DF Retro: Terraonion Mega SD Review - The Definitive Sega CD Emulator For Real Hardware?

Join John Linneman and Audi Sorlie for a look at Terraonion's excellent Mega SD - an FPGA-based recreation of the Sega CD (aka Mega CD) allowing you to run the entire library of compact disc-based titles on original Mega Drive/Genesis hardware. It's a fascinating piece of kit, and DF Retro has a lot of opinions about it!
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[@dark1x]

I mentioned this is another comment but I plan to return to the full style DF Retro episodes next year (and, well, next week). It's been a rather awful year with a lot of things cropping up and I'm completely dissatisfied with the output. I'd do Retro full-time if it were possible, in fact. Either way, I wasn't able to do what I wanted to do at all - and part of that is wanting to aim too high. I will do my best to get back to the full style videos because that's also what I want to do most of all.

[@VioletPrism]

It's alright you have provided many wonderful videos and having a slump doesn't take away from what you've already achieved. Best of luck on future projects!

[@zachsteiner]

John Linneman YES AWESOME THANK YOU I can’t wait. I love those episodes soooo much. I have rewatched the back catalogue over and over.

[@RichardLarge88]

Out of interest are we going to see more of the documentary like DF Retros again? I understand that they probably take more time and effort than let's plays and reviews of new retro related products so may not be as frequent. But I do really miss the more scripted ones that are more of a deep dive into the technology used on older games and consoles. Those were the videos that really got me into this channel. (Don't get me wrong I like all of your content but there's just something special about the classic style DF Retro)

[@BADC0FFEE]

I don't get why people think they're not going to produce something anymore as soon as they do something different once in a while

[@RichardLarge88]

@@BADC0FFEE It's more that there hasn't been one in a while, normal DF Retros have definitely dropped quite a bit in frequency and I'm wondering if it's a just a temporary trend or if we'll start to get more regular DF Retros back again.

[@yadspi]

Been commenting the same thing as you for a couple of videos...this conversation type videos are dime a dozen on KZbin. I want videos like the Tomb Raider and Panzer Dragoon ones.

[@mjc0961]

@@BADC0FFEE "once in a while" It's been months since the last classic "let's look at a game on every platform it was on" style DF Retro. It's a fair question to ask at this point. And TC asked nicely, without being insulting. No need to start jumping down people's throats and being defensive.

[@Sinn0100]

@James-Pond-Robocod |GBR| They never reply or at least I've never seen it before.

[@RedArremer]

On the two notes about the PCM and CDDA, there's options in the menu to add filtering to the PCM and treble-boost the CDDA.

[@FinalBaton]

Translations, translations, translations. Bunch of cool Mega-CD games never left japan so I'm stoked to now play them on my Genesis, on a crt.

[@msamiullah001]

7:00 love the midnight resistance music in background, what a track. Great video guys...

[@gregoryberrycone]

we need a DF retro on Doom 3, and FEAR. oh and might as well do one on the early relic RTS games (the evolution of tech from dawn of war to company of heroes maybe)

[@105wonky8]

RTS 👌

[@adolfozaragoza6086]

If he does, he should play both games on a CRT. Its great

[@poble]

damn, doom 3 is already considered retro? :( time flies, I already feel old

[@105wonky8]

Poble II tell me about it 👀

[@3dmaster205]

You think Dawn of War is an early RTS!?!?!?

[@markjames5535]

Great video. Love the midnight resistance theme in the background.

[@mattb8075]

Xeno Crisis OST by Savaged Regime in the background. Yes. That game was a day one purchase for me in Steam (no MD for me, couldn't buy it there sadly)

[@genomainteractivo2872]

I really love retro section of this channel. Thank you Digital Foundry.

[@221b]

Anyone know if the SVP chip and the SegaCD hardware can be used together? For instance, could a homebrew developer write a game that uses the SegaCD's scaling/rotating images along with the SVP's polygon capabilities?

[@rich_in_paradise]

Thanks for the review, it's very useful!

[@SeanBarkerNegaScott128]

I'm sure it's a lot easier and faster to do one of these more informal/unscripted videos, but I hope John doesn't stop doing the more involved videos that he used to do more often. Honestly, I'm not a fan of this type of video, it just feels a bit unfocused and I feel like I'm not getting as much information as I would with a more traditional DF Retro video.

[@nitramradnow8688]

Hi! Thanks for the Video. I will purchase the MODE for the Saturn and wanted to know what kind of build quality Terraonions products are. What Upscaler did you use to capture the games? Which one can you recommend for Saturn, Dreamcast and PS1/PS2? Thank you in advance!

[@spongeknock7387]

I like the way you filmed the talking head parts on a 90's VHS video camera for that 90's retro feel.

[@NanoCresta1982]

I love DF retro, I hope to see a good video talking about mister fpga soon, I live in Argentina and buy a full fpga is quite expensive, but for what little I saw it is surely worth it, greetings !!!

[@MarriedToLetsPlay]

What fishing game is that in the opening? It looks like Blue Marlin from the NES, but obviously isn't. Did that get a Genesis port or sequel?

[@TheStellardust]

Pure BLAST processing!

[@user-fw5kd7hr1y]

One DF Retro episode I'm really looking forward for is on System Shock series. Maybe we'll get to see one when the remastered version of System Shock 2 will come out 😌

[@pferreira1983]

Interesting to see this recommended here but I'm happy to know John likes it.

[@darkmagiciangirl573]

Always fun to see other people appearing in df videos c :

[@plume...]

The Turrican track playing with the Turrican clip is called "Air Combat" and this Anthology Soundtrack version fucking rocks my tits off.

[@nintendo1889x]

I'm starting to get an itch for a Mega Drive in some form or another; either the Mini series or the Mega SG, but my concern is cost >.>

[@ebridgewater]

Audio levels on this video are very quiet. Had to double the volume of my speakers, especially when the video first started.

[@retrosoul8770]

Love the Megadrive/Genesis content and of course the kickass Savaged Regime Xenocrisis soundtrack (all the tracks you choose are great though). Xenocrisis is a great game! I may have to get one of these someday.

[@stabinghobo57]

Can’t wait to get my hands on this.

[@MoviesNGames007uk]

I wonder if it works with the Retron5 and Retro Freak?

[@pferreira1983]

I very much doubt it as those clone consoles don't play flash carts.

[@bobobods]

Wow 2 DF retros in 2 days nice

[@MrTourture]

at the moment I am going through some shitty times and feeling psychologically fucked up but John's way of speaking soothes me... thanks John. I hope you know that you are helping a guy somewhere in god forsaken Turkey.

[@plume...]

I hope things get better for you soon :)

[@adolfozaragoza6086]

Remember things get better.

[@gabrielgoldsztajn3265]

If it's any help, here are some good vibes from Uruguay. 💪🏻🤗

[@Noobsaibot21]

Just need clarification as I didn't hear mention of it in the video.... Do I still need my Mega-CD console to utilize this with Mega CD games? Or can I retire it and let my Mgeadrive II alone do it all? I'm hoping some day there will be a Terraonion Mega SD-X some day with 32X hardware support (I need Virtua Racing Deluxe in my life)

[@brianmartinez7428]

You don't need a megacd along with the mega sd, having both connected will also cause it not to work.

[@homiedclown]

I don't think we'll ever see a 32X FPGA cart. The problem is the real 32X was a Frankenstein mess of an add-on that required the analog video signal from the Genesis, it combined the video signal from the Genesis with it's own, and sent the combined signal through it's own video out to the TV. Any implementation of it would require that analog input and output, and the hardware to sync the signals together. You would have a cartridge that had cables running from the back of the Genesis to it, and then a cable from the cart to the TV. It might even still need it's own power supply to drive the analog video. Is it technically possible? Probably. I see no reason why it couldn't be done, but the economics of it don't make any sense. It would be one hell of an expensive piece of tech, they'd have to include the input and output cables with the device, with a cable adapter so that it would compatible with model 1 and 2 Genesis systems (different sized output ports between Genesis models). Possibly a power supply, maybe even RF shielding like the real 32X. All that just to play 40 or so more games that you can't play with the current Mega SD cart. You'd be better off trying to find an original 32X for sale and just loading the Roms off of the Mega SD.

[@Noobsaibot21]

That's clearer Brian, cheers Also Clown.... Kinda thought that'd be the case and chances are we may never get one in a cart. Would love for an "analog SG-X" some day though. If it's possible anywhere, it'll be on the hardware side rather than the cart side i'd imagine. Hopefully some day...

[@RetroGamePlayers]

I just got mine, been setting it up and yeah it's pretty awesome. The only thing that's slightly annoying is you can't get to the main menu in SMS games.

[@Halo1138]

Is that MegaRace seeing the light of day again? Been a while since I've seen that game! Good memories and neat music.

[@sakitoshi]

a shame that is the sega cd version what got some spotlight though. that's the worst version. still, very fun game.

[@pferreira1983]

@@sakitoshi It never actually got a PAL release which is weird because it seemed like an obvious choice.

[@sakitoshi]

@@pferreira1983 dunno about that. I still have my latin american pc version. the dub is excellent, even with the loose lip sync.

[@pferreira1983]

@@sakitoshi I mean a Mega CD release. Yeah I had it on PC as well.

[@Garrad3]

BLESSED. THANK YOU.

[@RetroSegaDev]

I'll get one eventually. It would be nice to do some CD hacks :) but I can't afford one at the moment! Particularly with the shipping import tax :/

[@justinwhite3220]

Where do I get solid mega cd roms for this??

[@MrAlan1828]

Does it work with the Sega Terra Drive / 286PC?

[@boogiemanspud]

The SD card being tight is a good thing. I almost had a heart attack when I got the "no sd" error on my everdrive, turns out I had bumped the micro sd card when removing, causing it to fall out and become semi-lost on the carpet. After looking for a few minutes, I found it, but sd cards should take some effort to remove. I've adapted all my everdrives which use full size sd cards to use the apple air laptop adapters which are shorter so you have to use tweezers or a toothpick to remove.

[@MrMendieta23]

does anyone know where to find MD Plus Roms?

[@khalidhashmi9772]

Hey John, I'm a huge mega drive fan, but most games are too expensive these days to buy the original titles. I couldn't figure out from your video, if this is a good option to play original mega drive games. If I play a rom over this, is it like playing the original card? Also are there any taxes in germany if I order from the official terra onion store. Don't get me wrong I would rather buy original Games, but 600€ upwards for Games like castlevania, panorama cotton or twinkle tale for each is just not viable for me. Greets

[@madfinntech]

I really need one of these. Even though I love Mega Drive sound when implemented properly I wouldn't mind playing Streets of Rage 2 billionth time with enhanced audio.

[@CaptainKielbasa]

Is that Mega Race. I had that game on the PC with my 2x cd-rom drive!

[@ryanmalin]

That's a killer old game

[@GAmbrose]

That's still twice as fast as the Mega CD drive.

[@pferreira1983]

Yep!

[@rozasupreme]

Does it work on Retron 5 too?

[@secondghost]

Oh hey it's MegaRace's Lance Boyle.

[@RippahRooJizah]

And it doesn't hurt a bit!

[@mjc0961]

I didn't even know MegaRace was on Sega CD!

[@pferreira1983]

@@mjc0961 It never got a PAL release so I didn't know until some years ago either.

[@MaximumJoy]

Have you seen that guy on computerphile who is writing a new mega drive game using original dev hardware and language, and is releasing his game on a cart? Would love to see you play that

[@happyspaceinvader508]

Two standout features for me are the multi-save states (which actually work, unlike the Everdrive X7) and the SVP support which allows you to play Virtua Racing from a ROM.

[@fourdee4d]

Audi + John, thank you both. You are legends. Rich, you too, and the other guy who does more than his worth without a mention. Love > all. All < love.

[@kohZeei]

does it work on a nomad aswell?

[@sangbeta2043]

If the Mega SD outputs Sega CD video to the Genesis (scaling, rotation, all that), would it also be possible to output 32X video on that same bus, effectively reversing how the Genesis/32X usually combine video? And yes, I know another, or larger, FPGA would be required to reproduce the 32X chipset, that's not the question. At some point, the Genesis hardware itself becomes just an afterthought, doesn't it?

[@CrushOnPixels]

Wait, it doesn't work with the Sega/Mega CD plugged in??... Important question then, does it work with a Multi-Mega/CDX? That's what I'm using, i hope it works :(.

[@Redonepunch]

CrushOnPixels I saw in another review that it doesn’t work. I think they mentioned it in the my life in gaming review

[@judgemanning3352]

This channel deserves 1 million+ subscribers.

[@realityvanguard2052]

This channel should be the benchmark channel other review channels look to to make sure they got it right.

[@story-mode]

I need one of these, like... desperately.

[@MordecaiWalfish]

Terror onion strikes again with a solid flash cart. Nice overview.

[@Sinn0100]

I guess if the devs at Everdrive wanted to emulate the Sega CD without the hardware...they could emulate it on cart. I don't know how that would work but if you could somehow get the Genesis to read it like a CD through the cart it might work. They would likely have to add a cheap ARM processor to the mix as the Sega CD adds another Motorola 68000 microprocessor to the mix. Of course this sounds like a monumental pain and It would be far easier to just require a Sega CD be present. I asked a question about the bios and you answered it right after I stopped watching it. I decided to watch a few more minutes before I eat dinner and you guys covered it nicely. I'm going to have to pick this up in a few weeks. Although, I'm much more interested in the Neo Geo AES flash cart. I really, really, really want that and would love to see a breakdown of it.

[@Iliek]

Bring on the _Retro!_

[@patton1977]

So Is this a standalone system or do you need an original Megadrive?

[@jc_dogen]

you need a megadrive

[@dennett316]

Huh...Audie Sorlie. Hey, how's that Wrestling With Pixels Kickstarter - that you boned Maffew on - doing? Money running out by now? I'll bet it is...all that travelling for interviews that didn't take place with people who knew nothing about it, must've been REALLY expensive. Just too busy to communicate with the guy who's name you used to plug the campaign, so stressful for you, I'm sure.

[@Copec]

Finally CD games on the MegaJet.

[@bruceg22000]

Just got one on sale at stoneagegamer. Krikzz will eventually have an Everdrive equivalent with no ETA as of now.

[@chrisw8069]

But Krizz can't make them properly and his carts damage the hardware over time.

[@KillerQ]

Yep! I'll wait and purchase mine from Krikzz.

[@SevenDeMagnus]

Cool, thanks.

[@JebesNikove]

Is the Terror in the name some joke I am missing ? It's Terraonion :D

[@ryanmalin]

@Wraith pretty common thing when you're dealing with a one man operation. Hopefully they take handle your customer service issues in a reasonable amount of time.

[@mrburns366]

" In several modern Romance languages, terra (or French terre) is the name of planet Earth. Following post-classical Latin astronomical terminology, Earth is sometimes referred to as "Terra". Terra is the Roman form of Gaia (greek). She is the goddess of the Earth. Her husband is Caelus, an ancient god of the sky (heavens). They are the parents of the Titans & giants. ... This, effectively, makes Venus the oldest of all the gods & goddess'."

[@amerikaOnFire]

@Wraith The connector is wrong? The MegaSD has a beveled edge. It's just a slight bevel but it's within spec and won't cause any issues at all. Stop spreading that crap as it was disproven virtually as soon as it was posted about and retweeted by people. Also, regular forum people can't "ban" you. So I am curious why you said that multiple times.

[@McGuinty2]

The Terror was what I felt waiting for mine to clear Andorran customs ;)

[@ryanmalin]

@Wraith if you think thats bad, you should see what Apple does. MUCH WORSE than this. At least they fixed it. Apple is still selling laptops with defective keyboards to this date and they are not fixing them. There is a warranty program for apple right now, you buy a $3000 laptop labled "pro" and its broken from the second you get it out the box. AND, they replace it with another broken keyboard. Id say this company youre dealing with is doing pretty good considering how small they are. Good day sir.

[@jmarra07]

Why did you cut to that crazy old man at 8:13?? Cracked me up lol

[@SlyNine]

Is it just me or are the colors messed up

[@picolete]

Love his shirt

[@jddeluxe2242]

Another great vid guys. Audi is a very knowledgeable fellow. However, he really needs to turn up the energy & enthusiasm just a bit.👍

[@moofree]

I wonder if this would buzz on my CDX... Edit: Rewatching that section, it probably won't boot on the CDX at all.

[@vuetoob3983]

I don't mind spending hundreds on the cart but where can you find the ROMs????

[@JeffYPbPr]

Dude its 2019 and you can't find roms?

[@vuetoob3983]

@@JeffYPbPr no I don't. Nintendo shut down the big ROM sites. Where do you get them now?

[@spectrumbots4268]

In retrospect, SEGA should have made the Genesis with the 32X and SEGA CD features built in form the start...

[@xxnike0629xx]

The fact that these kinds of products are so popular should be a _dead giveaway_ that game publishers & developers should put more effort into releasing compilations/remasters on modern consoles.

[@RobG1981]

It would be so cool if someone did a Virtua Fighter Deluxe 32X CD with the soundtrack of the Saturn version :)

[@dm1i]

Savaged Regime music ftw!

[@elemenopio7455]

Thanks 🙏🏻

[@drspod]

@14:09 No way, it's Yu Yu Hakusho!

[@69pigliver]

I have a mega everdrive x5 and a mega everdrive x7. So you are suggesting I smash both of them and buy this, correct?

[@mogo2433]

To develop games for Saturn, is it better to obtain a DevKit or just use joEngine, or something similar?

[@CanadianFuzzy]

I'm looking forward to krikzz's version of the CD emulator since he's been showing progress on twitter.

[@superbroly64DS]

Yeah and hopefully it's a little bit more affordable

[@chrisw8069]

He can't make them properly and they will damage the hardware over time. Not worth getting his cart if it damages the hardware.

[@pferreira1983]

@@chrisw8069 Why do you say that?

[@chrisw8069]

@@pferreira1983 already linked to the article regarding the issue. Basically he doesn't put the proper power level translators in them and they also lack a ground plane. It's also referenced at the beginning of the video.

[@pferreira1983]

@@chrisw8069 Been using Krizz's Mega everdrive and never a had a problem with my console. Is that unaffected?

[@ElricSowrd]

I like this idea since there's this thing called "Disc Rot" that can kill Disc Based Media. Also I don't like Link's voice in the MSU-1 Version of Zelda: A Link to the Past. Sounds awfully alot like Todd Haberkorn. 😓

[@wuushew]

I have never encountered so called disc rot in a commercially produced CD. The CD format was remarkably robust baring a few examples from the early 80's. A properly handled CD will last centuries, far longer than the life of the laser any reader would use. CDs are nothing like Laserdiscs. Also media can be backed up on archival metallic media that doesn't suffer the oxidation problems of the dye based writeable media.

[@ElricSowrd]

@@wuushew Neither have I. But I've been hearing about it since last year when the Playstation Classic launched.

[@doniarts]

Sweet I am an early bird today :D

[@Rurounik99]

And now we have Mega CD on MiSTer FPGA for free.

[@WalterdasTrevas]

TOO BRIGHT!

[@10p6]

Sounds like a great product, but it should have 32X hardware support, that would have made it awesome.

[@jc_dogen]

Impossible in a single FPGA.

[@10p6]

@@jc_dogen Wrong. NVIDIA and AMD use single FPGA's to create the latest graphics cards and processors. Yes they cost a fortune, but other very low cost FPGA's could easily do 32X and CD hardware emulation.

[@homiedclown]

The problem with the 32X is that it needs an analog video signal input from the Genesis to work properly. It has to sync and combine the video signal from the Genesis with it's own video, and then output the combined analog signal to the TV. The FPGA implementation would have to include the inputs, outputs and video hardware to do that. You'd end up with some Frankenstein beast of a cartridge with cables going in and out of it. It may even still need its own power supply in order to generate the analog video signal.

[@10p6]

@@homiedclown Easily done. Would just need one small cable coming out of it.

[@homiedclown]

@@10p6 maybe I'm not understanding what you're getting at, what would this one cable be doing?

[@iCach0]

2:06 That's what she said!

[@rogem127]

I bought this for a PAL Mega Drive 2 (European version of the Genesis 2) a while ago. Apparently Terraonion is now using an Intel FPGA for the MegaSD which differs from the previous revision and it didn't play well with their old firmware. So it seems like they made a new firmware to fix exactly that. But at least in my case the new firmware didn't help either and actually made matters worse as it caused the Terraonion main menu to freeze almost instantly before even starting up any games. After directly requesting a rollback firmware from them and installing it, the Terraonion menu now works but all the MD games I've tried so far freeze within just a couple of minutes of playtime usually. My attempts at getting in touch with them and receiving help have not been very successful either and it remains doubtful whether I can get a full refund from the online store where I bought it (always check with the store first whether you can give it back if it doesn't work!). Just thought I'd let anybody know who has a PAL MD2 and is thinking about getting one of these. I'd try the Terraonion Discord first and ask Terraonion if they can guarantee proper operation for your specific MD2 hardware revision. From what I've read other users on their Discord server have similar issues. Terraonion aren't exactly transparent about compatibility as their website/wiki doesn't state anything about which revisions of the MD2 do not work with the MegaSD. It says "supports Megadrive / Genesis" on their product information page. So they are claiming full compatibility with all existing MD/Genesis hardware revisions without giving any indication that compatibility might be limited. They must already have noticed that several customers have these kind of problems but can't seem to be bothered to put up a disclaimer on the product page warning about the issue. So far my impression of their customer support has been poor. They do not seem to care much if at all whether their product works for all their customers. Yes, I'm aware that the product works flawlessly for some people. Well, it doesn't work at all for others (like me).

[@ricepony33]

3DO! Turbo Graphics 16! Lynx!

[@ryanmalin]

"I have girl hands." -Audi Sorlie 2019

[@kombinatsiya6000]

I would like to imagine that he was addressing his hands about the status of his latest acquisition.

[@MyReksio]

@Ryan Malin: I see a competition in hands movement :Kappa:

[@vasilas432]

Yes, but can it run Crysis?

[@SaschTheDash]

Blinded by the light 😜

[@Imgema]

Isn't there an option for composite blending? I'm tired of looking at dithered Genesis/CD games that don't look as intended by the developers.

[@protocetid]

DF Retro on Jurassic Park Trespasser please

[@tyler6644]

MiSTer has a sega cd core coming soon

[@W0lfenstrike]

Imagine the possibilities for ROM hacks using the SegaCD plus the the 32x capabilities! At the very least, that would turn the 32x port of Doom into an infinitely better version without the music sounding like wet farts!

[@zachsteiner]

I think the audio sounds better on the Mega SD.

[@onionheadguy7094]

Nice name

[@MaddSweetGT500]

Ok, its 2019 ... We have a damn truck that looks like it was time-jacked from Blade Runner. We have computers in our pockets next to out bananas. It's time to stop fucking around and drop all other Emulation that is currently being worked on and we ALL need to collab, donate or slap people till they get SEGA Saturn Emulation at 100%. This is hella kool though

[@Notsram77]

Is it just me, or is this video just barely too quiet?

[@straightupgamer354]

wow never thought I'd see John on df with the owner of that vehicle company audi

[@straightupgamer354]

@@RickR69 hahah thanks thats what i meant to say ;)

Gleylancer S2 just for that like in the video

[@pizzagateisreal]

Still better than the switch.

[@choco_easty]

Guys, its TERRAonion. Not TERROR - onion. haha! Great video though!

[@iCach0]

Shhhh, don't tell them!

[@orbusg8451]

I'm getting one of these, but I'm gonna be using it in a real genesis. I just can't stand playing SD games on an lcd! It's gotta be a crt! But real segacd hardware and games are super old, breaking down and cost a fortune.

[@coderkind]

I get improving game audio if it needs it, but otherwise I don’t see the appeal of adding CD-quality soundtracks to older games. Part of the retro appeal is the sound of the original systems.

[@JeffYPbPr]

Obviously you never played a MSU-1 audio hack for snes. Its amazing

[@homiedclown]

@@JeffYPbPr The Super Star Wars games with the real soundtrack is awesome to play.

[@coderkind]

@@JeffYPbPr I have. It wasn't (especially).

[@THEONLYGORE]

I thought it was just Joe on GameSack... who are these guys ????