Lovablechevy once had a thread with a review on the Gen-X, which was lost during the 2-week revert, so I'll put up my playtest to compensate for it.
NES:
110-in-1(Hong Kong multi-cart): compatible
1943: compatible
31-in-1(Hong Kong multi-cart): compatible
After Burner(Tengen cart): INCOMPATIBLE - Garbage every time the unit is turned on
Blaster Master: compatible
Castlevania: compatible
Castlevania II: compatible
Castlevania III: INCOMPATIBLE - Dark green screen
Duck Hunt: semi-compatible - Works, but is unplayable due to the absence of a lightgun
Excitebike: compatible
Formula One Built to Win: compatible
Gradius(Famicom cart): compatible
Gradius II(Famicom cart, contains VRC4 mapper chip): compatible(cartridge wouldn't make a good contact, which made me believe it was incompatible)
Hogan's Alley: semi-compatible - Works, but is unplayable due to the absence of a lightgun
Image Fight: compatible
Jackal: compatible
Life Force(Salamander's US version): compatible
MegaMan 2: compatible
Mike Tyson's PUNCH-OUT!!: compatible
Ninja Crusaders: compatible
Ninja Gaiden: INCOMPATIBLE - Differently colored screens every time the unit is turned on
Rad Racer: compatible
Rad Racer II: INCOMPATIBLE - Power LED is on, but the hardware seems to freak out and not power on
Sky Shark: INCOMPATIBLE - Differently colored screens every time the unit is turned on
Soccer: compatible
Spy Hunter: compatible
Stealth ATF: INCOMPATIBLE - Differently colored screens every time the unit is turned on
Super Mario Bros: compatible
Super Mario Bros. 2(US version): compatible
Super Mario Bros. 3: compatible
Super Sprint(Tengen cart): compatible
Tetris(Nintendo version): INCOMPATIBLE - Differently colored screens every time the unit is turned on
Tetris 2: compatible
The Hunt for Red October: compatible
The Immortal: compatible
The Legend of Zelda: compatible
Tiger Heli: compatible
Top Gun: compatible
Top Gun The Second Mission: compatible
Vindicators(Tengen cart): compatible
Zanac: compatible
For NES games, the Gen-X is a pile of crap. It uses the old NOAC we know of with color and sound problems, which is unacceptable considering the FC Twin, an earlier clone, got an updated NOAC with proper colors and near-perfect sound before the Gen-X was released. In fact, I'm under the impression that this uses the exact same NOAC as the Generation NEX, as its behavior strangely matches that of the NEX(green screen in Castlevania III, no power in Rad Racer II). Also, out of the games that don't work at all on the Gen-X, they work to some extent on the FC Twin. Not to mention that just like the SG/FC Dual Action and GN Twin, the NES button layout is reversed. Not a big problem for me, honestly. I just don't understand why Tetris, Sky Shark, Stealth ATF and Ninja Gaiden don't work. It's not like they have some kind of special hardware in the cartridge or anything.
Moving on.
Genesis:
Ayrton Senna's Super Monaco GP II: INCOMPATIBLE - It loads, it works, but the controls lag so much it's unplayable
Brett Hull Hockey 95: compatible
Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine: compatible
Formula One: INCOMPATIBLE - It loads, but the controls lag, and when you press Start, the button input is consistently registered and crashes the game when starting a race
MIG-29 Fighter Pilot: compatible
Sonic the Hedgehog: compatible
Sonic 2: compatible
Sonic 3: compatible
Sonic & Knuckles: compatible
Sonic the Hedgehog locked onto Sonic & Knuckles(Blue Sphere): compatible
Sonic 2 locked onto Sonic & Knuckles: compatible
Sonic 3 locked onto Sonic & Knuckles: compatible
Sonic Spinball: compatible
Sonic 3D Blast: compatible
Space Harrier II: compatible
Steel Talons: compatible
Super Hang-On: compatible
Super Monaco GP: INCOMPATIBLE - It loads, it works, but the controls lag so much it's unplayable
Super Thunder Blade: compatible
Thunder Force II: compatible
Thunder Force IV(Lightening Force): compatible
Top Gear 2: compatible
Virtua Racing(contains the Sega Virtua Processor): compatible(this game doesn't work on the Genesis 3)
Master System backwards compatibility:
After Burner: INCOMPATIBLE - Will not load
Galaxy Force: compatible
Gangster Town: semi-compatible - Requires Light Phaser
Global Defense: INCOMPATIBLE - Will not load
Hang-On/Safari Hunt: semi-compatible - Hang-On works, but Safari Hunt requires the Light Phaser to work
R-Type: compatible
The Genesis side is actually decent, but not as good as I expected. There are some pretty bad volume problems, where certain FM channels are so loud they scratch and PSG is nearly impossible to hear, which to my ears seemed similar to the Radica TV Games Genesis. Some voice overs, like that of Thunder Force IV and the Sega chant on the Sonic games scratch as well. However, I have a hard time comprehending the controller problems in Super Monaco GP, Ayrton Senna's Super Monaco GP II and Formula One. It's like they hate the Gen-X's controllers.
Master System games don't register any inputs from the D-Pad, which I find is stupid. I'm currently trying to get original accessories to work on the Gen-X, as I tried to use its controllers on original hardware, and they don't register any button inputs, but +5V and Ground are connected the same way(Slow light flickers), so maybe the other pins are connected in a different way. PSG, compared to the Gen-X's FM, is 100% accurate, not a single volume or altered pitch issue. However, I just can't understand why After Burner and Global Defense don't load on this thing. Like with Gradius II on the NES side, After Burner's incompatibility pissed me off.
Also, I decided to put the Gen-X to the ultimate test: run the 32X. And guess what? It does! Well, sort of. Obviously, as it doesn't have a DIN like the Genesis, the patch cable won't be useable. Also, all 32X audio is absent. You only get the sound coming out of the Genesis side. With some physical modifications, I'm sure the Gen-X will be fully compatible with the 32X.
Another thing I noticed is that the controllers actually DO have a MODE button: Select(it fired the machine guns in After Burner Complete). So, Lovablechevy and all GN Twin, Gen-X, and SG/FC Dual Action owners out there, if you're reading this, try to hold Select when starting up Golden Axe II or any other 3-button dependent games, it should fix up the controller problems.
General quality is actually quite good. The controllers have a little less weight than the Majesco 6-button controllers, but have an overall similar feel, though the D-pad feels more like that of a Saturn controller. The unit itself has a good amount of weight, albeit not as much as, say, the FC Twin(mind you, the FC Twin's boards take up nearly the entire casing, while the Gen-X's leave some pretty big gaps due to its hardware not being as complex as the FC Twin's, not to mention the overall size of the unit is smaller) and is made of thick plastic, making its structure pretty solid. However, the motherboard looks really cheaply put together. All ribbon cables have hot glue on both ends and appear to be really fragile(had to replace 2 sets with IDE ribbon cable, hope I won't have to do that to the last one). As if that's not enough, there's hot glue ON THE VOLTAGE REGULATOR, and even ON THE CONTROLLER PORTS(what for???)!
Overall, I give this an 8/10. I was expecting better from this clone, but it didn't meet my expectations. However, most of the Genesis side's issues can be fixed.
UPDATE: Turns out the Gen-X has a crappy audio mixing circuit that's causing the scratching/distorted FM and silent PSG. I'm currently trying to replace it with a new one. Also, the ribbon cables were as cheap as I thought, as I had to replace 2 sets, one linking the NES board to the rear power/AV board and the one linking the NES and Genesis boards together.
CORRECTION: I had previously said that Gradius II was incompatible. In fact, it IS compatible, but the stupid converter cartridge I was using didn't make a good contact with the cartridge slot. Score has been bumped up as a resuld
Complete Gen-X playtest
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