I no longer own any of the original systems. Growing up, I didn’t have the money for be systems and had to trade in my old systems and library whenever I upgraded. The oldest system I still own is a DS Lite from college.
I just like the way they look, and playing on appropriate controllers. I have hacked all three of them, of course. I haven’t used them as much as I thought I would, but I did play through all of Terranigma on the SNES mini and had a great time.
I would have loved the mini TG16 too, but those got too expensive before I could get one.
In any case, I just play all my classic games via Steam Deck emulation now, and my minis sit in my closet.
Hacking these things to be what you want is pretty fun. Not always perfect, but often it can catch the flavor I’m trying to recapture. I’ve got the Sega Genesis Mini, Super NES Classic, and Sony Playstation Classic models. The “real” controllers are super nice, and it’s pleasant to have a bespoke “system” for each set of games.
Just picked up a Sega Genesis Mini this month, I’ve decided to go for primarily Genesis/Sega CD/PC Engine here (TG-16 mini is currently too rich for my blood) via Hakchi, and it’s totally capable of it. I’ve got an HDMI-to-composite device coming in to play these things on my 32" Sony Trinitron, very much looking forward to seeing how that goes! I figure I’m due for a SNATCHER replay.
One day I might bite the bullet and go Full Mister, but that day is not yet.
