I first learned of the Polymega console about two years ago. I was streaming regularly and I was looking for a way to stream retro games from consoles that I never owned such as the Sega Saturn, TurboGrafx 16, and the 32x.
One retro system to play them all…
The Polymega console appeared to be what I was looking for in a retro console. I read a bunch of specs on the system, but I only saw what I wanted to see. I didn’t dig into the struggles at Playmaji, the producer of the Polymega. In an impulsive move, I ordered the Deluxe Bundle and two extra controllers, dreaming of the decades and decades of retro games I would now be able to stream and enjoy.
What I didn’t know at the time was Playmaji was suffering significant setbacks in the production of the Polymega units – first from the COVID shutdowns, then from a fire at one of their vendor’s that produced components used in the console. This led to extraordinary lag times in production and shipment of the Polymega, and to make things worse, the customer service and communication from Playmaji was in a word, terrible.
21 months would pass before I received the retro console of my dreams, but it was worth the frustrating wait.
The Good
The Polymega is a well designed system. The design is elegant and robust – it looks and feels like a top tier console right out of the box. Not only is the Polymega compact, it’s a little larger than an N64, but it feels sturdy, manufactured to last. This sturdiness of construction extends to the different controllers for the Emulation Modules as well. Each controller produced by Playmaji is better than the first party controllers produced by the systems the Polymega emulates.
The Deluxe Bundle comes with the base unit and four emulation modules – the interface for each of the different consoles. EM01 is for the NES, NES PAL, and the Famicom. EM02 supports the SNES, SNES PAL, and Super Famicom. EM03 plays Sega Genesis, Mega Drive Japan, 32x, 32x PAL, and Super 32x. EM04 plays the Turbografx 16, PC-Engine, and SGX. You can also purchase the EM05 unit, which allows you to play N64, N64-E, and N64-J games.
The Polymega controllers are high quality and more comfortable than their first party counterparts, and each module comes with a controller for their respective systems. You are able to use original controllers for each system too.
Swapping out modules is fast and easy, taking less than a minute. For a complete list of the formats supported by the base unit, you can go here: https://polymega.com/pages/compatibility
The Polymega comes with a handful of games for NES and PC-Engine to demonstrate what the Polymega can do. The User interface is easy to navigate and responsive, the way a system UI should be.
Using the base unit, you can rip game ROMs to the internal storage of the Polymega, and the storage can be expanded by installing an M.2 SSD into the corresponding slot on the base unit.
The Bad
The main obstacle to owning the Polymega is cost. The Deluxe Bundle costs about $800 US, the Base Unit runs about $400, and the different modules cost about $90-$100 each. If you need additional controllers, they run $40-$50 each.
Customer Service at Playmaji has not been great over the past two years, but it is improving now the systems are getting shipped out. I’ve exchanged messages through email with Customer Service and it takes about 4 days to respond. My advice? Patience is a premium when communicating with Playmaji. They will respond, but it may take some time.
Conclusion
The Polymega is a tremendous gaming system. The unit is sharp, well produced, and does everything I want it to do. I can’t wait to check out the Polymega Marketplace when it launches later this year, and the Polymega XL App seems to be an interesting way to play your retro games. Yes, the Polymega is expensive, but once you see it in action, see the engineering that went into it, it is well worth the money.
2cowsgaming.com 