The stunning Japan-only Sega Mega Drive Mini 2 faithfully recreates the Sega CD.

The Sega Genesis Mini console was one of the few officially licensed retro emulators that came close to the NES and SNES Classics in terms of software quality and hardware authenticity, even if its emulation wasn’t exactly perfect and its game selection was missing some powerful punches. The company’s Mini-Game Gear was also the first device to make the fashionable mini-console portable.

Sega is back in the well again with the Mega Drive Mini 2, which will be released in Japan this October (Mega Drive is what the Genesis was called outside of the US). The console will cost 9,980 yen before taxes; just under $80, in line with the prices of earlier mini consoles.

Mega Drive Mini 2 will include a completely different line of 50 games based on Sega CD titles such as Sonic the Hedgehog CD and Shining Force CD. New Mega Drive games also made the list, including Virtua Racing and Thunder Force IV, and an arcade game version of Sega’s Fantasy Zone was added (the original Genesis Mini includes Super Fantasy Zone, the Genesis’ native entry to the franchise).

Every aspect of the hardware design is meticulously detailed and faithful to the original. While the original Genesis Mini was modeled after the original Genesis/Mega Drive hardware design, the Mega Drive Mini 2 is a recreation of a redesigned version of the “Model 2″console that came out around 1994. button version of the Genesis gamepad – the Japanese Mega Drive Mini came with two of these instead of one, while the Genesis Mini instead came with an older three-button gamepad.

The console itself is all you need to play the game, including the Sega CD titles, but for maximum authenticity, Sega sells a purely cosmetic Sega CD accessory. It includes mounting hardware and spacers for any version of the Mega Drive Mini, a tiny Virtua Racing cartridge, and a tiny Sonic the Hedgehog CD. The app will also be released in October for 4,500 yen (about $35).

Emulation is handled by M2, the same team as the original Mega Drive Mini. If your console is released outside of Japan, pricing, accessories, console design, and available games may vary.