When Sega announced the Mega Drive Mini 2 for the Japanese market at the beginning of June, we wondered when an announcement for the American market would be coming. That finally happened, as the Sega Genesis Mini 2 is now official and already available for preorder! The Genesis Mini 2 and Mega Drive Mini 2 will each have shared and unique games, including co-op classics like Rolling Thunder 2 (US) and Final Fight CD (Japan).
Both the Sega Genesis Mini 2 and Mega Drive Mini 2 will come with over 50 games, 20 of which will be Sega CD/Mega CD titles. Here are the titles that have been revealed so far.
Sega Genesis Mini 2 Newly Announced Games
Titles with cooperative multiplayer are listed in bold.
Rolling Thunder 2 (Sega Genesis)
Cartridge Games
- After Burner 2
- Alien Soldier (A run-and-gun shooter from Treasure, Alien Soldier was released on cartridge in Japan and Europe, and available on the Sega Channel in North America)
- Bonanza Brothers
- Fantasy Zone (A Genesis/Mega Drive Mini 2 bonus game, this is a new port of the original Fantasy Zone arcade game)
- Lightening Force (Thunder Force IV in Japan)
- The Ooze
- OutRun
- OutRunners
- Rainbow Islands Extra
- Rolling Thunder 2
- Shining in the Darkness
- Sonic 3D Blast
- Splatterhouse 2
- Star Mobile (A Genesis/Mega Drive Mini 2 bonus game, Star Mobile was previously released on PC Engine and Sharp computers in Japan.)
- Super Hang On
- Vectorman 2
- Virtua Racing
Sega CD Games
- Mansion of Hidden Souls (The Story of Yumemikan in Japan)
- Night Striker
- Ninja Warriors
- Shining Force CD
- Silpheed
- Sonic CD
Sega Mega Drive Mini 2
Sanrin San-chan (Arcade)
Newly Announced Cartridge Games
- Aah! Harimanada (A Japanese-exclusive sumo wrestling/fighting game based on a manga and anime)
- Alien Soldier (A run-and-gun shooter from Treasure, Alien Soldier was released on cartridge in Japan and Europe, and available on the Sega Channel in North America)
- Fatal Fury 2
- Gambler Jiko Chuushinha: Katayama Masayuki's Mahjong Dojo (A Japanese-exclusive mahjong title from Game Arts)
- Sanrin San-chan (A Mega Drive Mini 2 bonus game, also known as Spatter for some reason, this is a newly finished port of a Japanese arcade game starring a girl who rides a tricycle)
- Super Street Fighter II: The New Challengers
- Tatsujin (Truxton in North America)
Newly Announced Mega CD Games
- Final Fight CD
- Lunar: Eternal Blue
- Lunar: The Silver Star
- Wondermega Collection (A sample disc that was included with the Wondermega console in Japan, this includes four games: Flicky, Paddle Fighter, Pyramid Magic, and Quiz Scramble)
Final Fight CD
Previously Announced Cartridge Games
- After Burner II
- Bonanza Bros.
- Columns III
- Fantasy Zone (A Genesis/Mega Drive Mini 2 bonus game, this is a new port of the original Fantasy Zone arcade game)
- Magical Taruruto-kun (A platformer based on an anime and manga, and developed by Game Freak)
- MegaPanel (A falling-block game from Namco that was only released in Japan)
- Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water (Fushigi no Umi no Nadia in Japan, this is a Japanese-exclusive JRPG based on the anime)
- OutRun
- Puzzle & Action: Ichidant-R (A minigame collection. The arcade version is available for Switch.)
- Shining in the Darkness
- Splatterhouse Part 2
- Star Mobile (A Genesis/Mega Drive Mini 2 bonus game, Star Mobile was previously released on PC Engine and Sharp computers in Japan.)
- Thunder Force IV (Lightening Force in North America)
- Virtua Racing
Previously Announced Mega CD Games
- Night Striker (An arcade port from Taito, Night Striker is a 3D rail shooter similar to Space Harrier.)
- The Ninja Warriors
- Popful Mail
- Shining Force CD
- Silpheed
- Sonic CD
- Starblade (An arcade port from Namco, Starblade is a rail shooter utilizing FMV for environments.)
- The Story of Yumemikan (Mansion of Hidden Souls in North America)
Lineup Discussion
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Final Fight CD
Looking at the 23 titles revealed for the Genesis Mini 2 so far, three have co-op. Of those, Rolling Thunder 2 has not been announced for the Mega Drive Mini 2. Rolling Thunder 2 (from Namco) is an action platformer in the style of Shinobi. 1-2 players control government agents who must stop a terrorist organization from taking over the world. Other titles that seem to be exclusive to the Genesis Mini 2 include The Ooze, OutRunners, Rainbow Islands Extra, Sonic 3D Blast, Super Hang-On, and Vectorman 2.
As for the Japanese Mega Drive Mini 2, 11 games were announced last week, making for a total of 33 games revealed so far. Only one of those 11 new games has co-op, but it's a big one: Final Fight CD. A Mega CD port of Capcom's seminal arcade beat 'em up, Final Fight CD is considered by some to be the best version of the game. It adds longer, fully-voiced cinematics to the beginning and end of the game, a time attack mode, and Redbook audio.
Final Fight CD is likely to be announced for the Sega Genesis Mini 2 as well, but the Sega CD game is slightly censored compared to its Japanese counterpart. We also expect the bonus game, Sanrin San-chan, to be announced for the Sega Genesis Mini 2, probably as the nonsensical alternate title, Spatter. As for Lunar 1 and 2 and Popful Mail, three games originally localized by Working Designs, they don't seem likely for inclusion on the English version of the new mini console. It's a shame, but perhaps the Sega Genesis Mini 2 will get some other cool CD games to make up for the omission of the Working Designs titles.
Preorder Details
The Sega Genesis Mini 2 is now available to preorder exclusively from Amazon, but there's a catch. This time, the American version of the console seems to be shipped directly from Japan, adding to the shipping charge. Additionally, Amazon US isn't allowing Canadian or international preorders for the Genesis Mini 2. The total shipped price for US customers is ~$136 at present.
Both the Sega Genesis Mini 2 and the Mega Drive Mini 2 will release on October 27. Preorders for the Japanese Mega Drive Mini 2 are currently sold out at Amazon.jp. Preorders for the Mega CD Mini 2 cosmetic accessory are available at Amazon.jp at the time of this writing. We expect that both products will be available to purchase upon release.