Opinions on the Sega Master System

[DK1105]

I have been on a bit of a console buying spree and mostly have been picking up some under rated systems like the turbografx and such. I was flipping around some local craigslist ads and bottom of one ad I saw side note about how they had a master system and a few fun but nothing special games. I did give the racketboy pages a quick read but I have never ran into one before so is there anything I should watch out for?

[IHatedSega]

It has a ton of shovelware, and the few games worth having have better versions on the Genesis. Put the money you have into Turbo investments. Nintendo had all the good and great developers on their side, it never had a chance to gain any real ground. The best game on it Id say is either Alex Kid In Shinobe World or Street Fighter 2.

Edit: Oh yeah....THOSE WHITE BOXES ARE FREAKIN UGLY AS HELL!

[Steve W]

I've never found any games that were really engaging on the SMS. They seem a little more simplistic than NES games. I've got a decent little selection of titles, a good amount of which I haven't ever played since none of the games I've tried over the years have made me feel excited to pull the system out of storage. Put your emphasis on getting Turbo games, it'll be more rewarding in the long run.

[Parodius Duh!]

I love the system, but if you are planning on staying within the boundaries of North American Releases, you are not going to find much, maybe 10 Gems in total. The majority of the best games were only released in Europe, and the best and rarest titles were only released by Tec Toy in Brazil. Master Systems are region free, the only Euro games that DO NOT work are Back to the Future III and The Jungle Book.

I highly recommend Zool, Smash TV, Submarine Attack, Sonic Blast, Fire & Ice, Battlemaniacs, Bonkers Wax Up, Dynamite Headdy, Ren & Stimpy, Golden Axe Warrior, Mickeys Ultimate Challenge, Master of Darkness, Ys, All the WonderBoys, Spiderman Return of the Sinister Six, Robocop 3, and The Smurfs.

Honestly though, if you dont want to import any games, or spend the cash on them (majority of decent titles range from $30-$300 CIB) then I dont think the Master System is for you.

[theclaw]

For the Master System get an NTSC (US or JP) console, then focus on PAL games (JP console will need an adapter). Brazil releases are too expensive.
Generally a PAL console isn't recommended. Everyone knows how bad 50hz tends to suck.

Model 1 is easiest to achieve peak video quality with, since it has factory RGB.

Be warned if getting a non-JP system, if you care about piracy, methods such as flash carts or similar are mandatory to play Mark III and SG-1000 cart games (a BIOS mod should only allow JP card slot games).
There currently is no successful pin adapter to play Japanese cart games using western hardware!

Turbografx? Stick to the Japanese model. Far larger library, etc.

[starsoldier1]

I love the SMS! Sure there are some terrible games on it like the Great sport series and Alex Kidd in High Tech World but there are amazing titles like the first Phantasy Star, Alex Kidd in Miracle World and Wonderboy III. I usually find that these games are much cheaper then the more collectable ones on NES too so I had no problem finding a huge set of games in a short amount of time.

[Namakubi]

If you're willing to dig for the good-to-great titles, there's a lot of worthwhile stuff on the SMS. I personally don't think it's worth it to hunt down stuff that was also ported to the Genesis, but there are some decent exclusives:

6308

Golvellius: Valley of Doom is a quirky adventure / shooter hybrid from Compile.

6309

Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap is a fantastic side-scrolling adventure game (In general, keep an eye out for all the Wonder Boy in Monster Land games on the Master System and Genesis as it's a fantastic and underrated series.)

6310

Golden Axe Warrior is a very well done Zelda clone worth checking out, but it might cost you a pretty penny.

6311

And the only game I'd implore you import is the Master System version of Ninja Gaiden. It's not an NES or arcade port, but a completely different game made from scratch by Sega. Leaps and bounds better than the Shinobi arcade port on the SMS.

And arcade ports that are worth your time include a surprisingly accurate port of R-Type, an extremely playable port of Rastan and the most accurate port of Double Dragon until the GBA version.

[tom]

Excellent machine, far better software when compared to NES, but this time around, the better software comes from Europe. One of the few machines actually where the software is worth collecting from Europe. And Europe games work fine on US machines too.
Unlike the NES were you always play the same games over and over (and they all look the same), the SMS has a far greater variety of titles.

[M.Buster2184]

Actually I enjoy the Master System. The games I'd recommend are Psycho Fox, Phantasy Star, any of the Alex Kidd games and a fun RPG-ish game called Miracle Warriors: Seals of the Dark Lord.

[Atarileaf]

The SMS is the forgotten child in my collection. I only have a half dozen games and of those, there are only three that I play regularly. Problem is my SMS seems to be on the fritz and I'm not big on fixing it. Would prefer to just get a power base adapter down the road but its not a high priority at all. I do love Rampage, probably the best port on the classic consoles.

[Tanooki]

This will sound like a contradiction but it is a fun system yet I'm parting it off right now as I can't find time for it anymore. I agree with the list of games up top with the pics, they're sweet. Castle of Illusion with Mickey Mouse is a really nice one too as I'd wonderboy 2, Alex Kidd in shinobi world, wonderboy 3, columns, and sonic which is a game gear port. On sonic there's quite a few more in Europe that are fun, and the Europeans have great titles like master of darkness, streets of rage 1&2, another Illsuion Mickey game...Donald duck stuff too, and either place great arcade games like rastan, rampage, double dragon, and sega stuff like shinobi, outrun, fantasy zone and more. I wish I had time still but I have a 15mo old and I'm just scaling back. Down to 18 games from 39 which was even higher than that before.

[Rob2600]

The Sega Master System is the only console with an ALF game!

[Dashopepper]

Just don't pay too much money for it, and you will probably be happy. Different versions had different built in games, but that really doesn't make too much of a difference. They seem to be pretty sturdy, I have a couple and haven't seen any problems.

Lately I've seen some pretty cheap ones on Craigslist, $20-30.

And for some reason I really like the game boxes.

[Graham Mitchell]

Stick to the exclusives like phantasy star and spellcaster and you'll probably enjoy it. Most games released in the us have better ports elsewhere, as segas strategy was to port a lot of arcade games over to it. Mos of the light gun games are worth checking out.

[chrisballer]

If you can get it for a decent price I would get one. I have been a NES collector for a very long time, but I also enjoy the SMS. It is different, fun to play, and to collect for in my opinion. If you are looking for something different like you mentioned go for it. I look at the better ports argument like this. There are better ports of Donkey Kong than the 2600 version, but that does not mean I wont play it on the 2600: just saying.

[BydoEmpire]

I loved the Master System - it has a lot of excellent games, and a lot of unique stuff. It also has, imho, the best collection of light gun games of any console. Rescue Mission alone is worth it.

It's got great action/puzzlers like Penguin Land.
It's got some really amazing arcade ports like Shinobi (one of the best arcade ports of all time, imho).
It's got amazing original titles like Kenseiden.
It's got some true classics like Phantasy Star and Alex Kidd in Miracle World.

It doesn't have a million games in each genre, but it does have a lot of ground covered. Even though the US library was smaller, there are still a lot of games worth owning on the system. IMHO, definitely worth buying if you like quirky, original games and 8-bit arcade ports.

[DK1105]

I figured I would get a mixed bag of answers but I think I am going to pick it up tonight. As a extra plus this will complete my sega consoles. I still need the genesis add ons though. I think my local game store has had the same few master system games for years so I might be able to make a deal with them. It's sad how long some of that sega stuff will sit.

[xelement5x]

It has a ton of shovelware, and the few games worth having have better versions on the Genesis. Put the money you have into Turbo investments. Nintendo had all the good and great developers on their side, it never had a chance to gain any real ground. The best game on it Id say is either Alex Kid In Shinobe World or Street Fighter 2.

Edit: Oh yeah....THOSE WHITE BOXES ARE FREAKIN UGLY AS HELL!

I can see where your username came from now...

[kedawa]

The Master System is a great system, and it's library is pretty extensive if you include european games.
Most of the best games are arcade ports, so they are largely ignored these days, but there are some great exclusives as well.

[Aussie2B]

The Master System is a console that, if you were one of the rare kids in North America to have one rather than an NES, you probably adore it, but if you did have an NES back then, then you understand why the Master System got totally crushed in the marketplace. Far fewer games, and not a lot at the level of quality as stuff like Mario, Zelda, Metroid, Castlevania, Mega Man, and all the other NES hits (not to mention the immense amount of hidden gems on NES). That said, I am glad I have a Master System these days, despite that I very rarely play it. I have a small collection, with a handful of nice titles. It's not a system I'd go out of my way to get, though. I only have it because I was coming across Master System games at various thrifts, which I picked up just for the novelty of it and because they were cheap, and then I came across the system at another thrift for 10 bucks. For the little investment of money and effort I put in, it was worth adding it to my collection, and I look forward to hopefully coming across more games in the wild and expanding my collection but I doubt I'll ever get on eBay or whatever to purposely track down titles.

Oh, and you'll get a lot of recommendations for the Wonder Boy games on Master System, and while they're good games, if you want the best versions, don't bother with the Master System renditions. Pick them up for Turbo Duo/PC Engine or Genesis.

[Greg2600]

The controller ports and controllers sometimes go bad. The 3D works nice, although you may want to look into the Master EverDrive flash cart to be able to play more of them, and all those aforementioned Euro-only games.

I like the system a lot, games released in the early 90's while the Genesis was hot proved that it was a very powerful system. Although the standard sound was not very good. Graphics were. I would agree with whoever said that the games were light. They were, most were not as developed and deep as NES releases from Nintendo, Konami, Capcom, etc. It's too bad Konami, Capcom, and the other big Japanese developers didn't make SMS games once the NES stranglehold ended like they made Genesis games.

[sloan]

Master System released later than NES, and shows it. IMO, the graphics and sound are superior to anything the NES has to offer. This coming from an 80's NES gamer. I did not get SMS until about 3 years ago, but am impressed greatly by it. Too bad Nintendo locked up so many developers, or SMS might have won that generation.

[bigbacon]

I dont understand the love for Alex kidd games.. I have 2 of them and they are HORRIBLE games. So disappointed since everything seem to think they are good.

My problem with the SMS is, as other said, there arent' a lot of good north american games and the good ones are quite expensive to get a hole of

[Greg2600]

I dont understand the love for Alex kidd games.. I have 2 of them and they are HORRIBLE games. So disappointed since everything seem to think they are good.

My problem with the SMS is, as other said, there arent' a lot of good north american games and the good ones are quite expensive to get a hole ofThe SMS lovers (I'm only a liker) will quote far too many NA games that really stink as proof of the system's worth. As I said, if you have the cash, getting either a Master Everdrive, or if you have a Genesis, just get a regular Everdrive MD, and play far more international games. You can play SG-1000 games on Master Everdrive! I am not a fan of collecting SMS games though because they have the hands down WORST box art and game labels perhaps ever. So ugly. Yes, Alex Kidd on SMS stinks, but it's a good Genesis title.


Master System released later than NES, and shows it. IMO, the graphics and sound are superior to anything the NES has to offer. This coming from an 80's NES gamer. I did not get SMS until about 3 years ago, but am impressed greatly by it. Too bad Nintendo locked up so many developers, or SMS might have won that generation.

I would agree, for the most part, on graphics, but not on the sound. The stock SMS sound is one of my least favorite console wise. The Japanese SMS had the FM synthesis, which was great on the few games that supported it. Sega didn't have the money to compete with Nintendo regardless if they had the same devs or not. The system actually sold decently in 1986-87, but SEGA literally ran out of money and had to hand it over to Tonka to sell. The best SMS games came, like I said, after the Genesis was released.

[IHatedSega]

I can see where your username came from now...

They didnt do things right till the Dreamcast, but then it was too late for them. Its a shame though. I have the d in the name, so I dont hate them anymore.

[BricatSegaFan]

They did every thing right even the Dreamcast, but its not too late for them.

There fixed :)

[recorderdude]

There fixed :)

OK, I'm a collossal SEGA fan, but no amount of optimistic fanboyism can make me deny the fact that the SEGA CD was overall unsuccessful, the 32x was a terrible idea, the Saturn had some of the worst marketing and localized library ommisions of any major US console (Thanks Bernie Stolar) and the Dreamcast came too soon, though I can't hold that against SEGA, they had no idea of SONY's plan to push DVD and the PS2 as one when they released it and, without much 3rd party support, it's a miracle it lasted as long as it did.

I love SEGA's games for all of their consoles, but the fact that only one of those consoles had good marketing saddens me and makes me think they could still be a major contender today if they had some better strategies.

[IHatedSega]

There fixed :)

Are you going to the Smash Bros tournament? I dont know if Im going yet.

[Gameguy]

OK, I'm a collossal SEGA fan, but no amount of optimistic fanboyism can make me deny the fact that the SEGA CD was overall unsuccessful, the 32x was a terrible idea, the Saturn had some of the worst marketing and localized library ommisions of any major US console (Thanks Bernie Stolar) and the Dreamcast came too soon, though I can't hold that against SEGA, they had no idea of SONY's plan to push DVD and the PS2 as one when they released it and, without much 3rd party support, it's a miracle it lasted as long as it did.

I love SEGA's games for all of their consoles, but the fact that only one of those consoles had good marketing saddens me and makes me think they could still be a major contender today if they had some better strategies.
That's pretty much accurate though I still like most Sega consoles, there's usually some good games worth owning the systems to play.

I disagree about that earlier statement that they didn't do anything right up until the Dreamcast, if that's the case why is it the Dreamcast that put them out of the console business? I can barely stand playing the Dreamcast, while it has some good games they're pretty niche and lacked widespread appeal. None of the good games were really easy to just pick up and play, excluding the arcade ports which were playable for up to 10 minutes at a time before you'd want to play something else.

[A.C. Sativa]

I've never found any games that were really engaging on the SMS.

Agreed, though as a guy who's not a Sega fan to begin with I'm kind of biased here. But still, as a collectors item I'd pick it up, the SMS is usually pretty cheap. As far as something to actually play? That money would be better spent on games for other systems.

Also, the SMS controller sucks. The D-pad just kills it.

[recorderdude]

Half of the Alex Kidd games on the SMS are pretty good. Lost Stars is just okay, but miracle world and shinobi world are both great SMS exclusives.

Also, psycho fox is pretty neat if you like decapattack or kid kool.

And of course, Phantasy Star.

Penguin Land is a pretty neat puzzler, and Both Zillions and Quartet make a good fix for a run n gun junkie.

[Emperor Megas]

I grew up with both a SEGA Master System and an NES, and the Master System got infinitely more play then my NES ever did. In fact, I don't think that I ever purchased a single NES game when I was a kid (I just borrowed them from friends), but I had a library of 20+ Master System games that I purchased with lawn and allowance money (that was a lot of games back then). I'm pretty sure I have over 100 now, mostly imports.

I guess I'm just one of the few who had a choice but preferred SEGA's offerings overall.

Alex Kidd in Miracle World
Alex Kidd in Shinobi World
Aztec Adventure
Black Belt
Cyborg Hunter
Fantasy Zone II
Fantasy Zone: The Maze
Ghost House
Golvellious: Valley of Doom
Hang-On & Safari Hunt
Kenseiden
Miracle Warriors
Penguin Land
Phantasy Star
Pyscho Fox
R-Type
Rampage
Snail Maze (really)
Space Harrier
Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap
Ys: The Vanished Omens
Zillion
Zillion II: The Triformation

I still love these games.

[recorderdude]

Oh man, I forgot about kenseiden. That's a great title for the SMS that plays a bit like castlevania or ninja gaiden. Funfact: you can find alex kidd's face hidden in one of the level backgrounds.

Oh yeah! Ninja Gaiden for the SMS is pretty cool too.

The Ghosts N Goblins SMS Port is also pretty interesting as it adds health powerups and fixes the broken jumping the series is known for.

[Aussie2B]

I don't think I'll ever be able to understand the appeal of Zillion. It's like somebody decided that the most fun part of a video game is entering the password to continue and then made a game based around that.

[theclaw]

To follow up on what I've been saying about Japanese games... After poking at SMSpower enough, a user posted this promising image they found. It apparently hasn't been tested on real hardware.

http://www.smspower.org/masterful/smsr3.jpg

[Namakubi]

The problem with Alex Kidd in Miracle World is they switched the usual button configurations for platformers: The jump button should be your primary button, and the attack / dash button should be the secondary button. Switching those two for a platformer after the standardization of that is a big no-no.

[BydoEmpire]

Man, I forgot about R-Type and Rampage. Absolutely stellar arcade ports. The SMS Rampage is my favorite version, although it's really easy. I remember leaving R-Type paused all night so I could pick it up and finish the next morning. Needed the 30 lives cheat to do it, but I finally beat it. Good times.

I've been keeping my eyes open for Ghost House. It's one of those games that gets panned a lot now, but I really liked it back in the day. I played a ton of Ghost House.

[IHatedSega]

Man, I forgot about R-Type Absolutely stellar arcade ports. The SMS Rampage is my favorite version, although it's really easy. I remember leaving R-Type paused all night so I could pick it up and finish the next morning. Needed the 30 lives cheat to do it, but I finally beat it. Good times.

The Turbo version is way way way way way way way way better.

[kedawa]

That came out years later, on two HuCards, without the hidden stage.
R-Type is an excellent port, and it actually sounds better with the simpler SMS audio ship than it does on the Mark III.

[IHatedSega]

That came out years later, on two HuCards, without the hidden stage.
R-Type is an excellent port, and it actually sounds better with the simpler SMS audio ship than it does on the Mark III.

Well, hes collecting it now, so it doesnt matter when it came out. Im just saying since he mentioned the Turbo in the OP that he should get Turbo games instead of the Master System ones. I prefer the music in the Turbo version more, and the graphics and the controls even.

In fairness to my bashing of the SMS in this thread, it WAS more advanced than the NES and looks cool too, very sleek top black model.

[Greg2600]

Agree on Megas's list but I find Kensaiden to be terrible. Looks nice, but gameplay stinks.

[recorderdude]

The problem with Alex Kidd in Miracle World is they switched the usual button configurations for platformers: The jump button should be your primary button, and the attack / dash button should be the secondary button. Switching those two for a platformer after the standardization of that is a big no-no.

Yeah, that was pretty stupid on SEGA's behalf. In an interview, the devs said they inverted the button layout JUST to not be like mario...bad idea.

[DK1105]

Well I think the guy I was going to buy from is flaking out on me, but I am going to keep any eye out for another one. I am going to try and pick on up some time soon but it not a top priority. I just remembered a buddy of mine has one in their basement that they haven't seen in years so I will see if they want to sell it.

[xelement5x]

Suprised no one has mentioned this, but Rastan on the SMS is amazing in my opinion. Another arcade conversion, but it was done quite well and is very fun to play through.

[BydoEmpire]

Suprised no one has mentioned this, but Rastan on the SMS is amazing in my opinion. Another arcade conversion, but it was done quite well and is very fun to play through.+1 - Rastan on the SMS is great.

[aryoshi]

Don't forget about the first Phantasy Star, if you want to see its origins. It's actually not that bad of a game.

[7th lutz]

I have a good sized amount of SMS games including imports. It is system I recommend getting European SMS games because of the selection besides getting games in the United States since most European SMS games can be played on an American SMS game console. The Sms most powerful system of its generation from a graphical standpoint, but it is weaker than the Nes from a sound. The SMS is a good system, but I think the NES is better. It is more due to the amount of developers the SMS compared to the Nes because of Nintendo's third party policy at the time.

My Favorite SMS games:
Action Fighter
Alex Kidd in Miracle World
Alex Kidd in Shinobi World
Bomber Raid
California Games
Castle of Illusion
Choplifter
Columns
Double Dragon
Fantasy Zone
Fantasy Zone 2
Fantasy Zone II: The Maze
Gauntlet - import
Golden Axe Warrior
Golvellius:Valley of Doom
Hang-on
Lucky Dime Caper - import
MERCS (import)
Outrun
Phantasy Star
Power Strike
Psycho Fox
Rampage
Rastan
R-Type - Better on Tg-16 though
Shinobi
Sonic the Hedgehog
Wonder Boy III: Dragon's Trap
Y's - its better on other systems though.
Zillion

[Greg2600]

Rastan? Ugh, that game is so crappy. You swing a weapon, that's all, real exciting, and the guy walks so slow. Should have been called Ratsan.

[recorderdude]

Rastan Saga II? Ugh, that game is so crappy. You swing a weapon, that's all, real exciting, and the guy walks so slow. Should have been called Disgrace To Rastan.

Fix'd

[Tanooki]

I'm surprised to see how much this thread has grown, and it's making me reconsider a bit getting rid of my SMS. I slimmed my library down to 18 games +Hangon/Safari Hunt built into my system. It is a fun little machine but the sad reality of it is really that a lot of the truly fantastic works we got excluded out of while the UK and then later the Brazilian market did get a hold of and the prices on that stuff (Brazilian in particular) is wallet strangling 3 figure prices. Sure that's nothing like the retarded stuff going on with NES gouging right now, but still.

Perhaps I need to dust off Golden Axe Warrior and see where I left off with it. I think I was getting annoyed not able to find a dungeon #3 or #4, somewhere around that point later last year. Not really sure what to do as I can't see myself buying a heap more of the US titles as I just offloaded 1/2 of what I had as it was uninteresting US filler bunk.

[Rickstilwell1]

I have been on a bit of a console buying spree and mostly have been picking up some under rated systems like the turbografx and such. I was flipping around some local craigslist ads and bottom of one ad I saw side note about how they had a master system and a few fun but nothing special games. I did give the racketboy pages a quick read but I have never ran into one before so is there anything I should watch out for?

You should watch Chronsega on youtube, made by the maker of Chrontendo. You will learn how games on the system started and evolved during the first few years of its life in Japan and probably see plenty of games that look like fun or should be avoided just based on how well he is doing.

[StealthLurker]

I grew up with both a SEGA Master System and an NES, and the Master System got infinitely more play then my NES ever did. In fact, I don't think that I ever purchased a single NES game when I was a kid (I just borrowed them from friends), but I had a library of 20+ Master System games that I purchased with lawn and allowance money (that was a lot of games back then). I'm pretty sure I have over 100 now, mostly imports.

I guess I'm just one of the few who had a choice but preferred SEGA's offerings overall.

Alex Kidd in Miracle World
Alex Kidd in Shinobi World
Aztec Adventure
Black Belt
Cyborg Hunter
Fantasy Zone II
Fantasy Zone: The Maze
Ghost House
Golvellious: Valley of Doom
Hang-On & Safari Hunt
Kenseiden
Miracle Warriors
Penguin Land
Phantasy Star
Pyscho Fox
R-Type
Rampage
Snail Maze (really)
Space Harrier
Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap
Ys: The Vanished Omens
Zillion
Zillion II: The Triformation

I still love these games.


Hmmm that's interesting. I had both a SMS and NES back in the 80s, while I liked the SMS... I still preferred the NES overall. The games that really stood out to me were Golvellius, Shinobi, Wonderboy in Monsterland, Vigilante and Black Belt. I also preferred the SMS version of Double Dragon since it felt closer to the arcade.

I also could never understand the fascination for the Zillion games. In addition, a lot of the other "arcade ports" felt like utter garbage... especially Afterburner. Next to Phantasy Star, it was one of the most expensive games in the 80s 8-bit market.

.

[kedawa]

I played SMS at least a year before I ever even saw an NES, so the first time I played NES, I thought it was just a flickering mess(more so than the SMS at least) and didn't understand what the fuss was about. Once my friends started to get NES systems and some decent games, and the SMS games slowed to a trickle, I came around.

[xelement5x]

Rastan? Ugh, that game is so crappy. You swing a weapon, that's all, real exciting, and the guy walks so slow. Should have been called Ratsan.

@_@

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/2860484/forums/shut-your-whore-mouth.gif

[IHatedSega]

6323

6324

Reminded me of these. Um, dont be so mean to people though, but I havent played that game so I dont know if hes trolling or not. :S

[Satoshi_Matrix]

The Master System is very underrated by North American gamers.

With it's essentially more powerful hardware capable of producing larger, more detailed and colorful sprites than the Famicom/NES, it's really a shame that the Nintendo console had such global dominance. What I think anyone who spends enough time with the Master System will agree on is that it's a system of missed potential. So much more could've been done had it had anywhere near the third party support Nintendo had.

A console's specs are only a starting point though, and the overall quality of a system is judged based on its library of games.

I feel the library is strong enough to justify a top 100 editorial series as I did for the Famicom/NES last year and am currently doing for the GameBoy.


The thing is though, that you'll need to import from Europe and Brazil if you want the best games, as the Master died quickly in Japan and soon after in North America.


Some info to know:

-The Master System model 1 can easily be modified to run S-Video or RGB.
-Master System games are completely region free. However, Japanese Sega Mark III cartridges have a different pinout, so you'll need an adapter to play Japanese games.
-The Master System has optional support for a YM2413 FM sound chip used in Yamaha Keyboards in the late 1980's. The FM chip was used in about 50 games and makes them sound substantially better.
-You can use Sega Genesis controllers on the Master System for almost all games. A few such as Bomber Raid will not work with the Genesis pads though.
-The Master System power supply and AV cable are identical to the Genesis model 1 power supply and AV connector.
-Early Master System games use standard phillips screws. Later ones use the Genesis hex screws.

[ccovell]

...capable of producing larger, more detailed and colorful sprites than the Famicom/NES

Admittedly the graphics hardware of the SMS is more powerful, with 4bpp graphics tiles compared to the Famicom's 2bpp tiles, but their sprite sizes, numbers, and level of detail are identical.

Both the SMS and NES are limited to 8x8 or 8x16 sprites, a maximum of 8 on one line, and a maximum of 64 total. The horizontal resolution of both the NES and SMS is 256 pixels, so their level of detail is also identical.

Short answer ----> It's just the # of colours that is different.

[Gunstar Hero]

Edit: Oh yeah....THOSE WHITE BOXES ARE FREAKIN UGLY AS HELL!

That's funny, one of the reasons I want to get and collect for the Master System is because I love the white grid boxes! They just scream 80s.

[IHatedSega]

That's funny, one of the reasons I want to get and collect for the Master System is because I love the white grid boxes! They just scream 80s.

They dont even look like game boxes, they look like educational programs for kindergarten students.

Look at his number one pick, and all the other boxes had the same grid design and font for the letters, HORRENDOUS!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7szFXvetkSc

[Satoshi_Matrix]

Master System boxes were the pits at first. The later European designs are awesome though, with the little window of the boxart on the spine and all. I quite like the Master System boxes towards the end of the system's life.

[IHatedSega]

Master System boxes were the pits at first. The later European designs are awesome though, with the little window of the boxart on the spine and all. I quite like the Master System boxes towards the end of the system's life.

Im happy to hear the European Sega office changed them. Does anyone know why the US boxes looked like this?

[Wraith Storm]

I really enjoy the Sega Master System. It's an excellent system.

I was a NES owner back in the day and still prefer it to the Master System, partly due to nostalgia I'm sure. But even if I had owned a Master system at the same time I'm sure I would still prefer the NES. The NES simply had much more support from third parties and therefore a wider selection of games that appealed to me.

A lot of the systems arcade ports were done better on the Genesis but the Master System does have some incredible games though and is certainly worth exploring. Most have already been mentioned and as others said, importing is necessary to get some of the better games, but here are some of my favorites that are lesser known with video links.

Master of Darkness - (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TThacM-sl5U) A really well done Castlevania clone with a dark Victorian setting and a haunting soundtrack.

Miracle Warriors: Seal of the Dark Lord - (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bz6gwdVQFzc) This game is certainly not for everyone but its a huge, expansive and engrossing RPG.

Donald Duck: Deep Duck Trouble - (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4HsAsMy1D8) The Master system is graphically superior to the NES but only a few games really ever reach a level of detail to show this. Donald Duck is a great playing and great looking game that still impresses to this day.

Ghost House - (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xd1Ce7v9Uyk) It's certainly not a system seller and most seem to dismiss it as nothing more than a crappy card game, and they are probably right. The game is simple but it has a certain charm to it and is a lot of fun once you get into it.

Fantasy Zone : The Maze - (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJESuAhiKik) Similar to the PC Engine Batman game... They took Fantasy Zone and melded it with Pacman inspired gameplay to come up with a game that is quite refreshing and engaging.