GUIDE: Telling apart good Genesis 1s and Genesis 2s from bad ones.

[Christuserloeser]

It allows me to confirm once and for all that yes, I do have the dreaded Genesis Model 1 with a VA7 motherboard!

It isn't all bad: If you happen to own one of the worst variants of either the model 1 or model 2, you have the option to send it to TmEE and receive it back modded for crystal clear audio. That is better than any emulator and better than the vast majority of the good model 1 and model 2 variants out there.

And the difference in bass can be adjusted via your amp's EQ settings. Personally I use +2 bass and +/-0 for high and mid frequencies.

The VA7 you have is the only variant of the model 1 that can be modded for crystal clear audio, so that should be worth something, don't you think ?



@Ace: Thank you so much for this guide. It helps a lot to determine which variants are good and which are moddable

@TmEE: If it's the VA0 I sent you, please keep in mind that it's VERY likely that I mixed up the shells with the one of another model 2.

[Aarzak]

So, where do the Majesco Model 2's fall into all of this? Are there any slight cosmetic differences from the Sega-manufactured Model 2's? (Sorry if I'm sounding liek a broken record)

[TmEE]

@TmEE: If it's the VA0 I sent you, please keep in mind that it's VERY likely that I mixed up the shells with the one of another model 2.

its that MD2, and that MD2 was never opened... the screws did the "virgin crack" sound, lol

[Aarzak]

An archived post from DP's Retrogaming Roundtable:

I forgot to tell you guys something: Neither 32X nor Sega CD will work with Majesco Genesis 2 units. Yes, I said 2. I bought a 2nd gen.2 when they were $20 at Wal Mart (a few years back), and tried to hook it up to the rest of my "rig". It didn't work at all, though it would work by itself. I thought it was odd (since my other Gen 2. worked with all components, and then I started looking all over the box. I noticed that it (a late model Gen. 2) was manufactured and licensed by Majesco. This was around the same time that Frogger appeared in stores (for SNES and Gen.), as well as other Majesco re-releases.
I think I actually opened the instruction manual to find out that it indeed would not work with Sega CD or 32X. Odd. Anyway, I remember noticing that the edge connector (which would attach to the Sega CD) seemed almost like it had a dark epoxy coating over it, as opposed to the green PCB/copper contacts look of all other Genesis edge connectors.


To make a long story short...if you can't get 32X or Sega CD to work with your Genesis 2, then check the manufacture date and the look of the edge connector. It's a good bet that it's a Majesco release. And it goes without asaying that the Genesis 3 works with neither as well, if for no other reason tan physical incompatibility (it's more, but that's just the start).

[Ace]

You sure are obsessed about Majesco's Genesis 2, aren't you?

This isn't confirmed, but theoretically speaking, if you look a the Genesis 3's model number, it's MK-1461, which doesn't match Sega's numbering scheme of MK-16xx. There's a particular model of the Genesis 2 that doesn't have the model number as MK-1631 like all Genesis 2s, but MK-1451. That kind of matches Majesco's numbering scheme with the Genesis 3, so I'm pretty sure that's the Majesco Genesis 2. From what I remember, it's just a Genesis 2 containing a VA4 motherboard sold by Majesco. If you have a picture of the Majesco Genesis 2's motherboard, I may be able to help shed some light on it.

[Aarzak]

You sure are obsessed about Majesco's Genesis 2, aren't you?

Strange though, a Model 2 that ISN'T compatible with the SCD or 32X (if that post is true). They must've tinkered around with the mobo.

And no, I don't have a pic.........which is why I've been asking if anyone owns or has seen such a model!!!

[chessage]

Here's a picture of a modded model MK-1451 board (not mine!).

[Ace]

See? It's just a VA4 Genesis 2 sold by Majesco. There is NO WAY a Genesis 2 doesn't work with the Sega CD or 32X. Whoever said that might have bought a defective unit.

[kool kitty89]

That epoxy comment seems odd too, I'd think it was just a rubber cover for the connector. (Didn't some others come with red or blue covers slipped on)

[Ace]

Epoxy? He must be talking about that black carbon(or whatever it is) coating on the Sega CD connector. But usually, all Genesis consoles come with a red rubber cover over the Sega CD connector.

[chessage]

See? It's just a VA4 Genesis 2 sold by Majesco. There is NO WAY a Genesis 2 doesn't work with the Sega CD or 32X. Whoever said that might have bought a defective unit.

I wouldn't say that. Majesco's early stock of model 2s were probably leftovers from Sega and later model 2s that were made by Majesco were "re-engineered" to not work with Sega's add-ons. If those models are anything like the Genesis 3, additional wiring can completely restore the console's ability to work with the add-ons.

That epoxy comment seems odd too, I'd think it was just a rubber cover for the connector. (Didn't some others come with red or blue covers slipped on)

Since it's Majesco we're talking about, I don't find it weird at all. The connectors had red covers, but I don't think anyone's too stupid to remove one of those.

[Ace]

I think I remember Aarzak once said there's a US Genesis 2 with a power switch instead of a push-button. To my knowledge, only the Japanese MegaDrive 2 has a power switch, and both the US Genesis 2 and European MegaDrive II have power buttons. Or is that maybe one of the Majesco-made Genesis 2s? I've never seen one, so I wouldn't know.

[Aarzak]

Nah, I don't recall making such a comment, or seeing such a Model 2. Only the Genesis 3 has a power switch......to my knowledge.

[Ace]

It wasn't you who made such a comment, but Evildragon. Look here: http://www.sega-16.com/forum/showpos...7&postcount=49

But judging by the comments left in that thread, it looks like Sega stopped making the Genesis in '95(your comment, look: http://www.sega-16.com/forum/showpos...7&postcount=46), so it may very well be that I have one of Majesco's Genesis 2s because my VA4 motherboard has a manufacturing date of some time in 1996. And in order to have a power switch, the Japanese MegaDrive 2 motherboard would need to have been redesigned so the region code pins on the ASIC would be set to US 60Hz instead of JAP 60Hz, which would mean changing part of the board layout.

[Aarzak]

Wow. that's an old post!!!

Though in retrospect, I'm not sure if Sega ceased production of the Genesis in 1995. They did discontinue all of their consoles except for Saturn in the Fall of 1995, but stopping production outright in the U.S, where the Genesis was still selling briskly, would've been a BIG mistake. But yeah, in 1995 they did begin releasing numerous Genesis 2 bundles. That Sonic 3+Sonic & Knuckles bundle (which I only saw ONCE, at Toy's 'R Us) must've been AWESOME.

I'm guessing the Majesco Genesis 2's were made during the end of 1996 at the earliest, probably 1997 (when Sega gave the Genesis its last push with the "Mega Hit Series" of re-releases, which were assembled/distributed by Majesco).

I've been asking about the Majesco Genesis 2 since back then.........damn.