Cheapest/best/easiest way to play Genesis games portably

[noiseredux]

there's also that Sega service on Android now that let's you play Genesis game for free. I don't know about how many games are available yet, but I know Phantasy Star II was one of them.

[marurun]

My understanding, based on reading reviews of that service, is that it was developed in Unity, thus the emulator has very poor performance. Probably not a good solution from the perspective of accuracy or quality.

[Tanooki]

What you're thinking of is Android and also iOS to -- Sega Forever
http://forever.sega.com/

I forgot about it, was planning to try it out.

[Sarge]

Yeah, I've heard that it actually made previously purchased emulated games worse.

I have a couple of ways that have probably already been covered:

1) If you have a PSP, mod it and put PicoDrive on there. Full speed emulation and really good compatibility.
2) If you already have a decent Android phone, buy MD.emu. It's a very good and full-featured emulator that also does Sega CD, although it doesn't run Lunar: Eternal Blue properly. Get RetroArch for that. If you can't grok touch controls (and I can't for action games), then get a MOGA controller. They make a smaller one, but I'd go with a larger model with a good d-pad. The controller Exhuminator linked probably will work quite well, and looks like it's a good bit cheaper.
3) Along the lines of the first option, if you have a Vita and are okay with modding, install Henkaku Enso. This will only work if you're on firmware version 3.60. Genesis Plus GX is on there, and of course RetroArch.

[racketboy]

I have since switched to an iPhone, but I have my old Nexus 4 -- would that hold up well to emulators for 16-bit and earlier? (ok maybe 32X too?)

[Sarge]

I would be very surprised if it couldn't handle things full speed. I'd try downloading SNES9x EX+ or EX and see how it runs, they're both free.

http://www.explusalpha.com/home/snes9x-ex

[Tanooki]

I had their older Nexus7 which was before that 4 and it ran SNES9EXPlus or whatever it's called just fine and due to quirks with the SNES it takes a bit more overhead than Genesis to run right -- you'll be fine. I also ran an NES(nestopia I think) emulator on there too and it was smooth.


And those Sega Forever games you're right they reviewed like garbage when it first came out, but I've read they reworked/updated the emulator and got the Genesis stuff working correctly. They did pull their line-up intended for Saturn and Dreamcast due to big framerate problems, but did eek out Virtua Tennis for DC because it didn't have that issue (probably since tennis stayed on a static screen or something.)

[Exhuminator]

On Android I've used NES, SNES, GBC, GBA, Genesis, Master System, Game Gear, and Playstation emulators and they all work perfect. Sarge is right that a MOGA is a great controller. The only reason I bought the one I did, is because the d-pad is more accessible than the thumbstick. For retro games I think that's ideal.

[Jagosaurus]

I use this controller, different version of Beboncool brand recommended earlier:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N8 ... psc=1&th=1

It holds my smaller Motorola & my large Samsung Note. I recommend standard bluetooth over MOGA.

I've only really focused on Retroarch, but have read pretty much everywhere the $5 for md.emu gives you the best Genesis emu experience on Android. Done mostly NES on Android myself thus far, but plan on ponying up 5 bucks when I get the urge for some Shining Force II with save states.

Keep in mind, you can quickly use a HDMI adapter to have the portable turned to TV experience when paired to a Bluetooth controller. I was surprised I saw no noticeable lag on my setup when doing this.

[liquid]

Don't know if this is of use but it was certainly the case a couple years ago: Many of the Sony Xperia phones/tablets have native PS3+PS4 controller support. This was a major reason for me choosing the Z3 back then, because I'd had some truly frustrating times with Android + gamepads.

I later smashed the screen on that phone and once you do that on a Z3 it's basically fubar. So I only have my memory to go on.

--EDIT--
I am told that they dropped DS3 bluetooth support from Android 6 onward. So the Z3 worked fine, but Z3+ and Z4 onwards you either needed a DS4 or a plugged-in DS3.