SEGA Gopher SD compatible portable Genesis impressions

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

Based on the extremely similar design to past plug & play Genesis portables, like this one here...



...when I picked up the box for AtGames portable "Gopher" Genesis/Mega Drive I turned and said to Joe "It's a shame they don't make these with the ability to load games on via SD card like that controller I bought last year."

See this thread - http://box422.bluehost.com/~videogc7...d.php?t=137671



Joe laughed and said "They do, it does!" ... I looked down at the box and saw the description: "SD CARD SLOT FOR FIRECORE GAME CARDS AND MORE DOWNLOADS" and Joe went on to confirm that it's fully compatible with Genesis and Mega Drive .BIN formatted ROMS.

I didn't miss a beat in buying it, and after a few very enjoyable hours with it I can confirm that it was money very well spent.

The device is about as wide as a PSP Go, and about as thin or slightly thinner than a PSP 3000.

It's black with safety color orange highlights, It's made of a very nice textured plastic and feels very sturdy.

It has a USB rechargeable built in battery (the manual claims about 3-4 hours on a charge), TV out capabilities, a headphone jack and very interestingly a wireless controller receiver for a 2nd player controller! (I'm not sure if that item is available yet.)

The control pad and six buttons are responsive and you can pull off fireball and uppercut moves easily in Street Fighter II.

Like the Hyperkin's Gen Mobile, it has an on-board menu (the same one actually) that sports 20 built in Genesis classics. Also like the Gen Mobile, the screen resolution on the 4 inch screen is bright and sharp and suffers from no blurring, also also like the Gen Mobile the brightness is set solid, you can't adjust it.

IMO The biggest draw to this device is that you can fit a Genesis Full-Set (.BIN formatted roms) on a 2 Gig SD Card.

The only Genesis rom that I found wouldn't boot was Virtua Racing. Everything else seemed to run with no major issues ... or none that were immediately apparent. When you're emulating there's always things that crop up that aren't completely obvious at the start. Generally speaking the thing seemed to have a high level of compatibility.

Unlike that Genesis/MD Controller that I have, the rom menu is MUCH MUCH faster when scrolling through the games.

Now, the drawbacks...because these things are never ever perfect.

Sadly unlike that controller, the device doesn't have any capability to maintain battery-backup save data, so any game that requires a battery save feature isn't going to be able to handle that. You can play those games but you can't save progress. No sprawling RPGs or hundred game sports seasons to be had here. Sorry!

Also, as is very common with Genesis clones, the sound emulation is a bit off. In most cases the key that the music plays in is off an octave, nothing that distracts wildly from the playability of any game, but it can be noticeable. In some cases it seemed as if the audio was a bit slower than it should, but I didn't feel that there was any noticeable slow-down in the actual games.

Also, while it charges fine via USB, it doesn't come with an AC adapter or USB AC adapter head. In this day and age I think every single one of us has a multitude of USB ports to charge from ... but it would be nice if they had included something for AC charging.

Other than that, the thing functions like a champ and is a good addition to any Genesis/Mega Drive enthusiast's collection!

[StoneAgeGamer]

Great review. I agree with everything you said regarding this item. When I first got this in I was like "Oh great another AtGames product." However, I was quite impressed with the unit. They just need to work on being able to save.

[PSony]

Ordered one from SAG and a 2-pack Sandisk 2GB SD card from Amazon. Can you put the roms in individual folders (like "GAME/A", 'GAME/B"..."GAME/Z" etc) or do they all have to be under the single GAME folder?

Also, does anyone know where to get the wireless controllers?

[Oldskool]

A Genesis clone that's actually good? Really?

[Tupin]

Nice, I might have to get one of these.

[Gameguy]

If it supported save features it would pretty much be perfect. I'll probably hold out for an updated version that supports saving, though this is really priced well at under $40.

[megasdkirby]

They just need to work on being able to save.

And sound. I rather have the sound issue fixed than the save issued addressed first.

I'm quite interested to know more about this unit. Is there any video comparing games on a native Genesis to this unit?

[PSony]

The sound is the same as the other Firecore-based clones (GenMobile, Retrogen, Firecore console, GenCore...etc) if anyone is familiar with them. I saw a video on Youtube comparing this to a Retrogen and it seems this one doesn't have the Retrogen's slowdown. Also, Super Street Fighter 2 works fine while it doesn't work on Retrogen/GenMobile. It seems to have an updated version of the emulator.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

A Genesis clone that's actually good? Really?

As far as "good" rom-running clones, that controller (I wish that they actually had a product name so I could stop calling it "controller") listed above is pretty awesome IMO.

If an import/localization friendly company like Hyperkin or AtGames could get their hands on those (and put the guts in a more traditional Genesis controller, not that the one its in functions badly ... its just ugly looking) they'd have a real winner.

But back to the Gopher - it ain't bad ad all though if you're looking to have something that's inexpensive, fits in your pocket and runs Genesis games off an SD card (that's not a modded PSP).

[StoneAgeGamer]

And sound. I rather have the sound issue fixed than the save issued addressed first.

I'm quite interested to know more about this unit. Is there any video comparing games on a native Genesis to this unit?

Yes I saw a video on youtube of a guy comparing the RetroGen and Gopher. Another thing that the Gopher does better is it seems to have a better processor (or something). He shows exact same level areas I believe in Sonic 2 on both systems and the RetroGen has severe slow down and the Gopher has none.

[Oldskool]

So the "controller" Sega, what is it that's better about it? Does the sound work better on that one?

I find it funny that no one seems to want to fix the awful sound on these clones.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

So the "controller" Sega, what is it that's better about it? Does the sound work better on that one?

I find it funny that no one seems to want to fix the awful sound on these clones.

The sound is marginally better but still off.

It can also save progress on games that have a backup battery.

[megasdkirby]

The sound is marginally better but still off.

Honestly, AtGames (and any other company) should not release any other clones until this issue has been fixed.

I'm glad some issues were fixed, but the sound really grates on my nerves whenever I hear it from a clone console.

Once this has been addressed, I will pick up a console. It shows promise, so I am hopeful it will eventually be achieved.

[maxlords]

If you could save, I'd buy one of these....

[PSony]

I can't really think of many Genesis games that use battery-backup, other than Sonic 3 and rpgs.

[maxlords]

Sadly, most of what I play is RPGs

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

Ordered one from SAG and a 2-pack Sandisk 2GB SD card from Amazon. Can you put the roms in individual folders (like "GAME/A", 'GAME/B"..."GAME/Z" etc) or do they all have to be under the single GAME folder?

Also, does anyone know where to get the wireless controllers?

Sorry, missed this question earlier. Single GAME folder only AFAIK. Haven't tried it any other way, but the rom menu is SUPER SUPER fast and broken up into "pages" so it won't take more than a few seconds to get from A to Z.

[PSony]

Got mine today and I'm pretty happy with it. The build quality seems better than Retrogen/GenMobile. The dpad/buttons are better. I can consistently pull off fireballs and dragon punches, where it was impossible on Retrogen/GenMobile with their crappy dpads. The dpad feels mushy like on official 6-button controllers. The screen is the same size as Retrogen and it doesn't have that greenish tint-problem that I had on my Retrogen. This actually plays Super Street Fighter 2, which surprised me since that game won't even boot up on Retrogen/GenMobile. I tried putting making subfolders in the GAME folder, but it doesn't work. All roms have to be in .bin format and be in the GAME folder.

Here are some issues I noticed:

-Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3: For some reason, none of the special moves work. Not even a simple input like Scorpion's spear (back, back, low punch). I don't get it. The regular MK3 has the same issue.

-Lotus Turbo Challenge: Has the same issue on the Retrogen/GenMobile where your car would occasionally stop for no reason at all.

-King of Fighters 98: Hangs after character select screen.

This would be an excellent handheld Genesis if the sound, compatibility and saving issues were fixed. At least it makes the Retrogen/GenMobile obsolete. What's the point of playing your carts if it doesn't sound the same, right?

I downloaded the full rom set, then sorted out the full US set with Japan/Euro exclusives and unlicensed roms, and it still only takes up around 1.2GB.

[Flojomojo]

I'm late to the party, but found this thread while looking up whether or not this thing would support save states or battery saves. It doesn't, so that's the only real drawback. I kinda-sorta wanted to play Shadowrun on the go, but it's not happening here.

The sound fidelity isn't as bad as some people make it out to be, especially using the included cables to hook the machine up to a TV set. Not a deal-breaker at all, in my opinion.

[drmay]

How is the screen quality? I haven't bought any of these portable retro systems because the screens are crap. I've been waiting for a good quality screen.