Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Is this the Sega answer to the NES Classic Edition with 30 games and HDMI? No, it's a repackage of a product that's been sold since 2009 in North America. AtGames is a Chinese company, though you won't find it mentioned anywhere on there website. But it becomes apparent when you see how little information is given in English on their products. AtGames has been manufacturing a product that plays Sega Genesis cartridges since 2003 as far as I can tell, starting overseas, gaining an official Sega license along the way (around 2007 or so), and then they brought it over for a official launch in North America (though you could find them since 2009 in different forms). You'll see this same hardware called different names over the years (the Mega X-3, the Firecore system), but 2012 was the first time that AtGames actually made more of a marketing push and started using somewhat professional packaging, including the Sega Genesis logo and a few actual game characters. They also have separate Genesis and Master System handheld portable systems they've been selling since 2011, or so. For 2016 they redesigned the packaging again, and are hoping you pick one up when you're looking for that NES Classic Edition console. Each year the games that were included got slight changes, but they often have strange omissions that were included the year before. In 2015 we started getting the three Mortal Kombat games, and they return, but in this 2016 version Sonic is the star attraction, and they added Phantasy Star 2 & 3 back in, but REMOVED Streets Of Rage 1, 2, 3 (along with a few others). In short, the emulation is bad, you cant save games, it uses A/V outputs ONLY, and only offers MONO sound. But casual players might not really notice, so it may be worth it for you. Read on for more details. THE PRODUCT: It may say "80-90 Games" on the packaging, but this is misleading, as you typically only get 40 Genesis game, and 40+ self-published titles that could best be described as homebrew games (think of the contents of Action 52 and you'll understand). The biggest complaint gamers have is that the EMULATION IS ONLY 90-95%! This is your standard console-on-a-chip, and you'll find the sound is often presented at the wrong hertz (listen to the Sonic the Hedgehog start-up music and any long-time fans will spot the "off-key" music, as it is sometimes called). Sonic himself also doesn't quite reach the speeds he normally does, though it's close. Colors can often be off in areas as well. Some people may not notice these little differences, but for the hardcore its a deal-breaker. AtGames has only made slight changes over the years with its emulation, and it really hasn't gotten noticeably better over each iteration. It really is the same unit in the box for the last several years, despite what they show. The console itself only offers MONO SOUND, but the game slot is big enough to accept ALL North American, European and Japanese games, so this unit is REGION FREE. This unit has NEVER had an HDMI port on it. Your standard composite A/V cables are your only option for video. There were some units that had an SD slot in 2012, which means you could take a 2GB or 4GB SD Card and put all the Genesis/MegaDrive games you want and play them. But over the last two years or so I'm not sure if they still manufacture this version, so be aware. Definitely a nice feature if you find it, but you'll need to convert them to the .bin format, and put them in a folder marked "games" or it won't work. There should be some more detailed instructions on the internet for those that need them. NO SAVE FEATURE: The next biggest complaint is the complete lack of a save feature, even if you have your games on an SD Card. AtGames NEVER discloses this information on any of its products, but you should know it ahead of time (the website may have been updated, but the packaging itself never indicates it). All previous versions don't let you save. For a lot of games this really doesn't matter, but it means that any game that featured a battery back-up needs to be finished in one sitting (namely RPGs, like Phantasy Star 2). And even if you put in the real physical cartridge to a game that has a working battery back-up -- the save feature STILL WONT WORK. It seems that only an original Genesis/MegaDrive console and the Retron 3 system will actually save your progress to cartridge. If you come back to one of these games, only the saves that were previously made will be present, regardless of the progress you made, and even if the system says the save was successful. Games that use passwords are obviously unaffected. BOTTOM LINE: The more casual gamers may not mind the negatives. This console has many of the same limitations as the Genesis 3: you can't use a Game Genie, Sonic & Knuckles wont recognize the game you plug on top of it, and some other games just wont work. Be sure that the unit you get still has controller ports because the packages that include a couple of wireless controllers have many problems. They use Infrared light and many people have reported problems with button delays, especially when using both at the same time. The slight sound and graphical deviations may not be noticed as much if you haven't played many of these games in nearly 20 years, and not being able to save may not be a big deal since many games don't require it anyway, and those that offer a password feature can still be played like normal. Its also very nice to have a simple Genesis-clone with the ability to plug in any official Genesis controllers, and a way to take the entire Genesis/MegaDrive collection on a SD Card if you wish (if available). Perfect for some nostalgic gaming if you're on the go, or you need to be away from your main gaming collection for a few days. Just throw this thing in your backpack and you're all set. The list price is often $60, but you should still find it for around $40 new at Walgren's, Family Dollar and SafeRite stores. Be wary of those $80-100 prices. The more hardcore gamers will hate the quality of the emulation, having the sound being off so much will make it impossible to play for some, not to mention some areas will have the wrong-color sprites, and some games just plain won't work. The emulation doesn't include Sega CD / Mega CD or the 32X compatibility, you can't save in-game, and you can't even use the emulator itself to create save-states. Having mono-sound is also a bummer. The price may be attractive, but there's a reason why the big retailers don't carry the product. Its a cheaply manufactured product meant to be sold in Third-World countries alongside other knock-off products. The official Sega license is nice, but many of the games are the same as on "Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection" (PS3, Xbox360), so just get that instead. Nowadays you're probably better off bringing your laptop with you, complete with a decent Genesis emulator, a collection of ROMs, and a digital controller so you dont need to use the keyboard to play. You wont have a cartridge slot, but it will be more authentic :)