Was the Master System 2 ever released in the U.S.?

[josekortez]

I've seen pictures of this system in Retrogamer magazine that is native to the U.K., where the Master System seemed to be more popular than it was in the U.S. There was a second version that looked a lot cooler than the first one in my opinion, so I'm trying to find out if that model was ever released in the U.S.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

Yes it was.

And it was "cooler" if by cooler* you mean really strange sliding cartridge door and no SMS card slot.

Then again, it did have Alex Kidd in Miracle world built in, so that was a bit of a trade off ... but not a great one IMO.

*I prefer the SMS 1 by all means.

[Sweater Fish Deluxe]

No way, the original Master System is by far the cooler design. That thing was the ultimate in high-tech style for the 1980s, whereas the SMS2 looks like any old cheap piece of crap.

Also, you want a system with Snail Maze built in. Alex in Miracle World you can get on a cartridge, but Snail Maze is EXCLUSIVE, baby!


...word is bondage...

[Blitzwing256]

didn't snail maze get a release in brazil at one point?

[Pantechnicon]

Found one in a thrift store a few weeks ago for $3. Already got an SMS, SMS-to-Genesis adapter and even a SMS-to-Game Gear adapter, so I bought this one mostly for completion's sake at the right price. I haven't fired it up yet so I had no idea it had a built-in game, brb

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...looks like the Alex Kidd version. meh (/returns SMS II to storage).


And it was "cooler" if by cooler* you mean really strange sliding cartridge door and no SMS card slot.

...go ahead and add "RF Output Only" to the list of "cooler" not cool differences between it and its predecessor. Model I SMS ftw.

[retroman]

yes it was. I have both the orig. and the second one. I use the first one more, because it plays my sega card games. the other one only plays carts.

[James8BitStar]

I am interested in this "Snail Maze" thing. Please explain what is "Snail Maze"?

[figment1988]

I am interested in this "Snail Maze" thing. Please explain what is "Snail Maze"?

Snail Maze was a simple maze game which was integrated with early versions of the first Sega Master System. anyway, the SMS2 version of Alex Kidd was localized since in this version, Alex eats a hamburger instead of a rice ball.

[Sweater Fish Deluxe]

I am interested in this "Snail Maze" thing. Please explain what is "Snail Maze"?
Hold Up+1+2 when turning on the system and it should boot to Snail Maze. Not every first model SMS had it, but in my experience most do, even if they also have another game built in like Hang On or Missile Defense.

It's a very basic game (it's just what it sounds like, in fact), but still a totally cool thing for Sega to have included in the SMS, in my opinion.

As far as I know, it was never released as a cartridge or card in Brazil or anywhere else, though I could be wrong. It was however included on that Master System handheld form Coleco that came out last year, which was pretty cool (even though I'm sure it was only included to pad out the game list since it's such a tiny ROM).


...word is bondage...

[ooXxXoo]

The American SMS2 top side of the shell color is gray/bottom black......The PAL European SMS2 is completely black (you can see pics of both at my site)...Some French Secam SMS2 did have tha 8-pin din A/V port,while the rest of the other regions, got stuck with the RF modulator....

[kedawa]

I play Snail Maze on my PlayPal handheld sometimes. The music is really catchy.

[Emuaust]

Actually you are misinformed there the pal console did ship in both europe and australia with the gray/bottom black, I can show you if you like, there where actually quite a few revisons of the sms and sms2, my favorite is my sms1 with alex kidd built in, yeah thats right the best of both worlds baby!

[ssjlance]

Really, if it's just aesthetics you're going for, the SMS 2 isn't half bad. And as far as I know, nothing great was released on cards (or at least exclusively on cards, as Hang-On has a card version).

[zektor]

The second model was terrible. No card slots is a deal breaker imho. Given that, you could always import those USA card based titles that were released in Europe on carts...but why. Also, no 3D glasses..

The 1st model SMS will always reign.

[josekortez]

Yeah, I don't have any of the card titles and I only have a few Master System games. I should probably just buy a Power Base convertor since I already have a couple of Genesis systems.

I think I just don't like the design of the Master System 1. It looks kind of gaudy while the Master System 2 looks sleek. In my mind, it's like how the second PlayStation 2 is more streamlined by design.