Sega Mega Drive Flashback

From Sega Retro

AtGames Sega Genesis Flashback.jpg
Mega Drive
Manufacturer: AtGames
Distributor: Argos (UK), E-Concept (France), Just For Games (France), Millennium (Germany), Five Star Games (Australia)
Built-in games: 85
Release Date RRP Code
Sega Mega Drive
US
$79.9979.99[2][3]
Sega Mega Drive
DE
USK: 12
Sega Mega Drive
FR
Sega Mega Drive
UK
Sega Mega Drive
AU
$149.95149.95[5]
OFLC: Mature Accompanied (MA 15+)
Sega Mega Drive
CA

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The Sega Mega Drive Flashback, known as the Sega Genesis Flashback in North America, is an officially licensed Sega Mega Drive emulator console released by AtGames in 2017.

Hardware

The Flashback is an evolution over AtGames' previous products, most notably the Arcade Ultimate. It is a simplified Mega Drive system with 85 built-in games and two wireless controllers, but also a classic Mega Drive cartridge slot and controller ports. Unlike AtGames' previous systems, the Flashback only outputs through HDMI, rendering the image at 720p. A "rewind" function also exists to temporarily turn back time during play (up to six seconds), and the system supports ten save states per game, allowing games to be saved and loaded at any point. A scanline filter is also selectable to attempt to emulate a CRT display.

Of the 85 included games, not all were originally released for the Mega Drive. A small handful of Sega Game Gear and Sega Master System titles are included, and 29 titles are non-Sega games provided by AtGames (the likes of which have been seen in earlier AtGames products). Many of the menu box art graphics are seemingly sourced from fan-made attempts made online, and a variety of regions are represented.

All games are emulated, which in the case of cartridge-based games means the contents need to be dumped into memory before they can be played. While the audio is noticeably more accurate than AtGames' previous attempts, performance is very poor, with no game managing to hit 60FPS. AtGames attributed some of the shortcomings to faulty review units, however newer models continue to exhibit stutter.

As with other Mega Drive clone consoles, there is no support for the Sega Mega-CD or Sega 32X, and Virtua Racing refuses to boot. The Power Base Converter does not physically fit on the device, and as games are stored in memory, pass-through cartridges such as the Game Genie or Action Replay also do not function.

The console also has trouble loading some multi-carts (including officially licensed Sega ones such as Mega Games 6). Unusually for a system of this kind, many of these cartridges are recognised as more than one game, and are listed in the menu as separate ROMs, however in many cases, not all games are detected (and in Mega Games 6's case, a broken menu screen is also recognised as a "game").

Curiously the HDMI input alone carries enough power to light the console's power LED, potentially giving the false impression that the system is plugged in and switched on.

Specifications

  • Android/Linux 3.10.0 based OS
  • 256 MB RAM
  • RockChip 3036 SoC (dual-core, 1GHz, Mali 400)
  • Internal Mini USB connector with ADB support

Built-in games

Mega Drive

Note: The German version drops Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat II and Mortal Kombat 3 (meaning just 82 games in total) so that its USK rating can stay at 12.

Master System

Game Gear

"Bonus" games

  • Adventure in the Park
  • Air Hockey
  • Bomber
  • Bottle Taps Race
  • Break the Fireline
  • Bubbles Master
  • Cannon
  • Checker
  • Chess
  • Cross the road
  • Curling 2010
  • Fight or Lose
  • Fish Story
  • Fish Tank Live
  • Hangman
  • Hexagonos
  • Jack's Pea
  • Jewel Magic
  • Mahjong Solitaire
  • Maze 2010
  • Memory
  • Mr. Balls
  • Naval Power
  • Plumbing Contest
  • Snake
  • Snowboarding
  • Spider
  • Wall-Breaking
  • Warehouse Keeper

Physical scans

Mega Drive, US
MDFlashback MD US Box Top.jpg
MDFlashback MD US Box Back.jpgMDFlashback MD US Box Spine.jpgMDFlashback MD US Box Front.jpgMDFlashback MD US Box Spine2.jpg
MDFlashback MD US Box Bottom.jpg
Cover
Mega Drive, EU
MDFlashback EU box back.jpgNospine-small.pngMDFlashback EU box front.jpg
Cover
Mega Drive, UK
MDFlashback MD UK Box Back.jpgNospine-small.pngMDFlashback MD UK Box Front.jpg
Cover
Mega Drive, FR

Mega Drive, DE
MDFlashback MD DE Box Back.jpgMDFlashback MD DE Box Spine.jpgMDFlashback MD DE Box Front.jpgMDFlashback MD DE Box Spine2.jpg
MDFlashback MD DE Box Bottom.jpg
Cover
Mega Drive, AU
MDFlashback AU box front.jpg
Cover
Mega Drive, CA
MDFlashback MD CA Box Front.jpg
Cover

External links

References


Sega consoles created by AtGames
"Plug and play" systems
PlayPal Plug & Play (2006) | Arcade Gamer (200x) | Brain Games Colour (2008) | Mega Drive Twin Pads (2008) | Arcade Gamer Classic (20xx) | Arcade Master (20xx) | Reactor (20xx) | Arcade Motion Dual (2010) | Arcade Nano (2010) | Arcade Blast (2011)
Systems with a cartridge slot
Arcade Motion Classic (2008) | Arcade Classic (2009) | Genesis Gencore (2009) | Sega Mega Drive Flashback (2017)
Handhelds
Arcade Gamer Portable (200x) | Arcade Portable (200x) | Arcade Ultimate (20xx) | GenMobile (20xx)


Sega Mega Drive
Topics Technical specifications (Hardware comparison) | History | List of games | Magazine articles | Promotional material | Merchandise | Cartridges | TradeMark Security System
Hardware Japan | North America | Western Europe | Eastern Europe | South America | Asia | South Korea | Australasia | Africa
EZ Games | LaserActive | Mega Jet | Mega PC | Mega Play | Mega-Tech System | Nomad | Teradrive | Mega Drive Mini | Mega Drive Mini 2
New Mega Drive | Tianli VCD/DVD Players | "Consoles on a chip" | Licensed clones (Magic 2 | Mega Game II | Power Pegasus | Super Bitman)
Unlicensed clones
Add-ons Game Box | Power Base Converter | Mega-CD | 32X (Mega-CD 32X) | Mega Modem | Demo System DS-16
Cases Sega Genesis Nomad Carrying Case | System Carry Case
Controllers Control Pad | Six Button Control Pad | 6 Button Arcade Pad | Arcade Power Stick 6B | Konami Justifier | MK-1470
Action Chair | Activator | Arcade Power Stick | Keyboard | MegaFire | Mouse | Mega Stick | Menacer | Remote Arcade System | Ten Key Pad | Third Party Controllers
Accessories 4 Way Play | Cleaning System | Control Pad Extension Cord | Genesis Speakers | Headset | HeartBeat Catalyst | Microphone | Region converter cartridges | Mega Terminal | Nomad PowerBack | RF Unit (Mega Drive 2) | SCART Cable (Mega Drive 2) | Stereo Audio Video Cable | Team Player | Video Monitor Cable | Third Party Accessories
Network services Sega Channel | Sega Game Toshokan | Mega Anser | Mega Net | TeleBradesco Residência | XB∀ND
Development tools ERX 308P | ERX 318P | Sprobe | SNASM68K | SNASM2 (Mega Drive) | SNASM2 (32X) | PSY-Q Development System (Mega Drive) | PSY-Q Development System (32X) | 32X CartDev | Sega Mars Development Aid System | Sega 32X Development Target
Unreleased Edge 16 | Floppy Disk Drive | Mega Play 1010 | Sega VR | Teleplay System | Video Jukebox