Hello all, I was just wondering what the your opinions are of the Sega Master System. It was my second console (my parents took my 7800 back because they felt I didn't like it.. I loved it but the SMS is better!) It seems most Americans have major love for the NES- the opposite is usually true here in the UK- ask people of my age what console they had when they were a kid, and you'll often get the answer 'a Sega'. I didn't even know anyone with a NES, the Master System was very popular and it seems to be dear to many of us over here. It seems many here are indifferent towards the NES, even I'm not too fond of the console. I loved the 8bit Sonic series- 1, 2, Chaos bring back so many memories, fantastic games. Penguin Land, Populous, Alex Kidd, Ghost House, Lion King, Super Monaco.. all fantastic games for what is IMO an underrated console by many. So yeah, what is your opinion? Did you own one? What games did you enjoy?
Hi randyrandall The SMS was one of my first consoled. I used to play sonic chaos on it most of the time. I also liked the more arcadey games like afterburner and xzenon2. Good times.
The Master System is pretty much my life (outside of my Friends, familly, GF and work). I love it :nod: check out my new site/ blog which i'm trying to updat weekly, it's mainly been sms related so far http://www.segacollect.com
WOW that Mega-Tech system looks great :drool: I wish MVS cabs had a little screen at the top with the game selections on it. Thats also a very impresive collection you have there. Well done:thumbsup:
I didn't end up owning one until the early 90's. One of my uncle's gave it to me with quite a few games once he got bored with it. Favorite games will always be Phantasy Star and the Wonder Boy series. Used to play Fantasy Zone quite a bit as well. Theres no question it was the superior system compared to the NES. I guess maybe the main reason why it didn't take off very well in US, was just because of Nintendos massive marketing efforts here. I mean Nintendo was everywhere back then. They sold everything from cereal to toys. Had more than one cartoon featuring Nintendo characters; not to mention The Wizard, a movie made just to promote a Nintendo game. Sega by comparison really didn't do enough to let the US market know they even existed. Go back and look at some of the old SMS US commericals. They were all pretty dull and lack luster.
It was my first system it and Outruin were the first game I ever owned. I loved my master system and the Version of Double Dragon for it while not grapically accurate to the NES and Arcade is an AMAZING version and in my opinion the best one. The SMS Rampage is even better than the Arcade. Really SO MANY arcade ports are awesomer on the SMS than in the arcade. SHINOBI the best version is on the SMS Safari hunt too far supeior to Duck Hunt as well. Gangster town was a damn fine game as well. The 3d Glasses were way ahead of their time as well. Only thing with the SMS though is that it lacked alot of games exclusive to it besides Phantasy Star 1.
To me the Master System was far superior to the NEs in the following ways. The NES's RF out quality was so piss poor while the Master System always looked so sharp. Colours on the Master System were bright and vibrant while the NES looked washed out and dull (the shitty picture quality doesn't help). Master System games ALWAYS load unlike the flickery NES. Most of my friends had Amigas while only 3 of us had a Master System and another had a NES which we all called the shoe box. Being in the UK back in the late 80's and early 90's really was Sega Zone when it came to gaming. Their TV adds back then were also fantastic. No need to go the cheap rout like they did in the US by bashing Nintendo. The UK adds were in a league of their own. Ahh, I do miss spending hours on the 3 Wonder Boy games, Lord of the Sword, Dynamite Dux, My Hero, Out Run, Space Harrier, Zillion 1 & 2, Double Dragon, Vigilante, Phantasy Star (Best 8 bit RPG bar none with 3D mazes that still look very smooth!) and so many other great games. The NES also had many great games but back in the day the Master System was the way to go. Just a shame that the western Master System had piss poor audio. Yakumo
That's one of the reasons why I never really took to the SMS that well...the audio had this distinctive early 1980's chime/bell style to it. And the sound effects sounded like a bowl of rice krispies popping and snapping. Graphically, the games were good. But overall playability-wise the NES had the edge as far as actually playing games was concerned.
Yeah the Master system had games that chugged along. like they're running half speed. NES games were always even the shitty ones very fluid.
it's not my collection. it's Alex's.. I dont have a mega tech Gleavepaul - funny you should say that, i got smurfs 2 yesterday :rambo: the last Euro game i needed. Buggy run is semi-rare. Goes for £25- £40 depending on condition.
Wanna know something that I have never really thought about? I have never ever played the SMS. Ever. I barely ever even heard or knew about it. The Genesis was my first Sega system. Were there any standout games that appeared on it? I would love to try it someday... :nod:
the NES had a more solid library, put away the crap-ware put out by most companies. Alex kidd is nice but you can't really compare it to SMB3 for example.
Would you care to expand on that comment? No idea what you are talking about. You must have never played anything good on the Master System. R-Type, Psycho Fox, Submarine Attack, Aleste (Power Strike), Dynamite Dux, Sonic the Hedgehog and so on all play fantastically. Yakumo
I didn't even know Sega had an 8-bit system until long after. It was all about the Nintendo, until the Sega Genesis and SNES came around to battle it out. So I've only ever played some emulated Sega Master System games. Since I don't know what any of the good games are, I wasn't really impressed by anything too much. But it was clear to me that the system had distinct advantages over the NES it was to have competed against. Sound is one thing that confused me about the system. What is the deal with some systems having a YM synth chip and others have "just PSG" or something? All I understand vaguely is that the US got screwwed and left for dead in that department. Unclear about the European version. Other than that, what are the best Sega Master System games you'd recommend someone to try?
Nintendo was obviously all the rage in the states, but another Brit here, and thus another Master System owner! I'm pretty sure the first game I ever played was Hang-on for the Master System, at 3 years old. Got me into gaming at a very early age! My next memories are a JPN import Rainbow Islands when I was about 5... I think the main reason the Master System was able to carve it's own install-base in Europe was because the NES didn't quite have the same stranglehold over here. Sure, the NES was very popular, but the market was pretty much dominated by home computers such as the Amiga, Atari ST, C64 and the like, and the Master System came at just the right time, when people's tastes were swaying more towards dedicated games consoles. Not to mention the fact that Nintendo had their developer lock-in policy, meaning they'd only licence developers who developed for Nintendo formats and nothing else. Quite a few European developers and publishers just told Nintendo where they could stick it, so the Master System benefited. My take on the situation, from someone who was slightly too young at the time! I'm sure someone else could give as more first-hand view. I'm assuming much of this is unknown territory for Americans?
The FM sound chip was only available in Japanese systems (and I think some Korean systems...), the rest of the world got "just PSG". See this for a list of the top 100 SMS games: http://www.smstributes.co.uk/view_page.asp?articleid=68
