Loading a Japanese SMS BIOS allows you the ability to use a peripheral or two that remain invisible to western SMSs (such as analogue controllers for games like Alex Kidd Bike Trial and Megumi Rescue).
@@RetroRGB RetroRGB can you please answer my question why hasn't anybody made a handheld Sega Genesis that can play cartridges and I'm not talking about at games or the nomad I asked this question plenty of times on TH-cam and nobody can answer my question Super Nintendo has the bit boy and a super bit boy?????
I’ve been wanting to buy a Mega SD for a year. I waited so long the Mega Everdrive Pro came out. I love theirs competition. Yesterday I purchased the ME Pro mainly because it’s $60 cheaper and Krikzz has a reputation for supporting and adding to his products for years to come. Both carts do things I thought impossible. It’s an exciting time to be a Genesis fan.
If you handed this to me in 1993 I’d have been totally safe in assuming it fell off the back of a flying saucer. Really nice how this exotic-AF FPGA hardware doesn’t need any more power than the cartridge port provides
Yeah, and if you told your friends that you had all of the games ever made for it you'd be known as the school bullshitter. If I could only go back and give myself these everdrives as a kid I'd have gone completely insane. Just imagine how much you could have sold these for in the playground, You'd be a millionaire in a week.
@@Kit_Bear Back then we did have things like everdrives, generally called "copiers". I had a Super Wildcard DX for SNES, and later a DX2. The DX used floppy disks, and the DX2 had a port to connect an external hard drive or CD-ROM. For N64 there was the Z64 which used zip disks or the V64 which used a CD-ROM. You could also connect them directly to your PC with a parallel port cable and have the PC just feed the games to it. It was cumbersome but achieved the same results of having a huge number of games playable on real hardware. These devices existed for all cart based systems, but weren't very well known because the magazines didn't talk about them and comparatively fewer people were online. Normally you ordered them from phone numbers in ROM release NFO files or intros, though I believe the Z64 was advertised in the backs of certain magazines for a short time.
Seriously. Whenever people ask me how they can setup their own capture setups I ALWAYS say "don't ask me, check out RetroRGB". This source of information is invaluable
Love the incredibly detailed review thanks for this. I already use a MegaSD so it’s cool to see how it compares. I especially loved the MDFourier section at the end as I’d love to be able to do this one day for my SSDS3 vs a real Duo and compare the audio output. I hadn’t used this software before and now I’m eager to try it out. I was resorting to recording onto a mic live and using RTA to compare, but that means results are specific to the room it’s recorded in. Looking forward to checking out this tool. And great review it’s the reason you’re one of the only tech channels I follow.
Just a quick note from a speedrunner here, about an issue usually not mentioned by non-speedrunner reviews: The original Everdrives supported multiple savestates, and they were named. You could duplicate one SRM file and rename it according to say, levels for example, and then save over each file with the correct position. It required a little more work, and swapping from one state to the next wasn't as fast, but it was reliable and it meant you got named save states. It's not like speedrun practice generally requires fast save swapping either. So I wanted to point this out because while 99 save states seems like an advantage, the implementation is a downgrade in some ways. It's not an absolute dealbreaker, but folks may want to be aware of this detail. (Authorblues has a very good video on using save states on the original N8 for speedrun practice.)
@@RetroRGB No prob, and by all means if someone else with more experience with the newer Everdrives finds the new ones better to use for speedruns, I'm interested in hearing their perspective as well.
How reliable do you find the EverDrive save states? I’m still using an original Mega EverDrive and I’ve found the save states almost never work. They sometimes work if I reload while playing a game but if I try to load a save after switching the system off it just crashes the game. I only want them to save my progress when I need to turn the machine off but my current EverDrive just won’t do that, so if that’s fixed in newer models it would be a big incentive for me to upgrade.
@@dreamcastfan Speedrunners load them to .srm files that can be manually loaded into memory which is very reliable. As for files in RAM that aren't put down to hard files I'm not sure. You actually could use this technique for casual runs, but it's probably more overhead than people want to get into.
RetroRGB can you please answer my question why hasn't anybody made a handheld Sega Genesis that can play cartridges and I'm not talking about at games or the nomad I asked this question plenty of times on TH-cam and nobody can answer my question Super Nintendo has the bit boy and a super bit boy?????
Thanks for another great video! I would have still liked to have heard comparisons of real Sega CD vs Mega SD vs EverDrive Pro, even though it was great to see the quantitative comparisons with MDFourier. Even more than that, I would have liked to see a comparison with FM audio on SMS games, since the different implementations can vary noticeably. It also would have been nice to see a list at the end with every plus/minor nitpick for each cartridge, and I hope to see something like that in your future MiSTer video. But those comments aside, wonderful video, very informative and entertaining!
Well, there's two issues with FM sound comparisons: - There's no MDFourier for SMS yet, so it's all subjective. - FM sound is constantly evolving. Heck, in the Mega SD video from last year, I showed examples of FM sound, then three weeks later they released a patch that was a big improvement.
@@RetroRGB I think the subjective, non-MDFourier comparisons are still useful for people to listen to and determine, "is this close enough to real hardware for me?" Point taken on the evolving firmware, though, and I appreciate your response.
Hehe, thanks to artemio for that audio deep dive! Always heard about md fourier and it's audio testing, but didn't really know what it was all about. But now i kinda got a glimpse at it. 🙂
I wonder if there's a way to add a switch to a Sega CD that'd disconnect it from the bus? Would be handy for some people if they want to keep it hooked up and not have to unplug it. Would be really handy on the Xeye and CDX when using the Everdrive Pro and Mega SD.
My birthday is coming up and I had the Mega SD and the X7 on my list. The Mega SD, although a rather big step up in price, was going to be my choice. At the time, the Mega SD was out of stock and just when it came time to order (a couple months before my birthday) this showed up on Krikzz's site and I immediately switched my comparison from the X7 to the Pro. The main differences I found from other earlier comparisons were the CD audio option for genesis roms, the slightly more user friendliness of the SD in terms of installing roms for use and, possibly of greatest importance, the cost. In Canada (Noca Scotia), the difference after taxes is about $100 CAD. For these differences and knowing about Krikzz and his history with updates, I felt pretty comfortable choosing the Pro. From this review/comparison it already looks like some of these differences are getting covered (such as the CD audio) and there are even more pros to the Pro (sorry) that I didn't know before. I've ordered this about a month ago and, although either choice was going to be a clear win, I'm glad I was able to save a few dollars doing so. It's going to be a very good birthday!
Also your far less likely to have to pay a tariff when you buy from Krikzz. Mega SD would likely have a COD when delivered and most likely for a hefty amount.
It's annoying that it wont work loading CD images with a 32x or Mega CD connected considering I Finally have both, I hope someone comes up with a mod that bypasses these bus conflicts and allows loading.
Artemio is clearly a genius, if you look in the background to the right you can see he has successfully combined a SNES with a MegaCD! Let the FMV SNES games commence! 😉
Great video as usual and Artemio's analysis was very professional. Thank you. Regarding Mega Everdrive Pro: Wouldn't it be possible to have a Sega Game Gear core instead of the NES core? For me that would be a killer app.
Excellent question...but no, for the same reasons as real hardware: The color palette. It MIGHT be possible to run the core with some on-the-fly conversion, but it might look weird.
You could look into getting an Analogue Mega SG... that console supports running Game Gear games (as others) with an adapter (for real carts)... otherwise if you have an Mega Everdrive or similar cart you can play those games without the adapter.... finally... you can jailbreak the Mega SG and load games directly off the SD card on the system and play game gear that way too. www.retrorgb.com/mega-sg-jailbreak-firmware-released.html
@@philg8556 Can you please answer my question why hasn't anybody made a handheld Sega Genesis that can play cartridges and I'm not talking about at games or the nomad I asked this question plenty of times on TH-cam and nobody can answer my question Super Nintendo has the bit boy and a super bit boy?????
Are there music hacks for the two Lotus games? Would be neat to enjoy music and sound effects simultaneously rather than having to select either one or the other. And as a fun alternative to the current Outrun hack, I'd love to see the original Genesis music running as a CD audio track, freeing resources to patch in engine sounds for your Ferrari so it's not silent.
Glad to see another review of the Mega Everdrive Pro - GameSack did a fantastic review focusing on several of the quirks with different games (like CD audio not playing on Pier Solar), and I like that he mentions the firmware revision he was testing with. I think that's an important detail. In the case of the GameSack review, I do wonder how many of the mentioned issues are already obsolete. Which firmware were you running? It occurs to me that the sound tests would be good against the SMS FM sound, SMS PCM audio, and the NES core!
The only thing I'm interesting in knowing is, will the in-game menu and such work through a 32x? Or is it disabled like it is on the Mege EverDrive X7? If it is, it's probably not worth upgrading for me.
I don't fully understand the second portion of the video. Is one device better than the other in terms of SEGA CD audio? I didn't understand the results.
The Cutting Room Floor has a great page listing all the major differences between BIOS versions, so just research that and pick whatever suits your needs.
I have an x5 I just dusted out of storage after moving last year, I dont care much for the Sega CD, but it's cool to see it get the support. I may upgrade, but I'm leaning on not doing so.
Looks really amazing, just a question will it work on sega Mega Drive II as these seem to be quite cheap at the moment, and I saw a Maga Drive with HDMI output or is this a emulation version instead of a hardware version. Thanks or any help.
Well, you could maybe do a rom cart that'd do Sega 32x... but it'd still require video passthrough so it'd be a whole lot of hassle for those sweet sweet 32x /s Just like on Joe's video there's this really high pitched whining noise when it's playing a NES game, I wonder what's up with that. Sounds like it's around 15khz or higher so probably a lot of people th at can't hear it.
CD Quality audio on my Genesis games?! *gasp* How dare you insult FM Syth that way.. I prefer my "robots farting" audio quality.. THANK YOU VERY MUCH! :P
I would of bought this. But i got the MiSTer now that does everything I wanted but savestats. I got the old MEGA everdrive. Surved me good before the MiSTer days. Im wondering should i bother just grabbing this just to have in my collection or just save my money. It would be extra money thou if i end up getting some.
I have a MiSteR too but playing on a real Megadrive just feels.. right. MiSteR is amazing though and I rate it highly but when I can I get the original console. MiSteR is great while I save up for consoles that I really want. NeoGeo is next then I'll have all the retro consoles I need
I was honestly pretty sold on the idea of getting a Mega Everdrive Pro simply so I could sell my CD model 2 and free up some space on my shelf (got a Model 1 Genesis, so the whole setup is pretty long and takes a ton of space). However, the one flaw I found to be a dealbreaker was that you couldn't load SCD games when a 32X is attached. I'm not saying the MEDP is bad, far from it actually. However, since I have a model 1 Genesis which uses different AV cables then the Model 2, the problem I have is that the 32X shares the same connector as the Model 2 meaning I'd also have to swap my video cables and use Model 1 style ones or just buy a completely different Genesis altogether. That and it would be annoying to constantly have to remove the 32X+patch cable then plug the cable into the Genesis instead just to load a CD game. The 32X is not an essential piece of Sega hardware, but I do enjoy much of its library so this roadblock on the MEDP would be pretty tough for me to overcome. Do you know if this can ever be fixed or is it impossible due to 32X design? I'd really like to know because I can't justify buying a $200 flashcart if I have to constantly disconnect the 32X to use it's main feature.
This runs on the Retroad S Plus SNES handheld with the Retroad MD adapter in HD but doesn't run CD on Retroad MD series 2 home console from Ali-Express. Just use a green dot and not a major credit card.
I rename the old folder something like "MEGA_old", load the new firmware folder, then move the save files over. Here's some more info: www.retrorgb.com/mega-everdrive-pro-firmware-v4-09.html
The variation in sound between individual consoles is interesting, though I suppose not fully unexpected. Vintage synthesizers also can sound pretty different from one another, even if they're the same model, because manufacturing tolerances were just looser in the 70s and 80s and then when those instruments get out and spend a few decades in different parts of the world, they all age differently. This rears it's head in VST software emulations of classic instruments because you have to make some allowances for the fact that Company A's reference unit is different from Company B's and Company C's. For instance, there are half a dozen modern software recreations of the Minimoog, and they all sound different.
You can check the documentation at the mdfourier site, but variations are very small probably mostly due to the clocks not being in the same state. That is, between the same models
Really great review Bob, but during your comparison you didn't mention price.... And considering how much cheaper the ED Pro is, I can't see a reason other then the menu itself to not reccomend it over the mega sd?
Regarding Terraonion's MD+ vs. Krikzz's MD-MSU audio hacking solutions..as someone with no plans to upgrade from a Mega Everdrive X5 and likes using a real Mega CD, it was a pleasure burning an MD+ audio pack to a CD-R and having an MD-MSU-patched ROM just work with it. Krikzz's solution working with everything that supports Mode 1 (rather than a single premium romcart) makes it the natural choice for the community to support IMO.
@@elnoel1220 Actually MSU-MD driver handle tracks looping and fading. It not bare mode1, msu driver working instead of bios. So it works exactly same as MD+.
@@elnoel1220 RetroRGB can you please answer my question why hasn't anybody made a handheld Sega Genesis that can play cartridges and I'm not talking about at games or the nomad I asked this question plenty of times on TH-cam and nobody can answer my question Super Nintendo has the bit boy and a super bit boy????
Is price not considered a meaningful factor in the Mega-SD vs. Mega ED Pro comparison? The ED seemed to come on top in every aspect, except arguably having a less fancy user menu, but the price is lower... seems pretty easy to call the real winner here.
I'm curious about whether there is a way to disable the 32x via an external switch to make it pass-through data. So that you can have FULL functionality without having to remove the 32x to play SMS or Sega CD games. That's my only real hang up on these. I want one immensely but I know I wouldn't use the functions that truly interest me strictly out of the pain of removing my 32x.
I'm really torn. The Everdrive Pro seems like a better product overall. But... I'm a total sucker for wanting to browse a library with the nicer UI, background and thumbnails on the MegaSD
I didnt know where else to post this question but is there an in game reset button combo whilst playing Sega CD? I've just played through Terminator CD and quenched a thirst I had had since I was 12. This cart is amazing.
@RetroRGB: Regarding Sega CD audio: Yes, great technical observation, thank you... but which audio do you think does effectively sound better, Mega SD or Mega Everdrive Pro? :)
I tried giving all the basics so anybody could reach that conclusion based on evidence, since the situation can change anytime with firmware updates. At the end I give a summary, and the MEP is clearly better at PCM and CD-DA filtering in matching a Sega CD Model 1via headphone out.
@@ArtemioUrbina Can you please answer my question why hasn't anybody made a handheld Sega Genesis that can play cartridges and I'm not talking about at games or the nomad I asked this question plenty of times on TH-cam and nobody can answer my question Super Nintendo has the bit boy and a super bit boy?????
I was gonna upgrade to this from my Mega Everdrive X5 but the fact i would have to remove my Sega CD to be able to run the isos on the Pro made it kinda pointless for me. I'll just stick to getting reproductions for my Sega CD since the games are way too expensive.
@RetroRGB Hi, thank you for your video’s! I really enjoy them :) Anyway I can contact you directly regarding a specific question? Keep up the good work!
When I was a kid I would of done anything for a sega cd and 32x and the exclusive games. I had no idea how bad they were and that there was only 6 but 10 year old me thought this was the pinacle of gaming.
So, with the updates does anyone think this is at the least equal to the Mega SD (bar slightly slower load times) I ask because of a still reason I have the Mega SD but its too big when installed to fit my tv stand, the Everdrive fits with room to spare. Already cracked the Mega SD shell sliding the cart it, it only fit once I "wiggled it aroud"
Pretty much the same, remember you're playing emulated versions of these games, not hack versions. Hack means they're the same game but were recoded to run with changes and improvement to enhance the original game, emulated means they are just software based version of the same game meaning nothing from the original was change (glitches, load times, and bugs applied) so if you're playing a game like say Mortal Kombat CD and you find out the awful commercial video was taken out, the arcade soundtrack were corrected, load times are reduced and there are no lag with the final battle against Shang Tsung then you got a hack version of the game, if you play and all of those were not change then you're playing an emulated version.
Wasn’t there a certain way the games had to be named/filed for Sega cd? I think MLIG mentioned the ED was pickier in regards to what type of files had to be used for sega CD.
That is true, the ED Pro originally didn't support multi bin files, but krikzzz released a firmware update a couple of days ago that fixes that, so now you can just drag and drop a redump set onto your memory card and it will work the same as the mega sd
We've discussed this quite a lot over the years and unfortunately, there's still some misinformation floating around. Basically, Everdrives are fine, but clones and repros have the potential to be dangerous. They need to have beveled edges on the cartridge end, run at the properly voltage and would be best if the pads on the cartridge end are hard gold...although that last one isn't a safety issue, just a "good practice" issue.
I watched the entire bit on MDFourier and I'll be honest I have no idea what those lines mean XD So is it accurate or not? Is it more accurate than a Mega SD? The guy explained a lot, but I'm afraid the technicals lost me completely, just not geared to understand it.
Totally fair :) At the moment, the Mega Everdrive Pro is more accurate, but the Mega SD definitely isn't bad and might someday get a firmware update to tweak it.
I may be remembering wrong, but I think the edge connector for the Sega CD connects to the same access points as the cartridge slot -- I guess an adapter is all that would be necessary. I'm just not sure if it would initialize in the right order.
Terraonion was going to make an adapter for their MegaSD so it could plug into the Sega CD port, but so far nothing has been made. Covid-19 isn't helping that situation either. Called the "MSDEXP" - forums.terraonion.com/viewtopic.php?t=1061
No Genesis combination with a Sega CD connected or built in internally works with Mega SD or Mega Everdrive Pro. The Genesis only supports one device being connected to it bus. It’s impossible to fix this issue in software.
Loading a Japanese SMS BIOS allows you the ability to use a peripheral or two that remain invisible to western SMSs (such as analogue controllers for games like Alex Kidd Bike Trial and Megumi Rescue).
Ahhh, that's right. Thanks very much!!!!
which product allows that feature of japanese sms bios?
@@RetroRGB RetroRGB can you please answer my question why hasn't anybody made a handheld Sega Genesis that can play cartridges and I'm not talking about at games or the nomad I asked this question plenty of times on TH-cam and nobody can answer my question Super Nintendo has the bit boy and a super bit boy?????
@@robertjames9547 Why would he know that?
Robert James954 supply and demand. Where is the demand?
I’ve been wanting to buy a Mega SD for a year. I waited so long the Mega Everdrive Pro came out. I love theirs competition. Yesterday I purchased the ME Pro mainly because it’s $60 cheaper and Krikzz has a reputation for supporting and adding to his products for years to come. Both carts do things I thought impossible. It’s an exciting time to be a Genesis fan.
If you handed this to me in 1993 I’d have been totally safe in assuming it fell off the back of a flying saucer.
Really nice how this exotic-AF FPGA hardware doesn’t need any more power than the cartridge port provides
Yeah, and if you told your friends that you had all of the games ever made for it you'd be known as the school bullshitter.
If I could only go back and give myself these everdrives as a kid I'd have gone completely insane. Just imagine how much you could have sold these for in the playground, You'd be a millionaire in a week.
@@Kit_Bear Back then we did have things like everdrives, generally called "copiers". I had a Super Wildcard DX for SNES, and later a DX2. The DX used floppy disks, and the DX2 had a port to connect an external hard drive or CD-ROM. For N64 there was the Z64 which used zip disks or the V64 which used a CD-ROM. You could also connect them directly to your PC with a parallel port cable and have the PC just feed the games to it. It was cumbersome but achieved the same results of having a huge number of games playable on real hardware. These devices existed for all cart based systems, but weren't very well known because the magazines didn't talk about them and comparatively fewer people were online. Normally you ordered them from phone numbers in ROM release NFO files or intros, though I believe the Z64 was advertised in the backs of certain magazines for a short time.
You'd have realized that SD cards is not the thing back then...
This the best “retro-channel “. Thanks for you great work.
Seriously. Whenever people ask me how they can setup their own capture setups I ALWAYS say "don't ask me, check out RetroRGB". This source of information is invaluable
Love the incredibly detailed review thanks for this. I already use a MegaSD so it’s cool to see how it compares. I especially loved the MDFourier section at the end as I’d love to be able to do this one day for my SSDS3 vs a real Duo and compare the audio output. I hadn’t used this software before and now I’m eager to try it out. I was resorting to recording onto a mic live and using RTA to compare, but that means results are specific to the room it’s recorded in. Looking forward to checking out this tool. And great review it’s the reason you’re one of the only tech channels I follow.
Just a quick note from a speedrunner here, about an issue usually not mentioned by non-speedrunner reviews: The original Everdrives supported multiple savestates, and they were named. You could duplicate one SRM file and rename it according to say, levels for example, and then save over each file with the correct position. It required a little more work, and swapping from one state to the next wasn't as fast, but it was reliable and it meant you got named save states. It's not like speedrun practice generally requires fast save swapping either. So I wanted to point this out because while 99 save states seems like an advantage, the implementation is a downgrade in some ways. It's not an absolute dealbreaker, but folks may want to be aware of this detail. (Authorblues has a very good video on using save states on the original N8 for speedrun practice.)
Thanks for the feedback. I already really appreciate the input of speedrunners!
@@RetroRGB No prob, and by all means if someone else with more experience with the newer Everdrives finds the new ones better to use for speedruns, I'm interested in hearing their perspective as well.
How reliable do you find the EverDrive save states? I’m still using an original Mega EverDrive and I’ve found the save states almost never work. They sometimes work if I reload while playing a game but if I try to load a save after switching the system off it just crashes the game.
I only want them to save my progress when I need to turn the machine off but my current EverDrive just won’t do that, so if that’s fixed in newer models it would be a big incentive for me to upgrade.
@@dreamcastfan Speedrunners load them to .srm files that can be manually loaded into memory which is very reliable. As for files in RAM that aren't put down to hard files I'm not sure. You actually could use this technique for casual runs, but it's probably more overhead than people want to get into.
RetroRGB can you please answer my question why hasn't anybody made a handheld Sega Genesis that can play cartridges and I'm not talking about at games or the nomad I asked this question plenty of times on TH-cam and nobody can answer my question Super Nintendo has the bit boy and a super bit boy?????
Thanks for another great video! I would have still liked to have heard comparisons of real Sega CD vs Mega SD vs EverDrive Pro, even though it was great to see the quantitative comparisons with MDFourier. Even more than that, I would have liked to see a comparison with FM audio on SMS games, since the different implementations can vary noticeably. It also would have been nice to see a list at the end with every plus/minor nitpick for each cartridge, and I hope to see something like that in your future MiSTer video. But those comments aside, wonderful video, very informative and entertaining!
Well, there's two issues with FM sound comparisons:
- There's no MDFourier for SMS yet, so it's all subjective.
- FM sound is constantly evolving. Heck, in the Mega SD video from last year, I showed examples of FM sound, then three weeks later they released a patch that was a big improvement.
@@RetroRGB I think the subjective, non-MDFourier comparisons are still useful for people to listen to and determine, "is this close enough to real hardware for me?" Point taken on the evolving firmware, though, and I appreciate your response.
Wow, great analysis by Artemio :O
I love my original Mega CD, had it since release day. But I'm really tempted to get one of these just to give it a rest! Awesome review.
Thanks for the great review. I'm really looking forward to you video & views on MiSTer FPGA. I recently got one and there is no looking back!
Hehe, thanks to artemio for that audio deep dive! Always heard about md fourier and it's audio testing, but didn't really know what it was all about. But now i kinda got a glimpse at it. 🙂
I have been waiting for this moment. I do not really want a CD addon connected to my genny. This is great.
Truly appreciate the in depth analysis. And wow, did nor realize how simple it was to get the games on micro SD card
I wonder if there's a way to add a switch to a Sega CD that'd disconnect it from the bus? Would be handy for some people if they want to keep it hooked up and not have to unplug it. Would be really handy on the Xeye and CDX when using the Everdrive Pro and Mega SD.
that flying v in the back ground is awesome m8!
Thanks for these reviews!
They help us learn about the products and buy what we think is best!
Thanks for your great work!
now this is what I call a REVIEW. Amazing!
Amazing review, I'm glad to see everything is on the up and up as my Mega Everdrive Pro is currently in shipping. Can't wait!
Thank you!
@@RetroRGB you're very welcome. 🙂
@@RetroRGB can you please prove everdrive can play wav songs like it advertised for 10 years
My birthday is coming up and I had the Mega SD and the X7 on my list. The Mega SD, although a rather big step up in price, was going to be my choice. At the time, the Mega SD was out of stock and just when it came time to order (a couple months before my birthday) this showed up on Krikzz's site and I immediately switched my comparison from the X7 to the Pro. The main differences I found from other earlier comparisons were the CD audio option for genesis roms, the slightly more user friendliness of the SD in terms of installing roms for use and, possibly of greatest importance, the cost. In Canada (Noca Scotia), the difference after taxes is about $100 CAD. For these differences and knowing about Krikzz and his history with updates, I felt pretty comfortable choosing the Pro. From this review/comparison it already looks like some of these differences are getting covered (such as the CD audio) and there are even more pros to the Pro (sorry) that I didn't know before.
I've ordered this about a month ago and, although either choice was going to be a clear win, I'm glad I was able to save a few dollars doing so. It's going to be a very good birthday!
Also your far less likely to have to pay a tariff when you buy from Krikzz. Mega SD would likely have a COD when delivered and most likely for a hefty amount.
As a music producer, sound designer and Genesis fan, I found Artemio's analysis very interesting!
Really glad to hear that!
@@ArtemioUrbina You rock, sir. 👍🏻
@@ScottWozniak Thanks for your kind comment Scott, it really means a lot. Take care!
I've been waiting for this moment (really like the past month) for all my life, hold on!
It's annoying that it wont work loading CD images with a 32x or Mega CD connected considering I Finally have both, I hope someone comes up with a mod that bypasses these bus conflicts and allows loading.
Artemio is clearly a genius, if you look in the background to the right you can see he has successfully combined a SNES with a MegaCD! Let the FMV SNES games commence! 😉
Great video as usual and Artemio's analysis was very professional. Thank you. Regarding Mega Everdrive Pro: Wouldn't it be possible to have a Sega Game Gear core instead of the NES core? For me that would be a killer app.
Excellent question...but no, for the same reasons as real hardware: The color palette. It MIGHT be possible to run the core with some on-the-fly conversion, but it might look weird.
You could look into getting an Analogue Mega SG... that console supports running Game Gear games (as others) with an adapter (for real carts)... otherwise if you have an Mega Everdrive or similar cart you can play those games without the adapter.... finally... you can jailbreak the Mega SG and load games directly off the SD card on the system and play game gear that way too.
www.retrorgb.com/mega-sg-jailbreak-firmware-released.html
@@philg8556 Can you please answer my question why hasn't anybody made a handheld Sega Genesis that can play cartridges and I'm not talking about at games or the nomad I asked this question plenty of times on TH-cam and nobody can answer my question Super Nintendo has the bit boy and a super bit boy?????
It's a pity you can't buy these pre loaded and setup ready to go with the whole library already on there cuz I've never been that good with computers.
Are there music hacks for the two Lotus games? Would be neat to enjoy music and sound effects simultaneously rather than having to select either one or the other.
And as a fun alternative to the current Outrun hack, I'd love to see the original Genesis music running as a CD audio track, freeing resources to patch in engine sounds for your Ferrari so it's not silent.
Glad to see another review of the Mega Everdrive Pro - GameSack did a fantastic review focusing on several of the quirks with different games (like CD audio not playing on Pier Solar), and I like that he mentions the firmware revision he was testing with. I think that's an important detail. In the case of the GameSack review, I do wonder how many of the mentioned issues are already obsolete. Which firmware were you running?
It occurs to me that the sound tests would be good against the SMS FM sound, SMS PCM audio, and the NES core!
This is the latest firmware that fixes everything Joe found wrong.
Thanks for all the hard work, RetroRGB!
Great video! Thanks for the hard work I really want to buy one of these
Just ordered one. Can’t wait to try it.
Based on the small differences, I give the nod to Terraonion since they have such a nice interface
I'll just select my ROM and be done with.
The only thing I'm interesting in knowing is, will the in-game menu and such work through a 32x? Or is it disabled like it is on the Mege EverDrive X7? If it is, it's probably not worth upgrading for me.
I don't fully understand the second portion of the video. Is one device better than the other in terms of SEGA CD audio? I didn't understand the results.
He gives a brief result at the end. tldw: MEP has better audio.
lol i'm rewatching this and thinking about that tweet krikzz posted talking about working on a 32x core.
awesome work Bob!
Thanks for this video!
Which version of Sega CD Bios is the best to use on Mega EverDrive Pro, 1.00, 1.10, 2.00 or 2.21?
The Cutting Room Floor has a great page listing all the major differences between BIOS versions, so just research that and pick whatever suits your needs.
Excellent video. Many thanks.
My MegaSD has beveled edges, so I think you just got unlucky. :(
I have an x5 I just dusted out of storage after moving last year, I dont care much for the Sega CD, but it's cool to see it get the support. I may upgrade, but I'm leaning on not doing so.
Looks really amazing, just a question will it work on sega Mega Drive II as these seem to be quite cheap at the moment, and I saw a Maga Drive with HDMI output or is this a emulation version instead of a hardware version. Thanks or any help.
Just want to mention that my Everdrive X5 has the direct boot option for playing real Sega CD games.
Yeah, I totally forgot that was added. Oops!!! Thanks for letting me know.
@@RetroRGB Yep. Thanks for the videos!
Well, you could maybe do a rom cart that'd do Sega 32x... but it'd still require video passthrough so it'd be a whole lot of hassle for those sweet sweet 32x /s
Just like on Joe's video there's this really high pitched whining noise when it's playing a NES game, I wonder what's up with that. Sounds like it's around 15khz or higher so probably a lot of people th at can't hear it.
CD Quality audio on my Genesis games?! *gasp* How dare you insult FM Syth that way.. I prefer my "robots farting" audio quality.. THANK YOU VERY MUCH! :P
That's what the FM is for
Fart Music
Man, you must really love those GEMS soundtracks. No Vapor Trail for you...
I would of bought this. But i got the MiSTer now that does everything I wanted but savestats.
I got the old MEGA everdrive. Surved me good before the MiSTer days.
Im wondering should i bother just grabbing this just to have in my collection or just save my money. It would be extra money thou if i end up getting some.
I have a MiSteR too but playing on a real Megadrive just feels.. right. MiSteR is amazing though and I rate it highly but when I can I get the original console. MiSteR is great while I save up for consoles that I really want. NeoGeo is next then I'll have all the retro consoles I need
no savestates on the MiSTer? It's only for the Mega CD or you can't save on any of the cores?
I was honestly pretty sold on the idea of getting a Mega Everdrive Pro simply so I could sell my CD model 2 and free up some space on my shelf (got a Model 1 Genesis, so the whole setup is pretty long and takes a ton of space). However, the one flaw I found to be a dealbreaker was that you couldn't load SCD games when a 32X is attached. I'm not saying the MEDP is bad, far from it actually. However, since I have a model 1 Genesis which uses different AV cables then the Model 2, the problem I have is that the 32X shares the same connector as the Model 2 meaning I'd also have to swap my video cables and use Model 1 style ones or just buy a completely different Genesis altogether. That and it would be annoying to constantly have to remove the 32X+patch cable then plug the cable into the Genesis instead just to load a CD game. The 32X is not an essential piece of Sega hardware, but I do enjoy much of its library so this roadblock on the MEDP would be pretty tough for me to overcome. Do you know if this can ever be fixed or is it impossible due to 32X design? I'd really like to know because I can't justify buying a $200 flashcart if I have to constantly disconnect the 32X to use it's main feature.
I agree about the cables. Check out this video at 7:26 - I think that's your solution: th-cam.com/video/UaPs4VGG-Po/w-d-xo.html
This runs on the Retroad S Plus SNES handheld with the Retroad MD adapter in HD but doesn't run CD on Retroad MD series 2 home console from Ali-Express. Just use a green dot and not a major credit card.
with the original SMS bios, is the option something to do with giving players a way to access the built-in snail maze game?
Sweet I want one
I'm a SEGA kid
I love SEGA
Hey, nice vid. If i have an older firmware version, do I just overwrite the old files with the new ones, is there a firmware flash i need to run ? TIA
I rename the old folder something like "MEGA_old", load the new firmware folder, then move the save files over. Here's some more info: www.retrorgb.com/mega-everdrive-pro-firmware-v4-09.html
The variation in sound between individual consoles is interesting, though I suppose not fully unexpected. Vintage synthesizers also can sound pretty different from one another, even if they're the same model, because manufacturing tolerances were just looser in the 70s and 80s and then when those instruments get out and spend a few decades in different parts of the world, they all age differently. This rears it's head in VST software emulations of classic instruments because you have to make some allowances for the fact that Company A's reference unit is different from Company B's and Company C's. For instance, there are half a dozen modern software recreations of the Minimoog, and they all sound different.
You can check the documentation at the mdfourier site, but variations are very small probably mostly due to the clocks not being in the same state.
That is, between the same models
Really great review Bob, but during your comparison you didn't mention price.... And considering how much cheaper the ED Pro is, I can't see a reason other then the menu itself to not reccomend it over the mega sd?
Regarding Terraonion's MD+ vs. Krikzz's MD-MSU audio hacking solutions..as someone with no plans to upgrade from a Mega Everdrive X5 and likes using a real Mega CD, it was a pleasure burning an MD+ audio pack to a CD-R and having an MD-MSU-patched ROM just work with it. Krikzz's solution working with everything that supports Mode 1 (rather than a single premium romcart) makes it the natural choice for the community to support IMO.
I honestly didn't know that was possible. I have an x5...I need to remember to try this! Thanks for letting me know.
...except Mode 1 doesn’t support looping like MD+ does, making it the inferior option.
@@elnoel1220 This is true. The audio didn't loop so for games with lengthy sections or short audio tracks it will probably more of an an issue.
@@elnoel1220 Actually MSU-MD driver handle tracks looping and fading. It not bare mode1, msu driver working instead of bios. So it works exactly same as MD+.
@@elnoel1220 RetroRGB can you please answer my question why hasn't anybody made a handheld Sega Genesis that can play cartridges and I'm not talking about at games or the nomad I asked this question plenty of times on TH-cam and nobody can answer my question Super Nintendo has the bit boy and a super bit boy????
Is price not considered a meaningful factor in the Mega-SD vs. Mega ED Pro comparison? The ED seemed to come on top in every aspect, except arguably having a less fancy user menu, but the price is lower... seems pretty easy to call the real winner here.
I'm curious about whether there is a way to disable the 32x via an external switch to make it pass-through data. So that you can have FULL functionality without having to remove the 32x to play SMS or Sega CD games. That's my only real hang up on these. I want one immensely but I know I wouldn't use the functions that truly interest me strictly out of the pain of removing my 32x.
Not without some extensive mods on the 32x.
Full size SD are easier to swop for adding rom hacks wish it was standard & still used
Yeah... I think it’s worth £/$260. Definitely
Squared edges easily fixed with a bit of careful dremeling / filing etc, but yes it's nice to not have to!
Hi. I've been doing this since before the R4 was cloned... Flash Carts or Flash Kits. Cheers! Enjoyed the review.
I need to get a Jaguar cart. Anyone know of anywhere that has them instock ?
I'm really torn.
The Everdrive Pro seems like a better product overall.
But... I'm a total sucker for wanting to browse a library with the nicer UI, background and thumbnails on the MegaSD
I can't wait for mine to arrive! Mega CD is a bonus, I want it because of the ability to save cheats which my Mega Everdrive V1 doesn't do.
Couldn't you just buy an Mega Everdrive 5 or 7?
Does anyone know if this works on a retrogen genesis to snes adapter? I don't own a genesis but want to play sega cd.
I didnt know where else to post this question but is there an in game reset button combo whilst playing Sega CD? I've just played through Terminator CD and quenched a thirst I had had since I was 12. This cart is amazing.
Not for CD, unfortunately.
What does it need in order to play Sega CD and 32x games without the peripherals?
Would multitap games work correctly? Say, if I wanted to play WWF RAW with 4 players (especially the 32x version)
Yup!
Pinche Artemio eres chingon wey 👍👍👍👍
@RetroRGB: Regarding Sega CD audio: Yes, great technical observation, thank you... but which audio do you think does effectively sound better, Mega SD or Mega Everdrive Pro? :)
I tried giving all the basics so anybody could reach that conclusion based on evidence, since the situation can change anytime with firmware updates.
At the end I give a summary, and the MEP is clearly better at PCM and CD-DA filtering in matching a Sega CD Model 1via headphone out.
@@ArtemioUrbina so everdrige pro
@@ArtemioUrbina Can you please answer my question why hasn't anybody made a handheld Sega Genesis that can play cartridges and I'm not talking about at games or the nomad I asked this question plenty of times on TH-cam and nobody can answer my question Super Nintendo has the bit boy and a super bit boy?????
@@robertjames9547 maybe because they've not seen it as profitable? You should ask the people that create those though, they should know.
I was gonna upgrade to this from my Mega Everdrive X5 but the fact i would have to remove my Sega CD to be able to run the isos on the Pro made it kinda pointless for me. I'll just stick to getting reproductions for my Sega CD since the games are way too expensive.
How do multidisc games for Sega cd work?
@RetroRGB Hi, thank you for your video’s! I really enjoy them :)
Anyway I can contact you directly regarding a specific question?
Keep up the good work!
how much storage would just sega genesis and master system game library tAKE?
When I was a kid I would of done anything for a sega cd and 32x and the exclusive games. I had no idea how bad they were and that there was only 6 but 10 year old me thought this was the pinacle of gaming.
cant save state on sega cd games, is that feature coming in an update?
So, with the updates does anyone think this is at the least equal to the Mega SD (bar slightly slower load times) I ask because of a still reason I have the Mega SD but its too big when installed to fit my tv stand, the Everdrive fits with room to spare. Already cracked the Mega SD shell sliding the cart it, it only fit once I "wiggled it aroud"
I was wondering can Everdrive Pro and Mega SD play Codemasters Master System games? Those games have trouble working even with a Power Base Converter.
I am just curious about loading times of sega cd games. Since there is no X1 CD ROM involved are loading times improved or stayed the same.
Pretty much the same, remember you're playing emulated versions of these games, not hack versions. Hack means they're the same game but were recoded to run with changes and improvement to enhance the original game, emulated means they are just software based version of the same game meaning nothing from the original was change (glitches, load times, and bugs applied) so if you're playing a game like say Mortal Kombat CD and you find out the awful commercial video was taken out, the arcade soundtrack were corrected, load times are reduced and there are no lag with the final battle against Shang Tsung then you got a hack version of the game, if you play and all of those were not change then you're playing an emulated version.
do you need the CD attached to run sega cd iso/roms? or does this run 100% off the cart?
100% plays CD games off the cart. You can put your Sega CD in storage now.
So the Everdrive Pro and the Mega SD you can play sega cd games with out the sega cd console attached?
Yes
@@RetroRGB thank you 😄🤘
Could you do a video just like this but for the FXPAK Pro?
Audio on the Retroad S Plus may need some notepad ++ work for movie scenes.
Wasn’t there a certain way the games had to be named/filed for Sega cd? I think MLIG mentioned the ED was pickier in regards to what type of files had to be used for sega CD.
That is true, the ED Pro originally didn't support multi bin files, but krikzzz released a firmware update a couple of days ago that fixes that, so now you can just drag and drop a redump set onto your memory card and it will work the same as the mega sd
Do this has support for de sega MD+ music roms?
I hear that ever drives and repros can damage your console can your share your thoughts on this.
We've discussed this quite a lot over the years and unfortunately, there's still some misinformation floating around. Basically, Everdrives are fine, but clones and repros have the potential to be dangerous. They need to have beveled edges on the cartridge end, run at the properly voltage and would be best if the pads on the cartridge end are hard gold...although that last one isn't a safety issue, just a "good practice" issue.
Do you know if it works on a mega SG?
Mine is on his way since saturday
is this mister vid still in the works?
I’m having trouble setting up the files on my computer to play sega cd roms can anyone give me walkthrough?
stoneage still doesn't have the pro up for sale....waiting
Is this everdrive pro able to play sega cd games in stereo sound not mono like to mega sd
The Mega SD works perfectly in stereo. You're confusing it with something else.
Use the headphone jack from the genesis. This is stereo. If u get sound from the back of the genesis its mono
Out of curiosity, did you just run dune because St1ka was making it video on it
Yes! Good catch!!!!!!! LOL, I didn't have time to actually play it though, I only just used it to test loading times and compatibility.
@@RetroRGB nice
I watched the entire bit on MDFourier and I'll be honest I have no idea what those lines mean XD So is it accurate or not? Is it more accurate than a Mega SD? The guy explained a lot, but I'm afraid the technicals lost me completely, just not geared to understand it.
Totally fair :) At the moment, the Mega Everdrive Pro is more accurate, but the Mega SD definitely isn't bad and might someday get a firmware update to tweak it.
@@RetroRGB Thank you so much! ^_^ Been coming to RetroRGB for nigh on ten years now, always give great advice and updates. Keep it up!
I don't understand, isn't the CD needed hardware? All that in the friggin flash cartridge?
No Sega CD hardware needed. Check out the video for more info.
@@RetroRGB I mean still leaning towards a CD but is the Everdrive emulating it or its hardware is crammed in?
@@mistamontiel00 It emulates it in a similar fashion to a MiSTer or Analogue product as it uses FPGA-based hardware emulation
You are awesome 🤙🏼
It's the Mega Drive! No Phil Collins computer outside of the US!
hahaha you're damn right
I wonder if they made a Mega SD that plugs into the Sega CD port if that would enable 32X compatibility.
I may be remembering wrong, but I think the edge connector for the Sega CD connects to the same access points as the cartridge slot -- I guess an adapter is all that would be necessary. I'm just not sure if it would initialize in the right order.
Terraonion was going to make an adapter for their MegaSD so it could plug into the Sega CD port, but so far nothing has been made. Covid-19 isn't helping that situation either. Called the "MSDEXP"
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forums.terraonion.com/viewtopic.php?t=1061
Nice video!
Sorry if I missed this..but can this cartridge fit in a Japanese MegaDrive? That my primary.
Yes! I totally forgot to say both carts work with all region Genesis / Mega Drives! My bad...
Just to be clear, neither of these two flash carts (Mega SD or Mega EverDrive Pro) are able to run Sega CD games on a Genesis CDX, correct?
No Genesis combination with a Sega CD connected or built in internally works with Mega SD or Mega Everdrive Pro. The Genesis only supports one device being connected to it bus. It’s impossible to fix this issue in software.
You are correct. You cannot play Sega CD games from a flash cart on any console with a Sega CD attached (integrated or not).
pCeSlAyEr Thank you
H6rdc0re Thanks for clarifying this. I was hoping there was a workaround for this on a CDX but I can always use my model 1.
Quit chewing your nails so you can access the recessed micro SD cards :)
I wonder if we will ever see something similar for the Turbo Everdrive?
I mean there is the SSDS3. I take it you just mean from the card slot though?
@@RickyMcSpanish Yes, exactly.
There is someone working on one that works from the HuCard slot. Only supports Mono sound due to pinout limitations.