Each module comes with a wired game controller modeled after the general shape and layout of the console it supports, and designed to plug into the native controller port on each module rather than USB. There are individual Element modules for Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), Super NES/Super Famicom, and Sega Genesis/Mega Drive cartridges, and a fourth module for TurboGrafx-16/PC Engine game cards. This part can be replaced by the optional Element modules that add cartridge slots and old-fashioned controller ports for different systems.Įlement modules are blocky accessories that are the same size and shape as the Polymega's front shell, and feature cartridge slots and controller ports for different game consoles. The front half is an empty plastic shell that slides off with a button press. The system's base holds the slot-loading CD-ROM drive, while the other electronics sit in the console's back half. This is a big box measuring 2.2 by 10.2 by 7.8 inches (HWD), almost the size of an Xbox One S. It’s an incredible toolbox for playing fourth- and fifth-generation console games, and earns our Editors’ Choice. The Polymega is quite expensive, at $400, and the cartridge support adds another $60 on top for each Element module, but it’s one of the most robust consumer-available (not custom-built) retro systems we’ve seen. It can even play cartridge games, with the addition of optional Element modules that add cartridge slots to the console. This retro gaming system plays Sony PlayStation, Sega CD, Sega Saturn, Neo Geo CD, and TurboGrafx 16 discs from their various regions, and rips them to its onboard memory or installed storage to consolidate your collection. In fact, until now no consumer retro game system has supported disc-based games from the fourth and fifth console generations. It doesn’t support disc-based games, though. It’s a remarkable little box that plays cartridges from several different systems, and even rip the games to a micro SD card to let you keep your entire library on a device about the size of a Super NES cartridge. I collect a lot of classic video games, and until recently I’ve sworn by my imported Retro Freak emulation-based game system to play most of them.