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Offline ejamer

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Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« on: May 08, 2019, 10:30:32 PM »
Anyone else excited about the upcoming Genesis Mini console?

So I never grew up with a Genesis. Sure, a friend-of-a-friend owned one and I had been suitably impressed by how awesome the games looked on a couple of rare visits where we all played Strider or Golden Axe together... but most of the Genesis library of games were new to me when Wii Virtual Console finally gave me access to some of the hits I had missed. Later on my exposure to Genesys gaming was increased thanks to the PSP version of Sega Genesys Collection.

My favorite Genesis games so far include Monster World IV, Toejam & Earl, Gunstar Heroes, and some of the later Phantasy Star games. Normally, I wouldn't feel a need to buy more Genesis games as I've got a decent selection of classics from the system to play through... but the list of titles announced for Genesis Mini so far already looks awesome, and the emulation is being done by M2 (who have a great reputation for quality). With 40 games packed in, including some of the only Contra and Castlevania games I've never tried, and two controllers to support multiplayer games, I'm already sold on the console.

My fingers are crossed to see MUSHA, Mega Turrican, and Alien Soldier added to the console also... and with 20 games left to announce, those seem totally possible. After all, M2 has previously emulated theoe games for other consoles. (Pro tip: You can see some of the Genesis games they've emulated previously here: https://www.mtwo.co.jp/en/development/retrogame-2/)

Anyway, didn't see any conversation outside of the Talkback thread, and this is one of my most anticipated gaming-related releases coming out this year. My outlook went from skeptical when first announced, to mildly impressed when they reworked the mini console to emphasize quality and get a better development team on-board, to actively looking for more information after seeing the second wave of games (which absolutely kicked the ass of the PS Classic lineup).
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Offline Adrock

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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #1 on: May 09, 2019, 12:21:50 AM »
My thoughts haven’t changed:
I preordered Sega Genesis Mini a couple weeks ago just in case. I’m still hoping to hear some impressions/reviews before fully committing. I’m cautiously impressed so far. Sega has been doing everything right.

I wonder how easy this will be to hack. Out of curiosity, of course. I didn’t hack my NES Classic or SNES Classic. I am also curious how quickly 8bitdo can release a six-button wireless controller.
I never had a Sega Genesis growing up. I played it every few months when visiting relatives who had one. I grew up a Super Nintendo kid. It’ll be nice to try out some of these games for the first time. I have to be realistic though. I barely played either of Nintendo’s Classic Edition consoles.

Offline ejamer

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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #2 on: May 09, 2019, 08:22:08 AM »
How much are they selling it for?

In Canada, preorders are $100 CAD. Not cheap, but for a system with 40 games and two controllers, doesn't seem crazy. And the game selection so far has been impressive - stuff like Contra Hard Corps and Castlevania Bloodlines aren't cheap/easy pickups elsewhere as far as I know, and there is a decent chance that some other rarities like MUSHA could appear in the back half of the lineup.

... I barely played either of Nintendo’s Classic Edition consoles.

So this is a bit of a concern for me too. Although I really like my Nintendo classic consoles, they only get limited playing time. Too much to do, not enough time... But, playing Bubble Bobble with my kids recently has really been fantastic and every time we do bring them out it's pure bliss.

Genesis Mini won't have the same nostalgia working for it.. but I still love 8- and 16-bit games so have high expectations.
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Offline Ian Sane

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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #3 on: May 09, 2019, 12:18:17 PM »
I have gotten some play out of my SNES Classic but not as much as I would expect.  But the real reason I got it was for Star Fox 2 and I feel it was worth it just for that.  I actually own a cartridge copy of all the other games except Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts so I wasn't getting much new from it.  Also I can say over the last while that I haven't played much for ANY videogames so the SNES Classic isn't unique there.  If I had to be temporarily relocated somewhere for a few weeks the SNES Classic is exactly what I would bring with me, presuming I would have access to a TV.

The Genesis Mini doesn't appear to have any exclusives... yet, but I don't have as prominent of a Genesis collection as I do a SNES one.  I don't have Castlevania Bloodlines and it's now at the point where that isn't really affordable so this will let me get a copy.  If they include something insanely expensive like MUSHA it would be worth it just for that.

I was initially interested in the mini Neo Geo and PlayStation at first until details revealed that they were seriously flawed products.  So the mini console concept appeals to me a lot, it's just that the game selection has to be good and the emulation has to be tight and accurate.  I'm very interested in the Genesis Mini but I'll need to wait for the reviews.  M2 has a great rep so it will probably be fine and the game selection is already top notch.  But Nintendo is really the only company that has done these right thus so I have to wait for the reviews.

Offline Mop it up

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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #4 on: May 09, 2019, 12:32:09 PM »
I think I've already got what I want from the Genesis with the Classics collection on Switch, plus other scattered releases. It will probably be a fine product, just not for me. I may still end up with one if they happen to over-produce it and it gets heavily discounted.

Offline ejamer

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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #5 on: May 09, 2019, 12:55:27 PM »
... the Genesis with the Classics collection on Switch, ...

If I owned a Switch, that approach would make me think twice also - although some of the games included here (again, Castlevania and Contra being the big names so far) seem to be unique enough to draw me in.

Plus, the mini console approach is so cute and appealing!
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Offline Adrock

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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #6 on: May 09, 2019, 01:32:21 PM »
I’m pretty sure I’m not going to like either Castlevania: Bloodlines or Contra: Hard Corps. The former takes place in my least favorite century of the series and the latter is supposed to be hella difficult.

There are some Zelda-like action-RPGs I’ve read about so I hope they make it on the Genesis Mini, and if not, I’m sure there will be other ways to procure said games. ðŸ˜

Offline Luigi Dude

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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #7 on: May 09, 2019, 01:51:47 PM »
My fingers are crossed to see MUSHA, Mega Turrican, and Alien Soldier added to the console also... and with 20 games left to announce, those seem totally possible.

If they include something insanely expensive like MUSHA it would be worth it just for that.

MUSHA has already been confirmed for the Japanese version of the mini.  So I'd say it has a good chance of appearing in the US version as well.  Sonic 2 was originally announced with Sonic 1 for the Japanese version right away but they waited for the 2nd wave of games to announce it for the Western one so it can still announced in the 3rd or 4th wave.

I’m pretty sure I’m not going to like either Castlevania: Bloodlines or Contra: Hard Corps. The former takes place in my least favorite century of the series and the latter is supposed to be hella difficult.

Well with M2 involved, they usually put the ability to switch between all the different versions in their work.  The Japanese version of Contra: Hard Corps is much easier since it allows players to take 3 hits before they die and has unlimited continues, unlike its western counterpart that kills you in 1 hit and has five continues before restarting the whole game.  So if the Genesis Mini allows the ability to switch between the Japanese and American versions of the games on it, I'd heavily recommend everyone switching that game to it's Japanese counterpart.  It's still a hard game but no where near as legendary frustrating hard as its western counterpart.
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Offline ejamer

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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #8 on: May 09, 2019, 02:43:50 PM »
... MUSHA has already been confirmed for the Japanese version of the mini.  So I'd say it has a good chance of appearing in the US version as well.  ...

Fingers crossed, but it seems very possible as you point out.

What games would others like to see (even if they aren't necessarily realistic wishes)?
I'd love to see TMNT: Hyperstone Heist, Shadowrun, and Flashback.  I don't expect any of them to be there, and honestly I'm not even sure if there would be much audience for the last two...
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Offline Ian Sane

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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #9 on: May 09, 2019, 04:33:33 PM »
Well with M2 involved, they usually put the ability to switch between all the different versions in their work.  The Japanese version of Contra: Hard Corps is much easier since it allows players to take 3 hits before they die and has unlimited continues, unlike its western counterpart that kills you in 1 hit and has five continues before restarting the whole game.  So if the Genesis Mini allows the ability to switch between the Japanese and American versions of the games on it, I'd heavily recommend everyone switching that game to it's Japanese counterpart.  It's still a hard game but no where near as legendary frustrating hard as its western counterpart.

It would be fantastic if they allowed this.  I have Hard Corps but it is insanely hard even by Contra standards.  I just wonder if they would bother with such a feature when it's not the sort of thing that mainstream users would care about.  Already we do know that the North American version has the three button Genesis pads instead of the six button ones the Japanese version is getting.  My assumption is that they're going with the three button one because it's more recognizable to casual consumers.  There is a common belief that casual users are confused by options.  So not only will those users not care about regional differences, Sega might assume that including such a feature would make the interface more confusing.  I mean such a feature would expose the user to unreadable Japanese text! :)

Offline Order.RSS

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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #10 on: May 10, 2019, 12:33:30 PM »
There's a few games I'd be curious to try on one, but I don't think I'll buy one to be honest.

Thunder Force III, Super Fantasy Zone, the Mickey Mouse games and Ecco the Dolphin are the main curiosities for me. Never played Gunstar Heroes either, and I agree MUSHA would be a cool addition too.

That said, I kinda question if I would actually use the device, like several of you have mentioned. Same reason I didn't get the SNES mini, they look cute, but will I actually use one? And that one has stuff like Star Fox 2 and Final Fantasy 6 on there which I've never played, both of which are more interesting than the stuff I'd wanna try on a Genesis mini.
Genesis is a fun system though, and the inclusion of third party games is promising.

Offline Phil

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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #11 on: May 10, 2019, 01:13:28 PM »
Another batch o' games will be revealed for this puppy on May 16th:

https://dengekionline.com/articles/430/

(Link originally found in a topic on ResetERA)
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Offline ejamer

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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #12 on: May 10, 2019, 01:41:17 PM »
Another batch o' games will be revealed for this puppy on May 16th:

https://dengekionline.com/articles/430/

(Link originally found in a topic on ResetERA)

Next week? Awesome!

Looking forward to the announcement, although with mixed feelings. The last set of games included a few surprises... will this batch of games end up being a disappointment in comparison? Fingers crossed for another 1 or 2 big name titles!
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Offline Mop it up

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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #13 on: May 10, 2019, 02:34:34 PM »
Blaster Master 2 is one game we had that I don't think has ever been re-released, it would be nice to see that game again.

There is a decent amount of diversity between this and the Classics collection on Switch; right now this console has 8 games not present in the collection and that's just with half the games revealed. I also do like the Genesis controllers, I wonder if there will be some way to make them work on Switch. That said, the Castlevania game is included in that upcoming collection on Switch, so that's an easy option if I want that. Contra Hard Corps. may also be in the upcoming Contra collection.

I'm curious if this thing will have the fast-forward and rewind of the collection, that's been a very nifty feature!

Offline ejamer

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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #14 on: May 16, 2019, 08:40:53 AM »
New games were announced! Pretty close to what I expected; not as strong as the last set of games released (for my tastes) but still a solid selection. So far it looks like there are only 3 games I'd categorize as "stinkers" and would rather have replaced outright.

Getting Wily Wars as the surprise game wasn't really on my radar. Apparently the remakes of Mega Man 1-3 included aren't awesome (someone mentioned slowdown?) but the bonus content where you select which weapons you want from all three games to take on Wily in his tower at the end is pretty awesome. I'm keen to try the game at least.

Others that kind of surprised me were:
* Alex Kidd is a series I had hoped they would skip - I've never heard anyone talk positively about the series, despite it being kind of iconic. Honestly, gameplay videos look like garbage.
* Sonic Spinball is a game I had forgotten about entirely, but a novel addition.
* Street Fighter is a great game... but one that I hoped they would leave off as playing with a three-button controller kind of defeats the purpose. (Frankly, anything less than an arcade stick makes this less enjoyable for me. I understand it's there as a nod to being a classic series, but it's really not the most playable game considering how things are set up.)

Still hoping to see MUSHA make an appearance, and with only 10 games left a little worried it might not happen. In fact, there aren't many spaces left for big name surprises at all, if you assume that some other classic Genesis titles (still no Strider?!) will take up remaining slots. Fingers crossed.
« Last Edit: May 16, 2019, 03:17:11 PM by ejamer »
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Offline Ian Sane

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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #15 on: May 16, 2019, 12:45:43 PM »
Damn, Wily Wars?!  Yeah, this is a must-own once I get confirmation that the emulation is good.  I was not expecting a game like that to be included at all.

There are some great games in this new list though aside from Mega Man they're not surprising inclusions.  Phantasy Star IV for example is a mandatory inclusion for a Genesis best-of but I would be more surprised if they didn't have it.

Street Fighter II with the three button controller is just plain dumb.  They either should have gone with the six button controller or left this on the JP version.  As an owner of the SNES Classic it doesn't matter to me because SF2 is on that with the full six buttons but it just makes no sense to go with such a compromised version of the game.  Probably Capcom insisting on including it and running into the roadblock of Sega US wanting the three button controller.

Sonic Spinball is trash but it always gets dusted off for these compilations so I'm not surprised to see it.  One thing that is nice about Nintendo is that their really meh retro games tended to be early NES titles so with the SNES Classic there really wasn't much risk of obvious first party clunkers eating up spots.

For the last ten I assume we're going to see Phantasy Star II and maybe III.  Sonic 3 & Knuckles would be an obvious choice to include but rumour has it that Michael Jackson's estate is mucking that up due to music rights.  Revenge of Shinobi is on the Japanese version and I don't see a reason not to include it on the American one.  But why would they announce a game specifically for the Japanese version and not announce it for the American one at the same time?  Maybe there are rights issues with the bosses that resemble Spider-Man and Batman, though they altered those for the VC release.

For clunkers I'm calling the following titles: Flicky, Bonanza Bros, Sonic 3D Blast.  No one likes these games but they get included every time.

Offline ejamer

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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #16 on: May 16, 2019, 03:15:57 PM »
It's weird - in Japan they include only a single controller with six buttons, in North America they include two controllers with three buttons each. Neither choice is well-suited to Street Fighter, although at least in Japan they'd only have to buy one extra controller to fix things.

I understand the choice from a "historically important" viewpoint, but still feel like that's a lame game to include due of those issues.  Oh well, still better than playing Alex Kidd...
 ;)

...  But why would they announce a game specifically for the Japanese version and not announce it for the American one at the same time?  ...

You might be right. Unfortunate if true, as MUSHA would be a fantastic value addition!
« Last Edit: May 16, 2019, 03:24:00 PM by ejamer »
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Offline Ian Sane

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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #17 on: May 16, 2019, 04:47:29 PM »
Just thought of something interesting.  Revenge of Shinobi had a couple variations due to trademark infringement issues.  One thing they did was change a Batman lookalike character into a bat creature.  But the Spider-Man lookalike was initially kept as is.  The reason why is because Sega had released a Spider-Man game and since they at the time had the Genesis game rights to the character they put a Marvel Comics copyright notice on the title screen and made it an officially licensed Spider-Man cameo.  They wouldn't have the rights to Spider-Man now except that Spider-Man now belongs to Disney and we're already getting Mickey Mouse games on this thing.  So in theory Disney might be able to approve of Spider-Man as well.

But then someone else might have exclusive video game rights to Spider-Man and that blocks it.

Offline Luigi Dude

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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #18 on: May 16, 2019, 05:08:44 PM »
...  But why would they announce a game specifically for the Japanese version and not announce it for the American one at the same time?  ...

You might be right. Unfortunate if true, as MUSHA would be a fantastic value addition!

Well in the 1st wave Sonic 2 was announced for Japan but we had to wait until Wave 2 for that.  But the really weird thing is Sonic 1 has not been announced for Japan.  I guess since Sonic isn't as popular in Japan they can get away with just putting 2 since that's the one most fans prefer, where 1 is kind of a requirement for the West since it's the game that allowed them to even be competitive, something they never got a chance in Japan. 

Of course I'd like to imagine Shinobi 3 is coming to the Japanese version since that would be very weird to just release Revenge in Japan when you'd think the Japanese Sega fans would love both games.  Unless Sega did a poll and found Revenge more popular in Japan and Shinobi 3 more popular in the West and did the split so they'd have more room in both versions for other games they feel might be a better fit for each region, like Sonic Spinball and Alex Kid  :(

So it'll be interesting if the last Wave for both versions involves games that have already been announced for other regions or will it increase the amount of exclusives each region has. 
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Offline broodwars

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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #19 on: May 16, 2019, 06:59:07 PM »
Considering they have 2 Disney games in there already, I have to figure the killer app would be Aladdin. If they somehow acquired that, I'd probably give this thing a shot.
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Offline Ian Sane

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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #20 on: May 16, 2019, 07:05:00 PM »
Aladdin might have rights issues.  It was published by Sega but developed by Virgin Games and they might have some rights to it.  Might be like Goldeneye where the publisher, IP holder and developer are all unconnected.

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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #21 on: May 16, 2019, 11:15:36 PM »
Street Fighter II has to be there even if it’s handcuffed by the included controller. I just hope the games are still compatible with the six button layout because 8bitdo to the rescue.

Offline Luigi Dude

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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #22 on: May 16, 2019, 11:18:07 PM »
Aladdin might have rights issues.  It was published by Sega but developed by Virgin Games and they might have some rights to it.  Might be like Goldeneye where the publisher, IP holder and developer are all unconnected.

There's also the music rights.  When Capcom ported the SNES version of Aladdin to the GBA they had to replace some of the music because the songs were separate copyrights.  Most of the time when Disney gets a musician to make songs for their movies the musician owns the copyright to the songs they create.  And when many of these songs are about to be remixed for the upcoming live action movie, that could make them popular again, I don't think Sega wants to pay the price these songs will probably cost.
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Offline ejamer

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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #23 on: June 03, 2019, 11:29:13 PM »
Final 10 games to be announced for the Japanese system in just a few hours.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWrju-vgZMw

Surely the North American release list will follow before long - although whether that means hours or days is hard to say. I haven't heard any official announcement about when they'll confirm the remaining games for other regions.

I'm still really excited about this. There have been a few stinkers announced so far, but far more games that I'm keen to try. Keeping my fingers crossed for a big announcement in the final 10. Rumors have been circulating about TMNT: Hyperstone Heist after Sega twitter used "Cowabunga!" in a recent tweet. Still seems unlikely to me, but what a score that would be!
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Offline ejamer

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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #24 on: June 04, 2019, 07:36:33 AM »
My own (meaningless) livestream impressions for the final set of Japanese releases:

Is Columns a garbage game, or is that just me? I've played it a bunch of times but never found the gameplay compelling or particularly well designed. Am I missing something?

Next up: Monster World IV - a fantastic game that was first released in a translated version on Wii Virtual Console. Totally worth playing, and would be a huge win for the North American console if it makes the cut here.

Dynamite Headdy is a game I know nothing about, but has a good reputation. Langrisser 2, Target Earth, and Alisia Dragoon (this one looked really cool) are the next few, and I know less about them than Headdy...

Road Rash 2.  Hmm... I've heard people asking for this game, and excited about it.  Gotta be honest, looks like trash, and my vague recollections of playing Road Rage games back in the day aren't good.  Better than Columns, I guess? Definitely not a game I would have asked for though.

Slap Fight. Great name for a vertical scrolling shmup that looks reminiscent of Xevious (a game I've always considered overrated) but with a Gradius-style power up system and some upgraded effects? I was really skeptical when they started showing it... but now kind of interested.

Ahhh!  Snow Bros!  I love this game.  If you haven't played it, the game is very reminiscent of Bubble Bobble; two players progress through a series of single-screen stages by covering their enemies in snow and rolling them to their doom. It's fun and silly. Really hope this comes to North America.

Last game announced in Japan is Lord Monarch. Total mystery to me, make your own assessment.


APPARENTLY... there are more games still being announced, even though they already hit 40?  My actual work has started, so I'm not on the live steam anymore... Darius (maybe a fan-made version) and Tetris are what I've heard rumors of so far, and apparently the live stream didn't end yet?  Pretty cool if true!

---

Would any of these games excite you guys if announced for release in other regions?
Hard to say how many will be carried over into other versions of the console; guess we'll have to wait and see!
« Last Edit: June 04, 2019, 08:20:45 AM by ejamer »
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Offline Order.RSS

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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #25 on: June 04, 2019, 08:43:18 AM »
Alisia Dragoon would be a really cool addition if that makes it in the Western release. You basically shoot lightning everywhere and hope your dragon/eagle assistant takes care of the rest. Lot of exploration too, supposedly. I've never seen that cartridge at an affordable price.

RE: Columns, I think a lot of that game's appeal is mired in history. The Genesis version predates the SNES, so it would have compared favourably to the NES version of Tetris - especially because Columns had multiplayer too. On Game Gear meanwhile, it was the pack-in release and in colour compared to Game Boy Tetris.
I think in retrospect it has aged less favourably, since the music is a lot worse than Tetris' offerings and the visual style looks a lot like cheap mobile phone games from 2005. But I guess at the time Columns was considered a solid puzzle game on home computers, and when it came to Sega devices it had more colours and features than NES/GB Tetris.

Offline ejamer

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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #26 on: June 04, 2019, 09:39:04 AM »
And from Sega official twitter we have the final set of North American games getting added:

Quote
The last 12 titles are:
- Tetris
- Darius
- Road Rash II
- Strider
- Virtua Fighter 2
- Alisia Dragoon
- Columns
- Dynamite Headdy
- Kid Chameleon
- Monster World IV
- Light Crusader
- Eternal Champions

Honestly, this last batch in North America is kind of a let down. Monster World IV, Dynamite Headdy, and Alisia Dragoon are great additions, and the two "bonus" games (Tetris and Darius) are awesome. But there is a lot of filler here - some expected because of being well known titles from Genesis history, some oddities that require a six-button controller (when the system only ships with three-button controllers), and some that could have been replaced by sequels or outright better games.

Kid Chameleon, Eternal Champions, Light Crusader, Columns, Strider... few would miss these games if they weren't included, and except for one they are all widely available elsewhere. It's a shame we missed out on some gems that other regions received (like MUSHA, Alien Soldier, Snow Bros, Revenge of Shinobi) or that were highly anticipated but didn't end up making the cut (like Rocket Knight Adventures or Sparkster, Pulseman, Shadowrun, Mega Turrican, Ristar, Mutant League Football, or countless others).

Someone on the resetera forums where they were discussing this release pretty heavily made a great comment:
Quote
This product is 75% awesome, 25% “what the hell are you doingâ€. So, it’s actually a fairly good representation of Sega as a company.
I laughed, but don't really disagree.

Luckily, they got enough right here to quell any disappointment in the overall lineup. Lots of rare and expensive games are included, and it really does offer a pretty broad swath of gaming from the 16-bit era. There are at least a dozen games I'm looking forward to trying for the first time in September, and some others that I already love included in the package... not a bad deal!
« Last Edit: June 04, 2019, 10:24:17 AM by ejamer »
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Offline broodwars

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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #27 on: June 04, 2019, 10:38:54 AM »
I see nothing appealing in this final round of NA game announcements, so I guess I won't be getting this. Meh.
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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #28 on: June 04, 2019, 10:40:08 AM »
Thanks for posting the Western additions eJamer. This product has gotten a lot more interesting.
Does Genesis Mini include the option of savestates? There's some cool games on here I'd be willing to save-scum my way through.

Highlights for me:
-Monster World IV looks a lot like Shantae 3 to me.
-Strider I'm happy about, cool action game.
-Light Crusader could be awful, but I think it's Treasure's only real RPG? Worth a look.
-Between Landstalker and Beyond Oasis you have basically 2 Zelda type games here.
-Cool shmups like Super Fantasy Zone, Thunder Force III, Space Harrier 2, Gunstar Heroes.

Dissapointments:
-Where the **** is Outrun you cowards. (I guess it's a license thing?)
-Are there any good fighting games here? The Virtua Fighter 2 down-port looks hideous, Eternal Champions looks like an also-ran, and this Street Fighter II version isn't the best either I think. Bummer they didn't go for Mortal Kombat, or the SNK fighters on Genesis (Samurai Shodown, Art of Fighting, Fatal Fury).
-EDIT: It's kinda annoying how Sega Genesis Classics on Switch includes stuff that's not on here (Alien Soldier, Phantasy Star II & III, Toejam & Earl 2, Ristar, Golden Axe II & III, Shining Force II & III, Streets of Rage 1 & 3, Revenge of Shinobi, Vectorman 2). But vice versa you're missing a lot too. I wish they'd just include all of these on Genesis Mini, even if it pushes it to 60 games.

Bummer about MUSHA Aleste too, but of course it'll never include everything.
With all my whining said & done though, I'm fairly interested in this now. Definitely keeping an eye on reviews when it comes out, but it'd be nice to replace my old Genesis with this one if it's a quality product and has savestates.

« Last Edit: June 04, 2019, 11:10:47 AM by Steefosaurus »

Offline Adrock

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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #29 on: June 04, 2019, 10:47:21 AM »
Mini add-ons for Sega CD and 32X. Non-functional, just for decoration.

Offline ejamer

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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #30 on: June 04, 2019, 11:10:38 AM »
Yes, the Genesis Mini includes save states - looked like 4 saves per game based on the video from Japan. The menu system for this mini console seems pretty decent too.

Hopefully you enjoy Monster World IV; some of the game design is a bit old-school, but it's a really solid title and I had a lot of fun with it!

Regarding fighting games, I also would've rather get Mortal Kombat 3 on the list than Virtua Fighter 2. Apparently VF2 isn't a bad game though. Apparently Eternal Champions is?  Skipping over the SNK fighters doesn't affect me because I have a couple of SNK collections on the Wii including most those games, and they are superb when played with the Tatsunoko v Capcom arcade sticks.

Good to see that broodwars continues to live up to his "king of the curmudgeons" status.   ;)


Dirty (but probably unsurprising) admission: if this ends up being easy to mod, I'm going to be pirating some games that made it in other regions but were cut here. Goodbye Alex Kidd, hello MUSHA! *fingers crossed*
« Last Edit: June 04, 2019, 11:39:41 AM by ejamer »
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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #31 on: June 04, 2019, 11:19:38 AM »
...
-EDIT: It's kinda annoying how Sega Genesis Classics on Switch includes stuff that's not on here (Alien Soldier, Phantasy Star II & III, Toejam & Earl 2, Ristar, Golden Axe II & III, Shining Force II & III, Streets of Rage 1 & 3, Revenge of Shinobi, Vectorman 2). But vice versa you're missing a lot too. I wish they'd just include all of these on Genesis Mini, even if it pushes it to 60 games.
...

It would be cool to have a "comprehensive, collector's version" of the mini system.
I'd pay extra if it were possible to have all the missing Sega Genesis Classics games thrown in, just to get rid of the redundancy.
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Offline Ian Sane

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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #32 on: June 04, 2019, 11:20:14 AM »
That final list of 12 is not that exciting unfortunately.  From a historical perspective I get the appeal of Tetris but, it's just Tetris, you know?  There are a thousand versions of that game.

What the hell is Virtua Fighter 2 doing here ahead of literally any other first party Sega game?  The Genesis version was a WTF release even back then.  This is the Sega equivalent of Rainbow Six - a scaled down **** version that no one even wanted then and has ZERO historical significance today.

Still the SNES Classic had 21 great games and if you filter out the junk this has at least that so you can consider the filler an unwelcome "bonus".

This makes Nintendo look better retroactively in the 16 bit console wars though.  I'm trying to think what first party SNES titles Nintendo could have included that would be such obvious filler.  There's no Super Scope support, Nintendo probably doesn't own the rights to Mario is Missing since it's essentially a Mario skinned Carmen Sandiego game... I guess if they went nuts with puzzle titles like Wario's Woods and Yoshi's Cookie.  Does Stunt Race FX not hold up?  Honestly it's hard to think of outright junk first party SNES titles but Sega could be "relied on" to have a couple a year.

At least Sonic 3D Blast isn't on this thing.

Offline ejamer

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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #33 on: June 04, 2019, 11:25:40 AM »
...  Does Stunt Race FX not hold up?  ...

It doesn't hold up well at all.
Interesting from a "tech" standpoint, but pretty bad as a game.
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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #34 on: June 04, 2019, 12:30:11 PM »
I actually think Stunt Race FX would be fine if they smoothed out the framerate...

In any case, for those wondering, the final count of games which are not included in the Genesis Classics collection on Switch stands at 19. Close to half of them, not bad diversity. Here's the list:

Ecco the Dolphin
Earthworm Jim
Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse
World of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck
Super Fantasy Zone
Mega Man: The Wily Wars
Ghouls ’n Ghosts
Darius
Road Rash 2
Strider
Alisia Dragoon
Eternal Champions
Castlevania: Bloodlines*
Contra Hard Corps.*
Thunder Force III**
Street Fighter 2: Special Champion Edition***
Tetris****
Wonder Boy in Monster World*****
Monster World 4*****

*Available on Switch in their respective collection
**Its sequel, Thunder Force IV, is a Sega Ages title on Switch
***There's that Street Fighter collection on Switch, though I dunno if it includes this exact version.
****Other Tetris games on Switch of course.
*****While these aren't in the Switch version of Sega Genesis Classics, they are included in the PS4 and XBONE versions.

Wow, that's a lotta footnotes. In any case, I can't say there's much here I would want. The only way I could see myself getting one of these is what I've said before, if they happen to overproduce them and they become cheap. It's a good product for the right people, though.

Offline ShyGuy

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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #35 on: June 04, 2019, 09:50:43 PM »
TETRIS

Offline Shaymin

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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #36 on: June 04, 2019, 10:11:47 PM »
Virtua Fighter 2 is a good game.

The Genesis version of Virtua Fighter 2 is an abomination.
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Offline Luigi Dude

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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #37 on: June 04, 2019, 10:25:06 PM »
So it looks like the best version in the end will be the Asian version.  For anyone that doesn't know, there's also a third version of this mini that's being released in several of the non-Japan Asian countries and it basically takes the best of the Western and Japanese versions.  It also has a few exclusives like Alien Soldier which is pretty awesome too.

Seriously, look at this lineup.


Alien Soldier
Alisa Dragoon
Assault Suit Leynos (Target Earth)
Castle of Illusion
Castlevania: Bloodlines
Columns
Comix Zone
Contra: Hard Corps
Darius
Ghouls & Ghosts
Golden Axe
Gunstar Heroes
Landstalker
Langrisser 2
Mega Man: The Wily Wars
Monster World IV
MUSHA
OutRun 2019
Phantasy Star IV
Puzzle & Action: Tant-R
Puyo Puyo
Puyo Puyo Tsu
Road Rash 2
SEGA Game Series Value Edition (this is a compilation game that includes several smaller Sega games like Flicky)
Shining Force
Shining Force II
Slap Fight
Snow Bros.
Sonic the Hedgehog
Sonic the Hedgehog 2
Space Harrier II
Streets of Rage 2
Strider
Super Fantasy Zone
Sword of Vermilion
Tetris
The Revenge of Shinobi
The Story of Thor (aka Beyond Oasis)
Thunder Force III
Wonder Boy in Monster World
World of Illusion
Wrestleball


So yeah, looks like the Asian mini is the one I'll be getting.  The only negative I have with this one is it losses Dynamite Headdy and Shinobi 3, but it still has the most consistent lineup of the 3.
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Offline ejamer

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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #38 on: June 05, 2019, 07:44:53 AM »
TETRIS

Saw a twitter post regarding this. Apparently it's not an old version of Tetris, but a new development (sort of a "what if" scenario that takes lessons learned from many Tetris releases, but still could have worked on Genesis hardware) created just for this release.

EDIT: Another report I've read, which seems more credible, suggests that this game will be a port of the arcade version of Tetris to the Genesis specs. So it's probably not an entirely new game? I don't know... and I don't know if it really matters.

So it looks like the best version in the end will be the Asian version.  ...

Hmm... Interesting.
For anyone curious, there is a sortable table on the Wikipedia page that will let you compare what's in/out for each regional release.

That does look like the most appealing lineup. Losing Dynamite Headdy, Earthworm Jim, and Toejam & Earl is unfortunate... but otherwise it drops all of the least interesting games from the North American console and replaces with them something better. (Swapping out one good Shinobi game for a different good Shinobi game is a sideways move.) I'd be keen to play all of Alien Soldier, Assault Suit Leynos, MUSHA, Shining Force II, Slap Fight MD, and Snow Bros.

Do we know anything about language settings on the mini conosle though? I'm wondering if the system menus and/or emulated games will allow different language selections; otherwise this might be more hassle than it's worth.  Also, where are you importing from and are there any issues around power supply?  (Answers might not be known yet.)

One last funny thing I noticed: this release includes just one 6-button controller, but then removes all of the fighting games that would be the main reasons to use that controller... weird.
« Last Edit: June 06, 2019, 07:31:14 PM by ejamer »
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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #39 on: June 06, 2019, 05:30:52 PM »
And now it's time for a completely unnecessary post where I evaluate the games not contained in the Switch collection to determine how worthwhile it might be for me.

Alisia Dragoon
I've never heard of this before. It looks sort of like a Castlevania game, I think? Those are okay, this might be okay.

Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse
World of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck

I've never particularly cared for Disney stuff even as a kid, so these probably wouldn't do much for me without that nostalgia factor.

Castlevania: Bloodlines
Contra Hard Corps.

We used to have Contra Hard Corps. so I wouldn't mind giving that a go, and I'm curious about the Castlevania game as well. However, both are on Switch if I really want them.

Darius
I've never cared for shmups.

Earthworm Jim
I have this for the SNES, but apparently this version is supposed to be better. Even if that is the case, I sort of feel like the only notable thing about it is how wacky it was for the time period.

Ecco the Dolphin
I don't have this anymore, but playing it once was enough for me.

Eternal Champions
I've never heard of this, and it sort of looks like I'm better off that way...?

Ghouls ’n Ghosts
Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts isn't my kind of game, so I don't see why this one would be.

Mega Man: The Wily Wars
While I am curious about the changes here, it's ultimately still three games I already own and played.

Road Rash 2
I've played one of these on the PlayStation which was good for a laugh, but I feel like that was enough for me.

Street Fighter 2: Special Champion Edition
I've never liked fighting games.

Strider
I have the NES version and I hate it. Who wants to buy it off me?

Super Fantasy Zone
This looks like a really weird shmup so I would probably try it, but wouldn't stick with it.

Tetris
This will probably have some minute differences that the hardcore fans appreciate, but that ain't me.

Thunder Force III
Shmups not my thing.

Wonder Boy in Monster World
Monster World 4

I was disappointed that they cut these from the Switch version of Sega Genesis Classics for unknown reasons. They look pretty interesting and are the main two games I would want out of this bunch.

As you can see, most of this stuff is a mild curiosity for me at best, I'm afraid...

Offline ejamer

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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #40 on: June 06, 2019, 07:29:19 PM »
...
Mega Man: The Wily Wars
While I am curious about the changes here, it's ultimately still three games I already own and played.
...
Strider
I have the NES version and I hate it. Who wants to buy it off me?
...

Not at all saying it's worthwhile for you - but just a couple of points that might interest you (if a friend buys one or something).

Wily Wars isn't just the first three Mega Man games remade and packaged together, it's also got the Wily Tower game mode available after you finish the basic games.  Quoting from the megaman.fandom.com site:
Quote
Wily Tower
Wily Tower is an optional bonus game unlocked after clearing all three Mega Man games on the same save file. In Wily Tower, Dr. Wily has created three new robots specifically designed to destroy Mega Man to act as guardians of the tower. These robots are known as the Genesis Unit, since the game was released for the Sega Genesis, and are patterned on characters from the Chinese novel, Journey to the West.

Players are given the option to pick up to eight out of the twenty-two weapons from Mega Man 1, 2, and 3, as well as up to three out of the seven transport items from those games. (It is possible to begin a stage without selecting any weapons/transport items, but obviously not recommended unless you are looking for a self-imposed challenge.) Wily Tower stages feature nearly all of the enemies from the first three games, with notable exceptions being the Air Tikki from Mega Man 2.

For me, this mode is pretty exciting because it's kind of like a new (mini) Mega Man game. Plus I'm a big fan of Journey to the West...

Also, the NES version of Strider is very very different from the Genesis version. That doesn't mean I think Strider is a great game on Genesis (it's ok, I guess) but comparing the two versions is like apples and oranges.
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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #41 on: June 06, 2019, 08:01:34 PM »
Strider on the Genesis is a great game and it was a very faithful arcade port in its time.  But that's the problem with it.  The arcade version has been made available numerous times since then.  I have it on the Capcom Classics Collection for the PS2.  So now the Genesis version is really just an inferior version.  Ghouls n Ghosts has the same issue, except the Genesis version has codes which I personally find essentially to have any fun with it.

I get that there is some nostalgia for these versions but I feel in general arcade ports aren't ideal for these mini-consoles, unless they're something like Contra on the NES where the home version has some unique elements that keep it relevant.  I get why Street Fighter II showed up on both the Genesis and SNES minis but it is not that hard to find arcade-perfect Street Fighter II so I see no point in playing these old versions.

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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #42 on: June 07, 2019, 08:50:15 AM »
Road Rash 2 is one of those games I think I have fonder memories than what it deserves.  The idea of a racer where you can knock people off their bikes with weapons as an actual strategy to win was a distinction at the time. 

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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #43 on: June 14, 2019, 09:21:35 AM »
So there was an announcement for TurboGrafx-16 Mini made by Konami over E3 this year...

Although I have huge respect for PC Engine (and regional variations) I'm not that excited about a mini console. There just weren't as many games that I feel like I've missed out on - partly because I played a good selection of highly-rated TurboGrafx games during the Virtual Console days.

Anyway... not really related to this topic, but felt like I'd just throw mention here and let someone who is more excited about the release create a thread if they want.
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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #44 on: August 14, 2019, 10:54:28 AM »
Previews for Genesis Mini are popping up. Looks like a winner.

The Sega Genesis Mini Builds On What Made Nintendo’s Tiny Consoles Great

Offline ejamer

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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #45 on: August 14, 2019, 11:36:47 AM »
Previews for Genesis Mini are popping up. Looks like a winner.

The Sega Genesis Mini Builds On What Made Nintendo’s Tiny Consoles Great

Nice!  I recently noticed that my amazon.ca order had been price adjusted to $80 CAD, and then realized these little beasts aren't too far away now.

Will be nice to read a bit of hype about it and get excited. Thanks for sharing the link!
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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #46 on: August 14, 2019, 01:38:10 PM »
Sega are really marketing this pretty hard. Looks like they've sent a bunch of gaming-related Youtube shows units to test out. There's several previews in my recommended watch lists already, at least.
Quick look at a few articles seem to suggest it's a quality product, but there's some sound lag apparantly. Doesn't seem like a total dealbreaker though.

And now it's time for a completely unnecessary post where I evaluate the games not contained in the Switch collection to determine how worthwhile it might be for me.
[...]

Fun to read these thoughts, plus it's helpful to know the differences between the Mini and the Switch Collection! Annoying that there's still no definitive, one-stop shop for retro Sega though. I get that they don't want to cannibalise potential sales of the Collection with the Mini; but I'd like to replace my old Genesis with one product, not multiple.
That said, I think I've made up my mind to go for the TG-16 Mini instead and maybe get the Switch Collection sometime down the road when I've finally upgraded to Switch. 


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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #47 on: August 16, 2019, 12:49:26 PM »
I'd love to grab one for adding to my row of legacy consoles since I have yet to grab an original Genesis, but I'm disappointed in the actual lineup. Will be a bargain bin purchase for me as I would rather put that money towards grabbing an OG Genesis and the handful of games I actually liked on it.
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Offline ejamer

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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #48 on: August 16, 2019, 07:33:07 PM »
I'd love to grab one for adding to my row of legacy consoles since I have yet to grab an original Genesis, but I'm disappointed in the actual lineup. Will be a bargain bin purchase for me as I would rather put that money towards grabbing an OG Genesis and the handful of games I actually liked on it.

I'd love to hear some elaboration on what games you want that are missing, just because it's fun to hear what games people are excited about.

To me, the lineup is pretty good. There are a handful that I would personally have swapped out, and a couple of notable (mostly niche) omissions... but a good enough mix of popular classics and rare/oft-forgotten gems to justify the purchase. I am sad that none of Flashback, TMNT Hyperstone Heist, Shadowrun, MUSHA, Mega Turrican, or Alien Soldier made the cut though; doubly so for the games that will get released in other regions but not here.

I think the "Asian" version has a better overall lineup - and depending on which country you order from that version comes with a 6-button controller too. The extra cost/complexity in tracking one down wasn't worthwhile for me though.

Frankly, I'm expecting we'll see this thing hacked eventually anyway, like all of the other mini consoles released recently. If it does, I'd consider dropping a few of the worst games here and replacing them with some different titles.
« Last Edit: August 16, 2019, 07:37:31 PM by ejamer »
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Offline ejamer

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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #49 on: September 12, 2019, 11:16:26 AM »
Ugh.  Just got an email from Amazon.ca. 

My Genesis Mini order is on the way - or at least it will be shortly are the release date, so I can expect it to show up anytime after September 25th. Meanwhile, some Walmart stores in Ontario have reportedly broken street date and already have units available to purchase. By the time mine arrives, the hardware will probably already have been hacked.

I've heard rumors that in other regions Amazon ships things early to account for delivery times, so that the product actually arrives when it's supposed to get released. If true, then I wish they'd start doing that here in Canada also. Waiting for a week or two (assuming there isn't any delay in the delivery process) can be a real bummer when you are excited about something... and I need something good to help wash away the taste of PS Classic failure.
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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #50 on: September 12, 2019, 01:22:57 PM »
I'd love to grab one for adding to my row of legacy consoles since I have yet to grab an original Genesis, but I'm disappointed in the actual lineup. Will be a bargain bin purchase for me as I would rather put that money towards grabbing an OG Genesis and the handful of games I actually liked on it.

I'd love to hear some elaboration on what games you want that are missing, just because it's fun to hear what games people are excited about.

I was misinformed on the game list. I was reading everyone listing their thoughts off on them, but realized that those wereonly games that they either did not own/play yet or the last of the unannounced titles. The complete list looks real nice.
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Offline ejamer

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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #51 on: September 12, 2019, 02:45:49 PM »
...
I was misinformed on the game list. I was reading everyone listing their thoughts off on them, but realized that those wereonly games that they either did not own/play yet or the last of the unannounced titles. The complete list looks real nice.

Fair enough.

There are a few switches I'd have liked for the included library of games - a few included are kind of garbage unless you have specific nostalgia for those games, and a few only available in other regions are tough-to-find gems that I'd really like to play - but overall the lineup sounds decent.



Early reviews are trickling out now. Most sound positive, with the expected caveats (game selection is locked, emulation isn't perfect, 3-button controllers packed in).

The only concerning thing I've seen are reports of a mysterious "double input" issue with the controllers, so that rapid inputs can sometimes be duplicated. In fast-paced games or when precision is required that could be an issue. However, I've also seen reports that it's only because the USB plug that SEGA included should have provided higher amperage - so if you have a decent quality one at home this would be a complete non-issue. (Still kind of a bummer, but not a deal-breaker like faulty controller input would actually be... this could also explain why some people didn't experience the issue, assuming they were just plugging into a different USB power source.)
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Offline ejamer

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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #52 on: September 20, 2019, 11:42:35 AM »
Now that it's released and people are starting to see them arrive, how is everyone feeling about the Genesis Mini?

What game(s) will, or did, you play first?
(I'll probably hit up Fantasy Zone or Darius for some quick action.)

Did you notice any specific disappointments or surprises? 
(I'm disappointed there has been no official carrying case announced - or at least I have seen one, despite looking. How am I going to store this cool little mini-console when not in use?)


After considering cancelling the order for a little while due to finances, I'm especially glad to have my mini in hand and look forward to actually unboxing and playing with the unit.
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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #53 on: September 20, 2019, 03:29:19 PM »
In the end I decided against getting this one. Still looking to upgrade to a Switch someday and the Genesis Collection on there is probably a better idea for me. Bummer Alisia Dragoon and Monster World 4 aren't on there of course, but you can't win 'em all.

Still keeping an eye on the TG-16 mini. I think I might go for that one, but it's a bit outside impulse buy territory, price-wise. With all these mini consoles I'm kinda worried I just wouldn't use it after the first month or so.

Offline ejamer

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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #54 on: September 21, 2019, 12:51:30 PM »
Had the chance to set up my Genesis Mini and play for about an hour - not perfect, but not bad.

However some of the games really don't hold up over time. The worst culprit so far was Strider - a friend of a friend had a Genesis back in the day, and this was the first game I ever saw that was on a system more powerful than an NES. It was impressive then, but the controls are horrible and the animation is really choppy and the graphics haven't held up at all. Ugh! It would have been better left to nostalgia.

Tetris is also a dog. It's neat and novel to have it included, but the controls in that game are so sluggish that you never feel as in control as you should. Worth trying once for the novelty, but probably not something I would ever go back to.

Not everything is dire though. Contra Hard Corps is excellent, Dr Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine is still a lot of fun, and Darius was also a blast and something I'd like to put some more time into. 

Super Fantasy Zone was pretty mediocre out of the gate - the hit boxes are weird and the game seemed slower paced than what I recalled - but seemed to get better after I understood the systems a bit better. In retrospect, I should have made Gunstar Heroes my first game played on the mini console because that game absolutely rocks... but this wasn't a terrible choice.

Lots more to explore when I have time, and  looking forward to it.
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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #55 on: September 21, 2019, 01:21:37 PM »
Out of curiosity, does this still have the fast-forward and rewind features of the console collection?

Offline ejamer

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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #56 on: September 21, 2019, 03:04:13 PM »
Out of curiosity, does this still have the fast-forward and rewind features of the console collection?

Nope - that's a missing feature.
(Not a feature that I use personally... but it's still unfortunate that it's missing considering lots of other classic consoles have it available.)
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Offline ejamer

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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #57 on: September 22, 2019, 07:34:13 PM »
My son and I played for another hour today: Monster World IV, Sonic 1 and 2, Earthworm Jim, and Streets of Rage 2.  I wanted to show him some of the better games on the console, and feel like all of those hold up better than I had anticipated.

Gotta admit, the sound delay is more than just noticeable, it's significant and would be problematic anytime that audio cues matters to gameplay. I can write off most of the other complaints, but this one is a real bummer. On the flipside, the audio sounds pretty good...

Between that, and hearing reports that the chip they are using isn't running at full capacity (which might improve performance), it makes me wonder if there will be adjustments or a second revision that improves on a couple details, or if this printing will be all the Genesis Mini console that get made. Apparently hackers are making good progress, so maybe it'll be a moot point eventually?

Asked my son how he rated the various mini consoles, and his response was: NES, SNES, Genesis, PSX. I'd probably put SNES at the top personally, but otherwise tend to agree. The Genesis Mini is a fine little diversion, but the games we've played so far just don't seem to hold up as well as Nintendo's first-party stuff. That's probably not a surprise to anyone here.
« Last Edit: September 23, 2019, 12:36:31 PM by ejamer »
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Offline ejamer

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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #58 on: September 23, 2019, 12:42:45 PM »
Anyone else playing Mega Man: The Wily Wars? It's... odd.  The classic NES Mega Man games are something that I spent a lot of time with, and so the 16-bit vibe and changes to controls/balance all feel very foreign to me. But I like it - except for the super-slow shooting speed.

I remember hammering on the attack button often in Mega Man 2 and making my way through stages without relying on subweapons at all; that doesn't fly here and you need to be more careful and strategic to avoid taking too much damage. Also, trying to take out Wood Man with the Metal Blade is easy on NES but much less so here.

Keen to play further into Wily Wars, and especially excited to unlock the all-new Wily Tower stages after beating remakes of the first three games in the series.
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Offline Mop it up

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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #59 on: September 23, 2019, 06:52:26 PM »
Asked my son how he rated the various mini consoles, and his response was: NES, SNES, Genesis, PSX.
The only thing I find surprising is that he put NES at the top. Very surprising indeed. Did you ask why he felt that way? I'm very curious what would cause someone to prefer NES over these others, even in the context of just the games on the NES and SNES Classics.

Offline ejamer

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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #60 on: September 23, 2019, 10:21:32 PM »
Asked my son how he rated the various mini consoles, and his response was: NES, SNES, Genesis, PSX.
The only thing I find surprising is that he put NES at the top. Very surprising indeed. Did you ask why he felt that way? I'm very curious what would cause someone to prefer NES over these others, even in the context of just the games on the NES and SNES Classics.

Bubble Bobble carries a lot of weight around here.

For what it's worth, I think he actually enjoys the games on the SNES better overall. There are just a specific few on NES that we've been playing together lately swaying his opinion.
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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #61 on: September 24, 2019, 08:44:30 AM »
The sound stuff is a bummer.  I didn't think it'd be something that bothered me with the SNES classic, but there's a skip in the Super Mario World music that always grates me when I hear it.  Since I played the Genesis a lot more as a kid, I worry it's really gonna aggravate me.  Only got 3 months to figure that out though, and as you eluded to ejamer, there's hope some things can be improved/fixed with mods.


Offline Adrock

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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #62 on: September 24, 2019, 07:30:01 PM »
Tried a few of games. They all suffer from typical Genesis Jank®. I didn’t have a Sega Genesis back in the 90s. I played it at my cousin’s house when we visited. It was an exciting time though I’m thankful my parent’s chose Super Nintendo (because they recognized the brand... seriously, that’s it). A lot of old games don’t hold up well because they lacked polish back in the day which is even more pronounced now. I was really excited to play Beyond Oasis, but it’s full of weird design choices.

I’ll try a few more games then probably put the Genesis Mini away for a while. I can’t play from my couch, and yes, that matters. I’m spoiled rotten by wireless, and I just never really liked the original Genesis controller. 8bitdo was super late with announcing its Genesis Mini controller so it doesn’t release for another month. I’ll revisit it then. I like having the Genesis Mini. It’s the closest thing to having the original without the cost of collecting. I’m sure someone will hack this in due time though I didn’t hack the NES Classic or SNES Classic (yet?).
« Last Edit: September 24, 2019, 07:38:06 PM by Adrock »

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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #63 on: September 24, 2019, 08:04:56 PM »
I was really excited to play Beyond Oasis, but it’s full of weird design choices.
Interesting. I can't help but be curious, what did you not like about this game? Coincidentally I actually just finished my own first playthrough of the game on the Switch collection, and I was pretty impressed with it and enjoyed it quite a bit. It might end up as one of my fave Genesis games but time will tell. Of course, it probably helps that I had never before heard of the game and therefore I had no expectations.

Bubble Bobble carries a lot of weight around here.

For what it's worth, I think he actually enjoys the games on the SNES better overall. There are just a specific few on NES that we've been playing together lately swaying his opinion.
I s'pose there weren't very many co-op games back then so those ones certainly do stand out more, makes sense. I never tried Bubble Bobble.

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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #64 on: September 25, 2019, 09:31:06 AM »
Interesting. I can't help but be curious, what did you not like about this game?
I didn’t get very far. I’ll revisit the game once I can lazily play on my couch with a wireless controller. Some things that jumped out to me include:

1. The health bar switches from the left side of the screen to the right which is disorienting. I presume that’s because it’s in the way of something, maybe. At the same time, don’t design the health bar in a way that gets in the way of the gameplay. It’s also weird that you can see exactly how much HP you have under Status in the Pause menu. If Ancient just put all that info on the gameplay screen, it would take up less space, remove the need to move the health bar around, and also remove the need for the Status screen.

2. There sometimes isn’t a clear visual cue that the map ends. It looks like there’s another screen to travel to, but then Ali doesn’t go anywhere. That’s just bad design.

3. I don’t particular see the point of crouching. So far, I’ve only used it to kill snakes and duck under a bridge. The game doesn’t even tell you how to do it until you get to the castle, west out of the first town. I went east first and snakes were just feasting on my shins. Right now, crouching feels like an odd choice, but I’m willing to give it a chance.

4. I’m curious if jumping ends up being useful later on. Again, I’m willing to give it a chance.

5. Sometimes, the Pause menu doesn’t let you do things without explaining why. There’s a red X next to the options and a sound indicates you can’t do anything. I tried using the Save option while in the first throne room but couldn’t. I literally walked into the next room, and the game let me. The Genesis Mini allows you to save anywhere/anytime by holding the Start button so I’ll probably just use save states which has the added benefit of allowing me to scum save. That still doesn’t change the fact that when Beyond Oasis originally released, it would be confusing not know when the game allows you to save progress.

I’m chalking most of this up to 90s/Genesis Jank®. You still see some of this stuff in indie games. If it’s a small team or even just one person making a game, I usually give it a pass. These things add up and can be a little annoying. I think I can get past it though.

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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #65 on: September 25, 2019, 12:25:45 PM »
I can't say any of that bothered me, personally. I think some of those things were probably explained within the game's manual. A lot of older games didn't really have tutorials and instead important information on how to play and the controls were only in the manual. This can be a problem when revisiting older games since the newer versions often don't include the manual in some form. I don't think this is a bad design choice as much as it was more a necessity to save on cartridge space, so I don't fault games for that.

I believe you can still hit snakes with a running attack.

The screen not always having clear borders is the only one of those which I thought was a bit odd. It's mainly an issue with the areas in the center of the map.

With saving, I think you have to be standing still to save, and there are some rooms which have events that may not let you save there. You also can't switch weapons or use items if you're in the middle of getting hit or something like that, so be careful with that.

Offline ejamer

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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #66 on: September 25, 2019, 01:46:33 PM »
I can't say any of that bothered me, personally. I think some of those things were probably explained within the game's manual. A lot of older games didn't really have tutorials and instead important information on how to play and the controls were only in the manual. ...

Oh - that was one of my other complaints about the Genesis Mini (although I think it applies to all of the existing Mini/Classic consoles).  They really should have provided digital versions for the manuals that were viewable on the machine itself.

Sega did provide this:  https://manuals.sega.com/genesismini/  It's helpful, and nice that you can choose between HTML and PDF versions... but not having them actually present on the console is a missed opportunity.

It's also a shame that some of the manuals that are provided from the official site aren't available in color. Maybe that's something they can improve on, though.


For reference, here are the links for game manuals from other mini consoles:
* NES - https://www.nintendo.co.jp/clv/manuals/en/index.html
* SNES - https://www.nintendo.co.jp/clvs/manuals/en_us/index.html
* PSX - https://www.playstation.com/en-gb/get-help/help-library/games/ps-classic/ps-classic-game-manuals/
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Offline Ian Sane

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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #67 on: September 25, 2019, 02:07:11 PM »
Got mine in the mail Monday but didn't get a chance to try it out until last night.  Figures that weeks ago I had nothing to do and then this get released right when my life gets busy.

It works with the same HDMI and USB cords that I'm using on the NES and SNES Classics so it was very easy to just swap the cables.  It's nice that everything is so standardized these days.  I love the design of the system but the controller feels a little cheap compared to the real deal.  When I first grabbed the NES and SNES Classic controllers it felt like I was holding the real deal (or extremely close to it) but the Genesis one immediately didn't quite feel right.  It appears to work okay though.

I noticed the double-tap issue on the menu but nowhere else.  I'm not noticing an audio lag.  It's supposedly there but it isn't sticking out to me which is good.  I only had about an hour to play.  Main takeaway: I suck at Darius and Mega Man and Puyo Puyo.  I only sort of suck at Castlevania Bloodlines.  The Genesis always felt like kind of a halfway point between the NES and SNES.  The games are NES hard and are very action/arcade focused with graphics and sound similar to the SNES.  You're playing games that look a fair bit like SNES games but play like NES games.  Unfortunately SNES style games are more my speed.

I didn't get to try everything.  Castlevania was the first title I tried since it was one of the main titles I bought this for.  I tried Darius and Tetris because they're new.  Used Puyo Puyo to test out switching to the Japanese versions.  I'm remembering why I prefer Kirby's Avalanche to Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine; Kirby has a much more gradual difficulty curve.  In this version if you're not busting out big combos right away you can't even beat the first opponent.  Due to the short time I had free I didn't try anything long like Beyond Oasis or the Monster Land games, which I'm really interested in.  Might be weeks before I can give those a fair go.

My first impression though is that it feels like it can hang with Nintendo's efforts.  I don't like the real Sega Genesis as much as the SNES for example but this looks like it does it justice.  For someone my age that doesn't own retro hardware like I do this should be a must own, like the NES and SNES Classics are.

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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #68 on: October 21, 2019, 05:53:06 PM »
Oh - that was one of my other complaints about the Genesis Mini (although I think it applies to all of the existing Mini/Classic consoles).  They really should have provided digital versions for the manuals that were viewable on the machine itself.
Yeah, if I remember rightly, the Virtual Console versions of games did include a digital version of the manual, or at least some kind of manual. It was a nice feature and was definitely good in the case of StarTropics, as it actually requires the manual for one infamous part.

The Genesis always felt like kind of a halfway point between the NES and SNES.  The games are NES hard and are very action/arcade focused with graphics and sound similar to the SNES.
Considering the Genesis released two years before the SNES, it literally was that. Though I think this stems from more than just the hardware itself being older. When I look at the history of these companies, it looks like Sega had more roots in arcade games than Nintendo did. Especially when it comes to the early years of the Genesis, there seems to be a lot of their ports from arcade games and games designed with an arcade mindset. Sega appears to have stuck with that sort of design philosophy for a while and focused more on action, difficulty, and high scores. I s'pose the NES also started out this way but Nintendo seemed to learn a lot of lessons quickly and transitioned to other types of designs.

Offline ejamer

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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #69 on: October 23, 2019, 08:48:59 PM »
Interesting - after you mention it, I agree that there is more of an "arcade" feel to a lot of Genesis games, although I wouldn't have thought about it myself because my favorite games on the console usually don't fall into that category.

Haven't put a lot of time in with this mini console yet, and part of the reason why is that I still haven't found a decent carrying case. Being able to move the mini console around to plug-and-play in different locations is a big part of why I like these mini consoles, so I'm hoping to find a good (preferably official) solution before too long.

I did buy a six-button controller. Not sure about my thoughts there yet. The longer cord is a boon and very useful. The shoulder button that returns you to menu is kind of annoyingly placed and often gets triggered accidentally. Weirdly, I almost prefer the feel of the original three-button controllers that were packed in; they are an odd size and shape, but better fit what little nostalgia I have for Genesis.
« Last Edit: October 23, 2019, 08:53:25 PM by ejamer »
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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #70 on: November 22, 2019, 09:50:53 PM »
In case anyone was still on the fence, the Genesys Mini consoles are $65 at Walmart and The Source (Canada) right now for Black Friday.  I paid $80 and thought it was a decent deal.
« Last Edit: November 24, 2019, 08:32:55 PM by ejamer »
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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #71 on: November 24, 2019, 05:14:20 PM »
For the US, it'll be $50 until December 7th, for those interested.

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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #72 on: November 24, 2019, 08:32:37 PM »
Also worth noting that they are very close to releasing the hacks to change content on your Genesis Mini.

I forget the name, but one hack is promising to allow the choice between internal/external memory, and keeps all of the nice interface options in place. You can also use Hackchi - but apparently it's only useful right now if you want to turn this into another retroarch machine which isn't that appealing to me.

When these do come out, it's very possible I'll be swapping in MUSHA, Alien Soldier, and Snow Bros on mine. Maybe Slap Fight, Shining Force, and Revenge of Shinobi too... depending on how ambitious I get (and how many of the existing titles in North America I decide to remove).
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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #73 on: August 28, 2022, 02:19:18 PM »
With the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive Mini 2 coming out October 27, I thought it might be worth revisiting this thread. Here are the 61 games on the sequel mini console in North America/Europe
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 (Sega CD)
Ecco: The Tides of Time (Sega CD)
Final Fight CD (Sega CD)
Mansion of Hidden Souls (Sega CD)
NIGHT STRIKER (Sega CD)
Night Trap (Sega CD)
Robo Aleste (Sega CD)
Sewer Shark (Sega CD)
Shining Force CD (Sega CD)
SILPHEED (Sega CD)
Sonic CD (Sega CD)
THE NINJA WARRIORS (Sega CD)
Devi & Pii (Special Content)
Fantasy Zone (Special Content)
Space Harrier II + Space Harrier (Special Content)
Spatter (Special Content)
Star Mobile (Special Content)
Super Locomotive (Special Content)
VS Puyo Puyo Sun (Special Content)

Comparing that to the first Genesis/Mega Drive Mini's 42 games it looks like there are no repeats, but I am not  confident in that assertion.

So, are you pre-ordering this new toy? Which games are you most excited for?

Offline Adrock

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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #74 on: September 30, 2022, 05:18:05 PM »
I pre-ordered; I’m a shill for these things. Still, here’s hoping someone extracts the ROMs so all of them can be added onto one Sega mini console. I’ll open the new Mini II if need be as I don’t care about the collector’s aspect. I just can’t be bothered having these games on two separate devices.

I’ve wanted to play Crusader of Centy for over a decade so I finally have my chance.

Victor Ireland (Working Designs) being a dick about the English translation of the Lunar games is a travesty. If I can combine the ROMs into one mini console as mentioned, I’ll throw in the Lunar games as well. I don’t even really need them as I have the PSX remakes, but it’s the principle…
« Last Edit: September 30, 2022, 06:50:34 PM by Adrock »

Offline ejamer

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Re: Genesis Mini: Anyone else excited?
« Reply #75 on: November 28, 2022, 02:05:45 PM »
Mixed feelings about Genesis Mini 2.

The game lineup has some real winners - especially if you enjoy shmups - but a lot of questionable choices too.

Sega CD selection is a huge disappointment. Missing Lunar and Popful Mail hurts, since we know the Japanese release included them. Including a cult classic like Snatcher or even Rise of the Dragon would've gone a long way to make up for that, but apparently licensing wasn't in the cards there either. Final Fight, Shining Force CD, and Sonic CD admittedly look great. Everything else is a bit meh (or worse - Ninja Warriors and Night Striker just aren't good games).

As for included regular Genesis games, a handful will either appeal to a very niche crowd who hold nostalgia for bad games... or perhaps to nobody at all. (Apologies to any Clay Fighter "fans" that might be out there. You are a rare breed.)  It's disappointing that we still didn't get MUSHA in North America - Robo Aleste is close, but considered a lesser game by most reviewers - any representation from the Mortal Kombat series, hidden gem platformers like Rocket Knight or Pulseman, cult favorite RPGs like Shadowrun or Warriors of the Eternal Sun, or any sports games at all. Licensing probably made the top sports game choices impossible; but what about the very cool Mutant League series?

Then you get to the bonus games, which also fail to excite. They aren't terrible if viewed as curiosities and true bonus items... but only Fantasy Zone and the tweaked Space Harrier II feel like full experiences worthy of taking a full slot on the list of games included. Puyo Puyo Sun sounds awesome - until you realize that it's just the vs mode from that game, included on a mini-console that only provides one controller out of the box (which kind of sums up a lot of my feelings about questionable game selection overall).

And yet, once the initial disappointment at what is "missing" subsides, I came to accept that the Genesis Mini 2 offers a lot of great content! Fans of action games know that Shinobi titles are always a welcome sight, and we also get to jump into Granada, Rolling Thunder 2, Ranger X and more. Shmup fans have a wealth of options to choose from; I've loved my time with Truxton, Elemental Master, Lightening Force, and Hellfire so far and look forward to exploring others soon. Strategy RPG fans should be excited to see Shining Force getting excellent representation. There are also some solid racing games, arcade experiences, platformers, and fighting games to mix up the genres available.

Value can be a tough discussion, because no two people value things the same way. Genesis Mini 2 saw a significant price hike - partly due to shipping fees from Japan - over the original Genesis Mini, but if you are the type of person who prefers to buy your games instead of emulate there still may be justification for picking one up! Purchasing rare titles like Shining Force CD, Crusader of Centy, Splatterhouse 2, Elemental Master, Streets of Rage 3, and Alien Soldier would set you back a pretty penny elsewhere. The original cartridge for just one of those games might end up costing your more than this entire collection. Also noteworthy is that many games on the Genesis Mini 2 are being re-released for the first time. Gems like Atomic Runner, Desert Strike, Earthworm Jim 2, Granada, Herzog Zwei and a handful of others aren't available in other Genesis collections.

(If, on the other hand, you prefer to emulate then there doesn't seem to be much value in paying for specific hardware or collections of retro games anyway. This whole discussion probably isn't useful for you.)

The system itself is pretty solid. M2 does a solid job with emulation, although there is a slight audio delay, and they've packed the Genesis Mini 2 with more feature than the original. Sure, additional background images aren't that exciting... but being able to select and switch between audio modes that emulate the Genesis and Genesis 2 sound chipset is cool and has a significant difference when playing some games. I'm also a fan of the new option to adjust how responsive the menu button is - one of my complaints when using the six-button controller with the original Genesis Mini was getting unceremoniously dropped out of gameplay with the slightest tap of the menu trigger, an issue that is now entirely fixed for me.

Menu interface and game display options are essentially unchanged. It's a shame they didn't revamp the menu screen by using an approach similar to the PC Engine Mini - that mini-console had a lively menu with cool sounds and animations when loading a game - but the Genesis menu is functional and works well enough. Background music isn't as appealing as the original mini, but watching the attract mode scroll through openings for all the games if you leave the system untouched for a few minutes is still reasonably entertaining.

The six button controller is awesome. It's responsive and comfortable, and just generally a great piece of kit. Sadly they only include one inside the box, so fans of couch co-op or competition will need to track down an extra before they can share their gaming time. (Lucky for me, I purchased one six-button controller when the first Genesis Mini came out, so this ended up working well for us here... but  it's doubtful that many others can say the same.)

One missed opportunity is failing to include any form of digital manual for the games. Sega hosts PDF files for instruction manuals on the Genesis Mini 2 website and uses a QR code to refer gamers there for information, instead of giving an option to view the original manuals directly from the console. Perhaps there is a separate copyright license needed for the printed materials that prevents mini-consoles from providing this? Or the space concerns (PDF files take up roughly 260 MB) made them leave this feature out? Regardless, having replicas of the original manuals included with the system would have been much more convenient and valuable for gamers who may not want to jump to a separate device when learning how a game works.

In summary, there is a lot for hardcore retro fans to like here. Genesis Mini 2 probably isn't well-suited to casual fans who won't recognize many of the games, or people who are unwilling to invest enough time into obscure and non-obvious controls to learn to appreciate what is here. But if you are someone going out of your way to read this thread, then it just might be worthwhile for you.
« Last Edit: November 28, 2022, 04:51:29 PM by ejamer »
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