The Mega Drive Mini 2 launched last week and was an instant hit with retro gamers worldwide (like myself).
It’s also surely no coincidence that it arrived just 2 days before the consoles 34th birthday, further expanding the need for Sega Genesis jubilation.
The Mini 2 is a love letter to Sega fans. If you’ve missed our Sega Guys coverage via our podcast and YouTube channels, it’s a shrunk down Mega Drive 2 console, with over 40 Mega Drive classics, a dozen Mega CD titles and seven “new” games in the form of remixes and ports of previous Sega classics.
What we should all find astounding about the Mega Drive 2 iteration of this Mini concept is that there is zero repetition of the previous Mega Drive Mini. Take the 42 games from that micro console and add it to the 60 on here and you have a hundred games worth of 16-bit Sega goodness.
That’s a lotta numbers.
But neither Mini Mega Drive is perfect. While it’s nothing short of astounding how Sega could draw on over 80 games from the consoles back catalogue, it’s even more astounding when you consider what isn’t there.
Sonic 3, Sonic & Knuckles, Phantasy Star 3, Quackshot, Alien Storm, Pulseman, Golden Axe 3 and the Super Monaco Grand Prix games all being key 1st party omissions.
And if games like Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle can get the nod, surely Galaxy Force 2, Super Thunder Blade and Greendog amongst dozens of others could have enjoyed an invite to the Mini party too.
Then there’s the 3rd party contingent. Where is Aladdin, still one of the finest movie adaptations ever made? What about the other Strike games, Jungle and Urban? John Madden made his name on the console, an early entry from that series (92 gets my shout) should have been a must, and the same with FIFA. Mortal Kombat too is synonymous with the Mega Drive. The Micro Machines games which are still best played and best remembered on Sega’s console warrant inclusion. Rocket Knight Adventures, Zombies ate my Neighbours, Talmits Adventure, Thunderforce 2, Empire of Steel, Toy Story... the list goes (in your best The Journey voice) on and on and on and on.
The sheer depth of the Mega Drive library is simply mind boggling. There really is something for everyone.
The value of the Mega Drive Mini consoles really do look attractive compared to the their mini rivals, with the 50+ game PC Engine Mini losing points on variety and on many of its text heavy games being in Japanese.
The SNES meanwhile had only 21 one titles, which seems stingy at first glance, but it’s clear Nintendo went for their most iconic titles first and foremost, with not one dud on that Mini console’s list.
I’ve written here before about my relationship with the SNES. Short answer is that I love it, I think it’s an all time great. Similarly to the Mega Drive Mini consoles, there’s a host of titles that litter the consoles vast library that are conspicuous by their absence.
But on reflection, I don’t think the library is as deep or varied as its Sega counterpart. Well, I say on reflection, I’ve always felt this way, but the Mini 2 reaffirmed it.
There’s a personal bias here, sure (I am both “The Mega Driver” and half of the “SegaGuys” after all), but the Sega console just seems to have... more. The better shmups, the better sports titles, the better platformers, the better arcade games, in my personal opinion.
What the SNES has are games that are basically videogame royalty, and that line up of 20 classic titles are more critically revered than most on either Mega Drive Mini. Beyond those though, I just don’t see it beating the Mega Drive in terms of the strength and depth of its library.
And even though those games are critical darlings, the Mega Drive had worthy alternatives.
Many argue that the Castlevania and Contra entries on Sega’s machine are better too (though if I’m honest, I’m not one of them). As a kid, Wonderboy In Monsterworld was my alternative to A Link to the Past, whilst my friend Matt Gardner of Forbes and GameTripper proclaims that Soleil is actually superior. I’ve long stated that Ristar is the best 16-bit platformer post Sonic while the Ecco games and Quackshot provide worthwhile Metroidvania like adventures. The Shining and Phantasy Star games show the Mega Drive has some chops in the RPG department to provide rivals to those Squaresoft classics. Star Fox meanwhile takes blatant inspiration from After Burner, and while it’s not an apples to apples comparison, in the battle of the “FX chips” the SVP powered Virtua Racing more than holds its own. Then you have Mario vs Sonic which is a tale as old as time itself.
To reiterate, I love both consoles, and I’m certainly not trying to reignite some 30 year old console war. I’m writing this as a reflection on the embarrassment of riches produced by both mini Mega Drives and what they did and didn’t offer. All of this is subject to the usual caveat of subjectivity, personal tastes and opinion.
Too often you see people downplay the Mega Drive’s library. And yes, it doesn’t have the highest of highs that the SNES did critically, but in my eyes it definitely had way more below the surface than it gets credit for.
For me the Mega Drive Mini 2 was further proof of the console’s rich and varied library, of Sega’s gaming prowess and their legacy. It and the games both on and off the systems cement why i believe the Mega Drive was the king of the 16-bit era, and why I’ll always be a Sega guy.
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