Play Sega Master System Games on the Genesis for Under $30!
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- Опубликовано: 25 авг 2024
- In this episode, we show you how you can play Sega Master System games on a Sega Mega Drive or Genesis for under $25!
One of the brilliant things Sega did, that Nintendo frankly didn't, was the way they engineered backward compatibility into the Sega Genesis and Mega Drive to be able to play Master System games. They did this through a converter called the Power Base Converter, the unit itself plugged into the cartridge port on the 16-bit systems and essentially added 8-bit functionality. This immediately added the Master System library to the 16-bit consoles, extending its life and the games playable on the Genesis at the same time, giving gamers the ability to play classics they may have missed out on. Nowadays, the Power Base Converter is rather expensive, over $100 loose and $200 plus complete in box. On a recent visit to eBay, I found the Master Drive adapter, available for about $25 and decided to give it a shot
The overall design is very simple, it almost just looks like a Genesis game PCB with a Master System receptacle on the top of it. The face of the unit features a pause button, the Master Drive logo, and Sonic the Hedgehog. There's nothing really on the back, and this all has a handmade sort of feel to it. The solder joints all looked good, and the connector felt decent as well. Hand testing the cartridge fitment in the top of the Master Drive, I have to admit the pins do feel a bit tight, but they are not a death grip. Curious to see how it performed, I connected it to my JVC X'EYE and decided to play.
One thing I found out rather quickly is that you cannot go through a Sega 32x with this adapter. In talking to the developer of the Master Drive, there's something in the 32x that removes Sega Master System compatibility, hence why it will not pass through the system. Not a problem as I simply removed my 32x, I don't use it that much anyways, and it booted up normally. We are on our way.
The first game I tested out was R-Type, an absolute arcade shoot'em up classic that is absolutely beautiful on the Master System. I'm pleased to state that it looks just as great going through my JVC X'EYE with the Master Drive as through actual hardware. The colors were vibrant, the sound seemed accurate, overall this played great!
Next up was Wonder Boy, or as we got on the NES, Adventure Island. Once again the game played terrifically, however, I forgot that I had to hold down a button to be able to run and jump higher. I guess I need to spend more time playing Wonder Boy don't I? Again everything just played wonderfully, very little if any difference between playing through actual hardware
Next, I decided to test the Master Drive through some clone systems, the Retron 3 HD, the Mega Retron, and the MiniGen from Gamerz Tech. While both of the Hyperkin systems displayed a picture, the color was not correct which was disappointing. The MiniGen did not display a proper picture at all, so these three systems clearly are not compatible. I would say if you want to utilize this, you have to use original hardware.
The final test was Double Dragon, and this was the first game in that I saw some slight visual irregularities. It wasn't anything major, but the reds seemed really hot to me. I don't know if it's something where other games didn't use this much of the color palette so I didn't notice it as much or what, but it was definitely noticeable on Double Dragon.
Why it RoX:
- Under $30 shipped
- Simple in its design
- Integrated pause start button
- Works with all the games that I tested it with
What could be improved:
- Master System Port pins are a bit tight
- No external shell means fitting into your system can be a bit of a challenge
- Reds came through a bit hot on Double dragon
- Shipping from Europe took about 6 weeks
- Not compatible with Master System card games
- Cannot pass through a 32X
Should you buy one?
While this is a good, value option for the Power Base Converter, it is not perfect. The lack of an external shell can make it difficult to insert into your system correctly. I found myself fumbling more than a few times to get the pins aligned. It is not compatible with the card games for the Master System, which may be a major downfall for some people. But for the money, this thing just works. It played all of my Master System games and it played them well. The reds were a little bit hot on Double Dragon, but that's a minor price to pay in my view for the convenience that this lends. Will I be removing my Master System from the top of my bench? Not sure yet, but at least now I have that as an option.
#Sega #PowerBaseAdapter #MasterDrive #MasterSystem #VideoGames
The footage used in this review are used under the Fair Use laws, referenced below:
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i checked the ebay listing and apparently its no longer available
They were available early yesterday before I posted the video so he may have sold out, I would say follow the listing more should be coming back soon
The reason the cartridge converter works is because the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive had the Master System built in the Genesis/Mega Drive the Power Base Converter used the Master Syster part of the Genesis/Mega Drive.
Sega Master system was my 1st system growing up. The Wonder Boy 1-3 games are my fav on there. To jump high in Wonder Boy either hold down the shooting button to run & then press jump, or if you are walking you need to press both buttons at the same time.
You shouldn't be playing those games on a HD tv. It lags. You'll notice a huge difference if you play those same games you played on a CRT.
I hate CRTs, I'll never own another one
The mighty master system wasn't underrated in the UK/Europe & Brazil where it was a more popular system than the NES.
I owned a Master System shortly after it’s US nation wide launch. When the Genesis came along, I bought it at launch and the power base converter when available. I had a large SMS collection so it made sense. Colors were slightly off with the Genesis and power base from original hardware but it wasn’t enough to distract from playing.
This definitely needs to be enclosed in a cart like case. Not bad for the money.
I'm working on designing something for my 3D printer
9:20 ...
thats the funnest thing about double dragon sms - you always get rickrolled on the first stage :D
Tell me that doesn't legit look like Rick Astley!
@@RoXolid all joking aside have u tested it (or any other similar adapter) on the super retro trio plus? i know u tested other clones but they all have different results
I love the Sega Master System. I also have one of those Power Base Adapters for my Sega Genesis. It's a great device.
It is, I just slept on getting one when they were cheaper. I remember when they were just $50 CIB!
@@RoXolid I just have a loose one (aka no box or manual). A lot of the retro gaming stuff has skyrocketed the last 5-7 years.
I just got one recently and I love it. Also wondering where I can get a cartridge shell for it or if I’d have to make one myself?
No pause for certain menus. For just a few dollars more Castlemania games has one that has the pause button. Power Base Mini is worth the extra money. They may have an FM one too. Glad you are doing so well.
It has the pause button on it, I pointed that out
@@RoXolid Oops, I must have walked away for a minute. Sorry. I will watch again.
@@RoXolid He was mistaken about the pause, but I still feel the fit and finish of the Powerbase Mini with or without FM is worth the extra bucks ^_^
Thank you "RoXolid Productions" for uploading this video I was trying to search how to play SMS Games on real hardware genesis!! Genesis is my favorite console of all time!!👍
Thanks for the kind words and for watching
"Reds came through a bit hot on Double dragon"
I'm not sure why that's a con of the converter considering the video is generated from the Genesis/Mega Drive VDP, the converter has no effect on how the colors come out.
I wonder if it will work on my Super Retro Trio by RetroBit. I want one of these adaptors but I hate the idea of taking apart my Tower of Power every time I want to use it.
I think it should
I've got mine a few months ago. I'm from France, so I'm using a PAL megadrive 2 and PAL master system games.
I also have the powerbase mini (no FM). There are plenty of games like R-type, Alien 3 and Shadow Dancer that don't work on the powerbase mini, but they work on the master drive.
I just wish the master drive would come with a shell so I didn't have to cut one myself.
🙂
Agreed
The only Sega system I ever owned was the Dreamcast, and even that was when they were on clearance.
The Master System is a terrific console to get involved with
Not having the card port and the FM sound doesn't make it too appealing for me, although there's the "Namikom Sound Master" that can give it FM Sound, but I really wanted to experiment with the Card games and the 3D adapter since I could find them on the cheap and I heard it works with modern LCD 3D glasses that are also very cheap, one of these companies like Hyperkin or Retro-Bit should make a Master System clone based on Mega Drive chips that could support those things.
If all you want to do is play the library, this is a decent place to start. If you're looking for the FM Sound and Card Game compatibility, then the Power Base Converter is really what you'll want
@@RoXolid Here in Brazil Master System I and II units aren't very common, and these are the only that have the Card ports, but Master System III units are quite common, and there are a lot of variations of it like the Collection units that comes with up to 112 games and the Compacts.
@@arthurcarneirolopes6383 Interesting!
I remember the original Power Base Converter and it definitely had the card portal on it as well.
I’ve got the Mega Drive version of the Power Base Converter, but don’t really use the real hardware anymore since I have a Mega SG (and eventually the Genesis module for my Polymega). If they are selling for big money, perhaps it’s time for me to part ways.
If you want to sell it reach out to me I'd be interested! Roxolidmail@gmail.com
Impressive because there’s another popular 3rd party adapter that doesn’t work with R-Type.
Hi. Do you know if this adapter works on mega retron hd if changing mega retron hd's region switch to EUR or JP ? I have a model of this adapter and its working in a chinese clone (Feihao)
I have not tested it on that so I don't know, but my gut tells me it would probably work
for the price it seems worth it if you don't already have another way to play Master System carts.
Exactly, it won't replace a Power Base but if you don't have one, in a pinch, not bad at all
@@RoXolid One for the road.
It doesn't fit in the switch, but I'm going to test the nomad this weekend
They don't have them at that link anymore
I wonder if he's out of stock?
On the megaretron hd the colors will look correct through composite or set to PAL on HDMI.
Interesting, I'll have to test that out!
@@RoXolid
Is he asking a question or telling us it works on pal . That would be amazing if it works on mega retron hd .
@@CLINTSTER77COX Making a statement, I need to test this yet.
This thing looks like it’ll damage the crap out of your cartridge port. Are the edges rounded and the sides beveled?
Not beveled, and I'll have to look at the edges to see if they are rounded. It definitely needs a deliberate installation to use, which I mentioned
Will this qork on those AT games sega genesis consoles yhat are out there?
I haven't tested it out myself but I don't believe it will. That uses ROM dumping to play the games so I don't know
@@RoXolid ok thank you for the response 👍
Is this even available anywhere?
He makes them by hand and liars them as he has them
is the crystal mounted like that just for the logo?
No, just where the pins happened to wind up
Whats the options for us with the smaller sega?
Smaller Sega? What are you talking about?
@@RoXolid Sega Mini
@@thomaszinsavage2959 Like the Genesis Classic?
@@RoXolid No the smaller 1st revision sega after the 1st large console.
@@thomaszinsavage2959Ah the Model 2 Genesis. Yes, works just fine
I wonder if it would work fine on the analogue sg
I would think it should
Does it do the fm sound?
It does not
@@RoXolid I didn’t even know there was a FM sound add on until I was playing the first Xbox. It was never talked about so I didn’t miss what I didn’t know about. Sure it sound better but that wasn’t the sound when I played them as a teen.
@@baroncalamityplus That's understandable, not a lot of people knew back in the day. Heck, many don't know about the enhanced Famicom Disk System audio!
@@RoXolidI read it was only on the Japanese version
How is this better than free ROMs and emulation? Before you tell me ROMs aren't free, they are as legit as the logo on this device.
He shouldn't be using the logo, I won't argue that, but this plays legit owned products, not pirated software off the internet.
Some people have physical collections and they like to play on real hardware. It's not really a question of better or not.
@@dtester BirdOPrey5 is a friend and he's deliberately trolling me as I am not a fan of emulation and prefer physical carts.
@@RoXolid lol, that is awesome ^_^
automatic dislike for the cliché shocked look cheesy thumbnail
Thanks for watching and interacting, it all helps with the algorithm!
@@RoXolid considering 1 view does not do nothing for ya especially when you look like a V.I.R.G.I.N & a P.A.E.D.O you will get nowhere
Hello. Will this work with retro bit super trio console?
This may have been the answer I was looking for, a cheaper alternative to having to hunt down the legit Powerbase Converter or Master System.
*clicks ebay link*
Aaaaaand it's gone.
They'll be back, they're handmade so message the seller for an update