The 32X is one of those things that, in death, manages to be forgiven of its sins.
In 1995, it was utterly ridiculous, but these days, if you're a Genesis fan, picking up an old 32X and some games for cheap is a gateway to a hell of a weird and fun experience. Tempo and Knuckles Chaotix are the crowning games on the system thanks to their mid-90s Sega gaudiness that I honestly enjoy quite a lot.
In addition, Space Harrier is a rock-solid classic, Kolibri is a great game to show guests and go in for 2P simulteneous, Shadow Squadron is a surprisingly decent early 3D game with a nice framerate, and Blackthorne, while not my personal cup of tea, has its best port on the 32X.
Mortal Kombat II is arguably just as good or better on the SNES, though - better music, better backgrounds, and no loss in gameplay. The 32X port only has slightly nicer sprites and cleaner voice samples.
Double agreed, good post.
The 32x is still dirt cheap for a "new platform" for someone to get into. I still see them unit only for 10-20. Before that was a pain because the link cable was running more than the system was on ebay but now that replicas are being made you can save $ by finding a bare unit. But you can still pull system with cords for 60.
I only have 16 of the 37 games, but outside of the commonly mentioned Star Wars Arcade, Kolibri, Knuckles Chaotix. The 32x ports of the 16 bit games are usually enhanced versions of their 16 bit counterparts. After Burner, Mortal Kombat II, NBA Jam, Blackthorne (has extra levels) Space Harrier, Star Trek Starfleet Academy. And while some of these games saw Saturn and Playstation releases, you don't get the load times.
And to answer the topic question.
I do like it, and SamIam's statement sums it up fairly well.
The allure of the 3d era was heavily being pushed when the system came out. Graphics were still a high priority for game quality, and hearing speech in a game was a treat. Sega was just coming off their prime Genesis years. And my friend and I rented a 32x along with Star Wars arcade from Blockbuster. It was one of those experiences you tried to force yourself to like, but knew in your heart wasn't that good. My nephew got one from Software Etc when they were marked down to like 29.99. And I still thought it was crap.
Years later, my perspective changed, like many others. I no longer judge the system against a Saturn, or Playstation, and Instead look at the games for what they are, Year one games on a patched together system made out 90's tech patched on to 1988 hardware. Now I see the library as being interesting and fairly decent overall. The 32x also addressed some of the criticism that the Genesis received, enhancing the sound and color palate capabilities.
It would have been interesting if 32x came out a few years earlier and was built into the Sega CD. Even some modern homebrew would be interesting to see.
Checkout what's been made on the Genesis (pales to the original PC, but very impressive for the genesis)
A Comparision, notable difference when youtube video is full screen.
