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[IrishNinja]

Alex Kidd was a clear answer to Super Mario
Zillion was an answer to Metroid
Safari Hunt a direct answer to Duck Hunt
Golvellius was an answer to Zelda, and Golden Axe Warrior the most blatant clone possible
Vampire: Master of Darkness was a clean answer to Dracula/Castlevania

haha yeah, and i played every one of those inspirations too! man, playground arguments were rough in that era

How the hell did I not know this?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlMxnhJ3uvk

...so this is about to go on a lotta people's twitter, haha

Interesting factoid: The robot on the Transbot cover actually has a lot more art to him than the box would lead you to believe. In fact it's only used on the Brazillian version of the game, where it's called Nuclear Creature.

that's actually pretty cool!

Why does Zillion get compared to Metroid so much? The game is practically Impossible Mission with guns -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivHFP3dJAkM

That's clearly where 99.999999% of the inspiration lies.

oh wow, it's proto Zillion and Elevator Action, kinda wanna play this now

Retro Santa brought me a Powerbase Mini FM this year. The Galaxy Force FM soundtrack makes sustaining the hand injuries required to make a case for it all the more worthwhile:

congrats man!

Oh dear...

ahahaha, goddamn

has anyone ever beat miracle warriors? i loved that game so much but lost my paper map.
one day i'll go back and finish it.

damn near, got all the characters (wanna say there were 4?) and had huge life meters, grinded a bit and was in the homestretch when the battery failed on me in the day...my neighbor didn't really take care of his games so i guess i wasn't surprised, still crushed though

 

[AmyS]

Some SMS reviews from early EGM, starting with Double Dragon (NES version review in the NES/Famicom appreciation thread)

 

[davidwhangchoi]

damn near, got all the characters (wanna say there were 4?) and had huge life meters, grinded a bit and was in the homestretch when the battery failed on me in the day...my neighbor didn't really take care of his games so i guess i wasn't surprised, still crushed though

yeah, it was 4, did you buy it from your neighbor? wondering if you still had the map? haha

Some SMS reviews from early EGM, starting with Double Dragon (NES version review in the NES/Famicom appreciation thread)

nice scans!!!

r-type sega master system was the first system i beat r-type on. failed on tgx16 + arcade.

that photo scan of the ring of turrets from the first stage could be killed from the outside prior to entering the ring. unlike the arcade and tgx16 where you had to shoot the sensor from the inside.

 

[IrishNinja]

yeah, it was 4, did you buy it from your neighbor? wondering if you still had the map? haha

sadly no, and he sold his carts...went looking for them just this year, haha
if its any consolation, he never had the manual or map, had to wing it myself!

 

[Skenzin]

Rambo First Blood was pretty darn close to Ikari Warriors.

I loved my SMS bit those early Genesis years were awsome. Some of the games I quite enjoyed are rarely mentioned.

Action Fighter, seemingly a poor mans Spy Hunter. But its actually a much deeper and more interesting game.

Ghostbusters, by far the best version of this game.

The Ninja, game gets crapped on for bad gfx, but i really thought they were great at the time. Like all my favorite sms games it oozed style.

 

[Skenzin]

GHOST HOUSE, this was my relaxing game. I played it constantly but I don't remember if you could beat it. My memory is a little hazy on this. Loved this gem.

 

[Rlan]

One of the games I played a lot of was Vigilante.

It's not really a great game at all, it's just that somehow a lot of my friends who had Master Systems also happened to have the game. Must of been in the bargain bin or something at the time in South Australia

 

[D.Lo]

Rambo First Blood was pretty darn close to Ikari Warriors.

Yep, That's because it's actually a Commando clone called Ashura. They slapped the Rambo licence on it for America.

The Ninja, game gets crapped on for bad gfx, but i really thought they were great at the time. Like all my favorite sms games it oozed style.

I prefer the original Ninja Princess version, Arcade or SG1000.

 

[Timu]

One of the games I played a lot of was Vigilante.

It's not really a great game at all, it's just that somehow a lot of my friends who had Master Systems also happened to have the game. Must of been in the bargain bin or something at the time in South Australia

I just saw gameplay of this...now I want to play it.

 

[AmyS]

Some time before I got the Master System, I was in Toys 'R Us looking at games. These were the first two Master System games I flipped the plastic covers up to see the back:

I could not believe the detail on those big ships!

Rambo First Blood was pretty darn close to Ikari Warriors.

Sure was.

 

[Skenzin]

I just saw gameplay of this...now I want to play it.

Loved that in the arcade but never seen the sms version. In the US finding sms games, outside of major markets, was a crap shoot. I had to travel to Pittsburgh to find Shinobi and still failed. One of my great life failures. Where I lived, finding other master system owners was also rare.

 

[davidwhangchoi]

sadly no, and he sold his carts...went looking for them just this year, haha
if its any consolation, he never had the manual or map, had to wing it myself!

lol I wanted to see pics of the original map. figured a huge retro collector like you might have it in your collection =)

Ghostbusters, by far the best version of this game.

i remember making this game easy was you couldn't cross the streams like the c64 version. bc when you go to a house call, the proton streams went straight vertical. (c64 was at an angle so there was a chance to cross streams) i remember being so happy getting the vacuum cleaner on top of my car sucking up ghosts!
(i believe i beat the master system version, you can only shoot diagonally vs. gozor)

One of the games I played a lot of was Vigilante.

It's not really a great game at all, it's just that somehow a lot of my friends who had Master Systems also happened to have the game. Must of been in the bargain bin or something at the time in South Australia

like a suped up kung fu master.

Some time before I got the Master System, I was in Toys 'R Us looking at games. These were the first two Master System games I flipped the plastic covers up to see the back:

I could not believe the detail on those big ships!

astro warrior was awesome. for some reason it reminded me of alpha mission and xevious combined.

 

[Fatnick]

Does the Master System version of Ghostbusters have the scratchy "Ghostbusters!" And "he slimed me!" Vocal samples?

 

[IrishNinja]

i dig the port of Vigilante, many don't...and damn, Ghost House as relaxing, that's a first for me haha

lol I wanted to see pics of the original map. figured a huge retro collector like you might have it in your collection =)

aw man, didn't even know i was a huge retro collector, haha - i'd grab it if i saw it for a fair price though!

Does the Master System version of Ghostbusters have the scratchy "Ghostbusters!" And "he slimed me!" Vocal samples?

it does not, thankfully

 

[D.Lo]

Vigilante has a pretty good cover compared to most Master System games.

And yes, there did tend to be gluts of games in parts of Australia. I don't think Ozisoft were distribution geniuses.

 

[AmyS]

astro warrior was awesome. for some reason it reminded me of alpha mission and xevious combined.

Definitely reminded me of Alpha Mission.

Really good Astro Warrior review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4xMXHaK97E

 

[doctordoak]

Skenzin just listed two of my very favorite MS games: Ghost House and The Ninja. The Ninja is my favorite MS game of all time! It had varied levels, colorful graphics, and some cool secrets.

 

[Khaz]

I've never posted the results of my tinkering here, did I? Well, long story short, I believe I'm now the only person in the world to have a modded SC-3000H that can output RGB at 60Hz. Probably because no one else cares.

And it was stupid easy. You only need a YENO SC-3000 (local branding for France and Italy), and replace the TMS9929A by a TMS9928A. It's a one-sided board so the desoldering is easy, and the pinout is identical between the chips. A few pots had to be adjusted on the YUV-RGB board to correct the colour, and it's done.

I believe a modification can be done to every SC-3000 out there, but it would mean much more work as the daughterboard converting YUV to RGB in the YENO isn't present in the SEGA. You'd have to recreate it, modify the VDP pinout, plus maybe some extra components on the main board.

 

[D.Lo]

Nice. Pics?

I have the RGB modable SG1000 II, but that will be much easier to mod.

 

[Khaz]

It's in a box
In a couple of months hopefully.

 

[D.Lo]

This thread needs some love.

My Mark III collection is trucking along nicely:

Such awesome cover art (in most cases):

I think I've decided to get a full set of Segamaku. Will be expensive and take years, but should be fun!

 

[Khaz]

There is a Megumi Rescue in this collection. It's a good collection.

 

[davidwhangchoi]

This thread needs some love.

My Mark III collection is trucking along nicely:


Such awesome cover art (in most cases):


I think I've decided to get a full set of Segamaku. Will be expensive and take years, but should be fun!

Gold carts? no, it's a gold mine=)

 

[Krelian]

This thread needs some love.

My Mark III collection is trucking along nicely:


Such awesome cover art (in most cases):


I think I've decided to get a full set of Segamaku. Will be expensive and take years, but should be fun!

Looks amazing. I've been playing around with the idea of starting a Mark III collection myself. I really like those game covers. Unfortunately it seems kind of expensive. Can't find the System for a decent price.

 

[D.Lo]

It's just like Famicom vs NES - the Japanese machine and games and boxes are just more fun, especially in the early/mid period.

Master System is weird because it had that second life as a budget machine in EU/AU/Brazil where a good chunk of titles were released that never hit Japan, but honestly there are very few western developed games on it that I find worthwhile. The exceptions are the Japanese developed games (like Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap) that went unreleased in Japan except on Game Gear.

For those I have western carts and use my Everdrive to play.

 

[Huggers]

Need a little help. Thinking about buying guide a Sega Mark III. I'very read though the rgb output is very weak. Is there anywhere in can get this fixed? Also how is its composite out? Finally is there a place to get a decent adapter to play Master System games?

 

[Recall]

How is OutRun on the Master System?

 

[D.Lo]

Need a little help. Thinking about buying guide a Sega Mark III. I'very read though the rgb output is very weak. Is there anywhere in can get this fixed? Also how is its composite out? Finally is there a place to get a decent adapter to play Master System games?

All your questions have been answered by me on my site!

RGB - this is relatively difficult
http://nintendosegajapan.com/2015/03/14/sega-mark-iii-external-rgb-amplifier-with-fm-audio-break-in/

By Master System games I'm assuming you mean western games, as JP Master System games are the same thing as Mark III games. Adapter is $20 delivered from Aliexpress, see it here:
http://nintendosegajapan.com/2015/03/13/creation-of-a-sega-mark-iii-everdrive-flash-cart/

How is OutRun on the Master System?

Pretty meh honestly.

 

[Huggers]

All your questions have been answered by me on my site!

RGB - this is relatively difficult
http://nintendosegajapan.com/2015/03/14/sega-mark-iii-external-rgb-amplifier-with-fm-audio-break-in/

By Master System games I'm assuming you mean western games, as JP Master System games are the same thing as Mark III games. Adapter is $20 delivered from Aliexpress, see it here:
http://nintendosegajapan.com/2015/03/13/creation-of-a-sega-mark-iii-everdrive-flash-cart/

Thanks, That's well beyond me sadly

 

[D.Lo]

Your best bet is a Japanese Master System, which has strong RGB, and the FM unit built in. Doesn't look quite as neo-futuristic cool, but is the most practical solution to play all games worldwide with original parts!

 

[Powerpuff]

http://nintendosegajapan.com/2015/03/13/creation-of-a-sega-mark-iii-everdrive-flash-cart/
Pretty meh honestly.

Not so bad for an 8-bit port and still enjoyable. But I think the After Burner port is better.

If you want a Chase HQ experience you also have the spin-off Battle OutRun which is honest.


By the way, OP should add a link to SMS Power which is a great resource for anything Sega 8-bit.

 

[Huggers]

Your best bet is a Japanese Master System, which has strong RGB, and the FM unit built in. Doesn't look quite as neo-futuristic cool, but is the most practical solution to play all games worldwide with original parts!

Yeah I really wanted the Mark 3 futuristic look. I don't even need a Master System. I already have one. Just really love the design

 

[toddhunter]

Skenzin just listed two of my very favorite MS games: Ghost House and The Ninja. The Ninja is my favorite MS game of all time! It had varied levels, colorful graphics, and some cool secrets.

Loved both games although ghost house confused the heck out of me as a kid. It was only over several years that I worked out how you were supposed to proceed.

 

[Combichristoffersen]

I was browsing this thread just the other day, and man, the memories. Grew up with Transbot, My Hero and Ghostbusters on my Master System. Good times <3

Spoiler

The only one of those games I'd consider good is Ghostbusters, tbh. The rest were, in hindsight, really just neverendingly looping mediocre arcade ports.

How is OutRun on the Master System?

I've never played the arcade version, and I think I've just briefly tried the Mega Drive version via emulator, but I had the Master System version as a kid, and it is surprisingly good. Great music too.

 

[retroman]

This thread needs some love.

My Mark III collection is trucking along nicely:


Such awesome cover art (in most cases):


I think I've decided to get a full set of Segamaku. Will be expensive and take years, but should be fun!

Wow, those are awesome.

I will never, ever comprehend why Sega decided to replace that great box art with those hideous toddler scribblings in the West.

 

[D.Lo]

Wow, those are awesome.

I will never, ever comprehend why Sega decided to replace that great box art with those hideous toddler scribblings in the West.

.

Yeah I really wanted the Mark 3 futuristic look. I don't even need a Master System. I already have one. Just really love the design

Me too, it just looks amazing. That's why I went through all the trouble to make my perfect set-up.

 

[Huggers]

Me too, it just looks amazing. That's why I went through all the trouble to make my perfect set-up.

Couple of things. Just how bad is the composite? And if I was to try to boost the RGB how tricky is it?

 

[D.Lo]

Couple of things. Just how bad is the composite? And if I was to try to boost the RGB how tricky is it?

The composite is like Mega Drive bad? It's not solid composite like Nintendo consoles but looks okay.

Boosting the RGB isn't that tricky. It's about the same as any 'normal' RGB mod (eg PC Engine, N64) and could be done internally just as easily except for the FM break-in. My solution was made tricky by the fiddliness, as it was also a proof of concept to run beautiful RGB with FM audio from a stock unmodified console.

 

[D.Lo]

This dude is selling a complete Mark III set:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyhjAkSarfk&feature=youtu.be

Dayam what a collection.

 

[thomasos]

This dude is selling a complete Mark III set:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyhjAkSarfk&feature=youtu.be

Dayam what a collection.

Heh...just bought a Lode Runner for SG-1000 from this same seller.

 

[catmincer]

There's some SC-3000/SSG-1000 games on Trademe at the moment (New Zealand ebay)

If anyone wants them lemme know. I can pop a bid on for you.

Star Jacker
Baseball
Pop Flamer
BASIC L3

 

[Khaz]

I should try to get some of the cassette SC-3000 stuff that was made in Australia / New Zealand. What are the local auction sites over there? I would have to find someone to buy them for me too...

You missed another Pop Flamer and Championship Tennis:
http://www.trademe.co.nz/gaming/sega/other/auction-1037520425.htm
http://www.trademe.co.nz/gaming/sega/other/auction-1037518574.htm

 

[D.Lo]

I should try to get some of the cassette SC-3000 stuff that was made in Australia / New Zealand. What are the local auction sites over there? I would have to find someone to buy them for me too...

You missed another Pop Flamer and Championship Tennis:
http://www.trademe.co.nz/gaming/sega/other/auction-1037520425.htm
http://www.trademe.co.nz/gaming/sega/other/auction-1037518574.htm

Ebay.com.au for Australia. There's also gumtree but it's a local crapshoot full of shifty characters doing 'deals', ebay is really the only player for games.

NZ has it right, an ebay alternative without all their Paypal/ebay bullshit.

There's a fair bit of 'John Sands' SC3000 stuff on ebay most of the time.

 

[djtiesto]

I asked about this in the Sonic 1+2 Master System thread we had on here a few days ago but didn't get an answer... anyways, I own Sonic 1, 2, Chaos and Triple Trouble for GG but would like the SMS versions to play on the big screen... which of these games (and Tails Adventure) got releases for the SMS? I know Sonic 1 did but apparently the US version is extremely expensive... but will EU/PAL games work on a US SMS?

If they do, are there any other great EU/PAL exclusives? I need to build up my SMS library a bit... any other niche recommendations are great.

Also, I saw a boxed Phantasy Star for the MarkIII at Magfest that I was drooling over... would be great to have in the collection since it's a very personal game to me. Could you play MarkIII games on an SMS?

 

[Khaz]

There are a lot of European exclusive. The last two years of the console (1993, 1994) were not published in the US.

Everything in western-style cartridges will work on any western console, with 60Hz being the correct speed. There a few exceptions which are mainly Codemasters games and Back to the Future iirc, aka games you don't really want anyway. There is a list somewhere, but it's a bit too inclusive.

The only way to play Japanese Master System games currently is to build your own adapter. You have to hack into a cartridge, and solder an edge connector and a bunch of wires. Not very difficult but a bit tedious. Some Japanese games also won't play unless you mod the BIOS too.

 

[baudelinog]

Master System is weird because it had that second life as a budget machine in EU/AU/Brazil where a good chunk of titles were released that never hit Japan, but honestly there are very few western developed games on it that I find worthwhile. The exceptions are the Japanese developed games (like Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap) that went unreleased in Japan except on Game Gear.

Sorry, but I can't disagree more. These are just some games never released in Japan that are absolutely must haves, in my opinion:

Aladdin
Asterix (various titles)
California Games
Mickey Mouse (various titles)
Cloud Master
Columns
Donald Duck (various titles)
Ecco
Golfamania
Gauntlet
Ghouls 'n Ghosts
Golden Axe Warrior
Indiana Jones
Lemmings
Master of Darkness
Micro Machines
The New Zealand Story
Ninja Gaiden
PacMania
Populous
Power Strike II
Prince of Persia
Psycho Fox
Road Rash
Rastan
Super Kick Off
Speedball II
Super Off Road
Sagaia
Sonic 1
Sonic 2
Spiderman
Star Wars
Streets of Rage (1 better than 2, in my opinion)
Summer Games
Wonder Boy in Monster World
Wonder Boy III: Dragon's Trap


Are you talking exclusively about the games released in that weird-second-western-life of the Master System? A lot of the games above are from that time.

 

[D.Lo]

Sorry, but I can't disagree more. These are just some games never released in Japan that are absolutely must haves, in my opinion:

Aladdin
Asterix (various titles)
California Games
Mickey Mouse (various titles)
Cloud Master
Columns
Donald Duck (various titles)
Ecco
Golfamania
Gauntlet
Ghouls 'n Ghosts
Golden Axe Warrior
Indiana Jones
Lemmings
Master of Darkness
Micro Machines
The New Zealand Story
Ninja Gaiden
PacMania
Populous
Power Strike II
Prince of Persia
Psycho Fox
Road Rash
Rastan
Super Kick Off
Speedball II
Super Off Road
Sagaia
Sonic 1
Sonic 2
Spiderman
Star Wars
Streets of Rage (1 better than 2, in my opinion)
Summer Games
Wonder Boy in Monster World
Wonder Boy III: Dragon's Trap


Are you talking exclusively about the games released in that weird-second-western-life of the Master System? A lot of the games above are from that time.

See the second half of my post. I said I don't care about too many western developed games.

Most of those games were Japanese developed, and many were probably planned for Japanese release, but were dropped when the Mark III suffered a rapid death and Sega moved on to the Mega Drive (and Game Gear) in Japan. The bolded were off the top of my head Japanese developed, and many of the others probably were too. I even specifically mentioned Wonder Boy III: Dragon's Trap. Some of them even have Japan-only FM audio support and/or play with a different title with Japanese text when run on a Japanese machine, which basically proves this thesis.

There were also some games developed as Game Gear games in Japan which also got Master System releases in the territories it survived as a budget console (eg Sonic 1 and 2).

Secondly, I wouldn't call sloppy stuff like Indiana Jones a 'must have', and some games there were 'good for Master System' (Micro Machines, Ecco, Prince of Persia, Lemmings, Ghouls and Ghosts etc) are kind of pointless when they were later downports of games which were superior on other hardware, eg no real point (apart from possible childhood nostaglia) playing MS Prince of Persia when the vastly superior SNES version exists. In a sense the Master System versions are sometimes sort of like what Game Boy versions of NES/SNES games (eg Duck Tales, Hook, Contra III etc) were - budget port-downs to more simple hardware.

I do have a soft spot for some of the above. I really love MS Ghouls and Ghosts for its playable dinkyness. Most of the Japanese developed ones are pretty good. I have quite a few MS games, but basically no western developed ones. The music in particular usually sucks in western developed games for MS.

 

[Peagles]

Did Daffy Duck in Hollywood get a Japan release? I frickin' love the music in that game.

 

[D.Lo]

Looking it up almost certainly not, as a 1994 western developed Mega Drive downport.

Never played it, maybe I'll check it out!

Just looked it up on youtube - yep that's an EU developed game alright! Uses that Commodore 64 'warble' sound and high pitched notes in the soundtrack. Can't say I'm a fan of that sound. Looks like a decently sophisticated platformer for the MS though.

 

[Peagles]

Looking it up almost certainly not, as a 1994 western developed Mega Drive downport.

Never played it, maybe I'll check it out!

Just looked it up on youtube - yep that's an EU developed game alright! Uses that Commodore 64 'warble' sound and high pitched notes in the soundtrack. Can't say I'm a fan of that sound. Looks like a decently sophisticated platformer for the MS though.

I think the Commodore 64 vibes is why I like it. It's a decent platformer, a little slippery if that makes sense but fun none the less.