Game:

Virtua Racing (1992)

Duration: 6:27

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162

Released in 1995 the Sega Nomad is basically a full Sega Genesis with a 3.25" Color LCD screen and 6 button controller all built into one seriously big and bulky handheld. Because it uses the full Sega Genesis chipset it does work with Virtua Racing (modern day clones do not) and it has the same mini-din multi AV output as a Model 2/3 Sega Genesis. Because you can hook it up to a TV they even included a 2nd player controller port on the system! I've heard it works with many Mega Drive games without requiring mods despite the fact it was never released in PAL regions. It also could in theory work with the 32X since it does have the AV output required for the video patch cable. From what I've heard it can be done with mods. But of course it still wont work with the SegaCD. The LCD isn't the best for the time by any means (I still think the NEC PC Engine GT takes top honors) but it's certainly much better than the Game Gear screen. It's much easier to see and doesn't get nearly as blurry when things actually move.

Overall it's a pretty amazing piece of hardware and even though it is big and bulky it still would have been really cool to play all your Genesis games on the road in 1995. Despite the size the thing is surprisingly comfortable to hold and play on and the unique D-Pad has a deep dish feel to it (think Sega Saturn) making it really easy to play. It's certainly much easier to play on than the modern clones like the Retro Gen, Gen Mobile and even the Gopher. But of course it's so big you might not want to pocket it around. Like I said in the video it would have been perfect for long car trips to the cottage during summer vacation but you probably didn't want to take it to school!

For those of you with a keen eye you may have noticed the video quality is lacking. My Sony Bloggie Touch broke 3 weeks ago and I've been without a camera for a little while. This was taken with a borrowed Flip UltraHD hence the out of focus closeup.

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