I love the look of the original Genesis. Starting on the left-front side we have a standard 1/8″ headphone jack, yes your headphones should plug right in! Above that we have a volume control for that jack. This jack is used for more than just headphones though, as the original SEGA Genesis does not output stereo sound from the back AV port. If you want stereo sound to your TV or stereo you would need to use a 1/8″ headphone jack plug to RCA (red and white). We cover all of this in the How To section.

Right next the the volume control is the Power Switch. This guy slides left and right and should have a little click to it when moved. I have seen this switch start to feel “mushy” and not click or become hard to move, but they are easy to fix. The black switch pops right off with a little pressure and as such I’ve seen them missing with just a metal post sticking up, but it will still work.

Below that we have the RESET button, which will reset the game without turning the system off (and you will lose your progress if you’re playing a game).

On the right front side are the two controller ports. They use the same 9-pin style connecter as the Atari 2600, Colecovision & Master System.

On the top you will find the cartridge slot which has two little flaps that protect the inside from dust and slide away when you insert a game. Right below that is the red LED power light. I have seen very few of these fail.

On the right side of the machine along the bottom you will find a panel. This panel pops off to expose a large connection port with a blade like a cartridge. This is used when adding a SEGA CD to the Genesis. There originally was a red plastic protector that went over the blade and has to be removed when adding the CD.