Portable Megadrive
As Christmas is fast approaching, here at Zath we’re trying to find those little extra ‘stocking fillers’ to get your loved ones, kids or even yourselves.
So, whilst out looking for things, I came across this little beauty which was quite exciting to some extent – it’s only a Portable Megadrive!
There are 20 pre-loaded games available on this handheld Sega Megadrive which include:
Sonic & Knuckles, Shinobi III – Return Of The Ninja Master, Alex Kidd (and the Enchanted Castle), Alien Storm, Altered Beast, Arrow Flash, Columns III, Crack Down, Decap Attack, Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine, E Swat, Ecco, Ecco Jr, Flicky, Gain Ground, Golden Axe, Jewel Master, Kid Chameleon, Sonic Spinball, Shadow Dancer.
The reason I say, to some extent, is that is seems that these are the only 20 games that you’ll be able to play, which isn’t a bad thing, but isn’t really a good thing either. The way that gaming is going nowadays with downloadable content, it would have been nice to see a function which allows you to download new games and save them to the handheld Mega Drive.
But I suppose I’m just being picky here. If you’ve got a Wii, you’ll be able to buy most of them off the Virtual Console.
Another little feature with the handheld is that you can plug it straight into your TV and play the games on a bigger screen still using the handheld as the controller.
It requires 3xAAA batteries to power the handheld, so I suggest buying rechargeable batteries as normal ones will run out very quickly especially as the screen is LCD. So it will look nice and sharp, but your batteries won’t like it. It’s a shame the USB Batteries are only available in AA at this stage (USBCell are planning on making them though), as this would have been a nice little extra to add to the present.
Overall though, I do think that this Portable Megadrive a really good little gadget and I seriously considering getting one for myself for those long journeys to work every morning and……well……maybe even during work to!! For £27.99 you can’t really go wrong, as I think that this is a very reasonable price for this little beauty this Christmas!
Related Pages:
- Sega Megadrive Console Re-Released
- Portable Plug-In iPhone Charger
- Taking Handhelds Seriously: Legitimizing Portable Gaming Through Controversy
- Sonic The Hedgehog Goes Solo In ‘Project Needlemouse’
- Project Needlemouse Named Sonic 4: Episode 1
Get Your Free Zath Subscription!
You can also sign up to the Zath Newsletter and receive email updates by simply entering your first name and email address below then clicking the 'Submit' button: We hate spam too, we'll never disclose your email address to anyone else!
Comments: 105
7:46 am 4th December, 2008
This reminds me of the Sega Nomad, which was actually a portable Megadrive (complete with cartridge slot), but it was never officially released in the UK and it cost considerably more.
I agree it’s a great price and I too might get one, but at less than £30, I wonder what the screen is like?
Comments: 1
11:22 pm 13th January, 2009
The screen is pretty lame unfortunately! However, the collection of games is varied and you always can use a tv for better output. Cheers!
Comments: 174
1:20 pm 16th January, 2009
Filippo – I suppose at under £30, you can understand if the screen isn’t of the highest quality, but it’s certainly a great way of playing some old favourite games and bringing back some memories! Also, playing on a tv, must be really bring back the true console experience.
Comments: 105
6:27 pm 16th January, 2009
So I bought one and yes, it’s pretty good. The only good games are Sonic & Knuckles, Altered Beast, Golden Axe, Shaddow Dancer, Shinobi and Ecco. Some are truly awful and almost unplayable. There is a problem with many of the games when played on a TV in that they run slowly. This is a PAL issue which dogged the Megadrive and Super NES and was also responsible for those black bars on the screen in the UK (ah, memories!)
It’s worth £30, but it wouldn’t be worth £35.
Comments: 174
1:54 am 18th January, 2009
I have great memories of playing Altered Beast and Golden Axe, although I never managed to get a Megadrive, I think I was playing those on the Amiga…I think, either way, kept me entertained for hours as a kid!
Comments: 105
8:38 am 18th January, 2009
I only got one after the fact. It was £240 at one point! I never had an Amiga, but I had friends who did. Shadow of the Beast sticks in my memory as being one of the best games. Outrun sucked though!