Oh man, I still remember clearly.. I was 9 and asked for a NES from my dad. He said if I do well in my exams, he'll buy me one. I did. Then followed him to Toys R Us to buy the console. To my surprise, he bought me a Mega Drive instead! Together with Golden Axe & Sonic the Hedgehog. You couldn't even imagine the happiness I felt on that day. Love you dad!

@1991xoxoshazz

4 жыл бұрын

Ozarudin Azman Awww that’s amazing. This story made me smile.

@badcp455

4 жыл бұрын

More stories like this please. Everyone always claims they "played when they were a kid", yet can never cite memories like these.

@starpier

3 жыл бұрын

I was a bit older at the time but no chance my father would buy me a console, even a portable one, too expensive =( I played the Mega Drive the first time at a friend´s house during elementary school.

@Ian-Omega

Жыл бұрын

You took exams at 9?

@bluerobloxberry4740

Жыл бұрын

Pro same thing happened to me bro than I fell in love with the Sega Genesis I played sonic 1 and mortal combat lol😅

This is by far the best review of this console on KZread, thank you for taking the time to break it down properly :)

@drewirons2646

4 жыл бұрын

You didn't like the Cinemassacre one? ;-P

@emersonarmstrong89

4 жыл бұрын

@@drewirons2646 Haha no I really liked it, I'm actually a big fan of Mike Matei but I prefer comparisons and deep technical explanations as opposed to an empty game store with people getting into fake fights :P Was funny and entertaining tho

@drewirons2646

4 жыл бұрын

@@JeBubbieSpubbies I think they could probably get a good thing going with Retail Reviews, but it can't feel like they just turned on the camera and hoped for the best. There are simply too many high quality and informative videos on retro games these days for them to just be so off-the -cuff. If they are trying to go the RedLetterMedia route, they can't talk over each other so much and they need to follow a loose outline. I think they could probably make it more casual than something like My Life in Gaming, but they need to also be straighforward in their delivery.

@drewirons2646

4 жыл бұрын

@@emersonarmstrong89 Right; it would do them well to do something more like RedLetterMedia. Casual and fun conversation, but to the point.

If Sega made a Dreamcast Mini I would buy it instantly day one.

@selohcin

4 жыл бұрын

Tell me about it!

@MrGlenn253

4 жыл бұрын

Me too!

@ArkaynAdrian

4 жыл бұрын

Same!!!! Dunno about it every happening though sadly.

@dohyawatchin2598

4 жыл бұрын

I would buy 2!

@Jambobist

4 жыл бұрын

God yes, Powerstone 1&2, Shenmue 1&2, Ferrari F355 Challenge, Code Veronica, Crazy Taxi, Space Channel 5, Jet Set Radio, Marvel Vs Capcom, Grandia 2 for starters, give it to me!

That Genesis sound chip was no joke. Plugging headphones into was so awesome.

Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis When I was dead broke, man I couldnt picture this

@proud90skid15

4 жыл бұрын

GT45000 fifty inch screen money green leather sofa

@OmarHernandez-ne2bl

4 жыл бұрын

BIG ;)

@Andy.S.

4 жыл бұрын

Got 2 rides, a limousine and a chauffeur....

Tetris on the MD mini is actually a brand new version, not just the old unreleased game.

@richardhutnik

4 жыл бұрын

Why no piece preview?

@OutlawFarmersRC

4 жыл бұрын

@@richardhutnik there is at the top, just one though

@nintendo1889x

4 жыл бұрын

It's Tetris, what do people expect?

@Fattydeposit

4 жыл бұрын

@@nintendo1889x It's M2, so they used the OG Sega Tetris arcade assets and programmed a new version.

@snx70

4 жыл бұрын

@@nintendo1889x The original (unreleased) version was quite flawed, mostly the controls. And no, Tetris is not just Tetris :)

Can always count on you Jon for the most in-depth and trusted reviews of anything retro. Thanks for your hard work!

I love the amount of detail you out into the review. Fantastic work as always!

John, you inspire me to do better. Your breakdowns are phenomenal and incredibly thorough. Keep being a master at your craft, the rest of us have a lot to learn!

Best review of the Mini so far. Excellent work, including the great choice of music and editing throughout!

Love John’s work & DF Retro Sunday’s!!

The Mega Drive had some of the best soundtracks for their games. Streets of Rage 2 by far has the best soundtrack on the MD and of all time.

@aussiecoastie72

4 жыл бұрын

Eric Cartman I totally agree !!

Such a professional review, really nice and good informations. Keep working like this !

16:35 Urgh, sound delay :( Thank you for pointing that out, this is the kind of detail I look forward to being discussed in your videos.

Thank you for another fantastic video ! You're in a league all of your own, John. Incredible work!

Incredible work as always, John! Thank you!

I love your retro videos John! Even if it is a territory that I now very little about you always manage to make this interesting.

Ahh the power of blast processing is still unrivaled

@nicktronson2977

4 жыл бұрын

The Sega Master System didn't need blast processing.

@nicktronson2977

4 жыл бұрын

@ Its still being sold as it is still in demand. No mini.

@nicktronson2977

4 жыл бұрын

@ btw, your face is rubbish.

4 жыл бұрын

Nick Tronson No one wanted a Master system ever at least in the UK, the Amiga was the go to machine and after that import PC Engine or Megadrive in the late 80's. The Master System like the NES were 8 bit shite that no one cared about. They were better than 8 bit early 80's computer yes but dog shite compared to 16 bit computers, no one cares.

Great video! Might have to pick one of these up after Christmas.

Thank you for such a detailed look at the console, nobody else I've watched mentioned the exact number of frames between the sound and the action, and most importantly you finally made it clear that resolution is 320x224 instead of the more commonly used 320x240, which introduces uneven scaling.. I would say this is the most comprehensive breakdown I've seen so far, even comparing the sound, which is super important.. Great video!!

John states in the video that the Mega Drive/Genesis Mini is his favourite mini console yet at 4:37. That's good enough for me :)

@anasevi9456

4 жыл бұрын

keyword being mini console, good thing to get as a collectors item or for the kids, but not something people familiar with the original hardware should hedge on seriously. Tinny sound in places, constant Sound lag and input lag and fixed library. Might as well emulate or bite the bullet and go Analogue.

@rustymixer2886

4 жыл бұрын

Until tg16cdgrafx mini drops lol but I'm getting both

It's so heartwarming to see John finally diving back into PC CRTs :')

Been waiting for this! Always appreciate your work John and the rest of the DF team.

Fantastic video as always John! Thank you!

Genesis games got some sick tracks!

This is the Genesis Mini review I’ve been waiting for.

When it's DF Retro, you're in for a blast. Good job as always John!

So amazing review by DF, once again you are the true king of tech!

37 minutes of genesis talk? Great start to a Sunday

@Modiggidy790

4 жыл бұрын

Agreed

@maegnificant

4 жыл бұрын

But its not 37 minutes long?

@Drinkabeerandplayagameofficial

4 жыл бұрын

Jonathan Graber yeah I had watched gamesacks vid right before this and got my times thrown off

Really happy to hear that the PAL-versions also run at 60hz. That was something that worried me, as the Mega Drive Mini will only release in Europe in october, and I'm not sure if the american versions of the games are available on the european Mega Drive Mini.

@Primate541

4 жыл бұрын

This thing would be DOA in PAL regions otherwise. The era of the Genesis was not kind to PAL region gamers.

Great job on the review! Great comparisons! Well done!

At 1:34 - the most epic moment of the video. The music from the credits of Thunder Force 4. I LOVE this game. Thanks DF.

Aladdin genesis > Aladdin live action cash-in

@ClapperDan

4 жыл бұрын

Aladdin Deck Enhancer> all

@Jucelegario

4 жыл бұрын

That was a low self steem Jazmín movie. More of the same wahmen pandering.

Man, Streets of Rage 2 had such a brilliant soundtrack.

@aussiecoastie72

4 жыл бұрын

David Addis yeah agreed , still one of my favourites 👍😊

I was waiting for this review. As a mattee of fact, this was the only video I wanted to see before deciding if I would buy it. Yes, you guys have become such a respected source of information that at this point you are almost the last word (for me at least) in hardware/retro reviews (along with My Life In Gaming). Keep up then great work!!!!

Can't wait to watch this properly, keep up the good work John!

So the key question is: which Darius is better? This brand new MD Darius or the Super Darius on PC Engine CD?

Contra Hard Corps is one of my favourite childhood games.

@robertbektas1810

4 жыл бұрын

the train robot tho

@TripleFermentation

4 жыл бұрын

@@robertbektas1810 So good.

@robertbektas1810

4 жыл бұрын

TripleFermentation I only found out about the game this year and it’s one of my favourites. I’m glad it’s playable in two ways.

@TripleFermentation

4 жыл бұрын

@@robertbektas1810 It blew me away when I was 7 or 8, and I played the hell out of it. There's a secret ending that I found as well :D

@robertbektas1810

4 жыл бұрын

TripleFermentation if you play as Sheena it’s the most progressive ending cause it’s lesbian and inter-species relationship

Excellent work from DF as usual. Thanks.

Yup SOR music; so good it deserved to have been used twice 👍🏻. Well done on another solid video, keep up the good work 👏🏼

Pre ordered mine. Lets hope Game Stop stays open till its release. Lol. Now on to the TurboGrafx 16 mini!!

@jokerzwild00

4 жыл бұрын

This is the one I'm really waiting on. I had a NES, SNES and Genesis as a kid but I never had access to an TG16. They were so exotic lol. I sure hope they get it right. I'm looking forward to trying some games out with an OE controller.

@kevinwells3864

4 жыл бұрын

@@jokerzwild00 I got the Turbo instead of the Genesis for Christmas one year. My best friend got the Genesis. We loved playing Herzog Zwei and Golden Axe at his house. My house was Bonk, Military Madness, Splatterhouse, Blazing Lazers..... I could go on. Man those were the days.

Oh my, I have been waiting for this the whole day! Mega Drive is my second favorite console of all time! And I hate it how companies like AtGames have ruined its reputation as they make it seem way worse than it actually is!

Thanks for showing the music at the end, really appreciate that 👍 Also input delay I didn’t know existed on the NES Mini as I have one I backed and put a bunch of games on. Still don’t own an SNES mini tho, too expensive for me atm :(

Amazing review. Great job!

Excellent video John! Since you mentioned Rocket Knight Adventures, that would be a pretty cool series to do a technical retrospective on. That first game is one of the greatest looking on the console.

@newtypepunk9967

4 жыл бұрын

Yeah it's strange the first game looks the best out of the whole series.

Dude for real where did you get the mini cartridges?!

I cannot wait for this! I have two machines pre-ordered. One for me and one for my fiancee. We are huge gamers for life and many of our friends are gamers as well. We are having a 16-bit console throwdown this weekend. We are setting up multiple screens with multiple Genesis Mini's and Snes Mini's (10 screens with 2 mini's each). We will be featuring a Sega Genesis (model 1 '89) and Snes (original '91)on their own screens in our retro room. Our home arcade will be rocking as well and for kicks my Neo Geo AES will be going in our living room. Further, I have a selection of 8 MVS carts for our two MVS candy cabs running that are from the Neo Geo's first 2 years in the arcade. Even though we do have multiple Xbox One X 's, PSPRO's, and Switches...there will be no new games played this weekend. Bring on the retro games! My fiance and I have a 4 day weekend coming in preperation for this monumental occasion. I started gaming in 1985 and 1986 with the Nes and Master System respectively. The Sega Genesis turned me into a hardcore gamer that I am today. My fiancee started in 1996 with the N64 (she is younger than me). Sorry....I'm so freaking stoked! Thank you Digital Foundry!

Excellent review john!

ost of thunder force 4

It seems the YM2612 source code was pulled out from earlier Genesis emulators like Gens or Kega... Fusion 3.64 has the sound issues resolved.

amazing analysis work, thx a lot DF !!! I'll buy it even if the audio part is a let down...too bad I was really looking forward for the thunderforce3 OST...

Thank you for the excellent video. Hit everything I was hoping to learn about.

Unsurprisingly this is the best review of the console. Great job p.s. Your MD's reset button is a travesty

They should sell a mini Mega CD or Mini 32x and make them give the console Mega CD and 32x games.

@dariusdaingurse

4 жыл бұрын

I just want them to jump straight to the Dreamcast mini lol.

@gabrieleriva651

4 жыл бұрын

Why would I want to play 32x games?

@casedistorted

4 жыл бұрын

Just Another KZread Channel I agree, or just put those game libraries on a Genesis Mini, would be so easy for them to do

@Stoppskylten

4 жыл бұрын

32X is a lot heavier to run, and apparently it was a challenge enough for M2 to get the ordinary Megadrive games to run well.

@sel3735

4 жыл бұрын

A 32X mini with Virtua Racing, Virtua Fighter, Chaotix and Doom (with the farting soundtrack)

Gunstar Heroes was one of the best and most technical side scrolling beatem ups in it's day. One of my favs growing up. Super original artwork, contra style weapon system and close quarters throw mecahnics just made it memorable for me.

I wish they had the composite filter. That blew my mind seeing how much better Genesis look on composite than the more cleaner RGB or HDMI

No mention of Toejam & Earl or Phantasy Star 4? I expected more from you, John.

Great video as usual, but what with the audio levels? They are all over the place from section to section.

Excellent straight forward breakdown and comparison. Especially as there are so many Genesis collections.

Excellent choice of soundtrack at the beggining of the video.

God damn KZread - stop recommending excellent videos that make me want to by a mega drive mini!

I grew up on Nintendo consoles but this seems to be the best overall "classic/mini" console.

Can you please adress the cartridge accessories you're using in the video. Do they come with the sega genesis mini? If not where can you get them from?

Can't wait for this little bad boy to arrive on my doorstep this week. Great video breaking this down.

I was waiting for Digital Foundry's take on the mini. Looks pretty good. Put in a pre-order just now because, hey, if DF says it's good, who am I to disagree?

@neosrt10

4 жыл бұрын

Fanboy have your own opinion.

i always wanted a thing called tuna sashimi !

The production of this episode was great. Entertaining to watch even if you aren't into a genesis.

Came back to get myself hyped for the Model 2 , hope u guys cover that when it comes out

5:50 editing blooper. JP (purple) and US (brown) are placed incorrectly.

@SEGAHEADDY

4 жыл бұрын

Not only that, but if you're going to show regional differences in Dynamite Headdy, there are other bosses in the game that look 100% different from each other and would have been a far better example.

The sound delay is a little off putting but I don't think most people will notice that too much. Overall the console looks great and I agree that there's a great selection of games here even if some other key ones are missing like Revenge of Shinobi. Great review.

@CAPCOM784

4 жыл бұрын

I noticed it in earlier videos before SGM released with the delay and sound shown here.Been playing Genesis for a very long time and it's very noticeable in my opinion?

@ClockedIt

4 жыл бұрын

@@CAPCOM784 Yeah perhaps, I haven't played many Megadrive games on emulator as I have most of the originals that I want, but it's something to think about if I get the Megadrive mini.

@segaunited3855

4 жыл бұрын

Composite is why. Composite is no longer used. Don't blame SEGA, blame Modern FTC Standards for NTSC.

Great video and I like that you have nit-picked at the right places. The internet is all gaga over this mini console and there are no critical reviews. This really helps!

Props to you John for using SSH songs in a lot of your videos!

First review I've seen that goes in-depth on the audio. That delay issue is a no-go for me :(

@alleyday

4 жыл бұрын

Gamesack talks about it as well. I have been posting comments about it and people are going apeshit with the replies

@ajbad4ever

4 жыл бұрын

I don't own any M2 developed games/port but I was always under the impression that they were the best of the best when it came to porting games I understand not anything is perfect but the audio lag is just shocking I mean did anyone not noticed I mean it's pretty blatant either way I'm buying one for my daughter I have to make up for the debacle when I bought the at games version I bought a while back

@shaggymcdaniel3216

4 жыл бұрын

Support Sega and buy one anyways.

@MarceloMedeirosb

4 жыл бұрын

@@shaggymcdaniel3216 @Lord Punchings its as bad an the revered nes mini and snes mini. People are hating on the genesis mini for audio delay but pretend that nes and snes mini dont have it...It bafles me

@CAPCOM784

4 жыл бұрын

@@ajbad4ever Been saying I don't know how people are defending the Sega Genesis Mini with all these problems?I knew it wouldn't be 100% but damn this is like 70%-60%???

my childhood stil in 2019. :)

I heard about the sound and control issues from another review, but now I'm not worried about it. Thanks.

I have this on preorder! I keep fantasizing about the Saturn Mini that will never come!

As much as l loved the Mickey Mouse games, out of the 2, Castle of Illusion is the best. Would've swapped World of Illusion with Quackshot. Those Disney games are legendary on the Mega Drive. Alien Storm, what a game that was. Surprised to see Road Rash 2. Shame there wasn't a PGA Golf game, more so European Tour. Shame that Tetris has been tweaked, so it's not the original. Two Crude Dudes, Tazmania and EA Hockey. Never played Earthworm Jim, was shocked how great it still looked. And the Japanese version has 6 button controllers. Forgotten Worlds and MERCS. Strider soundtrack is legendary.

7:35 for Sega Lord X! :D

@nattila7713

4 жыл бұрын

yess :)))

@FrankBell79

4 жыл бұрын

Thats a track from the batman game!

Excellent review 👍

Best review I've seen so far, subscribing

@BBIAJ

4 жыл бұрын

You mean you weren't already!? Enjoy catching up on the 56 other DF Retro episodes!

As long as they play as good as snes classic I'll be pleased as punch.

7:05 Sega Lord X activate!

@Digital Foundry, or anyone, what device would be used to play the Genesis mini on the CRT as John does in this video? I assume VGA is the standard input on that monitor? Thanks!

Thanks John, for doing this review with all the details like only you could! Do you know if the console's "firmware" is flashable, so they possibly could fix/improve some of the issues you mentioned?

Even in 2019 Genesis Does what Nintendon't...

@dornjv4545

4 жыл бұрын

Real_Sgt_Tom is it input lag?

You gotta tell us how you got those custom mini cartridges, John L.

@TheMilkedOut

4 жыл бұрын

DeL Keyes agreed! Was just about to ask the same

@kainthetrollreaver9270

4 жыл бұрын

That is a trick I think Nintendo and now Sega have missed. If the mini consoles could support mini carts im sure people would pay $15-$20 for each game.

@theonik2006

4 жыл бұрын

They are a pre-order bonus for the Mini.

@TheTechnique

4 жыл бұрын

theonik2006 from which retailer

@abelperez1434

4 жыл бұрын

@@TheTechnique Yes I have to know I preordered at Gamestop.

Does changing the language give you access to the regional exclusives like MUSHA?

@theycallmejpj

4 жыл бұрын

my understanding is only on the games that appear in multiple regions. ie if you bought the NA version you can change sor2 to bare knuckle 2. but by changing the language of the console in the menu to japanese wont make musha appear on the NA version of the machine

Great review John!

It's a purchase obviously, however. No Super Shinobi????

Nit picky as always... Do I expect anything less from Digital Foundry? Absolutely not 👍 Am I still getting it? Absolutely. Very excited to relive my Sega teenage years even wit a 10 frames sound delay 😝

@ber-js5we

4 жыл бұрын

Gotta respect the dedication they have to their craft 👍 digging down to the molecular level of a 16bit emulator's performance ? - only DF 👏

@IronsWorks1990

4 жыл бұрын

Barley anyone is going to notice that sound delay anyway

I'm still on the fence on picking this up just to add to my mini/classics collection. I don't understand why they did the scaling like that. I don't get those scaling issues like shimmering on the Mega SG or my original Genesis through RGB Scart to my OSSC in line triple mode. They should have at least had a H/V interpolation option, at a bare minimum, have an option to use 240p for 224 vertical lines and just pad the border with black frame to give an even line triple scale to 720p. How would you say the input latency compares to the Mega SG or original through OSSC? If I found latency through a Framemeister to be barely tolerable, how would I fare with the mini?

Good to see the High Definition Graphics text is properly accurate for once.

Why Sonic 3 is not in there is beyond me.

@Dhlamedia

4 жыл бұрын

[glares at Michael Jackson estate]

@mjc0961

4 жыл бұрын

Meh. Sonic 3 Complete and Sonic 3 Angel Island Revisited have superseded the original Sonic 3 & Knuckles entirely. I wouldn't play Sonic 3 on the Genesis Mini if it was on there.

@SketchTurnerZero

4 жыл бұрын

I think Sega will release something like MD2 mini 1-2 years after MD1 mini with Sonic 3 and other great games

@CornishCreamtea07

4 жыл бұрын

You can download that to play on most systems, and there are about a billion collection that it is featured in. making room for games that have had few or none re-releases is more important.

@timthompson8235

4 жыл бұрын

@@Dhlamedia He took himself off the credits, his estate has zero claim to the rights. They couldn't put Sonic 3 on the mini because they needed room for the super popular and much requested Sonic Spin Ball.

I can’t wait till they do a Sega Saturn mini and Dreamcast mini :D

@subzero8679

4 жыл бұрын

They aren't doing those

@pferreira1983

4 жыл бұрын

@@subzero8679 How do you know?

@subzero8679

4 жыл бұрын

@@pferreira1983 because they already said they weren't going to. Just like Nintendo isn't going to do an N64 mini. Who is going to buy a Saturn mini? Lol. It would be such a tiny market. Not many people have nostalgia for the Saturn. It would be a loss for Sega to make that mini.

@pferreira1983

4 жыл бұрын

@@subzero8679 Where did Sega state that? Interested to read the interview or article.

The title I spent the most time playing on my mega drive was mortal Kombat 3. The sega genesis US region version. Did this by sticking the cartridge on top of another cartridge that let you use some sliders on it to select different regions. We also used some aftermarket 6 button controllers that were smaller than the original 3 button pads and this is a must for executing combos in MK3.

Thanks for the valuable information as usual!!!

I still think Sonics Ultimate Genesis Collection on Xbox360 is the best way to play Sega Genesis games on modern consoles.

@saynotop2w

4 жыл бұрын

It is, but that's last gen and those are getting rare themselves.

@axrevolutionai

4 жыл бұрын

@@saynotop2w Genesis Collection on XB1 is better, has Landstalker

@texnexus7_300

4 жыл бұрын

@@axrevolutionai The Xb1 and PS4 Collection also has lag and worse emulation.

Go look at other KZread channels most say good things about Sega Genesis Mini

Great video, John. I wish I could hang out with you one day. We can compare our Genesis, Saturn, and Dreamcast collections

Amazing content as always