Official Sega Master System Thread

[Pantechnicon]

Growing up I knew literally nobody who had a Master System. It just sort of worked out that way. This was in the post-1984 market crash. Everybody my age or older either had Atari or Colecovision or had given up on gaming. Everybody younger than me had or wanted an NES. I recall seeing Master Systems for sale in places like KayBee but never saw one in action. I recall thinking, based on the stark and redundant box art, that the system probably wasn't any good. Must be just a regional thing because seriously nobody I knew had one. Forgetting the system entirely, I honestly believed later on that the Genesis was Sega's first entry into the U.S. market

So it was that I only got into SMS by accident. A few years ago I traded an SNES Gameboy adapter for a Genesis Power Base Converter, and the only reason I did this was because I had recently got my first Genny and was trying to round up some hardware peripherals for it. A few loose common games later I quickly became impressed with the system and spent more time playing SMS games than Genesis ones.

Eventually I got a hold of a real Master System and controllers, and currently have about 30 games for it. SMS is now one of only a few systems (2600 and INTV are the others) for which I will indiscriminately buy games regardless of title or condition.The apparent lack of interest for this system in my part of the country makes this a worthwhile challenge.

I guess the thing that impressed me most about the SMS is when I found out that the Game Gear is actually nothing more than an SMS with its own screen. It says something about Sega's confidence in the platfrom (as well as their apparent frugality) that they were able to squeeze a few more years of production out of it by going the handheld route. I spend just as much time playing SMS games on my Game Gear as I do on the Master System itself. It's nice to have that flexibility.

SMS is good stuff.

[-hellvin-]

Cool thread, was the first one I clicked on this morning and got an error, haha. Oh well, now that I'm home....

- What is your favorite game on this system?
Alex Kidd in Shinobi World

- What are some of your other favorites?

Montezuma's Revenge, Wonderboy In Monster Land, Wonderboy III, R-type, Phantasy Star, Power Strike

- Did any game exceed what you thought the system was capable of?

Haven't come across anything I can name at the moment.

- Which games had the best graphics? The best sound?

I think the SMS has some of the best music. I love the music in Shinobi World, Wonderboy series, Power Strike, Phantasy Star. All the aforementioned games have excellent graphics as well.

- Do you remember the first time you saw the system in action? What game was it? What was your reaction?

This is a system I did not know much about until recently.

- Did you own the system "back in the day"? How about now?

I own the system now, not back in the day.

- How many games do you have for it?

I have all but 4 of the US NTSC games. I believe the makes 110 or something in that area?

- Any stories surrounding the system that you can share with us?

Buy an SMS now and love it.

[moycon]

I have a SMS with about 40 games. Cant say that Im a huge fan of the system only because I havn't really played with it all that much. Just a simple case of too many systems/games and not enough time to play them. One oddity I do have is Mortal Kombat 3. Anyone else have this game?

[dojosky]

Yo it's my turn now ...

- What is your favorite game on this system?
Phantasy Star, Wonderboy III: The Dragon's Trap.

- What are some of your other favorites?
R*Type, Double Dragon, Ys the Vanished Omens, Miracle Warrior,Alex kidd in Shinobi World etc...

- Did any game exceed what you thought the system was capable of?
Hang-on back in 1986 made me thought it was the system excellent at making arcade quality games ...

- Which games had the best graphics? The best sound?
Phantasy Star, Miracle Warrior, and few more ...

- Do you remember the first time you saw the system in action? What game was it? What was your reaction?
Yeah ! back in 1986 my friends and I would always go to Macy's after school and they had 2 demos set up (sms on one tv and nes on the another tv) ... my friends and I would always play the systems there that's how I first learned abt sms and played hang-on and safari hunt on it ...

- Did you own the system "back in the day"? How about now?
Yeah I sure did funny thing is that I wanted a NES so badly because of zelda and super mario bros. it was back in 1987 I told my Dad I wanted a nes... and as always he always does his christmas shopping at the last minute ... so eventually Toys R us' were all sold out of nes so My dad went ahead and bought a sms system the deluxe set with the light phaser etc ... and on Christmas Day I opened the present and said that is not NES !!! so he apologized and next day he took me to the Toys R us store to shop for some sms games and we were the only one in the sega master system section while there were over 10+ people in NES section and my dad said to me look at the NES section so he told me to return my sms and get money back to buy myself a NES so I did that lol .... but one year later I traded in 2 NES game cartridges for a sms and quartet ... then bought Phantasy Star for 69.99 and Miracle Warriors for 49.99 that year ... yes I still have it to this day and several sms systems ...

- How many games do you have for it?
100+ USA games all complete and ... about 20+ UK/australia sms games !

- Any stories surrounding the system that you can share with us?
After I got myself a sms and owning both NES and sms made my other 2 best friends do the same thing as we did with that and Coleco Vision system too

[anagrama]

One oddity I do have is Mortal Kombat 3. Anyone else have this game?

Yeah, it's one of the more common TecToy exclusives. I paid about £5 for mine (NIB).

[Geddon_jt]

- What is your favorite game on this system?

Well, I guess I have to go with Phantasy Star. I played that game almost daily over a period of about 2 years before finishing it (before you call me a retard, I had no outside help and was about 8 years old at the time.)

- What are some of your other favorites?

Alex Kidd in Miracle World, Wonder Boy in Monster Land, Astro Warrior, Zillion, Spellcaster

- Which games had the best graphics? The best sound?

I remember being really impressed by the Zillion games when they came out. They aren't talked about much anymore, but they had awesome anime-inspired graphics and really unique gameplay. Zillion was like a crazy Japanese Impossible Mission, while Zillion 2 was a fast-paced action game.

- Did you own the system "back in the day"? How about now?

Yes, and yes.
My parents asked me to give away my original system and games when we adopted a needy family one Christmas around 15 years ago. What goes around comes around, I suppose.

- How many games do you have for it?

I've currently got about half the US library, around 50 carts and cards.

- Any stories surrounding the system that you can share with us?

Too many. I'll try and keep it short.
I got my SMS in about 86, I think, when I was about 7. It was a Christmas after I got my 7800 but before I had a NES. I remember being attracted to it because it was called the "Master system," and at the time I thought I was pretty darn good at beating games.
Amongst other stories...
When a relative once asked me what my brother wanted for his birthday, I told her "Alex Kidd in Miracle World," just so I could play it!
I finally reached the Baya Malay tower in Phantasy Star, but got seriously stuck. So what did I do? I called the FREE 1-800 sega hint line, of course. A week later I got a manila envelope in the mail with hand copied maps of the entire tower and a typewritten tips sheet! Ahh, the good old days... I've loved Sega ever since.

I have to credit the Master System for really giving me my first taste (and love) for Japanese games. At the time, I just thought they were really wierd and different. The Master System is right alongside the Turbo and NeoGeo as my 3 favorite systems of all time.

[segafan]

- What is your favorite game on this system?

Probably outrun...at least i played that the most.


- What are some of your other favorites?

Shinobi, Phantasy Star, Shooting Gallery (first game i had), Wonderboy 2 and 3, Space Harrier, Govellius, Spellcaster


- Did any game exceed what you thought the system was capable of?

Probably Wonderboy 3...completely blows away anything nintendo ever put out for the NES. and phantasy star obviously.


- Which games had the best graphics? The best sound?

Graphics? Phantasy Star. Sound? Gotta give Govellius's soundtrack a nod, and sega did a respectable job with the space harrier and outrun soundtracks.


- Do you remember the first time you saw the system in action? What game was it? What was your reaction?

First time I saw the system in action was probably either the commercials or playing Alex Kidd in Sears on one of the demo units.



- Did you own the system "back in the day"? How about now?

Got it in '87, when I was like 6 years old.



- How many games do you have for it?

about 30...hoping to complete the U.S. collection.


- Any stories surrounding the system that you can share with us?

I only knew one other kid on my block that had the system...everyone else had nintendo

[Dire 51]

Sure, I'll throw in my two meseta.

So tell me:

- What is your favorite game on this system?
- What are some of your other favorites?
- Did any game exceed what you thought the system was capable of?
- Which games had the best graphics? The best sound?
- Do you remember the first time you saw the system in action? What game was it? What was your reaction?
- Did you own the system "back in the day"? How about now?
- How many games do you have for it?
- Any stories surrounding the system that you can share with us?

- My favorite SMS game is Kenseiden, by far. I fell in love with it when I first played it back in '88, and I have yet to find an SMS game that is better.
- Master Of Darkness, Alex Kidd In Miracle World, Rastan, R-Type, Power Strike, Outrun, Shinobi, After Burner, Space Harrier, Space Harrier 3-D, Ninja Gaiden, Phantasy Star, Golvellius, and Captain Silver (yes, Captain Silver).
- R-Type blew me away, because of how close it was to the arcade. I never thought I'd see a game that looked quite that good on the SMS.
- R-Type is up there in the graphics department, obviously. Soundwise... well, I've never been a fan of the SMS' sound, but I think Master Of Darkness has an excellent soundtrack.
- First time I saw the system in action was the day I played Kenseiden, and I think I've covered how I felt about it already.
- I didn't actually own the system back then, but a friend did - which is how I got to play it. I wanted one badly, but the Genesis showed up a year later, and I wanted that more. When I found out that the Power Base Converter was going to be available for it, I made it a point to snag one so I could start buying some SMS games and have the best of both worlds.
- Currently, 4 - Kenseiden, Rastan, Master Of Darkness and Alex Kidd In Miracle World. I used to have almost 30, but the "Great Collection Sale of '04" pretty much put an end to that.
- No stories to speak of, but I have to say that I've enjoyed playing nearly every SMS game I've ever owned, with a couple exceptions - namely ESWAT and Strider.

[Lady Jaye]

- What is your favorite game on this system?
Cloud Master and Mickey Mouse: Castle of Illusion

- What are some of your other favorites?
WonderBoy, WonderBoy III, R-Type, Montezuma's Revenge

- Did any game exceed what you thought the system was capable of?
I didn't pay attention to that kind of detail back then. I was mostly concerned about whether the game was fun or not.

- Which games had the best graphics? The best sound?
Best graphics: The Alex kidd games, with their bright cartoony graphics that looked just like arcade games!
Best sound: WonderBoy III

- Do you remember the first time you saw the system in action? What game was it? What was your reaction?
That was back in 1988-89. I was in grade 7. I had visited my new best friend Julie (still my best friend to that day, BTW) and I noticed she had a videogame console. Being a gamer even then, I wanted to try it. It was the first time I had seen that console (I was familiar with the ColecoVision, the Atari 2600 and the NES, but not the SMS at that point). I don't recall the game we first played, but it must've been the first WonderBoy or Mickey Mouse: Castle of Illusion (I was just fascinated by that game!). I remember liking those games a lot and that Safari Hunt was a lot better than Duck Hunt.

Another thing that impressed me with the SMS was the nice plastic cases for the boxes... That was a lot nicer than the easily destructible NES and Atari game boxes!

- Did you own the system "back in the day"? How about now?
I did not own it way back when, I always played it at Julie's house.
I've corrected this since then, and I've owned a SMS for the past 2 1/2 years.

- How many games do you have for it?
Not many -- maybe 10 or 12? I'm still looking for some games, though.

- Any stories surrounding the system that you can share with us?
Julie has kept her system to this day, and a few years ago that we were hanging at her place (the same basement we used to play all these years ago), we decided to play through Safari Hunt. So we sat near the TV with the Sega light gun and away we blasted. :P

[CRV]

- What is your favorite game on this system?

I have no particular favorite.

- Which games had the best graphics? The best sound?

Graphics - Master of Darkness, Batman Returns

Sound - Master of Darkness, Batman Returns, The Flash

These may not be my complete lists.

- Do you remember the first time you saw the system in action? What game was it? What was your reaction?

While it wasn't "in action," the first time I saw screenshots was probably in an old Sears or JCPenney catalog.

- Did you own the system "back in the day"? How about now?

No. I've only had one since June '03.

- How many games do you have for it?

55 (mostly US, at least one Australian, and a number of European)

[Icarus Moonsight]

- What is your favorite game on this system?

Wonder Boy III the Dragon's Trap

- What are some of your other favorites?

Phantasy Star, R-Type, Space Harrier, Double Dragon, Wonderboy in Monster World, and last but not least Cloud Master.

- Did any game exceed what you thought the system was capable of?

Phantasy Star - The 3D dungeons was top tier in it's day, and something very unexpected from a 8-bit rpg.

- Which games had the best graphics? The best sound?

I was in awe of the R-Type translation - plus it saved me a million quarters

The "Get Ready" in Space Harrier was a big surprise for me... my Sega talked to me!!!

- Do you remember the first time you saw the system in action? What game was it? What was your reaction?

It was at a Target store. They had a demo NES and SMS side by side. The NES was running Duck Hunt and the SMS was running the "Gun Range" game (can't remember the title). The SMS made a better impression on me.

- Did you own the system "back in the day"? How about now?

Yup, I had one... about the only kid in my school that did. Everyone else had a 2600 or a NES. Which I also had... chumps! I run my SMS games on my genesis or game gear with the converters nowadays. I'd love to get a model 2 mini SMS though.

- How many games do you have for it?

I had about 40... now about 15... but I'm always adding on

- Any stories surrounding the system that you can share with us?

I used to get alot of flack from friends for even having a SMS in my house. The area seemed to be VERY anti-sega. Nobody wanted to come visit and play it with me. So I usually went to their house to play NES. There was one time my friend down the street was having a birthday party and I thought it would be really cool to bring my SMS for other kids to play while the NES was being used. Funny thing was that my friend got Double Dragon for the NES from his folks for his birthday present and that was mostly what was being played. I also had this game, but on the SMS. After a little while some of the other kids got bored with watching Double Dragon being played and decided to try the SMS. Soon afterward they discovered the SMS Double Dragon and started playing it... about 10 minutes later the NES was feeling quite ignored I had alot of my seemingly anti-sega friends asking to borrow the SMS for the weekend after that.

[dezanuebe]

So tell me:

- What is your favorite game on this system?

I have to say that Phantasy Star is not only the best game on the SMS, but also the best 8 bits game i´ve ever played. This game arrived to Portugal only in 1994 and still impressed me alot at that time.

- What are some of your other favorites?

Well, i will show you all my top 15 SMS games, by order:

1.Phantasy Star
2.Sonic 2
3.Land of Illusion
4.Micro Machines
5.Sonic
6.Astérix
7.Asterix & the Great Rescue
8.Desert Strike
9.Prince of Persia
10.James Pond 2: Codename Robocod
11.Star Wars
12.Power Strike 2
13.Shadow of the Beast
14.Castle of Illusion
15.R-Type
Golden Axe Warrior

- Did any game exceed what you thought the system was capable of?

Well, i always had high expectations for the system and still believe that few games explored the system 110%, like it happens with all sucessful consoles in the end of it´s life cicle. Nevertheless, i was impressed by phantasy star, a game released in the begining that raised the level of quality to levels that would never be reache by an rpg again and Desert Strike and Power Strike 2, released in 1993, these games demonstrated the power of the SMS and it´s superiority in all aspects of gaming when compared to the NES!!

- Which games had the best graphics? The best sound?

BEST GRAPHICS:

Phantasy Star
Sonic 2
Land of Illusion
Micro Machines
Sonic
Astérix
Asterix & the Great Rescue
Desert Strike
Prince of Persia
James Pond 2: Codename Robocod
Star Wars
Power Strike 2
Shadow of the Beast
Castle of Illusion
R-Type
Golden Axe Warrior
... and many more. the Master System had a unique look and feeling in all it´s games that i only saw again in the Nintendo 64.

BEST SOUND:

Streets of Rage, Yuzo koshiro´s tunes in an SMS, the game has an amazing soundtrack that has to be heard to believe. Several games in my top 15 have also great sound, i remember the tunes in Rastan, Alien 3, and many other games...

- Do you remember the first time you saw the system in action? What game was it? What was your reaction?

First time was christmas´90, date of it´s release in Portugal alongside with the Mega Drive. Funny thing was that the system that was given more enphesis was the SMS and all game stores had Alex Kidd in Miracle world on their TV´s. I was mesmarized by that game and still remember all the musics and levels it had!! Those were the days...

- Did you own the system "back in the day"? How about now?

Bought it in 1991 and still use it today. it works perfectly. In that time, things were made to last

- How many games do you have for it?

298

[segagamer]

- What is your favorite game on this system?
Phantasy Star
- What are some of your other favorites?
R-Type, Fantasy Zone II, Zillion, Golvellius, Space Harrier 3D, Maze Hunter 3D
- Did any game exceed what you thought the system was capable of?
All the 3D games, which look great when using the SegaScope 3D glasses
- Which games had the best graphics? The best sound?
Phantasy Star - sheer size of the game as well as excellent graphics and sound
- Do you remember the first time you saw the system in action? What game was it? What was your reaction?
Yes, Hang-On, and I thought this game has much better graphics than NES
- Did you own the system "back in the day"? How about now?
Yes, I bought the Sega system around 1986; since 1989, I have the Power Base Converter for my Genesis
- How many games do you have for it?
approximately 100 (US and UK releases)
- Any stories surrounding the system that you can share with us?
I first bought NES back in 1985 while I was working at Venture. I thought it was a really neat system with good graphics and games. Sometime in 1986, while shopping with my mom at Warehouse Club, I spotted the SMS, and decided to buy it along with Choplifter. I was blown away by the better graphics and good gameplay. The more SMS games I bought, the more I realized that I did not enjoy the NES the way I enjoyed the SMS. So I finally sold the NES with games and accessories to people who worked at Venture and used the money to buy more SMS games.

[Policenaut]

So tell me:

- What is your favorite game on this system?
- What are some of your other favorites?
- Did any game exceed what you thought the system was capable of?
- Which games had the best graphics? The best sound?
- Do you remember the first time you saw the system in action? What game was it? What was your reaction?
- Did you own the system "back in the day"? How about now?
- How many games do you have for it?
- Any stories surrounding the system that you can share with us?

1- Difficult question....Phantasy Star and Golvellius(tie)

2- I have some favorites too: Black Belt, Golvellius, Phantasy Star, Kenseiden, R-Type, Double Dragon, the Wonderboy series and Alex Kidd series.

3- Phantasy Star blowed me away with those incredible dungeons, I enjoyed more Double Dragon on SMS than on Nes.

4- I loved Golvellius musically and graphically, as well as Rastan, Fantasy Zone, Zillion II, R-Type OutRun.

5- I saw it for the first time when I was on 7nth grade; went to a friend's house and when he showed me that system I was shocked, he had Spy vs Spy, Teddy boy, OutRun, Hang On and Safari Hunt. I fell in love instantly with the system, and told my parents that THAT was what I wanted for christmas, and everytime was thinking about that system.

6- Still have my SMS that I got as christmas present. I still enjoy the games, as I am moving the system to other regions, Europe, Brazil, Australia,etc.

7- 140 I gess, have 113 US released games missing just James Buster Douglas Knockout Boxing(yeah, I know...) the others are from other Regions. My mission is to get all PAL games, I know that Schtroumpfs Autour de Monde is almost non existent but I'll try and do my best. I want also the Brazil-exclusive titles, I have a few but am far from complete. All in all, I want ALL SMS period! hehehe I am waiting this week for Bubble Bobble and Les Schtroumpfs(smurfs) to arrive.

8- Just like any kid did back then, I saved all the money I could to get some games, and when my parents couldnt get me to K-Mart or Woolworth I walked a lot to those stores to get my games. And will never forget the first time I saw the system in action, I am still in love with the Sega Master, I enjoyed playing with it more than with the Nes or Atari. I am still waiting for the second part of Golvellius And I used to finish Kung Fu Kid like 8 times daily, and Thunder Blade like 3.

[sharp]

I first saw the Master System in a catalog of an electronic store back in 1991 I think when the Megadrive was just released. Sadly there was no place to see the system and try it. When my local toy-store started selling the Master System I wanted one, but my parents banned me for buying one (I was 10 years back then) as the thought a NES was good enough. In the end me and my brother got a Game Gear and when I found a cheap Master Gear I got more into the Master System and got a lot of games for it. Sadly in 1997 I decided to sell all my videogames and so I lost all the Master System games as well. Recently I bought a loose Master System Converter II (sadly loose) with 4 complete games (Sonic Chaos, Junglebook, Miracle Warriors and Putt and Putter).

My favorite game always was James Pond: Robocod and Pac-Mania. Although with the time of emulation I found out that there were many games I never saw for sale in any stores. As a sega-fan I still love the system, but I'm now more focused on getting complete collections for Megadrive (including CD and 32X) and Saturn.

Still I think after that I will focus on the Master System, maybe also becuase the ban my parents gave me to buy one when I was young.

I think this is it about my experiences with the Master System.

[segagamer]

I forgot to mention that I also bought World Grand Prix along with Choplifter when I purchased my SMS.

[20eyes]

- What is your favorite game on this system?

Wonder Boy III

- What are some of your other favorites?

Oddly, Reggie Jackson Baseball

- Did any game exceed what you thought the system was capable of?
Not really other than the fact that it had 8 bit graphics but the games looked better than nintendo's

- Which games had the best graphics? The best sound?
Not sure.

- Do you remember the first time you saw the system in action? What game was it? What was your reaction?
Never saw it in action till we got one.
But I remember looking at the games and displays at Toys R Us (since it was the only place that actually sold them)

- Did you own the system "back in the day"? How about now?
Yes, we had one "back in the day". My mom won it as a sweepstakes prize. I still own that very same system, I kinda "stole" it from my dad a few years back.

- How many games do you have for it?
somewhere over 70

- Any stories surrounding the system that you can share with us?
Nothing that really sticks out other than the fact that no one at school knew what a sega master system was let alone own one.

[The Plucky Little Ninja]

-What is your favorite game for the system?

Phantasy Star started my unhealthy obsession with Role-Playing Games back before most people had no idea what they even were. This was unhealthy because I stayed with Sega all the way through the CD years before I realized that they just weren't going to make that many RPG's for their systems.

What are some of your other favorites?

Alex Kidd in Shinobi World: I probably rev this one up more than any other Master System game. Dare I say I like it more than Miracle World and the original Shinobi.

Double Dragon: Anything with two player co-op is a childhood favorite. I can't count the number of times I played through DD.

The Ninja: The music runs through my head to this very day.

Shinobi: So much ninja goodness. More catchy tunes and it didn't have the one hit kills of the arcade.

Did any of the games exceed what you thought the system was capable of?

Phantasy Star. I can't bring this game up enough. It blows the hell out of a lot of 16-bit games. Everything about it was so ahead of its time.

Which games had the best graphics? The best sound?

Graphics? I don't want to say. I just come across as a Phantasy Star whore. Sound? I'm getting behind Shinobi.

- Do you remember the first time you saw the system in action? What game was it? What was your reaction?

Choplifter was the entire reason I bought the system. I should go back and stick that one in with my favorites. It was so far beyond the 2600 I was understandably impressed.

Did you own the system "back in the day?" How about now?

Yup, and yup. I still own the same system.

How many games do you have for it?

Around 30. I've owned the damn thing longer than any other system. I should really get more games for it.

Any stories surrounding the system that you can share with us?

I was the only kid in town who owned one. So many NES's. Dammit, I was proud of the fact though. It started my, what certainly seems to be, lifelong obsession.

[syd]

I didn't play the SMS until around 1996, when I played it over at my friends's house. He only had a few games for it, but I remember playing sonic and especially Gangster Town for it. That game is one of my favourite light gun games of all time, it blew Hogan's Alley for NES out of the water. I need to get an SMS just to play that game again.

The SMS lightgun was actually a lot better design than the NES one, but it just didn't catch on. The SMS could have been a better system, it seemed like the arcade ports just weren't up to par like the NES, for example Double Dragon was horrible on the SMS IMO.

I mostly played SMS through emulation when the first emulators were coming out back around 1997 or so. When they came out I really started getting into it, but for me it will never replace the good old NES.