What's the pros/cons of owning a Sega Master System?

[farfel]

Why?

[Lady Jaye]

Well, the main con of the SMS is the same than the Atari 7800: an almost non-existent third-party library.

3 pros that I can think of: there isn't usually a regional lock on games (you can't play Japanese Mark III games on the SMS, but most European games do work on a North American SMS). Also, it uses the same controller port as the Atari 2600/7800 and the Sega Genesis. Which means you can use a Genesis controller if your SMS controller stops working and even use either the SMS or Genesis controller on the Atari 2600 and 7800. The 3rd pro is that most (but not all) SMS models came with a on-board game (the most common being either just Hang-On or Hang-On/Safari Hunt).

Anyway, shouldn't it all boil down to the game catalog? If there are games you like on the console, why weight the pros and cons? The Phantasy Star and Wonder Boy series alone should be enough to warrant getting a SMS.

[anagrama]

Pros:
It's the console that should have won the 8-bit console wars (and did over here in the UK!)
Excellent 1st Party games, the finest you'll see from 8-bits (bar the T16)
Top-notch conversions of Sega's 80's arcade classics (Outrun, Space Harrier, Fantasy Zone etc)
Almost all Euro imports play happily on a US console
Lots of interesting Brazilian imports (they were still making new games there until the late '90's)
A few interesting Japanese games/items (not compatiable with a standard Western SMS, however)
Small(ish) catalogue means a complete set is within reach with few of the ridiculously rare games that feature in most catalogues
Phantasy Star
Wonderboy series
Alex Kidd series
Vast majority of the catalogue is pretty cheap.
It's far superior to the NES*


Cons:
Extremely limited US catalogue (around 40% the size of the Euro catalogue)
Even more extremely limited US 3rd Party games (7ish). Again, there's loads more that were released in Europe.
Fairly hard to find games in the US, except over the net.



*Author's personal opinion. Rabid Nintendo fanboys: please ignore

[tritium]

Wouldn't it be easier to get the Master System adapter for the MegaDrive/Genesis?

Would a MS Controller work on it?

-Tritium

[Ed Oscuro]

Wouldn't it be easier to get the Master System adapter for the MegaDrive/Genesis?

Would a MS Controller work on it?

-Tritium

That adapter is just a "box" that sits on the Genesis. You just plug a card or a cart into it, and use the regular Genesis controller/hookups. Doesn't need its own power supply, either. I think they've got pretty decent compatibility, too.

[anagrama]

Wouldn't it be easier to get the Master System adapter for the MegaDrive/Genesis?

Would a MS Controller work on it?

-Tritium

Easier, yes, but it's not as cool Also, a loose SMS1 wouldn't cost much more than a Master System Convertor anyway. Probably a good idea if you're limited for space, but there's no real advantage to it.

And a SMS controller is recommended when using the MS Convertor, because a few games get confused by a Genesis controller and don't play quite right (Alien Syndrome for one).

[jerkov]

Personally, I hate the digital pad of the SMS controller, so I always use a Genesis controller anyway. The graphics are much better than the NES, but the sound chip is nowhere near as good, so music and sound effects are better on the NES. Personally, I find myself much more interested in a lot of the non-US releases; some of the graphics that they pulled off (Mortal Kombat 2, Street Fighter 2, etc.) are nothing short of spectacular for an 8-bit system.

My SMS collection is quite small right now, but I think it's a system that is definitely worth picking up. Most games are quite cheap and don't demand a huge amount of money (the most expensive title I can think of is Phantasy Star, which still doesn't usually go for more than $30 or so). Whether this is going to change or not, I have no idea, but why not pick one up when everything is still relatively cheap?

[anagrama]

Most games are quite cheap and don't demand a huge amount of money (the most expensive title I can think of is Phantasy Star, which still doesn't usually go for more than $30 or so).

There's a few Euro titles that regularly sell for more than that - Ultimate Soccer ($40-$60), Home Alone ($40-$60), Championship Hockey ($30-$50) and of course Les Schtroumpfs Autour du Monde [Smurfs Travel the World] which would certainly sell for $100+ if there had been one on eBay in the last 2 years or so (there hasn't been).

Looking just at US releases, Buster Douglas Boxing has sold for $100+ in the past, though $50-$70 is probably more reasonable.
Expect a fairly large payout ($40+) for US copies of Slap Shot, Alex Kidd in Shinobi World and Golden Axe Warrior aswell. (Most of these can be had much cheaper by buying the Euro versions, though)

Any Brazilian games will generally start at around $20, and can reach $50+ for some titles.

Despite that, the rarest games are still a fraction of the cost of the rarest NES games, and the VAST majority are still sub-$10 games. (I've got 267 of the 280 Euro games, and have only paid more than £12-£15 ($20-$28) for about 3 titles so far.

[Ed Oscuro]

The graphics are much better than the NES, but the sound chip is nowhere near as good, so music and sound effects are better on the NES.

Bah, Zillion says that ain't the case. I think most of the difference is in composing style and how much the hardware was pushed - after all, the SMS has 6 channel PCM! The sound is much "cleaner;" I suspect some of that might be that they didn't have to use noise as percussion (I could be dead wrong there). In any case, the system's aural achievements (or is that sonic splendor?) aren't as good - because hardly anybody made games for the thing! Uwabo was good, but he couldn't carry the system all by himself.

It would be very interesting to find out what some Konami games on the system would've sounded like. There's Y's for the Falcom side, sort of.

[tonyvortex]

the only con i always have is that darn controller.it always feels way to awkward in your hands. the pro is naturallly the fact there were some great sega games for it that you were missing out oin by only having a NES at the time.make sure you get zillion and miracle warriors.please stay away from alf!

[Raccoon Lad]

Pros:
You will be VASTLY MORE AWESOME upon owning one.

Cons:
Nintendo Fan-boys.

[thegreatescape]

Pros:
Owning a master system has been proven to increase your sex appeal.
You can play the games on a game gear as well (with the adaptor).
Transbot! R-Type!.
A superior hunting game (ducks are sooo passe) and gun.

Cons:
Not all women are born women.
Pause button on the console .
The america thing.

Anagrama, im curious: what are the remaining games you need to complete the collection ?

[-hellvin-]

Pros:
Some INCREDIBLE games (phantasy star, wonderboy III, alex kidd)
Great 8 bit graphics
3d glasses
Games work with game gear with master gear

Cons:
VERY SMALL US library
On ebay, it's sometimes hard to find a good selection of non-uk games
Not commonly seen in the wild
Some games can be expensive
Shitty controller (use a genesis pad instead)
AV cable can be tough to come by

Not really anything big on the cons, go find a nice lot on ebay or something and get started!

[Lady Jaye]

...And one of its rare third party titles (at least where North America is concerned) is the best port of Montezuma's Revenge I've played.

[Arcade Antics]

PROS:

Excellent system with a nice library of fun games.

CONS:

Your lawn will remain unmowed for several weeks at a time.

[anagrama]

Anagrama, im curious: what are the remaining games you need to complete the collection ?

Currently:

Alex Kidd in Miracle World
Championship Hockey
Home Alone
Maze Hunter 3D
Outrun 3D
Phantasy Star
Poseiden Wars 3D
Robocop 3
Schtoumpf, Les: Autour Les Monde
Space Harrier 3D
T2: The Arcade Game
Wanted
Wonderboy in Monster World

With AKiMW & PS it's just a case of plonking down the cash because they're always available, Wanted & Wonderboy in MW shouldn't be too hard but the rest might prove slightly trickier.
I've got a copy of Les Schtroumps Autour du Monde lined up for me after I'm paid later this week and it'll be a huge relief to get that one out of the way. Once my bank balance recovers after that, I'll be posting a thread in the B&S forum for the rest, but I'm too strapped right now.

[Duncan]

I got hooked on the SMS by picking up a Power Base Converter for my Genesis along with a few games. Now I've got the Master System console, two controllers, the phaser, and a set of 3D glasses (which are f**king awesome -- I honestly cannot believe how well they work).

Oh yeah -- I've also got about 40 SMS games, including the best version of Rampage I've ever played (sadly, another third-party release, but not so tough to find as some of the others).

If you've got a Genesis and would like to get hooked yourself, I'll sell you my Power Base Converter...PM me. Believe me, it's like crack, but without the loss of family and friends.

Wait, scratch that. It's just like crack.

[Aswald]

On the pro side, it had some really good RPGs.

On the minus side, it's almost IMPOSSIBLE to find anything "in the wild." So, unless you are very lucky, forget garage sales for games.

[Sylentwulf]

These posts are pretty annoying....

Here is for ANY system.

Pro - you can play system X's games
Con - more money, more space taken up.

[o2william]

On the minus side, it's almost IMPOSSIBLE to find anything "in the wild."

Well, impossible to find anything that isn't a sports game with "Great" in the title. (Actually I've had decent luck finding SMS stuff, although finds happen less frequently nowadays.)

Honestly, other than Phantasy Star and that 3-D lightgun game (Global Defense 3-D?), I haven't found a lot to love on this system. But although I've picked up quite a few carts, I don't have many of the "best" games, so I can't really judge it fairly. I'd really like to try Golvellius.

So...

Pro: Hardware design. The console, light gun and 3-D Glasses are sleek.
Con: The best games seem to be hard to find, and many common games aren't that good.