The Latest Genesis Mini News Roundup

Given how closely news has been following Japanese announcements for the Mega Drive Mini, I figured it would be good to hold off until the dust had cleared on the latest round of news, something that appears to have paid off.

First of all, what you came here to see: the list of the next ten Genesis Mini games.

Japan

• 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

Notable is the appearance of Tant-R, a spin-off of the Bonanza Bros. series. It’s basically a party game, but it’s important as it’s a four-player game. M2 confirmed on a Japanese livestream that the Genesis Mini (or in this case, the Mega Drive Mini) will support being connected to a USB hub where four controllers can be plugged in for proper multi-tap action.

Also four player is Yu Yu Hakusho Makyō Tōitsusen, a fighting game developed by Treasure. This will be the first time this game has been re-released since 1994, and is often considered one of the best fighting games on the Genesis, if not of the entire 16-bit era.

America and Europe

• Ghouls’n Ghosts
• Street Fighter II: Special Champion Edition
• Mega Man: The Wily Wars
• Golden Axe
• Phantasy Star IV: The End of the Millennium
• Beyond Oasis (The Story of Thor)
• Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle
• Sonic Spinball
• Vectorman
• Wonderboy in Monster World

The list of games this time around isn’t that different. We’re trading a lot of the obvious Japanese-relevant games for things like Vectorman and Alex Kidd, but most importantly, we’re getting The Wily Wars. This is a compilation of the first three NES Mega Man games with enhanced graphics and an extra bonus mission after you finish the main games. Though it saw a cartridge release in Japan and Europe, it only ever appeared on the Sega Channel in North America, making this the first physical release it has ever gotten.

Capcom seems big on the Genesis Mini in general, particularly with the appearance of Street Fighter II. For those of you balking at the idea of playing Street Fighter on a standard three button controller, there is a small amount of solace to be had: Retro-Bit has announced that they will be releasing both a Genesis Mini-compatible USB six-button and an eight-button controller in August of 2019. Both will be styled after the official Sega Genesis controllers of that era.

Furthermore, though the page isn’t totally clear, it sounds like existing Retro-Bit USB controllers will also be compatible, so if you want to use a Saturn controller on your Genesis Mini, go right ahead. It’s a bummer that these will be sold separately, bringing the total cost of the Genesis Mini up to well over $100 for some, but at least it’s an option for those of you out there that want to slum it with the crunchy Genesis version of Street Fighter II for some reason.

As always, information on pre-ordering the Genesis Mini can be found here. European users can click here. Those of you looking for Retro-Bit controllers can look here.

There’s only ten games left, folks.