Recent years have seen great success for 'mini' classic consoles.

The NES Classic Mini and SNES Classic Mini from Nintendo, plus the PlayStation Classic have been popular amongst gamers looking for retro fun.

Now it's Sega's turn, with the Mega Drive Mini (or Sega Genesis Mini if you're in the USA).

Here's everything you need to know about the latest retro games machine so far.

What's in the box?

The miniature version of the classic 80s console - well, 90s console if you're looking at it from a European perspective - will come with two wired controllers in the box. We do hope their power leads are of ample length though - something Nintendo was criticised over for its SNES and NES re-releases.

In addition, there are power and HDMI cables, with HD upscaling for the 16-bit games.

Sega Mega Drive Mini image 2
Sega

What are the games?

42 classic games will come pre-loaded on the Mega Drive Mini.

They are the following (including the previously unreleased arcade port of Darius):

  • Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle
  • Alisia Dragoon
  • Altered Beast
  • Beyond Oasis
  • Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse
  • Castlevania: Bloodlines
  • Columns
  • Comix Zone
  • Contra: Hard Corps
  • Darius
  • Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine
  • Dynamite Headdy
  • Earthworm Jim
  • Ecco the Dolphin
  • Eternal Champions
  • Ghouls 'n Ghosts
  • Golden Axe
  • Gunstar Heroes
  • Kid Chameleon
  • Landstalker
  • Light Crusader
  • Mega Man: The Wily Wars
  • Monster World IV
  • Phantasy Star 4: The End of the Millenium
  • Road Rash II
  • Shining Force
  • Shinobi 3: Return of the Ninja Master
  • Sonic The Hedgehog
  • Sonic The Hedgehog 2
  • Sonic The Hedgehog Spinball
  • Space Harrier II
  • Street Fighter 2: Special Champion Edition
  • Streets of Rage 2
  • Strider
  • Super Fantasy Zone
  • Tetris
  • ToeJam & Earl
  • Thunder Force 3
  • Vectorman
  • Virtua Fighter 2
  • Wonder Boy in Monster World
  • World of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck

Release date and price

There's not too long to wait for the Mega Drive Mini's release: it's due to hit arrive on 19 September 2019, priced £69.99 in the UK, $79.99 in the States. It is available to pre-order in both regions now.

You can also find out more information on the forthcoming console on Sega's dedicated UK website here.

A US version of the website, for the Genesis Mini, can be found here.

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SEGA Mega Drive Mini

Pefect for the retro gamer in your life.