Mega Drive Mini 2 Announced (Includes Mega CD Games)

Most curious. A Saturn Mini would be the first mini I would actually buy, so fingers crossed.

 

The Sega Fes 2019 was also where Sakura Wars 2019 was formally unveiled, so here’s hoping history repeats on that front as well.

 

A quick look at their recent trademark filings reveals:

メガドラタワー (Mega Drive Tower) and Sega Genesis. I've already said this in a few other places earlier today, but it would not surprise me if they re-run the MD Mini Tower, this time with functioning MCD + 32X add-ons attached.

 

I've said it before, but a 32X Mini would need every single game released on it for anyone to actually care.

As for a CD Mini, well, the CD has a fair amount of RPGs, so uh, yeah. Snatcher too, maybe?

Well, we'll see what it is, I won't get my hopes up about Chaotix or anything, but would they so this just to sell accessories?

 

I feel like Sega would rather release a Pico Mini than ever port Chaotix to any modern day systems

 

32X seems... unlikely. To say the least.

I could see a mini for one of their older consoles or even the Mega CD.

Saturn, though - could they do the emulation well enough at an affordable price?

 

Strictly speaking they released the "Mega Drive Tower Mini" - this could be a non-mini version!

...

There are two Astro City Minis so I guess it's not out of the question for there to be two Mega Drive Minis, the latter with CD and 32X support. But I'd be surprised if the add-ons made up the bulk of the games library - popular Japanese-centric titles that aren't caught up in licensing problems are in short supply.

The instinct is to say emulating the 32X is an expensive exercise with few returns, but the Astro City Mini V is probably emulating more obscure systems, so anything is possible. Chaotix might even be a safer bet than Sonic CD, given the existence of Sonic Origins.

 

To be honest you'd be hard pressed to find even 10 good 32X games which don't fall under the distinct categories of "competent but mundane", "barely enhanced MD/MCD conversion", or "just plain terrible". And one can easily imagine the upset among the hardcore fans over Sega doing that instead of a Saturn Mini, even allowing for difficulties in emulation.

But having said all that, I know some people would still inevitably jump at the chance to buy an official release featuring Chaotix for effectively the first time ever. Even if it arguably doesn't play all that well either.

 

If 2010's Super 32X 15th Anniversary Album is anything to go by, there's a small handful of games that Sega seems to have the rights to, and if you subtract the arcade ports, we're talking Stellar Assault, Virtua Racing Deluxe, Parasquad and Metal Head. Throw in Chaotix for the kids and it starts to look palatable, and there's Tempo, Kolibri and Cosmic Carnage in reserve.

It's not a super attractive package, but neither is a real full fat 32X.

I actually think it might be a bigger struggle to find worthwhile Mega-CD games. Would anyone want to bother with grainy FMV games in 2022? Because if you subtract those and the enhanced Mega Drive ports, there's a lot less to see.

 

I'm not sure where I stand on excluding the enhanced ports. The CD versions of games with CD audio, extra levels, and even better graphics in some cases each came at the same price as the MD/Gen version. The difference between versions of Ecco 1 and 2 is night and day. The eerie chiptunes on the original versions have their own charm, but I would still take lossless CD audio any day. Likewise for Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure. On the other hand, $300 in 1993 is about equivalent to $600 today.

The problem with the Sega CD, Jaguar CD, N64DD, and all the other add-ons that did nothing but support a larger-capacity storage medium is that the only capability they added to games was stuff you could get by buying a PC. The rub is that most PC games were not designed for the tastes of lower-middle class consumers (such as my 5 year-old self) until the age of Windows 95 and cheap WinTel boxes. Until DOOM came out and PCs came with specialized 3D acceleration hardware, PC games were mostly bland simulator and point-and-click games, boring school library edutainment games, and ports/clones of old Atari games. People were impressed with Dragon's Lair, but that doesn't mean anyone would rather play it than Sonic 2.

 

A Mega CD Mini would genuinely live and die on the third party support they can grab for it - Capcom, Konami, and Taito fortunately all got on board with the MD Mini, so if they're involved again that's some pretty decent titles (Night Striker, Final Fight CD, Time Gal, and of course the aforementioned Snatcher) secured.

Not forgetting how Taito even went and had a new conversion of Darius approved for the MD, so something similar may not be outside of the realms of possibility here if they really want to bulk the game list up out of a concern for it not being very attractive.

 

We're talking a Japanese release for this, though (the announcement was Japanese-specific, right?) - the Mega CD software landscape was completely different in Japan.

Top rated Mega CD games in Japan (from Beep! MD's reader reviews):

1) Lunar: Eternal Blue
2) Gambler Jiko Chuushinha 2
3) Silpheed
4) Yumimi Mix
5) Urusei Yatsura
6) Mansion of Hidden Souls
7) Lunar: The Silver Star
8) Winning Post
9) Thunderhawk
10) Tenkafubu
11) Shining Force CD
12) Popful Mail
13) F1 Heavenly Symphony
14) Might & Magic III
15) Night Trap
16) Dungeon Master II
17) Soulstar
18) Kamen Rider ZO
19) Sonic the Hedgehog CD
20) Final Fight CD

This list makes it apparent how important Game Arts was to the Mega CD in Japan. And I'd say Sega would be able to release most of these titles on a mini platform, since Game Arts has already shown they're willing to do so.

The problem is that beyond the top 20, you get a lot of ports of Japanese PC games. If Sega were aiming for 40 titles, they'd have to consider more of the SOA games.

 

Interesting that players apparently voted more in favour of Lunar 2 than the original when that was/is the best selling Sega CD game in Japan.

File me along with those that believe a CD/32X mini is the most likely possibility should this announcement end up being about a mini at all. As much as I would love to see a Saturn mini, and along with a CD/32X, would actually be something I'd consider purchasing, I'd say the chances of it being Saturn is lower than CD/32X, Dreamcast, or even Master System.

 

It would be surprising if this project, whatever it may be, isn't released outside of Japan - even if not by Sega. Limited Run took on the mantle of officially distributing the Astro City Mini for them in the US, and they are carrying the new shmup-focused version soon. Some synergy going on there with their rerelease of Night Trap as well.

I presume the Beep readers poll that Gryson is referring to was collated when Lunar Eternal Blue was much newer; with more retrospective distance I'd definitely expect the original to have better turnout.

And the problem with Game Arts' Lunar titles from a western perspective, alongside Popful Mail, is Working Designs. Putting the general distaste for their localisations aside, I don't believe there's any telling whether they can be licenced.

 

Regarding Lunar, it makes sense that the freshest release would receive the most praise in a contemporary poll, but even with the praise of the day it still failed to outsell the original in Japan and internationally. I too am inclined to believe that The Silver Star would poll higher than its sequel if conducted today, especially considering how innovative it both was and came to be regarded.

I highly doubt Sega would release a CD mini without The Silver Star and surely Eternal Blue too, nor would I expect them to omit it from an international or western release. That's tantamount to excluding Sonic CD, or Nights on a Saturn mini. If there were to be complications with using Working Designs' subpar localisation, then they'd either scrap the entire project or commission a fresh translation.

 

Game Gear Micro was only released in Japan, so I don't think we can conclude anything about this mystery project. A big part of it probably depends on what the revenue breakdown for the MD Mini was.

As for Silver Star vs Eternal Blue...

In their respective second months on the reader review chart:
Lunar The Silver Star: 1st place (9.1294) (Beep MD 10-1992)
Lunar Eternal Blue: 1st place (9.3755) (Beep MD 4-1995)

Yes, game ratings did tend to drop over time, but Eternal Blue was slightly higher initially.

Sales are irrelevant for the comparison, though. Eternal Blue was released after the Saturn and PlayStation had been released, and Sega was putting its weight into promoting the Saturn.

 

I'd put far more stock in sales than magazine polls, as sales tell a more complete story. Neither should be disregarded of course, but should the sales be ignored The Silver Star still comes out on top thanks to its lasting legacy and immediate impact upon release.

 

Honestly, I would have put Sewer Shark on that list. While the gameplay is only so-so, the humor and suspense more than makes up for what it lacked.

There are of course other good games. Rise of the Dragoon is just plain awesome. I am not sure how licensing would work out for some of these. But there's definitely plenty of good Sega CD material to go through, and certainly more than the 32X had to offer in it's short time on the market.