r/Megadrive

Might be a little cheating since it's the mini, but wow feels good to play Megadrive again on semi-original hardware 🎮👾

I’ve been working on this project for quite a while and finally got it running on real hardware.

It’s called NovenRetro Channel. The idea was to recreate some of the feeling of Sega Channel, but using modern hardware: a flashcart handles the Genesis side, while an ESP32 can connect over Wi-Fi and download catalog updates to the SD card.

The console itself runs the interface, lets you browse categories and descriptions, and launches homebrew directly on the real Genesis / Mega Drive.

There’s also a fully offline mode, so the ESP32 is optional.

Right now I’ve physically validated it on a Chinese EverDrive-MD family clone (V1 and V3). I’m testing other flashcarts separately before claiming compatibility.

The catalog is only intended for homebrew/freeware/demos that can legally be redistributed or have permission from their creators.

I’d genuinely love feedback from Genesis people here, especially on the concept and what you’d want from something like this.

What homebrew would you want to see in a modern Sega Channel-style catalog?

Hi everyone! I’ve been working on RROP, an experimental static recompilation of the Genesis/Mega Drive version of Rings of Power for PC.

The project translates the game’s 68000 and Z80 code into C and builds a native executable. It currently supports Linux and Windows, with experimental macOS support being contributed.

Alongside the original presentation, it offers:

• Widescreen with a world view that adapts to the window.
• Zoom and smoother outdoor camera scrolling.
• Optional external fonts for clearer text.
• Mouse controls that use the game’s original automatic walking.
• Sound, five manual saves, and five rotating autosaves.

It’s still a work in progress, and a full playthrough hasn’t been verified. Interiors and battles currently use the original viewport.

You need your own ROM of the supported revision to build it. No ROM or game executable is distributed in the repository.

Source and build instructions: https://github.com/kruzeman/RROP

I’d love feedback from people who played the original—especially anyone willing to try it and report gameplay issues. What parts of Rings of Power would you most like to see improved?