SEGA Genesis Flashback Preorder: SEGA Does What Nintendon’t – Produce Cheap Throwback Consoles

Few video game companies have a back catalog of classics as rich as SEGA’s. The Tokyo-based corporation is aware of this, however, often re-releasing them through a wide array of channels. Their SEGA Forever initiative recently began on smartphones, and SEGA’s partnered once more with AtGames Digital Media to deliver a new Genesis facsimile called the SEGA Genesis Flashback.

SEGA GENESIS FLASHBACK GAME LIST

In spite of being named after the 16-bit Genesis, the Flashback also includes titles from the SEGA Master System and Game Gear. There are 85 games in total, 28 of which can be regarded as shovelware, and the complete list can be seen below:

• Adventure in the Park
• Air Hockey
• Alex Kidd in High Tech World
• Alex Kidd in Miracle World
• Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle
• Alex Kidd: The Lost Stars
• Alien Storm
• Altered Beast
• Arrow Flash
• Baku Baku Animal
• Bomber
• Bonanza Bros.
• Bottle Taps Race
• Break the Fireline
• Bubbles Master
• Cannon
• Chakan: The Forever Man
• Checker
• Chess
• Columns
• Columns Ⅲ
• Comix Zone
• Crack Down
• Cross the road
• Curling 2010
• Decap Attack
• Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine
• Dragon Crystal
• ESWAT: City Under Siege
• Eternal Champions
• Fantasy Zone
• Fantasy Zone The Maze
• Fatal Labyrinth
• Fight or Lose
• Fish Tank Live
• Flicky
• Gain Ground
• Golden Axe
• Golden Axe Ⅱ
• Golden Axe Ⅲ
• Hangman
• Hexagonos
• Jack’s Pea
• Jewel Magic
• Jewel Master
• Kid Chameleon
• Mahjong Solitaire
• Maze 2010
• Memory
• Mortal Kombat
• Mortal Kombat Ⅱ
• Mortal Kombat Ⅲ
• Mr. Balls
• Naval Power
• Phantasy Star
• Phantasy Star Ⅱ
• Phantasy Star Ⅲ: Generations Of Doom
• Phantasy Star IV
• Plumbing Contest
• Ristar
• Shadow Dancer: The Secret of Shinobi
• Shining Force: Legacy of Great Intention
• Shining Force II: The Ancient Seal
• Shining in the Darkness
• Shinobi Ⅲ: Return of the Ninja Master
• Snake
• Snowboarding
• Sonic & Knuckles
• Sonic 3D Blast
• Sonic Chaos
• Sonic Drift 2
• Sonic Spinball
• Sonic the Hedgehog
• Sonic the Hedgehog 2
• Sonic Triple Trouble
• Spider
• Super Thunder Blade
• Sword Of Vermilion
• Tails’ Adventure
• The Ooze
• Vectorman
• Vectorman 2
• Virtua Fighter 2
• Wall-Breaking
• Warehouse Keeper

While some of those aren’t worth playing, plenty of significant classics are included, from SEGA’s games to third-party titles like Mortal Kombat. Nintendo’s equivalent products contain 30 and 21 titles, meaning SEGA’s handedly beats them in quantity. (As for quality, well, let’s preemptively agree that Nintendo and SEGA both produced quality stuff.)

Sadly, though, while Sonic 3 may not be the most popular of the mainline Genesis Sonic titles, it’s unquestionably a glaring omission. (It is, however, unsurprising that SEGA neglected it. If you’re wondering why that is, a guest post at Sonic Retro addresses what’s likely preventing Sonic 3’s presence.)

SEGA FLASHBACK PREORDER

With the game list determined, how well does AtGames’ latest SEGA-themed replica work? Well, according to CNET’s and GameSpot’s previews, not very well.

The hardware itself gives off a cheap, amateurish facade, and the user interface is consistent with this level of quality. Unfortunately, the emulation is equally poor, resulting in issues with the games’ sound and frame rate.

Moreover, the Flashback’s ability to play old SEGA Genesis carts, the major advantage it has over Nintendo’s similar commodities, is marred by how slowly they’re read. This frustration is augmented by the wireless controllers, which in GameSpot’s testing, are stable in their inability to consistently read your button inputs.

As with the NES Classic Edition, players can create suspend points to continue off from. Additionally, players can rewind their in-progress session by six seconds to quickly retry a troubling area. Notably, the device is HDMI compatible.

The SEGA Genesis Flashback will cost $79.99 (although it can currently be preordered for less) and it’s slated to roll into stores on September 22, the same month as AtGames’ upcoming Atari replicas.