiasco.

I'm really glad I found you on here, I'm a huge fan of not just video games, but video game history and trivia, but I suffer from being too young to have lived through these eras. So this is really interesting to me and I'll be sure to check some of these games out. Night Trap is the only one of these I was really aware of, and it's also the most (in)famous I guess. Full Motion is such an interesting concept, even if it pretty much failed, but who knows, it seems to be making a bit of a comeback in the indie scene

You are never too young to enjoy good games, no matter when they were made.

Night Trap transcended gaming, so did Mortal Kombat but that is a different genre altogether. Dracula Unleashed was released on DVD (with much better video) by Digital Leisure a few years ago (it also hit PC's).

I wish they would have remastered Prize Fighter. That game is just off the walls fun once you figure out your boxing rhythm. Go in bashing buttons and get your face bashed in. Quick. This game really opened my eyes to what FMV could become in gaming especially on more powerful hardware - which sadly never happened.

I noticed that FMV is picking up in the indie scene too. I need to do a write up on some of the better ones I have found. I can recommend Her Story (PC and Android), The Bunker ($5 in the Steam Summer sale, for PC) and Roundabout looks cheesy as all get out but fun (I have not played it fully yet - I have the demo).

I've been interested in Her Story since I believe it was Waypoint wrote a long article about it, will make sure to grab that one and maybe one of the others you mentioned!

I loved Dracula Unleashed. I would totally replay thayvif given the opportunity. I remember buying my Sega Cd system and a few games after shoveling snow in the neighborhood. I busted my ass all day, then walked to Toys at Us just before closing and bought it. I would totally rock some Sewer Shark right now as well. Lol

I could have sworn that some company re-released Dracula Unleashed on DVD years ago (they also did Dragon's Lair 1 and 2, Space Ace, and a few others) but now I cannot find it. That is literally the only problem I had with Dracula Unleashed on the Sega CD (though the devs used the color limitation quite well to enhance the atmosphere) - the quality of the video.

The PC version is much better as well, though not as good as the DVD copy that I remember seeing released more recently.

DVd version??? Great. Now something new to search for. Lol

Holy crap, I just did a cursory search for Dracula Unleashed on eBay. The prices for the DVD version are insane - over $100.

I think I will just grab the PC version for the much lower price (and still better than Sega CD quality video).

I’ll do the same. Lol. I’m getting a new pc this week. I think I’ll treat myself to PC version of Dracula Unleashed when it arrives. Haven’t played since it originally came out. Kinda weirdly excited. Lol

Oh man, you are in for a treat. That game is simply awesome and one of the titles on my list of "what could have been" with FMV had the genre lasted just another year or two. It is so far ahead of Night Trap and the other FMV games we saw release.

The Sega CD original has not aged well at all but that is true for most games like this that depend nearly 100% on the graphics to be impressive. Congrats on your purchase. I need to secure a copy myself.

I’ll tag ya in a post when I’m finally playing. Stoked!!! Lol

That would be awesome. I have not played it in years myself. I think it would be awesome to hear your opinion on it.

I truly believe the horror/mystery genre could have been where FMV thrived and possibly continued throughout the last couple of decades as a viable gaming option. Too bad I am obviously in the minority on that.

Have you ever heard of Plumbers don't wear ties? It's a ridiculous game..well, could hardly call it a game but still deserved to be mentioned by me :) The AVGN has made a review of it in his CD-i special, a must watch!

Yes, I have referenced it over the years on my site, Retro Gaming Magazine. I have only played the 3DO version though. I figure the CD-i version (never knew it existed) is probably just as bad.

Awesome! just checked out your site, keep up that good work!

Thank you. I am trying to get more of my writers to join us here on Steemit. They are hesitant for various reasons.

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