Originally posted: 8/6/2012
As you may know, I am a huge fan of retro gaming, well, if you call the mid/late 1990's retro, but that maybe a debate for another day. ;) Anyway, today my shiny new Blaze Mega Drive console arrived in the post. (Yes, Mega Drive NOT Genesis, as that is what it says on the box.) Its amazing how small, years after the original these consoles can be made. It's about half the size of the SMD II, and the controllers have shrunk a little (not unless my hands have gotten bigger ;) ) The console comes with two controllers, a yellow video and white audio cable (no red, just left speaker sound), and an adaptor to plug into the mains. It's also a Streets of Rage Edition, but in that respect, bit of a let down.... it doesn't include Streets of Rage 2. The 10 built-games that the console does have: Alien Storm Altered Beast Columns E-Swat Fatal Labyrinth Golden Axe Shadow Dancer Streets of Rage Streets of Rage 3 Sonic Spinball Surely (logic and all that), with it being a Streets of Rage Edition, it should have SoR2 included... but, no. Which I did find disappointing because SoR2 is my absolute favorite in the series. Shadow Dancer was a game that I had never heard of before. It's also called 'The Secrets of Shinobi' (yes that Shinobi). Most of the games on the Mega Drive, I wouldn't personally choose if they were on a retailer shelf in front of me, but I suppose you have to play them to know if you like them. (Unless its a FPS, which I won't play.) The only games I like out of the 10 would be, Columns, Golden Axe, SoR, maybe SoR3 and maybe Sonic Spinball (mainly because I suck at the rest). The Blaze SMD also has a cartridge slot (which is apparently region free). I've already tested Castlevania: The New Generation and Sonic 2 out on it. The graphics are clear and still in the 16-bit format, HOWEVER! One thing... ONE major thing lets the system down. The sound. The sound is lovely and clear, but the music to the games (regardless of being a cartridge or built-in) is slowed. Some tracks are so awful on the ears, that it'll leave you reaching for the tv remote. All-in-all, great console and games (if they are to your taste). Excellent graphics, but bad playrate on the music and sounds of games. At best, the console could be described as an emulator. But even the Mega Drive emulator on my computer, plays sounds better. Pro's: -Great Graphics for a 16-bit console -A decent selection of games -Region Free (? It's a pro if its true) -Compact console and smaller controllers. Con's: -Sound and music playrate lags making some 'soundtracks' awful. -A Streets of Rage Edition Console WITHOUT SoR2! VeeBee15's rating: 8.5/10 EDIT: After writing a review for the Blaze Mega Drive console, i discovered something about it, which i should've looked into before published the review. I was having a look at the instruction manual and noticed a slight difference between mine and the picture. My console doesn't have a switch to make it region free.... So either the whole region free thing is built in or... it isn't. I don't have a USA or Japanese cartridge to test it either. |
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