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What do you love most about the Genesis Mini?
Over the past few years, several companies have released throwback gaming systems intended to tug at gamer's heartstrings over the consoles (and games) of years gone by. Nintendo released the NES and Super NES Classic Editions, Sony botched the PlayStation Classic and more serious retro gamers will find a lot to like about Analogue's Mega SG and Super NT. Of all these contenders for the nostalgic crown, the one that scored best with Engadget editors was Sega's Genesis Mini. Thanks to its solid build quality, faithfully recreated controllers and strong game library, the Genesis Mini earned a well-deserved score of 89.
Sega's Genesis Mini is just $45 today
Following years of shoddy third-party consoles, Sega took matters into its own hands and produced a replica console worthy of the Genesis name. The Genesis Mini has everything we look for in a miniature: a faithful design, a great collection of games and solid performance. It scored 89 in our review back in September, with praise for its large selection of titles, faithful emulation, high build quality and intelligent interface. The only negatives we found were the controllers (they're fine, but we would've liked to see the six-button rather than the three-button controllers) and that some games don't quite hit the mark.
One fan’s struggle to fix the worst game in Sonic history
The 2006 reboot of Sonic the Hedgehog was supposed to be a turning point for the blue blur. It was the character's first outing on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 hardware, and Sega clearly wanted to make an impact. The game, simply titled Sonic the Hedgehog (commonly referred to as Sonic 06), was a visual leap forward for the franchise and offered three playable characters, including telekinetic newcomer Silver, with separate but interwoven story lines. But the game was a massive flop. Critics slammed the ambitious but poorly written story, which combined time travel, all-powerful gods and a post-apocalyptic future filled with nothing but fire and abandoned skyscrapers. They hated the finicky controls, too, as well as the uncooperative camera system, agonizingly long load times and glitch-riddled levels. Patient players were rewarded with a passable-at-best blend of platforming and action as well as open-world zones that were barren and seemingly half finished. Oh, and it was also the game that had a universally hated kiss scene between Sonic and a human princess. Many consider Sonic 06 to be the lowest point in the franchise. The PS3 version has a 43-percent rating on the reviews aggregation site Metacritic, which is lower than Sonic Forces, Sonic & the Black Knight and Shadow the Hedgehog -- the hugely divisive game where Sega's black-and-red antihero skated around with sub-machine guns and said "damn" a lot. Most Sonic fans want to forget the game was ever released. But not Ian Moris, a developer known online by his handle ChaosX. Instead of condemning and ridiculing the title, he's one of a select few trying to fix it.
The Sega Genesis Mini is $30 off for Black Friday
After toying with lackluster miniature versions of its Genesis console, Sega finally hit its stride with the Genesis Mini. The HDMI-equipped emulation device faithfully recreates the 16-bit experience without the laggy or choppy performance of previous efforts, making it a worthy competitor to Nintendo's SNES Classic. The tiny console is currently on sale for $50 -- $30 off its usual price, making it an even more alluring purchase as a holiday gift.
Microsoft is adding 10 'Final Fantasy' games to Xbox Game Pass
Earlier today, Microsoft announced that it's adding more than 50 new games to Xbox Game Pass -- as well as giving three sweet freebies if you sign up for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. By any measure, that's a lot of games, but it's an especially exciting crop if you're a fan of Japanese role-playing series Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts.
The best gifts and games for console gamers
This year will mark the end of an era for console gaming. Next-generation consoles are coming in 2020, but it also means both the PS4 and the Xbox One are at the peak of their power and popularity. Not to be outdone, there's also Nintendo's Switch, which has already seen a second-generation hardware twist in the handheld Switch Lite. Our selection for this holiday season runs across all these consoles, as well as including Sega's nostalgia-baiting Genesis Mini. We've focused on tried-and-tested AAA titles like Overwatch on the Switch, and Control available on both Xbox and PlayStation, while also suggesting more under-the-radar hits like Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night and Risk of Rain 2. Naturally, Pokémon Sword and Shield isn't quite out yet, but from our early impressions, we know it will satisfy any Pokémon fans you're shopping for. And, if you need even more recommendations for the gamers in your life, we have a guide for every console.
Two classic ‘House of the Dead’ games are being remade for current consoles
Arcades are a rare sight these days. But while nothing can match the experience of exchanging a $10 bill for a pile of quarters and binging on some games with your friends, many of the classics have made their way to consoles and PCs. Publisher Forever Entertainment will bring some zombie-blasting arcade action home with re-releases of House of the Dead and House of the Dead 2, Sega's iconic light gun games.
Sega Genesis Mini review: The best mini console out there
If you're suffering from gaming nostalgia fatigue, you're not alone. But you might want to make some extra room in your media center because the latest retro console, the Sega Genesis Mini, might also be the greatest. First, let's take stock of where we are in the golden age of mini consoles. Nintendo has two hugely popular minis under its belt and Sony's stepped up to the plate with a Playstation Classic that was mostly a swing and a miss. Coming up on the horizon, there's a TurboGrafx-16 mini and this arcade emulator playable logo thing from Capcom. Not to mention Analogue's superb FPGA hardware clones, the Mega SG and Super NT. Into this crowded space comes the Sega Genesis Mini, and it comes in hot -- making a strong stab at owning the casual 16-bit space.
20 years of Dreamcast: Readers look back on Sega’s final console
Engadget started up in 2004, so we missed the rise (and fall) of the Sega Dreamcast by a few years. We've still covered the company's ups and downs over the past decade and a half (and can't wait for the Sega Genesis Mini later this month). Today's the 20th anniversary of the Dreamcast's release in North America, so we asked readers to write a review to tell us what they miss most about the console. Here's what they had to say about the games they loved, the features that impressed them and the system's unrealized potential.
The Dreamcast predicted everything about modern consoles
9/9/99. 20 years ago today, the Dreamcast landed in America. And even though it was ultimately an absolute failure, it changed the face of console gaming forever. It brought the power of Sega's arcade hardware into your living room (at a price more palatable than the Neo-Geo). It banked on network connectivity by including a modem. And it even ran Windows! You can draw a clear line from the Dreamcast to today's systems, making it seem even more remarkable in retrospect. Now that we're gearing up for another generation of home gaming systems, it's worth taking a look back at exactly how it foretold our current gaming landscape.
Sega is becoming its weird and wonderful self again
Sega is in an unexpectedly good place right now. The company was never on top of the industry; it's been beaten by Nintendo, by Sony, by the decline of the arcade. It spent years nursing the wounds from its fall from grace in the '90s, and through the '00s and early '10s could seemingly do little right.
‘Streets of Rage 4’ is shaping up to be a worthy sequel
Streets of Rage 4's announcement landed with a bit of a thud. The original trilogy of Genesis games is beloved, and for many remains the benchmark for the genre. It's now been 15 years since Streets of Rage 3, and a teaser trailer for a new game showing a cast of hand-drawn characters against some decidedly modern music looked more like a Saturday morning cartoon than a faithful new chapter. While many were excited for the return, a vocal group voiced their concerns.
Sega’s remastered ‘Yakuza’ bundle for PS4 comes to the US
With western interest in the Yakuza series the most passionate it's ever been, Sega is bringing remastered PlayStation 4 versions of its PlayStation 3 open-world Yakuza 3, Yakuza 4 and Yakuza 5 games to the West. Fans can purchase The Yakuza Remastered Collection starting today for $59.99, with the remastered Yakuza 3 available to download right this moment. Sega will release the other two games in the collection on October 29th, 2019 and February 11th, 2020, respectively. If you buy The Yakuza Remastered Collection, Yakuza 4 and Yakuza 5 will unlock automatically once they're available.
The next 'Mario & Sonic Olympics' game has a retro 2D mode
Over the past 12 years, Nintendo and Sega have faithfully published their mashup, Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games, to correspond with the iconic sporting event. The 2020 Olympics in Tokyo will be a homecoming of sorts for the two mascots, who were both created in Japan. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Tokyo Games 2020 will also see them returning to their roots in 10 "Classic Events" that use 2D sprites and environments.
'Two Point Hospital' is coming to consoles in late 2019
You won't have to fire up a computer to play the spiritual successor to Theme Hospital. Two Point Studios and Sega are bringing Two Point Hospital to PS4, Switch and Xbox One sometime in late 2019. It'll remain faithful to the absurdity of the PC hospital management title (the existence of a Clown Clinic should say everything), but will be "fully rebuilt" to take advantage of gamepads and the Switch's mobile experience.
'Streets of Rage 4' will be scored by an all-star group of composers
However well Streets of Rage 4 turns out, it should at least have a top-tier soundtrack. Guard Crush Games, Lizardcube and Dotemu have revealed that the side-scrolling beat-em-up will have music from Motohiro Kawashima and Yuzo Koshiro, both of whom produced soundtracks for the original Streets of Rage games. They'll tap into the "thumping club anthems" you may remember from the first three titles while creating new sounds.
How much did you love your Sega Dreamcast?
It's been over 20 years since Sega released its final console. Loved by many for its stellar lineup of games like Shenmue and Sonic Adventure, the Dreamcast was the first system to include a built-in modem for online play. And then there were its distinct, spaceship-shaped controller and unique Visual Memory Unit for saving your games. Though Engadget wasn't around to review the Dreamcast when it was released, dozens of users have left scores and reviews for the console on its product page over the years. From calling it "highly innovative for its time" and being "awed by its graphics and performance," users largely seem to feel nostalgic and affectionate towards the obsolete game system, which currently has an average score of 80.
‘Judgment’ is a sublime detective game for everyone
Grizzly murders. A ridiculously smart hero haunted by his past. A shady group of individuals who will do anything, it seems, to cover up their terrible deeds. These are the hallmarks of a great detective story, and Judgment, the latest video game from Japanese developer Ryu ga Gotoku (RGG) Studio, has all of them.
Sega Genesis Mini hands-on: A faithfully clunky controller
Sega had cocooned its incoming mini console in see-thru boxes at E3 2019. I'm not sure why, because the Genesis Mini (or Mega Drive Mini if you're nasty) seemed like the finished article, and was very much playable. There were rows of the device setup in a faux '90s living room, with faux TV frames and faux wood paneling to really complete the vibe. After a handful of delays, the $80 console is finally approaching its September launch date, and if you haven't preordered one already, should you?
'Alien: Isolation' will terrify Switch users later this year
Xenomorphs will soon hunt you down on the road. Creative Assembly and Sega are bringing the survival horror of Alien: Isolation to the Switch sometime later in 2019. There are precious few details of what will change, but the portability is an obvious advantage over the existing console versions. You can also presume that it'll involve many instances of hiding in lockers and remaining perfectly quiet. Whether or not you'll get the movie-themed DLC is another matter.
