Sega is set to relive some of its past glories once again with another retro console. The company has announced the Mega Drive Mini 2. While the system has only been confirmed for Japan, for now, it seems likely Sega will bring it to other markets as well. If and when it comes to the US, it’ll probably be called the Genesis Mini 2.
The Mega Drive Mini 2 will include Sega CD games in its lineup of 50 titles. The full list hasn’t been revealed, but it includes Sonic the Hedgehog CD, Virtua Racing, and Shining Force CD. It also features Fantasy Zone, which was never released on Mega Drive/Genesis — it was an arcade title that arrived on Master System. It’s worth noting the library may be different in other countries.
Sega says all of the games have been faithfully reproduced. You’ll be able to save your progress at any point too.
The company will release the Mega Drive Mini 2 in Japan on October 27th. It will cost ¥9,980 (around $75). Sega is also making a cosmetic attachment that looks like an adorably smaller version of the Sega CD accessory. Using an included spacer, you can mount the original Mega Drive Mini, which is slightly larger than its successor, as well. The Sega CD attachment will cost ¥4,500 (roughly $37).
We were big fans of the original Genesis Mini, which Sega released in 2019. It had a solid selection of games that were adeptly emulated and USB ports that allowed users to plug in alternate controllers. Fingers crossed Sega includes the six-button version of its controller when it inevitably offers the Mega Drive Mini 2 outside of Japan.
Sega’s Genesis Mini console was one of the only officially licensed retro emulation boxes that came close to the NES and SNES Classics’ combination of software quality and hardware authenticity, even if its emulation wasn’t quite perfect and its game selection was missing some heavy hitters. The company’s mini-Game Gear was also the first officially licensed device to make the mini-console fad portable.
Sega is going back to the well one more time with the Mega Drive Mini 2, which will be released in Japan this October (the Mega Drive was what Genesis was called outside of the US). The console will cost 9,980 yen before tax; at just under $80, this is in line with the pricing of earlier mini-consoles.
The Mega Drive Mini 2 will include an entirely different 50-game lineup, anchored by Sega CD titles like Sonic the Hedgehog CD and Shining Force CD. New Mega Drive games have also made the cut, including Virtua Racing and Thunder Force IV, and a version of the Sega arcade game Fantasy Zone has also been thrown in for good measure (the original Genesis Mini includes Super Fantasy Zone, the Genesis-native entry in the franchise).