So should you buy a Genesis Mini?
I’m going to hedge. Know this upfront.
Most articles like this won’t admit that in plain, written English. But it’s what the majority do.
“If [so-and-so] then yes, absolutely you should buy this.”
That’s where we’re going to end up, so skip to the end if that’s why you’re here.
But if you want to see me wax nostalgic for a bit (and maybe bring back some good memories of your own), feel free to ride along for a little bit. Because if there’s no other lesson to be taken from mini gaming consoles making a killing in the video game market right now, there’s this: These things call to mind a different time and place.
And they do it well.
Some personal background here will be useful, as it informs my ultimate opinion on the product.
I was exposed to the Sega Genesis as a kid/teen mostly through my buddy, Clint, who was my only close friend who had one. That said, I always saw the thing at the store, and the commercials and marketing were pretty much always present … and this stuff was undeniably catchy.
I’d go over to Clint’s house and we’d play games like Altered Beast, Sonic the Hedgehog, Batman, Streets of Rage, Golden Axe 2, and Desert Strike. I recall vividly long sessions of those last four titles in particular during sleepovers. In once instance, his mom and dad had purchased us a Steak Lover’s pizza from Pizza Hut, which was some crazy unheard of extravagance for me (my dad was pretty hard-line about budget deals on our pizza purchases). Eating that and playing Desert Strike … that was an impactful evening!
I was a Turbografx-16 kid, so we traded systems for a week or two, and that was pretty awesome, allowing me and my kid brother to experience some of these games (particularly Sonic) more in-depth.
But for me and the Genesis, that was pretty much it. Clint and I both became obsessed with Street Fighter II, so we both graduated to the SNES and barely looked back. My freshman year of college, my roommate had Sonic 2, so I played that to completion over the course of a week or two. But that was that. Soon enough, I was playing Playstation games and the Genesis faded into the background for good.
Until the release of the Genesis Mini, of course. I made the decision fairly early on that this would be a good purchase for me, so I put in my pre-order, and like clockwork, it showed up for me a couple of weeks ago.
As it turned out, its release lined up with our family moving into a new house, so it was put on the shelf for a week-plus. I eventually cracked it open and began playing a few days ago — enough for me to form an opinion AND enough for me to associate the system with new memories.
Costco queso and tacos replaced Pizza Hut, the company was now my wife and kids (and moving boxes strewn about in our new place), the kids and I taking turns playing Streets of Rage 2 and Castle of Illusion. But it was still Genesis on a Friday night. It was like being 13 again.
What a fun night!
Since then, I’ve also played Sonic 1 & 2, Castlevania: Bloodlines, and Gunstar Heroes. I have positive things to say about each gaming experience, though I think a review/ranking of these games is something I’ll save for another post.
The tech specs have been covered better elsewhere, so I’ll link to a couple of the better videos on the topic here and here. My summation mirrors theirs: This emulation is good enough for most people who don’t play the original games with regularity, the controllers and console design provide an authentic, memorable experience, and it’s an easy thing to set up and play, having hdmi functionality and displaying (mostly) well on modern TVs.
Also, at $80 for 42 games, that’s less than $2 a game for some genuine classics.
So what’s the catch?
Well, this isn’t exactly a product for collectors or enthusiasts (unless they want something on their display shelf), so if you’re buying this for someone else, you have to consider that. Similarly, there are cheaper options for playing these games already out there. None of them emulate the games as well as this or provide these controllers — which are undeniably part of the experience — but if playing these games on the cheap is the goal, this isn’t the cheapest way to do so. This system is more of a compromise between two extremes: going completely authentic and having to spend a ton more money (buying all of the games and figuring out how to display them), or just playing this stuff as cheaply as possible. So for people who don’t fall into either extreme, this is a good route to go.
I’ll also add a final caveat, because it’s important. Are you (or the person you’re buying for) already a fan of these games and/or system? Because the nostalgia of it is a lot of the point.
For me personally, I see the value in spending $80 to play a bunch of classics I barely scratched the surface on before. But if I’m being honest, those feelings of nostalgia aren’t nearly as intense for the Genesis as they are for the SNES or the NES. My overall exposure to those systems as a youth was much greater, and thus I have more of an attachment to them now.
And that should be weighed when purchasing. “Did I play on this thing a ton as a kid?” If so, this little guy is going to scratch an itch in a major way and leave you super happy. If not, you may not get as much enjoyment out of it.
But even with that, there are no regrets here. The best micro-consoles capture those feelings of nostalgia while also exposing you to games you haven’t played before (the library selection on these systems is therefore critical). I currently own three mini systems (and have pre-ordered the Turbografx-16 Mini), and I’m happy about all of them (and still play all of them). The Genesis Mini might be my least favorite of the bunch so far, but it’s still a great little retro emulator, and I have confidence I’ll get my money’s worth out of it.
In short, Genesis does (what Nintendo also does, but hey, at least it does).
Still on the fence? Here is the full game list courtesy of the official website to help you decide.
Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle
Alisia Dragoon
Altered Beast
Beyond Oasis
Castle of Illusion
Castlevania: Bloodlines
Columns
Comix Zone
Contra Hard Corps
Darius
Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine
Dynamite Headdy
Earthworm Jim
Ecco the Dolphin
Eternal Champions
Ghouls ‘n Ghosts
Golden Axe
Gunstar Heroes
Kid Chameleon
Landstalker
Light Crusader
Mega Man: The Wily Wars
Monster World IV
Phantasy Star IV
Road Rash II
Shining Force
Shinobi III
Sonic the Hedgehog
Sonic the Hedgehog 2
Sonic Spinball
Space Harrier II
Street Fighter II: Special Champion Edition
Streets of Rage 2
Strider
Super Fantasy Zone
Tetris
Thunder Force III
ToeJam & Earl
Vectorman
Virtua Fighter 2
Wonder Boy in Monster World
World of Illusion