SEGA's Annual SEGA FES just had its 2019 show, and while they did not show a lot, there was still enough announcements to make any SEGA fan excited. Some fun excitements, some Japanese exclusives, and a MegaDrive/Genesis Mini!
First of, the MegaDrive Mini was showcased, and SEGA has confirmed that AM2 who produce the current SEGA AGES collection of games on the Nintendo Switch are working on the MegaDrive Mini. With the quality of games like OutRun and Phantasy Star on the Nintendo Switch, it is safe to say the MegaDrive Mini is set to be a quality product. 10 games were announced, with a full 40 filling the MegaDrive Mini at launch. The Mini Console will be priced at $79.99 in the US, be packaged with a MegaDrive 3 Button Controller (A 6 Button Controller will be available and sold separately), and will be released on September 19th, 2018. The Japanese Version of the MegaDrive Mini will have a slightly different list of games. 10 games announced are as follow.
Altered Beast
Castlevania: Bloodlines
Comix Zone
Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine
Ecco the Dolphin
Gunstar Heroes
Shining Force
Sonic the Hedgehog
Space Harrier 2
Toejam & Earl
The big surprise announcement this year was Sakura Wars. SEGA of America announced the title as Project Sakura Wars, mostly because the audience in the West never got to experience Sakura Wars. While no US Release Date has been announced outside of the year 2020, it is welcoming to know the US Release was announced the same day as the Japanese. Sakura Wars will be coming out in Japan on PS4 later this year.
The SEGA AGES Collection on Nintendo Switch got a few announcements. First off, Alex Kidd in Miracle World and Gain Ground were release worldwide on March 28th, 2019. Second, SEGA announced a handful of new titles coming to the Collection:
Fantasy Zone
G-LOC Air Battle
Herzog's Zwei
Ichidant-R
Shinobi
Wonder Boy in Monster Land
It is important to know that there are titles announced at SEGA FES last year that have yet to make it to the Nintendo Switch Online Store, but SEGA has confirmed those titles are also still coming. 2019 and 2020 will have a more consistent release of the games in the collection.
The only game that has still yet to receive any US Release was Border Break. Border Break is a SEGA Arcade title that is coming to Japanese consoles. Most of the show heavily focused on Border Break, and considering the game is about piloting giant Robots in Team Combat, it is baffling why they have yet to still announce anything for the West. Japanese Exclusuve SEGA games are nothing new, but after the success of games like Valkyria Chronicles 4, Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise, and the Yakuza franchise here in the West, it is still underhanded that certain games still do not make it to the West in any capacity.