Sega Mega Drive (Genesis)

Edit on Github | Updated: 16th March 2024

Introduction

Welcome to our page dedicated to Sega Mega Drive reverse engineering! The Sega Mega Drive, also known as the Sega Genesis in North America, was a popular gaming console released by Sega in 1988, and has since become a beloved classic of the gaming world. If you’re interested in learning more about the technical aspects of this console and how it works, you’ve come to the right place. On this page, we’ve compiled a list of links to other pages that cover various topics related to Sega Mega Drive reverse engineering.

Whether you’re interested in understanding the hardware architecture of the console, analyzing game code, or exploring the many mods and hacks that have been created by enthusiasts over the years, you’ll find a wealth of resources and information on the pages we’ve linked to.

So grab your Sega controller, and get ready to dive into the exciting world of Sega Mega Drive reverse engineering!

History of the Mega Drive

Sega Retro has an excellent page covering the history of the Sega Mega Drive in great detail, it is highly recommended that you read this before anything else:

History of the Sega Mega Drive - Sega Retro

Find out about the history of the SEGA Mega Drive in this excellent post


Hardware

If you’re interested in reverse engineering software for the Sega Mega Drive gaming console, it’s essential to have a strong understanding of the hardware that powers it. By comprehending the inner workings of the Mega Drive hardware, you can better understand how the software interacts with the hardware and how you can potentially modify or enhance it.

In this section of our guide, we will provide you with detailed information and resources on the hardware of the Sega Mega Drive, including retail, prototype, and development hardware.

Development Hardware

In order for game developers to create software for the SEGA Mega Drive, they had the choice of a number of different development hardware to purchase, or they could go it alone and create their own hardware. To find out more check out the post below.

Sega Mega Drive (Genesis) Development Kit Hardware

For information about SEGA's Mega Drive development hardware check out this post.


Mega Drive Game Development

Code Your Own SONIC Game

The Youtuber Game Hut has a series of tutorials on Sega Mega drive programming. Part 1:

Part 2:


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