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We’ve been reporting on the lineup of games coming to Sega’s Genesis Mini retro console for months now, but finally the full roster stands revealed following a special livestream held by the company. What’s most astounding is that Sega has bumped the initial total of 40 games to 42, as the latest batch of titles boasts 12, count ’em 12 names, not ten! Here are the final dozen pieces of software that players can look forward to:
- Tetris
- Darius
- Virtua Fighter 2
- Alisia Dragoon
- Monster World IV
- Kid Chameleon
- Road Rash II
- Eternal Champions
- Columns
- Dynamite Headdy
- Strider
- Light Crusader
For the remaining 30 games, head here, here, and here!
Those first two games on the list are worth a lot of fanfare. The Genesis version of Tetris is one of the rarest games on the platform; there are reputedly only ten copies that were ever printed. The reason being that back in the `80s when Tetris came into being, the licensing rights for the game were a real mess. Sega produced Tetris for its System 16 arcade hardware, but when the company tried porting the title over to its Genesis/Mega Drive home console, those tricky licensing issues put a stopper on the whole production. The result was not just the ridiculously low print run of Sega’s Tetris, but it was also only available for Japanese Mega Drives!
Darius, meanwhile, is notable because it’s the arcade version of the game— which ran on three monitors simultaneously! This port of the title requires only one screen, thankfully. It’s a very cool bonus for fans, especially considering that only the sequel, Darius II, ever came to Genesis back in the day. In fact, it’s alleged that if Darius had been ported to a cartridge, it would’ve been a 32-megabit ROM. That doesn’t sound like much these days, but back when the Genesis was in its heyday, 32-megabits would’ve been a very large cartridge.
“But wait, there’s more!” said enthusiastic Sega-philes the world over. In a move that surprised even developer M2 (which has been handling all porting duties for Genesis Mini), Sega revealed that a litany of peripherals will be released for the retro system! A miniaturized Sega CD, Sega 32X, and Sonic the Hedgehog cartridge will all be available and can be attached to a Genesis Mini in the same configuration as they did originally! There’s a catch, though, as none of these items are functional: it’s all just eye candy.
Still, eye candy or not, this is a delightful addition that speaks to the spirit of what these retro systems are all about. All in all, this is $79.99 for a wealth of games in one of the best presentations a fan could ever hope for. Sega Genesis Mini launches on September 19. Please note that as of this writing, the peripherals mentioned above haven’t been confirmed for a Western release, but rest assured that we’ll update as soon as we hear otherwise!
Source: Sega PR
