Is The Philips CD- i Worth Playing Today? - Top Hat Gaming Man- Review and History

[@Larry]

I just love Philips attempt to appeal to a more upmarket consumer in the early days, by releasing all manner of bizarre info discs, like the history of flower gardening :S But if you collect the video discs, you must buy the gamesmaster gore special! probably the most sought after one.

[@TopHatGamingManChannel]

The flowers of Robert Maple Forth

[@orderofmagnitude-TPATP]

Larry Bundy Jr ~ edgy one.... always wherever i go.

[@drunkensailor112]

Hotel mario is actually a really good game. One of the best on cdi. You should get it. 7/10 game for sure.

[@thefifthdoctor6780]

I’m still playing my Philips CDi’s. I own a 220,450 and 470 😎

[@shockz16]

Myself and fellow tuber Colossal vids are currently rolling out our own gameplay series on the CD-i 'The CD-i Experience' (Catchy eh! lol).. the dynamic is he's the CD-i collector/lover and trying to convert me who hasn't played any of these games before into liking the system. So now I've had a bit more experience playing on the console it's not nearly as bad as I first thought, I still won't rush out to buy one but it's not complete trash. But then again what do I know cos I'm also a full set collector so I'm also mentally impaired haha. Great review mate, very informative and humorous :)

[@TopHatGamingManChannel]

Nothing wrong with a bit of mental impairment. Glad you enjoyed the video and happy CDI Gaming. There is cheap Pound Land fun to be had.

[@richfan10]

Haha the analogy of Nintendo/Philips/Sony was funny

[@SoundzCool]

Really enjoyed the video :-) The CDi was my first console, so many great memories, my favourite game was a click and drag adventure with a Toucan I believe.

[@ColossalVids]

I thoroughly enjoyed this. I absolutely love my Philips CD-i, I've had it since it was released back in the day and am a massive fan of it. I have the same model that you showed in the video and there are a lot of hidden gems on the system that people don't take the time to experience and give the system a chance. Yes there are some bad games like the obvious Hotel Mario and the Zelda and Link games, but there are some awesome games on there too. I can't believe you slated Burn:Cycle, it's such a fantastic game, I love it. Mega Maze is also cool but hard, Escape From CyberCity is certainly a very fast game, and Mutant Rampage: Bodyslam is a great beat 'em up for a CD-i game, and would have actually done well on other systems as well I reckon like the Sega Saturn. A really informative and highly enjoyable review on one of my favourite systems, thank you for this, really cool! :D

[@clownprince88]

great to see the cdi get some more love , I also feel the technology was ahead of it's time , they had some ambitious goals for this console , they wanted it to be a doctor everything box that would be the center of a family's entertainment hub . I played the hell out of games like 7th Guest ( one of my favorites ), Littl Devil, Burn Cycle ( one of the best games made for the cdi ) , Voyeur , Dragon's Lair, and Space Ace . There were multiple versions of the cdi and some required a digital video card in order to play cdi movies and certain full motion video games. Great retrospective about this system, I also feel it's unfairly maligned by snarky reviewers

[@RGT85]

You know, I never thought about the Mad Dog Mcree actors being like theme park actors playing a role, but that's actually spot on.

[@DEEdavE]

whats this i see

[@davidjames579]

It's cos they over-deliver their lines, like theme park workers instructed to make sure everyone of all IQ's can understand.

[@KombatGod]

Mad Dog McCree! Finally! That's what that game was called! I remember there being that live action shooting game in the arcade near my home, but after all these years I've never been able to find its title! Thank you Top Hat Gaming Man!

[@KetwunsGamingPad]

I don't really take those critics seriously, but I do find them entertaining. Whenever the CDi, Sega CD, or Panasonic 3D0 or like the Tiger Game.Com or other underrated systems were criticised over a few highly reviewed games, they were often the FMV ones. They were easy to entertain mass audiences over how bad they were. When you see the real people talk about them, you know they were only acting. They actually don't want people to take it face value, but to be entertained. There is however an exception to the rule...the Hyperscan. I can't find anything redeeming on that system lol.

[@MultiArcademan]

Ketorulz Game.com is really bad.

[@SuperDoobyDo]

So true man I had one as a kid and hated it. the other day I found it again and was like lets try this one more time... big mistake XD

[@Boscoand]

Ketorulz I'm glad you don't take avgn too seriously. Because remember, not matter how big the audience is, at the end of the day, avgn is a character, so James Rolfe himself tends to have differing opinions and obiously doesn't get has mad as avgn does on camera.

[@Boojakascha]

I bought the system for its light gun titles and than I saw that the CD-i is a very solid experience. I like it a lot!

[@AdiSneakerFreak]

Haha great video pal, shame you didn't mention its direct competitor the Commodore CDTV which was the exact same concept, I remember being wowed by them both at the back of Dixons. Take care mate and keep up the good work.

[@GeoNeilUK]

From what I've found through TOSEC the CD-i had a better game library than the CDTV, who knows what could have happened if Nintendo flirted went with Commodore behind Sony's back. Commodore being the weird artsy girl who always dressed in black, never wore make up and wrote poems about torture and death that would have made Morrissey refer to the Samaritans.

[@AdiSneakerFreak]

GeoNeilUK nice comment 👍. But I'd say CDTV had more good games, it's all about taste I guess

[@SegaCDUniverse]

Subbed before you even got into the video proper. I always liked the CD-I in theory and watch all videos I find on it. Thanks to Colossal Vids for sharing this vid on FB and making me aware of it. ;) I look forward to checking out your other videos!

[@mongooseonaunicycle2056]

Great stuff, 95 was a bad year for hugh and OJ xD I think avoiding hotel Mario and the zelda games was a smart decision you actually covered a lot of games I'd never heard of, and like you said nearly every KZbin vid on the CDI covers those games so it was great to see some other titles in the consoles library.

[@DonBarbaZ]

Great video and interesting opinions on the console. Keep it up!

[@Savage-8Bit]

Hey excellent episode, cheers on the 1k subs! Also loved Red Dwarf!

[@sunnyforest3239]

Smegging hell, me too!

[@Elkhose]

I know this story by heart... but your way of putting it is just EPIC.... cheerios all the way from the other side of the planet

[@TopHatGamingManChannel]

thank you sir.

[@NatashaOConnor1980]

I love the look of those Burn Cycle CDs :) xCrystal Maze, Knightmare and Gamesmaster are the only shows I remember from when I was a kid :) x

[@mattsimpson1697]

awsum, one of the best episodes yet. My brother work for phillips for a long time were a solid quality name in uk.

[@Mechtrekica]

Or if your in a match for the heavyweight title and the ref becomes distracted you can use the CD-I as a helpful aid. Remember if the ref doesn't see it...it didn't happen!

[@Richard31337]

Loved what you said about the undertaker in Mad Dog Mccree. You're right there is nothing worse 😉😂 look forward to more gameplay on this title now you have your light gun. I'm sure the experience will be vastly improved. I loved playing this in the arcades.

[@nigelcraft6002]

You're starting to become my favorite KZbin personality.

[@unsummon_]

I had the 3do version of mad dog and played it more than I'd like to admit... underrated stuff solid upload 💕

[@Drewbe821]

I owned the Philips CDI. I had Space Ace, and Hotel Mario. Both were fun plays. The issue was the controller. The remote was fine, it was the wired controller that was toss.

[@pauleckert4321]

I am a cd-i fan. Still use it to this day. Love looking for old titles. Wish I could find the old movies for it as I only have a few.

[@pferreira1983]

Nice video. I think the problem with the CD-I is that it was pulled in every direction and the designers couldn't focus on one aspect of it. Have to feel sorry for Sony here though, to be dumped by Nintendo during a game expo in favour of Philips shows how cruel they can be.

[@spadesword5661]

Hey man im really enjoying your videos, these are pretty cool

[@vinnyfanneran3116]

If you reference the encyclopedia at 4:27, is the info straight outta Compton's??

[@DrScientistSounds]

Great video and great Red Dwarf references!

[@Isaac-gh5ku]

I'd love to see James Rolfe/AVGN play Mutant Rampage Bodyslam. He'll stand correct it.

[@rancorcell]

I own 6 CD-i's, my father went crazy. I still play the Clue games.

[@websaint]

Love your scripts and humour.

[@KnowYourGamesOfficial]

YAY! Another Episode!

[@TheonlyJesusduck]

Best description of the Nintendo Sony partnership I've heard.

[@davidjames579]

"Nasty Balls". I had a bad case of that once.

[@blayzzzz]

Funniest and easily the best gaming youtube persona.

[@Boscoand]

This's a fantastic video. Mostly because, while I found those avgn cdi videos to be funny, people took those videos as, "That must mean the entire platform is shit! F you CD-i, I'll buy a Tiger R-Zone insted!". Which those people are sadly blinded by the reality that's the fact the CD-i is an muti media system which was explained well in this video, and your other video about the CD-i being underrated and really misunderstood. I'm glad this video and that other one was made, to wake up the people who never played the CD-i to realize it was never made to be a games console. Its just that you "can" play video games. In my opinion Hotel Mario isn't that bad. Sure not great. But better then Mario Picross, Time Machine and Mario is missing for sure. 👍 for you man. The type of education you bring to retro gaming is entertaining.

[@tunainoil]

I've always been interested to own a CD-i but the reliability problems of the hardware and the prices your average Ebayer asks have put me off buying one. There is also the fact a lot of the library has been released on other systems as well, mostly PC.

[@BazzaHSpeccymad]

trying to play pebble beach golf with the God awful controller was an experience!!

[@OfficialGaminGuys]

I remember Mad Dog from the arcades, not seen that in years.

[@TopHatGamingManChannel]

I found it on the Wii the other day, All 3 Mad Dog games on one disc for £3, Bargain!

[@OfficialGaminGuys]

+Top Hat Gaming Man nice I have a few wii guns but will need a crt before I could play it.

[@Lorfarius]

You've got me intrigued to pick one up.... so what do you search on the likes of eBay when it comes to the films? Are they all the same sort of format or something special?

[@TopHatGamingManChannel]

You can either go for the films on CDi discs, but the system will play any VCDs.

[@Lorfarius]

Thanks, I'll keep an eye on eBay. They seems to be hovering around the £100 mark at the moment!

[@itsflat2608]

I literally LOL about Nintendo sleeping with the fat girl down the block! :)

[@EmmittDespain]

I have never played any CDi games. I don't see them here locally very often. Great video though.

[@The_Badcompany]

I would like to own this console. However a Phillips CD-I is really hard to come by and ridiculously expensive if you can even find one on Ebay.

[@paulspydar]

hi ya , I am a fellow Cd-i owner , (the 220 & the 450 ) so you are not alone, :-) (psst, not something I usually own up to , but the cats out the bag now )

[@theseob]

paulspydar I’m a proud cd-i owner to. I have mulitple systems, like the magnavox cd-i 550, philips 210, 220, 450 and 470 players, all equipped with the dv cartridge. I own about 75 games for the system including hotel mario, zelda’s adventure, wand of gamelon and solar crusade. I really love the system. Best way to play games is using one of the 2 different game controllers. The light gun is really great, the only classic lightgun that works with lcd tv’s.

[@iidirectxii7545]

The fat girl down the road, oh my god. This guy is great.

[@brianoconnell6459]

That guy with the top hat was the the undertaker.

[@tootyuk]

Here here Rich well said mate, another great vid

[@ShooterQ]

10:33 - Best joke ever.

[@trevgauntletneu_gaming]

It's good to see a misunderstood console another chance.

[@jamespriest7328]

I had one and played it till the optical drive stopped working. I have been thinking of getting a new one but I can play most of the game on my pc but it's not the same. ☹

[@boulderdashc6425]

Some fair points but the full set comments were a bit off.

[@MrLordpistoia]

Unfortunately for me I'm broke as a bloke in a winter coat so I have to emulate everything I play wish I had the money to start collecting

[@SuperHns]

Thumbs up for the spit leaving this bloke´s mouth at 2:47

[@michaelpegasiou4531]

I used to work in an electrical store in 93 that sold the cdi,out of all the games the only one I found playable was golf,that was ok,All the games were sluggish and soulless I had every console back then and even the Atari Jaguar was better,I never bought a cdi even though I could of had it 30 % off.

[@Boscoand]

I well say tho, two other consoles that look pretty terrible would be the Goldstar model 3DO, and the RCA Studio 2.

[@RetroPowerUp]

I mean, the CDi did have the best Zelda game ever released on it.... :D

[@donaldfontes8698]

I watched or video it's awesome Iove light gun games and fmv games I whet and got a cdi 550 with the light gun and I love it thanks for the awesome video.

[@razrentals8897]

This episode is hilarious.

[@JustJulyo]

amazing way to humanize the Sony and Nintendo relationship!

[@NewspeakMedia]

I own a cdi, and if you want to play the Zelda games on cdi just burn them on a cd, no piracy protection lol

[@Quedron]

Well said!

[@noraretrouciech]

3:31 210 version. There were many which were smaller than 210...

[@TG_Sponge]

I think in the same way looking for hidden gems

[@MrMegaManFan]

Top Hat mate, I know it's a gimmick by now to say things that troll potential viewers. It's your own form of being a pro wrestling heel on KZbin. So from a man who owns a half dozen complete collections, including the ridiculous Atari Jaguar, 👍.

[@MultiVince95]

Nice

[@matthewcampos6517]

Apparently not even the CDI is safe from the retro game inflation. I couldn't find any games on Ebay worse less than 5 dollars and many of the games you mention are closer to 30 dollars.

[@drunkensailor112]

That's because games are rare. The thing sold like shit.

[@matthewcampos6517]

Sure, but at one point no one gave two shits about this console. The games used to be more affordable, but now that there is more attention given to even flop consoles, the retro inflation has really ratcheted up the price.

[@drunkensailor112]

@@matthewcampos6517 cdi was always expensive.

[@C64Television]

LOL! Great episode!

[@davidv776]

C'mon... It looks like a bloody VCR because IT'S A VIDEO PLAYER, not a console.

[@jamespriest7328]

I have the first 8 seasons of the dwarf on my phone lol. God ita a shame that more Americans having seen or even heard of this show.

[@mw9771]

Brother cousins....and nephew sons. 😂😂😂

[@marvelmania7283]

Talks about the finer things in life, when he pulls out the PAL release of that vile, nasty, neutered version of Dracula X. Vampire's Kiss is a peasant's game. A respectable man of class and etiquette plays Rondo of Blood on the PC-Engine. I will not stand for this outrageous behavior!

[@OliveOilFan]

You need more subs dude

[@TopHatGamingManChannel]

Thank you sir, I am trying to get the word out there. But still a young channel at the moment, less than a year old, so trying to get the youtube algorithm to work in my favour is like trying to sail a small boat through a tidal wave!

[@OliveOilFan]

Top Hat Gaming Man ah don't worry man you will get more subs soon keep up the good work

[@orderofmagnitude-TPATP]

Yes but video cd is terrible quality compared to dvd. It classes back grounds as static pictures to save money. But yeah why not try one ay?! A mate of mine had a cdi.... it was his pride. He had burn cycle and maddog plus others you've not got.... i was wowed by the cdi video quality compared to my mega cd but when i saw micro machines and others...mmmm not so much lol

[@wackyruss]

Ha! The Dutch should stick to making cheese and chocolate sprinkles!!!!

[@drunkensailor112]

Russell Solomon and mdma and other drugs.

[@IanMartinScreenwriter]

inbred brother cousins, that's just cracked me up

[@chengxiaoshi3461]

good humor

[@muhanc.a.9299]

I'm proud of having all the snes games, the bad thing is I don't own a snes. Yikes!

[@Isaac-gh5ku]

I guess the console wasn't so bad.

[@martinalvares4455]

I can play all the Classic games with emulators It's drinking toilet whine with a solo cup

[@sogero2]

"There is nothing worse than a smug twat in a tophat telling you how to live your life." LMAO

[@critchblackpoolful]

the phillips cdi is terrible and yes I own one

[@lordmaximus780]

you sometimes look a bit like Hitler in some of your preview pictures on videos, like this one! No offence Adolf :-p

[@TopHatGamingManChannel]

No problem! I get it alot....I must just look like him facially as I have a different tache and hair style.

[@lordmaximus780]

And hopefully different values and ethics!

[@ExplodingMusicSyndrome]

unfortunately not

[@gabenewell7773]

I see you like dead island

[@jakobholgersson4400]

The CDi may be bland, but the ugliest console must be the Playstation, Grey like an 80's desktop PC, non-functional vents on the side like a knock-off Star Wars toy and generally not appealing in any way.

[@DarkSektori]

In Sony's defense, it was Nintendo that stabbed Sony in the back. If Nintendo was against the whole agreement, why did they sign the contract in the first place? Even if Sony was going to have exclusive rights to the games for the System "which Nintendo willingly gave to them" Nintendo was the one who went behind Sony's back and breached the "SIGNED"!! contact they had with Sony. But Karma came full circle and kicked Nintendo square in the balls, when two of their most popular franchises Zelda and Mario we're butchered to hell and back with that disgraceful abomination that was the CDi🤢🤮. And Even when Sony decided to go solo and develop the PS on their own, Nintendo started to cry about it and tried getting an injunction over the "Play Station" name to prevent it's release, so Sony just told Nintendo to shove the agreement up their backstabbing greedy asses by simply making "PlayStation" one word, and dumping the project to make their own Console which ended up kicking Nintendo and the N64's overrated ass.

[@nightruler666]

Im curious if the n64 is overrated, then why did sony copy the control stick from them? Nintendo knew they screwed up by releasing a cartridge based system when they announced the N64DD

[@JustJulyo]

Did you just turn face?!

[@nondescriptstraightwhitema6138]

Fuk, the Philips cd-i wasn't worth playing then or now

[@drunkensailor112]

Also get a real cdi controller. The system is horrible otherwise.

[@hatednyc]

That’s one dusty ass console, boy

[@SuperHns]

why do you speak English with a German accent, when you speak about Dutch. We don´t talk like that bloody wank :P

[@noop9k]

Nice troll.

[@commentman7446]

That's not a Dutch accent you're doing! It's a German one. Dutch sounds very different from German, but you English-speakers always seem to do that horrible German impression to do a Dutch impression.

[@bazdaniels7420]

HAHAHAHAH !!

[@ghos7bear]

meh

[@MrRoccoMarchegiano]

litil divil

[@roasty80]

This chanel is starting to bother me.. I like your videos on consoles but the constant hate towards complete collectors is getting tiresome. you mention it on most videos and to make matters worse you blame mental illness. mental illness is not a word you can joke about.

[@Maggerama]

But it is.