{"id":364,"date":"2022-08-16T14:07:45","date_gmt":"2022-08-16T14:07:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stevethefish.net\/stuff\/?p=364"},"modified":"2025-12-25T17:04:43","modified_gmt":"2025-12-25T08:04:43","slug":"hacking-my-megadrive-mini","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stevethefish.net\/stuff\/index.php\/2022\/08\/16\/hacking-my-megadrive-mini\/","title":{"rendered":"Hacking my Sega Megadrive Mini with Project Lunar"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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I’m on summer vacation this week. I finally did it. I haxxored my Mega Drive Mini. Mixed feelings. I had to install filthy Win10 onto a spare HD in order to run the Project Lunar software.<\/a> It’s weird. My PC desktop is Linux, and these mini consoles are essentially small Linux boxes. Yet the software to interface with the Mini is Windows-only. WHY? Barf.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To hook the MD Mini to the PC, a USB cable capable of data transfers is necessary. Press and hold the reset button, connect the USB cable, then turn it on and wait for the power button to stop blinking. From there, the Project Lunar software lets you add games. Then at last you press the Synch button. Easy. The MD Mini’s internal HD has quite a lot of free space inside, so I was able to load several games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I didn’t want to just dump a butt-ton of roms since I couldn’t care less about Rug Rats or Barbie or crap like that. I selected the games that I felt should have been on it, like Strider and the first Sonic (the MD Mini has Sonic 2 while the North American Genesis Mini came with the first Sonic).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Son, I am slightly disappoint. So get this. Project Lunar puts Retro Arch onto the console, yet there are compatibility issues. Sonic, Rolling Thunder 2 & 3, Thunder Force 4, Twinkle Tale, and several games I loaded onto it work just fine. HOWEVER\u2026 Devil Hunter Yohko gets to the title screen, but once the level begins, the screen goes black. Verytex and Tatsujin\/Truxton are silent. Phelios causes the unit to crash and force a reboot. Panorama Cotton has a few glitch issues. There is a compatibility database, the “Mega Drive \/ Genesis Mini Compatibility List” located here:
https:\/\/megadrive-compatibility.netlify.app\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I didn’t know this before installing. I just figured with Retro Arch taking care of it, there would be no problem. Is the architecture of this MD Mini considerably different than a Raspberry Pi? I did not expect any games to not<\/em> work as I figured there would be no such compatibility issues. That said, I can go ahead and remove the malfunctioning games and just focus on the excellent games it already comes with, plus games I must first verify compatibility before installing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Something else that’s weird: I deliberately put the English fan translated rom of Gleylancer, yet it only detects Japanese. Even when I switch the unit’s language to English, it’s still in Japanese. That’s\u2026 weird.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is it worth hacking the MD Mini? Yeah, I think so. Battle Mania 1&2, Arrow Flash, Road Blasters, and Gaiares work, but I am a bit bummed that Burning Force, Hellfire, and the others I mentioned above do not work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, this MD Mini console is a lot of fun, but in the end it still cannot compare to a Raspberry Pi running Retropie and using a Saturn controller through a Mayflash Saturn to USB converter, as it’ll run Gen\/MD, CD, and 32X games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Side note: I frickin’ HATE Windows10. Bloaty McBloaterson. The install ISO wouldn’t even fit onto a regular DVD-R! I had to use a dual-layer DVD-R. Sheesh! With Linux, you can boot to the install disc and run the actual OS off of it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I’m on summer vacation this week. I finally did it. I haxxored my Mega Drive Mini. Mixed feelings. I had to install filthy Win10 onto a spare HD in order to run the Project Lunar software. It’s weird. My PC desktop is Linux, and these mini consoles are essentially small Linux boxes. Yet the software … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Hacking my Sega Megadrive Mini with Project Lunar”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"spay_email":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[41,2],"tags":[42,40,12],"class_list":["post-364","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tech","category-video-games","tag-linux","tag-megadrive","tag-retrogaming"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2759,"url":"https:\/\/stevethefish.net\/stuff\/index.php\/2025\/12\/25\/hacking-my-nintendo-super-famicom-mini\/","url_meta":{"origin":364,"position":0},"title":"Hacking my Nintendo Super Famicom Mini with Hakchi","date":"2025-12-25","format":false,"excerpt":"My Christmas Eve was spent hacking my Super Famicom Mini console. Unlike my Megadrive Mini, I didn't really play my SFC Mini's default game lineup because I found them a bit boring. Not only do I prefer Sonic over Mario, but there are no shmups for the SFC Mini! Using\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "tech"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/stevethefish.net\/stuff\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_2167.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1865,"url":"https:\/\/stevethefish.net\/stuff\/index.php\/2024\/12\/01\/a-fan-doujin-r-type-game-on-the-megadrive\/","url_meta":{"origin":364,"position":1},"title":"Mega R-Type: a fan\/doujin R-Type game on the Megadrive!","date":"2024-12-01","format":false,"excerpt":"Last night I played the demo of the fan\/doujin port of R-Type on the Megadrive that shmuppers were deprived of back in the day! The Master System and PC Engine got ports of R-Type, but not the Megadrive... until now! It's actually not a \"port\" per se, as it is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "video games"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/stevethefish.net\/stuff\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/R-Type-Leo.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2399,"url":"https:\/\/stevethefish.net\/stuff\/index.php\/2025\/08\/05\/enjoying-summer-time-off-with-my-sfc-mini\/","url_meta":{"origin":364,"position":2},"title":"Enjoying summer time off with my SFC Mini.","date":"2025-08-05","format":false,"excerpt":"I haven't played Super Metroid for about 15 years or more. I love this game! It's actually the only Metroid game I've ever played. This wireless gamepad is a recent purchase. There was no name at all on the package. I got it on Ali Express for something like 1500\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "video games"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/stevethefish.net\/stuff\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/SFC-Mini-and-Super-Metroid.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":916,"url":"https:\/\/stevethefish.net\/stuff\/index.php\/2023\/05\/20\/assault-suit-valken-a-remake-of-the-classic-megadrive-game-called-target-earth-on-the-genesis-on-steam\/","url_meta":{"origin":364,"position":3},"title":"Assault Suit Leynos, a remake of the classic Megadrive game (called Target Earth on the Genesis) on Steam","date":"2023-05-20","format":false,"excerpt":"Masaya's \"Assault Suit\" series of side-scrolling mecha combat action games is fantastic. My first exposure to the series was Assault Suit Valken, aka \"Cybernator\" for North America, on the Super Nintendo. I played the crap out of that game, and then I later got Target: Earth for my Genesis. But\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "video games"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/stevethefish.net\/stuff\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/20230520161330_1-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1775,"url":"https:\/\/stevethefish.net\/stuff\/index.php\/2024\/10\/24\/sega-megadrive-t-shirt-from-shimamura\/","url_meta":{"origin":364,"position":4},"title":"Sega Megadrive T-shirt from Shimamura","date":"2024-10-24","format":false,"excerpt":"By creating an account on Mercari, I've expanded my ability to buy neat crap. Something I missed out on at Shimamura is this neat Megadrive T-shirt. This shirt is brand new and still has the tag attached! The front breast has the MD logo, the 3-button controller, and under that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "neat crap"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/stevethefish.net\/stuff\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/IMG_1003-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2933,"url":"https:\/\/stevethefish.net\/stuff\/index.php\/2026\/03\/07\/i-installed-bazzite-linux-on-a-dell-optiplex-3000-and-made-it-a-steam-machine\/","url_meta":{"origin":364,"position":5},"title":"I installed Bazzite Linux on a Dell Optiplex 3000 and made it a Steam machine","date":"2026-03-07","format":false,"excerpt":"Here's what my new Bazzite desktop looks like, with the girls from Bubblegum Crisis. My friend Lou is visiting Japan and gave me a Dell Optiplex mini computer (Intel Core i5) he rescued from the trash at his work after his company was bought out by a smaller competitor of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "tech"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/stevethefish.net\/stuff\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/new-Bazzite-desktop-2.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stevethefish.net\/stuff\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/364","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stevethefish.net\/stuff\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stevethefish.net\/stuff\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stevethefish.net\/stuff\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stevethefish.net\/stuff\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=364"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/stevethefish.net\/stuff\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/364\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2792,"href":"https:\/\/stevethefish.net\/stuff\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/364\/revisions\/2792"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stevethefish.net\/stuff\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=364"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stevethefish.net\/stuff\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=364"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stevethefish.net\/stuff\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=364"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}