Sega Reveals Final Games Coming To The Genesis Mini Console, Including Virtua Fighter 2 And Kid Chameleon

Sega has finally revealed its full lineup of games to launch with the upcoming Sega Genesis Mini, bringing the total number to 42. A few notable titles are absent however, leading some to wonder how Sega came to its decisions about which games to feature.

The final reveal has added the following games to the lineup:

Kid Chameleon
Road Rash 2
Eternal Champions
Columns
Dynamite Headdy
Strider
Light Crusader
Tetris
Darius
Virtua Fighter 2
Alisia Dragoon
Monster World 4

Sega mostly nailed its selection of games, however there are some notable exceptions. Many fans were speculating that Sonic & Knuckles would be included, as it featured well-made gameplay, and more importantly, the “Lock-On” feature that was only featured in that game’s cartridge.

For the unfamiliar, the lock-on technology added a hatch on top of the Sonic & Knuckles cartridge where a second game connected to the pass-through port. By combining multiple ROM chips to a single address space, the console thinks that one single cartridge is inserted. This meant that adding Sonic the Hedgehog 2 allowed for the Knuckles character to be played in that game.

The omission of Sonic & Knuckles might simply be a technical limitation, where the base game could be played via emulation, but the lock-on technology would be absent from the other Sonic titles. If the limitation is in fact technical, the absence of the game may be for the best, rather than only have it exist in a limited form.

Another missing title is Disney's Aladdin, which was both popular in its time, challenging, and unique from the SNES version. Given the licensing of the product lies with Disney, the omission may not have been by choice.

Rocket Knight Adventures also did not make the cut of games to be added, which is a shame. The game is by far one of the best action platformers for the Sega Genesis. This one is a bit of a mystery as to why it was not included. The property is not currently undergoing a reboot that we know of, and its last release in the series was in 2010 with Rocket Knight. It would be wonderful if Sega provided a brief explanation as to how it chose its list of games, and equally useful to know why games like these were omitted.

Still, the overall selection of titles looks fantastic despite these absences. Sega finds itself in a position like Sony with their PlayStation Classic, which is to say that there is an embarrassment of riches to choose from. In an unusual reversal, Sega seems to have done a better job than Sony in this case.

Finally, Sega has teased a cosmetic add-on to recreate the infamous “Sega Tower of Power”, with a scaled-down version of its Sega CD, Sega 32X, and Sonic the Hedgehog cartridge at the top. Currently this is only confirmed to release in Japan for about $37.