However, AtGames, the company that has infamously released its Flashback Genesis systems over the years, confirmed on social media that it is working with SEGA to supply the technology that will go into the Mega Drive Mini.

The rumors are true! Sega is going to release the Mega Drive Mini in Japan, powered by the latest AtGames technology. This same new and improved technology will find its way into the US and other territories later this year! #MegaDriveMini pic.twitter.com/4kbVKEz8oK

— AFZ (@ATGFlashback) April 14, 2018

This has caused a lot of controversy among SEGA fans as many have wanted SEGA to release a high-quality micro console of its own – like Nintendo with the NES and SNES Classic. Because of AtGames’ history of poor quality with its consoles, namely inaccurate sound emulation, among others, it’s understandable why some SEGA fans are upset.

We found the Genesis Flashback HD to be a quality system (read our review here), although it still wasn’t able to achieve 100 percent perfect sound emulation. However, AtGames has said that the new Mega Drive Mini will include a new emulator that should make gameplay and audio better than ever.

All the negativity is perfectly understandable. You’ll either see the improvement this year in the HD hardware or you won’t. Talking about it doesn’t do much at this point. There is a switch to a proven emulator and other features that have been requested for years making it into the 2018 HD models. There will be similar changes on the Atari HD side. Exciting stuff, but no reason to believe any of it until it’s actually in the wild.

We’re cautiously optimistic that this new system will be as close as ever to what SEGA fans have been asking for, but of course it will all come down to what games SEGA chooses to have pre-installed on the system and how well those games play. Hopefully, we’ll see more at E3!

At the event, we saw a version of the console and, compared to ATGames’ recent Mega Drive Flashback HD console, it’s tiny!

But not a huge amount more is known about the system just yet, we couldn’t see any controller ports or whether it’ll use wireless controllers, or both. It’ll be awesome if they do allow for original Mega Drive/Genesis controllers, but I’ll happily take either!

The one thing we know is that the Mega Drive Mini (tentative title) is being launched this year (2018)! Watch this space!

SEGA has been out of console manufacturing since 2001, and have solely been a third-party publisher since then. One way that they would bring back old consoles is by importing the AtGames SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive Flashback, which were only released in North America and Europe.

Here is what President Matsubara had to say:

I’d like to think that the inquiries of game machines are increasing in Japan, I would like you to wait a while.

Nothing has been confirmed at this point, but the thought of SEGA returning to the hardware industry would really push demands for old-school consoles to be resurrected.

One piece of news that flew under the radar, however, is Hyperkin quietly announcing a new Genesis/Mega Drive system – called the Mega RetroN HD.

Hyperkin posted the above image on its Facebook page on Jan. 10, and little is actually known about the system as it’s not listed on Hyperkin’s website, nor could we find a press release online announcing its presence.

Looking through the comments on the photo, Hyperkin responded to a question regarding the system by saying, “We just announced the MegaRetroN HD! We haven’t announced a release date for the RetroN 77 and the Mega yet. Stay tuned for more updates on our newest consoles in development!”

While we don’t know the system’s exact specifics, we can probably expect it to be comparable to Hyperkin’s SupaRetroN HD, which retails for about $70 and has an HDMI out that outputs at 720p, with a toggle switch on the back that can switch from 4:3 to 16:9 aspect ratio. The unit is powered by micro-USB and also has a switch on the bottom of the unit that can switch between PAL and NTSC cartridges.

Unlike AtGames’ Genesis Flashback HD, the Hyperkin systems don’t typically come with pre-installed games – they just play cartridges. It will be interesting to see the system actually running Genesis games to see if Hyperkin can manage to get the sound emulation correct, something that AtGames hasn’t been able to achieve with 100-percent accuracy as of yet.

We’ll be sure to update you with more information about the Mega RetroN HD as soon as we get it. In the meantime, let us know what you think of the system and what you’d like to see from the unit!

Yet, here we are in 2017 and it seems the drums of war are beating again. With the SNES Classic release on September 29 and the SEGA Genesis Flashback HD dropping just 12 days, later, it seems the two titans were resurrected just to clash once again. Either that, or companies are just cashing in on nostalgic gamers looking to relive the days of Pogs, Tamagotchi and Beanie Babies. Regardless, we’re here to watch the two trade blows and see which one comes out victorious. After our review of the SEGA Genesis Flashback HD and a few comparisons within, we only felt it right to ring the bell on round two and let them settle their digital differences.

Controllers

Based on the controllers that come with each console, we have to say the SNES Classic takes the cake here. However, it is worth noting that an original Genesis controller can be plugged into the system, a feature Nintendo decided not to include. In the end, Nintendo wins here because their controllers are rechargeable whereas the Flashback HD controllers run on two AAA batteries, an unfortunate step down from the current controller standard; so it looks like you’re best off buying a couple of original peripherals at your local garage sale/flea market.

Library

Without trying to determine which consoles had the better library (we’re not opening that Pandora’s box back up), it’s safe to say that SEGA brought their ‘A’ game when it came to what was included in the Flashback’s hard drive. The Sonic collection, Alex the Kidd, the Golden Axe collection, Phantasy Star and Vectorman are just a taste of what SEGA brought to the table with its plug-and-play system. The pocket console boasts an impressive 85 titles, and even though there’s more than a few stinkers in there, with 28 unofficial games, a large portion of classics made their return in 2017. We will give the SNES classic some credit, though, as all of the titles present on the console are absolute masterpieces. With that being said, it still only gives us 21 games – a fourth of what SEGA’s offering. If that wasn’t enough, the Flashback HD is equipped with a cartridge slot capable of running the copy of Comix Zone you played when you were too young to realize just how brutally unfair that game was. This is a huge step back for the SNES Classic considering it’s missing unforgettable titles such as Turtles in Time and Chrono Trigger.

Graphics

From the bit wars to the resolution wars, both consoles offer a nice HD upgrade for their retro graphics. This comes at a time when developers for console, mobile and, interestingly enough, online video slots titles are cashing in on the 90s gaming aesthetic that the SNES and Genesis were such a gigantic part of. Shovel Knight is perhaps the most recent prominent example of a runaway retro-styled success, while slot games including notable titles Starburst and Spectra use the retro look to grab attention from anybody who played either the SNES or Genesis and it looks like AtGames and Nintendo are looking to direct that attention back to the titles that started it all. Both consoles output at 1080p, so this category ends up being a matter of preference. We’ll take Vectorman over Donkey Kong Country any day of the week.

Surprise, surprise. It seems that two decades later and the winner is still far from being clear. However, like it was back in the 90s, the SNES classic will sell much better than its rival already, a number that was more than two million sales just three weeks ago. Our two cents? If you can grab both, do it. They both offer hundreds of hours of replayability and come in at $80. But if you’re hard-pressed to pick up just one, let it be the Sega Genesis Flashback HD. Genesis still does what Nintendon’t.

But since the last Dreamcast rolled off the assembly line and SEGA refocused itself as a third-party publisher, the company Sonic built has shown very little interest in the home console manufacturing business.

As the years have gone by, the desire for many to replay the games of their youth has become incredibly popular, and requests for SEGA to produce a first-party Genesis system are thrown at the company every day.

But instead of developing its own retro hardware, SEGA has instead licensed the Genesis and its library to companies, like AtGames, that have released “plug and play” systems to satiate the desire of the Blast Processing fanbase.

The only problem with that is those consoles have never achieved the level of quality of the original Genesis. Poor sound emulation, inconsistent framerates and cheap build quality are just a few issues that plagued nearly every system AtGames brought to retail. Today, one need only to utter the word “AtGames” on social media, and you’re sure to receive angry posts by gamers whose experiences with the products have been anything but positive.

More frustrating for SEGA Nerds out there, is longtime SEGA rival, turned frenemy, Nintendo, who has shown that when done almost right, a retro console can be incredibly popular. So, one would think if a quality SEGA Genesis system could be brought to market, it could surely find similar success, right?

Well, AtGames is once again giving it another shot, and this time they seem pretty serious about delivering a product that addresses the issues with their units of the past and one that SEGA Nerds and the broader gaming community will want to sit inside their entertainment center.

Sounds pretty rad, right? Well, let’s find out if AtGames has managed to deliver a product worth your money.

The Sound of Silence

Before we go on with the rest of the review, there are a few things I think are most important, so let’s just get those out of the way first.

If there’s one thing that hampered previous AtGames systems more than anything else was the blasphemous sound quality. Thankfully, we can report that the sound in the new system is actually fairly decent. It’s still not 100-percent accurate, and there were times playing Sonic 2, when a portion of a sound effect would fail to play, but for the most part, it was a pretty good replication of the original Genesis sound.

Outside of the sound quality, the framerate stayed fairly solid when playing fast-paced games like Sonic, but there were several instances of frame drop. It wasn’t so bad that it was unplayable, but you could tell something a bit weird was going on. It appears the Genesis Flashback can’t quite handle Blast Processing.

One thing you’ll immediately notice once you boot up the system is its menu system. It’s styled competently enough, but once you attempt to navigate it, everything comes screeching to a halt. Why you can’t scroll through the entire menu with the D-pad makes no sense whatsoever. Instead, you have to press the “B” and “C” buttons to move up and down and the “A” button to select a game. You’ll never get used to this no matter how many times you play, and it’s telling of the poor design that a controller display is present on the home menu page.

The Games

The latest iteration of the SEGA Genesis Flashback is based on the Model 1 Genesis design, albeit a bit smaller, and comes with 55 pre-installed Genesis, Master System and Game Gear games; HDMI output; two 2.4ghz wireless controllers and a cartridge slot so you can still play your physical Genesis collection.

While AtGames promotes the Genesis Flashback as having 85 pre-installed games, 30 of those games are shovelware pieces of crap whose only purpose is to pad the numbers “games” for promotional purposes.

Outside of those, you get a bevvy of Sonic games, including Sonic 1, 2, Sonic & Knuckles and Sonic 3D Blast, not to mention four Sonic Game Gear games. Curiously enough, Sonic 3 is absent from the list, but it’s likely due to licensing issues with the game’s soundtrack. Blame the King of Pop.

Other high-profile games include Mortal Kombat 1-3, Altered Beast, Golden Axe 1-3, Comix Zone, Eternal Champions, Phantasy Star 1-4 and Shining Force 1 and 2. The Master System showing is pretty strong with games like Alex Kidd in Miracle World, Fantasy Zone, Psycho Fox, Dragon Crystal and even Snail Maze!

Of course, people will gripe about why their favorite game or series was left off the list, and my personal complaint is I wish the Streets of Rage series was included. Aside from that, there’s a noticeable lack of sports games – a genre that was incredibly important to the success of the Genesis. While I can understand a small company like AtGames can’t afford a major sports license like the NFL or NBA, surely they could have added Mutant League Hockey or Jerry Glanville Pigskin Footbrawl, right?

Outside of my whiny complaints, AtGames assembled a respectable list of games that rivals that of the Super Nintendo Classic.

The Hardware

Up until now, AtGames never had the license to use the actual Genesis system design, which is the reason the units looked like small, black bricks. They were able to rectify that with the new system that retains the Model 1’s look and feel.

The plastic on the system feels sturdy enough, but it doesn’t have the weight of the original. The system’s toggle switch feels fine, and the reset button works as a menu button this time around. The only things missing from the original’s design are the headphone jack and volume bar, which isn’t a big loss as I never used them back in the day and certainly wouldn’t today.

One strange and rather annoying design decision is that the red power light is powered by the HDMI cable and not the AC power supply. This means that even when you turn the system off, the light will remain on – its red eye piercing the black of night like the Eye of Sauron. The only way to turn actually turn the light off is to disconnect the HDMI cable from the back of the system, too bad it wasn’t so easy for Frodo and company.

The six-button 2.4ghz wireless controllers are leagues better than previous iterations that used infrared technology and required you to keep the front of the controller pointed towards the system. The wireless range is good enough for most situations and way better than the few feet of cord Nintendo gives you with its wired controllers. There are times, however, when input lag is noticeable in fast-paced games, like Sonic 2, but it wasn’t so bad to completely ruin the experience.

The D-pad and buttons feel good and responsive. Above the “Start” button are “Menu” and “Rewind” buttons. The “Rewind” button rewinds the game about 8-10 seconds, so if you fall down a pit or make a poor decision in a game, you can quickly press the “Rewind” button and get back to the action. Pressing the “Menu” button gives you options to save the game, quit or return to the main menu.

If wireless controllers aren’t your thing, there are two DB9 controller ports, so you can play with your trusty, old wired Genesis controllers or arcade sticks.

From a pure hardware standpoint, the Genesis Flashback and its controllers look and feel pretty good.

Compatibility

The biggest feature the Genesis Flashback has over the SNES Classic is its cartridge slot. This is something Nintendo fans have been begging Nintendo for, but there’s no way that will ever happen, not when the Big N can continue to resell the same NES and SNES games time and time again on every new system it releases.

What this means for Genesis owners, is your Genesis library is mostly compatible with the Flashback. I say mostly because games with added memory, like Virtua Racing, or lock-on technology won’t work. I also tried the Retro Freak’s Game Gear Converter to see if it’d allow Master System or Game Gear carts to run, but sadly, it did not.

We are happy to report, though, that the system is region free, so European Mega Drive games play perfectly fine on the system. We weren’t able to test Japanese Mega Drive games, but they should be compatible.

Summary

After putting the Genesis Flashback through the proverbial ringer, it’s apparent that AtGames has stepped up its game to deliver a product that’s much higher in quality than its previous efforts. If you have your original Genesis still hooked up to your TV, there’s little reason to purchase this device, but if you want a system that’s compatible with your HDMI TV and can look pretty sweet sitting alongside your fancy new game systems, the Flashback is worth a shot.

It’s still not without its warts, but if you can look past its blemishes, you’ll find a pretty solid plug and play system that your friends and family will get a kick out of at the next get together. 

Pros:

• Sound is much improved than previous models
• System and controllers feel and function quite well
• Good selection of games, minus the shovelware

Cons:

• Shovelware games used for marketing purposes
• Terrible menu navigation
• Random moments of framerate drops, sound hiccups in games

The Genesis Flashback will ship to retailers on Nov. 10 with a $79.99 price tag. The Flashback looks like a Model 1 Genesis and will have 85 pre-installed games, 2.4ghz wireless controllers, a cartridge slot, controller ports compatible with legacy Genesis controllers, scan-line filtering and a save/pause/rewind feature.

AtGames has sent us the latest version to review, and while we can’t give our final opinion until mid-October when the embargo is lifted, we can say this is a much higher quality system than previous AtGames products. We’re hoping to begin sharing live-stream footage in the next week but are awaiting confirmation from AtGames.

You can see the full list of pre-installed games below:

SEGA GENESIS

Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle
Alien Storm
Altered Beast
Arrow Flash
Bonanza Bros.
Chakan: The Forever Man
Columns
Columns III
Comix Zone
Crack Down
Decap Attack
Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine
ESWAT: City Under Seige
Eternal Champions
Fatal Labyrinth
Flicky
Gain Ground
Golden Axe
Golden Axe II
Golden Axe III
Jewel Master
Kid Chameleon
Mortal Kombat
Mortal Kombat 3
Mortal Kombat II
Phantasy Star 3: Generations Of Doom
Phantasy Star II
Phantasy Star IV
Ristar
Shadow Dancer: The Secret of Shinobi
Shining Force II: The Ancient Seal
Shining Force: The Legacy of Great Intention
Shining in the Darkness
Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master
Sonic & Knuckles
Sonic 3D Blast
Sonic Spinball
Sonic the Hedgehog
Sonic the Hedgehog 2
Super Thunder Blade
Sword Of Vermilion
The Ooze
Vectorman
Vectorman 2
Virtua Fighter II

SEGA MASTER SYSTEM

Alex Kidd in High Tech World
Alex Kidd in Miracle World
Alex Kidd: The Lost Stars
Assault City
Astro Warrior
Dragon Crystal
Fantasy Zone
Fantasy Zone The Maze
Kenseiden
Kung Fu Kid
Ninja, The
Phantasy Star
Psycho Fox
Snail Maze

GAME GEAR

Baku Baku Animal
Defenders of Oasis
Sonic Chaos
Sonic Drift 2
Sonic Triple Trouble
Super Columns
Tails Adventure

BONUS GAMES

Adventure in the Park
Air Hockey
Bomber
Bubbles Master
Cannon
Checker
Cross the road
Curling 2010
Fight or Lose
Hexagonos
Jack’s Pea
Jewel Magic
Memory
Mr. Balls
Naval Power
Plumbing Contest
Snake
Spider
Wall-Breaking

In each episode, we talk about different stories and games that we covered in the past issue, as well as offer our thoughts and opinions about some of the latest SEGA news.

In the first episode, we recap Issue #4 and discuss Yakuza Kiwami, Sonic Mania, SEGA Forever and the AtGames Genesis Flashback system.

You can listen to The Mega Visions Show at the following links:

• RSS
• iTunes
• Google Play
• Stitcher

Right now, we’re planning to release a new episode to coincide with each new issue, but if you’d be interested in us potentially doing a more regular podcast, please let us know. Also, we’d love to get your feedback, both good and bad, so please send feedback to megavisionsmag@gmail.com.

Many of us will have noticed how AtGames attempted to bring about a mini SEGA revival through their interesting hardware packages. These allowed us to play classics like Sonic the Hedgehog, Shining Force, and Phantasy Star. And whilst there have been some negative reviews of AtGames’ attempts, it should hopefully kickstart SEGA into doing some official re-releases of these classic consoles.

This is all the more relevant as several much-loved SEGA characters are showing no signs of losing their popularity in 2017.

We recently revealed how Sonic the Hedgehog will be making an appearance on the new Microsoft Xbox One X console. And with the famous blue hedgehog even appearing opposite Mario in the Olympic Games release for the Nintendo Wii last year, it’s surely only a matter of time before SEGA get serious about console gaming again.

It would be fascinating to see how SEGA could appease all of those nostalgic gamers out there with a Mega Drive that offered all of the retro gaming fun, but with the power of modern technology.

Obviously we’d want to be able to play iconic SEGA games like Golden Axe and Wonder Boy on a newly released Mega Drive. But it would also be handy if a new SEGA console had some browser options too. This would mean that we could do anything from checking the news from the SEGA Nerds website, to playing online games like the Foxin Wins slot title without having to switch devices.

Whilst this might sound like heresy to many SEGA devotees, it’s clear that the brand need to catch up with Nintendo if they hope to stay relevant in today’s incredibly competitive gaming realm.

Recent attempts to infiltrate the mobile gaming scene with the SEGA Forever package didn’t exactly manage to set the world on fire. And it’s been incredibly frustrating to see how classic titles like Altered Beast haven’t managed to convert a new generation of gamers like the Nintendo Switch’s Legend of Zelda game has.

There’s certainly no real reason SEGA can’t compete more effectively with Nintendo in the realm of nostalgia gaming. Whilst the disaster with the Dreamcast meant that the brand had to focus on software development, SEGA have managed to remain an independent and distinct entity in today’s often homogenized video gaming scene.

Whilst there would be those who would want SEGA to try and take on Microsoft and Sony in developing powerful consoles, such a step would be foolish as it seems that these next-gen gaming devices are at odds with the trend towards mobile and handheld gaming.

And with SEGA’s hardcore fanbase of gamers starting to enter middle-age, now is the perfect time to help them revisit past gaming delights with rereleased editions of classic consoles like the Master System, the Mega Drive and the Dreamcast.

Pre-orders for the SEGA Genesis Flashback, Classic Game Console and Ultimate Portable Game Player will begin on July 28 from select retailers, to include Target, Best Buy and GameStop, with shipments planned for this fall.

The Genesis Flashback looks like a Model 1 Genesis and will have 85 pre-installed games, 2.4ghz wireless controllers, a cartridge slot, controller ports compatible with legacy Genesis controllers, scan-line filtering and a save/pause/rewind feature.

You can view the full release of games here, but we’ve been told that there will be 10 more Genesis games added to the list of previously announced games, with 10 of the “shovelware” games removed, bringing the library of pre-installed games to 55 Genesis, Master System and Game Gear games and 30 shovelware games.

Expect a full review of the Genesis Flashback in the next issue of Mega Visions Magazine!