MegaSD

Spanish company Terraonion – the same team responsible for the excellent Super SD System 3 for the PC Engine – has lifted the lid on its next project in a special ‘Terraonion Direct’ broadcast. (Wonder where it got that idea from?)

The big news is the firm has created the world’s first Mega CD / Sega CD FPGA optical disc emulator, which means its new flash cart – the MegaSD – can run CD-ROM games on pretty much any Mega Drive / Genesis console, even without the actual Mega CD add-on attached.

Terraonion performed the same trick with its aforementioned Super SD System 3, which was capable of playing PC Engine CD-ROM games without the need to purchase expensive add-on drives.

Retailing for 250 Euros and shipping in August, this is pretty much the gold standard for Mega Drive flash carts. Given the fragile nature of original hardware these days, carts like this are going to be essential if you want to experience CD software on original hardware.

Here’s the press release:

Terraonion today announced the all new MegaSD cartridge for Sega Mega Drive and Genesis consoles. The MegaSD is an all-in-one FPGA cartridge that duplicates the Sega CD/ Mega-CD hardware and allows owners to play these games back from a microSD card. The MegaSD also is a general purpose rom flashcart allowing the playing of Mega Drive and Genesis cartridge games. Features and benefits of the MegaSD include:

+ World’s First Mega-CD/Sega CD FPGA Optical Disc Emulator
+ Plays both ISOS (bin+cue) and ROMS
+ Compatible with all original and region free patched Mega-CD/Sega CD bios
+ Supports Mega Drive/Genesis, Sega CD/Mega-CD, Master System and 32X games (requires 32X add-on)
+ Fully Supports original Mega Drive and Genesis hardware (Nomad included)
+ Fully compatible with Analogue Mega Sg!
+ Easy to use interface for navigating your collection with screenshots, genre, year and description • Save State support for Mega Drive and Genesis Cartridge games (8 slots)
+ Built in cheat engine for Mega Drive and Genesis cartridge games
+ Emulates all different Genesis/Mega Drive/Master System/32x cartridge mappers.
+ Stores all different Genesis/Mega Drive/Master System/32x cartridge saves onto microSD card.
+ Per game Mega-CD/Sega CD Backup RAM and Cartridge RAM stored into microSD card
+ Master System FM Core
+ In-Game menu for fast reboot and swapping games(Genesis/Mega Drive and Mega-CD/Sega CD) • Enhanced Mega Drive games with CD audio and Mega-CD/Sega CD hardware (MSU1 like)
+ 400GB Exfat microSD supported

This article was originally published by nintendolife.com on Mon 17th June, 2019.