Amazon’s Fire TV Can Now Play Sega Genesis Games
Fans of old-school video games have a brand new way to indulge themselves, as Amazon and Sega have made a bundle of Genesis games available for the Fire Stick platform, as reported by the Verge.
In total, Amazon and Sega are putting out 25 games in a single bundle. The bundle doesn’t feature any big surprises, as it mostly consists of popular games from the Genesis’ time in the sun. Franchises like Sonic The Hedgehog, Streets of Rage, and Golden Axe are well-represented in the pack, as are classics like Comix Zone and Revenge of Shinobi.
The primary control method for the Genesis games is the Fire TV remote, turned sideways. The round directional button serves as the D-pad, and the forward, back, and play buttons represent the three face buttons on the Genesis controller. It doesn’t sound like a perfect way to play, but for convenience, it seems acceptable.
According to the Verge, “it’s not a great controller. You wouldn’t want to use one while attempting a Sonic speedrun. But after playing a chunk of the games, including delving deep into Golden Axe for some reason, I’m shocked at how acceptable the Fire TV remote is.”
Players can also hook up a Bluetooth controller for a more traditional experience. This is also required for anyone looking to play the games with friends, as only one Fire TV remote can be used at a time.
Here’s the full list of games currently available in the $14.99 pack.
- Alien Storm
- Altered Beast
- Beyond Oasis
- Bio-Hazard Battle
- Bonanza Bros
- Columns
- Comix Zone
- Decap Attack
- Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine
- Dynamite Headdy
- ESWAT: City Under Siege
- Gain Ground
- Golden Axe
- Golden Axe II
- Golden Axe III
- Gunstar Heroes
- Ristar
- Sonic CD
- Sonic Spinball
- Sonic the Hedgehog
- Sonic the Hedgehog 2
- Streets of Rage
- Streets of Rage II
- Streets of Rage III
- The Revenge of Shinobi
For $15, that’s a really solid list of games — one that could be argued to represent what made the Sega Genesis such a beloved system. It’s worth noting that three of the Sonic games are actually remastered versions of the games, while the rest of the collection are the originals.
Count the gold rings and win a prize!*
*this is not true. there is no prize. there is only the slow realization that the rings are a metaphor for all the money you will spend this month. pic.twitter.com/0H3zS5rub8
— Sonic the Hedgehog (@sonic_hedgehog) December 6, 2018
There’s also quite a bit of customization for the games. Players can choose to run them in 4:3 or a “pixel perfect” mode, which is smaller, but offers crisper visuals.
There are some other cool options — including a rewind function that lets players jump back a few seconds to redo a particularly difficult part of a game. There are also multiple save slots, so players can choose to jump back into a game wherever it was that they left off.
