Sega has announced its next mini console, which will be based on the Mega Drive 2.
The Mega Drive Mini 2 will include 50 Mega Drive and Mega CD titles, including arcade ports and what Sega describes as a “mysterious new work”.
The console was announced during a Japanese Sega live stream, which at the time of writing is still ongoing.
Mega Drive Mini 2 trailer
The list of games confirmed for the console so far is as follows:
- Silpheed (Mega CD)
- Shining Force CD (Mega CD)
- Sonic CD (Mega CD)
- Mansion of Hidden Souls (Mega CD)
- Popful Mail (Mega CD)
- Virtua Racing (Mega Drive)
- Bonanza Bros (Mega Drive)
- Shining in the Darkness (Mega Drive)
- Thunder Force IV (Mega Drive)
- Magical Taruruto (Mega Drive)
- Fantasy Zone (new Mega Drive port)
The original Fantasy Zone was never released on the Mega Drive. The version on the Mega Drive 2 Mini is a new Mega Drive port based on its sequel, Super Fantasy Zone.
The Mega Drive Mini 2 will be released on October 27 in Japan and will cost ¥9,980 ($75). Sega has yet to confirm a western release.
The first Mega Drive Mini was released in 2019 and included 42 games, with the libraries differing per region. It included new ports of Darius and Tetris, which had never been released before.
Sega teased the announcement last week with a photo of a chocolate cake shaped like a Mega Drive / Genesis controller.
Yosuke Okunari, who co-hosted the Mega Drive Mini 2 announcement, suggested in October 2020 that Sega’s next mini console could have been based on the Sega Dreamcast.
In an interview with Famitsu magazine following the Japan-only release of the Game Gear Mini, Okunari said he wanted the next project to deliver hardware that had stronger global potential.
“I think for the next one, we may go with a concept close to the Mega Drive Mini,” he said. “If I have to say some names, it could be an SG-1000 Mini or a Dreamcast Mini.”
Source: https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/sega-announces-a-mega-drive-mini-2-including-mega-cd-games/
