The 8 best ways to play the Mega Drive/Genesis in 2021

The Mega Drive is a fantastic console many remember fondly from their childhoods, but what if you want to revisit that childhood Or simply are interested in playing one of the greatest consoles ever. We break down the best options to play SEGA’s greatest console:

8. Sega Mega Drive collections

The chances are if you are interested in gaming you have at least one console from the last 4 generations. If you are new to the Mega Drive/Genesis and just want to try it out some classic titles without too much expense this is not a bad place to start the emulation is solid with the levels of input lag kept fairly minimal.

PROS

Officially Licensed

Low cost of entry

CONS

Limited to games on disc

7. Mega Drive Mini

Officially licensed by SEGA the Mega Drive Mini is arguably the best retro mini console on the market. It looks great And for £60 RRP It Comes with 2 controllers and is 100% plug and play. You can be playing Mega Drive games in seconds. If you like to legally own your roms in some form the MD Mini also contains some pretty expensive games such as Mega Man: Wily wars and Tetris. Plus it can easily be modified to add as many games as you like (and even additional systems). Though I did experience some minor emulation issues with unofficial games added. So why is it so low on this list, well it’s partly due to the fact there are simply so many great alternatives and partly because as of Oct 2021 you simply cannot buy these anywhere and SEGA has not made any comment as to if they will manufacture any more.

PROS

Plug & Play

Great form factor

CONS

Some minor emulation issues

Currently out of stock everywhere in the UK

6. Original Hardware

Wait, how can original hardware only be 6th On a list of best ways to play the Mega Drive. Well it’s not that simple. If you connect the Mega Drive to a modern display the image is horrendous. To get a crisp picture you are going to need a Retrotink, Framemeister or OSSC and these can be expensive. In addition, whilst this is the first entry on the list to support real carts If you want the convenience factor to switch games then you will need to shell out for a flash cart too. These start at £50 that simply play Roms all the way up to ~£170 for a version with Save States, SVP chip support and Mega CD support without hardware. Finally, remember this hardware is 30 years old. so any hardware you buy you don’t know the shelf life. It seems like I am being overly negative, there are people out there who love original hardware and the positives of no lag and 100% accuracy (for obvious reasons) can’t be ignored. 10 years ago this was still the defacto way to play Mega Drive games. however, purists will probably have a CRT knocking around and want to play original carts. This is the niche where original hardware cannot be beaten.

PROS

Supports real carts

No input lag

CONS

Additional hardware required for modern displays

Flashcart needed for modern quality of life features

5. Portable Retro Systems

A few years ago I picked up a GPD XD, a Chinese portable Android based system and I still use it today. This was a premium feeling system that meant I could take my entire library on the go. Nowadays the ANBERNIC RG351M is far more affordable (~£100) and represents a great way to play your Mega Drive Games on the go. If you are a commuter or travel a lot then this could be a great option. Input lag out of the box is marginal but configuring Runahead largely eliminates this to allow a very playable experience on a crisp IPS screen.

PROS

Portable

Cheap

CONS

Some input lag

4. Raspberry Pi 4

If you are looking for a super small form factor you can’t go wrong with a Raspberry Pi 4. Whilst the Pi3 had noticeable input lag (to the point I actually found it unplayable) i Have found the Pi4 to have sufficient power to utilise RetroArch’s runahead feature meaning Shmups and reaction sensitive games like Sonic 3’s bonus stages all feel pretty damn close. You can get the entire setup including a controller and case for ~£100 and cases like the Argon ONE look great and keep things running cool. the Setup is a little more involved but there are many tutorials on YouTube to setup your chosen frontend. Batocera, Lakka Retropie are all great options and the emulation is fantastic. The Pi 4 can also emulate Mega CD and 32X for the complete Mega Drive experience.

PROS

Small form factor

Low Cost Setup

High Quality emulation

Supports Mega CD/32X addons

CONS

More advanced shaders will cause slowdown

3. Mega SG

Clone systems have long had a terrible reputation And for good reason, the emulation was terrible, input lag high and audio often in mono, out of sync and tinny. This all changed with Analogues Mega SG, a premium FPGA device that supports real controllers in addition to Bluetooth, looks gorgeous with HDMI output. The nature of FPGA means no lag (though it’s HDMI output introduces a few frames). It also has support for real carts. Plus the unit can easily be jailbroken to allow you to load in Roms from an SD card slot which even then allows support for Master System and Game Gear games (Real MS/GG carts work too with an optional add on). The system even works with a real Mega CD add on If you go down the real hardware route rather than the MegaSD/Krizz flash carts. The image quality is stunning and honestly there isn’t much between our top 3. If you love The Mega Drive and want to immortalise it this is your best option. This is the original console in hyper Sonic mode.

PROS

Supports real carts

FPGA means no hardware lag

stunning design

supports real MD controllers

Cycle accurate

CONS

Expensive

2. MiSTer

The MiSTer has changed retro emulation in the last few years. The subsidised DE10 Nano FPGA boards were quickly identified as the future and a dedicated retro gaming community have created FPGA cores. The MiSTer Mega Drive core has no lag, is cycle accurate can support analogue and digital outputs, can support original controllers with an SNAC adapter And even has a CORE for Mega CD games. I’ve given the MiSTer the edge over the Mega SG because of the optional analogue output For retro displays and FPGA support for Mega CD/SVP chip. also as an investment the MiSTer costs roughly the same as the Mega SG, the Mega DrI’ve core doesn’t require the optional ram (but you should get it) But the MiSTer offers a whole host of other cores should you wish to broaden your horizons in future.

PROS

cycle Accurate

No controller lag

Mega CD support

Additional system core support CONS

No save state support (yet)

1. PC Emulation

So it turns out after much debate the classic way of emulating like we did in the 90’s is still the best in our opinion. Things have evolved. Gone are the days of hacks and inaccurate emulation. Gone are the days where the you sat at a desk by a cumbersome heavy PC in an office chair. Nowadays mATX motherboards and small form factor console like PC’s with AMD APU’s are more than powerful enough for accurate emulation. When you add to that Retroarch’s run ahead functionality to reduce input lag and the ability to set multi pass shaders and some fantastic intuitive front ends that can be configured for x86/x64 systems, from Launchbox to Batocera. This gets our vote by a whisker as the ultimate way to experience the Mega Drive. also given it’s a PC if you wanted to expand to the entire SEGA line up. From Master System to Dreamcast, Model 1 to Naomi. nothing is out of bounds And nowadays this entire setup can be achieved for ~£300.

PROS

Accurate emulation

virtually unlimited interface options

Ability to support broader SEGA Arcade/Consoles

CONS

Marginal additional input lag vs FPGA

So there you have it. The Mega Drives library is vast and I’m still discovering games I never new about 30 years later. plus, the sturdy Mega Drove boxes means that games in good condition are not crazy expensive if you are a physical collector. the options are vast and there are even a few honourable mentions I have left off here like the retron5 which plays original cartridges or the various portable options. Do you agree with Our thoughts? Let us know.