I've always had an interest in weird Chinese clone/boot crap and as I now own most officially licensed hardware that I want, some of it is looking more appealing to own. All I have now is a Game Doctor SF3. Always been fascinated by MGD2---I think I first read about it on one of the old ASSEMbler pages. The appeal is how goofy and strange it looks and all of the systems it hooks up to. I don't really like buying things that I'll never use though. So, anybody have any musings as to whether they're worth any time nowadays? I don't really need for it to be incredibly easy---I can buy a modern flash cart or create an EEPROM cart if I want that---but are they usable? I don't need one--I buy games, mostly, but I love the idea of one device that I could use for so much: SNES, GEN/MD, PCE and whatever else I can find an adapter for (Neo Geo, ha!). So, worth my time, or so painfully clunky that I could never have any fun with it? Thoughts? Anyone have much experience?
They are overpriced due to lingering hype and are less useable than practically any other unit in functionality. They can't do much since they're basically simple EPROM emulators (the adapters) loaded by the main unit. While the modularity was neat almost 20 years ago (back then it saved you money), dealers now take advantage of it to sell you a setup part by part at ridiculous prices. I have a few I keep for my copier collection but I haven't actually used one in 5 years. Oh and they are pretty clunky too, plus the obscure form factor floppy drives break... Most people buy them as collectible trophies and that's all I can really recommend them for.
I had the mgd2 i/o cards and memory for every system but the neo-geo. mainly for collectors now. one game i know of worked better on it, panzer dragoon mini for game gear. tototek flash cart the game would crash on the 1st level,(use a level code to skip then it play perfect. played great from the start on the mgd2 the mgd2 was fun for the time. I used my laptop to load the games, hell with all the floppies. some hardcore collectors here http://www.tototek.com/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=10&sid=95bd9eff592cd57a8916cc42974e0023 my old site with my own mgd2 notes. http://www.greatlakesvista.com/mgd2/powertools.htm i helped the ucon team improve and test the mgd2 support. (acem77)
If you get one without the accessories, it will cost you a ton to get them. Only buy a set with the interfaces you will want.
Calpis is right. They are horribly overpriced and aren't even that great to use compared to other devices. If you want something to load up ROMs buy a modern device for the system you want. NES has the PowerPAK. SNES has the PowerPAK, MashMods Flash Cart, Super EverDrive, Tototek SuperFlash. Genesis has the EverDrive, Tototek MD Pro, and the MegaCart. N64 may soon have another optione besides the Neo Flash N64 Flash Cart. GameGear has Tototek's Flash Cart. Gameboy has the Smart Card. PCE has the Tototek and NeoFlash carts. Not sure what else is left but the point is a modern device is going to cost less and be easier to use than the MGD2.
I have a nearly complete MGD2 collection as well. It's more a collectors item, because it's very difficult to use. Especially the SNES and MD interfaces, where you have to split games, switch banks on the interfaces and so on. It takes just too much time until you have successfully loaded a game. Nowadays I can only recommend the PC Engine and the Game Gear interfaces because there aren't much alternatives. There's the Tototek flashcart for the Game Gear. It can be flashed via Parallelport only and that might be a problem on newer computers. If you want to use the MGD2 you just need to buy an USB floppy drive, which is cheap and can be still used on modern computers. So in this case the MGD2 would be a choice. Same goes for the PC Engine: The Tototek flashcart is Parallelport only and the Neoflash cart has crappy software which does not run on every computer. I played Adventure Island (PCE) on a MGD2 flashcart. I was surprised how well it worked. The system was running for six hours and the cart never crashed. However a huge problem is the MGD2 floppy. It's a special notebook floppy drive and replacements are very hard to find. However you can modify a standard 3.5" floppy drive to work in a MGD2.
I dont see why anyone would want one of these unless they were collecting them.Seems overly complicated and completely outdated. Tototek needs to get with the times and make usb carts
It's not Tototek's fault. Pretty sure they don't have anyone currently skilled to make new USB flash carts. If they did, they would have. Also, while I'm not a fan, PCE does have the NeoFlash cartridge which is USB. So there is always that option. It's alot more expensive than the Tototek cartridge though.
Guys, The MGD2 brings back some real memories for me! Back at school in around '91 there was a lad from Hong Kong who had one of these, I am sure he had the MD and GB adapters. This was the first time I saw a copier and I remember me (and all the other gaming kids) being blown away by it! We all had Mega Drives then and the thought of how many games he could have had, along with the fact we guessed it must have cost a couple of hundred quid and there was no way at 14 any of us could have afforded one made it a real exotic beast! I know it is naive now, but I was so surprised you could get a cart onto a disk!!! Just out of interest, are the interfaces really that difficult to come by seperately? How much it the Super Famicom interface, for instance? Thanks, Paul
You just don't see the adapters on their own (at least not for any sensible price) because anyone who owns a setup knows that the worth of it is related to the number of adapters they have with it. Again, if you want to play ROMs on real hardware, buy a modern flash cart. It will be easier, cheaper and more capable. With that said, if you want one, chances are there's someone here (or on a more suitable copier-related board) who'd sell you one. In light of modern flash carts it's hard to say what it'd set you back. Might be worth sending and email to Rob at http://www.consolegoods.co.uk/ since he's been selling copiers for many a year now.
