Mega Drive Mini 2

[Steven Pendleton]

4 minutes ago, Asaki said:

Hopefully they'll put the newer version of the game on there. I already loved the game, but the update is that much nicer.

If you mean the Director's Cut ROM hack, probably not as that's not an official release, even if the dude himself made it. That would be cool, though I dislike some of the changes in that ROM hack.

[Tanooki]

Eh in ways despite usually not liking iosmetric games I find Sonic 3D Blast more fun than the usual side scrollers from the franchise back then.  Forcing people to not just speed blast the hell out of everywhere fast, having to enjoy the space, find hidden things, unlock or just enter the next area it was just more fun to me.  Then again I'm also in the minority that don't utterly hate sonic spinball either, not that I'd ever try and finish that madness which it is, but for a casual romp for a few digital quarters of pinball fun for a high score it's pretty decent.  It's no kirby's pinball land, but it's good enough.

[Asaki]

22 hours ago, Steven Pendleton said:

If you mean the Director's Cut ROM hack, probably not as that's not an official release, even if the dude himself made it. That would be cool, though I dislike some of the changes in that ROM hack.

Darius wasn't an official release, either

[Hydro Thunder]

On 7/15/2022 at 8:59 AM, Atariboy said:

10 more games have been confirmed for the Japanese version.

• Fatal Fury 2 (Mega Drive)
• Final Fight CD (Mega CD)
• Harimanada (Mega Drive)
• Lunar The Silver Star (Mega CD)
• Lunar Eternal Blue (Mega CD)
• Majandojo (Mega Drive)
• Spatter (Mega Drive)
• Super Street Fighter II The New Challengers (Mega Drive)
• Tatsujin (Mega Drive)
• Wondermega Collection (Mega CD)

Several of these will likely not make it out over here (Harimanada for instance seems to be a JRPG that didn't get localized), but I hope Final Fight CD and Truxton make the cut for the western version. I don't have a clue what Majandojo is (Is it something newly made for the Mini II?) and I'm assuming Spatter is a new port by M2 of the 1984 Sega arcade game (Looks charming, so I hope it's included over here).

 

I like that the US version is giving some attention to Sega's 16-bit racers, although I'd happily swap the lackluster port of Outrunners for something else like Outrun 2019. That underrated racer was included on the original Mega Drive Mini in Asia, but left off the Japanese and western releases and has yet to be announced for any iteration of the Mini II. While it hopefully gets announced for the Mini II, I wonder if the rights issues are a bit convoluted for it.

Fatal Fury 2, Final Fight CD, and the Lunar Games??  That is just beyond great news!!  Fatal Fury 2 was an absolute wonder on the Genesis.  

[Steven Pendleton]

18 hours ago, Asaki said:

Darius wasn't an official release, either

Yes it was, as it's only ever gotten official releases by Taito.

[Zoyous]

6 hours ago, Steven Pendleton said:

Yes it was, as it's only ever gotten official releases by Taito.

I think he means that the MD Darius started as a fan project... unlicensed and unreleased, he just posted a blog and videos about it. Later, M2, Sega, and Taito all coordinated with the developer to make it an official release.

[Asaki]

Yes.

Sega have officially released a lot of Sonic fan projects too: ports and emulators...not to mention Sonic Mania, and the most recent, Sonic Origins.
I'd be very surprised if 3D Blast doesn't get a similar treatment.

Edited July 18, 2022 by Asaki

[Atariboy]

Sonic 3D Blast didn't even get a Japanese release on the Mega Drive as I recall. So I'm not sure they particularly care about the revised director's cut of a Mega Drive game they didn't even get back in the day. Plus I would've thought if they had licensed the director's cut, that they'd of announced it when Sonic 3D Blast was first announced as being included in the west. 

 

So far it's looking like the standard game might not even be present on Japan's Mini since it has only been announced for the western release. We'll have to wait and and see, but I'm skeptical that game substitutes on the western Mini II for previously announced games in Japan will then reappear in a later wave of announcements for the Japanese version of the system. 

 

And if Sonic 3D Blast does get announced for Japan, it will require a substitution with something else in the corresponding game announcement for the western release since we already have it confirmed here. So if it's included worldwide, why would Sega not have announced Sonic 3D Blast in the same wave of announcements for both territories?

 

So I'm inclined to think that not only is the director's cut not included, but that the stock game won't even be included on Japan's system.

Edited July 18, 2022 by Atariboy

[Desfeek]

On 7/16/2022 at 10:47 PM, Hydro Thunder said:

Fatal Fury 2, Final Fight CD, and the Lunar Games??  That is just beyond great news!!  Fatal Fury 2 was an absolute wonder on the Genesis.  

The four Sega CD titles Working Designs published, have every right to be on the U.S. version of the Sega Genesis Mini 2. If you have been keeping up with the news on this console, Popful Mail, published by Nihon Falcom in Japan was announced at launch for the Japanese console. Lunar: The Silver Star and Lunar: Eternal Blue, published by Game Arts in Japan, have recently also been added to the lineup for the Japanese console.

Now, while I understand the omissions of games like 'Majandojo' and 'Harimanada' from the US release - it would appear that Working Designs, or whoever owns the IP of Working Designs (in this case, I assume it is still Victor Ireland, unless I am mistaken) is actively preventing the re-publication of these exceedingly rare experiences in the U.S. It is at this point to Working Designs' discredit that these games have not been put together into one complete package - and I used to believe that was maybe due to bad blood between Game Arts and Nihon Falcom, but now that does not appear to be the case.

The U.S. console was just announced, and more games have been revealed for the Japanese console than the U.S., but already no inclusion of Popful Mail is a huge red flag that Working Designs does not want to be a part of this project, and does not wish to see these games released in the future.

Also - while Victor used to be an active forum poster on the forum for his new game company - Gaijenworks - he has not been active in quite some time. Please tell me we are going to get remakes of the Working Designs Sega CD (OR SATURN?!?) games someday... If I am mistaken, please let me know how.

[Steven Pendleton]

Space Harrier II is here again, but it's not that Space Harrier II; they remade the game but with actual sprite scaling, which should turn it into an absolutely awesome game, and they also made a new version of the original Space Harrier, as well. There are also a several other new games, and also Ragnacenty, Grenada, EX-RANZA, and Night Trap.

[Zoyous]

49 minutes ago, Steven Pendleton said:

Space Harrier II is here again, but it's not that Space Harrier II; they remade the game but with actual sprite scaling, which should turn it into an absolutely awesome game, and they also made a new version of the original Space Harrier, as well. There are also a several other new games, and also Ragnacenty, Grenada, EX-RANZA, and Night Trap.

Okay, that actually pretty much seals the deal for me. I'm just really curious to see how M2 can upgrade Space Harrier II. Hopefully they'll do something about its dire soundtrack, too. But where did you see info about a new version of the original Space Harrier? Edit: Oh, I see it now... they snuck it in with the footage of Space Harrier II!

 

Other highlights to me are Revenge of Shinobi, Ranger-X, and Silpheed. Also interesting to see ports of some really old school Sega arcade games like Spatter and Super Locomotive.

Edited August 19, 2022 by Zoyous

[Steven Pendleton]

15 minutes ago, Zoyous said:

But where did you see info about a new version of the original Space Harrier? Edit: Oh, I see it now... they snuck it in with the footage of Space Harrier II!

On the Japanese website:

 

さらに、通常のメガドライブでは忠実な移植は不可能と言われた、 ３Ｄシューティング『スペースハリアー』が、新たな力を得てついに移植。 『スペースハリアー』『スペースハリアーⅡ』どちらからでも始められます。

[Austin]

32 minutes ago, Steven Pendleton said:

On the Japanese website:

 

さらに、通常のメガドライブでは忠実な移植は不可能と言われた、 ３Ｄシューティング『スペースハリアー』が、新たな力を得てついに移植。 『スペースハリアー』『スペースハリアーⅡ』どちらからでも始められます。

FYI, I think you're the only one here that posts from Japan, heh. Some translation for us would be nice.

 

And on that note.. Google says:

 

"In addition, the 3D shooting "Space Harrier", which was said to be impossible to faithfully transplant with a normal Mega Drive, has finally been transplanted with new powers. You can start with either "Space Harrier" or "Space Harrier II"."

 

 

[NE146]

1 hour ago, Steven Pendleton said:

Space Harrier II is here again, but it's not that Space Harrier II; they remade the game but with actual sprite scaling, which should turn it into an absolutely awesome game, and they also made a new version of the original Space Harrier, as well. There are also a several other new games, and also Ragnacenty, Grenada, EX-RANZA, and Night Trap.

Dangit.. now I have to get one. I had already convinced myself with the Genesis+flashcarts/MiSTer/MegaSG, that this thing is just more redundancy to add to my clutter. But with that news........

 

[Austin]

8 minutes ago, NE146 said:

Dangit.. now I have to get one. I had already convinced myself with the Genesis+flashcarts/MiSTer/MegaSG, that this thing is just more redundancy to add to my clutter. But with that news........

 

Same here. It sounded completely redundant initially, but now there are some interesting things on it that you likely won't be able to get elsewhere for the time being. I'll probably end up getting one.

[Razzie.P]

On 6/24/2022 at 10:35 PM, Steven Pendleton said:

Speaking of joysticks, there is one for the MD Mini 2

 

https://www.micomsoft.co.jp/xe1aj-usb.html

 

Insta-preordered because hell yes.

I've been following this (rather poorly, I suppose) since you posted and have yet to see it in stock.   I'm hoping to get one, but thinking I must have missed the window.

 

 

[Steven Pendleton]

6 minutes ago, Razzie.P said:

I've been following this (rather poorly, I suppose) since you posted and have yet to see it in stock.   I'm hoping to get one, but thinking I must have missed the window.

 

 

I got mine from the Sega Store over on ebten. Long sold out there, but if you're okay with scalpers charging more than its 19000 yen price: https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B0B4JGDSRG/

[Atariboy]

I wonder why they cut StarBlade for.

 

It's nice to see Desert Strike make the cut. Certainly was one of the most iconic western releases for the platform and is a game that holds up well.

 

Very nice lineup for the most part, even if we only get 12 Sega CD releases to Japan's 20. I especially like the lineup of special content, which I hope gets dumped like the Mini's extras did just in case I can't get one. And as one that just beat Space Harrier II a few weeks back, I'm looking forward to seeing it revisited with proper sprite scaling. It's a fine sequel for the time but the choppiness holds back most people these days from having any fun in it. 

 

And I'm ever so slightly sad that we didn't get Outrun 2019 (I kind of thought we would given that it made the cut for the the Asian release of the first Mini) or Super Monaco GP, but it's nice to see Sega's racing heritage on the Genesis be represented (Other than the dud Outrunners port that should've never been attempted in the first place).

 

Lastly, I'm kind of surprised by a few things. I'd of lost a bet with Galaxy Force 2 not making the cut, since it's my understanding that it was one of the flagship releases for the Megadrive's original analog flight stick controller. And I half expected to see M2 do a Rolling Thunder 1 or Splatterhouse 1 port in the extra content after the first sequel confirmed in each series with an earlier announcement (Maybe by licensing that nice looking Splatterhouse homebrew that's underway, much like what went on with Darius last time around).

 

But obviously that didn't happen unless they're staying mum on a hidden game or two (Which they did with the TG16 Mini and I could see happening again, even if it's just something modest in scale like their FM modded Fantasy Zone SMS rom from the 3DS Sega Ages line).

Edited August 19, 2022 by Atariboy

[CapitanClassic]

 

The full list of games found on the Sega Genesis Mini 2 can be found below:

• After Burner II
• Alien Soldier
• Atomic Runner
• Bonanza Bros.
• ClayFighter
• Crusader of Centy
• Desert Strike: Return to the Gulf
• Earthworm Jim 2
• Elemental Master
• Fatal Fury 2
• Gain Ground
• Golden Axe II
• Granada
• Hellfire
• Herzog Zwei
• Lightening Force: Quest for the Darkstar
• Midnight Resistance
• OutRun
• OutRunners
• Phantasy Star II
• Populous
• RAINBOW ISLANDS -EXTRA-
• Ranger-X
• Ristar
• ROLLING THUNDER 2
• Shadow Dancer: The Secret of Shinobi
• Shining Force II
• Shining in the Darkness
• Sonic 3D Blast
• SPLATTERHOUSE 2
• Streets of Rage 3
• Super Hang-On
• SUPER STREET FIGHTER II THE NEW CHALLENGERS
• The Ooze
• The Revenge of Shinobi
• ToeJam & Earl in Panic on Funkotron
• Truxton
• VectorMan 2
• Viewpoint
• Virtua Racing
• Warsong
• Ecco the Dolphin (CD Ver.)
• Ecco: The Tides of Time (CD Ver.)
• Final Fight CD
• Mansion of Hidden Souls
• NIGHT STRIKER
• Night Trap
• Robo Aleste
• Sewer Shark
• Shining Force CD
• SILPHEED
• Sonic The Hedgehog CD
• THE NINJAWARRIORS

Bonus Games

• Devi & Pii: Paddle-style game developed by Takashi Iizuka in 1993, before he developed Sonic 3. Iizuka san designed the game, characters, and sprites. The game never released.
• Fantasy Zone: New port from the same team who ported Darius for the original Genesis Mini.
• Space Harrier II (+Space Harrier):- New ports using the sprite zoom function.
• Spatter: M2 “hobby” port of a small arcade game released by Sega in 1984. The game was created by the graphic designer of Flicky.
• Star Mobile: Puzzle game developed by Mindware in 1992; it was completed at the time, but never released.
• Super Locomotive: M2 “hobby” port of a small arcade game released by Sega in 1982.
• VS Puyo Puyo Sun: “Demake” of Puyo Puyo Sun, only featuring VS mode, with new rules not found in the original version.

[Atariboy]

Along with your list, here's the Genesis games with changes made for the Mini II release.

• Hellfire (Sega's trailer discusses unspecified "new features and options")
• OutRun (Has extra music tracks added)
• Phantasy Star II (Adjustable movement speed and a new easy mode)
• Truxton (Comes with a new option to play background music at its original arcade speed)

 

I wonder if Space Harrier I + II is running via Sega CD emulation or if M2 took a different approach like a native port to the Mini II hardware.

Edited August 19, 2022 by Atariboy

[Zoyous]

47 minutes ago, Atariboy said:

I wonder if Space Harrier I + II is running via Sega CD emulation or if M2 took a different approach like a native port to the Mini II hardware.

That's a good question. You can see quite a bit of sprite flickering in the few seconds of footage they released, so it seems like it's probably running within the specifications of the original hardware but exactly which hardware combination? The Sega CD could do sprite scaling without flickering, so maybe M2 came up with some kind of software-based scaling that works within the limitations of the original base console?

[Atariboy]

It's all unclear at the moment, but that port is supposed to use "modern technology" to provide smoother scaling than was previously possible on the Sega Genesis.

 

Did they perhaps come up with a fictional new enhancement chip (Like the MSU-1 for the SNES) that they're emulating to provide for improved scaling functionality? Will be interesting to learn a few more details.

 

It sounds unlike M2 for these to just be ports running natively on the hardware that powers the Mini II. So I suspect something more interesting is at play.

[Zoyous]

41 minutes ago, Atariboy said:

Did they perhaps come up with a fictional new enhancement chip (Like the MSU-1 for the SNES) that they're emulating to provide for improved scaling functionality? Will be interesting to learn a few more details.

 

It sounds unlike M2 for these to just be ports running natively on the hardware that powers the Mini II. So I suspect something more interesting is at play.

Yeah... during the Japanese livestream, they showed a screen that said Sega Mark V which I think could be their fictional enhanced console (since the Master System was the Mark III, and I suppose the actual MegaDrive would be considered the Mark IV).

[Steven Pendleton]

9 hours ago, Atariboy said:

Hellfire (Sega's trailer discusses unspecified "new features and options")

That would be the shield, the little thingy that follows you, and the Hellfire weapon, none of which are in the arcade versions. PC Engine version does have a shield, though.

 

As for Space Harrier II, it seems that they are using a coprocessor that is implemented in the software emulator to do the sprite scaling.

Edited August 20, 2022 by Steven Pendleton

[Hydro Thunder]

A great list, just disappointed in the lack of Eternal Champions: Challenge from the Darkside, really.  Mickey Mania CD, EWJ SE, Keio Flying Squadron, obviously Snatcher...all would've been terrific gets.  But we did get Shining Force (my favorite Sega CD), Silpheed, and Final Fight.  Big big wins.