Why I bought this overpriced retro console and don’t regret it

Anyone who grew up with Nintendo or Sega consoles can nod and agree that these two legendary gaming and hardware manufacturers are strongly associated with pleasant memories in front of flickering CRT screens. At a time when life was simpler and leisure was deeply celebrated, they were our faithful companions in children’s and teenage rooms.

Positive feelings and memories

We played tons of video games back then. And as the game became more difficult, we gritted our teeth and started again and again until the words “Thank you for playing” appeared. The image battle between Nintendo and Sega broke out mainly in the 1990s and both companies seemed to release one classic after another.

Although Sega increasingly lost importance in the gaming market and had to watch as fellow Nintendo withdrew and other competitors secured their place in the gaming industry, the Japanese company is still left with many positive feelings and memories.

The 16-bit console Mega Drive appeared in our latitudes in 1990 and brought a number of highlights that are still wonderful to play today and have lost none of their charm.

Jumped on the hype train again

When the mini console hype train started a few years ago, Sega didn’t miss it and released the Sega Mega Drive Mini, which has 42 pre-installed games under the hood and sent us on a nice nostalgic journey. In order to continue to ride the wave of enthusiasm, the successor was launched in 2022, this time competing for attention with no fewer than 60 games.

Visually, this mini version was of course based on the original Mega Drive 2, which was redesigned to be slimmer and more compact. The Sega Mega Drive Mini 2 cost around R100 at launch and was initially only available through Amazon. She soon found her way to some specialty stores that were already raising prices.

Anyone who was quick and had a loose wallet could take the mini fun home with them. Anyone who still had doubts and wanted to wait a while quickly went to take a look. Because the hardware sold out quickly. There was hardly any supply and the thing increasingly disappeared from the conventional market.

Anyone who, like me, wanted to get his hands on a copy in the years that followed not only needed a lot of luck, but also had to take into account that the price would continue to rise, which caused jaws to drop, especially on various auction platforms. I ended up spending about 250 francs for it.

Was it worth it?

CD love revived

Anyone who owns other mini consoles will be surprised by the number of 60 games. As a rule, a high number always means that there are some hidden flops underneath that were added just to push the number up.

While the Sega Mega Drive Mini 2 doesn’t just have masterpieces, it doesn’t have any completely unplayable eyesores either. Of course, personal taste always has something to say here.

The special thing about this mini version is that many Mega CD titles are available. Mega CD was a hardware addition, that is, a physical extension for the Mega Drive. This meant that the games were no longer stored on cartridges or modules, but in CD format, delighting the community with their amazing, realistic look (for the time, mind you) and stylish sound.

For example, the two sci-fi shooters ‘Starblade’ and ‘Silpheed’ both benefited from the new hardware option and can now be rediscovered.

The trash cult game ‘Night Trap’, which you must have played at least once in your life, is also included in the collection. The poor presentation and programming on offer here certainly made video game history.

Also a special treat is ‘Final Fight CD’, which, compared to the Super Nintendo game, allows you to choose from all the characters from the arcade classic and send them into the street fights.

Under the hood of the mini console are more than ten games from the Mega CD era. The rest comes from the usual Mega Drive era, presenting some timeless 90s masterpieces.

Lots of good sequels and premieres

Even though the really large calibers were already used for the first mini console, the successor does not have to hide in terms of selection. “Golden Ax 2”, “Shining Force 2”, “Phantasy Star 2” and “Splatterhouse 2” are just a few examples of sequels that can still be played well to very well today.

But you have to admit that the Mega Drive Mini 2 has many successors in focus, i.e. in its baggage, which play second fiddle to its predecessor in terms of surprise effect and mainly benefit from the well-known gaming brand itself.

There are still a handful of games that were released neither for Mega Drive nor for Mega CD and can now celebrate their premiere on the mini console. This includes, for example, the colorful shooting game ‘Fantasy Zone’, which immediately grabs you with its simple game mechanics and charming jingoism and keeps you glued to the screen for a long time.

Expensive fun, but worth it

Conclusion: With 60 video games, there really is a lot to do. While I’ve played, that is, tried, every title, only a few hours have been sunk into select games that I have a personal connection with and that have piqued my curiosity.

But there were quite a few titles that I first encountered on the mini console that, surprisingly, completely fascinated and engrossed me. But the flicker of true nostalgia was only present in certain games. But the general retro kick was constant and kept me in its grip for days.

The Sega Mega Drive Mini 2 also showed me again how individual, very simple sounds can trigger our memories. With some sound effects and music, pleasant images from that time immediately emerged and I was blessed with fragments of memories that I had long forgotten.

Yes, at around 250 francs it was generally very expensive fun, but the investment was well worth it. Now I’m already playing with the PC Engine Mini while my wallet runs away screaming.