I appreciate your honesty John. The fact that they raised the price multiple times and you can build a better experience yourself for half the cost kills it for me.
Great video John! The value in this is for people who don't want to buy all the individual systems and deal with the potential problems of 30+ year old hardware, to have something that works out-of-the-box with modern hdmi tvs. And also the support and updates the company provides.
@@crystalwater505 greed and hype. likely all it is...although...and bare with me on this one....cost of living has gone up, due to many reasons...these systems are made by people who need to earn more money than they needed 4-5 years ago. The company has to pay their employees more, now. (Unless they've already made all the systems they're gonna make lol) So, they raise the price of the product to compensate for the raise in wages for their workers. Just a wild guess, and not necessarily true lol
Thanks for the fair review. I am a collector and for me the base system is worth it for the Neo Geo CD and Saturn alone. Everything else is a bonus. I heard the performance of games on the N64 module is a little rough but hopefully it will improve by the time it is officially released.
Hey john! been following since i was a kid, currently sitting in my game room surrounded by my collection that started from watching channels like yours. happy to see new reviews from you with the same honesty ❤️
I remember your content on Retroblox back in 2016.. so much water under the bridge for Polymega and it has def lost much of its initial promise. Too bad though.. could have been a true dream console. Nice vid ❤
I love my polymega, but i got lucky, i landed on firmware 1.1.22 so i can still play SNES games fine. Yeah i can't do N64 but i don't got that module anyways, I have over 600 games installed on my polymega right now, but i really hope 1.1.32 update comes out sooner rather than later.
I love the idea of the Polymega. I would buy it if it wasn't for the fact that i live in Sweden, with taxes/custum fees and shipping cost it is impossible for me to buy it.
Just to let you know on all your videos your sound bounces from left to right continuously might be worth in post putting your sound in mono as it's distracting when you are listening via headphones. Thanks for the great content John 😊
sorry to say, it's still emulation at the end of the day, you just have the illusion of using your physical release which gets dumped into an iso or rom
I like the ideal of the Polymega and I would purchase one if they would just drop the price a little on the base unit. I have a physical copy of Sega CD's Wheel Of Fortune that I would not mind running on the Polymega.
Bryan is a POS, true story, he asked an once famed TH-camr, SP1SC&M in the beginning stages to help him as he has a massive PS1 collection, and he was willing to do so until they asked him to send the entire collection to Los Angeles (He was living in Philadelphia at that time) and never offered to send him there, no preview unit, and no offers to pay to ship the items out or anything. Of course SP1SC&M told them to kick rocks and I am glad he did that. That collection would have been stolen by Bryan if that would have happened and I lost respect for Bryan ever since then. Also SP1SC&M stated he will never buy a Polymega and has stuck to his guns on that one.
If it was $250 I might get the Polymega. I see it more as a convenient way to play games while traveling, or to lend to family without worry, but a top-end product? I just don't see it. The current price sure implies that Playmaji does see it as that lol. You can sideload games with the retro blasters. I would do that with NES games, as those are just too old to pay good money on for me. The Polymega would have to have retrotink 4k quality scanlines for me to want to play NES games on it, though...
You can download and rip your games you have in your collection. They are working on a shop where you can purchase and download games that they have licensed.
I started collecting from N64 and beyond, so as it stands, I don't have a use for it right now, but once the N64 module comes out, that would be nice! Though, what would be even better if it supported Dreamcast, (Orignal) Xbox, and Xbox 360. But I doubt any of those will come out. Maybe Dreamcast, but seeing how long the N64 is taking to come out, it'll probably be a while. Portables, like 3DS, PSP, (Super) Game Boy, Game Gear, etc., would also be nice.
I don't see any of the three. Dreamcast is limited by the drive. Dreamcast games (which are GD-ROM) can only be read by certain CD-ROM and DVD-ROM drives, and I doubt that the one that they used is compatible. Xbox and 360 are limited by the CPU. What is a possibility is allowing Dreamcast backups to be played. You'd only need a firmware update.
I wish the Polymega was worth it. When this product was originally envisioned as Retro Blocks, it seemed like a cool idea. I wouldn't mind emulation if this was a $300 system. As it stands, all it is is a software kit that rips roms off your CD based games, which, while cool, isn't impossible to do on your own on a Windows PC with Retroarch. When you can get a Steam Deck, a gaming laptop or even an entry level pre-built thats around the cost of a Polymega, I don't see why you'd want an emulation box. Period. It isn't a lag-free, FPGA based solution. Why bother? Analogue will come out with these in the future.
Looks like a good build and the module approach is nice but the price is way too much ... And i know you were avoiding being bias and good on you because that was a dumb bridge for them to burn.bbbbi domt see this succeeding
Looking for a hand held that does GameCube. Looking to play phantasy star online on a trip will have no access to a TV. Best option one of the retroid or Asus ally?
I find it very worth it... It is expensive but with everything, it's cheaper than buying every game and console... With pi's being illegal in some countries and this isn't, worth it... Burning games I don't have and the working ones without viruses makes me happy... With the retro blaster, yes, with everything that is basic for the cartridges modules, it's less than 300, but I have access to those libraries to play... Some modern games for those consoles, they work... Patches and mods, awesome interface! Granted getting the i7 8700t cpu for it to have your n64 running better is a downside but it is needed... Be cautious with the Russian games... Very adult games, but if you have a spouse who would enjoy watching it (literally) with you, it can help out with setting the mood for the bedroom... But I only found 2 that work... Overall, I find it very worth it! It's only as worth it if you put the effort into it...
this is cool but i really wish that the raspberry pi based disc emulation machine that was being worked on years ago was a thing...would be cool if someone started work on that back up especially with 3d printing and the jump in hardware with the pi 5 could make it support up to gamecube with just a simple external dvd drive and a pi 5 and maybe a custom 3d printed case.. ..way cheaper than 550 could even add cartridge support with some cart rippers for pc.. something open source like that would kill the poly mega especially for people that like to tinker like myself..if only i was good at writing code...
What you're thinking of is the Seedi. It didn't reach it's funding goal, but they released a beta of their software. They even have a suggestion of how to make your own Seedi system which would make it like a bootleg Polymega. Get a USFF and install the Seedi software. They also say that you can use Retrode cartridge adapters with it. Retrode made Genesis/SNES, N64, SMS/SGG, and GB/GBC/GBA adapters. Oddly they didn't make a NES adapter.
@@ManInBlack634 do you know if the software was open source thanks for telling me the name I had forgotten what it was called I remember people knocking it for literally being a pi and an external drive but I seen the potential for a diy one when that happened
@@alexenochss Unfortunately it wasn't open sourced. The link (which was from a Google Drive) on the Seedi website doesn't work anymore also. I did see in a comment on an ETA Prime video on the Seedi where someone uploaded a copy of the beta to the Internet archive.
Well, before i watch: no, not even a little. Not even if you have money to burn. It is absurd how much this thing costs for being such a low powered, innacurate software emulator/rom dumper. But still, I'll watch to see if you enjoyed your time with it 😅 Edit: since i just got the point you mentioned it, having FPGA modules would have been the only thing that they could have done to justify getting close to the price it is. Also ive got to say, whoever made that frontend menu for them did a good job on the design. Very clean looking.
$550 is way too expensive for a cd emulator. For less than $350-$400, one could buy a cheap laptop with an external cd drive and a current gen console controller to play or rip disc images with easily through open emulators.
Hey John , thorough review and it does sound like plenty of fun ,but the price factor , and considering more limited budgets of the average household just in the last 3 years 😢 plus as you pointed out ""it is definitely emulation" , , so for that price for emulation no less , , very easy decision -i m not going to buy Polymega , , , its competition will not have to fear the polymega , , , CD dump is ok because it doesn't hurt CD , , ,but this is awful formula when it comes to the cartridge poly-adapters , because Cartridge dumping eventually erodes the info on your vintage cartridge to the point the original cartridge will no longer Boot , , machines that cause this are identified as "Rom Rippers" ,, a danger to your vintage cartridges 😮😢😮😢😮
This makes no sense to buy in my opinion. If you want emulation, get a mini PC for $250-350, and load it up with Retrobat, or any other emulation front end, with Retrobat most controllers are already set up, put the roms in the folders, get a bios pack, you're done. This is just not the way.
Wean i lreaned the truth about The Polymega years ago I give up on it and suck with Retro Pi since I knew being based on Linux and uses The Raspberry Pi computer system. I'm not as worried about it.
This console is in a dead spot. Sure it offers CD comparability but the entire idea falls apart when you are selling the base unit for $550. If you have the CD's to use on this console; and you are passionate about plying them, you probably already have invested in a PC, upscalers, flashcarts/cd-rom emus, and/or HDMI mods to original hardware. Yes, there is a luxury about playing these on 1 box in your living room, but you are likely to be unhappy with emulation if you are dropping this much cash to play your original discs/carts.
Total pass... to honest looks nice but i have every console this emulates. Ill take my analogue, everdrives, mode, etc over this any day. But at least your video explained a few things. Only if the pocket could play saturn games...
Thank for the feedback and sorry that's happening. I'm not hearing that on my end, but I'll make some adjustments for future videos to make sure it doesn't happen moving forward. I appreciate you letting me know.
I appreciate your honesty John. The fact that they raised the price multiple times and you can build a better experience yourself for half the cost kills it for me.
The idea is neat, but the price is still pretty expensive overall.
Almost 600 for the base unit? Jesus!!
I think I'd rather just save for a good PC at that point.
Great video John! The value in this is for people who don't want to buy all the individual systems and deal with the potential problems of 30+ year old hardware, to have something that works out-of-the-box with modern hdmi tvs. And also the support and updates the company provides.
Short answer would be no. If it were 4 years ago at $250, then it would be worth it.
Why did the price increase so much? It can't just be inflation right?
@@crystalwater505 greed and hype. likely all it is...although...and bare with me on this one....cost of living has gone up, due to many reasons...these systems are made by people who need to earn more money than they needed 4-5 years ago. The company has to pay their employees more, now. (Unless they've already made all the systems they're gonna make lol)
So, they raise the price of the product to compensate for the raise in wages for their workers. Just a wild guess, and not necessarily true lol
800 is a lot but we love the reviews. thanks John for decades of retro to modern gaming love it all, game on!
Love the vids John! As long as you upload I'll be watching
Thanks!
Thanks for the fair review. I am a collector and for me the base system is worth it for the Neo Geo CD and Saturn alone. Everything else is a bonus. I heard the performance of games on the N64 module is a little rough but hopefully it will improve by the time it is officially released.
They should have had all the cart slots on the main unit rather than having loads of add-ons like the Retro Freak does.
Hey john! been following since i was a kid, currently sitting in my game room surrounded by my collection that started from watching channels like yours. happy to see new reviews from you with the same honesty ❤️
I been following you since you started doing videos on TH-cam, it's always a pleasure to watch em ,please never stop,great content
I remember being subsribed to this channel from my old account (2010s). Now I rediscovered you coz of this console. Resubbed! Thanks ❤
Yeah, no communication is the worst.
I miss your console reviews!
I remember your content on Retroblox back in 2016.. so much water under the bridge for Polymega and it has def lost much of its initial promise. Too bad though.. could have been a true dream console. Nice vid ❤
The cost to functionality ratio just isn't there for me. Having said that, I can appreciate the ability to archive your physical games.
MiSTER is the way to go
Glad you put your bias aside and gave this a fair review. Seems out of my price range but looks like a good machine.
When they make a dream cast adapter with the polymega I buying it
Me too.
Darby Allen.
I love my polymega, but i got lucky, i landed on firmware 1.1.22 so i can still play SNES games fine. Yeah i can't do N64 but i don't got that module anyways, I have over 600 games installed on my polymega right now, but i really hope 1.1.32 update comes out sooner rather than later.
I love the idea of the Polymega. I would buy it if it wasn't for the fact that i live in Sweden, with taxes/custum fees and shipping cost it is impossible for me to buy it.
That was a way more interesting system than I initially thought. The pricing is what kills it for me. Thanks for posting John!
Just to let you know on all your videos your sound bounces from left to right continuously might be worth in post putting your sound in mono as it's distracting when you are listening via headphones. Thanks for the great content John 😊
happy fathers day👋👍 john i love coleco vision the most like you been with you a long time my dad bought me coleco vison in my teens early 80s 🎮
sorry to say, it's still emulation at the end of the day, you just have the illusion of using your physical release which gets dumped into an iso or rom
1. Can you play multiplayer games online?
2. Can it do the 2600, Astrocade, Intellivision, Colecovision, 5200, 7800?
Iam happy with my Polymega 🎉
I like the ideal of the Polymega and I would purchase one if they would just drop the price a little on the base unit. I have a physical copy of Sega CD's Wheel Of Fortune that I would not mind running on the Polymega.
Hello from Kyiv❤
Goodbye from Moscow
Sic Semper Tyrannis for Putin@@kirillian358
Why aren't you in the trenches ? Or has your corrupt daddy bribed the right people ?
RIP from Belarus
Bryan is a POS, true story, he asked an once famed TH-camr, SP1SC&M in the beginning stages to help him as he has a massive PS1 collection, and he was willing to do so until they asked him to send the entire collection to Los Angeles (He was living in Philadelphia at that time) and never offered to send him there, no preview unit, and no offers to pay to ship the items out or anything. Of course SP1SC&M told them to kick rocks and I am glad he did that. That collection would have been stolen by Bryan if that would have happened and I lost respect for Bryan ever since then. Also SP1SC&M stated he will never buy a Polymega and has stuck to his guns on that one.
Im from Colombia I have one and I love it! yeah expensive for me especially because I have to pay in COP, but totally worth it! ❤ im in love!
If it was $250 I might get the Polymega. I see it more as a convenient way to play games while traveling, or to lend to family without worry, but a top-end product? I just don't see it. The current price sure implies that Playmaji does see it as that lol.
You can sideload games with the retro blasters. I would do that with NES games, as those are just too old to pay good money on for me. The Polymega would have to have retrotink 4k quality scanlines for me to want to play NES games on it, though...
Their website says it's sold out. I wonder if this is the end of the road for them
John Brotha! I havent seen you on here in a Min!
RetroBlox Dissapeared like VaporWare
Good to See You Still Rocking, ColecoVision -4- Lif
I wish I could download the interface and use that on my android device for consistency
can you download old games on this console??? and you play some your games from your collection???
You can download and rip your games you have in your collection. They are working on a shop where you can purchase and download games that they have licensed.
Interested but the price is scary!🤑
Happy Father's Day bro! 🎉🎊
Thanks, I appreciate that!
I started collecting from N64 and beyond, so as it stands, I don't have a use for it right now, but once the N64 module comes out, that would be nice! Though, what would be even better if it supported Dreamcast, (Orignal) Xbox, and Xbox 360. But I doubt any of those will come out. Maybe Dreamcast, but seeing how long the N64 is taking to come out, it'll probably be a while. Portables, like 3DS, PSP, (Super) Game Boy, Game Gear, etc., would also be nice.
I don't see any of the three. Dreamcast is limited by the drive. Dreamcast games (which are GD-ROM) can only be read by certain CD-ROM and DVD-ROM drives, and I doubt that the one that they used is compatible. Xbox and 360 are limited by the CPU. What is a possibility is allowing Dreamcast backups to be played. You'd only need a firmware update.
@@ManInBlack634 Oh yeah, I forgot the Dreamcast using the GD-Rom. Yeah, I'm sure the Xboxes are just a pipe dream.
Readily available? Sold out atm
I wish the Polymega was worth it. When this product was originally envisioned as Retro Blocks, it seemed like a cool idea. I wouldn't mind emulation if this was a $300 system. As it stands, all it is is a software kit that rips roms off your CD based games, which, while cool, isn't impossible to do on your own on a Windows PC with Retroarch. When you can get a Steam Deck, a gaming laptop or even an entry level pre-built thats around the cost of a Polymega, I don't see why you'd want an emulation box. Period. It isn't a lag-free, FPGA based solution. Why bother? Analogue will come out with these in the future.
You can do all the same stuff on a pc and create as many usb drives as you want
It's an emulation system so no. I am counting the days until Analogue releases the new N64.
Looks like a good build and the module approach is nice but the price is way too much ... And i know you were avoiding being bias and good on you because that was a dumb bridge for them to burn.bbbbi domt see this succeeding
Nope...way too expensive. I would never buy it.
The mega bundle sits at 750€, that is for a hobby with affluent customers totally fine. I am not the target but I am glad that it exists.
Looking for a hand held that does GameCube. Looking to play phantasy star online on a trip will have no access to a TV. Best option one of the retroid or Asus ally?
I find it very worth it... It is expensive but with everything, it's cheaper than buying every game and console... With pi's being illegal in some countries and this isn't, worth it... Burning games I don't have and the working ones without viruses makes me happy... With the retro blaster, yes, with everything that is basic for the cartridges modules, it's less than 300, but I have access to those libraries to play... Some modern games for those consoles, they work... Patches and mods, awesome interface! Granted getting the i7 8700t cpu for it to have your n64 running better is a downside but it is needed... Be cautious with the Russian games... Very adult games, but if you have a spouse who would enjoy watching it (literally) with you, it can help out with setting the mood for the bedroom... But I only found 2 that work...
Overall, I find it very worth it! It's only as worth it if you put the effort into it...
Is this good for the target audience? I’m not it so I have no idea. Seems kinda high still .
Is this or the Mega SG better and why?
I was on board 100% until they dropped the price on us. That was not at all what they promised. It's also, not what the backers paid them for.
A little too expensive for me, I am sticking with the Anbernic for now
The Anbernic is a great handheld.
this is cool but i really wish that the raspberry pi based disc emulation machine that was being worked on years ago was a thing...would be cool if someone started work on that back up especially with 3d printing and the jump in hardware with the pi 5 could make it support up to gamecube with just a simple external dvd drive and a pi 5 and maybe a custom 3d printed case.. ..way cheaper than 550 could even add cartridge support with some cart rippers for pc.. something open source like that would kill the poly mega especially for people that like to tinker like myself..if only i was good at writing code...
What you're thinking of is the Seedi. It didn't reach it's funding goal, but they released a beta of their software. They even have a suggestion of how to make your own Seedi system which would make it like a bootleg Polymega. Get a USFF and install the Seedi software. They also say that you can use Retrode cartridge adapters with it. Retrode made Genesis/SNES, N64, SMS/SGG, and GB/GBC/GBA adapters. Oddly they didn't make a NES adapter.
@@ManInBlack634 do you know if the software was open source thanks for telling me the name I had forgotten what it was called I remember people knocking it for literally being a pi and an external drive but I seen the potential for a diy one when that happened
@@alexenochss Unfortunately it wasn't open sourced. The link (which was from a Google Drive) on the Seedi website doesn't work anymore also. I did see in a comment on an ETA Prime video on the Seedi where someone uploaded a copy of the beta to the Internet archive.
I ordered mine, and the shipping took a while like 1 year, so I thought I got ripped off, I finally got it 😅😅😅 now I need the N64 add-on
Well, before i watch: no, not even a little. Not even if you have money to burn. It is absurd how much this thing costs for being such a low powered, innacurate software emulator/rom dumper.
But still, I'll watch to see if you enjoyed your time with it 😅
Edit: since i just got the point you mentioned it, having FPGA modules would have been the only thing that they could have done to justify getting close to the price it is.
Also ive got to say, whoever made that frontend menu for them did a good job on the design. Very clean looking.
Yeah all fair feedback. Thanks for watching.
A four in one usb adapter works
Nice review. Its too expensive tho
Dreamcast would have sealed the deal for me
The idea is nice , but it’s just an emulation box with a rom dump. If it was fpga the price would be justifiable. Still too expensive.
$550 is way too expensive for a cd emulator. For less than $350-$400, one could buy a cheap laptop with an external cd drive and a current gen console controller to play or rip disc images with easily through open emulators.
Hey John , thorough review and it does sound like plenty of fun ,but the price factor , and considering more limited budgets of the average household just in the last 3 years 😢 plus as you pointed out ""it is definitely emulation" , , so for that price for emulation no less , , very easy decision -i m not going to buy Polymega , , , its competition will not have to fear the polymega , , , CD dump is ok because it doesn't hurt CD , , ,but this is awful formula when it comes to the cartridge poly-adapters , because Cartridge dumping eventually erodes the info on your vintage cartridge to the point the original cartridge will no longer Boot , , machines that cause this are identified as "Rom Rippers" ,, a danger to your vintage cartridges 😮😢😮😢😮
The price for the unit and all modules especially using emulation at $800 is a rip off.
This makes no sense to buy in my opinion. If you want emulation, get a mini PC for $250-350, and load it up with Retrobat, or any other emulation front end, with Retrobat most controllers are already set up, put the roms in the folders, get a bios pack, you're done. This is just not the way.
Wean i lreaned the truth about The Polymega years ago I give up on it and suck with Retro Pi since I knew being based on Linux and uses The Raspberry Pi computer system. I'm not as worried about it.
$800?!?!?!?!!!! I guess it’s not too bad if you’re a “content creator” and can write it off on your taxes as a business expense
The one module you didn’t get sucks. The n64 emulation is horrible
This console is in a dead spot. Sure it offers CD comparability but the entire idea falls apart when you are selling the base unit for $550. If you have the CD's to use on this console; and you are passionate about plying them, you probably already have invested in a PC, upscalers, flashcarts/cd-rom emus, and/or HDMI mods to original hardware. Yes, there is a luxury about playing these on 1 box in your living room, but you are likely to be unhappy with emulation if you are dropping this much cash to play your original discs/carts.
Yeah, all really great points you bring up!
@Gamester81 keep bringing us the great videos! I've been subbed for years.
Total pass... to honest looks nice but i have every console this emulates. Ill take my analogue, everdrives, mode, etc over this any day. But at least your video explained a few things. Only if the pocket could play saturn games...
WAYYYY too expensive. they have lost their minds. should've been fpga....
So they went with emulation to cut costs. So how much would an FPGA system have been, $1200?! $550? Get outta here!
gah! please mono mic :(
Is it worth it? No. Just, no.
Guess I don’t need to watch.
Nope this is overpriced trash. If it was FPGA, and actually played the games from the cart, sure. But this is just a glorified Retron 5.
Listen to this with headphones on dude. Your voice goes back and forth from the left to right speakers. Very annoying
lol I was thinking the same thing it’s giving me vertigo
Thank for the feedback and sorry that's happening. I'm not hearing that on my end, but I'll make some adjustments for future videos to make sure it doesn't happen moving forward. I appreciate you letting me know.