Another cash-in? Sega announces Genesis/Mega Drive Mini

[Tron 2.0]

it seems strange that sega games ((minus the saturn) are expensive. i remember a time when they were so much cheaper than the rest of the systems. kinda like xbox now.

i guess even the worst wines ferment to something better but take longer to do so, but they still might be bad.

Right there's also talk what's keeping both lunar and popful mail off the u.s mini II,is a license issue over it's voice acting.Sega has been quoted a dc mini is on hold due to cost as for saturn and that's not easy to emulate,though i've heard for pc it's improved.I don't know if i'll bother with the genesis mini II i still have the original mini and a genesis+sega-cd.Plus a collection of games and everdrive flash cart to.

[kupomogli]

Most of the games on the Sega Genesis Mini 2 have either already been on a collection, are beat em ups, shmups, or games no one wanted to play in the first place. I was hopeful when I saw the Japanese version atleast there was some quality in there, but we get the US version and wtf? Also, I'm pretty sure the most requested game was snatcher which wasn't in either version. The US version at the very least is a joke of a system, comparable to the PS One Classic.

[The S]

are beat em ups, shmups

And this is bad how?

[segagamer]

Most of the games on the Sega Genesis Mini 2 have either already been on a collection, are beat em ups, shmups, or games no one wanted to play in the first place. I was hopeful when I saw the Japanese version atleast there was some quality in there, but we get the US version and wtf? Also, I'm pretty sure the most requested game was snatcher which wasn't in either version. The US version at the very least is a joke of a system, comparable to the PS One Classic.

Respectfully have to disagree with you. Just because titles are most requested does not automatically make them definites. Many factors can interfere with the possibility of inclusion on the Mini 2, such as licensing fees, etc.

I am quite satisfied with the NA version, but I have also preordered the JPN version, just like with the first Mini.

[YoshiM]

Input lag was honestly so bad on the Genesis Mini 1 that I traded it and went and bought an original Model 1 to play games on. Much better investment when you can get original genesis consoles fairly cheaply. The games on the other hand are a different ballgame...

You know, I have not gotten any issue with lag thus far on my Mini 1. I'm playing "Toe Jam and Earl" with two of my kids and everything's been responsive from control to sound. I played "Strider" and while I'm rusty, it doesn't seem any different than what I remember. Same with "Ghouls n' Ghosts", though I thought that there were emulation issues because when the ground shifted in the first part of the second level, you saw just black under the houses. When I played the same game on a real Genesis at Midwest Gaming Classic, I was happy to find out that the original had the same issue! I haven't tried anything reflex intensive recently but I really should play that thing more.

I still say it's a TV thing than a device thing. I know I noticed lag on my NES Mini playing "Kid Icarus" where the sound was off but doing some research it seems like your TV can play a major role in that.

[Tron 2.0]

MVG review of the genesis mini II.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgb6alm3M1M

[Niku-Sama]

yea i saw this last night, and i agree with the lunar thing he was talking about

[Tron 2.0]

yea i saw this last night, and i agree with the lunar thing he was talking about
Lunar and Popful Mail not being on the u.s mini II was due to wd former president victor ireland.He has the rights to the translation still and sega did make a offer but he decline.

[Niku-Sama]

Lunar and Popful Mail not being on the u.s mini II was due to wd former president victor ireland.He has the rights to the translation still and sega did make a offer but he decline.

well he a butt then

[Az]

Lame that they removed Ash from Bare Knuckle 3, even worse that they chopped 1/3 of a level out just to get rid of him.

[YoshiM]

I've received mine but I really haven't had a chance to play it. Well, play it properly. Packages like this I have delivered to my work place as I don't trust my neighbors at home. And sometimes the postal person gets the location wrong (there's a north and south version of the street I live on-I've had a gift delivered to the wrong house. Thank goodness for GPS!) I have a monitor on my work bench that has HDMI but no sound but I tried it out anyways. The games look great with the CRT filter (at least on the monitor) and play pretty well. I played "Final Fight CD", "Night Striker", "Afterburner II" and watched the intro video for "Sewer Shark".

"Final Fight CD" I swear looks more colorful than I remember but that could just be my memory. I owned it when I had a Sega CD but I also remember reviews for it in a magazine stating it didn't have as many colors, so I'm not sure if my memory is tainted by that narrative. Anyway, it played pretty dang smooth.

"Night Striker"-I played this a lot in the arcade and I never knew it came out on Sega CD in Japan. It is a pixelly mess and your vehicle doesn't seem to have great control. I don't remember in the arcade when turning that you quick zip to the edge as quickly as you do in the home version. Eh. It's also hard to shoot stuff as your craft covers your line of fire.

"Afterburner II" played well. I'm used to the 3 button controller more than the 6 button but I did find it hard to pull off barrel rolls. The D Pad has the same sort-of wobbly feel as the original, so I'll try playing with the 3 button to see if that makes a difference. Otherwise it looked great and I could still get some good kills. Sega also kept in the secret controller commands to get more missiles during the restock phases!

"Sewer Shark" is the one of my personal jewels of the Sega CD. Like "Super Mario 64", it was the "tech demo" that really sold me on the system. Yeah it's an on-rails shooter but the cheesy sci-fi video with the simple action sits well with me. It's what I used to sell the idea of me buying a Sega CD when I was a teenager to my mom, who was not thrilled with me dropping that kind of money. "Sewer Shark" changed that. On the mini, the video itself looks better than on the original, which made me think if they used the 3DO footage. However it still has that lack of color to it which makes me believe that the 720p upgrade might have helped the clarity of the footage. After all these years, I never could make out what a door Falco passes by in the beginning says. You could see words but it never stood out. Now I see that it says "Don't commit suicide". I can't say I noticed it on the 3DO version when I had the system, but then I wasn't paying that close attention.

The box itself, like shown in the videos, is tiny. The system itself is probably not much bigger than my iPhone mini. The controller feels good and solid with the "mode" button also being used for getting to the menu screen (though you can adjust it to take a longer press as I think at least one game needs to use that button for something). The whole thing includes the HDMI cable, power cable and power plug.

I'm hoping I'll get a chance to play it this weekend. I'll post my thoughts when I can actually hear it.

@Az-on the preservationist side, I agree that was lame to remove the character and a chunk of a level. I wonder if they juggled with which would anger folks more-removing the character and a part of the level or reskinning the character? If the latter, WHAT would you reskin it to be that could keep the general feel of the character but not change the moves? By changing the character to a full on woman, would that have caused even more issues? Hard to say. It does sound like this character was removed from all Mega Drive Mini 2s as well.

On the personal side, I never played either SoR 3 or the Bare Knuckle versions of any of the games, so if you told me it was removed I wouldn't have known.

Makes me wonder if in an online manual for Super Mario Bros 2 (USA version) if they changed the description of Birdo at all.....

[SparTonberry]

I'm surprised MegaPanel got included on the Japanese console.
Was that game more popular in Japan or something? (I mean, I know it was only released there.)

What I know is, a decade ago I paid $2 for a cartridge with a cartoon butt on the cover, and the game contained inside it is what I deserved. :D
Falling blocks with slide puzzle mechanics is not something humans should have created.

[Az]

.@Az-on the preservationist side, I agree that was lame to remove the character and a chunk of a level.

I don't think there is any way they could have just reskinned him and avoided bad press. They could have removed him as a boss, left him driving the boat and fight a bunch of mooks instead (like the US version). That would have taken more than 10 seconds of effort so it didn't happen.

[SparTonberry]

Makes me wonder if in an online manual for Super Mario Bros 2 (USA version) if they changed the description of Birdo at all.....
With the NES Mini (2016), Nintendo actually released official scans of the original manuals (for all the included games) online, both USA and Japanese versions.
(some variant of each, the Metroid manual seems to be the "Classic Series" rerelease aka the yellow label)

The SMB2 manual seems to be unchanged: "He thinks he is a girl and he spits eggs from his mouth. He'd rather be called 'birdetta'."

[Gameguy]

Lame that they removed Ash from Bare Knuckle 3, even worse that they chopped 1/3 of a level out just to get rid of him.
Wasn't there a hacked version of the game that restored unfinished or deleted levels that weren't included in the retail release? I seem to remember someone selling bootleg carts here ages ago, though I can't completely remember which Streets of Rage/Bare Knuckle game it was. I'm assuming it was the third game from memory.

[Tron 2.0]

Wasn't there a hacked version of the game that restored unfinished or deleted levels that weren't included in the retail release? I seem to remember someone selling bootleg carts here ages ago, though I can't completely remember which Streets of Rage/Bare Knuckle game it was. I'm assuming it was the third game from memory.
I don't know about a hacked bare knuckle 3 either but there is a fan translation for it if you want to play it uncut.By emulation,the mister or an on a genesis using a flash cart.

[Az]

Wasn't there a hacked version of the game that restored unfinished or deleted levels that weren't included in the retail release? I seem to remember someone selling bootleg carts here ages ago.

That dickhead would have been me. There's a patch that allows you to play the two unfinished motorcycle levels along with accessing several cut parts of the timed elevator level where you rescue the general.

All three things can be accessed with an Action Replay in the Japanese ROM. The motorcycle levels tend to freak out with your character sprite, which was an issue fixed with the patch.

[Gameguy]

That dickhead would have been me. There's a patch that allows you to play the two unfinished motorcycle levels along with accessing several cut parts of the timed elevator level where you rescue the general.

All three things can be accessed with an Action Replay in the Japanese ROM. The motorcycle levels tend to freak out with your character sprite, which was an issue fixed with the patch.
I actually don't mind bootlegs of unreleased or altered games that are otherwise unavailable, I thought about buying one of those carts back then but I never really buy anything online.

Still thanks for explaining the missing content, I really didn't keep up with background information on these Streets of Rage games. It would have been nice if a finished completed version of this game was released by Sega for their mini console release.

[Az]

Finally got a chance to sit down and spend some time with this. I realize this was a shoestring budget product made by interns aimed at a Japanese audience, and I can temper my expectations to that. I bought this mainly just for the CD games and the Space Harriers. Silpheed and Robo Aleste are in my top 5 SCD games and it's nice to play them with savestates as my Raspberry Pi tends to wig out with that on CD games. I've really only got two main issues.

The first is being able to play these in import mode. If you select Japanese as your language, you get a different themed frontend along with Japanese box art for all titles and the games are their Japanese ROM equivalents. Keep in mind the game list stays the same; it's not changing the actual game list to that of the Japanese version, just changing the games in the American system to Japanese mode. If this is an option that is so easily done, why on earth make it such a headache? Why not just have an option in the system settings (or individual game menu) to choose JP mode like most any other modern collection does? That's an option that could be implemented by the designers in seconds but instead it's just a nuisance buried in the menus.

The game list itself is pretty disappointing. The Sega CD list is extremely wimpy compared to what it could have been, even if you just consider properties owned by Sega that would cost them nothing extra to include. The SCD got a ton of Western support and was much more popular here than in Japan, yet they had to include two Japan-only titles just to fill up space? No Eternal Champions: Challenge from the Dark Side? Earthworm Jim SE? Nothing from Core or JVC?

All of the "new" games are one-note novelties that you won't play more than once with the exception of Fantasy Zone and Space Harrier II. They really dropped the ball by not including a handful of 32x games. You could have thrown in Afterburner, Space Harrier, Virtua Racing Deluxe, Knuckles Chaotix and maybe Cosmic Carnage or Metalhead. That would have knocked the 32x library in the head and not cost them a dime in licensing. There's no way you can convince me that programming from scratch special ports of both Space Harrier I and II and Fantasy Zone required less manpower than getting a 32x emulator up and running. That's a real shame because that they won't ever be releasing another 16-bit collection like this so if we haven't seen them by now we never will.

[Niku-Sama]

well i donno about that, theres still a genesis 3 they could make a mini version of

is amazon the only place you can get this thing or is it expected to hit other retailers?

[Tron 2.0]

well i donno about that, theres still a genesis 3 they could make a mini version of

is amazon the only place you can get this thing or is it expected to hit other retailers?
Amazon exclusive it's not being sold at retail.

[Gameguy]

well i donno about that, theres still a genesis 3 they could make a mini version of
They should make a Nomad mini handheld. A smaller Nomad with TV output, and better battery life.


Amazon exclusive it's not being sold at retail.
Lots of DVD sets started out as Amazon exclusives and got full retail releases later on. It's unlikely with this but it's possible.

[Niku-Sama]

hmm ok maybe i'll get one after i check stores for other things i need tomorrow. if i have any money left

[Tron 2.0]

They should make a Nomad mini handheld. A smaller Nomad with TV output, and better battery life.


Lots of DVD sets started out as Amazon exclusives and got full retail releases later on. It's unlikely with this but it's possible.
Well i've seen the japanese version at some importers but the u.s version is still amazon exclusive.

[Tron 2.0]

Well as of last week i got a sega genesis mini II finally.I was on the fence for one but i had some amazon gift cards save up so i thought why not.The emulation itself is very spot on thanks in part it being handle by M2.Genesis selection is fine but expect for clay fighters,this sorry excuse for a fighting game shouldn't be on it in the first place.Sega-CD i still think it's a very slim selection compare to the japanese model.To me the most biggest opportunity for sega-cd is it not having snatcher on it.All in all if you don't have a genesis plus a collection of games or even a mister to use it's a worth while buy.I will say it's about time shining force cd got a official release again.

[SparTonberry]

Yeah, Snatcher is a strange omission considering Konami released the PCE version on the TG16 Mini.
So it was like, we got Snatcher, but in Japanese.
So why not take the opportunity to give it to us IN ENGLISH.

[Gameguy]

Yeah, Snatcher is a strange omission considering Konami released the PCE version on the TG16 Mini.
So it was like, we got Snatcher, but in Japanese.
So why not take the opportunity to give it to us IN ENGLISH.
I would like to see this get a decent rerelease, just so the game becomes more common. Of course it would need light gun support to be fully functional. I assume licensing issues were a factor, as Snatcher was developed by Konami and the TG16 Mini was manufactured by Konami, while the Genesis Mini 2 was manufactured by Sega. It seems like an issue with Konami rather than with Sega preventing the Sega CD version from being rereleased on the Genesis Mini 2. There doesn't seem to be any Konami game on the Genesis Mini 2.

Would have been nice if Policenauts would have been released in English for the PS1 Mini, though at least it's been fan translated so it's playable in some form.

[Tron 2.0]

I would like to see this get a decent rerelease, just so the game becomes more common. Of course it would need light gun support to be fully functional. I assume licensing issues were a factor, as Snatcher was developed by Konami and the TG16 Mini was manufactured by Konami, while the Genesis Mini 2 was manufactured by Sega. It seems like an issue with Konami rather than with Sega preventing the Sega CD version from being rereleased on the Genesis Mini 2. There doesn't seem to be any Konami game on the Genesis Mini 2.

Would have been nice if Policenauts would have been released in English for the PS1 Mini, though at least it's been fan translated so it's playable in some form.
The first sega genesis mini has contra hard corps and castlevania bloodlines on it.So i don't know what was konami deal this time for not having any games on the mini II.For snatcher,lightguns don't work on hdtv anyways and using it for snatcher is optional.Anytime i have the burn out for snatcher i'm fine just using the controller for it's shooting sections.

Side note if the mini II ever get's a hack for adding more games id be fine with that.

[Tron 2.0]

If any body wants to buy a genesis mini II still it's on sale at amazon.Few times after it's release it did sellout but then got restock rather quickly i'm not surprise it's not selling like crazy.People have had there share of genesis re-releases up until this point.Not to mention,sega didn't do much to promote it and it being a amazon exclusive instead of being sold at most retailers.
https://www.amazon.com/sales-North-America%E3%80%91SEGA-Genesis-Mini-%E3%83%9E%E3%82%B7%E3%83%B3%E9%9D%9E%E4%BE%9D%E5%A D%98/dp/B0B4D19JJ4/ref=sr_1_1?crid=Q638VIXN5OJ3&keywords=sega+genesis+mini+2&qid=1678965489&sprefix=%2Caps%2C782&sr=8-1