In celebration of their 60th anniversary, Sega are resurrecting the Game Gear as a tiny piece of hardware in the tradition of last year’s Sega Genesis Mini. And we mean tiny, as the Game Gear Micro will only be 80mm wide x 43mm tall x 20mm deep with a 1.15-inch screen. That’s less than half the size of the original Game Gear, being more comparable to a Game Gear cartridge in dimensions.
The other gimmick surrounding the Game Gear Micro is that Sega are releasing multiple versions of the device, obviously in an attempt to stoke collectors to purchase them all. However, the four different colours – black, blue, yellow, and red – are not just cosmetic variations, as each colour comes with its own set of four original Game Gear games, emulated by the immaculate M2. The games included are:
You cant have a Sega system without Sonic.
Black:
- Sonic the Hedgehog
- Puyo Puyo Tsu
- Outrun
- Royal Stone
And, of course, Tails is along for the ride.
Blue:
- Sonic & Tails
- Gunstar Heroes
- Sylvan Tale
- Bakubaku Animal
The Shining Force Gaiden trilogy are some great handheld strategy RPGs.
Yellow:
- Shining Force Gaiden: Ensei – Jashin No Kuni He
- Shining Force: The Sword of Hajya
- Shining Force Gaiden: Final Conflict
- Nazopuyo Aruru no Ru
How can you two games called Last Bible?
Red:
- GG Shinobi
- Columns
- Megami Tensei Gaiden: Last Bible
- Megami Tensei Gaiden: Last Bible Special
The Game Gear Micro will be powered by a USB charge or two AAA batteries and has a mono speaker and a headphone jack. Save states are also a new feature.
The original Game Gear came out in western regions in 1991 as an 8-bit handheld in direct competition with the Nintendo Gameboy. While the Game Gear was technically superior with a full-colour backlit screen, it was a very distant second place to Nintendo’s mega hit by only selling just over 10 million units worldwide. Known for its bulkiness and tendency to eat through batteries, the Game Gear does have some hidden gems in its library such as the action-packed GG Shinobi or the fun Zelda-like Sylvan Tale which has never seen a release outside of Japan.
The Game Gear Micro will sell for 4,980 yen individually ($50 USD), or 27,255 yen in a bundle ($250 USD) that also comes with a magnifying add-on. They are due to release in Japan on October 6, 2020; however, it is still unknown if Sega has any plans to release them in other regions. With the myriad of games included that have never received an official English translation, it can be expected that changes may be made to the line-up if the Game Gear Micro is brought over to the west.
For more Sega news, check out our article on the Sonic the Hedgehog movie sequel being in development.
