The Upcoming Sega Genesis Mini 2...

Sega!

Who here was a Sega fan in the ‘90s? I certainly was, although, if I’m being honest, I was more on the Nintendo-side of the camp. Nevertheless, I always enjoyed playing on my friends’ Genesis systems, from Sonic the Hedgehog to Streets of Rage. And later, I would happily buy myself a Sega Dreamcast, one of my all-time favorite consoles.

So naturally, when Sega announced the so-called Genesis-mini back in 2019, I was excited. This all-in-one device came with 42 games built in, plus two working replicas of the original system’s three-button controller! And it was pretty cool—cool enough to make one assume that a second mini would quickly follow, perhaps this time with Master System, 32X, or Saturn games.

Well, after a longer than expected wait, the announcement has finally come. The Sega Genesis Mini 2 is arriving stateside this October, and the full collection has been announced—60 games, this time! It’s not all necessarily great news, though; instead of the anticipated systems mentioned above, we’re getting more Genesis (natch) and, this time, Sega CD. Silpheed, Final Fight CD, and (I guess) Night Trap are great and all, but why not some 32X goodness like the missing-in-action Knuckles Chaotix?

But never mind. The bigger issue is the difference between the Japanese and U.S. system lineups. For example, in Japan they’re getting both Lunar titles and Popful Mail, rare games on this side of the Pacific. And left out from both versions of the console are games like Rocket Knight Adventures, Snatcher, Keio’s Flying Squadron, Time Gal, and others.

Nevertheless, the Western release still looks pretty sweet, and even offers the super-rare Crusader of Centy, a cool Zelda-clone most missed years ago. The system can be preordered exclusively here.

Cheers, D