The umpteenth Mini console is here, this time and after three years of the first version, SEGA goes and launches a Mega Drive Mini 2 with the design of the second revision of the console and with a renewed list of games. Is it worth buying one or, failing that, are there much better solutions for the average user?
Of all the retro consoles commemorating an 8 and 16 bit system, there is no doubt that the first Mega Drive Mini was the best of them all. Its excellent collection of included games and the quality of the emulation made it a complete product. Unfortunately, SEGA, instead of re-releasing it, released a sequel, with a much worse collection of games than the first installment. Which leads us to wonder. Why didn’t SEGA reissue the first edition? Also, why can’t we in the West enjoy both Lunar from MegaCD and Snatcher?
Is the Mega Drive Mini 2 worth it?
If you’re a collector of all things retro or a SEGA fan who still has nostalgia for the company’s golden age, then this new mini console will have caught your attention. Which was launched when the flame of the same goes out completely. In addition to SEGA’s 16-bit console isn’t exactly hard to emulate at this point with hardware that is priced the same or even lower.
When it comes to this type of commemorative products, we like to keep them as they are, without making any changes to their firmware to maintain their essence and nature over time. While it is true that with a modification we can load more games and even from other consoles, if you are thinking of doing this you must bear in mind that there are much cheaper options as generic consoles of the same type.
Same you can modify the firmware of a TV Box to run emulators. We refer to these boxes with Android for televisions which, with a modification of the software that it brings, should already allow us to play with 16-bit SEGA and MegaCD. After all, we’re not talking about a much more complex console to emulate, like a SEGA Dreamcast itself or a PSP.
The image quality problem
We’re going to give this slap on the wrist to all retro console makers, primarily because a product that pays homage to the original hardware is expected to be heard and seen as such. However, this is not the case, in particular due to the use of a completely different type of screen. What are the solutions in this case? Good pull from original console or MisterFPGA
While it is true that we can enjoy games without problems on the Mega Drive Mini 2, the important thing is the fidelity with respect to the original experience. What’s driving the retro world’s craze to buy the original systems? quite precisely the impossibility of being faithful to the original product. We’re still waiting for someone to release a retro console with the original hardware, the cartridge slot in case we still have the games, and with outputs for old and new TVs, with a built-in line doubler.
Of course, this opinion is from the point of view of those who are more purists. For the rest of the folks, the SEGA Mini console will be good enough, but for us, whichever side you’re on, there are much better alternatives.
