So...it's basically a Commodore 64 with HDMI? Like is it compatible with actual C64 peripherals?
I don't know if it has all the peripheral plugs but it does have USB and will run other software off flash drives. It's really tempting but a bit too pricey to be an impulse buy.
So...it's basically a Commodore 64 with HDMI? Like is it compatible with actual C64 peripherals?
I don't know if it has all the peripheral plugs but it does have USB and will run other software off flash drives. It's really tempting but a bit too pricey to be an impulse buy.
I suspect its innards are going to be more or less identical to the C64 Mini, just in a full size case with a working keyboard. (The Mini could use a generic PC USB keyboard, so it's not a huge leap.) I'm not sure if that makes it essentially a fully-functional actual computer, albeit with probable limitations on peripherals, but you can at the very least program in BASIC on it. Frankly a good emulator in a replica case with a fully working keyboard might be close enough; it's not like C64 emulation is in its infancy!
Even though the C64 was "the enemy" to me as a Spectrum kid, all fanboyism aside it was a great machine and I kind of want one of these ones. Perhaps not £110 want one, although that's not an outrageous price for what it is, but I'll certainly keep my eyes on it.
It might make an interesting counterpoint to my Spectrum Next whenever that's going to be finished and here. Two completely different (but, IMO, equally valid) ways of approaching retro computers, really.
(The Spectrum Next, at least the cased version, has largely been held up by issues in the development and fabrication of its bespoke keyboard. But the end is in sight... I'm hoping it'll be here by the end of the year, but it could be early next.)
The Parish seal of approval is generally a very reliable guide. And I kind of like that he's echoing what I said about the UI. There really seems like there's a lot of love been poured into the thing.
Seeing the size comparison is kind of hilarious, though. Especially for the TG-16. It's still shocking to this day just how tiny the original PC Engine versions were.
I never even saw a Turbografx in person, but I'd love to have a Core Engine one day. It's just so cute!
It totally is. Once upon a time (sadly no longer) I had a Japanese PC Engine - the original white one. Putting it next to the original Xbox in particular was a recipe for hilarity.
IIRC, the TG-16 was only as big as it was because it was felt that a machine so small wouldn't do well in the US market because its teenyness would create the perception would be that it was weak and underpowered, so the outer shell was made more than twice the size to make it look bigger and more impressive. There was literally no hardware need for it at all.
Any not-so-veiled Freudian perceptions you may potentially glean from that are... pretty much entirely right.
To save people time, that's more of a bad attempt at drama than an actual review.
Rerez nitpicked the thing to death, with mostly irrelevant complaints so I won't link it here, but one issue he had was about double-inputs affecting everything and especially making Tetris/Puyo Puyo harder than the should be. I have seen other people complain that the game select menu was overly sensitive, you'd go over two selections when you meant one, but I haven't seen anyone put it together to draw a conclusion about an overall input issue. Would like to see more testing of this.
Also he whined about Mega Man/Monster World looking squished because apparently he doesn't understand how CRTs work. And that Sonic 3D blast really needed to be in the lineup as badly as 3&K, I guess that would be better than Virtua Fighter but yeesh.
Wily Wars is just a remake compilation of Mega Man 1, 2, and 3, with different graphics and music. There's an extra part of the game called Wily Tower after those games are finished, but it's majorly just the same 3 games on NES that feel slightly different.
Mega Man and Monster Hunter are 256 px games, while most of the Genesis library is 320 px. That means the pixels in the first mode appear fat/stretched horizontally on a CRT (and is basically how Nintendo and Turbografx worked), while the reverse is true to a much lesser degree in the second mode, i.e. the pixels in most Genesis games are just slightly tall.
Both games do look like someone drew them on a more even-sized pixel monitor and then they got stretched horizontally, but that's how they looked on real systems in the day. I'd agree that any "pixel perfect" mode should correct this, but not a 4:3 mode.
Presently, Mega Drive Minis (Japan region) are a little on the pricey side ($110 thereabouts on eBay). I'm hoping that goes down with time, just like importing a SNES Mini eventually did.
I do want one, but it's a hard expense to justify when most of my favorite Sega MD games are on my Euro SNES Mini.
Presently, Mega Drive Minis (Japan region) are a little on the pricey side ($110 thereabouts on eBay). I'm hoping that goes down with time, just like importing a SNES Mini eventually did.
I do want one, but it's a hard expense to justify when most of my favorite Sega MD games are on my Euro SNES Mini.
It's still early, but I'd imagine if it's just one game or so you want from the Japanese mini you'll be able to rectify it soon.
0
Options
Dark Raven XLaugh hard, run fast,be kindRegistered Userregular
I'm more interested in the exterior from the other regions. I had a Mega Drive, not a Genesis. Would prefer getting one from Japan or Europe. ;P
I watched this last night. It really had me hating Mike. I keep hoping it was a gag bit he just seems like a purist asshole in the video.
Having never seen these guys before and only sort of half-watching this while doing something else, I assumed he is.
I don’t think Mike is an asshole or deserving of hate. There are game purists out there. They have a right to know if the mini consoles won’t meet their standards before making a purchase. It’s good to have Mike’s point of view instead of one big echo chamber of praise.
I watched this last night. It really had me hating Mike. I keep hoping it was a gag bit he just seems like a purist asshole in the video.
Having never seen these guys before and only sort of half-watching this while doing something else, I assumed he is.
I don’t think Mike is an asshole or deserving of hate. There are game purists out there. They have a right to know if the mini consoles won’t meet their standards before making a purchase. It’s good to have Mike’s point of view instead of one big echo chamber of praise.
By all means. It's not the actual taking of that purist stance I have any issue with; it's the smugly superior, arrogant sort of attitude, which unfortunately does come along with that purism quite often (specifically the "asshole" part of the referenced "purist asshole"). I don't know if Mike's lampooning that, or is playing devil's advocate, or actually thinks that way, and I don't really care all that much - like I said, I've never watched these guys before - but there seems to be evidence for each of those options as possibilities in that video. I can't speak to @RickRude 's opinion - I assume that you're sort of replying to us both.
Specifically for this device, though, I suspect purists who would be looking at a new machine (despite an inherent contradiction there) would already know about, and be more inclined towards, something like the Mega SG instead. The Genesis/MD Mini isn't really trying to be that device, any more than its contemporaries such as the NES, SNES and PCE/TG-16 Classics/Minis are. I think both purists and the rest of us are pretty aware of the differences at this point and are looking to see if this device achieves what it sets out to do, rather than seeing if it's something it's not.
I watched this last night. It really had me hating Mike. I keep hoping it was a gag bit he just seems like a purist asshole in the video.
Having never seen these guys before and only sort of half-watching this while doing something else, I assumed he is.
I don’t think Mike is an asshole or deserving of hate. There are game purists out there. They have a right to know if the mini consoles won’t meet their standards before making a purchase. It’s good to have Mike’s point of view instead of one big echo chamber of praise.
By all means. It's not the actual taking of that purist stance I have any issue with; it's the smugly superior, arrogant sort of attitude, which unfortunately does come along with that purism quite often (specifically the "asshole" part of the referenced "purist asshole"). I don't know if Mike's lampooning that, or is playing devil's advocate, or actually thinks that way, and I don't really care all that much - like I said, I've never watched these guys before - but there seems to be evidence for each of those options as possibilities in that video. I can't speak to @RickRude 's opinion - I assume that you're sort of replying to us both.
Yeah I was chiming I’m on the whole conversation. I honestly don’t think Mike was really being himself. These guys are play characters. The Angry Video Game Nerd really isn’t like that. James is super chill and laid back.
I've read that the double input and possibly other issues? Are related to using an insufficient power brick. Like say, the one including in the fucking box. You want a 5 V 2 Amp USB charger instead.
Did you guys preorder the genesis mini? Wondering if it'll be hard to find or if this mini craze has died down a bit.
I doubt demand for it will be as high as it was for the Nintendo ones, and supply will probably be fine, but that really is just semi-educated guessing. If you really definitely want one on day one, still pre-order one. (It's perfectly acceptable when it comes to hardware )
The Mega Man sprite is a little taller in this one, yes. What makes it stand out more is that none of the other sprites were resized to match, so you have stuff like Mega Man standing taller than Break Man, for example.
Ash at GameXplain did a review of this game by itself, noting some other differences. One of the big ones that stands out to me is how much more damage Cut Man takes.
After watching the Wily Wars review I'm surprised Capcom didn't make a Mega Man All Stars for the SNES. I noticed they added some length in the dropping platforms from Mega Man 1 (those green ones that fall out under you as they move left and right). I always hated that part.
I'm hoping the Genesis mini drops down in price after a while like the Playstation Classic. $80 is just a little too steep for me right now.
Switch Friend Code: SW-4598-4278-8875
3DS Friend Code: 0404-6826-4588 PM if you add.
Presently, Mega Drive Minis (Japan region) are a little on the pricey side ($110 thereabouts on eBay). I'm hoping that goes down with time, just like importing a SNES Mini eventually did.
I do want one, but it's a hard expense to justify when most of my favorite Sega MD games are on my Euro SNES Mini.
It's still early, but I'd imagine if it's just one game or so you want from the Japanese mini you'll be able to rectify it soon.
Not at all--a (cool) feature of the MD Mini is that the game libraries are, apparently, region-free: take a US model, and change the region to Japan, and you'll play the (packaged) Japanese ROM releases with their own subtle differences (like Contra being easier, or obviously language). There's no variation of software between releases, I believe.
I want it purely because I prefer how the Japanese model looks over the American one (with the "Genesis") branding. Both these and the SNES Classic are largely aesthetic purchases for me, since I can and have hacked the SNES Classic to play Sega games, and my Neo Geo-style RetroPi allows me to use vastly superior controllers to play more games.
It's an extremely esoteric requirement. Most people are buying these because they want to convenient play said game library, and will probably never hack it. For me, it's DAT CONSOLE (the differences between US and JP model 1 consoles are subtle though).
Plus, it comes packaged with the 6-button controllers, which I'd rather have.
Posts
3DS Friend Code: 0404-6826-4588 PM if you add.
My Backloggery
I don't know if it has all the peripheral plugs but it does have USB and will run other software off flash drives. It's really tempting but a bit too pricey to be an impulse buy.
I suspect its innards are going to be more or less identical to the C64 Mini, just in a full size case with a working keyboard. (The Mini could use a generic PC USB keyboard, so it's not a huge leap.) I'm not sure if that makes it essentially a fully-functional actual computer, albeit with probable limitations on peripherals, but you can at the very least program in BASIC on it. Frankly a good emulator in a replica case with a fully working keyboard might be close enough; it's not like C64 emulation is in its infancy!
Even though the C64 was "the enemy" to me as a Spectrum kid, all fanboyism aside it was a great machine and I kind of want one of these ones. Perhaps not £110 want one, although that's not an outrageous price for what it is, but I'll certainly keep my eyes on it.
It might make an interesting counterpoint to my Spectrum Next whenever that's going to be finished and here. Two completely different (but, IMO, equally valid) ways of approaching retro computers, really.
(The Spectrum Next, at least the cased version, has largely been held up by issues in the development and fabrication of its bespoke keyboard. But the end is in sight... I'm hoping it'll be here by the end of the year, but it could be early next.)
Steam | XBL
The Parish seal of approval is generally a very reliable guide. And I kind of like that he's echoing what I said about the UI. There really seems like there's a lot of love been poured into the thing.
Seeing the size comparison is kind of hilarious, though. Especially for the TG-16. It's still shocking to this day just how tiny the original PC Engine versions were.
Steam | XBL
Spoilers: It's great.
Steam: pazython
It totally is. Once upon a time (sadly no longer) I had a Japanese PC Engine - the original white one. Putting it next to the original Xbox in particular was a recipe for hilarity.
IIRC, the TG-16 was only as big as it was because it was felt that a machine so small wouldn't do well in the US market because its teenyness would create the perception would be that it was weak and underpowered, so the outer shell was made more than twice the size to make it look bigger and more impressive. There was literally no hardware need for it at all.
Any not-so-veiled Freudian perceptions you may potentially glean from that are... pretty much entirely right.
Steam | XBL
Rerez nitpicked the thing to death, with mostly irrelevant complaints so I won't link it here, but one issue he had was about double-inputs affecting everything and especially making Tetris/Puyo Puyo harder than the should be. I have seen other people complain that the game select menu was overly sensitive, you'd go over two selections when you meant one, but I haven't seen anyone put it together to draw a conclusion about an overall input issue. Would like to see more testing of this.
Also he whined about Mega Man/Monster World looking squished because apparently he doesn't understand how CRTs work. And that Sonic 3D blast really needed to be in the lineup as badly as 3&K, I guess that would be better than Virtua Fighter but yeesh.
Yeah. This is more of a comedy bit about console purists.
Yes, it does.
Steam | XBL
Wily Wars is just a remake compilation of Mega Man 1, 2, and 3, with different graphics and music. There's an extra part of the game called Wily Tower after those games are finished, but it's majorly just the same 3 games on NES that feel slightly different.
Twitch: KoopahTroopah - Steam: Koopah
The graphics shape Mega Man in a weird way.
Both games do look like someone drew them on a more even-sized pixel monitor and then they got stretched horizontally, but that's how they looked on real systems in the day. I'd agree that any "pixel perfect" mode should correct this, but not a 4:3 mode.
I watched this last night. It really had me hating Mike. I keep hoping it was a gag bit he just seems like a purist asshole in the video.
Having never seen these guys before and only sort of half-watching this while doing something else, I assumed he is.
Steam | XBL
I do want one, but it's a hard expense to justify when most of my favorite Sega MD games are on my Euro SNES Mini.
It's still early, but I'd imagine if it's just one game or so you want from the Japanese mini you'll be able to rectify it soon.
I don’t think Mike is an asshole or deserving of hate. There are game purists out there. They have a right to know if the mini consoles won’t meet their standards before making a purchase. It’s good to have Mike’s point of view instead of one big echo chamber of praise.
By all means. It's not the actual taking of that purist stance I have any issue with; it's the smugly superior, arrogant sort of attitude, which unfortunately does come along with that purism quite often (specifically the "asshole" part of the referenced "purist asshole"). I don't know if Mike's lampooning that, or is playing devil's advocate, or actually thinks that way, and I don't really care all that much - like I said, I've never watched these guys before - but there seems to be evidence for each of those options as possibilities in that video. I can't speak to @RickRude 's opinion - I assume that you're sort of replying to us both.
Specifically for this device, though, I suspect purists who would be looking at a new machine (despite an inherent contradiction there) would already know about, and be more inclined towards, something like the Mega SG instead. The Genesis/MD Mini isn't really trying to be that device, any more than its contemporaries such as the NES, SNES and PCE/TG-16 Classics/Minis are. I think both purists and the rest of us are pretty aware of the differences at this point and are looking to see if this device achieves what it sets out to do, rather than seeing if it's something it's not.
Steam | XBL
Yeah I was chiming I’m on the whole conversation. I honestly don’t think Mike was really being himself. These guys are play characters. The Angry Video Game Nerd really isn’t like that. James is super chill and laid back.
It's definitely a bit, but Mike is still kind of like that. Not so much the asshole part but he is a hardcore console purist.
In their let's plays both Mike and James act as their real selves.
Edit: after watching the whole video I'm pretty sure they're just being themselves with some jokes thrown in.
Resident 8bitdo expert.
Resident hybrid/flap cover expert.
I doubt demand for it will be as high as it was for the Nintendo ones, and supply will probably be fine, but that really is just semi-educated guessing. If you really definitely want one on day one, still pre-order one. (It's perfectly acceptable when it comes to hardware
Steam | XBL
I think that one guy did own that At Games system when Mike chucked the controller.
Does this look legit to y'all? Seems like a way to get the case I crave over here in the US.
Are you a Brit?
Originally! Live in the US now.
The Mega Man sprite is a little taller in this one, yes. What makes it stand out more is that none of the other sprites were resized to match, so you have stuff like Mega Man standing taller than Break Man, for example.
Ash at GameXplain did a review of this game by itself, noting some other differences. One of the big ones that stands out to me is how much more damage Cut Man takes.
Pre-ordered mine months ago.
I mean...
Also, updated the thread title.
Like Mega Man Legends? Then check out my story, Legends of the Halcyon Era - An Adventure in the World of Mega Man Legends on TMMN and AO3!
I'm hoping the Genesis mini drops down in price after a while like the Playstation Classic. $80 is just a little too steep for me right now.
3DS Friend Code: 0404-6826-4588 PM if you add.
Not at all--a (cool) feature of the MD Mini is that the game libraries are, apparently, region-free: take a US model, and change the region to Japan, and you'll play the (packaged) Japanese ROM releases with their own subtle differences (like Contra being easier, or obviously language). There's no variation of software between releases, I believe.
I want it purely because I prefer how the Japanese model looks over the American one (with the "Genesis") branding. Both these and the SNES Classic are largely aesthetic purchases for me, since I can and have hacked the SNES Classic to play Sega games, and my Neo Geo-style RetroPi allows me to use vastly superior controllers to play more games.
It's an extremely esoteric requirement. Most people are buying these because they want to convenient play said game library, and will probably never hack it. For me, it's DAT CONSOLE (the differences between US and JP model 1 consoles are subtle though).
Plus, it comes packaged with the 6-button controllers, which I'd rather have.