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[EightBit Man]

Also:


The game runs as smooth as butter, so no worries anymore. On the Japanese Mega Drive Mini stream a couple of weeks ago, there was this discussion about Mega Man: The Wily Wars running on "TeraDrive-specs" (the Japanese SEGA PC), which it was initially designed for.

 

[TLZ]

Also:


The game runs as smooth as butter, so no worries anymore. On the Japanese Mega Drive Mini stream a couple of weeks ago, there was this discussion about Mega Man: The Wily Wars running on "TeraDrive-specs" (the Japanese SEGA PC), which it was initially designed for.

Wish these cartridges were games.

 

[EightBit Man]

Footage of multiple titles; Space Harrier II, Darius, Tetris, and Golden Axe:



If only M2 had optimized Space Harrier II.




and this is how the Japanese menu looks with US-only games thrown in (Vectorman):

 

[Fat Frog]

Why Thunderforce 3 though? Its not as if the superior Thunderforce 4 is stuck in legal limbo - like M.U.S.H.A

They are selling TF4 on Switch right now...
And they probably considered they were both awesome.
They are right. M'y heart heart goes to TF3, i prefer ten times the music.

 

[EightBit Man]

They are selling TF4 on Switch right now...
And they probably considered they were both awesome.
They are right. M'y heart heart goes to TF3, i prefer ten times the music.

That's right. It's also the same reason they didn't include Out Run according to a recent interview.

 

[DunDunDunpachi]

E EightBit Man thanks for keeping us all in the loop. So much info

Something I don't understand about the tweet, though:

they wanted lots of multiplayer games, they wanted to represent different facets of the experience like the Mega Tap & Game Toshokan service, as well as MD-specific games & hard counters to Nintendo games​

If this was the case, why no Columns III plus a multitap? Missed opportunity. Also, at least one hockey, basketball, or football game would've been nice for the USA version, since that's what a lot of folks played on the Genesis back in the day. NBA Jam, NHL '94, or even some Mutant League would've been cool.

 

[EightBit Man]

E EightBit Man thanks for keeping us all in the loop. So much info

Something I don't understand about the tweet, though:

they wanted lots of multiplayer games, they wanted to represent different facets of the experience like the Mega Tap & Game Toshokan service, as well as MD-specific games & hard counters to Nintendo games​

If this was the case, why no Columns III plus a multitap? Missed opportunity. Also, at least one hockey, basketball, or football game would've been nice for the USA version, since that's what a lot of folks played on the Genesis back in the day. NBA Jam, NHL '94, or even some Mutant League would've been cool.

Thank you for these kind words! And it's my pleasure, as I'm really looking forward to this product. When the first ten games were announced and M2 was shown to be involved, it was basically a no-brainer for me.

There might be the question if Puyo Puyo is the Japanese replacement (on the Genesis/PAL Mega Drive) for Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine. The answer is: YES!

 

[EightBit Man]

In case people weren't sure if the PAL Mega Drive got the same going on. Here's close up:

 

[Kazza]

Thanks for all the updates, E EightBit Man

Getting confirmation of how well everything runs has made the decision of whether or not to buy very easy.

 

[Bullet Club]

 

[EightBit Man]

Thanks! I was kinda waiting for a video where the menu music can be heard clearly.

Nice recognizable cues of the games included on the system!

 

[EightBit Man]

The PAL Mega Drive Mini in action:



I've been thinking; I don't think the European costumers get the American versions of Castlevania and Contra because there's only one English language/region option on the PAL Mega Drive Mini. So, we probably get a optimized Probotector and a Castlevania: The New Generation, with the option to play the Japanese equivalents (Contra: The Hard Corps and Vampire Killer).

 

[Fox Mulder]

That's right. It's also the same reason they didn't include Out Run according to a recent interview.

That's still lame. I don't have a 3ds or switch to get any of the Sega Ages M2 stuff, why should it matter for a Genesis mini selection. Outrun was an amazing arcade game on the Genesis.

 

[waylo]

Also:


The game runs as smooth as butter, so no worries anymore. On the Japanese Mega Drive Mini stream a couple of weeks ago, there was this discussion about Mega Man: The Wily Wars running on "TeraDrive-specs" (the Japanese SEGA PC), which it was initially designed for.

Are those cartridges included in the US release?

 

[EightBit Man]

That's still lame. I don't have a 3ds or switch to get any of the Sega Ages M2 stuff, why should it matter for a Genesis mini selection. Outrun was an amazing arcade game on the Genesis.

I'm in full agreement on that. Not everybody owns these systems, and might have liked to see them here. Think these versions could happily coexist with each other.

 

[EightBit Man]

Are those cartridges included in the US release?

I have no idea to be honest! Would be a nice extra I think.

 

[Starlight Lotice]

Curious if they bothered to add English Translation ROMs to Japanese games such as Rent A Hero.

 

[EightBit Man]

The options menu in question:

Source: 4gamer.net

 

[Kazza]

There have been a fair few videos on the Mini, but I think Sega Lord X's is the best of the lot (he goes through all 42 games included in the Western versions):

 

[EightBit Man]

Love that guy's channel. Definitely the best summary when it comes to the console's content indeed.

 

[Kazza]

Love that guy's channel. Definitely the best summary when it comes to the console's content indeed.

Me too. His channel has zero drama, zero shouting; just really good content. You could say he talks a little slow (and I'm the kind of guy of speeds up most youtube videos to 1.5 speed), but for me that's part of the charm. Listening to his videos is my chill time, so I don't even bother speeding the video up.

 

[Kazza]

God-dammit, the Asian version has sold out! I put the damn thing in my basket on PlayAsia a couple of weeks back, but didn't pull the trigger...

Oh well, looking on the bright side, I guess that means it is selling well, so I'm happy for Sega. The PAL version is still in stock, but I had my heart set on the Asian one. Hopefully Sega won't pull a Nintendo and will quickly make more the satisfy demand.

If anyone spots an Asian one for sale, please let me know.

 

[MrCunningham]

I almost want to own both a US/ EU version and an Asian release version.

 

[EightBit Man]

 

[EightBit Man]

Oh, forgot to mention that the talk about the Mini begins at approx. 05:45.

 

[Kazza]

Good news, it seems that PlayAsia has got some more Asian Minis in stock (I ordered one just now). Looking forward to playing Musha and Alien Soldier for the first time.

I'm glad the DF John liked it. Sega seem to be really passionate about the project (John's story about the tired Sega veteran's eyes lighting up after seeing a picture of his collection was really heartwarming).

 

[EightBit Man]

Sega on Bringing the Old Team Back Together to Create the Genesis Mini

Back in 2016, Nintendo kicked off the mini-console expansion with the NES Classic Edition. It wasn't the first mini-console ever created, but it was official...

www.usgamer.net

"We had a lot of candidates. It didn't mean that we had all the games that were in the candidate list, because of licensing and copyright issues. There were also technical issues, like games with bright lights that flash too much; those were not things that were good to include. Taking into consideration those two big points, we worked with [Jacob Nahin] and his team to come up with a list of things to put into the Mini," says Miyazaki.

"We were really looking at video game preservation," explains Nahin. "A lot of those carts here in the West are very expensive. It can be prohibitive to get some of the more rare experiences. With games like Mega Man: The Wily Wars, those are very important to American audiences."

Both gentleman had games that they wanted on the list, but couldn't add, either due to space or licensing issues. For Nahin, the missing spot would've gone to Mortal Kombat 2. "We had to make a decision about how we were going to balance out the genres. We ultimately decided that Street Fighter 2: Special Champion Edition was the better pick," he says. For Miyazaki, the title was a little more obscure.

"There's an F1 racing game called Ayrton Senna's Super Monaco GP 2. We couldn't figure out who still had the copyright for that game. That racer actually passed away. Ayrton Senna, he was a god," Miyazaki tells me, with a lot of excitement and reverence in his voice.

Miyazaki also says that he wasn't surprised about the excitement surrounding the Sega Genesis Mini, when I asked if Nintendo's success led Sega to think about a mini-console. "We already knew that it was something that the core fans would really want, but I was pretty surprised that non-core fans were interested in it also," he explains. The Sega Genesis Mini could also only be the first step. Miyazaki says the concept of a Dreamcast Mini is above his head, but could happen if the Genesis Mini sells well. "It is a business," he jokes.

-----

Ayrton Senna's Super Monaco GP II; I actually kinda anticipated that game because it has been 25 years since he died. Would've been a great commemoration, but alas!

 

[Kazza]

For Nahin, the missing spot would've gone to Mortal Kombat 2. "We had to make a decision about how we were going to balance out the genres. We ultimately decided that Street Fighter 2: Special Champion Edition was the better pick,"

Err, how about dropping Virtua Fighter 2...no need to choose between MK2 and SF2. I suspect that someone high up in Sega worked on the Megadrive VF2 port and is very proud of it (to be fair, I think it has some nice graphical effects, but it still shouldn't be on there).

"There's an F1 racing game called Ayrton Senna's Super Monaco GP 2. We couldn't figure out who still had the copyright for that game. That racer actually passed away. Ayrton Senna, he was a god," Miyazaki tells me, with a lot of excitement and reverence in his voice.

Ah, that's a shame. Even the vanilla Super Monaco GP would have been great (especially given the lack of racing games in the collections)

This lady from the game was one of my first ever crushes (perhaps even the first）

 

[Starlight Lotice]

It feels like the Western side just picked what was popular at the time and not whrther it has aged better.

They should have looked at what wasn't on the Sega Collections before and include games that were overlooked but are great to play now.

VF2 does feel like a higher up position.

 

[EightBit Man]

Err, how about dropping Virtua Fighter 2...no need to choose between MK2 and SF2. I suspect that someone high up in Sega worked on the Megadrive VF2 port and is very proud of it (to be fair, I think it has some nice graphical effects, but it still shouldn't be on there).

I certainly agree, while I think we got an excellent selection of games, this was a very questionable choice I think. We got three Capcom titles, three Treasure titles, and two Konami titles. Would happily seen Virtua Fighter 2 being taken out in favor of a third Konami title; Rocket Knight Adventures. Ristar would've been great too, or a Disney-licensed QuackShot Starring Donald Duck or Aladdin.

Hell, even the first Streets of Rage or The Revenge of Shinobi would've understandable choices because they were very important in the early days of the Mega Drive/Genesis. Virtua Fighter 2 was not, at least to the majority of gamers, and I bet it will be the least played title amongst people.

It's a minor issue though, at least in my opinion.

 

[MrCunningham]

It feels like the Western side just picked what was popular at the time and not whrther it has aged better.

They should have looked at what wasn't on the Sega Collections before and include games that were overlooked but are great to play now.

VF2 does feel like a higher up position.

I will never understand why Virtua Fighter 2 continues to get added to these genesis collections. It's a neat port, all things considering. But, I can't sit down and play it for more than 5 minutes without wanting to pull out the superior Saturn version, or the one on the 360. Virtua Fighter 2 was a really late release on the Genesis/ Mega Drive, 1997. The Genesis / Mega Drive was discontinued at that point, and Sega was focusing on the Sega Saturn.

I feel like that slot was better served for something else. Mortal Kombat 2 would have been cool. I would have taken a Mutant League Hockey, now that I think about it. Mutant League Hockey is based on NHL 94, and since that game wasn't an option. Mutant League would have been a good substitute. Or another choice is Herzog Zwei.

I'm not complaining that Street Fighter II SCE is there, it is an interesting version of SFII and still plays well.

Ayrton Senna's Super Monaco GP 2 would have been an interesting choice. A non conventional one too. Though, it would have also been neat if they could have gotten the license for Domark's F1.



Their racing engine was quite impressive with the track side polygons and smooth simulated scaling,

Hell, even the first Streets of Rage or The Revenge of Shinobi would've understandable choices because they were very important in the early days of the Mega Drive/Genesis. Virtua Fighter 2 was not, at least to the majority of gamers, and I bet it will be the least played title amongst people.

I think they should have just included the Sega 6-Pak

Since it already has Sonic 1, Columns and Golden Axe. It would have added 3 extra games and freed up two extra slots for other games.

Otherwise, the US/ EU list is still really good. But it could have been tweaked to be even better.

 

[EightBit Man]

 

[Genx3]

Sega needs to put the 6 button controller in the Western versions of the Mini in order to make this perfect.

 

[Fox Mulder]

I'm not getting the Japanese version but getting jealous of the plastic stuff they're getting. The tower and little cartridges haven't even been hinted at coming elsewhere right?

 

[lo zaffo]

No, they should be functional mini-cartridges, somehow. It would be perfection hit!

 

[Bar81]

Shit. I tried to hold out but I'm in for the tower of power and the DX pack frame with carts thing. I'm a sucker for the MD.

 

[kingbean]

After modding my Model 1 Genesis and getting a Mega Everdrive I think I'm no longer going to pick this up.

 

[Hudo]

Yuzo Koshiro apparently composed the menu music for the MegaDrive Mini!

 

[Orta]

Can see a hell of a mark-up on some of them when they're sold out and hit ebay

 

[Bar81]

Can see a hell of a mark-up on some of them when they're sold out and hit ebay

That's a scary thought given the current mark up from the usual sources is pretty hefty.

 

[PAULINK]

I'll probably be suckered into buying one of these, even though i'm ultimately sad about the lack of inclusion of my favorite sonic title, Sonic 3.

 

[Kazza]

I'll probably be suckered into buying one of these, even though i'm ultimately sad about the lack of inclusion of my favorite sonic title, Sonic 3.

You can always buy the Sonic 3 mini cartridge, put it in your Megadrive Mini, select Sonic 1 or 2 and pretend you're playing Sonic 3

 

[theclaw135]

Ayrton Senna's Super Monaco GP 2 would have been an interesting choice. A non conventional one too. Though, it would have also been neat if they could have gotten the license for Domark's F1.



Their racing engine was quite impressive with the track side polygons and smooth simulated scaling,




I think they should have just included the Sega 6-Pak

Since it already has Sonic 1, Columns and Golden Axe. It would have added 3 extra games and freed up two extra slots for other games.

Otherwise, the US/ EU list is still really good. But it could have been tweaked to be even better.

I really don't know anything about F1 or GP games. If I'm not mistaken Square Enix owns Domark, via their acquisition of Eidos.

The cool part is there's no duplicate games between 6-Pak, Mega Games 3, Classic Collection, and Quackshot/Castle of Illusion.

 

[ShirAhava]

Buying the Genesis mini US and JP and The SEGA SD, component cables for my genesis along with a bunch of retro-bit Sega genesis/saturn controllers, hdmi to vga converters ect.

Not being interested in modern gaming at all really freed up a lot of dough haha

 

[Cato]

No, they should be functional mini-cartridges, somehow. It would be perfection hit!

If they do that. Jesus christ. I will buy all of them, day one.

Please do this. It would the most awesome thing ever happening.

 

[Starlight Lotice]

Can see a hell of a mark-up on some of them when they're sold out and hit ebay

If they were functioning I would buy but this is taking the michael out of fans.

 

[I Love Rock 'n' Roll]

As a SEGA fan, i'll be getting the 3 models. Do you also feel there is rom for a second MD mini based on the MD2 model, then latter a CD/32x/arcade board mini?

 

[Kazza]

As a SEGA fan, i'll be getting the 3 models. Do you also feel there is rom for a second MD mini based on the MD2 model, then latter a CD/32x/arcade board mini?

In terms of available games, I think they could easily produce another 42 game mini console with no drop in quality of the library.

Spoiler: My own personal list for a classic mini 2

Here's my pick for a new Western version (includes some games from the current Asian/Japanese versions):

Sonic 3&K
Rocket Knight Adventures (surprised this wasn't on the first Mini)
Streets of Rage 1/3 (I would personally go for 3)
Golden Axe 2/3
Quackshot
Aladdin
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Hyperstone Heist
MUSHA
Hellfire (rock hard, but underrated shooter)
Thunderforce 2 (number 4 is the best, but I don't think Sega want any overlap with Sega Ages)

Outrun/Super Hang-On (the original was sorely lacking in driving games)
Desert Strike/Jungle Strike
Alien Soldier
Mickey Mania (although I'd prefer they save this for a Mega CD mini)
Sunset Riders (Konami already on board)
International Superstar Soccer Deluxe/FIFA/Sensible Soccer (needs at least one football/soccer game)
NHL (I believe there was a version without real teams/players)
Madden (see above)
Mutant League Football/Mutant League Hockey
Phantasy Star 2/3

Sonic 3D (they would definitely be more than one Sonic game, and they might be able to include the "deluxe" version patched by the original creator himself)
Ristar
Revenge of Shinobi/Shadow Dancer
Vectorman 2
Mortal Kombat 1/2/3
ESWAT: City Under Seige
Crusader of Centy
Alien Soldier
ToeJam & Earl 2 Panic on Funkatron
Shining Force 2

Earthworm Jim 2
Super Monaco GP
Battletoads (maybe Microsoft will play nice, since Sega is helping their new PC gamepass project)
Afterburner 2 (good arcade port)
Alien 3 (don't Sega still own the rights to Alien?)
Super League (unlicensed EU/JAP version of Tommy Lasorda Baseball)
Ecco: Tides of Time
Gauntlet 4 (M2's first ever game - surprised not to see this on the original Mini)
Micro Machines (great multi-player fun)
Mystic Defender (underrated early action-platformer, but licensing?)
Snow Brothers (already on other versions)
Ranger X (really need to 6 button controller for this one)



These are some I had to cut out from my original list (you can see a slight Amiga bias here, haha):

Theme Park
Lemmings (timeless puzzle game, earns extra nostalgia points)
Speedball 2 (another Amiga game - futuristic sports)
Cannon Fodder (really fun Amiga port, RTS/action)
Megalomania (another Amiga RTS)
Syndicate (really cool strategy game)
Road Rash 3 (didn't make the cut because it was a bit too similar to Road Rash 2)
Forgotten Worlds (another decent Capcom arcade conversion)
Zombies Ate My Neighbours (never played this, but it looks interesting)

I suppose they could use the original model 2 case to avoid confusion:

For me, a Saturn mini would be the real jackpot.

 

[EightBit Man]

No votes:

• Sonic the Hedgehog 2
• Street Fighter II' Plus
• Party Quiz Mega Q
• The Story of Thor: Hikari o Tsugumono
• Columns

0.5% chose:

• The Super Shinobi
• Super Fantasy Zone
• World of Illusion: Fushigi na Magic Box
• Puzzle & Action: Tant-R
• Langrisser II
• Puyo Puyo Tsuu
• Comix Zone

1% chose:

• "I can't choose just one!"

1% chose:

• Golden Axe
• Road Rash II
• Phantasy Star: Sennenki no Owari ni

1.4% chose:

• Space Harrier II
• Daimakaimura
• Rent A Hero
• Shining Force: Kamigami no Isan
• Bare Knuckle II
• Snow Bros.
• Gunstar Heroes

1.9% chose:

• Thunder Force III
• Wrestleball
• Alisia Dragoon
• Dyna Brothers 2 Special
• Dynamite Headdy
• Contra: The Hardcore
• Rockman Mega World
• Game no Kanzume Otokuyou

2.4% chose:

• Slap Fight MD
• Vampire Killer
• Monster World IV
• Lord Monarch: Tokoton Sentou Densetsu
• Madou Monogatari I

2.9% chose:

• Musha Aleste: Full Metal Fighter Ellinor
• The Hybrid Front

3.8% chose:

• Assault Suit Leynos

4.3% chose:

• Landstalker: Koutei no Zaihou

10% chose:

• Yuu Yuu Hakusho: Makyou Toitsusen

15.3% chose:

• Tetris

16.3% chose:

• Darius

 

[EightBit Man]

Mega Man 2 is going to be a lot harder with this Mega Man's firing rate as can be seen in the video.