Does anyone have this portable? Considering picking it up; reviews i've seen have been fairly positive. My Genny still works fine, but i would love this if only just to play some NHL '94 while watching TV.
Just got it in the mail today. Here's my intiial impressions ...
Great packaging, adorned with the official Sega Genesis logo, pictures of Sonic and some screenshots. Also a very sturdy package, so no concerns about damage during shipping. Included is the unit (i got in in black; it's also available in blue), a specialized AV out RCA-style (yellow/white) cable for TV output and the AC adapter/charger (unit has a built in rechargeable battery) which connects to the unit through a mini-USB port. No manual included, but not really necessary, as the box lists the functions, included games and a photo of the unit noting what the various switches/buttons do -- although there is one recessed switch on the bottom of the unit which is unlabelled; i think it may be to switch between NTSC and PAL carts.
The built in games are: Alien Storm, Altered Beast, Alex Kidd in Enchanted Castle, Arrow Flash, Columns III, Crack Down, Decap Attack, Dr. Robotnik Mean Bean Machine, Ecco, Ecco Jr, Flicky, Gain Ground, Golden Axe, Jewel Master, Kid Chameleon, Sonic & Knuckles, Sonic Spinball, Shadow Dancer, Shinobi III.
Size wise, the unit is a bit smaller than a GBA, and feels fine even in my large hands. There is somewhat of that "Made in China" feel to the plastic used for the body, but still feels sturdy. Instead of a traditional d-pad, there's the 4-directional button style (like the PSP has, right?). The 6 button (A-B-C, X-Y-Z) layout is a bit funky, oriented on more of a vertical diagonal than a horizontal diagonal, which may be a bit awkward for some games until adjusting. Buttons themselves are that style somewhere between "clicky" and "mushy", but feel fine. Start and Reset buttons are set on opposite sides of the screen. Power switch is along the bottom a la the GBMicro, with a volume dial on the left side. On the top are the ports for AV-out and earphones. And of course, the cart slot. =)
So now that i've mentioned all that, you wanna know how the games play? Pshaw. Powering up without a cart in brings up a 2-page Firecore menu with the built-ins, each accompanied by a screen shot. All the games seem to play fine (so far i've only played each a bit to make sure they worked). The screen is great, very bright and clear, i'd say on par with the DS screen in terms of brightness, clarity and color depth. Now, the sound is a bit of an issue. Some of the sound is just a tad "off", in that way that you wouldn't really notice unless you're very familiar with the game. The quality of the sound varies; the speaker in the unit has a bit of that "tinny"-ness to it, but not horrible. I haven't tried the earphone jack or TV-out yet, so don't know if those sound issues will carry over. But like i said, it's not tremendously bad unless you're really concerned with perfect sound.
I only have 4 actual Genny carts these days as i was never really a Sega guy and only have a Genny b/c i inherited the one we had in the dorm. I have Golden Axe, Sonic 2, MKII and NHL 94. MKII didn't work, but i'm pretty sure that's my cart (it always has issues). Golden Axe i didn't try (since it's built-in as well), but Sonic 2 and NHL both worked perfectly with the exception of the same sound issues i mentioned. The carts fit in rather snuggly, label facing you. A standard cart like Sonic only sticks out about an inch from the top of the unit, while obviously longer carts like NHL will stick out further but not to an awkward degree. A bit harder to get the carts out, as they really sit snuggly in the slot, so you have to yank a bit.
Overall, in my very limited time with it so far, i'm happy with it, but it does have issues. The speaker is, as i said, not so great but surely tolerable, and it will take a bit to adjust to the button layout and "non-pad"-style d-pad. I haven't tried any other Genny portables, so i can't compare, but i'd reccommend it for the curious -- 20 built in games (many of them actually good games!) and a cart slot (and i'm fairly certain it will play both NTSC and PAL games) for $55 US (including shipping) is a pretty good deal.
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Topic: GenMobile portable
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