It’s a Genesis 1 with a 32X with Sonic & Knuckles in the cartridge slot. That game had a flip-top with a cartridge slot under it so other games (specifically Sonic 3) could be plugged into it for additional functionality. The Genesis 1 also had a connector on the side which was used to connect to the Sega CD unit (notably missing from this picture). It’s a 30-pin connector so it fits into the 32-pin cartridge slot. And then plugged into the top Genesis is a copy of Bubsy, one of the worst games released for the system.
As to whether it “works”, at best you would get Sonic & Knuckles booting as long as the Genesis plugged into it doesn’t connect to or short any pins in the cartridge’s slot.
a copy of Bubsy, one of the worst games released for the system.
Leave Bubsy alone, please!
Leave Bubsy alone right now! I mean it.
Anyone that has a problem with him, you deal with me, because he is not well right now.
Leave him alone.
I was working at Babbage’s when Bubsy was released for the SNES and Genesis. Accolade (the publisher) had somehow convinced upper management that it was going to be a huge hit so they shipped us three or four cases of the game for each system. We rarely got cases, usually half-a-dozen loose copies. So we crammed them into our tiny back room and they sat there for months. I’m not going to say we didn’t sell any, but I certainly don’t remember it flying off the shelves. At one point a guy claiming to be an Accolade exec came into my store asking how it was selling. Again, I don’t remember exactly what I said to him but he wouldn’t have been happy. Finally, after a year or so we got orders from HQ to box them up and send them back.
The Sonic & Knuckles “adapter” was made to have Sonic 2 and 3 cartridges plug into it. It allowed adding knuckles to 2 and created an expanded version of 3 which completed the story. The 32X is an adapter that upgraded the 16 bit console to play 32 bit games. The side of the Sega console had a slot where a Sega CD (cd-rom drive) could plug in. Apparently the Sonic & Knuckles cartridge fits into it, or at least appears to.
You could also plug any other cart into it and it would work as a seed to generate a blue sphere bonus stage unique to that game (I think). I remember going through my game collection the first time I rented S&K to check out what the different games’ stages were like.
Me as well. There no way it works but I want labels of what the adapters are.
It’s a Genesis 1 with a 32X with Sonic & Knuckles in the cartridge slot. That game had a flip-top with a cartridge slot under it so other games (specifically Sonic 3) could be plugged into it for additional functionality. The Genesis 1 also had a connector on the side which was used to connect to the Sega CD unit (notably missing from this picture). It’s a 30-pin connector so it fits into the 32-pin cartridge slot. And then plugged into the top Genesis is a copy of Bubsy, one of the worst games released for the system.
As to whether it “works”, at best you would get Sonic & Knuckles booting as long as the Genesis plugged into it doesn’t connect to or short any pins in the cartridge’s slot.
Leave Bubsy alone, please!

Leave Bubsy alone right now! I mean it.
Anyone that has a problem with him, you deal with me, because he is not well right now.
Leave him alone.
I was working at Babbage’s when Bubsy was released for the SNES and Genesis. Accolade (the publisher) had somehow convinced upper management that it was going to be a huge hit so they shipped us three or four cases of the game for each system. We rarely got cases, usually half-a-dozen loose copies. So we crammed them into our tiny back room and they sat there for months. I’m not going to say we didn’t sell any, but I certainly don’t remember it flying off the shelves. At one point a guy claiming to be an Accolade exec came into my store asking how it was selling. Again, I don’t remember exactly what I said to him but he wouldn’t have been happy. Finally, after a year or so we got orders from HQ to box them up and send them back.
this guy adapts
The hero we need, but don’t deserve! Thank you!!
I feel dumb, I don’t remember a side slot on my genesis 1. It was quite a while ago, but still.
It was concealed by a plastic cover which blended in to the rest of the console. It was easy to overlook unless you went looking for it.
It was under a removable panel. If you didn’t have a Sega CD, you probably didn’t have a good reason to go looking for it.
The Sonic & Knuckles “adapter” was made to have Sonic 2 and 3 cartridges plug into it. It allowed adding knuckles to 2 and created an expanded version of 3 which completed the story. The 32X is an adapter that upgraded the 16 bit console to play 32 bit games. The side of the Sega console had a slot where a Sega CD (cd-rom drive) could plug in. Apparently the Sonic & Knuckles cartridge fits into it, or at least appears to.
You could also plug any other cart into it and it would work as a seed to generate a blue sphere bonus stage unique to that game (I think). I remember going through my game collection the first time I rented S&K to check out what the different games’ stages were like.
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