Mega Man: The Wily Wars Finally Comes Home in North America on SEGA Genesis Mini (Update)

Today brings some news I’m thrilled to share with everyone here.

If you follow The Mega Man Network on Twitter and/or Facebook, you might recall that I had reached out to SEGA PR in the hopes of getting some answers on the SEGA Genesis Mini. Specifically, I attempted to find out whether the full list of 40 games had already been decided, or if the selection process was still ongoing.

They couldn’t say, so in the spirit of “better safe than sorry,” I decided to drum up some support to show that there was definitely a place on the console for Mega Man: The Wily Wars, a game which was only ever released on the SEGA Channel in North America, but never given any sort of proper physical release (to those pointing at one of the AtGames consoles and repros: I said “proper”).

Now, while I doubt that these tweets were a motivating factor (they may have validated the decision, at best), I am nevertheless happy to say “Mission Complete!”

SEGA has announced the next batch of ten games coming to the North American version of the SEGA Genesis Mini, and at the top of the list?

1. Mega Man: The Wily Wars

2. Street Fighter II’: Special Champion Edition

3. Ghouls ‘n Ghosts

4. Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle

5. Beyond Oasis

6. Golden Axe

7. Phantasy Star IV: The End of the Millennium

8. Sonic the Hedgehog Spinball

9. Vectorman

10. Wonder Boy in Monster World

In addition, for those interested in the Japanese or European versions (where the game saw a previous physical release back in the day), Gematsu and Eurogamer confirm that the game (known as Rockman Mega World in Japan) will be included there as well.

For those unfamiliar, Mega Man: The Wily Wars was the Blue Bomber’s debut on SEGA platforms, and is a compilation of his first three adventures from the Nintendo Entertainment System featuring updated graphics and sound — the Super Mario All-Stars treatment, basically. In addition, completing the three games opens up a new set of levels dubbed “Wily Tower,” in which Mega Man is able to choose eight from any of the weapons obtained in the previous games, as well as three support units, before setting off to face the Genesis Unit.

Some will argue that these versions of the games are inferior to the originals, but in reviewing the game for the print version of Mega Visions magazine, I found that the new visuals breathed some new life into the classics, and topped off by the Wily Tower, it’s an enjoyable experience overall, and comes recommended for fans of the Blue Bomber, particularly those who’d like something to spice up the experience of playing the originals.

The SEGA Genesis Mini will arrive in stores on September 19th, 2019 at a price of $79.99 US/£69.99/€79.99/AUD$139.95, and include 40 games (Mega Man: The Wily Wars counting as but one) lovingly ported by the masters at M2. The final ten games will be announced in June, and if you’re interested in more information (such as what all is included), please check out the lovely official website.

Update: Seeing some concerns around as to which version of the game this would be, I checked in with SEGA PR, who told me “this is the NTSC version. =) “ So there should be no worries of a slower speed here!

LBD "Nytetrayn"

David Oxford, or “LBD ‘Nytetrayn’,” as he is sometimes also known, is a freelance writer of many varied interests who resides in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. If you’re interested in hiring him, please drop him a line at david.oxford (at) nyteworks.net.

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