Childhood Restored....Almost

So, Christmas has come and gone. One of the things that I received this year was a clone of the Sega Genesis. Its height, length, and width are equal to two of the cartridges that it can play. It only has single channel audio, but it comes with two wireless controllers and about 40 or so built-in games.

Now, you might look at me and say, "Geez, that sounds like every plug and play console that they release these days!" Well, I assure you, that there is a huge difference, because not only does it have games pre-loaded on to the console itself, but you can also play the games you still have laying around because Second Time Around wouldn't buy them unless they were in the original casing with the manual.

When I first noticed this particular feature, a couple of things went through my mind. The first was, "Okay, that's not so bad.", and the second was "Hmm. I should find a Sega 32X because I've never owned one before."

All in all, it has been pretty good. Some of the games are more playable than others, such as Sonic the Hedgehog vs. Jewel Master (both of which I own in cartridge form, ironically), and the wireless controllers are nice, as well, because I am not constrained by a cord that could get damaged.

Now, that isn't to say that the console does not have its downsides. When I first tried it out, I tested all of my existing Genesis cartridges to see if they would function and only a fraction of them do. Also, for some reason, it will not recognize when Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles are locked together (even though Sonic & Knuckles is oone of the preloaded games).

All in all though, I would probably give the device a 75% "Yes I would recommend this."

Front of the console, with Sonic 3 inserted.

Back of the console, revealing an A\C adapter port and mono A\V jacks.

One of the two controllers that was included with the console. It is wireless and takes two (2) Triple A (AAA) batteries.

Interface of the Sega Genesis Firecore with a sample picture of Sonic 2.