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REVIEW: SEGA MEGA DRIVE MINI

15/10/2019

27 Comments

 
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I bought my Mega Drive through the Special Reserve mail-order catalogue, for £189 in 1990. It came strapped to Altered Beast, and with it I also ordered Super Thunder Blade. To be honest, neither game was much cop, and nor were the next couple I bought; EA'S risible Budokan and Sword of Sodan (more like "Sods of Sod-off").

Based upon these travesties, there was strong evidence that Sega's Mega Drive, the successor to my beloved Master System, was a proverbial "dirty son". Had I not already spent a great deal of money that I didn't have on it, it's highly likely I'd have propelled the thing into the nearest dog toilet.

It wasn't until I picked up Revenge of Shinobi and Castle of Illusion that I started to think purchasing the Mega Drive might've been worth it. Broadly, they both marked a turning point, and from then onwards *most* of what I bought for the console justified the initial outlay.

Truth is, the Mega Drive always had a much higher tat-to-good ratio than its eventual rival, the Super NES. Sega, by its own admission, was far more relaxed about quality, preferring a noisy, edgy, catalogue where quantity filled the trousers.

During the years of the great 16-bit console wars, this approach obscured many - myself included - to the fact that there were many genuinely great Mega Drive games, It's only now, with the benefit of several decades of hindsight, that Sega's 16-bit homunculoid has become sort of universally beloved, bitter divisions, and frustration with Sega's policies, seeming so unimportant in an era where not a day can unfurl without some new gaming drama.

Given this renaissance, it's inevitable that Sega has finally gotten around to pumping out a proper Mega Drive Mini, in the vein of Nintendo's NES and Super NES nostalg-o-replicas. And get this: it costs just £69 - the rudest price, which also happened to be the exact same RRP Virtua Racing sold for when it was released for the Mega Drive in 1994. 
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OBVIOUS APPEAL
Obvious aesthetic appeal aside, the Mega Drive Mini is clearly all about "dem games", and there are 40 or so here.

More ubiquitous candidates - Sonic 1 and 2 (plus Spinball), Ecco, Streets of Rage 2, Comix Zone, Earthworm Jim, Strider - are joined by slightly-less-heralded classics which pushed the hardware - Gunstar Heroes, Dynamite Heady, Thunderforce 3, Vectorman - the odd curio, such as the previously unreleased Mega Drive version of Tetris (hardly Star Fox 2, but it'll do), and the surprising  inclusion of two Disney games: the aforementioned Castle of Illusion, and its follow-up World of Illusion.

There's some filler of course. Space Harrier 2 is a juddering mockery, Eternal Champions is no Super Street Fighter 2: Special Champion Edition (which is also on here), and the Mega Drive version of Virtua Fighter is the very reason "Why?" was invented. 

In an extremely nice touch, if you change the language in the settings, it also changes the games to their localised versions, complete with the appropriate cover artwork. It's mostly a subtle-ish thing, but in a few cases the differences are dramatic (most obviously, Probotector becoming Contra: Hard Corps). It's a shame they didn't also include Decapattack, so that we could, at last, compare it to its wildly different Japanese incarnation, Magical Hat no Buttobi Tābo! Daibōken.

Or whatever.

There are the usual options in terms of playing; a wholly pointless (and not entirely convincing) simulated CRT overlay, a few different borders, or - for actual monsters - the option to stretch the picture to fill the screen. It's all pretty standard. 
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LITTLE TOUCH
It's hard to fault the Mega Drive Mini. The selection of games - beautifully ported here - offers something for everyone, and the language option is a sublime touch.

You could grumble that it only comes with two three-button pads, and not the six-button ones. You could moan about there not being the full Mega Drive Sonic catalogue. And you might, like me, be taken aback by just how difficult many of these games actually are. 

No, there's no way to (officially) add to the selection of software (something all these Minis would really benefit from), but, ultimately, it's reasonably priced for what you're getting - more games than on any of the other mini replicas to date, housed in a near-perfect, half-size, recreation of the original console.

It's notable that it's the first official Sega Hardware since the Dreamcast, and as such made me unexpectedly wistful for an era where everything seemed so much less portentous, more fun and playful.

Though what has really surprised me is that the Mega Drive Mini, unlike those released by Nintendo, hasn't stoked the usual tedious debates about who these replica consoles are for. There has been little of the tired "Murrrh... why would I buy this when I can get a Raspeberry Pi which has a billion games on it?" whining.

And that's good: because some of us just like the collector's nature of these tiny machines, and don't want to be overwhelmed with choice. It suggests that Sega's autumnal renaissance is only just getting started. 

SCORE: 16-bits out of 20-bits 


27 Comments
Wapojif
15/10/2019 10:11:30 am

Very tempted to pick one up, looks like Sega did a great job with it. Unlike Sony's pretty mediocre PlayStation Mini. It's why Nintendo shouldn't do an N64 Mini, those early 3D games from that era have largely aged badly. In my opinion, anyways.

Really wonderful period in gaming, the Mega Drive and SNES were fantastic. Just flat out fun, I agree with Miyamoto when he says AAAs are overcomplicating themselves with hamfisted dialogue and endless cutscenes. Sometimes I just want to play the ruddy game uninterrupted. Innit.

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RichardM
15/10/2019 12:04:33 pm

I think you’re broadly right, but I’d play Lylat Wars all day on an N64 mini. Just with a better controller.

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Wapojif
15/10/2019 12:40:56 pm

I really have no issues with the N64 controller, I don't understand why it gets the continuing hate. Back in 1997 it was thought of as brilliant. Left hand on middle prong, right hand on right prong. I don't get why the internet era has chucked up this issue. DAMN THEM ALL!!!!

RichardM
15/10/2019 08:26:27 pm

Ach, I didn’t hate it. I just like the Xbox 360 (best controller ever, no go backsies) one better.

Smilin' Peter
18/10/2019 08:45:57 pm

I reckon the complaints about the N64 controller were started by people who mashed up their palms on the joystick by playing Mario Party

Glyn
15/10/2019 10:15:38 am

Budokan was one of my favourites on the Mega Drive, never really hear people talk about it. Any chance you might give it a review/thorough drubbing as you've hinted here that it deserves?

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Matt Winter
15/10/2019 10:17:40 am

Not sure if the West Country was deliberately targeted, but no one in Gloucester had Nintendo. Not even that dead king in the cathedral. Dave had a megadrive. And access to mid range jazz mags. I may buy this, and a mint copy of Razzle, and relive those heady days dressed as Graham Gooch

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12742291_10156656786770602_8888460374317870884_n
15/10/2019 10:43:23 am

I always liked Razzle, the girls were not unobtainably gorgeous.

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James S. Goral
15/10/2019 01:09:48 pm

Me and some friends found a Razzle "readers wives" in the woods once. The women in it were pretty rough looking to a bunch of teenage boys

Kara Van Park
15/10/2019 11:39:05 am

Slightly better than their previous collections, but still too many 'it'll do' inclusions and notable omissions. It's not a definitive collection of Mega Drive games by any stretch.

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RichardM
15/10/2019 12:03:06 pm

Everyone round my way (the rural very north of Northern Ireland) had a Mega Drive and thought Nintendo was for babies, except me who was a ‘Nintendo boy’. I was actually a bit envious of Sonic, Dynamite Headdy, etc. but yeah... Hindsight shows I was right all along!

Would probably rather sit down an play some arcadey Mega Drive stuff for a spare 15 mins nowadays, though, rather than - say - the first 15 minutes of Link to the Past. Times have changed.

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JactusCack
15/10/2019 12:56:00 pm

I'd imagine SF2 would be unplayable on a 3-button (if I recall correctly anyway)

I remember being so happy with the 6-button controller. Such an improvement, so swish.

Alas I can hardly afford modern games these days, never mind £70 for this retro thing I'll never play. God bless steam sales.

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King of Sass
15/10/2019 05:36:40 pm

From what I recall, it 'worked' by having the start button switch between the other buttons being the three punches or the three kicks.

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Lee
15/10/2019 07:31:17 pm

The Japanese version of the Mega Drive Mini comes with 6-button controllers. For the western releases, you have to buy the 6-button controllers separately. They also work on PC and Switch, apparently.

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Bazadonk
15/10/2019 04:05:47 pm

The sign for the Special Reserve shop in Bristol is still up, despite the business having folded fukken ages ago.

I bought Eternal Champions the first time around - Eternal Cham-poo-ons more like.

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Adam
15/10/2019 05:24:29 pm

Hey Bazadonk, might be fun if you took a snap of that sign and sent it into the letters page, I'm sure I'm not alone in wanting to see it!

I bought Punch-Out! for the NES from Special Reserve's mail-order - I was so excited to get their catalogue when it arrived, I pored over it like it was treasure.

Oh, and thanks to Mr Biffo for writing this review, I was waiting for his verdict before making a purchase. Think I'll wait for Black Friday though, before splurging my cash.

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Your friend Google
15/10/2019 10:48:48 pm

Here it is! https://www.google.com/maps/@51.4825147,-2.5875344,3a,75.000000y,173.042770h,87.963249t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sJ08W4Ku6b0U2KczINVavIA!2e0

King of Sass
15/10/2019 05:37:23 pm

There was a shop?

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Drunkndandy
15/10/2019 07:27:11 pm

There must have been a few of them because there was one in the haymarket in Leicester I used to get my Atari lynx games from there

Adam
16/10/2019 11:00:49 pm

That sign looks in good nick still!

TYronne Mann / B3tan_Tyronne
15/10/2019 05:12:16 pm

I spent an absolute fortune in the special reserve shop in Chelmsford, it was there that I bought my worst ever console purchase - the Atari jaquar (stilll not got over the buyers remorse on that one).
That was also the shop that I parked outside of once and as I got into my car an old lady jumped in the passenger seat and wanted a lift home - I was speechless even when she got out after I did the nice thing and drove her home - now I think about it she took the piss and used me as a free taxi.

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Drunkndandy
15/10/2019 07:29:12 pm

That jaguar pad!

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Robobob
15/10/2019 07:28:37 pm

The problem is so many of these games are the same games they chuck on every Sega retro collection. You could blurt out the list of them without really trying. Comix Zone, Mean Bean Machine, Sonic Spinball, Altered Beast, Vectorman...they just seem to be the easy ones to chuck on the compilations pile.

It sounds like there's a few games outside the usuals that might be worth it (Castle/World of Illusion), but predictable is the word I'd use for most of them.

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Smilin' Peter
18/10/2019 08:49:57 pm

Wait a minute... where's Sonic Three?

Has it been left off because it's reputation was destroyed by Mr Biffo's 72% review?

Or maybe it's because of the involvement of, y'know, Mr Cha'mon.

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Convercide
28/10/2019 06:02:23 pm

Yeah, it's never been officially confirmed but it's very likely.

http://www.pauseresume.com/michael-jackson-sonic-3/

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KoinosKosmos
23/10/2019 02:14:12 am

That Sonic 1 screenshot is the best. Cheers Biffo. Between that and your musings, it all feels like a proper 90s games mag. Anyway, I opted for the Japanese version of the MD Mini. Overall, a neat product. The controllers are great and are far superior to the Retro Bit ones. The emulation is fine for the most part but the lag is noticeable, so much so that I dusted off my Saturn and set into a week-long play through of Sonic Jam and X-Men Vs. Street Fighter.

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A Nitpicker
27/10/2019 11:04:46 pm

An extremely pedantic point, but the Mega Drive Mini Tetris is different than the Mega Drive version that has already been officially released once (in one of those Japan only PS2 Sega compilations). Basically amounts to being closer to Sega's arcade version (that both are based off of) and having a couple of (more) modern Tetris features as options.

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