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Great selection of games; perfectly recreated controllers; incredible value
Minor audio sync issues; lacklustre CRT filter fails to recreate original appearance; some games ideally need six-button controller
Nintendo didn't start the trend of micro-consoles catering to nostalgic tastes, but with the launch of 2016's NES Classic, it set the standard. Yet while Nintendo followed up with the SNES Classic in 2017, and Sony answered with the PlayStation Classic in 2018, there remained a gaping hole in the reconstructed halls of retro-gaming antiquity: Nintendo's once-greatest rival, Sega.
That changes with the release of the officially produced – and that key phrase will prove to be important – Sega Mega Drive Mini. Like Nintendo's and Sony's efforts, it's a scaled-down replica of the original 16-bit titan, comes with two three-button controllers, and is pre-loaded with emulated versions of 42 classic games.
Technically, the Mega Drive Mini isn't the first time it's been possible to buy a modern homage to the console – recent history is littered with similar efforts licensed from but, crucially, not produced by Sega. These often crammed with 80 or more games into a tiny plastic shell, and while some versions even allowed you to play original Mega Drive game cartridges, they rarely actually looked anything like the original hardware.
These third-party offerings tended to be low-quality, too, with recognisable titles such as Shinobi joined by abandonware or rapidly churned-out new offences (Yawning Triceratops or Jack's Pea, anyone?) to plump the total number of games included. Many models were also notorious for terrible sound quality, with the onboard emulation unable to match the tricky audio hardware of the classic Mega Drive.
Sega's official effort is an immediate step up in quality. The console itself is a handsome package, presenting a startlingly accurate replica of the original, despite being approximately half the size. There's even a working cartridge slot and volume slider on the console's top, albeit both for aesthetic rather than functional reasons. Elsewhere, the full-size controllers are entirely accurate – only the USB connectors at the end of their generous 1.8 metre cables distinguish them from actual Mega Drive joypads. It is mildly annoying Sega didn't opt for the later six-button controllers, especially as some included games such as Street Fighter II are designed for them, but it's a forgiveable sin.
The game library is remarkably solid, too, with titles ranging from staples such as Sonic the Hedgehog and Golden Axe to cult favourites Kid Chameleon, Comix Zone, and Gunstar Heroes. There are even a couple of real curios included, marking the first time they've been available: Darius, a 1987 arcade shooter ported to the Mega Drive for the first time here, and Tetris, which had been planned for release in the late 1980s but was pulled following licensing issues. Only a handful of copies are known to exist, and while the version here is based on the Japanese arcade release, it's still one of the rarest versions of the classic puzzler.
There are a couple of curious absences – there's no sign of Sonic 3 or Sonic and Knuckles, for instance, while The Revenge of Shinobi is only included on the Japanese, Chinese and Korean versions of the hardware. However, given the sheer volume of software released over the Mega Drive's decade of shelf life, it would be impossible to please everyone, and what is included forms a real treasure trove of classic gaming.
Like Nintendo or Sony's 'Classic' console range, there's also no way to expand the range of titles included here, but there is a nice little Easter egg of a 43rd game though – if you change the system language to Japanese, then Doctor Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine becomes the original Puyo Puyo, a long-running puzzle series that was re-skinned for the West as the Sonic-themed spinoff.
The games have been ported to the Mega Drive Mini by Japanese developer M2, and for the most part they're remarkably solid emulations of their cartridge-based sources. In some cases, the emulation is almost too accurate – games that suffered slowdown when a lot was happening on-screen still have the same problems here.
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The biggest problem remains the audio though. The original Mega Drive used two sound chips – the Yamaha YM2612 and the Texas Instruments SN76489 – controlled by a secondary processor, the Zilog Z80. This array has previously proven a challenge for some commercial emulation efforts to deal with, and seemingly remains an obstacle for M2 here. While performance is dramatically better than some of the most egregious third-party hardware examples, some games on the Mega Drive Mini do sound slightly out of sync. For instance, jump sound effects in Sonic or Castle of Illusion are a few frames behind the player making the action. Curiously, the lag doesn't seem to be a consistent problem – the chime for collecting a ring, again in Sonic, seems to be appropriately timed. It should be noted that the audio issues here are relatively minor, though, and for all but the most dedicated of players won't be a game-breaking issue.
Visually, the Mega Drive Mini struggles with modernity. As the console outputs via HDMI and is intended to be played on high-definition televisions, it displays pixels perfectly. This is a double-edged sword. You're seeing games in greater clarity than ever, with sharper colours and full brightness, but losing the traditional blur – or dithering – of CRT screens, which developers used to deliberately soften images, or blend pixels to create certain colour effects.
Testing on an original Mega Drive hooked up to a CRT screen and comparing it to the Mega Drive Mini on an HDTV, the issue became apparent. In Comix Zone, a scrolling beat-'em-up set in the pages of a comic book, the shadow of protagonist Sketch Turner appears as a solid effect underfoot on the older television, while on the HDTV, each vertical line of pixels that, back in 1995, were meant to blend into a dark puddle, can be clearly seen. Similar issues can be observed on the dropshadow of the arrow guiding players to new areas, and in the now overly sharp backgrounds.
As with the SNES Classic, the Mega Drive Mini attempts to make up for losing the softening afforded by dithering with a CRT filter to virtualise playing on a period-accurate set. However, this essentially just adds fake pan-and-scan lines over the image, leaving issues like Comix Zone's vertical shadow lines still visible underneath. Other than that, the only screen options are a choice of playing in true 4:3 aspect ratio with a border – with, disappointingly, only three 'frames' to choose from – or 16:9 widescreen to fill modern screens. The latter works better than expected on most games, only appearing stretched on a select few titles, but the general lack of visual modifiers is a disappointment.
The Mega Drive Mini isn't perfect, then, but often the perfect is the enemy of the good – and, overall, Sega's new-but-old hardware is very good. The included games library can scarcely be faulted, and the whole package feels like a love letter to fans – particularly the menu music playing while you select a game, a brand new piece created by original Streets of Rage composer Yuzo Koshiro.
While the issues with audio emulation and visual fidelity to the original releases may disappoint purists, short of tracking down decades-old cartridges at often great expense, this is the best a lot of the titles included here have appeared in years. For anyone else, this is a great way to experience some of the finest titles from one of gaming's most important consoles.
The Sega Mega Drive Mini is available to pre-order on Amazon now for £69 and ships on October 4
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
