To understand why this game is so divisive these days, one must first look back at the circumstances in which this game was first released. It was a game released solely on an expensive expansion to the Genesis known as the Sega CD. Due to its prohibitive price, the Sega CD was only accessible to those in prestigious, intellectually intensive careers like engineers or high class escorts. The developers, knowing this, decided to make a game that appealed to said intellectual elite. Unfortunately, the game has become accessible to an audience it was never intended for. Many people today don't like Sonic CD, but they also very likely would not enjoy reading an advanced physics textbook. These products were not intended for the masses, and thus cannot be judged by them. In many schools of Buddhist meditation, the knowledge of the illusoriness of the self is often safeguarded and only shown to the most diligent of practitioners. The reason for this is that the common man, when faced with such profundity, often responds with a gormless "so what?". This sadly mirrors the reception Sonic CD has today.