Is it worth it to get a Sega Master System?

[shane7951]

I've been throwing the idea around of getting a SMS. I'm a huge fan of Ninja Gaiden so when I saw the Master System has an installment it peaked my interest.

My main concern is the depth of good games. I'm mainly into Rpg's and platformers like Ninja Gaiden.

Would anyone mind shedding some light on some SMS gems?

[tom]

The SMS has a far better good games bad games ratio than NES, problem is, most of the best games are from the UK/Europe

[shane7951]

Is there a NES Toploader equivalent to where you can play NTSC and Pal on one system for the SMS?

[Scissors]

There really aren't many RPGs for the SMS. The only ones I could think of are Phantasy Star, Miracle Warriors, Y's, Dragon Crystal and Ultima IV. There's also Golvellius and Golden Axe Warrior, which are more Zelda-like games.

Just a warning, the SMS Ninja Gaiden is no where near as difficult as the NES ones. If you like the Ninja Gaiden games for the challenge, you'll be disappointed with this one.


Is there a NES Toploader equivalent to where you can play NTSC and Pal on one system for the SMS?

Any American SMS will play most European games.

[alec006]

Is there a NES Toploader equivalent to where you can play NTSC and Pal on one system for the SMS?

The Sega Master System is region free, so you can play most games for almost all the regions it was released in. Infact most Master System games came from Europe, so if you have a NTSC Master System, and a PAL European game it will work perfectly only sped up slighty since we are at 60hz.

Now there a few obscure games that have problems being played in a different region, but most are not popular and you'll probably never find one anyway.

The only region you can't play is the Japanese region since they have an entirely different cart size.

Ask for games, the Sonic games are pretty fun on the Master System, Alex Kidd of course the flag ship of the system. Hang-On is a great game, I mean there's people on here more into the system that will suggest more games for it.

It's a very good system when it comes to it and does deserve some love.

[Schiggidyd]

If you don't want to take up more space near your TV, just buy a Sega Power Base Converter, it goes on top of your Model 1 Genesis and lets you play SMS games.

[Rickstilwell1]

The Sega Master System is region free, so you can play most games for almost all the regions it was released in. Infact most Master System games came from Europe, so if you have a NTSC Master System, and a PAL European game it will work perfectly only sped up since we are at 60hz.

Now there a few obscure games that have problems being played in a different region, but most are not popular and you'll probably never find one anyway.

The only region you can't play is the Japanese region since they have an entirely different cart size.

Ask for games, the Sonic games are pretty fun on the Master System, Alex Kidd of course the flag ship of the system. Hang-On is a great game, I mean there's people on here more into the system that will suggest more games for it.

It's a very good system when it comes to it and does deserve some love.

And with "sped up" a gamer from the USA will not notice anything weird about the speed. We are used to running all games at this speed so it seems normal to us. Gamers who grew up with PAL systems would be used to playing all games from this time period at slower speeds. I'm not sure if that makes games less challenging for them or if it makes them harder to play because I never tried running anything in PAL mode itself. I did watch some PAL Youtube gaming videos though and it was paifully slow for me to watch.

[theclaw]

Some SMS games we aren't 100% sure of their intended speed. Who knows how many had US plans fade off during production.
Others will play noticeably too fast, or have graphical issues.


As for Japanese... SMS games can be dual language. Genesis inherited the feature to use dramatically more often. While still retaining it for SMS backwards compatible mode. (Cloud Master, Power Strike, etc, would change if Power Base Converter is on a JPN set Genesis)

Unfortunately Japan cart adapters are not available pre-made. You must arrange custom work.
Even then, while believed possible, no one has come forward with a finalized construction attempt. Successful or otherwise.
That should change very soon if my concept goes well! I've acquired then shipped out the necessary base parts.

[ButtonMasher123]

The Sega Master Systerm is great, but you really have to import some games from Europe to see the best of what it has to offer. I think it would be still be worth it either way though considering it is was of the cheapest systems around to collect for.

As for the platformers/rpgs question, I can't speak for rpgs as I am not a fan of the genre, but it does ok in the plaformer genre. I don't think the best platformers on Sega Master can compete with best NES plaformers, but it probably doesn't have as many crappy ones as the NES either.

For me the real strength of the system lies in all of the pick up and play style arcade style games. Arcade ports, light gun games and the 3d glasses are where it really shines especilly the light gun games. The sega light gun seems a lot more precise than the NES one and the games are way more interesting too.

[theclaw]

Yeah another future step of mine is working out an SG1000 keyboard adapter. I'm hopeful about it, BASIC programming on real SMS hardware might become reality (the JP SMS had no keyboard port either). :)

[sheath]

Is there a NES Toploader equivalent to where you can play NTSC and Pal on one system for the SMS?

SMS Power was selling an adapter for the Japanese Master System's expansion port so it would accept Western cartridges as well. This also allows for the Western games to be heard with the YM2413 FM chip instead of PSG.

To the original poster, yes it is worth it to own a Master System. As has already been mentioned it has a very high quality ratio (http://www.gamepilgrimage.com/view/browse/notablegames?field_year_value_op=between&field_year_value[value]=1985-2005&field_year_value[min]=1985&field_year_value[max]=2005&field_system_value_op=allwords&field_system_value=Master+System&title_op=contains&title=) for what games were released. Just don't expect every game to be a "Mario killer" or some such thing.

[Gameguy]

If you don't want to take up more space near your TV, just buy a Sega Power Base Converter, it goes on top of your Model 1 Genesis and lets you play SMS games.
I would go this route if I had to buy a system to play these games. I have actual SMS consoles but they basically worked out free, and I have a Power Base Converter too.

Just a warning, I find actual SMS controllers to be horrible. I barely can stand the D-pads which I found almost unusable for games requiring precision. I'm not sure if all controllers are like this, I have the earliest controllers where the cord comes out the side instead of the top(this is also stupid).

[sheath]

I'm not sure the earliest controllers had the cords coming out the side. By 1988 at least they were all top wires. Either way, I always used the Control Stick back in the day. Lately though I have found the D-Pad of the control pads to be very effective in all exclusive Master System games, more so than Genesis game pads.

[shane7951]

Thanks for the information!

I may end up getting the adapter for the Genesis but the SMS system looks so cool to me. I've really only heard of NG, Alex Kidd, and the Sonic port so I've got quite a bit to catch up on.

[FrankSerpico]

There was an ebay vendor selling Power Base Converters for 21 bucks with free shipping just a week or two ago. I've never seen stock SMS consoles going for that low outside of flea markets or thrift stores that just didn't know what they had

[alec006]

Thanks for the information!

I may end up getting the adapter for the Genesis but the SMS system looks so cool to me. I've really only heard of NG, Alex Kidd, and the Sonic port so I've got quite a bit to catch up on.

There's also a hidden game in the BIOS menus on the Master System. I do agree thou, the Master System does look cool and fits well in a room with classic consoles.

If you do decide on the Power Base Convertor or another type of adapter, it can't be used with the 32x, so you would have to unplug it every time you would want to play a Master System game thus creating more wear on the 32x contacts.


There was an ebay vendor selling Power Base Converters for 21 bucks with free shipping just a week or two ago. I've never seen stock SMS consoles going for that low outside of flea markets or thrift stores that just didn't know what they had

Really? I got my Sega Master System for $12 on ebay around 2005. It was complete too with two controllers, a power adapter, an a AV cable.

But then again that was 7 years ago and people love to drive the prices up on older systems now days.

[Gameguy]

I'm not sure the earliest controllers had the cords coming out the side.
They were the early ones, they came with my system that had Snail Maze built in. That was the first version. They changed the locations of the cords when they realized how horrible the first location was. It's right where you want to put your hand to hold it.


But then again that was 7 years ago and people love to drive the prices up on older systems now days.
I remember regular Sega Master Systems used to be worth about $30 with all hookups, only recently it seems to be increasing in value. I'm still surprised whenever I see one for sale with a higher asking price than that.

[sheath]

The Master System I bought in 1988 came with snail maze and top wired controllers. Interesting that the earlier models did not.

[MachineGex]

I remember in 1990-91, there was a big department store(like JC Pennies) that sold new SMS system with 15 games for $199. Later the store lowered it to $99. They had tons of them. I can't remember the name of the department store, it wasnt a store that we had out on the west coast. I bought one and had a blast playing it. I loved the two player game Shanghai. Fun times. If third party game companies would have supported it like the NES, the system really could have been pushed much further.

If you like Genesis, the SMS is definately a system you will enjoy.

[SparTonberry]

If third party game companies would have supported it like the NES, the system really could have been pushed much further.

Could have.

You haven't heard of the Nintendo monopoly?
Nintendo didn't let third-parties release games on both consoles for at least two years, if at all.

Atari took them to court to force them to drop that limitation.
(and why Tengen took matters into their own hands and cracked the NES' lockout chip)

[Greg2600]

Sms is going to be pricier than NES collecting. But its cool to have, not terribly expensive. Recommend the master everdrive if you can afford it.

[MachineGex]

Could have.

You haven't heard of the Nintendo monopoly?
Nintendo didn't let third-parties release games on both consoles for at least two years, if at all.


Sure I heard the stories. I was just saying if other publishers would have supported it like the NES was, we woulda saw some really amazing games for it. Think of all the great 3rd party games that NES has.......imagine that kinda support on the SMS. It woulda been interesting to how to see how much further they coulda pushed that system.

Sega really did an amazing job putting out the number of games they did on the SMS. Imagine Capcom, Konami, Irem, Tecmo, (etc.), would have supported the SMS as much as the NES.

[kupomogli]

The only bad thing about the Master System is the sound is terrible. About 99% of the NES library sounds better than just about every SMS game.

While the NES has an overall better library of good games, like Tom said, the SMS has a better good game over bad game ratio. The only problem with this is while some are good games, they're also the exact same game that's better on another system, like Strider. Although some have the exact same name as the game on another system does, but it's almost a completely different game, such as Rastan and Mickey Mouse Castle of Illusion. It's good that the games are different, but you have no way of knowing which games are different until you try them.

[thegamezmaster]

Another plus is with a Master Gear convertor, you can play SMS games on a Sega Game Gear. They run around $15. I've had my SMS since they came out and still love it. Up to over 100 games for it.

[Black_Tiger]

RPG is my favorite genre and one of the reasons the SMS had such a huge impact on me bitd.

Phantasy Star alone is worth buying a SMS for, but I still have more with Miracle Warriors than any NES RPG except maybe Destiny if an Emperor. The most impirtant thing s that both games are unique and not quite like anything else. They also both feature some nicer graphics and art than most 16-bit console RPGs and both have amazing PSG and FM soundtracks.

Ys and Ultima IV are cool non/JRPG-style games. Golvelius, Wonderboy III, Spellcaster, Zillion, Wonderboy IV and Lord of the Sword appeal to fans of RPGs.

Cool straight platforming games include, Wonderboy, Alex Kidd in Miracle World, Psycho Fox and a bunch of European developed games that I haven't spent enough time with yet.

There are also impressive ports of Bubble Bobble and Rygar (Japan only) and Master of Darkness is a cool Castlevania-style game.

[FoxNtd]

This seems like a good place to ask this question. How about the Mark III library? Are there exclusives in that set worth playing? Is the system still appealing without diving into US NTSC and PAL libraries? I have and enjoy Mega Drive, Saturn, and Dreamcast. My only experience with Mark III/SMS is 15 minutes of Double Dragon on the US system. All my other 8-bit Sega gaming was on Game Gear. I liked GG but I've never seen anything on SMS I really wanted to play. Looking at those games makes me feel like "I'd rather play [something similar] on Famicom or a different Sega platform which I already have." :|

[theclaw]

Mark III is an intermediate state between SG1000 and SMS. It retains the keyboard port, FM sound was optional, needs an amp for RGB to look good.
Plus the FM module's strange design means that can't be used with RGB unless modified.

Generally fans consider PAL library of SMS best. Large number of games with often sizable print runs.
Other regions each have their own few exclusive releases or versions though. Korea, US, Japan...

[BydoEmpire]

I had an SMS back in the day, I still have one now and I think it's a great console with an excellent library. I wouldn't say there are tons of RPGs, but there are a lot of great platformers, arcade games and especially light gun games.

[A.C. Sativa]

Just a warning, I find actual SMS controllers to be horrible. I barely can stand the D-pads which I found almost unusable for games requiring precision. I'm not sure if all controllers are like this, I have the earliest controllers where the cord comes out the side instead of the top(this is also stupid).

Yeah, they're awful. As far as playability goes they're one of the worst controllers ever made. Between those and the fact that most of the good SMS games were only sold in Europe I've found that acquiring the system just isn't worth the trouble. Even the good SMS aren't that great anyway. Unless you're a real serious collector I'd skip it. If you really must play it, get the Power Base Converter, or just use the Fusion emulator.

[Bloodreign]

The only bad thing about the Master System is the sound is terrible. About 99% of the NES library sounds better than just about every SMS game.

While the NES has an overall better library of good games, like Tom said, the SMS has a better good game over bad game ratio. The only problem with this is while some are good games, they're also the exact same game that's better on another system, like Strider. Although some have the exact same name as the game on another system does, but it's almost a completely different game, such as Rastan and Mickey Mouse Castle of Illusion. It's good that the games are different, but you have no way of knowing which games are different until you try them.

The Rastan on SMS wasn't ported to NES or any other console (on PC's sure), it was the exact same game as arcade. The one on Genesis was the sequel, I think it was also released to PC Engine (the Rastan II sequel).

Also if you get an SMS, get R-Type, Cloud Master (I don't have this one), and Wonderboy 1 for it. All 3 of these are hard enough to have some good replay value to them, plus R-Type has a secret hidden stage found in no other port I know of. Wonderboy is Adventure Island with enough differences, plus an entire hidden world in it (very hard to get to, you must collect all dolls on all levels) in it to warrant a purchase.

[sheath]

Rastan on Master System also has a wall jump mechanic that I don't think is in the Arcade game. Plus, it supports FM for those with that option. ;)

[Superman]

If you like classic 8 bit games, a Sega Master System could be for you, Shane. Like the others have mentioned there are quite a few platform games, but your other interest RPGs, are a little lacking. I'm not a big RPG person myself, but I really like Phantasy Star on the Master System.

If you like platform and RPGs there's a good chance you like action/adventure games, similar to the Zelda games. The SMS has a few of those as well.

So, between the three categories of: platform, RPG, and action/adventure, there should be enough titles to hold your interest.

[Greg2600]

Though I have no issue with its controller, I found the control on Rastan to be horrible. The one downside for sure to the SMS pads are that they failed far too easily, especially compared to NES.

One bad thing about SMS is that many great game were released in the early 90's on it, often not in North America. Though some were stepped-down Genesis games, including Sonic 1 and 2, they are difficult to come by.

You could get an Everdrive for the Genesis, and be able to play most SMS games (as well as Genesis), without any SMS hardware (not even the PBC). I decided to buy a SMS several years ago, because I knew the Master EverDrive was being developed. Allows me to play 95% of worldwide SMS games and most SG-1000 games.

There are many classic games that were ported to SMS though, which were very well done. But often they are expensive.

[PreZZ]

What was great about the SMS was the arcade ports... Space Harrier, Outrun and Hang-On were mind blowing back then... But now you can get the actual arcade roms of these games on Mame or better ports on other consoles that came after SMS. I really like my sega consoles but this one didnt age very well... Even Phantasy Star was awesome back then, but now its really a chore to play this and make maps with a pen and paper to figure where the hell youre going because if you dont do this you will never figure a way to get out of a dungeon there is no map in the game! Being able to play Double Dragon co-op gave you the power to be the coolest kid in town in 1989! The best games for me would be the 3 wonder boy games, Golden axe warrior(very good Zelda 1 clone), R-Type, Fantasy Zone. They released Sonic games for it which were ports of the game gear games, but they were released after the ones on sega Genesis, so I didnt play these back then... But they are different from the ones on Genesis even if they have the same title (sonic the hedgehog, sonic 2) and probably are the best platformers for the system. I imported those from UK and they play fine on my american SMS.

[sheath]

MAME and emulated compilation disks never got the entire game correct. The gameplay usually has lag, the music is usually subdued or wrong, and there are frequently sound effect glitches. The Master System versions of these games still offer better play tested games than emulation does.

[Az]

How about the Mark III library? Are there exclusives in that set worth playing?

While I personally don't find enough to warrant buying a Mark III system, I found there's enough to warrant buying Tototek's dual SMS/Mark III converter for Genesis. To me that's a perfect deal as I only own one card game (Spy VS Spy) and no 3D glasses. It let's me play SMS games on any model Genesis/Mega Drive (or some clones) which is cool enough in itself, plus I get to play the one or two Japanese Mark III releases I like and the handful of weird unlicensed Korean games.

[jammajup]

You can always get a sms for a good price and the games so yes,there are some real good games on it which push the system technically to the max like R-Type,Master Of Darkness and James Pond:Robocod

[j_factor]

I think the SMS has about 70-75 worthwhile games. Clearly "worth it" territory, but not one of my top systems. Still, it's definitely host to some of my favorite 8-bit games, like Psycho Fox, Ultima IV, Master of Darkness, Wonder Boy in Monster Land, Zillion, Alex Kidd, etc.

[old_skoolin_jim]

If you don't want to take up more space near your TV, just buy a Sega Power Base Converter, it goes on top of your Model 1 Genesis and lets you play SMS games.

...or you grab a saw and cut off the fat plastic tab sticking down from the back of the Power Base Converter so you can use it in your Genny Model 2... :D

As for whether it's "worth it" now, I'd say "sure." (Most) games (usually) aren't terribly expensive, and there's a good amount of fun to be had, whether it's from a quality game (Ultima 4, Phantasy Star, Ys, Time Soldiers, R-Type, Penguin Land, etc) or from its inherent cheesiness/low quality (Alex Kidd: The Lost Stars, ALF... Friggin' ALF).

[BlastProcessing402]

The Master System I bought in 1988 came with snail maze and top wired controllers. Interesting that the earlier models did not.

Mine was from 87 w/snail maze and top wired controllers.

Anyway, if you don't like the controllers, you can always use Genesis controllers. A few games like Alien Syndrome won't work right with them, but the vast majority work just fine.

[starsoldier1]

The Master System I find is a very underrated console. The 3D glasses for it actually work (unlike those cheap ones you got with Rad Racer), Phantasy Star is one of the greatest RPG's I ever played, and there are tons of other cool games like Miracle World and Wonderboy III that don't get the attenntion they deserve.

[djshok]

I say just get a Power Base Converter for a Genesis model 1 if you own one of those. It does everything that an SMS does including playing the Sega Card games and it even has the hookup for the 3D glasses.