AtGames Sega Genesis Classic Game Console
A few years ago I purchased an AtGames Sega Genesis Arcade Motion from a thrift store and wasn’t too surprised by the product’s quality. Sure, it functioned as a nice little plug n play that allowed me to play nearly any Genesis game I wanted from an SD card, but the whole thing felt more like just another cheap Nintendo Wii knockoff gimmick. A few short years later AtGames tried to rectify this situation by offering up the Sega Genesis Classic Game Console. Given their reputation, as well as my experience with their products, will this little Sega Genesis clone fare any better?
In true AtGames fashion the Sega Genesis Classic Console has been produced in a handful of different bundles. Mine just so happens to have wireless controllers, while others had wired controllers. Built into the system are also a total of 80 games, half of which were Sega Genesis games and the other half being, yet again, more worthless games tossed in that nobody really asked for. The built in Sega games are fairly good titles, nothing spectacular but it’s nice to have them all accessible with booting up the console, rather than trying to track down my own cartridge. And, obviously, the other built in games are some of the worst quality junk you’ll ever suffer through, so it goes without saying that this system could have benefited by foregoing these and just being a straight Sega Genesis clone.
Externally the first thing anyone will notice about the console is just how small it is, even smaller than the Majesco Sega Genesis 3. One giant leap forward for the Sega Genesis Classic is, unlike the Arcade Motion, this one actually has a cartridge slot on the top so that you can supply your own games. Up front you have your IR receiver for the wireless controllers, but also given the option to plug in your own wired Sega controllers. Around the back the console is limited to composite AV with mono sound, much like a real Genesis. One thing I found very useful is that, for powering the console, you can use a Sega Genesis MK-1602 power supply on this thing.
The Sega Genesis Classic has a few things that surprised me, the first thing was just how well the wireless controllers worked. No, they’re not perfect, but they do work quite well. Another big surprise was that this is completely region free, meaning you can import games from any region and play them on this console. I’ve had a PAL region Mega Drive cartridge for a few years and the AtGames Sega Genesis Classic plays it just fine. This little thing booted up almost every cartridge I threw at it, almost.
It’s a well known drawback with SOAC clones that not every game is going to be compatible. I was well aware that the console wouldn’t play games such as Virtua Racing or utilize the Game Genie, but what I didn’t understand was why it wouldn’t run my copy of NBA Jam TE. I cleaned it, tested it on my real Genesis consoles and everything was fine, but for some reason the Sega Genesis Classic wouldn’t run it at all.
Sound is also a well known issue with these styles of clone systems, and the AtGame Sega Genesis Classic isn’t any different. Most notably while playing the built in games the sound is horrible, but things seem to be reasonably more bearable while playing games through the cartridge slot. I said bearable, not 100% accurate and true, simply bearable.
If you’re in the market for a good Sega Genesis there is absolutely no replacement for the original, or the model 2. The AtGames Sega Genesis Classic console would be perfect for someone who may not have a large amount of space to keep a collection, not to forget it’s region free as well, or someone who just wants the novelty to pick up and have short bursts of Genesis fun. I can’t say it’s all bad, because I quite enjoy mine to be completely honest, but it’s not exactly perfect. True Sega Genesis consoles are still cheap enough these days that I would highly advise that over this one.
AtGames Sega Genesis Arcade Motion
Lately I’ve been picking up a lot of modern made, yet vintage themed, gaming systems, and since they have vintage video games on them I feel the need to review them and let the readers know what some of our beloved vintage video games are up to these days. The newest system I’ve bought is something called the AtGames Sega Genesis Arcade Motion that I picked up at the thrift store, this is a system I was aware of yet never really gave much thought to, based heavily on the fact that it looks like one of the many Nintendo Wii clones with junk games packed in. What set this one apart from the crowd was that is says Sega Genesis across the top, is shaped like Sonic the Hedgehog and even has a Sonic sticker on the actual system, so I figured I had to give it a test.
AtGames Genesis Clone with controller.
At first I had my doubts about this system and all that it claimed to do, the wireless controllers were merely infrared LEDs with a gaping eyesore of a receiver on the front of the system. Infrared wireless is great if you need to change the channel or volume on your TV, but given the fast pace of most video games you’re often left lacking in speed and accuracy. Another issue arose when I read “40 games, 110 plus levels of play.”, being familiar with Famicom pirate cartridge tactics I was suspect as to how many actual games there were, and how many levels they were split into to get those numbers.
AtGames Genesis Controller
Putting aside the infrared trying to be passed off as wireless and the very familiar over inflation of how many games actually were packed in, one feature piqued my interest above all else which was the SD card slot on the top of the system. This meant that I could slap in a SD card and add games to the already abysmal number that was packed in. I could add every production Genesis game, I could add homebrews, I could do anything! Or so I originally thought.. and hoped!
Front View
But before I get too deep into the SD card function, let me give you a once over of the system itself. I was surprised by how solid the system and controller both were, they didn’t use the normal cheap plastic, perhaps it has lead in it for rigidity, go China! And the infrared, I was quietly bashing in my head, is quite good actually, given that the controller has 5 LEDs shooting out the signal, making it almost impossible to accidentally cover up and block the signal entirely, as well as giving the controller a surprisingly long range of distance.
Back View
The Genesis games built in are actually all pretty good games, including: Alex Kidd in Enchanted Castle, Arrow Flash, Bonanza Brothers, Columns III, Columns, Crack Down, Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine, Ecco the Dolphin, Flicky, Fatal Labyrinth, Ristar, Sonic Spinball, Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and The Ooze.
But they also tried to pack in their own arcade brews and games to utilize the controller’s motion, both of which are pretty lacking in all aspects, especially the motion sensing games which hardly respond, if at all by accident. The system and controllers can both be run off batteries, or the system has the option for a 5v adapter, which I didn’t get, but we all know how systems running on batteries can be temperamental at times.
But now we get into the major downside of the Genesis Arcade Motion, firstly and mostly this system is emulation and that means it is rife with all the problems emulation brings, such as: poor sound quality, some video game effects don’t work properly, squished game text, some video games are not compatible at all (Virtua Racing) and the fact that some ROMs may not work at all, by which I mean you may need to try many different versions of the same ROM to find one that works. One plus side is that this system is seemingly region free, as I’ve tested various Japanese and PAL ROMs and they have worked as well as can be expected. But given that this is a Genesis emulator you may also have the delusions I had that the system will work with other ROMs and the fact here is no, it will NOT work with 32x, Sega CD or even SMS ROMs.
So with this system you are limited to Genesis and Mega Drive ROMs which isn’t so bad, until you realize the system will not create a save file on the SD card for games that require a save. This system is, however, really well suited for games that are password saves or even good old arcade classics such as Golden Axe or Street Fighter. Given it’s limitations the SD card expansion is still a pretty neat idea to open up a much bigger library than one might have hoped.
I have the Sega Genesis Arcade Motion Dual, but I’ve read that there is a deluxe version with even more games packed inside. Overall the system isn’t something I would choose to play over my actual Genesis, its more of a novelty for when I’m bored and want access to games I can’t find or don’t yet own. So many good RPGs on the Genesis I will never get to play because this system can’t make a simple save file, what a shame.
Famiclone: Dreamstation
When I came across this Famiclone for $5 in a flea market, it was as if a dream had come true. And as hard as I may be searching to make a nightmare joke here, I simply can’t bridge that gap. Sure the Dreamstation is a Famiclone, with all the cheap, half-assed Chinese goodness you would expect, but the system has only a few minor flaws.
My only real complaint is that the cables for the controllers are way too short, other than that this system is pretty great, considering it is a Chinese Famiclone. Another thing, although it isn’t really an issue other than cosmetic, is the melting styrofoam which seems to be an issue with most Chinese Famiclones that I’ve seen. Both the styrofoam from the box and the plastic in the system seem to be fusing together for some unknown reason.
Even with the cables being considerably too short, the controllers are surprisingly and extremely comfortable. They also arranged the A and B buttons more like the NES controller than most other Famiclone controller I’ve used, and included A and B shoulder buttons. The light gun included with the set feels very comfortable in my hands and is also surprisingly very accurate, but looks too real to be swung around wildly in public.
To compare the Dreamstation to my 57000 Video Game System, functionality wise I have to hand it to the Dreamstation hands down. The cartridge slot has a nice, broken in feeling where the carts pop in and come out without issue, as where the 57000 seems as if it just doesn’t want to let go of the game. Both pirated games and my Famicom games fit perfectly, with the real Famicom games fitting like a glove, I assume due to their significantly more rigid cartridge plastic.
It seems as if they used a Sega Genesis 2 for the base of the Dreamstation and just rounded it off to fit their needs. The Dreamstation comes with the standard 9 pin controller inputs for 2 players, uses the standard 9v DC power supply and much like the 57000 Video Game system, has AV and RF outs on the back. But unlike the 57000 the Dreamstation’s RF out works, and for some reason broadcasts to channel 23.
The reason I even found the system was because of the pirate cartridge sitting on top of the box, which looked like a black N64 cart, I had bent over to pick it up and read the box it was sitting on. I checked inside and found another cartridge so I figured if nothing more than for the 2 pirate games the price was well worth it, the fact that everything works is just a plus. The black cartridge boasts 9,999,999 games and the yellow cartridge claims 20 in 1, which we can already tell are both lies! Here is a list of games within both cartridges:
1)Pokemon – Hack of Nuts & Milk.
2)Super Mario Bros. – Pretty much what is stated.
3)Soccer – Normal Soccer.
4)Duck Hunt – Normal Duck Hunt.
5)Galaxian – Normal Galaxian.
6)Road Fighter – Normal Road Fighter.
7)Long Live Mario – Starts on World 2-1
8)Fancy Mario – (aka Dream Mary) Incorrectly mirrored Super Mario Bros.
9)Clay Shooting – Normal Clay Shooting.
10)Moon Mario – Starts on World 3-1
11+) Repeats of above.
Yellow 20 in 1
1)Bomber Man(2002) – Looks great, plays like Bomber Man. No clue where this came from.
2)Twinbee – Normal Twinbee.
3)Road Fighter – Normal Road Fighter.
4)Baseball – Completely messed up, as always, pirated Nintendo Baseball.
5)Circus Charlie – Normal Circus Charlie.
6)Lode Runner – Normal Lode Runner.
7)Duck Hunt – Actually “Snowfield Shoot”, a hacked version of Duck Hunt.
8-20) Repeats of the above.
Overall the system feels plastic and cheap, but the cartridges go in and perform solidly. The controllers are extremely comfortable, surprisingly solid and the buttons are in a more familiar layout than most Famiclones. Although I paid $5 for the two pirate cartridges I saw, I ended up with a pretty solid Famiclone to add to my ever growing collection.
Attack of the Clones: New wave!
It is no secret, especially here on TVG, that I have a certain affinity for Famiclones. I currently own six handheld Famiclones which seem to be bountiful in thrift stores, yet I had never seen a console Famiclone and I’ve been eager to own one. Luckily I managed to find one hidden within a bin at the Goodwill Outlet store, although its a pretty nasty brownish/yellow it still works! They called it the Super 57000 Video Game.
There are many variations of console Famiclones, anywhere from nearly identical to a Famicom to the anything will do, just shove the clone workings inside and get it shipped. Mine is more of the latter as the outward appearance is that of an original Sony Playstation complete with a lid, eject button for the lid, power button and light as well as a reset button, which seems to be the only thing of real quality throughout the whole system. The console housing doesn’t close flush, nor does the lid, which covers the 60 pin connector. Even though it isn’t an optical lens it should still close properly to keep dust out of the game input slot.
After doing some research I found that the system came with built in games, which the source noted theirs no longer worked, that worried me slightly as I love the built in games in my Famiclones. Using the power supply from a Super Joy I powered the system on and was presented with a white screen of emptiness, so I tried to put in a game which yielded the same results. After popping the system open and pulling out the failed game board I tried again and this time the system roared to life with the bleep of the pirate multicart I had stuffed into the slot.
Like many, if not all, other Famiclones this one has the infamous 9 pin controller inputs. Luckily I happen to find the controllers to the system in another bin, but since they’re both missing the D-pads I’ve been using one of the player 2 controllers from my handheld systems. Unlike my handhelds this one has an RF output, which didn’t work so I rely heavily on the AV outs.. pretty much like my handhelds.
Although this thing is extremely cheap in terms of build quality, almost unabashedly, it does it’s job to a great extent. I wish the system’s built in games worked so I could give more information on them, even when I put the board in a handheld Famiclone it still didn’t work, so I’m pretty sure that part of the system is beyond repair. A feature that I found amusing was the use of two 60 pin connectors inside, one is for the built in board and the other is for the game cartridges. Having spare Famicom boards from the converters I’ve been building, I decided to use Hogan’s Alley as the built in game and it works perfectly.
I’m sure if I wanted to I could modify the system to work with NES controllers, fix the RF out and generally make the system more reliable than it is currently, but I’m not looking for anything more than a Famiclone console that is just that. Given the utter lack of components to go wrong, if something were to go wrong I could replace the part and get it back up and running with minimal trouble, such as the RF output which I do plan to fix. Again, this system is without a doubt just thrown together to get yet another Famiclone out on the market, but it is a working Famiclone and in the end that was all I was looking for.
The Super 57000 Video Game has once again fueled my interest in Famiclones, much like the Power Joy sparked my interest in them to begin with. I’m naturally looking to get my hands on a few more, including one that looks identical to the Famicom, but to at least own the first Famiclone console I’ve seen out in the wild is good enough for now. I can play my Famicom/pirate games in my NES, sure, but there is just a strange, simple joy of using a system that was designed to play these games specifically and nothing more, short of owning a real Famicom.
Attack of the Clones: Send in the Clones!
I will admit that I’m pretty fond of my Super Joy 3, but lately it has been giving me problems. I think the batteries are going dead, but with anything made in China, it may also just be dying for good. Recently I found a functional Power Joy that may take it’s place, so I figured what better to do than to give the Power Joy it’s own review!
New (Left) and the old one (Right).
The Power Joy also has the N64 controller resemblance, but takes it a few steps further from the Super Joy, for the integrated light gun. The first thing you’ll notice is the toy jet design on the front, as well as the toy gun like handle, with trigger, underneath. The toy jet design may have been added to throw off the N64 controller shape, but the handle and trigger are essential and feel quite comfortable when you’re playing one of the many shooting games packed into this unit. Also, the light gun’s accuracy is surprisingly good!
Black is the new one and blue is the old one.
At the bottom of the handle is the second controller port, as well as the hardwired AV cables, with optional power input. The cables are decent in length and don’t get in the way, despite their placement. Underneath the unit you’ll also find a 60 pin connector and the battery storage, which has an extremely weak feeling cover. The Power Joy does play Famicom cartridges, but the unit isn’t quite big enough to play them comfortably, so your fingers might be cramped until you find a comfortable playing position.
On top of the Power Joy are the controls, which are setup much like the Super Joy’s, but with a few exceptions. Here the D pad is still inaccurate, the reset button is much smaller but still too easy to hit in a hurry, the power switch is right above the reset button and start and select are the same. One feature the Super Joy lacks, but I enjoy on the Power Joy, is a fully functional joystick, which is more accurate (just slightly) than the D pad. A minor drawback is that the A and B buttons (including their turbo counterparts) are backwards, which takes a little time to adjust to.
My new Power Joy came with the cartridge, so I had a chance to see what it could offer. I honestly think the cartridge alone was worth the $3 I paid for the whole unit! The PJ-008 is packed with playable games, and it even works on the NES, with a Famicom to NES converter. Out of the 84 games on the cartridge, there are only a handful of failures. That isn’t to say they’re not functional, they’re just not games I enjoyed. It is noteworthy to say that most of the games packed on the PJ-008 are simply pirated, very few are hacks.
I like it, just not that label!
Overall, again, I am impressed with this cheap, Chinese toy. I enjoy sitting in front of my TV and having many choices right at my finger tips, which the Super Joy and Power Joy units provide in abundance. The controls are whacky, the games are mostly pirates or hacks of games we already know and love, but this system is a pretty cool little device. Thanks to my new Power Joy, I now know that my other Power Joy works as well, it just needed the battery cover to power up properly. I don’t expect them to live long, but for what they are, I will enjoy them as long as I can.
Here is the list of games that the Power Joy offers, as well as the PJ-008 cartridge. I know they released a few different versions, so I would imagine the games differ from cartridge to cartridge, so this is a list of what I’ve got on my system.
Games in the Power Joy
| Power Joy Title | Extra Info |
| Shoot Copter | Hacked Duck Hunt |
| Falling Bricks | Fairly decent Tengen Tetris Hack |
| Shoot Copters | Hacked Duck Hunt |
| Panzer Fly Car | Road Fighter Hack |
| Debar Bomb 1 | Hogan’s Alley Hack |
| Shooting | Hacked Hogan’s Alley – Can shoot |
| Debar Bomb 2 | Hogan’s Alley Hack |
| Future Tank | Battle City Hack |
| Space War | Exerion Hack |
| Shoot Glass | Hacked Duck Hunt – Clay Shooting |
Games in the Cartridge
| Power Joy Title | Extra Info |
| 80 Days | Puss ‘n Boots: Around the World in 80 Days |
| 1942 | 1942 |
| Arkanoid | Arkanoid |
| Aladdin III | Magic Carpet 1001 (Infamous Pirate) |
| Argus | Famicom Argus |
| Adisland | Famicom Adventure Island |
| ASCII | Famicom Penguin-Kun Wars |
| Arabian | Famicom Super Arabian |
| Badminton | Famicom Super Dynamix Badminton |
| Baltron | Famicom Baltron |
| B-Wings | Battle Wings/Famicom B-Wings |
| Bird Week | Famicom Bird Week |
| Boat Race | Seizure inducing F1 Race Hack |
| Boom Man | Bomber Man |
| Brush Roller | Hack of a Pirate called Bookyman |
| Clay Shoot | Hacked Duck Hunt |
| Chack and Pop | Famicom Chack’n Pop |
| Circus Chablie | Circus Charlie – Menu is spelled wrong |
| City Connection | City Connection |
| Challenger | Famicom Challenger |
| Dig Dug | Dig Dug |
| Dough Boy | Famicom Dough Boy |
| Druaga | Famicom Tower of Druaga |
| Devil World | Famicom Devil World |
| Ding Dong | Famicom Binary Land |
| Door Door | Famicom Door Door |
| Dynamite Bowl | Famicom Dynamite Bowl |
| Elevator Action | Elevator Action |
| Exerion | Famicom Exerion |
| Formation Z | Famicom Formation Z |
| Front Line | Famicom Front Line |
| Fire Dragon | Interesting clone of the Atari game Surround |
| Flappy | Famicom Flappy |
| Flipull | Famicom Flipull |
| Filed Combat | Field Combat – Menu is spelled wrong |
| Galaga | Galaga |
| Galg | Famicom Zunou Senkan Galg |
| Geimos | Famicom Geimos |
| Gyrodine | Famicom Gyrodine |
| Goonies | Famicom Goonies |
| Gotcha | LJN’s Gotcha! I like this one, since the Power Joy is also the light zapper! |
| Galaxians | Galaxian |
| Gradius | Gradius |
| Hyper Olympic | Track and Field |
| Joust | Joust |
| Karateka | Famicom Karateka |
| Kage | The Legend of Kage |
| Lode Runner 1 | Lode Runner |
| Lode Runner 2 | Championship Lode Runner |
| Lunar Ball | Lunar Pool |
| Macross | Choujikuu Yousai Macross |
| Magic Jewellery | Pirate of Magic Jewelry |
| MagMax | MagMax |
| Mappy | Mappy |
| Millipede | Millipede |
| Othello | Pirate of HES’s Othello |
| Pooyan | Famicom Pooyan |
| Pac Land | Famicom Pac-Land |
| Paper Boy | Paperboy |
| Pandamar | Hacked Super Mario with a Panda |
| Penguin | Famicom Obake no Q Tarou: Wan Wan Panic/ NES Chubby Cherub (w/ drastic changes!) |
| Route 16 | Famicom Route 16 Turbo |
| Raid on Bay | Raid on Bungeling Bay |
| Road Fighter | Famicom Road Fighter |
| Sky Destroyer | Sky Destroyer |
| Space ET | Space Invaders |
| Star Gate | Famicom Stargate/Defender II |
| Star Force | Star Force |
| Son Son | Famicom Son Son |
| Spartan | Famicom Spartan X/NES Kung Fu |
| Spelunker | Spelunker |
| Spy vs Spy | Spy vs Spy |
| Squoon | Famicom Squoon |
| Starslider | Star Soldier |
| Star Luster | Famicom Star Luster |
| Tag Team | Tag Team [Pro] Wrestling |
| Tank | Battle City |
| Twin Bee | Famicom Twin Bee |
| Wrestling | M.U.S.C.L.E. |
| Wisdom | Wisdom Boy – Puzzle game of unknown Origins |
| Warp Man | Famicom Warpman |
| World Cup | World Cup 2002 Chinese hack of Soccer |
| Xevious | Xevious |
| Zippy Race | MotoRace USA/Zippy Race |
Super Joy 3: The Review!
Earlier I did a quick once over for the Super Joy 3 that I own, and I didn’t quite go into too much detail. Today we are going to delve as deep into this thing as we possibly can without getting lead poisoning. The very first thing you are going to notice when you pick up one of the Super Joy units is the fact that the housing looks a lot like a Nintendo 64 controller, so I will be comparing the two quite a bit. The second thing you’re going to notice is just how cheap and plasticky this thing feels, and that is pretty much the theme throughout.
To start off, the controls are shoved quite a bit more to the center than they are on the N64 controller. The D-pad is essentially the same, but its way off to the right of where it should be. Instead of the C buttons, here you have 2 pairs of A and B buttons, one set being standard and the other set for turbo. More toward the center you have the Reset button next to a slant aligned Start and Select buttons, and a functionless joystick simply screwed on from the inside.
The Super Joy design has done away with the N64’s trigger and they’ve turned the memory card port into the battery pack holder. On the very top left you have the AV outputs, in the middle there is the typical and super cheap looking 9 pin controller port (much cheaper looking than Atari and Sega used) and to the right is the power adapter input and On/Off switch. Since I don’t own the right power adapter, I run mine off 4 AA batteries. Performance seems to be ok, although I can’t compare between the batteries and power adapter. Underneath all Super Joy units, that I’ve seen, there is a 60 pin connector for running ROM boards (mine had a cover on it) which means your unit is either run off a ROM board or you can use Famicom cartridges with it.
As you would expect from anything built in China, this thing is cheap and functions as such. Often times I will find myself hitting the A or B button and getting random reactions or none at all. The D-pad seems to be only slightly inaccurate, but watch out for the extremely willing to work Reset button, which can often be confused for the start button when you need to pause a game in a hurry. The games within my Super Joy 3 (listed in a previous article) are obvious classics, as if they didn’t even really care about copyrights and didn’t try to hide what these games were. The games all function properly with the exception of Super Mario Bros., which is sped up quite a bit.
Within the unit is a mess of wires and three different printed boards, one strictly to handle the controls, another is attached to the 60 pin connector and the other is the main brain of the clone. The wires look cheaply soldered into place and although I’m not a master at soldering either, it just looks like a mess. The extreme bare essentials are thrown in, the components are cheap and that causes a loud buzz in the audio and there are lines running vertically across the screen.
The slot around the 60 pin connector on the bottom of mine is way to small for me to properly insert Famicom cartridges, but I did take the unit apart and they do work! Like wise, after I built my first Famicom to NES converter, I took the ROM board out of my Super Joy and played it on the NES, that works too! Some Super Joys have a bigger cartridge slot than mine, I believe mine was built strictly to be run off the ROM board in the hopes it would never be removed, they sure didn’t see me ever getting my hands on this thing!
I bought my Super Joy 3 at a thrift store for around $4, and if I found another I would more than likely pay $4 for it too. Since this has the option to run off batteries, which have lasted longer than I thought, these units are ideal for packing with you for a trip. The games are fun and the unit is, for the most part, functional. I love playing the original games on the original hardware, but this thing just gives you so many choices that its hard to put it down sometimes. The issues with the audio buzz and lines on the screen tend to fade away, once you’re focused in on playing a game. It does lie and say it gives you 12000 choices while in reality it is only 120-ish, but even so I’ve found this thing to be a lot of fun.
