Analogue Mega Sg

[Olly C]

When I originally saw these systems I thought they looked really nice but a bit on the expensive side for me.. Then I came to the decision to sell my original SNES hardware (two boxed systems and three unit only) which brought in £330+ and cleared a lot of much needed space in my room. With me still owning a good few expensive SNES titles (Chrono Trigger, Terranigma and so on) I wanted a way to play those original carts and so buying a Super NT from CEX for cheap using credit seemed like a good idea, especially after selling my original hardware.

When I got it I thought it was fantastic, really nice bit of kit, then I updated to the jailbreak custom firmware and it opened up even more options, now I could play all of my original games plus test out roms of games I might want to add to the collection.

My experience with the Super NT led me into looking at buying a Mega SG if I saw one on CEX, especially since the SG Jailbreak offered not just one but four systems's libraries! When checking online a few weeks back I saw one in stock and decided I'd go for it it, I went ahead an bought cheap credit but literally within the hour I'd done that and started to add them in to buy it the only one they had sold!!

After that experience I'd already commited in my mind that I wanted one and weighing up my options I decided I'd just go all out and drop £254 on the Hyperdub model as I loved the colourway, it included a limited edition M30 controller plus the music cart and little pendant.

I opened it up yesterday and it's beautiful, I have a selection of PAL Megadrive games still in my collection that I can play but I've just updated to the Jailbreak firmware on this too and will look to try games from the other three systems it can now do as I've never really had any experience with those formats.

From my overall experience of the two systems I'll probably also look into grabbing an Analogue Pocket when it comes out

Feel free to list 10 of your 'must play' games across the Megadrive/Master System/Game Gear/Colecovision so I have some fun games to try out!

[CMcK]

Gulkave, Power Strike 2, Newzealand Story, Castle of Illusion - Master System
GG Aleste 2, Shinobi, Land of Illusion - Game Gear
Thunder Force IV, Elemental Master and Devil Crash - Megadrive

[Kotatsu Neko]

@Asura no FPGA devices do Saturn, PS1 or N64 yet mate I'm afraid.

Your best budget bet for perfect Saturn compatibility at the mo is to use a machine chipped with a Phantom Universal (so you can avoid the mega game prices and the nuts prices for the optical drive emulators like Rhea).

When Analogue finally move into the 32-bit realm I expect they'll do the PSX first. It's a much more straightforward architecture than the Saturn, and of course was also much more popular too.

I'd love an FPGA Saturn too, but I don't think we'll see one for a very long time unfortunately.

[Kotatsu Neko]

I have both a Mega SG and a Super NT and out of curiosity I fired up Retroarch on my PC to see how good emulation was these days. My word, the lag is horrific. This is with a Xbox One pad (the old 2.4ghz ones, not bluetooth). I'm so used to the ultra low latency Analogue stuff, as well as my real Saturn and DC (through a Framameister) that I had forgotten how bad emulation was. I even tried playing with the run ahead settings, but that just generated sound and frame skipping. I do love the CRT filters in Retroarch though, they're way ahead of the stuff Analogue do.

I see the Analogue products as the Apple of retro gaming. Incredibly well built, superbly designed, and top end performance. Even the packaging screams quality. I kind of want to buy everything they make, and even though I don't own any Gameboy or Gameboy Advance carts anymore the Analogue Pocket looks like a thing of beauty. Maybe I can talk myself into buying one.I bet the screen is absolutely out of this world.

[Kotatsu Neko]

And it looks like a home made kit computer were as the Mega SG and Super NT look and feel like quality products. It also requires a bit of pissing about to set it up.

100% agreed. Plus a big part of retro game collecting is collecting retro games. Not sure physical carts or CDs are much good with a Mister. A folder full of ROMs doesn't have quite the same appeal, and the thrill of the hunt is rather neutered when it's replaced by a Google search.

[Leon Retro]

When Analogue finally move into the 32-bit realm I expect they'll do the PSX first. It's a much more straightforward architecture than the Saturn, and of course was also much more popular too.

Do you think they'd have problems with the bios? Even when people put PlayStation bios files on the net they act like it's all shady and Sony might be looking.

I do love the CRT filters in Retroarch though, they're way ahead of the stuff Analogue do.

The Analogue scanlines are bog standard, but I think they do a good job of making the games look more pleasing on the eye. I like that there's a 'hybrid scanlines' option that looks a bit better. Of course, if you want fancy CRT filters that aim to replicate all the little details of a CRT image, you'd hope that Analogue can deliver more.
.

Plus a big part of retro game collecting is collecting retro games.

I will always treasure hardware far more than software. I have boxed copies of most of my faves, but I don't really need them. They're just like a collection of gems that make me feel nostalgic when I look at them. But it's hardware that gives me a huge retro kick when I have retro sessions using Everdrives etc....

[Olly C]

As expected I had my Mega SG Jailbroken just one day before I ended up buying a physical copy of one of the games I was playing

That game was Power Strike on the Master System, I played it for nearly 7 hours and really enjoyed (or endured) it, which has resulted in me buying the real deal even though I can play the identical game rom via the SD, it's an odd logic to try and justify...

[ZipZap]

When Analogue finally move into the 32-bit realm I expect they'll do the PSX first. It's a much more straightforward architecture than the Saturn, and of course was also much more popular too.

I'd love an FPGA Saturn too, but I don't think we'll see one for a very long time unfortunately.

I wonder what the practicalities of a machine with an optical drive will be? I expect these things are manufactured in relatively low volumes and I imagine an optical drive will cost more to produce than a cartidge slot. It probably also has a higher failure rate because you're introducing moving parts. I know there are tonnes of very cheap USB CD-ROM devices these days, but they're not particularly high quality.

I wonder whether we'll be more likely to see an N64. They've been pretty big fans of Nintendo so far and I feel Mario 64 is probably the most iconic game of that entire generation. And it uses carts.

Also, pretty much every Sony console works with PSX games, even if it's only emulation. And is the N64 more of a hardcore gamer's machine? I mean I prefer the PSX personally, but overall?

100% agreed. Plus a big part of retro game collecting is collecting retro games. Not sure physical carts or CDs are much good with a Mister. A folder full of ROMs doesn't have quite the same appeal, and the thrill of the hunt is rather neutered when it's replaced by a Google search.

I think the worst thing you can do with ROMs, be it on an emulator or a product such at the Mister, is have directories of thousands of games. I used to do that and I rarely played anything properly, I'd just load a game, play it once, then move on to the next one. Whilst I have picked up a few Megadrive carts, I also jailbroke my Mega-SG, but I've only been keeping a few games at a time on there. This way I'm actually playing things properly! Maybe not everyone has such a poor attention span, but this method works so much better for me!

[ZipZap]

As expected I had my Mega SG Jailbroken just one day before I ended up buying a physical copy of one of the games I was playing

That gane was Power Strike on the Master System, I played it for nearly 7 hours and really enjoyed (or endured) it, which has resulted in me buying the real deal even though I can play the identical game rom via the SD, it's an odd logic to try and justify...

Haha I can relate to this so well! Although I recently discovered Eliminate Down. After a few sessions I decided it would be nice to own, then almost vomitted a kidney when I saw how much it went for on ebay! Sometimes the ROM is enough

[Escape-To-88]

Message deleted, because what's the point.

[Cepp]

I have both a Mega SG and a Super NT and out of curiosity I fired up Retroarch on my PC to see how good emulation was these days. My word, the lag is horrific. This is with a Xbox One pad (the old 2.4ghz ones, not bluetooth). I'm so used to the ultra low latency Analogue stuff, as well as my real Saturn and DC (through a Framameister) that I had forgotten how bad emulation was. I even tried playing with the run ahead settings, but that just generated sound and frame skipping. I do love the CRT filters in Retroarch though, they're way ahead of the stuff Analogue do.

I see the Analogue products as the Apple of retro gaming. Incredibly well built, superbly designed, and top end performance. Even the packaging screams quality. I kind of want to buy everything they make, and even though I don't own any Gameboy or Gameboy Advance carts anymore the Analogue Pocket looks like a thing of beauty. Maybe I can talk myself into buying one.I bet the screen is absolutely out of this world.

The laggless features in Retroarch are the best thing about it and the main reason I use it (it's very powerful but far too fiddly imo). I've not had any issues using it myself but there was a learning curve and a bit of messing about at the start to get it just right. It's also quite a demanding on your hardware, but at this point I consider it essential.

Which is the main benefit of Analogue's products really. They're plug and play in a high quality package..

[dataDave]

The laggless features in Retroarch are the best thing about it and the main reason I use it (it's very powerful but far too fiddly imo). I've not had any issues using it myself but there was a learning curve and a bit of messing about at the start to get it just right. It's also quite a demanding on your hardware, but at this point I consider it essential.

Which is the main benefit of Analogue's products really. They're plug and play in a high quality package..

Indeed. Run-ahead is amazing. I've had Super Mario World and Yoshi's Island run with even lower input latency than the native hardware on a CRT.

It does take a little fidgeting, but it's a one and done.

[fuse]

Got my Mega SG adapters today. Text message requesting £19.67 in customs charges follows shortly thereafter.

On the more positive side, I also found these guys in my postbox.

[Atticus]

GG Shinobi

Didn't know there was a sequel though.

[Nu-Eclipse]

The GG Shinobi games are a must for any GG enthusiast.

The first one is available to download on 3DS Virtual Console, with a rather fetching GG border decal. Unfortunately, GG games on 3DS VC were rather shortlived so Nintendo didn't bother making any more available, hence the sequel not being there.