Sega Astro City Mini Part 2

 Welcome to Sega Astro City Mini Part 2!

8. Alex Kidd with Stella: The Lost Stars - I think I have an Alex Kidd game on the Sega Genesis Mini. It's a pretty basic left to right platformer with some tricky enemy dodging and platforming. I played it for a couple of levels. There's really nothing special about it, but I do like that at the end of every level, you reach the Fantasy Zone spaceship. I like it when games have Easter eggs from other games. It's fun enough that I may come back at some point to play some more, because I want to see what the other levels offer in terms of challenge. 

9. Alien Syndrome - This is my kind of game! It's a top down shooter that has Contra-style power ups. The game's goal is to rescue all of your comrades in every level before the time bomb goes off. I tried a few times to clear the first level, but I kept dying, and there's no continue so I have to clear the level in three lives or start over from the beginning. What I do like is that when you die, your power-ups don't go away. I'll have to come back later and use save states in order to finish the game. Too bad I can't find someone to play this with for co-op!

10. Wonder Boy in Monster Land - The sequel for Wonder Boy has gone Action RPG. Sadly, this version is in Japanese, so I can't read any of the text. I played it for a little bit, though. One thing that I noted is that the game loves to throw all sorts of shops at you selling things you'll never get enough gold to buy unless you go back and forth for an hour or more. Not sure how to use any items or change gear, either. I did beat a couple of bosses, but one kept throwing so many minions at me and jumping around so much that I just gave up. Not sure if I'll return to this one. 

11. Shinobi - Now we're getting into the era that I'm familiar with. I dumped so many quarters into this game at Village Inns and IHOPs, but I never did finish it. Now with unlimited coin drops and save states, I finally can. I played a few levels for now, but I'll definitely come back later to beat it. What I really love about Shinobi is how well it plays and how great the music is. I even remember a few tracks being redone in Shinobi III. The only real disappointment is that unfortunately, this version does not have the Spider-Man cameo in it. I guess they couldn't get the license for it. 

12. Sonic Boom - No, this isn't a move shouted by Guile, nor is it that horrible Sonic game from 2014. This is a top down shooter where you play as a jet fighter shooting at enemies. I didn't really enjoy this one, though. It's really hard, most likely because I'm playing it on the unit's small screen, and the projectiles are pretty tiny. Maybe it would be more fun on a TV screen. But regardless, I've got SO many shoot 'em ups on my other mini consoles, I doubt I'll ever go back to this one. 

13. Altered Beast - "WISE FWOM YOUR GWAVE!" Do I really need to tell anyone how iconic that line is? Anyone who's grown up on Sega knows Altered Beast. It was the original launch game for the Sega Genesis after all. Even though I have a few versions of this game, this is the first time I've owned the arcade version. It's nice to have this one, and since I have unlimited coin drops, I don't have to worry about messing with save states. It's also nice that you don't lose your power ups when you die. Now that I think of it, I STILL haven't beaten this game, so if I ever want to get around to it, I'll definitely return to this one. 

Thanks for reading! Look forward to Part 3 tomorrow!