The Analogue Mega Sg answers why anyone would pay $190 for a new Sega Genesis

Standard controllers, yes. Weird ones, yes!

In terms of controllers, if it has a 9-pin Genesis port, the Mega Sg is supposed to recognize it. This includes: Sega's official 3- and 6-button gamepads and the impressive, wireless 8Bitdo replica, which I reviewed last month. These all work great.

At first, I struggled to get other 9-pin controllers working properly. As it turns out, some of these irregular controllers send different inputs through the standard controller port, so they require a "passthrough" toggle in the Mega Sg's menu. Doing this is an annoying hoop to jump through, but if you own any of those weird controllers, you're probably already in the "jump through hoops" camp.

The Mega Mouse was the most exciting thing to get working, because it helps with two very weird edge cases. The first is the D&D adventure game Eye of the Beholder on Sega CD, as its UI is built around control of a mouse cursor. You can slog through using a traditional d-pad, but it's nicer to use the mouse. The second edge use case is light gun shooters, and some Genesis gun games support the Mega Mouse (see below).

Additionally, I got my hands on the bizarre XE-1AP, which enables true analog joystick support on a whopping seven games. And, sure enough, toggling that passthrough mode gets its full spread of buttons and joysticks working. The loaner XE-1AP we got is a little loose in terms of true analog accuracy, but it's certainly better than any other 16-bit joystick controller I've ever used.

Meanwhile, I had a Master System peripheral handy: the HPD-200 paddle controller purports to deliver true analog-turning control in a glut of non-USA Master System games. But I didn't have those actual Master System cartridges handy. Instead, I used an Everdrive, a mock-up Genesis cartridge that accepts ROMs via an SD card. I've come to learn that a Master System version of the Everdrive is needed to more accurately simulate those games. So my issues with the HPD-200 could come down to that issue.

Additionally, as of press time, two major Genesis add-ons don't work: light guns (particularly Sega's "Enforcer") and the Sega 32X. The same reason is behind them both: they require a CRT to function. Classic console light guns require a certain frequency of flashing light to function, which LCD TVs cannot replicate. Meanwhile, you can slap a 32X on top of your Mega SG if you want, but until the latter gets an analog-out adapter, the 32X's weird gimmick of blending its analog images with the Genesis's won't work.

Analogue tells Ars Technica that such a converter's design and makeup "has been done for a long time now." But its production hasn't yet begun, owing to a focus on launching the Mega SG.

Ultra compatibility, and Ultracore

The best news about the Analogue Mega Sg is its apparent perfect compatibility streak. If this system chokes on any original Genesis or Mega Drive software, nobody's found it yet.

In addition to my own pile of original cartridge tests—which included atypical cartridge designs from companies like Electronic Arts—I've seen the likes of My Life in Gaming, Metal Jesus Rocks, Digital Foundry, and Game Sack each try and fail to stump this FPGA board. Every game from every region seems to be a slam dunk.

That goes doubly for homebrew games and demoscene apps designed for the Genesis and Megadrive, which must be run through a ROM cart like the Everdrive. The crazy, hardware-pushing likes of BadApple! and TitanOverdrive are good to go. (One gallery near the top of this article includes a Genesis-stressing demo test made by retro-gaming musician Remute, which the Mega Sg also handles swimmingly.) And if it's a standard Genesis game on an Everdrive, chances are it will work. Exceptions include the likes of Virtua Racing (which the Mega Sg won't run if it doesn't recognize that cartridge's special "VSP" add-on chip for extra processing) and any 32X ROM.

Previous Analogue consoles have been "jailbroken" by enthusiasts who've coded customized firmware. There's no reason not to expect fans to try the same thing with the Mega Sg, and that would likely open up its SD card slot to accept ROMs. [Update, April 1: Sure enough, a Mega Sg jailbreak is now available on Github. Initial testing confirms that this fan-made firmware patch adds Everdrive-like functionality to the system, so that users can boot Genesis, Master System, and Game Gear ROMs via an SD card.]

When this review was written, you could only use the SD card slot to update the system's firmware... which new buyers may have to do to unlock access to the built-in game Ultracore. If your Mega Sg arrives without Ultracore appearing in the system's main menu, worry not: a single firmware update will fix that.

Which, by the way: holy cow. If you're the kind of Genesis enthusiast who'd shell out $190 for an updated, hi-fi Genesis, then Ultracore was made for you. This side-scrolling blast-'em-up is right up there with the console's grittiest gun-loaded platformers—meaning, it deserves shelf space next to Gunstar Heroes and Robocop versus The Terminator. The game was developed in the '90s by Digital Illusions (the studio that would later become DICE) at the tail end of the Genesis era, only to be shelved because publishers thought it would tank at retail while competing with 32-bit consoles. But what may have looked old or dinky to publishers in the mid-'90s has aged incredibly well. Screenshots don't do the fluid animation or chunky explosions justice, and the Mega Sg is a wonderful showcase device for the game's thudding soundtrack and twitchy action.

Blast Processing, ho!

What don't I like about the Mega Sg, then?

Primarily, the cartridge slot is a little too stodgy for my tastes. Cartridges across the Genesis and Mega Drive divide are different enough in shape to necessitate a slightly wider slot on the Mega Sg, so I often find myself having to be careful about shoving games into the thing out of fear that I'll get the alignment wrong and damage something. I definitely can't just push a cartridge down and expect a proper fit on my first try. I can't recall a single time I've had the same concern with the original Genesis.

Also, the system's alignment to a Sega CD expansion slot is definitely not as slick as I'd hoped for. A "spacer" mat is included with the Mega Sg so that you can guarantee it sits flush with the add-on, but I cannot for the life of me attach the Mega Sg to the Sega CD while that spacer mat is down. I have to pull the mat out, wiggle the Mega Sg on, and then tuck the spacer mat beneath. And since I ran into two instances when a cartridge didn't boot while the Sega CD was attached, I have indeed had to detach and re-attach the peripheral. So this inelegance isn't necessarily a one-time headache.

Beyond those two complaints—plus the aforementioned whines about its conservative aesthetic and its current issues with some 9-pin controllers—I'm all about Analogue's Blast Processing party. This review, coincidentally, arrives just as Sega announces a brand-new mini-Genesis initiative. Built in part by the M2 development team from the Sega Ages re-release line, the mini-Genesis will launch later this year for $80, complete with two controllers and 40 built-in games. That's quite the value, and M2's involvement seems to imply a greater attention to emulation-accuracy detail.

Until we hear otherwise, we have to assume Sega is going for a cheap, mass-produced chipset and emulation. Getting that at only $80, with a bunch of built-in games, may be plenty for players with lighter Sega Genesis appreciation. But Mega Sg hasn't just beaten Sega to the punch. It's also gone to great lengths to support non-Genesis consoles (via that expansion port and cartridge adapters), homebrew, and some of the original console's weirdest edge-case uses.