The SEGA Mega Drive Mini is a must-buy box of childhood nostalgia

The battle for miniature console domination has been quite the wild ride. On the one hand, Nintendo has had two relatively major success stories with both the NES and SNES Classic. On the other, PlayStation’s offering sunk faster than Leonardo DiCaprio once he let go of that bloody door. Now Sega has entered the fray, and managed to cement its place among the big boys with a mighty impressive offering.

Anybody hoping to cop a solid hit of nostalgia, rest assured it’ll hit you as soon as you open the box. The Mega Drive Mini might itself be 55% the size of the original system, but there’s no doubt it has been lovingly recreated for fans.

The classic controller also returns in its regular size to prevent any cramps, although much like the Nintendo Classics, the cord is inconveniently short – meaning you’ll either have to scoot closer to your telly or have things dangerously hang in mid-air.

Outside of that minor niggle, you’ll want to put the Mega Drive Mini on display purely to show off the abundance of extra touches. Even the cartridge slot is authentically flexible, although we should stress that it’s purely for aesthetic. Instead, the Mini’s impressive library comes preloaded, accessible via an interface that is both customisable and easy to navigate. Squeezing 42 games onto the tiny wonder, it’s an eclectic mix that should satisfy any mood or long-time fan.

There are obvious inclusions like Sonic, Golden Axe and Altered Beast, while Earthworm Jim and Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse will simultaneously transport you back to your younger years and remind you how brutal video games used to be. Thankfully the inclusion of save states will help alleviate some of those woes.

The vast majority of the ports play like a charm, but not every title makes the transition quite so successfully. Street Fighter 2, for example, can feel like a struggle – requiring you to hit the start button in order to swap between kicks and punches. It’s hardly intuitive, and will likely prevent you for investing much time into it, but the good news is that the system still has another 41 titles up its sleeve.

If you’re a long-time SEGA fan, or want to brush up on your video game history, the Mega Drive Mini is the perfect tiny treat and reasonably priced to boot. You can pick it up from most major retailers for $139 from September 19.

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