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REVIEW – With a perfect retro look, easy HD output and an incredible range of 42 built-in games, the Sega Mega Drive Mini is a loving tribute to the company's famous 16-bit machine and a great way to experience the system if you do not want it. get your hands dirty with emulators or expensive equipment.
While Nintendo popularized the plug-and-play retro microconsole with its NES Classic in 2016, and its SNES Classic the following year, tiny Mega Drive machines were actually used a little longer.
TIM BIGGS
The system comes with two complete replicas of the original three-button controller.
The only problem was that they were all nil.
Typically made by AtGames, which paid Sega for licenses, they were low-power, slow machines that broke the game's soundtracks and were generally equipped with terrible controllers.
The Mega Drive Mini, released September 19, has none of these problems.
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With a meticulous miniature material created by Sega and the games themselves adapted by the legend of the M2 industry, it is the most intelligent and thoughtful microconsole to date.
Even the music of the menu is a new jam of the famous composer Yuzo Koshiro (Streets of Rage, Revenge of Shinobi), inspired by some of the biggest musical hits of the system.
This adorable plastic box contains all the details of the first generation Mega Drive marketed in Europe and Australia in 1990, including an on / off switch and a reset button, a red LED and tiny texts touting the "high graphics" definition".
SEGA
In the Japanese version of Sonic 2, Sonic's friend, Tails, calls Miles. It does not change the game, but it's a funny anecdote.
You can even open the cartridge port flaps, slide the headphone volume control, and remove the expansion-slot cover, although it does not matter.
The controller is a little less impressive, but he does the job.
A good reproduction of the original three-button pad from 1990 (not the most popular six-button version), it looks like part, but the d-pad seems a little stiff to my hands.
There are two included in the box, and the cord length is decent, but those looking to play Street Fighter II will want to regain one of the officially licensed 6-button USB controllers from Retro-Bit, which, according to Sega, is compatible.
As is common in microsystems, HDMI and microUSB cables are delivered in the box, but you need to find a USB port (for example on your TV or on a phone charger) to power it.
TIM BIGGS
The Sega Mega Drive Mini is a perfect and tiny replica of the original.
As soon as you turn on the machine, you will see the care taken in this compilation.
Aside from the catchy melodies, the exact replicas of the regions of the complete covers of the games are arranged in a grid and can be sorted as you wish. You can even choose to display them pinned to display them all at the same time on the screen.
The Australian and European retro nerds (so-called "PAL" regions) will be well aware that our old games do not tend to hold as good as American and Japanese variants, with ugly borders and lower frame rates due to differences in the operation of televisions.
Fortunately, M2 did a fantastic job optimizing the originals here, correcting the most obvious drawbacks by removing the colored borders, correcting the frame rate and speeding up the music if necessary.
While Nintendo has chosen the nuclear option of combining PAL versions of old games and including US versions in its microconsoles, Sega's strategy shows that she really cares about preserving the memories of the games. childhood of the players.
As far as the regions are concerned, perhaps the most interesting feature of the Mega Drive Mini is that the change of language in the settings allows you to play the games as they appeared in other countries.
The transition to Japanese, for example, allows you to see the different illustrations (usually much more enjoyable) on the boxes and live the games without censorship or additional difficulty related to a surprising number of Western versions of these games.
You can also go to China or Korea to see the strange mixture of Japanese and American games published in this country (unfortunately, there is no option to switch to "US English" and get all US versions ).
Just make sure you are familiar enough with the system to get back to the language menu and put it back in English before you do it.
And then, of course, there are the games themselves, which are the main reason to buy a microconsole like this one. See the bottom of this article for a complete list, but in short, it's a list of 39 excellent games (more Modified Beast and two bonus titles), most of which comes from Sega itself.
There are entries from most notable franchises, like the first two Sonic games, The streets of Rabies II, Shinobi III and Golden Ax, and classics like The story of Thor, the heroes of Gunstar and both games Mickey Mouse Illusion. But there are also less known favorites, like Alisia Dragoon, Strider and Knight Crusader. Special note is Monster World IV, which includes the English translation that was not published before 2012.
From other publishers, Konami contributed the brilliant Castlevania: the lines (also known as the new generation) and Probotecteur (or Contra: Hard Body), while from EA you get Road Rash IIand provided by Capcom Street Fighter II: Champion Special Edition and the incredibly rare Mega Man: The Cunning Wars, which contains updated versions of the first three games in the series.
The two bonus games are interesting from a historical point of view, even if you would never have played them on a Mega Drive: the Sega version of Tetris, which is said to have only 10 copies of cartridges, and a new conversion of the arcade game by Mega Drive Darius.
The games are displayed in 720p resolution and your choice of widescreen 4: 3 original or stretched.
There are several options for backgrounds, a very fuzzy CRT style filter (I would suggest letting it off), and a menu that you can open in the middle of the game let you go back to the game, select or save, and to load states avoid these exciting games.
As with virtually all emulator boxes, there is an input lag and additional sound shift, which means that games may not seem as responsive as you remember.
But then this is a plug-and-play box. To get better performance, you would need an original machine or reference quality clone such as the Analog Mega Sg, which would cost you a lot more considering the need to provide your own games.
Nintendo's microconsoles took off because they looked great on a shelf and gave instant access to great versions of incredible games without the need for consoles or fiddling. There is now a Sega device that does it as well, if not better.
Representing an excellent value for money at about $ 3.30 per game, the Mega Drive Mini is a real alarm clock for an iconic 90s machine.
LIST OF COMPLETE GAMES
Alex Kidd in the enchanted castle
Alisia Dragoon
Modified Beast
Castle of illusion with Mickey Mouse
Castlevania: the new generation
columns
Comix area
Darius
Dr. Robotnik's Medium Bean Machine
Dynamite Headdy
Jim earthworm
Ecco the dolphin
Eternal Champions
Ghosts and ghosts
Gold hatchet
Gunstar Heroes
Chameleon
Landstalker
Light Crusader
Mega Man: The Cunning Wars
Monster World IV
Phantasy Star IV: The end of the millennium
Probotecteur
Road Rash II
Bright force
Shinobi III
Sonic the hedgehog
Sonic the hedgehog 2
Sonic the Spinball Hedgehog
Space Harrier 2
Street Fighter II: Champion Special Edition
Streets of Rage 2
Strider
Super Fantasy Zone
Tetris
The story of Thor
Thunder Force III
ToeJam & Earl
Vectorman
Virtua Fighter 2
Wonder Boy in Monster World
The world of illusion with Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck
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