The Final 10 Genesis Mini Games Come With a Bonus

And here we are, folks. All of September’s Sega Genesis Mini games have been revealed, and there’s a twist: instead of the 40 promised games, what we’re actually getting is 42 games. That’s right, the final 10 games were announced earlier this morning, except it was actually the final 12 games, making the total list:

Genesis Mini Complete List (USA and Europe)

• • Ecco the Dolphin
  • Castlevania: Bloodlines
  • Space Harrier II
  • Shining Force
  • Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine
  • ToeJam & Earl
  • Comix Zone
  • Sonic the Hedgehog
  • Altered Beast
  • Gunstar Heroes
  • Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse
  • World of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck
  • Thunder Force III
  • Super Fantasy Zone
  • Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master
  • Streets of Rage 2
  • Earthworm Jim
  • Sonic the Hedgehog 2
  • Contra: Hard Corps
  • Landstalker
  • Beyond Oasis
  • Ghouls’n Ghosts
  • Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle
  • Golden Axe
  • Phantasy Star IV: The End of the Millenium
  • Street Fighter II’: Special Champion Edition
  • Mega Man: The Wily Wars
  • Sonic Spinball
  • Wonder Boy in Monster World

• • Tetris
  • Darius
  • Virtua Fighter 2
  • Alisia Dragoon
  • Monster World IV
  • Kid Chameleon
  • Road Rash II
  • Eternal Champions
  • Columns
  • Dynamite Headdy
  • Strider
  • Light Crusader

If you want to be cheeky and count Mega Man: The Wily Wars as the collection of three games it actually is, the Genesis Mini really contains closer to 45 games. That’s with a pair of three-button controllers (six button controllers sold separately).

What’s interesting is that apparently this version of Darius (a horizontal shooter by Taito) is a brand new version of the game, releasing for the first time ever on the Genesis Mini. Previously, only Darius II saw release on the Genesis, leaving the original Darius mostly as an Arcade-only title.

Meanwhile, in Japan, their list looks more like this:

Mega Drive Mini Complete List (Japan)

• • Sonic the Hedgehog 2
  • Puyo Puyo 2
  • Shining Force
  • Vampire Killer (Castlevania: Bloodlines)
  • Wrestleball (Powerball)
  • Gunstar Heroes
  • Comix Zone
  • Rent-a-Hero No. 1
  • Space Harrier II
  • Madou Monogatari
  • Thunder Force III
  • Super Fantasy Zone
  • Musha Aleste: Fullmetal Fighter Ellinor (M.U.S.H.A.)
  • World of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse & Donald Duck
  • Bare Knuckle II (Streets of Rage 2)
  • The Hybrid Front
  • Landstalker
  • Contra: The Hardcore (Contra: Hard Corps)
  • Dyna Brothers 2: Special Sega Channel Version
  • Game Kanzume Otokuyou
  • Daimakaimura (Ghouls’n Ghosts)
  • Street Fighter II’: Special Champion Edition
  • Rockman Mega World (Mega Man: The Wily Wars)
  • Golden Axe
  • Super Shinobi (Revenge of Shinobi)
  • Phantasy Star IV: The End of the Millennium
  • Story of Thor (Beyond Oasis)
  • Puzzle & Action Tant-R
  • Party Quiz Mega Q
  • Yu Yu Hakusho Makyō Tōitsusen

• • Columns
  • Monster World IV
  • Dynamite Headdy
  • Assault Suit Leynos (Target Earth)
  • Langrisser II
  • Alisia Dragoon
  • Road Rash II
  • Slap Fight MD
  • Snow Bros.
  • Lord Monarch
  • Darius
  • Sega Tetris

Going by the same rules as what America and Europe are getting, the Japanese Mega Drive Mini actually contains 54 games, given Game Kanzume Otokuyou is a collection of ten smaller Sega-Channel-exclusive 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).

By comparison, here are each region’s exclusive games.

US/UK Exclusive Games

• Ecco the Dolphin
• ToeJam & Earl
• Sonic the Hedgehog
• Altered Beast
• Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse
• Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master
• Earthworm Jim
• Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle
• Sonic Spinball
• Wonder Boy in Monster World
• Virtua Fighter 2
• Kid Chameleon
• Eternal Champions
• Light Crusader
• Strider

Japan Exclusive Games

• Wrestleball (Powerball)
• Rent-a-Hero No. 1
• Madou Monogatari
• The Hybrid Front
• Dyna Brothers 2: Special Sega Channel Version
• Game Kanzume Otokuyou
• Super Shinobi (Revenge of Shinobi)
• Puzzle & Action Tant-R
• Party Quiz Mega Q
• Yu Yu Hakusho Makyō Tōitsusen
• Assault Suit Leynos (Target Earth)
• Langrisser II
• Slap Fight MD
• Snow Bros.
• Lord Monarch

Some of the differences are a bit of a bummer, but all in all, not such a bad collection of games. There aren’t too many Japanese-only games that I feel like I’m genuinely missing out on, outside of maybe Revenge of Shinobi and Yu Yu Hakusho (sorry, shooter fans, they just aren’t for me). Japan also gets a six-button controller bundled in with their console, which will definitely prove useful for Street Fighter II’.

Speaking of things Japan is getting, apparently this “accessory” was also announced for the Mega Drive Mini today.

That’s a Model 1 Sega CD, attached to a Model 1 Mega Drive, attached to a 32X, with Sonic & Knuckles locked on to Sonic 1. None of it is really functional of course, like this won’t suddenly let you play Sega CD or 32X games on your Mega Drive Mini, but it does complete the look for the discerning Genesis collector that had it all. As of yet, no “Tower of Power” has been announced for the Sega Genesis Mini.

The Genesis Mini releases this September. Pre-orders are available now for both America and Europe.