I have a Polymega, and I also love it. It also has caused me to want to buy more older games for systems that I hadn't yet gotten into previously. It was a good purchase.
@@Jazz_FunkBassthat was their mistake. Yes. No matter what, these plug and play clones are gimmicks. But might as well go all out. FPGA is really the only way to get proper compatibility with a majority of games. Emulation is such a shot in the dark without proper testing. Especially sega saturn. That system to this day, has a majority of games unplayable. So this really needed to have it be an FPGA just for compatibility reasons. For that price, they got real lazy
Hey Johnny here's a tip that helped me immensely with games glitching. You know how you can change the background music to a custom song? Turn that off and back to the standard back ground music. Secondly, after updating your firmware turn the WiFi off entirely in settings. These two changes fixed my glitches try it!
I love mine also! Sounds like we got our Polymegas around the same time. As a Saturn fan, I love mine, but it comes with a cost: I cannot use all my varying Saturn controllers like the 3D controller for NiGHTS. That aside, throwing my PS1, Genesis, Sega CD, and other libraries onto it is amazing. I've also had issues with some demo discs, but for the ones that work, it's a great archiving console. I don't think people realize how great of a deal this is out of the box with all the disc-based formats.
I was lucky in that I was able to get a Polymega early on, since I was one of the early-bird pre-orders, so I've had mine for a few years now. Personally, I really do enjoy the console & the ease of use with it; simply saying "It just works" truly is the simplest way to describe it. The database is always cool to just explore & discover new games through, the ability to add patches to both cartridge & CD games (for either mods or simple translation patches) is awesome & gives little to no hassle, and I love how the Neo Geo CD games have near-instantaneous loading through it, which is a godsend for that console. However, it's hard for me to heartily recommend the Polymega, at least in modern times. I do wish that Playmaji was more readily communicating, in general, instead of literal months of nothing before a new announcement or update is made. I wish that the long-planned in-console store would finally just get added, because I think that's where the console would truly have the edge over something like an Analogue FPGA console. I imagine the serial # copy protection on each console that Johnny mentioned was done for the sake of the store in the future, so you couldn't buy a game on your console & then simply have a friend make a free copy on theirs. Finally, the price for the console itself is just way too expensive right now at $550 for the base unit. When I pre-ordered it long ago it was closer to around $300 or so, which I felt was much more reasonable, so while I absolutely do enjoy my Polymega it's something I sadly can't just say "Go out & buy one for yourself!", despite really wishing I could. Maybe that could change once the in-console store actually happens, though, because the idea of a retro-focused console with its own equivalent to the Wii Virtual Console Store would be amazing to see nowadays.
Thanks for sharing your experience with the console! Could you please also tell me if save states work well on the Polymega? Not being able to save whenever I want is a real problem when playing on original consoles. I would also like to know if there are any CRT shaders and if they are any good.
@@janbiela8596 Save states work just fine. I don't tend to rely on them, in general, but I've used them for longer games that only offer passwords & they've been working well. As for the GRT shaders, I've never really cared for them in general so I can't really say how they are on the Polymega.
@@TheLandofObscusionthanks! It’s good to hear that save states work well. CRT shaders are a big deal for myself and so I will try to figure that out :)
Thanks for playing some Grandia music in the background. I played that game at launch when I was 11 years young and the story floored me, not the best rpg from the Era but my all time favorite.
Recently Polymega announced that they are starting to release their own licensed games compilations on DVD, in the much same way as Blaze does with cartridges for the Evercade. This makes the console even more interesting than it already is.
Hi quick question, did polymega stay in touch when they sent your order? I heard people saying they bought and never received the console or updates from polymega on the customer service.
I wish Sony would come out with a lock on module for PS5 that let us play PS3, PS2, and PS1 games. Or just include backwards compatibility in the base unit, but they would want that extra money.
That crash you got on G Darius is a common problem. If you’re turn off the WiFi, it’s less likely to happen. I guess it’s gonna get addressed in a future update. Maybe the next update.
I was a beta tester for it in 2020. It is a really cool idea, and had lots of pros and some cons. The modules were cool, but I found myself not knowing where to put the modules when not in use. The modules did have low latency controller inputs, so that was great. The usb controller port did have some lag as expected, and it bothered me where it did not bother others. After a year of owning it I decided to reduce the redundancies in my setup and I sold it. I kinda regret selling it now, but I was all about down sizing at the time, and I used the hefty profit for other endeavors. All logic sats I didn't need it, but I still find myself looking at it fondly. The controllers were a mixed bag. I never used the wireless controller. Their PC Engine controller is great, but their Genesis controller has a bad dpad in my opinion. The feature I miss the most about it is the save states. I know emulators have save states, but having a visual record of the save state is magnificent. Who knows, I may end up picking it up again, it happened before.
Great video as always. With regard to older games and convenience I have to recommend the Steam Deck running Emulation Station. It’s the perfect setup for me. All my old games in a portable system that can be played on a TV as well as my Steam catalog. It’s not for everyone, but it’s really got me back into classic games.
I was totally interested in the polymega 6 months ago when you had a video saying you got it and your first impressions. I got a Retron 2 HD from Hyperkin that plays both super NES and regular NES via HDMI. It has blown my mind and reignited that collector fire again! I was able to collect some really great gems this summer from childhood and look forward to finding more in the future!
Heh Johnny, the freeze issue is due to a bug when you have wifi enabled. They are coming out with a patch this month that is fixing that as well as other issues.
Nice to see some positivity for the Polymega. I personally love mine and have been having a blast with it for the past 8 months or so. Rather than the pack in controller, I’ve found that I use the retrobit Saturn controller probably 90% of the time when I play. I’ve loaded up 600 games on it, among every system it supports. The CD based systems work flawlessly, and the Turbo/PC Engine, NES, and Genesis work great too. For some reason the emulation on SNES got messed up with the last update, but it should be fixed with the next one. The N64 isn’t perfect, but it improves over time. This along with the Analogue Pocket covers most of my retro needs now.
Hi Johnny! Love the channel and been a subscriber for a few years. Just wanted to ask if you could probably turn the background music down a notch? The audio becomes a bit saturated when you're talking at the same time, making it harder to hear what you say. Thank you for making a video about the Polymega. Always been fascinated by this piece of tech!
You will be disappointed of the flawed Saturn emulation. Get a MiSTer and play your own roms there. Even the Saturn core is not finished on the MiSTer. It's now better than sw emulation. ☮️
It's just an ancient pc running an emulator. If you're fine with software emulators (Polymega) buy a Pi and download those games. If you want to buy physical imports just get a system. Getting a Pi and a Saturn + pads will still be cheaper.
I absolutely 💯 love my PolyMega console. I've had it for almost a year now. It's been worth every single penny for me. I get it, for those who don't like it.
Have had my Polymega for a couple years and love it. The system is t perfect but it delivers everything I wanted…as an early adopter I only paid $250 for the system so that’s also plus!!!
The simplicity and range of systems sold me. My favorite feature is the ease of installing translation patches. I agree $500 is expensive but the original systems are becoming crazy expensive too. Just speaking for myself but I've used it much more than my ps5.
Thanks for your always honest thoughts. I was very interested early on when Polymega was talking FPGA. I''m more on the fence with it being emulation only. Still, it seems to have a market and it sounds very easy to use.
From what I can tell, in your heart: this is a -B. Good, but not great or excellent. I was interested in this machine when it was first introduced, but rather took the emulation route. Batocera is my comfort zone now.
I wish there was an FPGA version of the Polymega with it using an Arm chip to handle all of the front end menus and stuff. In its current form, it's just emulation, but great for backing up your games and being able translate games with it like with the Retron5. The build quality and the design is really nice. But it's expensive. What i do love about the Polymega is there control pads, some of them like the 6 button PC Engine pad are well worth it for the price. 6 button pads for the PCE can be a pain to find these days. Another thing with the console is you can hack it and turn it into a Raspberry Pi like device that can emulate almost everything upto the GameCube. Great for a living room setup. But this needs to get cheaper, if it's just emulation.
I was originally interested when it was announced, but when I found out how expensive it would be to have everything I wanted, I bowed out. I wish hyperkin could make a version of it that could succeed the Retron 5 cause I got a lot of use out of that when I started “retro gaming”. Great video HCG!
What really fails in this system is overall price and lack of fpga. We were all exited back then when this system was announced but we can all say that there are out there fairly better solutions with better price.
Even if I am a little disappointed with the snes module, I am in LOVE with the Poly. I totally agree with you , we are getting old, and my knees hate standing over and over to swap games 😂. Also, save states is a blessing 🙌
I would love to get one of these at some point! I have the Retron 5 and the Retroid Pocket 4 Pro but this would be a great option in the future for me aswell! I've had this on my radar for sometime and I like your review! Long time viewer of the channel! Thanks for the great review!
It makes beyond zero sense to buy one of these, especially if you already have an android emulator machine. This things existence makes zero sense. Or at least, supporting it's existence.
I personally have been really enjoying this machine as a way to simplify the playing of my games catalogue and without having too many consoles / devices setup which I would struggle to have space for. It certainly has its own set of issues but thankfully I'm not too bothered by them and have been enjoying my experience so far.
Yeah I was super interested in the polymega but was unsure if it would ever come out or if it would be any good so I didn't preorder it. But I still think about it, cause it is such a unique system and very versatile. I do like the way it organizes all the different systems.
I’ve had mine for about 2 and a half years a love it. Only real problem has been the mega controller’s d pad doesn’t work. Before the PolyMega I only really collected NES and PS1 games, but with the PolyMega I’ve been picking up stuff for a bunch of different systems and installed them to play later.
I was interested in the Polymega, but I ended up diving into the world of Analogue systems, which was probably a better idea as I didn't have a large libray of physical games. Now, I probably would only consider getting the Polymega as something I could take if I was traveling, instead of having to choose one system over another. Or to let a younger relative borrow, minus the games, so you didn't have to worry about losing anything important (if the damn thing was cheaper lol). Regarding not being able to share a sd card filled with your games with your friends, I've long thought they should try to get these into ma and pop shops so you wouldn't have to get all the modules. And maybe, the stores could throw some of their rarer titles in their inhouse collection onto your system for free, which to me would be more exciting than just tossing roms on other ecosystems.
I got really excited about it, but the console price is steep and is required for the modules. If they had a ps1/2/3, gamecube/wii, xbox/360 console, I would buy it no problem. It does look like a slick console
I was really going back and forth on getting one of these, but now they are backordered 😢. I think its worth it for the convenience since i collect a lot of systems. Hopefully back in stock soon my xmas bonus will be waiting.
I’ve had it since December 2023. Love the system as I could play import PS1 European games & some Japanese games of Saturn games. I am annoyed some of my PS1 games like Time Crisis 1 & Xenogears disc#1 wouldn’t want to be installed. Polymega just announce they will release physical disc games too. I am excited as well. Can’t wait in December though as they are going to send me a light gun to play Virtua Cops & Point Blank series again.
Yes, I was about to pull the trigger and they sold out so waiting for new stock. I mainly want it as a back up for the Mega CD and 32X, so will pick up the module for the Megadrive and also the SNES and also want the light gun
Oh, my Japanese Splatterhouse installed, but I did have problems with others. You may have to clean the contacts with an eraser to get it to read properly.
I have the ability and privilege to have a CRT-TV, a shelf with my SD consoles, and an AV-switcher, so I play my old games that way. Other than that, emulation works for me. The PolyMega is a cool idea and I’m glad it exists. Not for me though.
I am glad that these systems exist and they serve a purpose for a certain type of person for sure. I used to be an "emulator guy" because it got to the point where having all my systems hooked up for easy access. I love gaming on real hardware because it just feels right, but it's not practical these days, at least for me. I went down the rabbit hole with a raspberry pi and 240p analog into a crt and it made me feel excited about having easy access to my favorite games on a crt. Through all of this, I always kept my game collections and systems, because nothing replaces the actual systems. That was until I got the Mister fpga, this thing blew my mind, it feels perfect and the ease of implementing cheats is awesome. Yes I cheat like the worst of them. After having my Mister for a few years, it made me feel alright about selling my entire Nes collection except for my everdrive, sold my neo geo and games, sold all kinds of things that this can "emulate" perfectly. Don't get me wrong, I love original games, the feel, the smell the instruction manuals, the whole experience, it's fun, but I don't feel I need all that anymore. At the end of the day, the polymega was a neet idea to me, but not practical. If you don't already have a Mister, I strongly recommend picking one up or at least taking one for a spin. It was a game changer for me. That being said, even the mister is simply just another way to enjoy the games we grew up with and that's what matters most. Having all these choices and finding what works best for us.
The transferring games reminds me of the original xbox. So much time spent putting games on the HD from disc although most transfer in lest than 5 minutes.
Hi Johnny,I have all the modules and a 4tb nvme and it's arriving the lightgun. the only Minus for me is the last firmware update introduce glitch on the SNES/sf emulation . For the plus you can use the 8bitDo arcade Stick (Nintendo switch version) and it's perfect for street fighter; you can also use the polymega modules's controller on the original hardware. Another plus it's the wiki information for every game(developer, publisher, mega, etc.)with only a few errors. Overall it' s an amazing console. My last concerne is about the space: every game you install on nvme drive save some data also on the primary drive(29gb) and for me after almost 2tbof games installed on nvme I have on the primary drive only10%of space, that means when the primary is full you cannot install more games on the 4tb nvme even if you have more than 1tb free on it like on a PC (in fact the polymega is a celeron base PC)
This looks awesome! I have a hacked PlayStation Classic that I have all my retro games on now to upscale to HD. But it would be awesome to use my original controllers as well! Shame some games just won’t work though.
I would love to jump start my retro collection, but the entry price is simply too steep for me. I will have to exists in the realm of emu...for now. Great vid, Johnny!
Going full circle. Collection so many original games so that you can dump the roms and emulate them. :D Joking aside, the polymega inspired me to refine my home emulation machine. I built a smaller faster device around 2019 that has a very similar GUI. Boots in 20s straight into the gui and shuts down nicely. Only gamepad required for the whole gui. It's a wonderful machine. Played it for the better part of 4 years now.
I have been eyeing this thing for years. I really hope that they can get Dreamcast running on it because that is the system that I have the most old school games for.
You know this virtual world we’ve been accustomed to finally got to me. I hunted down an old NES, Genesis and a CRT and rediscovered some of that simple joy that seems lost today. I bought some games and, guess what? I actually put one in and stuck with it. I’d wake up and have the itch to try another crack at LifeForce still in the machine. It turns on and I’m transported. I love this idea, and it’s great for game preservation. I’m not against everdrive or these sorts of new combo consoles. Allowing native controllers is also great. I’m pretty sure though I would not want to load them up with clutter though. There is something about narrowing down choice. Anyways cool to see all of these options and physical stuff finding it’s way back into people’s interest. Demand will only grow with time I’m betting.
I love my polymega. It is so funny you mention street fighter. I have exactly that same problem but with every controller. The polymega own version snes one is hard to do fireballs and it doesn’t jump properly. I just plug in my regular snes controller but it is a pain.
Over $500 for a system that's not guaranteed to play every game? I think I'll pass. For such an expensive price tag, I expect every single game to work. Otherwise, it's just not worth it. At least the video was highly enjoyable as always. After the rough day that I had yesterday, this video put a smile on my face. Thanks, Johnny! As always, I appreciate the honesty, passion, and hard work! Keep it up! God bless and stay safe!
It’s basically just an emulation box which for that price is ludicrous, but the compatibility will be a huge selling point for most people which is understandable
Thanks for another great video. I have to say, I love my Analogue systems (NT Mini Noir, Super NT, Mega SG, pocket). These play the cartridges directly, no loading. You do need one per system, but you have multiple hardware with polymega as well. Analogue plays nearly every cartridge. Thanks!
For the use with CD based games, I tink this is an ideal console specially if you don't want to archive your OG disc games, that would be a selling point for me, but when it comes to Cartridge games etc I prefer other solutions like analogue consoles if you want something easy to play on your newer TVs. But TBH its not really my place to property say as I love using my OG consoles, and playing on my CRT. End of the day everyone has a preferred way to sit and chill to play their games.
Now that I think of my situation, I think I don't really want it. I already have many disc systems setups that still work. So I don't really need it. If I didn't have my disc systems setup than maybe I would consider this. What I am looking for now is a Saturn mini, psp mini and a ps vita mini that has all the games.
Guess what game I am playing right now, Johnny! Phantasy Star on my Switch! Great show! Not really, I downloaded the game, but can't find it😢 guess I'll try out Valkyria Chronicles 4 instead.
I got mine at the very end of a bad day, and it was a Tuesday. I had the same concern everybody else had after updating my system and that was the disappearance of most of the pre-installed games, they're still working on it I guess. In any case I got the package with the 4 modules (N64 was not included). With what I did have, it came to varying results. Those crashes you've seen with G Darius don't seem to happen with only CD games. It's happened to me several times playing cart games. I have some trouble with some NES/FC games being recognized, but I keep trying. With some games it'll recognize that there is a rom and even read it, but it won't allow save states unless you can in put the info yourself. One game that it doesn't work for is Amazon's Training Road more than likely because it's new. The Data East collections by Retro Bit don't work either, at least I can say that about both the Brawl Bros and Joe & Mac carts. One such game I did have to do a go around for was the Limited Run release of Assault Suits Valken. I could play the game, but if I wanted save states it had to be recognized as something, so I put it under Cybernator. I had done this earlier with my copy of MegaMan the Wily Wars and would later do this with a repro of Magical Chase. While I do have an actual PC Engine card of Wonder Momo the rom looks a tad glitched, for some reason the graphics on the top of the screen just appear at the bottom of the screen, with junk data being seen too. Another problem I've run into was when I wanted to play Pop'n Music I couldn't make use of the controller even with a USB adaptor. I can still play the game no problem, but I can't use the controller for it on account they haven't patched in original PlayStation controllers. I brought up a lot of the issues I've been having with Playmaji inc. and they've been pretty good about addressing some concerns I've had, but I'm still waiting for that patch that'll bring back the pre-installed games. I'm really hoping they'll take my advice and release future Polymega's with a controller input companion piece to their CD unit since the "dust cover" it comes with becomes absolutely useless once you get a module.
I noticed you didn't mention about using the original bios from the cd console. I was able to get all my cd games, including the demo disc, to work by simply by using Bios from the original console and putting it on the SD card. Polymega will detect it right away. Use that instead of what originally comes with the Polymega.
That looks awesome, I might have to look into buying one. Just curious on what the price point to quality ratio is. Some consoles are amazing, but outrageously over priced for what you get.
I generally prefer original hardware, but I wanted one of these to have access to some of the games with original hardware that is absurdly expensive or just unobtanium in my area. Or something like the SEGA CD where all of them in existence don't work (cit needed). But at almost 600 bucks for the base unit, it's just too much, considering that it's more expensive than my PS5 was, for something that is essentially just a stripped down emulation box with a disc drive.
I would recommend trying some of those Genesis games that don’t work through a gamegenie or something similar, just to use as a pass through adapter, it “might” work that way
Hey Johnny. You know how people have their feel-good series or book. I just want to thank you for being my feel-good youtube channel.
Same
Same here!
Same
Ídem!
100%
I have a Polymega, and I also love it. It also has caused me to want to buy more older games for systems that I hadn't yet gotten into previously. It was a good purchase.
This seems like the most sincere review of this product that I’ve seen. I would use it the same way and probably start with neo geo cd as well.
Just checked the price $549 starting!!! No thanks! You're a unicorn for having one 👍
And it'd not FPGA
@@Jazz_FunkBassthat was their mistake. Yes. No matter what, these plug and play clones are gimmicks. But might as well go all out. FPGA is really the only way to get proper compatibility with a majority of games.
Emulation is such a shot in the dark without proper testing. Especially sega saturn. That system to this day, has a majority of games unplayable. So this really needed to have it be an FPGA just for compatibility reasons. For that price, they got real lazy
Just seems like an expensive and roundabout way to rip your roms and emulate them? I'd rather have Analogue consoles then.
@@teneesh3376 Lazy? I'd say greedy tbh.
@BigBillKelly-x2z who says it can't be both?
Hey Johnny here's a tip that helped me immensely with games glitching. You know how you can change the background music to a custom song? Turn that off and back to the standard back ground music. Secondly, after updating your firmware turn the WiFi off entirely in settings. These two changes fixed my glitches try it!
I wanna try that!
I ran into some glitches running Saturn games - will try this out.
Stunning channel Johnny keep up with your good work and content, always waiting for the Sunday’s to see next video 😁😁🤗
I love mine also! Sounds like we got our Polymegas around the same time. As a Saturn fan, I love mine, but it comes with a cost: I cannot use all my varying Saturn controllers like the 3D controller for NiGHTS. That aside, throwing my PS1, Genesis, Sega CD, and other libraries onto it is amazing. I've also had issues with some demo discs, but for the ones that work, it's a great archiving console. I don't think people realize how great of a deal this is out of the box with all the disc-based formats.
I was lucky in that I was able to get a Polymega early on, since I was one of the early-bird pre-orders, so I've had mine for a few years now. Personally, I really do enjoy the console & the ease of use with it; simply saying "It just works" truly is the simplest way to describe it. The database is always cool to just explore & discover new games through, the ability to add patches to both cartridge & CD games (for either mods or simple translation patches) is awesome & gives little to no hassle, and I love how the Neo Geo CD games have near-instantaneous loading through it, which is a godsend for that console.
However, it's hard for me to heartily recommend the Polymega, at least in modern times. I do wish that Playmaji was more readily communicating, in general, instead of literal months of nothing before a new announcement or update is made. I wish that the long-planned in-console store would finally just get added, because I think that's where the console would truly have the edge over something like an Analogue FPGA console. I imagine the serial # copy protection on each console that Johnny mentioned was done for the sake of the store in the future, so you couldn't buy a game on your console & then simply have a friend make a free copy on theirs. Finally, the price for the console itself is just way too expensive right now at $550 for the base unit. When I pre-ordered it long ago it was closer to around $300 or so, which I felt was much more reasonable, so while I absolutely do enjoy my Polymega it's something I sadly can't just say "Go out & buy one for yourself!", despite really wishing I could.
Maybe that could change once the in-console store actually happens, though, because the idea of a retro-focused console with its own equivalent to the Wii Virtual Console Store would be amazing to see nowadays.
Thanks for sharing your experience with the console! Could you please also tell me if save states work well on the Polymega? Not being able to save whenever I want is a real problem when playing on original consoles.
I would also like to know if there are any CRT shaders and if they are any good.
@@janbiela8596 Save states work just fine. I don't tend to rely on them, in general, but I've used them for longer games that only offer passwords & they've been working well.
As for the GRT shaders, I've never really cared for them in general so I can't really say how they are on the Polymega.
@@TheLandofObscusionthanks! It’s good to hear that save states work well. CRT shaders are a big deal for myself and so I will try to figure that out :)
Thanks for playing some Grandia music in the background.
I played that game at launch when I was 11 years young and the story floored me, not the best rpg from the Era but my all time favorite.
Recently Polymega announced that they are starting to release their own licensed games compilations on DVD, in the much same way as Blaze does with cartridges for the Evercade. This makes the console even more interesting than it already is.
I was in when it was initially FPGA.
Love love love my Polymega. Preordered in 2019 and received in 2022
Hi quick question, did polymega stay in touch when they sent your order? I heard people saying they bought and never received the console or updates from polymega on the customer service.
I wish Sony would come out with a lock on module for PS5 that let us play PS3, PS2, and PS1 games. Or just include backwards compatibility in the base unit, but they would want that extra money.
Sony wants you to buy those games again
That crash you got on G Darius is a common problem. If you’re turn off the WiFi, it’s less likely to happen. I guess it’s gonna get addressed in a future update. Maybe the next update.
I was a beta tester for it in 2020. It is a really cool idea, and had lots of pros and some cons. The modules were cool, but I found myself not knowing where to put the modules when not in use. The modules did have low latency controller inputs, so that was great. The usb controller port did have some lag as expected, and it bothered me where it did not bother others.
After a year of owning it I decided to reduce the redundancies in my setup and I sold it. I kinda regret selling it now, but I was all about down sizing at the time, and I used the hefty profit for other endeavors. All logic sats I didn't need it, but I still find myself looking at it fondly. The controllers were a mixed bag. I never used the wireless controller. Their PC Engine controller is great, but their Genesis controller has a bad dpad in my opinion. The feature I miss the most about it is the save states. I know emulators have save states, but having a visual record of the save state is magnificent. Who knows, I may end up picking it up again, it happened before.
2:45 - That lock on technology would make a Sonic and Knuckles cart blush. Oooohhhhhh baby!
I never knew about this! Thanks for letting us know! mann!! Thats so cool!
Great video as always.
With regard to older games and convenience I have to recommend the Steam Deck running Emulation Station. It’s the perfect setup for me. All my old games in a portable system that can be played on a TV as well as my Steam catalog.
It’s not for everyone, but it’s really got me back into classic games.
Woo hooo, first comment! I’ve been looking at the Poly for quite sometime. Thanks for the video.
Definitely been curious about this, ty, for update video!
"Is it in right? Sometimes I still have trouble with that."
Oh buddy, I've been married for 10 years and even I sometimes have trouble with that
Nice dad joke!
I wish there was something like a Polymega but for DVDs where you could rip your disks onto the device and have your whole movie library on one box.
There is. It's called a PC.
As a fellow old man doesn't always know how to do stuff involving emulation this would come in handy.
I believe they just announced some limited edition game CDs, Asteroids and Karate Champ.
I was totally interested in the polymega 6 months ago when you had a video saying you got it and your first impressions. I got a Retron 2 HD from Hyperkin that plays both super NES and regular NES via HDMI. It has blown my mind and reignited that collector fire again! I was able to collect some really great gems this summer from childhood and look forward to finding more in the future!
Looks great! Too bad about some of those games, though. It looks like it's currently sold out, too. Bummer. Thanks for the video!
i am sticking with emulation because i don t collect games but i would love to have such a machine with your library
Heh Johnny, the freeze issue is due to a bug when you have wifi enabled. They are coming out with a patch this month that is fixing that as well as other issues.
...But 500 bucks? That's a raspberry pi, snes style controllers, full fridge and some good whiskey
A distinguished gentlemen.
That's more you would spend on a MiSTer or analogue 3d. ☮️
So many ways to enjoy retro it's amazing! This may not be for everyone but I'm so happy it's here! 🎉
Nice to see some positivity for the Polymega. I personally love mine and have been having a blast with it for the past 8 months or so. Rather than the pack in controller, I’ve found that I use the retrobit Saturn controller probably 90% of the time when I play. I’ve loaded up 600 games on it, among every system it supports. The CD based systems work flawlessly, and the Turbo/PC Engine, NES, and Genesis work great too. For some reason the emulation on SNES got messed up with the last update, but it should be fixed with the next one. The N64 isn’t perfect, but it improves over time. This along with the Analogue Pocket covers most of my retro needs now.
Hi Johnny! Love the channel and been a subscriber for a few years. Just wanted to ask if you could probably turn the background music down a notch? The audio becomes a bit saturated when you're talking at the same time, making it harder to hear what you say.
Thank you for making a video about the Polymega. Always been fascinated by this piece of tech!
This video has pretty much sold me on the poly mega. I'd like to get for sega Saturn and ps1/ japanese imports since I can get those games locally
You will be disappointed of the flawed Saturn emulation. Get a MiSTer and play your own roms there. Even the Saturn core is not finished on the MiSTer. It's now better than sw emulation. ☮️
It's just an ancient pc running an emulator. If you're fine with software emulators (Polymega) buy a Pi and download those games. If you want to buy physical imports just get a system. Getting a Pi and a Saturn + pads will still be cheaper.
I absolutely 💯 love my PolyMega console. I've had it for almost a year now. It's been worth every single penny for me. I get it, for those who don't like it.
Have had my Polymega for a couple years and love it. The system is t perfect but it delivers everything I wanted…as an early adopter I only paid $250 for the system so that’s also plus!!!
The simplicity and range of systems sold me. My favorite feature is the ease of installing translation patches. I agree $500 is expensive but the original systems are becoming crazy expensive too. Just speaking for myself but I've used it much more than my ps5.
The polymega seemed interesting but nowadays I'm all about FPGA consoles or the Mister project.
Thanks for your always honest thoughts. I was very interested early on when Polymega was talking FPGA. I''m more on the fence with it being emulation only. Still, it seems to have a market and it sounds very easy to use.
I REALLY wanted the Polymega when it was announced back then ! Didn't knew it was released ! Thanks man ! :)
Just checked the price, 780 US$ is a bit steep for my budget but it's still something I want to get for mostly the same reasons as you !
From what I can tell, in your heart: this is a -B. Good, but not great or excellent. I was interested in this machine when it was first introduced, but rather took the emulation route. Batocera is my comfort zone now.
I wish there was an FPGA version of the Polymega with it using an Arm chip to handle all of the front end menus and stuff. In its current form, it's just emulation, but great for backing up your games and being able translate games with it like with the Retron5. The build quality and the design is really nice. But it's expensive. What i do love about the Polymega is there control pads, some of them like the 6 button PC Engine pad are well worth it for the price. 6 button pads for the PCE can be a pain to find these days. Another thing with the console is you can hack it and turn it into a Raspberry Pi like device that can emulate almost everything upto the GameCube. Great for a living room setup. But this needs to get cheaper, if it's just emulation.
Def want one been looking into it for a while. It isn't cheap, but I think well worth the price if you're into retro.
I was originally interested when it was announced, but when I found out how expensive it would be to have everything I wanted, I bowed out. I wish hyperkin could make a version of it that could succeed the Retron 5 cause I got a lot of use out of that when I started “retro gaming”.
Great video HCG!
What really fails in this system is overall price and lack of fpga. We were all exited back then when this system was announced but we can all say that there are out there fairly better solutions with better price.
This is a really great idea!
I was an early adopter and beta tester. I thought the Polymega was a great idea, and I love the direction Atari is bringing them.
Totally awesome video man 😎!
Even if I am a little disappointed with the snes module, I am in LOVE with the Poly.
I totally agree with you , we are getting old, and my knees hate standing over and over to swap games 😂.
Also, save states is a blessing 🙌
Is the freekin poly!
Game Sack Joe did an in-depth review of the Polymega happy you are as well Johnny it’s good
I would love to get one of these at some point! I have the Retron 5 and the Retroid Pocket 4 Pro but this would be a great option in the future for me aswell! I've had this on my radar for sometime and I like your review! Long time viewer of the channel! Thanks for the great review!
It makes beyond zero sense to buy one of these, especially if you already have an android emulator machine. This things existence makes zero sense. Or at least, supporting it's existence.
Welcome back to another episoooode
I personally have been really enjoying this machine as a way to simplify the playing of my games catalogue and without having too many consoles / devices setup which I would struggle to have space for.
It certainly has its own set of issues but thankfully I'm not too bothered by them and have been enjoying my experience so far.
Yeah I was super interested in the polymega but was unsure if it would ever come out or if it would be any good so I didn't preorder it. But I still think about it, cause it is such a unique system and very versatile. I do like the way it organizes all the different systems.
I’ve had mine for about 2 and a half years a love it. Only real problem has been the mega controller’s d pad doesn’t work.
Before the PolyMega I only really collected NES and PS1 games, but with the PolyMega I’ve been picking up stuff for a bunch of different systems and installed them to play later.
Since I'm all about redundancy. I'm still really interested in the polymega. It's on my list as a collector.
I was interested in the Polymega, but I ended up diving into the world of Analogue systems, which was probably a better idea as I didn't have a large libray of physical games. Now, I probably would only consider getting the Polymega as something I could take if I was traveling, instead of having to choose one system over another. Or to let a younger relative borrow, minus the games, so you didn't have to worry about losing anything important (if the damn thing was cheaper lol).
Regarding not being able to share a sd card filled with your games with your friends, I've long thought they should try to get these into ma and pop shops so you wouldn't have to get all the modules. And maybe, the stores could throw some of their rarer titles in their inhouse collection onto your system for free, which to me would be more exciting than just tossing roms on other ecosystems.
Since it's just emulation. I'll stick with my steam deck. It does the same exact thing and more for less the price 💲💲
I got really excited about it, but the console price is steep and is required for the modules. If they had a ps1/2/3, gamecube/wii, xbox/360 console, I would buy it no problem. It does look like a slick console
I was really going back and forth on getting one of these, but now they are backordered 😢. I think its worth it for the convenience since i collect a lot of systems. Hopefully back in stock soon my xmas bonus will be waiting.
I’ve had it since December 2023. Love the system as I could play import PS1 European games & some Japanese games of Saturn games.
I am annoyed some of my PS1 games like Time Crisis 1 & Xenogears disc#1 wouldn’t want to be installed.
Polymega just announce they will release physical disc games too. I am excited as well.
Can’t wait in December though as they are going to send me a light gun to play Virtua Cops & Point Blank series again.
Yes, I was about to pull the trigger and they sold out so waiting for new stock. I mainly want it as a back up for the Mega CD and 32X, so will pick up the module for the Megadrive and also the SNES and also want the light gun
Oh, my Japanese Splatterhouse installed, but I did have problems with others. You may have to clean the contacts with an eraser to get it to read properly.
I have the ability and privilege to have a CRT-TV, a shelf with my SD consoles, and an AV-switcher, so I play my old games that way. Other than that, emulation works for me. The PolyMega is a cool idea and I’m glad it exists. Not for me though.
I am glad that these systems exist and they serve a purpose for a certain type of person for sure. I used to be an "emulator guy" because it got to the point where having all my systems hooked up for easy access. I love gaming on real hardware because it just feels right, but it's not practical these days, at least for me. I went down the rabbit hole with a raspberry pi and 240p analog into a crt and it made me feel excited about having easy access to my favorite games on a crt. Through all of this, I always kept my game collections and systems, because nothing replaces the actual systems. That was until I got the Mister fpga, this thing blew my mind, it feels perfect and the ease of implementing cheats is awesome. Yes I cheat like the worst of them. After having my Mister for a few years, it made me feel alright about selling my entire Nes collection except for my everdrive, sold my neo geo and games, sold all kinds of things that this can "emulate" perfectly. Don't get me wrong, I love original games, the feel, the smell the instruction manuals, the whole experience, it's fun, but I don't feel I need all that anymore. At the end of the day, the polymega was a neet idea to me, but not practical. If you don't already have a Mister, I strongly recommend picking one up or at least taking one for a spin. It was a game changer for me. That being said, even the mister is simply just another way to enjoy the games we grew up with and that's what matters most. Having all these choices and finding what works best for us.
The transferring games reminds me of the original xbox. So much time spent putting games on the HD from disc although most transfer in lest than 5 minutes.
I like it, I wish they could increase the resolution to 4K and also added some new features
MotoRoader seriously Johnny? lol Wow you own Magical Chase? That thing is super valuable. Ninja Spirit is soooooo underated. That game is AMAZING!
Hi Johnny,I have all the modules and a 4tb nvme and it's arriving the lightgun. the only Minus for me is the last firmware update introduce glitch on the SNES/sf emulation .
For the plus you can use the 8bitDo arcade Stick (Nintendo switch version) and it's perfect for street fighter; you can also use the polymega modules's controller on the original hardware.
Another plus it's the wiki information for every game(developer, publisher, mega, etc.)with only a few errors.
Overall it' s an amazing console. My last concerne is about the space: every game you install on nvme drive save some data also on the primary drive(29gb) and for me after almost 2tbof games installed on nvme I have on the primary drive only10%of space, that means when the primary is full you cannot install more games on the 4tb nvme even if you have more than 1tb free on it like on a PC (in fact the polymega is a celeron base PC)
Happy Sunday 😎 goVote
Collecting video games can be so much fun 👍
This looks awesome! I have a hacked PlayStation Classic that I have all my retro games on now to upscale to HD. But it would be awesome to use my original controllers as well! Shame some games just won’t work though.
I would love to jump start my retro collection, but the entry price is simply too steep for me. I will have to exists in the realm of emu...for now. Great vid, Johnny!
Going full circle. Collection so many original games so that you can dump the roms and emulate them. :D
Joking aside, the polymega inspired me to refine my home emulation machine. I built a smaller faster device around
2019 that has a very similar GUI. Boots in 20s straight into the gui and shuts down nicely. Only gamepad required
for the whole gui. It's a wonderful machine. Played it for the better part of 4 years now.
I have been eyeing this thing for years. I really hope that they can get Dreamcast running on it because that is the system that I have the most old school games for.
I often have a hard time "getting it in" as well.
You know this virtual world we’ve been accustomed to finally got to me. I hunted down an old NES, Genesis and a CRT and rediscovered some of that simple joy that seems lost today. I bought some games and, guess what? I actually put one in and stuck with it. I’d wake up and have the itch to try another crack at LifeForce still in the machine. It turns on and I’m transported.
I love this idea, and it’s great for game preservation. I’m not against everdrive or these sorts of new combo consoles. Allowing native controllers is also great. I’m pretty sure though I would not want to load them up with clutter though. There is something about narrowing down choice.
Anyways cool to see all of these options and physical stuff finding it’s way back into people’s interest. Demand will only grow with time I’m betting.
I love my polymega. It is so funny you mention street fighter. I have exactly that same problem but with every controller. The polymega own version snes one is hard to do fireballs and it doesn’t jump properly. I just plug in my regular snes controller but it is a pain.
Over $500 for a system that's not guaranteed to play every game? I think I'll pass. For such an expensive price tag, I expect every single game to work. Otherwise, it's just not worth it. At least the video was highly enjoyable as always. After the rough day that I had yesterday, this video put a smile on my face. Thanks, Johnny! As always, I appreciate the honesty, passion, and hard work! Keep it up! God bless and stay safe!
It’s basically just an emulation box which for that price is ludicrous, but the compatibility will be a huge selling point for most people which is understandable
Was interested when it was originally going to be FPGA based. When they switched to emulation I just didn’t see the value tbh…
If it wasn't a module-based system, I'd get it. I kinda want an all-in-one experience out of the box.
I'd rather have multiple consoles I guess. I don't have room to collect a lot of games for them but I like things like flash cards and ODEs
Buying all those modules on top of the main unit itself seems like it can get very costly 😮
Thanks for another great video. I have to say, I love my Analogue systems (NT Mini Noir, Super NT, Mega SG, pocket). These play the cartridges directly, no loading. You do need one per system, but you have multiple hardware with polymega as well. Analogue plays nearly every cartridge. Thanks!
For the use with CD based games, I tink this is an ideal console specially if you don't want to archive your OG disc games, that would be a selling point for me, but when it comes to Cartridge games etc I prefer other solutions like analogue consoles if you want something easy to play on your newer TVs.
But TBH its not really my place to property say as I love using my OG consoles, and playing on my CRT.
End of the day everyone has a preferred way to sit and chill to play their games.
Now that I think of my situation, I think I don't really want it. I already have many disc systems setups that still work. So I don't really need it. If I didn't have my disc systems setup than maybe I would consider this. What I am looking for now is a Saturn mini, psp mini and a ps vita mini that has all the games.
Einhänder and ESWAT…Wow, fantastic games ;)
Guess what game I am playing right now, Johnny! Phantasy Star on my Switch! Great show! Not really, I downloaded the game, but can't find it😢 guess I'll try out Valkyria Chronicles 4 instead.
I got mine at the very end of a bad day, and it was a Tuesday. I had the same concern everybody else had after updating my system and that was the disappearance of most of the pre-installed games, they're still working on it I guess. In any case I got the package with the 4 modules (N64 was not included). With what I did have, it came to varying results. Those crashes you've seen with G Darius don't seem to happen with only CD games. It's happened to me several times playing cart games.
I have some trouble with some NES/FC games being recognized, but I keep trying. With some games it'll recognize that there is a rom and even read it, but it won't allow save states unless you can in put the info yourself. One game that it doesn't work for is Amazon's Training Road more than likely because it's new. The Data East collections by Retro Bit don't work either, at least I can say that about both the Brawl Bros and Joe & Mac carts.
One such game I did have to do a go around for was the Limited Run release of Assault Suits Valken. I could play the game, but if I wanted save states it had to be recognized as something, so I put it under Cybernator. I had done this earlier with my copy of MegaMan the Wily Wars and would later do this with a repro of Magical Chase.
While I do have an actual PC Engine card of Wonder Momo the rom looks a tad glitched, for some reason the graphics on the top of the screen just appear at the bottom of the screen, with junk data being seen too.
Another problem I've run into was when I wanted to play Pop'n Music I couldn't make use of the controller even with a USB adaptor. I can still play the game no problem, but I can't use the controller for it on account they haven't patched in original PlayStation controllers.
I brought up a lot of the issues I've been having with Playmaji inc. and they've been pretty good about addressing some concerns I've had, but I'm still waiting for that patch that'll bring back the pre-installed games. I'm really hoping they'll take my advice and release future Polymega's with a controller input companion piece to their CD unit since the "dust cover" it comes with becomes absolutely useless once you get a module.
Johnny I’m dying to get one. I just want it for the turbo games and Neo geo cd games as my Neo geo cd console took a shit.
Not for me but very cool to learn bout this . Thank you 👍
The Sega and PC Engine games were designed to run on Motorola 68 series chipsets, so those are easy to emulate.
Great episode Johnny! Thank You always for the share! Now I want to get one and will when available! 🫡
I’d never heard of it till today
MONOSPACED LOVERS
Sick game
I noticed you didn't mention about using the original bios from the cd console.
I was able to get all my cd games, including the demo disc, to work by simply by using Bios from the original console and putting it on the SD card.
Polymega will detect it right away. Use that instead of what originally comes with the Polymega.
That looks awesome, I might have to look into buying one. Just curious on what the price point to quality ratio is. Some consoles are amazing, but outrageously over priced for what you get.
If they make one that’s compatible with ps2 games I’m buying it day one!
This looks really cool.
I generally prefer original hardware, but I wanted one of these to have access to some of the games with original hardware that is absurdly expensive or just unobtanium in my area. Or something like the SEGA CD where all of them in existence don't work (cit needed). But at almost 600 bucks for the base unit, it's just too much, considering that it's more expensive than my PS5 was, for something that is essentially just a stripped down emulation box with a disc drive.
lol unobtanium
I would recommend trying some of those Genesis games that don’t work through a gamegenie or something similar, just to use as a pass through adapter, it “might” work that way