There are so many games on the SEGA Genesis Mini 2 that I had to split this blog into two parts. So make sure to catch last week’s installment if you missed it. Anyway, here we’ll go over the rest of the Genesis games as well as the unreleased stuff and SEGA CD titles. OK let’s begin!
Sonic 3D Blast
A lot of people hated this one, but I actually really liked it. The isometric perspective made me think of Marble Madness, one of my favorite Atari arcade games, and the gameplay where you collect birds is just like SEGA’s old arcade game Flicky, another one of my favorites (yeah the birds in Sonic games are actually the Flicky birds from the arcade!). I had the Saturn version of this back in the day. Did you know this was made by Traveller’s Tales, who does the LEGO games now? And SEGA used a few of the songs in this game in Sonic Adventure as well.
Splatterhouse 2
It’s the sequel to Namco’s controversial violent horror beat ‘em up. It plays as slow and clunky as ever. I never was a fan.
Streets of Rage 3
Even though it’s not as good as Streets of Rage 2, I still like this one. Streets of Rage 2 is one of the few Genesis games that really impressed me. Blaze used to be my favorite character until Estel Aguirre came along in Streets of Rage 4.
Super Hang-On
It’s the Genesis port of the super popular motorcycle racing game. I remember this being everywhere in arcades. And for some reason, they always had the volume turned up loud so you could hear the demo music all throughout the arcade!
Super Street Fighter II
Oh man, this game looks and sounds so bad on the Genesis. The SNES was so much better. Can you guess who my favorite character is in this game? Shouldn’t be too hard.
The Ooze
I like the idea of this game, but I could never get the hang of it. You are a blob and can grow bigger as you trudge along top down viewed areas attacking people.
Revenge of Shinobi
I always get mixed up which Genesis Shinobi game that Yuzo Koshiro did the music for, but it was this one. I actually like the last Genesis Shinobi game the most because I think it’s the most playable and you can ride a horse.
Toe Jam & Earl in Panic on Funkotron
While the first game was a cleverly disguised roguelike dungeon crawler, this one’s a 2D platformer. A lot of people don’t like it because of that, but I don’t think it’s that bad. I like the Toe Jam & Earl characters. Very cartoony and fun.
Truxton
It’s a vertically scrolling 2D shooter, and a lot of people seem to really like it, but I dunno. It just didn’t grab me.
Vectorman 2
You can tell this was made in response to Donkey Kong Country’s pre-rendered graphics. Although here it’s not so good since Vectorman is just a bunch of green balls. And if I were going to play a run and gun in this style, I’d rather play Earthworm Jim. But at least this sequel has some cool lighting effects.
Viewpoint
It’s a shooter with an isometric view like Zaxxon. I wanted to like this game so much, but it’s one of those ‘one hit and you die but don’t get to start right where you left off’ kinds of shooters. I hear the NEO GEO version is much better and has cool music.
Virtua Racing
I remember this being huge in arcades. I guess it’s pretty impressive they got it running on the Genesis, but since it’s just the arcade game, there’s not a lot of meat to it.
Warsong
It’s another strategy RPG in a fantasy medieval setting. I couldn’t figure it out, though. Another one of those games where you really need an instruction book to play.
UNRELEASED GAMES
The Genesis Mini 2 has a selection of unreleased games, too. I don’t know the history as to why these were unreleased or anything, so feel free to fill me in on any info you might have.
Devi and Pii
This is an odd one where you use a paddle at the bottom and top of the screen to bounce falling devils and catch rising angels. At least I THINK that’s what you do, I couldn’t figure out everything in this one. It’s really hard to keep track of everything, too!
Fantasy Zone
A near arcade perfect version here. I love this cutesy shooter, but it’s too darn hard! Opa-Opa was SEGA mascot for the longest time before Sonic came along.
Spatter
You are a little girl on a tricycle who must ride around mazes high in the air collecting flowers while avoiding cars. I think I remember seeing videos of this online, but I never saw it in arcades myself. The music reminds me of Flicky and the gameplay makes me think of a really old SEGA game called Head On.
Space Harrier II
So what’s the big deal here? Why is this Genesis launch title in the special section? Well because a group of enthusiasts remade this game with actual sprite scrolling and it looks amazing. As a bonus, you can play the original one on here too in the same fashion, and it looks arcade perfect with no grainy graphics or anything. I was really impressed.
Star Mobile
In this puzzle game, you must guide falling stars so they land on scales and not tip it over. Different colored stars have different color weights. It’s a neat idea, but not substantial enough for a full game cartridge back then.
Super Locomotive
This was originally an arcade game where you moved a train and had two views. Above is a top view where you can switch tracks to avoid obstacles, and the bottom is a side scrolling view where you can speed up and slow down to avoid things. I had trouble keeping up with both screens so I didn’t do very well.
Vs. Puyo Puyo Sun
It’s Puyo Puyo with an emphasis on competitive play. SEGA owns the rights to Puyo Puyo now, and I love how in Sonic Mania, the second boss is just a Puyo Puyo match, as kind of a homage to Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine.
SEGA CD GAMES
I think it’s cool that they had SEGA CD games on here as well. I had a friend in high school who was a SEGA enthusiast, and he had a SEGA CD. And sometimes I’d see them in demo kiosks in stores. But that was it, so my exposure to the SEGA CD was pretty limited.
Ecco the Dolphin
It’s pretty much the same game as the Genesis version except with CD quality music and sound effects. Really fits the vibe of the game, too. I really want to like these games, but they’re just too hard and confusing. My favorite Ecco game is actually Ecco Jr. Sure it’s made for younger kids, but it’s still really good.
Ecco 2: The Tides of Time
The sequel got the same CD treatment. Same graphics as the Genesis but with CD quality music and sounds. They also added some really grainy CG cutscenes, too.
Final Fight CD
For the longest time, this was THE definitive way to play Final Fight at home, since the SNES version wasn’t that great. The resolution isn’t quite as good, though, and I actually like the original music better than the CD remixes here. Final Fight is one of my favorite beat ‘em ups and I think it’s aged pretty well, though.
Mansion of Hidden Souls
This is a 3D first person game where you explore a haunted house. The graphics are so grainy and bad, though. So is the voice acting.
Night Striker
I love all the Taito titles on here. Night Striker plays like Space Harrier with a futuristic city setting. Unfortunately the Genesis can’t handle sprite scrolling usually, so it looks ugly here. The arcade version is much better.
Night Trap
This is a very historic game and they used it as an example in court which started the ESRB ratings system. You switch between surveillance cameras to try and protect young ladies from vampire monsters, but I couldn’t figure out what to do when I played it. Another game where I would need an instruction manual I’m sure.
Robo Aleste
This vertically scrolling shooter was made by Compile and is the sequel to MUSHA on the Genesis. It has a weird story set in Feudal Japan but they use steam powered samurai armor robots. It kind of has that Compile feel to it, but not as much as other ones do.
Sewer Shark
When stores would show off the SEGA CD in demo kiosks, they’d always have this game running. I don’t know why. It looks terrible, you just go down pipes shooting rats, and you explode for no reason. How was this one of their highlights?
Shining Force CD
It’s the Genesis version of this SRPG with better music and voice acting.
Silpheed
It’s a 2-D shooter but uses polygons, and it came out around the same time as Star Fox so I guess it was impressive. But even though you can take multiple hits, you only get one life. I have a remake of this they made on the PS2.
Sonic CD
I actually don’t really like this one as much as others do. The time travel aspect is interesting, but I don’t think it’s implemented very well. And the level design isn’t as good as what you might think. This is the game that introduced us to Amy and Metal Sonic. No Tails, though. Too bad, because he’s my favorite Sonic character.
The Ninjawarriors
Aside from not having the two screens side by side, this is an arcade perfect version. I loved how Taito’s in-house band Zuntata is featured prominently in this one. You can even select “Zuntata” on the menu screen and view a long voiced story segment with still pictures!
And that’s all what’s on the Genesis Mini 2! In the comments section, let me know if you have any comments and tell me what you think of the games on this list. What would you like to see on a Genesis Mini 3? Later! --Cary
Comments