Master System sucks

[blue lander]

I'd say Alex Kidd is superior to SMB in every way, except that it isn't really much fun. But that's just my opinion.

Personally I love the SMS, but I just could never get into Alex Kidd. I do think it's funny the whole Sega vs Nintendo war is still going on decades after it actually mattered, though.

[RASTAN]

Personally I love the SMS, but I just could never get into Alex Kidd. I do think it's funny the whole Sega vs Nintendo war is still going on decades after it actually mattered, though.

Some things aren't meant to die is all. And after all... "When you're pushed, killin's as easy as breathing." LOL

[Rob2600]

What makes SUPER MARIO BROS. so laughably better than ALEX KIDD? KIDD's graphics are much better, has much more varied gameplay options (vehicles, power-ups, status changes, shops) and a greater difficulty. ... Generally, it's just a lot more advanced than the first MARIO

There's more to do in Alex Kidd in Miracle World, but the level design isn't nearly as good as it is in Super Mario Bros. The same goes for the pacing and physics. Alex Kidd feels too floaty. As a result, it feels like a budget game, whereas Super Mario Bros. feels like a solid, well-produced, polished classic.

[Sweater Fish Deluxe]

There's more to do in Alex Kidd in Miracle World, but the level design isn't nearly as good as it is in Super Mario Bros. The same goes for the pacing and physics. Alex Kidd feels too floaty. As a result, it feels like a budget game, whereas Super Mario Bros. feels like a solid, well-produced, polished classic.
That's because you're more familiar and used to the feeling of how SMB controls compared to Alex Kidd. If things were reversed and you were much more familiar with Alex Kidd than SMB, you'd almost certainly feel exactly the opposite about how the two games feel.

You have a point with the level design, though actually neither game has absolutely superb level design. SMB's is definitely better, though.


...word is bondage...

[grolt]

Not a fanboy.
That makes two of us, then.


Neither game is amazingly better than the other. I never once stated that SMB is a laughably better game.
Forgive my misunderstanding, it's tough to get meaning out of emoticon-only responses.


Saying Alex Kidd in Miracle World blew SMB out of the water is like dismissing SMB as a fifth-rate smuldering pile of NES shovelware - which it most certainly is not.
Point taken, I should have elaborated then what I meant. The first MARIO to me just seems a lot like an Atari-age game, and not one to usher forth a new generation of gaming. The KIDD has a lot more polish and unique gameplay mechanics that make MARIO seem dated by comparison. The second and third MARIO games would do a lot better job of adding some diversity. SUPER MARIO BROS. is an iconic game, but I really don't think it holds up well at all compared to its sequels or ALEX KIDD.

[grolt]

That's because you're more familiar and used to the feeling of how SMB controls compared to Alex Kidd. If things were reversed and you were much more familiar with Alex Kidd than SMB, you'd almost certainly feel exactly the opposite about how the two games feel.
That's the same with the button layout as well. When I first played AKIMW, I was constantly thrown off by the jump and fire buttons being reversed compared to MARIO. Because of MARIO's success, that's basically been the standard, so even though there's nothing inherently wrong with AKIMW's button layout, it just feels incorrect based on what's now become canon. It just goes to show that even something as arbitrary as that can be shaped by our conditioning as a child.

[Ruudos]

That makes two of us, then.


Forgive my misunderstanding, it's tough to get meaning out of emoticon-only responses.


Point taken, I should have elaborated then what I meant. The first MARIO to me just seems a lot like an Atari-age game, and not one to usher forth a new generation of gaming. The KIDD has a lot more polish and unique gameplay mechanics that make MARIO seem dated by comparison. The second and third MARIO games would do a lot better job of adding some diversity. SUPER MARIO BROS. is an iconic game, but I really don't think it holds up well at all compared to its sequels or ALEX KIDD.

I still remember being amazed after seeing and playing Super Mario Bros. (and Duck Hunt), after having played for some years on the Atari 2600. IMO, anything but an Atari-age game.

[strongmanx]

I still remember being amazed after seeing and playing Super Mario Bros. (and Duck Hunt), after having played for some years on the Atari 2600. IMO, anything but an Atari-age game.

I have to totally agree with you on this one. I remembe being bored to death of atari 2600 games because they were all based on high scores and no levels. I remember playing the smurf game for the coleco vision and wanting more because at least you could progress in the game.

SOmetimes I think if you never lived through the NES times you never fully appreciate the greatness of the games.

THat being said i think most of us never owned a sega master system and we are judging it compared to everything we have played. The SMS just doesn't have the magic memories the NES gives us since most of us did not own it. I'm sure it is the same way for guys who owned the SMS back in the day and started playing the NES years later. I'm guessing if you ask a lot of Europeans they would probably say the SMS was superior to the NES in everyway.

[7th lutz]

i think most of us never owned a sega master system and we are judging it compared to everything we have played. The SMS just doesn't have the magic memories the NES gives us since most of us did not own it. I'm sure it is the same way for guys who owned the SMS back in the day and started playing the NES years later. I'm guessing if you ask a lot of Europeans they would probably say the SMS was superior to the NES in everyway.

I never owned a SMS back in the Day and I judged the system with a very open mind despite owning a Nes first. I felt the SMS hold its own against the NES based on the games I own for the SMS and the NES.

I felt many people were didn't give the SMS a chance with an open mind because they already had their minds made up by playing or owning a NES for several years before playing a SMS. I also question how much reserch they did with the internet being very popular. People looking at a SMS in the last 10 years have more info on the SMS games then people did prior to that.

I got a Nes 8 years before I bought a SMS. I owned a lot of great games on the NES like Super Mario 3, Megaman along with 60 to 70 other games.

I was late getting a Nes compared to most video game players around my age. I was in Grade School when I got an Atari 2600 Jr. and an Atari 7800. I was an oddball for game consoles as result when I was a kid. I was given game consoles that my parents could afford at the time with one parent being the breadwinner.

My background with game consoles growing up makes it easier for me accept an older game console like the SMS and the tg-16 based on different types of games that I was exposed to. I also had an open mind because I learned a lesson years prior. I was so much into the Sega Genesis that turned the chance of my parents buying me a SNES for Christmas. I got a 32x instead. That was painful. I realized how biased and stupid for turning down a SNES as a gift! I was into rpg, platformers, rpgs, shooters and Action Adventure games at the time. The Snes was better in some types games I liked such as RPGS.

I got a SMS in 1999. I bought the system with an open mind about the games. I looking at buying the Sms for Phantasy Star only before doing internet research on the games for the system like using a yahoo seach engine at the time.

I am living proof that you could like the SMS and the NES equally despite a big gap in getting a game console. It is up to the tastes of games depending on the person, how much research you do, and have an open mind.

[GarrettCRW]

I bought a Master System a couple of years ago and have a decent-sized collection, and while it has a decent library (at least once you throw in the international market), it's just not the NES library, which has so many classics, with a good deal of games that never left Japan.

Furthermore, on the sound issue: the Famicom Disk System had an FM chip, which many of the major games had to some degree: both Zeldas, Castlevania II, Doki Doki Panic (though the songs themselves are much shorter on the disk), Kid Icarus, and Metroid, for starters. Also, some cartridges had added sound chips, as well. So, really, on a technical level, it's kind of a wash. The quality of the compositions is a factor of library size. The NES has a much bigger library, so of course there's going to be more memorable music.

The bottom line is that the SMS had some really nice things going for it, but it came out too late and was poorly marketed when it did arrive in the US.

[GuyinGA]

I had neighbors that had SMS and NES and almost all the great games (that they wouldn't let me play, just sit there and watch) were on the NES. BUT, I think SMS would have been better if Sega didn't release the Genesis so quickly after SMS was out for close to three years. It's like they were pulling the plug on it just so they could beat Nintendo on the next system. I think if the SMS had the third-party support the NES did and/or better first-party games, it might be a different story.

Call me weird but I actually like the Sega Master System box-art....simple white background and blue grids. You knew what system it was for when you saw it (the funny thing about it is the Nintendo Wii game cases are kinda like that now).

From what I remembered, Shinobi is awesome (save for its ending) and Phantasy Star is just amazing to play....Wonderboy I dug as well and Zillion to some extent, although I think that game was just too hard (I would LOVE to see a remake of Zillion though). The only Alex Kidd one I liked was ....& Miracle World and somewhat liked The Lost Stars (even though I think it was half-completed).

[j_factor]

BUT, I think SMS would have been better if Sega didn't release the Genesis so quickly after SMS was out for close to three years. It's like they were pulling the plug on it just so they could beat Nintendo on the next system.

While Genesis did come out fairly early compared to the age of the SMS, this was before the concept of regular console generations with a number of years in between had been firmly established. They only pulled the plug on the SMS where it wasn't popular; in Europe and South America, the SMS received continued support for years (and pretty damn good support at that).

Also, when the Mega Drive was being designed, hell even after it launched (in Japan), there was absolutely no concept of a Super Famicom yet; it was way off. If anything, rather than being based on beating Nintendo out the door, I might speculate that the timing was due to the PC Engine.


Call me weird but I actually like the Sega Master System box-art....simple white background and blue grids. You knew what system it was for when you saw it (the funny thing about it is the Nintendo Wii game cases are kinda like that now).

I actually like the uniformity of the white grid packaging too, but some of the games are absolutely pathetic with their non-art. Like Black Belt for example. The covers that had actual art on the front that took up a decent amount of space weren't bad.

[kedawa]

That's the same with the button layout as well. When I first played AKIMW, I was constantly thrown off by the jump and fire buttons being reversed compared to MARIO. Because of MARIO's success, that's basically been the standard, so even though there's nothing inherently wrong with AKIMW's button layout, it just feels incorrect based on what's now become canon. It just goes to show that even something as arbitrary as that can be shaped by our conditioning as a child.
No, the button layout in Alex Kidd is just stupid. Almost every other SMS platformer or action game that has a jump has it mapped to the second button. It just makes sense. It lets you hold down the run/attack/whatever button and still press jump at will. If the buttons were reversed, it simply wouldn't work as well.

[guitargary75]

I think it is an awesome system. Phantasy Star alone makes it worth while.

[ShinobiMan]

To me, the Sega Master System is the stepping stone that lead Sega into a bigger, brighter future. It's small US library was charming, full of great Sega arcade hits and some fantastic original properties. Some great characters were created in this era of gaming, included Alex Kidd, Opa-Opa, and Psycho Fox. Lets not forget the epic Phantasy Star series and it's SMS roots.

I was a gamer who fell in love with Sega during it's 16-bit era. I had played the Master System when I was very young at a neighbors house. To rediscover it in the early 90's after many years of gaming on the Genesis, it was like finding out that your favorite movie was actually the 2nd in the series, that there was a film that came before it. Sure, it may not have as big a budget as the sequel, and it's lacking the star power, but it's still extremely entertaining in an EVIL DEAD VS. EVIL DEAD 2 kinda way.

The Sega Master System will always hold a special place in my gaming nirvana. It is must have for Sega enthusiasts and gamers alike.

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

I'm not the SMS's biggest fan, but I have to say...I played Ultima IV a la Master System last night and loved it. Way, way more than the sorry NES port of the same game. It's the next best thing to sitting at an Apple II with a bag of Cheetos* and playing it.



* strictly optional

[DeputyMoniker]

erm...i dont really know if its good or not
i would judge if i had the system

Well said.

[8bitgamer]

My problem with the Master System is that I've found several in the wild that don't work.

[smokehouse]

I'm going to say this and leave it at that...

I really am tired of reading about chipped NES and SNES games as an attempt to make them seem like weak machines...who cares? So what it took a MMC chip to make the NES perform well...as a consumer we didn't feel a thing. The same goes with the FX chip on the SNES...it didn't require extra hardware, it wasn't a pain to hook up, it just worked.

The SMS didn't require extra in game chips and the NES did...big deal.






With that said...I've never been a huge fan of the SMS. Like the Dreamcast I always viewed it as having huge potential but little payoff. I don't "hate" the SMS though...I just don't love it.

[LazingBlazers]

Yes, the SMS does indeed pretty much totally suck. The sound really ruined the experience for me. In my opinion, the good games aren't so good because of it and the bad games are just downright abysmal.

TurboGrafx-16 & PC-Engine are much better; you should try those instead. Laughs.

[aus_e]

I used to sell both back in the day from a department store in Sydney, Australia. For us, the Sega was the machine to have - we didn't have the range of NES games in Australia, and I prefered the graphics and the games for the SMS that were available at the time.
If I was to pick up either a SMS or NES, I might go Sega, just for fond memories of Outrun and Wonderboy.

[Sweater Fish Deluxe]

Now that there's an excellent SMS emulator for the DS, I'm rediscovering how much I love the Master System. I sold off most of my SMS collection along with most of my video games a few years ago and I really haven't played the games that I kept much since then since I've tended more towards handheld systems.

For instance, the various platformers on the Master System seem especially solid and well done compared to platformers on the NES or even the Genesis. Shooters seem much more engrossing, possibly just because of the more colorful graphics and less graphical problems. And of course there's those SMS games like Wonder Boy 3 which are totally unmatched. I find that I can even play Black Belt for hours.

As pointed out earlier, the Master System library is just much smaller, so it will naturally have a higher ratio of quality games compared to the NES where tons and tons of software was churned out just to cash in on the system's success. That would suggest that if you ignored the crap, the NES should have just as many or probbaly more top notch games, but while I do have more games in my NES directory for playing under NESds, I find that the only games I ever really play are Tetris and Super Mario Bros (and hacks thereof), while there's about 10 games in my SMS directory that I play much more often.

It really does come down to your preference in games, though. Most games on the SMS have an arcade-like feel compared ot NES games. Even a pseudo-RPG game like Wonder Boy 3 is quite a bit simpler in terms of play mechanics and style than most popular games on the NES. Take Megaman as an example; you might expect to be arcade-like since it's an action game, but really is very complicated. The NES was really the first system to have games that felt totally different from the games in the arcades (maybe the Intellivision, but not to the extent of the NES). Games on the Master System didn't follow that trend for the most part. Since smokehouse brought it up, this also true of the Dreamcast, in my opinion, when compared to systems like the Playstation.


...word is bondage...