Hi Retro, long time no see! A bit of background - I'm based in Europe, and I'm looking to potentially own a Mega Drive once again. Thing is, I'm relatively clueless as to the best way to go about this! I'm hoping to collect original software where I can, so please consider that. So far, I've come up with the following options: Buying a PAL Mega Drive Buying an NTSC Mega Drive Buying something like Analogue's Mega SG Something I never considered was the fact that apparently PAL hardware runs slower than NTSC? This is something I never noticed as a kid, but I think I'd find it pretty jarring now after so many years playing things over emulators and re-releases. If I was to go for original hardware, is there a preferred model of the Mega Drive to go for? Though I'm unfamiliar with them, I'd probably like to option to add on Mega CD / 32X in the future, and I believe there's some Mega Drives that aren't compatible. With imported consoles / Mega SG, I'll also need to consider the cost of import fees / shipping. of course. I realise there's a difference between "optimum" in terms of the absolute most high-quality experience available, compared to the best cost-effective solution, and if there are any other suggestions I'd be welcome to hear them, Can some of you guys help me with defogging the options available to me? I'd like to know what the highest-quality compared to cost option is, as well as the best overall, so I can compare features vs. cost. I also thought this would be a good discussion in general, and might help others out who are looking to get into hardware to find something that fits their needs. Thanks a lot!
Sorta... For PAL, the machine itself, the CPU, the chips, etc, they all run at approximately the same rate as an NTSC system (slower, but only marginally), what matters is the TV's rate of which many games will use as a general game timer. The drawback is the game runs slower because a frame lasts longer, but the benefit is that lag is minimal because the CPU has more time within a frame to do the same job. So what you might find is that running games in PAL will lag far less than NTSC, at the expense of generally slower gameplay. In my opinion though, the only game that ever "felt" slower was Sonic 1, but that's basically because the music would play out slower, I never really felt the other Sonic games to be slower despite that they were but the music was adjusted. So you might find you may not even notice a game is running slower unless something makes it jarringly obvious like audio. But you could take the advice of the post above, the hardware can be modded to have a switch which you can use to define which rate/region the machine is. One thing I have noticed, some Mega Drive games appear to go completely black visually on certain screens, when plugged into a 32x, a few to note are; Mega Bomberman, the multi-player select screen, and one of Sonic CD's special stage. The games still run, but perhaps that's something to watch out for?
This is an option I didn't even realise existed - Thanks, it's definitely an attractive solution! Right! It's been a very long time since I've experienced actual Mega Drive hardware, so I don't really have a frame of reference. That's interesting to note though, I think I'd prefer the lack of lag over anything - I recently tried playing Sonic 2 on Saturn via Sonic Jam, and had an awful time with the frameskips - something I'd never noticed previously, but it was enough of a problem to really throw me off when playing. Ah, I see! I'll keep it in mind in case I ever get a 32X and find any issues. It's probably going to be far down the line though, as I'm terribly unfamiliar with the games library minus Chaotix
NTSC Mega Drive 1 all the way. 100% correct speed and best non-modded sound if you get the correct revisions.
I’m in Europe so SCART is pretty much standard on everything, and I was intending to use RGB SCART cables to connect. Everything I have is relatively modern as in it has HDMI input and can run 60Hz no problem. Thanks, that’s super useful and I’ll refer to this if I decide to go down this route!
I think the optimum Mega Drive experience doesn't exist physically. It is what M2 referred to as the "Giga Drive," and the imaginary specs for this imaginary system was the basis of their mega drive emulator for the 3DS, which turned a handful of amazing titles into amazing 3D experiences on the 3DS stereoscopic screen. After that, the most luxurious, expensive and inconveniently bulky mega drive experience would be the Laseractive
In the end, I've opted for a PAL model 1 with "High Definition Graphics" printed on it, which I believe is the best PAL model for sound etc. according to a couple sources. If I find the 50Hz thing to be a pain, I'll probably see about modding it myself. This discussion can remain open though if anyone else wants to contribute their preferences!
Mega Man The Wily Wars is a prime example what can go completely wrong. The entirety of the game plays uniformly slower in PAL, including the music tracks.
I dont know about the best, but the pal version of any megadrive is the worst experience. 50hz is a bummer.
I remember searching whether I could use an USA Model 1 Genesis in Europe, and I recall running into a website that sold cables for using USA consoles in Europe and vice versa. It's been a while though, so I might be wrong. EDIT: yeah, it's https://retrogamesupply.com/collections/sega/products/power-supply-for-sega-megadrive-genesis-1
Yeah, this generation of consoles is actually really easy to power in terms of importing. Because the PSU is in the plug itself and not the console, and the fact that the consoles are looking for a DC input, as long as your power supply fits and has the right DC voltage, you should be good to go! I use a UK Mega Drive power supply for a Super Famicom, for example - it's pretty crazy! Subsequent generations are a bit more tricky with having the PSU built into the console, usually safer to use transformers if possible. Modern consoles have some wizardry going on that means they can work at either 110 or 240 volts, so you're cool to just plug and play wherever you are.
Just wondering whether someone can clarify a few things regarding revisions and regions: - Do PAL VA7s have the same port layouts as NTSC VA7s? - Would a triple-bypassed, region modded PAL VA7 be able to replicate the behaviour of a triple-bypassed NTSC VA7? I've got a Mega SG for general play, but I think I'd like to use my original model 1 for dev purposes instead of my Multi Mega, and I'm fairly certain it's a VA7.
This statement couldn't be anymore true. You can mod the regions and whether it runs in NTSC or PAL anyway by soldering a few wires on the board
Yup, my entire childhood was PAL and I didn't know what I was missing. I've now got a NTSC Genesis and a SegaCD, with a 60hz SCART modded Sony Trinitron CRT. I use the audio out of the SegaCD on the back so there's no audio interference and the scart for the video. It's as close to perfect as I've ever had, super clear and no lag from audio or conversion using this method. I've got an Everdrive for any carts I don't have anymore. This to me is the 'optimum' Sega experience. 60hz, CRT, everdrive for any game or mods, and a SegaCD to burn anything else as there's no security checks. I've always thought about adding a 32X but I don't really see the need, they have always been expensive as a 'collectors item' and the library is very small and not appealing to me. I'm not going to buy a 32x just for Chaotix and Kolibri. any SMS game can be played through this setup clearly also with a simple adaptor. (Bonus - Having a Saturn also with a Scart cable, and an action replay with the 'Pseudo Saturn Kai' mod is quite nice on the setup too, and for Dreamcast, VGA comes through nicely on most modern TV's). So, that's my personal optimum Sega experience. The only one that doesn't really have a 'best' way is the Game Gear, which i still find the screen to be hard to see and the system has ongoing capacitor problems. ------------- I'd be careful doing this for two reasons - Check for polarity differences, and check that the power supply you are using has sufficient amp rating. The Megadrive power supplies are rated at higher amp, so they will work on Super Nintendo, but around the other way the Super Nintendo power supply may burn out faster when being used on a a Megadrive.
