Genesis Does, Exodus Doesn't

You know, I should be more excited about a second Sega Genesis Mini. I should be, but what we're actually getting in October isn't as thrilling as the first Genesis Mini was back in 2019. Only half the games have been announced, but it already feels like Sega and M2 have painted themselves in a corner with this one... we're getting a handful of Sega CD games, which is a plus, but so many great Genesis games were already included in the first system that what's been offered so far in the follow-up have the unappetizing flavor of cold, stale leftovers. 

The Genesis bites off more than it can chew,
and chokes on its misguided port of OutRunners.
The system won't be the only one gagging.
(image from GameFabrique)

Take for instance Afterburner 2, OutRun, and Super Hang On. These were all fine games elsewhere, but these titles were heavily dependent on the convincing illusion of 3D movement, and without hardware scaling, the Genesis simply cannot provide it. Adding insult to injury is OutRunners, the OutRun sequel which uses even more advanced hardware than the SuperScaler technology found in the original. There's no way the 3D deficient Genesis can hope to do this game justice, and OutRunners not only lives down to those low expectations, but somehow tunnels under them. What's going to be announced next, the tragicomic Genesis port of Galaxy Force II? (Really, you need to see this in action to fully appreciate what a poor fit this was for the Genesis. It's so disappointing it borders on traumatic. It's the video game version of being told the Easter Bunny won't be stopping by the house next spring, because Santa Claus ate him.)

Some of the other Genesis selections are better, but nowhere near essential. You've got Alien Soldier, best described as a more hostile and claustrophobic Gunstar Heroes, zany criminal caper Bonanza Brothers, a conversion of Fatal Fury 2 that's accurate in all the right ways while also being broken in all the right ways, 16-bit sequels to Namco classics Splatterhouse and Rolling Thunder, and co-processor powered polygonal racer Virtua Racing. (At least that's one 3D game that won't look like it's running on a flipbook.) On the down side, the Genesis Mini 2 will also be home to The Ooze, a well-intended but clumsily executed top down action game starring radioactive slime, and the coldly received Sonic 3D Blast, a pretty tech demo that just barely finds its footing as a video game. 

The PC Engine version of Star Mobile.
Yeah, I'm not feeling this one either.
Why not Klax or Rampart instead?
(image from ZXSpectrumGames4/YouTube)

Even the freshly designed bonus games are kind of a bummer, with a port of the original Fantasy Zone as the headliner, and Spatter and Starmobile bringing up the rear. Spatter's one of those arcade titles in MAME you probably played once and forgot about; a low-octane Rally X starring a tyke on a trike. Star Mobile, a port from the PC Engine and X68000 computer, is a puzzle game on a set of scales. The object is to drop stars on the scales, sandwiching the small stars between larger ones while keeping the weight on both sides balanced. It's difficult to learn, and even harder to understand why you'd want to master it! As for Spatter, that was dismissed by Sega as too inconsequential to include in the first Genesis Mini, which only adds to the second-string, B-sides feel of its sequel.

Okay, now that's more like it. I've got this
game on a million formats, including the
Sega CD, but at least this would give me an
excuse to flip on this system for a few minutes.
(image from Sega Retro)

Admittedly, the Sega CD games are more promising. They include Sonic CD, Shining Force CD, and at least in Japan, Final Fight CD and both Lunar titles. Final Fight CD was the best port of the game you could find on a home console for many years, and given its enduring popularity in America I have no doubt it will be included in our model of the system. The Lunars are still up in the air, as they were localized by the long defunct Working Designs. Working Designs liked to crank up the difficulty and add timely pop culture references to the games it translated, and it might be too much effort for Sega and GameArts' current owner GungHo to unravel the mess they made.

Ultimately, what's most likely to dissuade me from a purchase won't be the games, but the price and availability. The original Genesis Mini could be found at retail stores throughout the country for a respectable sixty dollars, but like the TurboGrafx-16 Mini released a couple of years ago, the Genesis Mini 2 will be an Amazon exclusive, and it's going to cost a pretty penny. We're talking $103 for the system itself, and an extra $22 for shipping. You're still paying for shipping even if you've got Amazon Prime, so that's $125 for a mini console that doesn't hold the appeal of either its less costly predecessor, the TurboGrafx-16 Mini, or the Super NES Classic. Thanks to its limited supply and distribution, the Genesis Mini 2 will be a must-have for collectors with deep pockets, but for me personally? No sale.

Special thanks to Polygon's Owen Good and WildCatJF for information about the Genesis Mini 2 and its currently confirmed library of games.