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Doom
The first console port of Doom had a few... compromises.
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PRESS START
An Introduction To Today’s Game
The first time I played Doom, I had no idea what I was missing. I had never touched the PC version, never seen the full-screen carnage, never heard what the music was actually supposed to sound like.
Something called Doom had arrived on my 32X, and it was the most intense thing I had ever held in my hands. That ignorance was a gift I did not know I had been given.
In 1994, id Software had already changed gaming forever with Doom on PC, and the question was simple: could any console handle it? Sega thought yes. What came out the other side was Doom for the 32X, a launch title for one of gaming's most notorious hardware experiments.
Some things survived the trip. Some things did not.
BEHIND THE PIXELS
Let’s Dive Into The Game
Doom is a first-person shooter. You play as a space marine stationed on the moons of Mars, and after a military experiment goes very wrong, demons start pouring through dimensional gates.
Your job is to shoot them, chainsaw them, or blast them with a rocket launcher, and find the exit before they kill you. That is essentially it, and in 1993 on PC, that was genuinely revolutionary.
Doom helped define the first-person shooter as a genre, and by 1994 everyone wanted a piece of it.
The 32X version, ported directly by John Carmack using source code shared with the Atari Jaguar build, gives players 17 maps drawn from the first two episodes of the original game. The third episode is completely cut. As is the boss fight to end episode two.
This game definitely had some compromises from the PC version. But again, I had no idea at the time.
You get six weapons including the shotgun, chainsaw, and rocket launcher, and you face off against imps, zombies, cacodemons, and barons of hell.
Missing from the roster entirely are the Cyberdemon, the Spiderdemon, and the Spectre, three of the original game's most memorable enemies.
The BFG9000, Doom's most iconic weapon, appears in the manual and is available via cheat code but cannot be found organically anywhere in the game.
The game was rushed to meet the launch date of the 32x and looking back, it shows.
The most talked-about limitation is the display. Rather than running full screen like the PC version, gameplay is boxed into a cropped window, framed by the status bar and a thick border.
The Jaguar and PC versions ran full screen, and Genesis owners noticed. Frame rate is serviceable but not smooth, and enemies only display front-facing sprite rotations, meaning everything always appears to be facing you no matter the angle.
The music, produced through the Genesis's FM synthesis chip, became its own piece of gaming history for the wrong reasons. It has been widely described as sounding like a fax machine connecting to another fax machine.
No save feature exists, which means completing the game requires finishing all 17 levels in one sitting or using a password system.
Visually, the game does capture Doom's core atmosphere. The texture work is recognizable, the colors hold up reasonably, and the action stays fast enough to feel like Doom rather than a slideshow. As a technical achievement for console hardware in 1994, it earns some respect.
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WHERE TO PLAY
The original copy or emulation will be your best bet in playing this version.
Other ports, that include all content that was cut, are currently available on most systems.
Original Copies of the Game (All prices in USD)
Loose: $15
Complete: $35
New/Sealed: $135
GAME INFORMATION
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Cover Art
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RETRO HARDWARE
Reading about retro games is great, but playing them is the real goal. This new Retro Hardware section is about easy, affordable ways to get those classics running without the headache.
Miyoo Mini Plus
The Miyoo Mini Plus. My first retro device I ever bought. Slightly bigger than the original Miyoo Mini, the Plus model adds a larger screen and a more comfortable grip, making it easy to toss in a bag and take on the go when I dare to leave my protective man cave. (Still scary.)
The Miyoo Mini Plus is an entry-level retro handheld, but in the best possible way. It excels at playing classic systems like NES, SNES, Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, Sega Genesis, and a massive arcade library, all of which run great. It’s simple, affordable, and perfect for anyone looking to dip their toes into retro gaming without overcomplicating things.
My readers can use the following code for a 12% discount: NY12
Click either of the pictures to take you to the website.
Some links in this section are affiliate links. If you buy through MECHDIY, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
GAME OVER
Why You Should Play This
Should you play Doom on the 32X today? Probably not this version, not without hunting down one of the fan-made patches that restore missing content and fix some of the rougher edges. The modern ports on Switch, PlayStation, and Xbox are miles ahead, cheaper, and include both Doom and Doom II in a much cleaner package. The PC original on Steam runs on nearly anything built in the last decade. There are better ways in.
But here is the thing about memory. I came to Doom through this version, without any frame of reference for what had been cut or compromised, and it got me. Completely.
The atmosphere was real, the tension was real, and the feeling of running through those corridors with something behind me was as good as gaming had ever felt. None of that was diminished by the windowed display or the absent Cyberdemon or the FM synth audio. I did not know to miss any of it.
Looking back now, yes, this is not the best port. The cuts are real, the limitations are real, and anyone coming in with context will feel them. But the 32X version gave me Doom when I had nothing to compare it to, and that introduction held up.
The memories did not need a patch. Sometimes not knowing better is its own kind of perfect.
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