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Can You Help Me Before Getting a Sega Genesis?


Games Retrospect

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Hi everyone, I have some money to spend on a system this month and I'm interested in getting some of the classic ones. I saw that someone nearby is selling a Sega Genesis Model 2 for little to next to nothing and apparently it's the real thing. I'm saying that because I live in a country where the Sega Genesis is one of the most pirated consoles ever (I live in Argentina), so I want to ask a couple of questions before actually buying it just to double check I don't have to return it. The person selling it only has the system, so that means: no power supply, no composite cable and no controllers. Are the power supply and composite generic? What I mean is, can I go to an electronic store and just buy those things or are they specific to the Sega Genesis. I do have a new controller someone gave to me years and years ago, so that's not a problem. And finally, no games. I have no real experience with the Genesis, so can you recommend at least one or two cheap games I can get to test the system? I only know the well-known games like Sonic, Phantasy Star and Contra: Hard Corps, but some of those can get extremely expensive. Do you think getting repro carts for some of those games is worth it? Because I can get those for pretty much nothing.

 

Here are the pictures the seller posted.

 

https://http2.mlstatic.com/sega-genesis-original-japon-D_NQ_NP_786292-MLA31372954661_072019-F.webp

 

https://http2.mlstatic.com/sega-genesis-original-japon-D_NQ_NP_863029-MLA31372952300_072019-F.webp

 

https://http2.mlstatic.com/sega-genesis-original-japon-D_NQ_NP_604438-MLA31372955152_072019-F.webp

 

I want to say thanks in advance. It's always extremely exciting to get a new system, but I have to say I don't have that much experience with Sega systems and I really feel like I'm missing out. Really, thanks guys.

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Start here, look at the other "guides" about the Genesis.

http://www.racketboy.com/retro/sega-genesis-megadrive-101-a-beginners-guide

 

The AV is generic. The power supply is not "standard" like a PC cable but it should be easy to find a modern remake in a place that sells retro games. 

 

Flash cartridges work fine on this. 

 

These are super common and cheap in the USA. I wouldn't jump on a loose one here because there are lots of others out there. 

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26 minutes ago, Flojomojo said:

Start here, look at the other "guides" about the Genesis.

http://www.racketboy.com/retro/sega-genesis-megadrive-101-a-beginners-guide

 

The AV is generic. The power supply is not "standard" like a PC cable but it should be easy to find a modern remake in a place that sells retro games. 

 

Flash cartridges work fine on this. 

 

These are super common and cheap in the USA. I wouldn't jump on a loose one here because there are lots of others out there. 

I'll definitely check out the guide, but first I'd like to know if this is fake or not. Shouldn't the Model 2 have metal plates behind the vents at the bottom? I don't have much experience with the system, thata's why I'm asking so many questions. Thanks for the recommendation!

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16 minutes ago, Flojomojo said:

It looks real enough to me, but someone else would know better. Is it selling for a lot of money? It really shouldn't. 

It costs less than $15 with free shipping, but I don't think it's the real thing, though I'm really interested in what other people have to say about that. I honestly have no idea what I would cost in the US. I don't know what anything would cost in the US. I usually use pricecharting.com for reference, but some people say that site is woefully inaccurate. How much would you pay for a used SNES? I'm looking for one of those as well.

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The Genesis II always had the US-shaped cart slot. This has a big flat square one. That means this one has been modified for region-free gaming, which is cool. 

 

You can see from the underside pic that the motherboard extends the full width of the system meaning it's an older model 2 that won't sound very good. It's also obviously missing the RF shield under the motherboard, which probably doesn't mean a whole lot but I wouldn't buy a Genesis without all its innards intact, and I wouldn't buy a VA 1.x or 2.x Genesis 2 at all. Even for $15 I think you can do better with some patience. Don't forget to include an extra $20-30 to get a replacement AV cable, power supply, and controller (variable cost because controllers range from OMG awful to pretty decent if you get a Retro-Bit Sega repro). Complete Genesis systems with all of that usually go for around $35, so that's what I'd be looking for. 

 

Used SNES consoles go for considerably more. More than likely you'll be paying 50-65 for a complete system, at minimum with AV, power, and one controller.

Edited by derFunkenstein
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2 hours ago, derFunkenstein said:

The Genesis II always had the US-shaped cart slot. This has a big flat square one. That means this one has been modified for region-free gaming, which is cool. 

 

You can see from the underside pic that the motherboard extends the full width of the system meaning it's an older model 2 that won't sound very good. It's also obviously missing the RF shield under the motherboard, which probably doesn't mean a whole lot but I wouldn't buy a Genesis without all its innards intact, and I wouldn't buy a VA 1.x or 2.x Genesis 2 at all. Even for $15 I think you can do better with some patience. Don't forget to include an extra $20-30 to get a replacement AV cable, power supply, and controller (variable cost because controllers range from OMG awful to pretty decent if you get a Retro-Bit Sega repro). Complete Genesis systems with all of that usually go for around $35, so that's what I'd be looking for.  

 

Used SNES consoles go for considerably more. More than likely you'll be paying 50-65 for a complete system, at minimum with AV, power, and one controller.

Thanks a lot for the comprehensive reply. A few questions about SNES systems because I've seen a couple of them at a reasonable price (around the price you suggest). Basically, I've seen two kinds: the one some people call the Junior and the regular one. What's the difference between the two? From what I've heard, and maybe this is anecdotal, the Junior is more collectible and cool if you're playing on an CRT TV because it only supports composite. The regular SNES, on the other hand, some people think is better because it supports S-video. Is that assumption correct? Also, I have an SNES Classic Edition which I really, really like, so I have a way of playing SNES games. But which games I need to look for? Any recommendations apart from the Mario, Zelda, Metroid trifecta?

 

Thanks again!

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6 hours ago, Games Retrospect said:

Thanks a lot for the comprehensive reply. A few questions about SNES systems because I've seen a couple of them at a reasonable price (around the price you suggest). Basically, I've seen two kinds: the one some people call the Junior and the regular one. What's the difference between the two? From what I've heard, and maybe this is anecdotal, the Junior is more collectible and cool if you're playing on an CRT TV because it only supports composite. The regular SNES, on the other hand, some people think is better because it supports S-video. Is that assumption correct? Also, I have an SNES Classic Edition which I really, really like, so I have a way of playing SNES games. But which games I need to look for? Any recommendations apart from the Mario, Zelda, Metroid trifecta?

 

Thanks again!

Yeah, basically what you've said is true. The Junior does not support S-Video or RGB out of the box where the regular SNES does. The problem is that the regular SNES went through multiple internal component revisions and it's not possible to tell without taking apart which one you have. Some look better than others, but on a CRT, they all look pretty good to me. You'll pay quite a bit more for a "1-Chip" original SNES, which has better video quality out of the box and can be further modified to get even clearer video.

 

Personally I don't own an SNES; I got a Super Nt. I don't like the look of the original SNES, and I'd have to modify an SNES Jr to get RGB to work with my RetroTink 2x, and then I'd need component cables. It was actually cheaper to get a Super Nt even though I have the converter solution in hand because the mod (which is currently out of stock at Mobius Strip Tech) is $60 + $15 return shipping + your initial shipping costs, so that makes it $90 + the cost of SNES component cables + the cost of the system. If you have an OSSC, a good SCART cable is half the price of the component cables and that changes the equation a little. 

 

As Flojomojo said, if you're just getting into the SNES and aren't concerned about the very lowest of latencies, an SNES Mini is a great solution. It's $90 on eBay. Adding games isn't hard, either. It'll hold around 200-250 games on its built-in storage, depending on exactly which games you want and the ROM size. An NES Classic Mini can be modded to play SNES games, too, but you need to replace the default controller in that instance.

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That cart port doesn't look to be modified and there for, because of that alone, I would say it's a pirate. Unless there is some variation with a sqaured cart slot I'm not aware of. A very well made one, but a pirate none the less. I'd want to open it up and see the motherboard to examine the chipset and the silk screen on the pcb. Someone went to great length to make it look as real as possible. Devil is in the details. But if it works and it's only $15 with free shipping, I don't see how you could go wrong. :)

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  • 4 weeks later...

Looks fake to me. Red flags to me are as follows:

  1. the squared off cartridge slot (as mentioned above by @Shawn)
  2. the fact that EVERYTHING on the bottom of the console is flipped. i.e. the vents are on the right when they should be on the left, Sega CD cover is on the left when it should be on the right, FCC ID sticker is on the right when it should be on the left, "if you need help" sticker is on the left when it should be on the right - you get the idea. 
  3. The "if you need help" sticker is typically in black, like pictured below. I don't *think* I've seen it in silver like in your provided picture.

I've seen a lot of Genesis consoles in my day and none of them are as described in #1 and #2 above. You should be able to get one for a similar amount of money that is NOT a fake, assuming that matters to you (it would to me). By contrast, below please see a picture of the bottom of an authentic Genesis Model 2 console and you will see what I mean about the positioning of the stickers and vents, etc. in #2. Good luck.

Sega.jpg

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17 hours ago, sixersfan105 said:

Looks fake to me. Red flags to me are as follows:

  1. the fact that EVERYTHING on the bottom of the console is flipped. i.e. the vents are on the right when they should be on the left, Sega CD cover is on the left when it should be on the right, FCC ID sticker is on the right when it should be on the left, "if you need help" sticker is on the left when it should be on the right - you get the idea. 
  2. The "if you need help" sticker is typically in black, like pictured below. I don't *think* I've seen it in silver like in your provided picture.

 

Actually the vents and CD expansion port are on the correct side. The console in his picture is turned 180 degrees. So in fact the stickers are in the correct spots but they are flipped 180 degrees. So yes it is still pointing it being a clone and not a true US Genesis. Just wanted to clarify that all the stuff is where it should be but the labels are technically upside down.

 

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1 hour ago, -^Cro§Bow^- said:

Actually the vents and CD expansion port are on the correct side. The console in his picture is turned 180 degrees. So in fact the stickers are in the correct spots but they are flipped 180 degrees. So yes it is still pointing it being a clone and not a true US Genesis. Just wanted to clarify that all the stuff is where it should be but the labels are technically upside down.

 

Trippy. Guess it was the upside down stickers that gave me that impression. 100% fake, this console is.

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