For those that were there Master System love

Fanboyism is retarded I've established this I'd have everything if I had the room/money. That said I'm in a bit of a argument with two friend around my age (early 30s) about the Sega Master System.

Being from New Zealand they don't seem to have ANY love for the NES and instead prefer the Master System. Frankly having had one as a kid and rethinking it all I'm left to wonder WHY? I'm guessing this is a purely a cultural thing.

I don't know what Master System they have but I know in the west we got the nurfed one with the sound that blew out your ear drums. I also remember Master System games Running REALLY SLOW with only a few exceptions. It had it's games I liked the Double Dragon Port, Shinobi and Rampage (which was nearly arcade perfect besides the shitty BGM that didn't need to be there) But other games like Altered Beast, Asura (which was OK) ran REALLY REALLY SLOW or Thunder Blade which had like, NO frame rate.

So I know alot of people here grew up with the Master System. What with this love and Anti NES Bias. I'm having a 25 year old flame war. As time wears on I like the Master System less and less (yet, I wouldn't mind having a game gear which is the same hardware) I asked this very same thing at HG101 and even the people there from Europe where the Master System supposedly according to these New Zealand fanboys "Blew the NES out of the Water" were baffled.

Remember now the SMS was my first console. You'd THINK I'd be somewhat sentimental. YOU WOULD THINK. So take me back to the 80s You're from Europe or Oz.. Help me understand this SMS Bias.

Oh yeah there was one SMS game I do have some sentimentality towards, Black Belt, which I think did Kung fu better than Kung fu did, but playing it now, it also suffers from Playing in tar syndrome.

Edit: WOW, one of the two actually BLOCKED ME ON FACEBOOK over this. Talk about deep.

 

That may have to do with the 50hz PAL Master System since PAL does run slower than the 60hz NTSC Master System. However, I have dropped the frame rate of my Master System playing Sonic The Hedgehog, so, it could be hardware too.

 

I remember playing Sonic on "Segas" as a kid at my friends house. It was a Mega Drive of course. The first console I enjoyed, Sonic ran so fast and Streets of Rage was so angry and funky. My other friend at the time also had a Sega. A Master System Model 2. All it did was play Alex Kidd as it was built in. Once you got past the blippy boppy music it was just not the same. I couldn't go back, everything moved so slow.

My own collection does not feature any Master Systems. Maybe I was tainted with the power of 16-bit blast processing, once I enjoyed all those colours there was no going back. I do have Game Gears... only because they are so fun to repair since they are so poorly built :biggrin-new:

Never knew anyone with a NES though. Somehow. Maybe we just didn't have them in my area.

Although I will say that kick a Mega Drive up with Wonder Boy at 60Hz and the game comes to LIFE!
The faster sound, the brighter colours (OK maybe not brighter colours), but the sound feels ALIVE!

 

I had an NTSC Master System, I remember clear as day just how slow as mud most games ran.

Maybe time has just not been kind to the Master System as it has to the NES. That and most master system games were VASTLY improved by the Mega Drive, Outrun especially.

 

The only master system game i've played that i really enjoyed was R-Type.

 

Amen to that! *Runs off to listen to Outrun music*

 

I never knew anyone with a Master System growing up, and always thought the game library was pretty anemic...not to mention that the Western boxes were some of he ugliest ever. However, I did have a Game Gear as a kid, and it was awesome ("Your handheld only has a black and green screen? Heh ")

 

Don't get that discussion started. My handheld didn't need 6 AA batteries every 2 hours.

Isn't it all about childhood memories and nostalgia? If it was all you had as a kid, no matter how good or bad the system, you will like it.

 

Yeah I have NO issue with the game gear and it's like what 80% the same hardware as the SMS?

The Game Gear would have anally raped the Game Boy if not for 2 things, Tetris and Battery life.

 

Damn I love Tetris and battery life. The two just do magic together. But that screen... I had no ideas Game Gears even existed at that point.
Probably a good thing looking back... otherwise I'd hate the Game Gear more than I already do. I just can't handle the Sonic games on it.
They feel so flat and terrible, obviously the same as the Master System versions do compared with the good old Mega Drive.

Spot on TPSNT, nostalgia is where it is at. For me it was Game Boy and Mega Drives, the best of both worlds!

 

If only sega did a Mega Game Gear attachment for the Genesis like Nintendo did with the Gameboy. Only way to play Game Gear games on a big Screen is an elaborate Mod (as seen else where on here) or Emulation.

 

I like that idea, the Super Mega Drive or Super Genesis adapter.
Dammit, all this talk of 8-bit makes me want to pull out my Game Gears and try and get them working properly.

 

I'm sure this is possible. Somebody must be able to figure this one out.

 

Figure what out?

I never heard of Master System until long after it was dead. I first heard of Sega with the Sega Genesis. I first played Master System with an emulator. I was not terribly impressed but there were a few games that weren't bad and atleast a couple good ones. It doesn't stand up to the amazing library of the NES/Famicom though. But really nothing at that point could.

There is some Game Gear TV output mod kit out there somewhere. But an emulator is cheaper, easier, and I imagine the emulation is fairly accurate.

 

Figure out how to make a GG adapter for the Genesis.

 

i would buy one if they existed. got a feeling it's not possible thou for some tech reason because otherwise it would have probably been done by now.

 

Maybe nobody thought of it or the GG has a higher Palette than the Mega Drive (a thread on Sega 16 said as such but i call bullshit)

 

The NES really spoiled gamers and changed the market (I mean this 90% in a GOOD way.) It bridged the gap between simple arcadey games and more complex, story-driven games in the 90s. Even simple platformers with no story to them were, especially in the years 1986-1988, expected to have dozens of stages, hidden items, and plenty of variety between stages. Think of arcade ports on the NES that were changed radically or given plenty more depth to them, not just because of hardware limitations, but because of gamers' expectations. The SMS and Atari 7800 consoles failed because they still had straight arcade ports, but lacked depth. (The Genesis had this complaint at the start too.)

As for making a "Super Game Gear" on the Genesis, impossible since the Gen has a master palette of 512 colours, and the Game Gear 4096. You'd have to feed the video from the back of the cartridge, 32X-style, to get any image.

 

how about a gamegear through the 32x?

we already have one monstrosity may as well add to it.

 

Having owned a (Still Working!) PAL Master System for over 20 years now I feel the need to weigh in.

In reply to the OP my recollection is that the Master system was probably about equally as popular as the NES in England (it may have been different in other European countries). I had friends who had the NES and but I had more friends who had the master system. The opportunity to swap games with my friends led my 6 year old to ask for the Master system over the both the NES and the Mega-Drive which was available at the time.

I can't defend the poor frame rate on some games. Like any console of the era Sega/Nintendo/PC Engine etc there are games which have aged well and games which are nearly unplayable now. Only having a small Maser System collection I can only personally recommend the following games to try to sway you:

Ninja Gaiden
R- Type
California Games
Chase HQ2 - Special Criminal Investigation
Sonic Chaos

But the thing I don't understand is why the Gamegear love? I grew up with friends who had them who cursed that they were playing the same games as us on a smaller screen for about half an hour before the battery packed out.