MDM3rdUpdate

Update #3: The final 10 games for the upcoming Sega Mega Drive Mini have been revealed including two surprise extra games in the form of a brand new port of Darius from Taito - a game which never originally came to the Mega Drive (although Darius II did) - and possibly the rarest game on the system, Tetris! Here is the entire batch of games to be included on the Genesis / Mega Drive Mini in the west, with the region exclusives at the top:

Mega Drive Mini - Complete Western Games List

The full Japanese lineup was revealed via a Famitsu livestream featuring legendary composer Yuzo Koshiro himself. The Japanese version of the plug-and-play console has a couple of deep cuts and rare titles for fans - here's the full list of 42 games the console will have when it launches September this year, with the absolute exclusives at the top followed by the games only available on the two Asian variants:

Mega Drive Mini - Complete Japanese Games List

  • Dyna Brothers 2 (region exclusive)
  • Lord Monarch (region exclusive)
  • Madou Monogatari I (region exclusive)
  • Party Quiz Mega Q (region exclusive)
  • Rent A Hero (region exclusive)
  • The Hybrid Front (region exclusive)
  • Yu Yu Hakusho Makyo Toitsusen (region exclusive)
  • Assault Suits Leynos (JP and Asia only)
  • Game no Kanzume Otokoyou - a Japan-only Sega Channel compilation featuring the following twelve games: 16t, Flicky, Putter Golf, Hyper Marbles, Shi no Meikyuu, Medal City, Paddle Fighter, Ikasuze! Koi no Doki Doki, Penguin Land MD, Pyramid Magic, Robot Battler, Teddy Boy Blues and Aworg (JP and Asia only)
  • Langrisser II (JP and Asia only)
  • MUSHA Aleste (JP and Asia only)
  • Wrestleball (Powerball) (JP and Asia only)
  • Puyo Puyo 2 (JP and Asia only)
  • Puzzle & Action: Tant-R (JP and Asia only)
  • Slap Fight MD (JP and Asia only)
  • Snow Bros. (JP and Asia only)
  • The Revenge of Shinobi (The Super Shinobi) (JP and Asia only)
  • Alisia Dragoon
  • Beyond Oasis (The Story of Thor: A Successor of the Light)
  • Castlevania Bloodlines (Vampire Killer)
  • Comix Zone
  • Columns
  • Contra: Hard Corps
  • Darius
  • Dynamite Headdy
  • Ghouls 'n Ghosts (Daimakaimura)
  • Golden Axe
  • Gunstar Heroes
  • Landstalker
  • Mega Man: The Wily Wars (Rockman: Mega World)
  • Monster World IV
  • Phantasy Star IV: The End of the Millennium
  • Road Rash II
  • Shining Force
  • Sonic the Hedgehog 2
  • Space Harrier II
  • Street Fighter II Dash Plus: Champion Edition
  • Streets of Rage II (Bare Knuckle II)
  • Super Fantasy Zone
  • Tetris
  • Thunder Force III
  • World of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck
MD3rdUpdate

It was a brilliant surprise to see Sega bringing a 'new' game to the console, similar to Nintendo with previously unreleased Star Fox 2 on the Super Nintendo Classic Mini.

Finally, as if that wasn't enough, there's also a third variant that the rest of Asia outside Japan will receive. This version includes a mix of games from the Japanese and western consoles, plus five region exclusives.

Mega Drive Mini - Complete Asian Games List

  • Alien Soldier (region exclusive)
  • Puyo Puyo (region exclusive)
  • Out Run 2019 (region exclusive)
  • Shining Force II (region exclusive)
  • Sword of Vermilion (region exclusive)
  • Alisia Dragoon
  • Assault Suits Leynos
  • Beyond Oasis (The Story of Thor: A Successor of the Light)
  • Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse
  • Castlevania: Bloodlines
  • Comix Zone
  • Columns
  • Contra: Hard Corps
  • Daimakaimura (Ghouls 'n Ghosts)
  • Darius
  • Game no Kanzume Otokoyou
  • Golden Axe
  • Gunstar Heroes
  • Landstalker
  • Langrisser II
  • Mega Man: The Wily Wars (Rockman: Mega World)
  • Monster World IV
  • Musha Aleste
  • Phantasy Star IV: The End of the Millennium
  • Puyo Puyo 2
  • Puzzle & Action: Tant-R
  • Road Rash II
  • Shining Force
  • Slap Fight MD
  • Snow Bros.
  • Sonic the Hedgehog
  • Sonic the Hedgehog 2
  • Space Harrier II
  • Streets of Rage II (Bare Knuckle II)
  • Strider
  • Super Fantasy Zone
  • Tetris
  • The Super Shinobi (The Revenge of Shinobi)
  • Thunder Force III
  • Wonder Boy in Monster World
  • World of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck
  • Wrestleball (Powerball)

If you're thinking about reserving a Genesis / Mega Drive Mini, check out our pre-order guide for more information.


MDM3

Update #2: Sega has confirmed the third batch of 10 games to be included on the Genesis / Mega Drive Mini in the west when it launches September this year. In addition to the 20 previously announced games (see below), the plug-and-play console will include the following:

Japan gets a slightly altered list as revealed on Dengeki Online's YouTube channel, which includes The Revenge of Shinobi:

  • Daimakaimura (Ghouls 'n Ghosts)
  • Street Fighter II Dash Plus: Champion Edition
  • Rockman: Mega World (Mega Man: The Wily Wars)
  • Golden Axe
  • The Super Shinobi (The Revenge of Shinobi)
  • Phantasy Star IV: The End of the Millennium
  • The Story of Thor: A Successor of the Light
  • Puzzle & Action: Tant-R
  • Party Quiz Mega Q
  • Yu Yu Hakusho Makyo Toitsusen

Not a bad list in either territory, with a strong showing from Capcom, although we'll definitely be looking into importing a six-button pad from Japan for Street Fighter. Spinball is unlikely to be the Sonic game the majority of western fans were hoping for, but there are 10 more games to come in the final announcement scheduled for June, so watch this space.


GenMiniLineup2

Update: Sega has confirmed the next 10 games for the upcoming Genesis / Mega Drive Mini in the west. They are:

Several of these had been revealed a little earlier on a Famitsu live stream. The 10 new announcements for the Japanese edition of the mini console are as follows:

That final one is a Japan-only Sega Channel compilation featuring twelve games (16t, Flicky, Putter Golf, Hyper Marbles, Shi no Meikyuu, Medal City, Paddle Fighter, Ikasuze! Koi no Doki Doki, Penguin Land MD, Pyramid Magic, Robot Battler, Teddy Boy Blues and Aworg).

The big surprises on those lists are Castle of Illusion and World of Illusion. Sega's classic Disney games have been largely absent from modern systems and seeing this gives us hope that Quackshot might see the light of day too.


Original Story: Last September, Sega decided to delay the release of the Mega Drive Mini / Genesis Mini after the response to the announcement here in the west was bigger than it expected. The company also explained how it also wanted to achieve a level of quality fans would expect and brought in proven Japanese developers to help out.

Sega has now announced the system will launch worldwide on 19th September. It will be priced at 6,980 yen or 8,980 yen if you want two of the USB-based controllers. The device will include all the necessary cables and a total of 40 titles, with the first 10 for Japan now confirmed (thanks Gematsu).

Sega Mega Drive Japan Line-Up

In North America, the Genesis will be sold for $79.99 and in Europe the Mega Drive equivalent will cost €69.99 or €79.99 if you want two controllers. Both of the systems in these regions come packaged with the original 3-button controllers (see below). The library of games for the system in these locations is expected to be slightly different as well. Here are the first 10:

North America Europe Line-Up
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In addition to the information about the game line-ups, it's been revealed the talented team at M2 worked on the system's software, while Sega composer Yuzo Koshiro was responsible for the menu music. The miniature console also has HDMI output, four quick-save slot options for each game (allowing for immediate saves) and various language options (with games like Castlevania: Bloodlines changing its title based on the region language).

Genesis Mini
Mega Drive Mini

More details about the system will be shared on 18th April during a Famitsu live stream. Check out our pre-order guide for more information.

Will you be picking up a Sega Mini system this September? Tell us in the comments.

[source gematsu.com, via twitter.com, genesismini.sega.com]