Mega Drive Mini, and now... Mega Drive Mini 2!

[HKT3030]

Just now, SqueakyG said:

 

All the regional versions?  I was assuming that the Euro Mega Drive Mini would have all the US 60hz versions of games by default (otherwise it would be a Playstation Classic debacle). But does your Euro unit come with the US Castlevania Bloodines or the European New Generation? How would you switch between different US/Euro versions if the way of switching ROMs is to change the whole unit's language?

 

I know you switch to Japanese versions by setting the whole thing to Japanese language -- which seems a very inelegant way of doing it. I'd rather just be able to choose a regional ROM when I click on a game.

New Generation, Bloodlines and Vampire Killer are all present on the device we have, yes. To access most Genesis versions we had to switch to Korean, but Beyond Oasis would only replace Story Of Thor if we switched to Chinese. If you're wondering about the logic, so are we.

[Down by Law]

Not to mention the pads come with twice the cable length of the snes ones, so you don't have to buy an additional cable extender. And they don't have that annoying shite nintendo connector making them useless for other machines. You can use the controllers on PC and buy Six button ones if you choose. And the moving cartridge flap (ooh er) and the expansion port. Those little details really count.

[Rex Grossman]

11 minutes ago, Down by Law said:

Not to mention the pads come with twice the cable length of the snes ones, so you don't have to buy an additional cable extender. And they don't have that annoying shite nintendo connector making them useless for other machines. You can use the controllers on PC and buy Six button ones if you choose. And the moving cartridge flap (ooh er) and the expansion port. Those little details really count.

I’m not sure saying they come with the 3-button pads but you can buy the 6-button ones as an extra is a good thing,

[Down by Law]

I disagree , you'd never be able to buy 3 button controller seperately if it came with 6 and I really like the aesthetics of the original pad. Also it keeps the package authentic to the original release whereas the Six button pads weren't introduced until the MD2 hit the market, and for all the whinging the internet does there's only two essential games - Street Fighter 2 and Eternal Champions - stuff like Comix Zone can be played with a 3 button no problem at all.

[MW_Jimmy]

1 hour ago, Rex Grossman said:

 

Maybe.

Although I doubt any of the unreleased games have as much mystique as Starfox 2 did.

 

Yeah, mystique is great and all, but then you try and play it and it all just evaporates away.

 

Darius and Tetris are timeless.

[Rex Grossman]

7 minutes ago, MW_Jimmy said:

 

Yeah, mystique is great and all, but then you try and play it and it all just evaporates away.

 

Darius and Tetris are timeless.

 

But we've had easy ways of playing them for decades unlike Starfox 2.

 

 

Edit: LOL at the neg.

[Keyboard Koala]

Buying this just to hack it and put Pulseman and Panorama Cotton on it. Been dying for ages to play those two on more or less original hardware.

 

That's not to say it doesn't have the best starting line-up of all minis though.

[Joystick Chevron]

I like the idea of this on paper but I'm waiting to hear if it's as adaptable as the SNES Mini was - I've got a load of ROMs ready to go, some hacked for better sound (no more "wise fwom your gwave"), some for colour adjustment, want to stick S3&K on, etc.

[MW_Jimmy]

2 hours ago, Rex Grossman said:

 

But we've had easy ways of playing them for decades unlike Starfox 2.

 

 

Edit: LOL at the neg.

 

Not me. Become a subscriber and help ensure the continued existence of the Rllmuk community (and find out who!)

 

Anyway, not really true on Tetris - partial incomplete versions exists which is a bit like another game that I can't quite remember...

[MW_Jimmy]

10 minutes ago, Joystick Chevron said:

I like the idea of this on paper but I'm waiting to hear if it's as adaptable as the SNES Mini was - I've got a load of ROMs ready to go, some hacked for better sound (no more "wise fwom your gwave"), some for colour adjustment, want to stick S3&K on, etc.

 

If this is hackable then Sonic 3 Complete is the first game that's going on here:

 

http://info.sonicretro.org/Sonic_3_Complete

[Rex Grossman]

3 hours ago, MW_Jimmy said:

 

Not me. Become a subscriber and help ensure the continued existence of the Rllmuk community (and find out who!)

 

Anyway, not really true on Tetris - partial incomplete versions exists which is a bit like another game that I can't quite remember...

 

I mean that Tetris is not a game that people didn’t have easy access to. It’s beeb released on basically everything. Unlike Starfox 2.

 

There are so many reasons to get this new mini but acting like Tetris is a killer app is an odd take.

 

And I’m not a subscriber because I’ve been a member since 2003 too and seen too much drama and politics to get that involved. 

[Kevvy Metal]

On 19/08/2019 at 12:42, moosegrinder said:

Also probably the fact it's had lots of tweaks making some of the games better than the originals. And games that haven't been released before.

 

This is counter to every impression I've read or watched. From Mylifeingaming to Smokemonster to Gamesack to MVG etc.

There's input lag, audio lag, inaccurate audio, odd inconsistency with the original hardware and bad image scaling leading to shimmering. There's no tweaks to any game - as seen in the Sega ages stuff - which was one of the main criticisms.   

 

It's still not bad for a £70 box, but the Analogue SG is still by far the best on the market today. Or real hardware, a CRT and an Everdrive.

[Girth Certificate]

Plus if you want to play Strider you can get that arcade version on that big hilarious Capcom thing

[spanky debrest]

This thread is well worth a read, it's loaded with great info:

 

 

[Keyboard Koala]

DF's review:

 

 

 

Quote

"It's not perfect - but it's very, very good nonetheless. M2's work on the Sega Genesis Mini (aka Mega Drive Mini) is pretty awesome, the hardware itself is beautiful and the game selection is astonishing."

 

[MW_Jimmy]

The small issues (sound emulation and lack of decent CRT filter) are a bit of a shame but I don't think I can really pass the opportunity to buy new Sega hardware in 20 years.

 

I'll probably finally play through Bloodlines and Light Crusader and I can continue to practice chipping away at Dynamite Headdy.

[Keyboard Koala]

And let's not forget the inevitable hack later that'll allow gems like Pulseman, Panorama Cotton and Thunder Force IV to be added.

 

It is a solid selection of games to be sure, but there are still some glaring ommissions.

[Kevvy Metal]

For the price, it's still really awesome. Looks to be a little bit superior to the Nintendo offerings. 

[Keyboard Koala]

Oh yeah, I'm not complaining.

 

But hopefully they'll hack it soon enough, as that seems the only real affordable way to play some rare MD games on more or less original hardware.

[Triple A]

So following Digital Foundry’s article I’ve cancelled my pre-order. Have the Mega SG already and this mini doesn’t look to have the cost-to-quality ratio I’m looking for, for it to replace the Mega SG.

[Keyboard Koala]

With only 512MB of internal memory and all regional variants present it sounds like there won't be much space left to put in your own games later though....

[spanky debrest]

7 minutes ago, Keyboard Koala said:

With only 512MB of internal memory and all regional variants present it sounds like there won't be much space left to put in your own games later though....

 

The Nintendo Minis have the same space IIRC - with less available on the SNES due to a larger game sizes etc. The MD Mini with its larger game selection and multiple versions of ROMs probably suggests that yeah, there wont be much writable room left over but I guess it depends on how motivated the hacking community is, whether file compression is natively supported etc.

 

I recall Starfox 2 being dumped and shared before the Snes Classic even hit retail - that game was always a popular repro cart. In contrast it seems that barely anyone is even aware that Darius and Tetris are all new exclusive games - and the wider selection on games may reduce the demand for hackery even further..? I'm just thinking out aloud.

[Super Craig]

People will want Sonic 3 & Knuckles on it.

[joemul]

Retro Gamer raves about the MD Mini in their latest issue. 

[Keyboard Koala]

But it's still missing [takes a deepbreath]Zero Wing, Decap Attack, Mega Twins, Rocket Knight Adventures, Talmit's Adventure, Thunder Force IV, Mercs, Gaiares, Dragon's Fury, Alien Soldier, Sonic 3, S&K, Elemental Master, Revenge of Shinobi, Ranger X, Quackshot, Soleil, Ristar, Streets of Rage III and Pulseman[exhales].

 

[Mr Do 71]

27 minutes ago, Keyboard Koala said:

But it's still missing [takes a deepbreath]Zero Wing, Decap Attack, Mega Twins, Rocket Knight Adventures, Talmit's Adventure, Thunder Force IV, Mercs, Gaiares, Dragon's Fury, Alien Soldier, Sonic 3, S&K, Elemental Master, Revenge of Shinobi, Ranger X, Quackshot, Soleil, Ristar, Streets of Rage III and Pulseman[exhales].

 

 

And Red Zone.

[Sie]

1 hour ago, Keyboard Koala said:

With only 512MB of internal memory and all regional variants present it sounds like there won't be much space left to put in your own games later though....

 

The hacking community will very likely get OTG support running on it. At which point you can just load all your roms onto an external micro SD. If the PlayStation Classic (Autobleem) and Snes mini (hakchi2) are anything to go by, picking up a MD Mini will be more than worth the asking price once its cracked open.

[spanky debrest]

Well this was unexpected:

 

 

[Mr. Gerbik]

The hacking community will hack it because it's a fun challenge. No further reasons needed, game selection or other similar aspects are irrelevant. I wouldn't worry about it.

[Fry Crayola]

2 hours ago, spanky debrest said:

The Nintendo Minis have the same space IIRC - with less available on the SNES due to a larger game sizes etc. The MD Mini with its larger game selection and multiple versions of ROMs probably suggests that yeah, there wont be much writable room left over but I guess it depends on how motivated the hacking community is, whether file compression is natively supported etc.

 

It depends on how much of the memory is used by system stuff. 42 games with three regional variants is probably going to be around half of the space, at most.