The Mega Drive Mini 2, the second version of Sega’s 16-bit mini console, will be released in October in France and Europe, accompanied by more than 60 Sega Mega Drive and Sega Mega-CD games for fans of retro gaming.
Retro gaming is on the rise! After the success of its Mega Drive Mini, Sega will launch a second version of its 16-bit console. But if we already knew the release date of the Mega Drive Mini 2 in Japan, European players did not know if this console full of nostalgia was going to reach them. Good news, since it will land in Europe and the United States on the same day as for our Japanese friends, namely October 27, 2022, as announced by Sega via a tweet. On the other hand, unlike the Americans, it is not yet possible to pre-order it.
The Mega Drive Mini 2 will benefit, unlike its big sister, from a six-button controller – against the old, impractical three-button model. Another more than pleasant “detail”: the console surfing on the nostalgia of the players, Sega did a lot of localization work, because the Japanese and Western markets were very different at the time, especially in the 80s and 90s. Therefore, the manufacturer has developed two consoles: one for Japan and another for Westerners – including Europe and the United States. It remains to be seen whether Nintendo and Sony will follow suit, releasing “mini” versions of the Super NES 2 and PlayStation 2, as they did for their first-generation consoles.
Sega Mega Drive Mini 2: more than 60 games available
The first Mega Drive was already the most generous mini-console compared to its competitors, with its forty integrated titles. It included flagship games like sonic 1 and 2, Landstalker, Wonder Boy V or Road Rash. To offer even more nostalgia to players, Sega this time offers more than 60 games thanks to its Mega CD, an accessory that adds a CD-based game player. Already at the time, it allowed you to enjoy much better quality music and some cutscenes, as well as a much better storage capacity.
In total, there are around 40 Mega Drive titles, 12 Mega-CD games and 7 “bonus” titles, some of which have never been released – like Devi & Pii and Star-Mobile. All game genres are represented, with classics like Shining Force CD, Shining in the Darkness, Sonic 3D Blast, Silpheed, Virtua Racing, Earthworm Jim 2, Golden Ax 2, Herzog Zweior Rolling Thunder 2. Other games, viz. Fantasy Zone, Space Harrier 2 (and Space Harrier), Spatter, Super Locomotive and vs. Puyo Puyo Sun, have the chance to benefit from new ports. Here is the list of all available games:
Mega Drive
- After Burner II
- Alien Soldier
- Atomic Runner
- Bonanza Bros.
- ClayFighter
- Crusader of Centy
- Desert Strike: Return to the Gulf
- Earthworm Jim 2
- Elemental Master
- Fatal Fury 2
- Gain Ground
- Golden Ax II
- Granada
- Hellfire
- Herzog Zwei
- Lightening Force: Quest for the Darkstar
- Midnight Resistance
- The Ooze
- OutRun
- OutRunners
- Phantasy Star II
- popular
- Rainbow Islands: Extra
- Ranger-X
- The Revenge of Shinobi
- Ristar
- Rolling Thunder 2
- Shadow Dancer: The Secret of Shinobi
- Shining Force II
- Shining in the Darkness
- Sonic 3D Blast
- Splatterhouse 2
- Streets of Rage 3
- Super Hang On
- Super Street Fighter II: The New Challengers
- ToeJam & Earl in Panic on Funkotron
- Truxton
- VectorMan 2
- Viewpoint
- Virtua Racing
- Warsong
Mega-CD
- Ecco the Dolphin (CD Ver.)
- Ecco: The Tides of Time (CD Ver.)
- Final Fight CD
- Mansion of Hidden Souls
- night-striker
- The Ninja Warriors
- Night Trap
- Robo Aleste
- Sewer Shark
- ShiningForce CD
- Silpheed
- Sonic The Hedgehog CD
Bonus games
- Devi & Pii
- Star-Mobile
- Fantasy Zone
- Space Harrier II (+ Space Harrier)
- Spatter
- Super Locomotive
- VS Puyo Puyo Sun
Mega Drive Mini 2: price and availability in France
Pricing for the Mega Drive Mini 2 has already been revealed for Japan. Thus, the console is announced at 9,980 yen – around 72 euros – and the Mega CD (optional) is priced at 4,500 yen – around 32 euros. On the American Amazon, it is possible to pre-order it for 99.99 dollars. It will therefore surely be necessary to count around a hundred euros to take advantage of this rich retro gaming catalog. Be careful, however, because Sega warns that stocks of the Mega Drive Mini 2 should be lower than those of the previous version, in particular because of the shortage of semi-manufacturers. Also, it will be necessary to be particularly reactive at the time of the opening of pre-orders in Europe.