Review: Transformers: Mega Drive Megatron

I love it when companies have a sense of humour. I know Takara have had problems in the past getting car manufacturers to agree to have their models turn into Decepticons (we can't possibly suggest that our cars are in any way 'evil', despite the baddies, more often than not, being cooler characters), so it's nice that to (sort of) celebrate its 25th Anniversary, Sega agreed to turn the Mega drive into Megatron!

Firstly, no it doesn't play Mega drive games. It's actually far, far smaller than the real thing, barely 3 inches in length. It does, however, come with a mini Sonic 'game' that fits in the slot. It comes with one control pad, which plugs in the top.

Annoyingly, I've managed to break my controller. The plug bit has come off the lead. It'd have been nice, and sturdier, if the whole thing had been a lot larger and thus less delicate. Being full-Mega drive size might have been pushing it, but I'm sure it could have been 50% larger without much effort.

I suppose cost would be the main problem with a bigger Megadriveatron. As it is this thing's already pretty darn expensive - for reasons I don't really understand, beyond it being (probably) a limited production run.

The robot is, as tends to always happen with Megatron and his awkward alt-modes, a bit on the delicate side. His feet especially are a bit thin & wobbly and getting dynamic poses is difficult. It looks great, though, despite this.

Transformation is on the good side of fiddly. It's obvious enough how to do it, but care is needed to get everything lined up just right. Despite the price, I've let my kids have a play around with it and they've had no issues. In a nice little touch the controller splits apart and becomes 'wings' on Meg's back, with the lead coming down and plugging into the gun.

Despite the niggles, I really like this. How could I not? It's a Mega Drive that turns into Megatron! Mega Drive Megatron! Get it?! Yeah, my wife wasn't impressed either. Maybe it's because she doesn't really 'get' old consoles. Or new ones. Or Transformers, come to think of it. Sometimes I'm left wondering why she actually married me...

To people of a certain age, this toy is going to be the most amazing thing ever. The only real disappointment is that the upcoming Optimus Prime is a Playstation and not a SNES :'(