There have been Sega Genesis retro consoles before, and they haven't been good. But the new Sega Genesis Mini is a self-contained TV-connected box set done right. Like the NES Classic and SNES Classic before this, this Genesis Mini has perfect ports of seminal games, layered in a clean menu with extras like game save slots and video settings.

I grew up a Sega kid. I had all the Sega consoles: Master System. Genesis. 32X. Sega CD. Dreamcast. Game Gear. Genesis, and its hundreds of games, was where I lived. I owned most of even the weirdest games, like Kid Chameleon and Decapattack (or hey, anyone remember Mystic Defender, or Greendog: The Beached Surfer Dude?).

I remember scouting all the games out at Electronics Boutique and Toys 'R Us, staring at the prerelease box backs months before release.

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Now, there have been some pretty good Genesis compilations that have come and gone. A recent Sega Genesis Classics collection on PS4, Xbox One and Switch has been my go-to for a while. The Nintendo 3DS had a great assortment of Sega ports, and the Switch has some now, too (some not even Genesis).

But the Sega Genesis Mini is the Sega retro console you've been waiting for. Simply put: If you want to play some great Sega Genesis games, a well-spent $80 here gets you 40 well-picked ones. (It's £70 in the UK and AU$139 in Australia, where of course it's called the Sega Mega Drive Mini.)