Sega Mega Drive Mini 2 - What We Know So Far

Sega released the Mega Drive (a.k.a. Sega Genesis) way back in 1988, during a time when Nintendo completely dominated the market. The Mega Drive was an attempt by Sega to compete with Nintendo's forthcoming 16-bit SNES. It was successful partly due to the fact that it beat Nintendo to market by a year. The Mega Drive was a quality system, bringing arcade games' 16-bit graphics and gameplay to the comfort of gamers' homes.

But until recently, gamers wishing to play Mega Drive games (outside of still owning a Mega Drive, of course) needed to turn to things like Nintendo Switch Online, but that didn't satisfy those who wanted to play the system as they did in 1988. Sega saw some decent success with 2019's Sega Mega Drive Mini, which boasted an impressive list of pre-loaded games. This miniature version of the Genesis looked and felt like the original model, and many reviewers called it the best mini-style console on the market. The Verge praised with its catchy menu music, sleek UI, and options for accommodating every type of player.

Now Sega is making another miniature Mega Drive, but this one will include Mega-CD/Sega CD games. And this is exciting for many, as the Mega-CD originally allowed gamers to play discs on their console that looked and performed better than cartridge games.

According to its Japanese product listing (translated by Polygon), unlike the original Mega Drive Mini, the Mega Drive Mini 2 will not have a simultaneous global release. Instead, the Mega Drive Mini 2 will be released in Japan on Oct. 27, with North America and Europe release dates yet to be announced. But according to footage from the Japanese livestream reveal, every game on the console has an English version included, so it's safe to say Sega will hit the English-speaking market at some point.

The Mega Drive Mini 2 will retail for 9,980 yen (around $75 USD). If that pricing holds for global release, it will be cheaper than the Mega Drive 1, which sold for $80. Additionally, Sega is releasing a cosmetic add-on for the system, adding the Mega-CD disk tray to make players really feel like they are playing Mega-CD games. The non-functioning Mega-CD add-on will retail for 4,500 yen extra, or about $35, and attaches directly to the miniature console to give it the bulky look it originally had.

In the Japanese livestream reveal, Sega revealed that the Mega Drive 2 launch with 50 games, but only 11 have been revealed so far. Of course, to no one's surprise, a Sonic game made it onto the list in the form of "Sonic CD," which is often considered one of the best in the series. Still, many missed it because of its exclusivity to the Mega-CD. "Sonic CD" brought the classic Sonic gameplay everyone knows and loves to disc form for the first time, boasting an interesting time-travel story and now-iconic Sonic characters Amy Rose and Metal Sonic.

One of the most surprising additions is "Mansion of Hidden Souls," a point-and-click adventure game featuring full-motion video. In "Mansion of Hidden Souls," players explore a spooky mansion full of ghosts that appear in the form of butterflies. Players must interact with objects and progress through the mansion to complete the game, similar to "The 7th Guest."

There are also some side scrolling shoot 'em ups on the list, such as "Silpheed," "Thunder Force 4," and "Fantasy Zone." Furthermore, the Formula 1 racing game "Virtua Racing" will also come on the Mega Drive Mini 2. Also featured are classic side-scrollers "Bonanza Bros." (a.k.a. "Mike and Spike"), the previously Japanese-exclusive "Magical Taruruto-Kun," and the adventure-platformer "Popful Mail." Finally, two RPGs made the early list: "Shining Force CD," a remake of "Shining Force," and "Shining in the Darkness," the first title in the "Shining" series.