Definitely Christmas '93 for me. I was right in the thick of Sonic mania at that point - I had all the Sonic games released up to that point and had gotten them in order. I mean, all of them - SMS, Game Gear, and Genesis. I was enthralled with the series and couldn't get enough. I knew the next big Sonic game was coming out on the Sega CD, and asked for one but didn't think I was going to get it since they were hyper expensive at the time.
In the days leading up to christmas, I'd continously check the tree for anything sega cd shaped, but kept seeing only small boxes. It's family tradition that, on christmas eve, we go to my Grandma's for a big christmas party, and we'd normally get home pretty late (talking 3 or so in the morning). So we come home late from the party (where my grandma gave me Sonic Chaos for the game gear) and I check the tree again real quick... still nothing.
I'm normally one of the hardest sleepers ever. I wasn't the kind to wake up before 1 pm on weekends, but for some reason I got up that morning at 6:00 am, before anyone had woken up. I walked to the front room where the christmas tree (and TV) were and there, sitting under the tree unwrapped, was a brand new Sega CD with Sonic CD sitting on top. To say I went apeshit was an understatement. I had to wait 4 more hours for everyone to get up before I could officially play it, but I stayed in the living room that morning gazing at the box and reading the Sonic CD manual.
I got a ton of great stuff that christmas, including some wireless acclaim controllers. I remember my brother got a big, early 90's style stereo that same christmas, with some huge speakers, and we set it all up in my room with the Sega CD. I vividly remember my curtains open, the bright blue christmas morning as the sun shone into my room while I played both Sonic CD and Sewer Shark, as the rest of my family went on in their own world. My mom cleaned up the wrapping paper, my dad fiddled with some computer stuff he got, my sister got a CD player for her car, and I played my Sega CD all day long. That evening, my parents had all our extended family over, and they were amazed by my Sega CD.
Sonic CD is, of course, my favorite Sonic game ever. I beat that game in 1 sitting, and then kept playing it over, and over, and over, and over again. I only stopped playing it when Sonic 3 was released, and even then, long after I'd set down Sonic 3 & Knuckles, I'd return to Sonic CD. Wonderful christmas.
