20 replies to this topic

[S1500]

Interesting..

http://www.dealextre...8970~r.37968431

Even a rapidshare download link for games!

[Crazy Climber]

Cool!
I like how the discription says "Genersis"

[nathanallan]

That is pretty cool, and cheap, too. SD cards are all the rage, I guess. Not sure why they weren't all the rage for a long time now, but ah well.

That's a neat looking thing, I might pick one up.

[the.golden.ax]

If anyone can confirm that they play USA roms and just just other region I'd be down for one. Looks like they are out right saying just mega drive roms.

AX

[carmel_andrews]

the.golden.ax, on Thu Sep 10, 2009 1:09 PM, said:

If anyone can confirm that they play USA roms and just just other region I'd be down for one. Looks like they are out right saying just mega drive roms.

AX

Perhaps the person one post above you can hack the unit to being US/EU/JAP compatible

[the.golden.ax]

Hard to know if it can be altered, I suspect it is a genesis on a chip (duh on me) and I doubt you can get it do anything other than what it was made to do.

AX

[carmel_andrews]

well there will always be other devices....unless they build an ntsc version

wasn't there a thread here or classic gaming about a genesis portable or something (at least 2)

[Wickeycolumbus]

That is pretty cool

I don't quite understand the title though, all Genesis' are 'programmable'

[Reaperman]

carmel_andrews, on Thu Sep 10, 2009 5:46 PM, said:

well there will always be other devices....unless they build an ntsc version

I'm confused, this is an ntsc version, yes?
I'll have to see when mine comes in the mail (assuming it displays on my tv, because real genesis generally doesn't).
I can't think why somebody would go out of its way to build region protection in since some of the genesis units and a fair number of games just didn't care what kind of region was involved.

assuming this system works out, there's a good chance that these (with an sd card) will wind up being my 'most people' holiday gift this year.

Edited by Reaperman, Fri Sep 11, 2009 1:30 AM.

[carmel_andrews]

Unfortunately reaperman it is only compatible with MD (megadrive) games ie EUR and JAP

Unless one of the tech heads here on AA feel like doing some hacky with the unit to making it US-NTSC compatible

[nathanallan]

carmel_andrews, on Fri Sep 11, 2009 2:24 AM, said:

Unfortunately reaperman it is only compatible with MD (megadrive) games ie EUR and JAP

Unless one of the tech heads here on AA feel like doing some hacky with the unit to making it US-NTSC compatible

It's about roms, not carts, so just get the EU roms for it. iirc, within the rom files themselves there is a code(s) to change regions. I guess it's time to hit the books.

[Reaperman]

carmel_andrews, on Fri Sep 11, 2009 2:24 AM, said:

Unfortunately reaperman it is only compatible with MD (megadrive) games ie EUR and JAP

is there another source on that info that's not on DX?
I see a lot of typical engrish, so I'm not sure if I believe
"Compatible with Sega MD games only" over "play thousands of downloadable sega Genersis(MD) games by SD card."
which is why I'm firmly in the "we'll see" camp.


still euro games would be okay as long as they don't run fast on an ntsc unit. I believe europe got most of the decent games anyway.

Edited by Reaperman, Fri Sep 11, 2009 6:45 AM.

[carmel_andrews]

well I am sure there were some or quiet a few NTSC-U exclusives (decent or otherwise)

games that is

Edited by carmel_andrews, Sat Sep 12, 2009 2:22 PM.

[Reaperman]

woohoo, mine just came in the mail. trying it out now

[Reaperman]

well this has been a fun little treat.
First off, if anybody's expecting this to be 100% accurate, just don't bother. In short it's not really up to my standards--but that doesn't mean it's not a bargain for $20, and is good enough to be the standard xmas/b-day gift for a while (I've ordered 3 more today) Now that that's out of the way, let's have a closer look at this thing. I'll try not to be too boring

Ergonomics: feels like a knockoff of the HPI Nuon controller more than anything. Which is to say it's pretty nice. D-pad is wonderful--better than anything that was ever attached to a genesis controller. D-pad really is what most reminds me of the HPI controller. Buttons are okay, seems like the travel is generally long but varies on the A-button as it's placed on a curve. Generally I wish the other buttons had that same short throw, but they don't. Reset button takes some practice not to hit. select+up or down adjusts volume at any time. joystick port on the top (I haven't tested it yet), as well as a nice solid power switch. SD slot is in the bottom. plastic is smooth-finish ABS, it attracts fingerprints like mad and there are some rough edges where the top half meets the bottom.

Firmware: ugly, takes some getting used to but gets the job done. That job is to copy games from the sd card into one of two game slots in the joypad's internal memory. buttons used to do this aren't the most obvious, but everybody will figure it out (or read the manual). YES, there is standard save support. It maintains them as long as the game is occupying one of the two internal game slots. maintains through power-off but when you overwrite the game with another, your save will be gone. I tested with japanese phantasy star iv.

Compatibility: mixed bag of generally good, but sometimes only 'okay'. some games music is nothing but scratches and pops (micro machines 2), some graphic layers are in the wrong order (sonic1 title has sonic over his logo instead of inside it), sometimes scrolling provides a 'squirrely' effect (highly unscientific term, but the title screen of MUSHA is a good example). generally everything is pretty playable--but don't go expecting anything as good as the real deal.

Other thoughts. All original genesis hardware and every cart-based sega clone has trouble with my projector and won't display without serious (external video scaler) help. This system has no problem. I don't know what it is yet, but it doesn't display 240p video like a real genesis does. video is a bit dark on the output for me, and needed tweaking, but my setup doesn't do composite well in general, so I'm a bad example. As a gift for others, I really like that I'll be picking the games I send to people--rather like making them a mixtape rather than just buying them whatever compilation billboard has put out for the year. It lets me get a bit more obscure than just a joystick with sonic, golden axe and columns on it.

Edited by Reaperman, Mon Sep 28, 2009 4:23 PM.

[nathanallan]

Thanks for the review! When I can I will be getting one of these, as ANYTHING programmable is very welcome.

[Flojomojo]

Excellent review, Reaperman. I was going to add my review of this thing but you covered everything. Thanks for testing in-game saves, that's awesome to know.

[Atari Dogs]

How about these Genesis consoles and portables. Anyone know if these are any good or if the hand helds can be hacked to have a cart slot? http://www.gogamer.c...3015f0fp0c0s710

[Flojomojo]

Atari Dogs, on Sat Oct 24, 2009 1:39 PM, said:

How about these Genesis consoles and portables. Anyone know if these are any good or if the hand helds can be hacked to have a cart slot? http://www.gogamer.c...3015f0fp0c0s710

I have the one in the middle with 20 built-in games (the little red one, the usual bunch of games like Golden Axe, Columns, Sonic ) and it's good for what it is.
The RetroGen has a cartridge slot.

[Reaperman]

it wouldn't we worth it to hack a cart slot into those portables, as a couple with cart slots are on the way (maybe already here?)
I believe stoneagegamer.com is taking preorders on one.

[slydc]

I've received my "E-Time Game Play" (Genesis) last Monday and tested out this little bugger.

1st, it's play NTSC Sega Genesis roms and can play Japanese or European roms "IF" there are hacked,
meaning the territory "J-U-E" (Japan-USA-Europe) has been changed in the header of the rom.

Here's a list of Non-US roms i was able to play with:

* The Smurfs (hack)
* The Smurfs 2: Around the World (hack)
* Bare Knuckle 3 (hack USA territory)
* Asterix and the Power of the Gods (hack)
* Donkey Kong 99 (Chinese rom hack)
* Berzerk by Paul Lee (PD rom)
* Duke Nukem 3D (hack)
* Gauntlet Arcade Version (Jap rom)
* Soleil (french version - NTSC hack) (aka Crusader of Centy)
* Super Mario World (Unlicensed)

I really suggest playing with Berzerk, it's a Public Domain rom and it's awesome.
Even has the voices in the game, great port of the arcade!

And for the topic of hacking this thing with a cartridge slot, i wouldn't bother.
Just an example, the infamous Atari 2600 portable that still waiting to be commercialise
has a SD Card slot, and the E-Time Game Play has one too.

What i will do with my E-Time Game Play is make it really portable, meaning i will hook it
to a 2.5 inches TFT monitor and put all the hardware into a small casing (like the Atari
2600 portable). I don't like the intro of the unit but the music is pretty neat.

Oh also, every roms has to be "padded" to a right size or it won't work.

So have fun (i do!) =)

--- Sly DC ---

Edited by slydc, Fri Nov 6, 2009 3:14 PM.