Sega Master System - Point me in the right direction.

[Nando]

I know next to nothing about the system and its games. What are some of the "must play" games from the West and East?

[cho_aniki]

By the East do you mean Japan?

[Tatsujin]

first get one that can play FM

[majors]

R-type, Golden Axe (the beat'em up), Phantasy Star, Hang-on, Golvellius are some of my fav's from my small collection.

Jeff L. will have some choice picks I'm sure.

[kazumn]

alex kidd in miracle world
wonder boy series
sonic (first one is a must have for the system)
phantasy star
Ys The Vanished Omens
Psycho Fox
Power strike
Golvellius

[Tatsujin]

-=R-TYPE=-

[Nando]

By the East do you mean Japan?

Yes sir.

first get one that can play FM

ya gonna have to give me more insight than that Tatsu.

[cho_aniki]

Some of my favourite games from the West:

-Phantasy Star
-Golden Axe Warrior
-Astérix
-Astérix and the Secret Mission
-Wonder Boy series (I-II-III-IV)
-Alex Kidd in Miracle World
-Master of Darkness
-Spellcaster
-R-Type
-Bubble Bobble
-Castle of Illusion
-Land of Illusion
-Deep Duck Trouble
-Golvellius
-Kenseiden
-Ninja Gaiden
-Power Strike II
-Psycho Fox
-Road Rash
-Shinobi
-Star Wars
-Zillion
-Penguin Land
-Renegade

Most of the light-gun games are fun as well, Laser Ghost - Assault City - Missile Defence 3D (you need the 3D glasses for this one) to name a few.


For Japan-only games, it feels a bit more subjective, but my favourites:


-Megumi Rescue
-Rygar
-Solomon's Key
-Enduro Racer (has twice as many levels as the Western version)
-Tensai Bakabon

[_Paul]

Zillion
Wonder Boy (1, 2 & 3)
Out Run
Penguin Land if you like puzzles
Shinobi

[Nando]

Excellent! Thank you all.

[_Paul]

Sonic the Hedgehog is also really good.

[jeffhlewis]

Jeff L. will have some choice picks I'm sure.

Everyone here has good taste and pretty much beat me to it, haha.

But reiterating, off the top of my head:

Wonderboy in Monster Land
Wonderboy III: The Dragon's Trap (arguably the best game for the system)
Spellcaster (it's worth it if you get into it)
Phantasy Star
Ninja Gaiden (PAL)
Master of Darkness (PAL)
Rampage (best conversion of it, bar none)
Golvellius
R-Type
Shooting Gallery (trust me)

-I'm of the school of thought that Psycho Fox actually sucks. Never liked it
-Get S-Video, it makes a huge difference on the SMS
-FM is cool to have but I wouldn't even consider it a must. A lot of the PSG soundtracks are honestly better
-You can plug a Genesis controller into the SMS. Recommend doing this because the SMS pad is crap
-If you have a U.S. SMS you can buy a converter that allows you to insert JP Mark III carts into the back expansion port. Search SMSPower.org forums for more info.

enjoy!

[DragonmasterDan]

Most everyone else has covered my favorites.

But some notable ones.

Alex Kidd in Miracle World
Missile Defense 3D
Golden Axe Warrior
Phantasy Star
Sonic the Hedgehog
Govellius

The master system has a lot of arcade ports which were good for their time but many of them haven't aged well with ports or emulations on newer consoles having usurped them.

[PunkCryborg]

laser ghost rocks

[Nando]

Holy carps!! you guys rock!

THANKS!

[PukeSter]

Alex Kidd In the Lost Stars 


Rastan is beast. 

[esteban]

Holy carps!! you guys rock!

THANKS!

I, too, am a fan of Sega and the noble carp.


I wish more folks respected our scaly friends.

[CrackTiger]

Fantasy Zone
Fantasy Zone II
Sagaia
Rastan
Lord of The Sword
Miracle Warriors
Ultima IV
Spellcaster
Bubble Bobble
Rygar
Sonic the Hedgehog 2


These look cool, but I haven't spent enough time with them (recently):

Scramble Spirits
Bomber Raid
Submarine Attack
Rainbow Islands
Dynamite Heady


Fun games to not take too seriously:

Kung Fu Kid
Black Belt/Hokuto no Ken
Ghost House
Teddy Boy
Hang On
Action Fighter
Quartet
Alien Syndrome

[roflmao]

SMS was great bitd for its arcade ports:

R-Type is a must
Shinobi is awesome
After Burner is great (But the PCE version is better)
Out Run is great (I love how the SMS handled the music and often still pop it in so listen to it while I do other stuff)

Choplifter is loads of fun

Hang On is fun, though nowadays it's way too easy.

I LOVE Enduro Racer - the ending is epic (It's nothing like the arcade, though)

Kenseiden was one that I played a ton of bitd but haven't owned it in awhile so can't comment on how well it's aged.

I actually like Kung Fu Kid

Double Dragon is excellent (don't listen to those NES naysayers).  It's also 2 player!

It also had some great rpg/action rpgs:
Ys
Golvellius
Miracle Warriors
Phantasy Star

And then there are the gun games.  All of them are a hoot, because if you only had a TG/PCE you missed out on all that:

Jungle Hunt
Wanted
Shooting Gallery
Gangster Town

[wildfruit]

i second asterix
love that game

[bob]

Bomber raid
Castle of illusion
Dick Tracy

[futureman2000]

Lots of good recommendations here. I'll second a few:

Wonder Boy III & Phantasy Star are the two that really stand out to me.

The next tier would include Rastan, Alex Kidd in Shinobi World, maybe Shinobi itself, Ys, Out Run, Fantasy Zone, Golden Axe Warrior...

[Nando]

WOW!

so, is SpellCaster = Mystic Defender? Haven't googled that yet, just browsing through screen shots and videos.

Mystic Defender was my favorite 1st generation Genesis game.

[Tatsujin]

sure you can play it on the obey too (you also must), but on the SMS it was first and is even as good, especially with FM music support

tadaaa!

Wonderboy III - The dragons trap

[Tatsujin]

WOW!

so, is SpellCaster = Mystic Defender? Haven't googled that yet, just browsing through screen shots and videos.

Mystic Defender was my favorite 1st generation Genesis game.

In japan spellcaster was the mystic defenders predecessor called kujaku oh, whilst mystic defender was simply called kujaku oh 2

I don't know if spellcaster and mystic defender have anymore much in common in the western fileds, tho.

[esteban]

WOW!

so, is SpellCaster = Mystic Defender? Haven't googled that yet, just browsing through screen shots and videos.

Mystic Defender was my favorite 1st generation Genesis game.

In japan spellcaster was the mystic defenders predecessor called kujaku oh, whilst mystic defender was simply called kujaku oh 2

I don't know if spellcaster and mystic defender have anymore much in common in the western fileds, tho.

In the West, we are clueless.

I'm pretty sure Joe mentioned the connection in an episode of a Game Sack (I never knew about the SMS <-> MegaDrive/Genesis connection myself).

THE MORE YOU KNOW.

[jeffhlewis]

WOW!

so, is SpellCaster = Mystic Defender? Haven't googled that yet, just browsing through screen shots and videos.

Mystic Defender was my favorite 1st generation Genesis game.

As mentioned, Mystic Defender is basically "Spellcaster 2".

The comparison between the two games is almost like Actraiser 1 vs 2 - Spellcaster on the SMS is actually a mix of Point n' Click adventure with action scenes thrown in-between. Mystic Defender strips out all of the point n' click scenes and just gives you action.

Both games are good - I have a soft spot for Spellcaster because of the general weirdness/creepyness of the adventure parts and the fact that I still can't believe they localized it. The action is decent as well, if a little floaty in the controls dept. Music is catchy in parts.

Not really sure how it holds up these days - it's worth giving a chance.

[Nando]

so would a Power Base converter work well overall or is an actual master system unit the better deal? I'm working with limited space btw.

[roflmao]

so would a Power Base converter work well overall or is an actual master system unit the better deal? I'm working with limited space btw.

The Power Base Converter is a good option, if space is limited.  Also, there's a guy on ebay that from time to time sells a home-brewed Power Base for a lot less than what an actual one sells for: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Sega-Master-System-Game-Converter-for-Genesis-Mega-Drive-Power-Base-Converter-/111155108303?pt=US_Video_Game_Controllers&hash=item19e15c59cf&nma=true&si=FlvSTrld434dmKo6DFcC0p7%252BTko%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

It doesn't play the card games, but those are more of a novelty anyway.  I have one of these cards and use it more than my SMS.

[CrackTiger]

so would a Power Base converter work well overall or is an actual master system unit the better deal? I'm working with limited space btw.

The PBC works perfect, looks great and if you already have quality video ouput from your Genesis, it saves having to find a separate solution for a SMS system. Technically the color is supposed to be a bit off, but from what I've seen, it's only the difference between different models of the same hardware (like how model 1 and 2 Genesis systems look different).

[DragonmasterDan]

The PBC works perfect, looks great and if you already have quality video ouput from your Genesis, it saves having to find a separate solution for a SMS system. Technically the color is supposed to be a bit off, but from what I've seen, it's only the difference between different models of the same hardware (like how model 1 and 2 Genesis systems look different).

Isn't there an issue with the 3D glasses and the PBC?

[jeffhlewis]

The PBC works perfect, looks great and if you already have quality video ouput from your Genesis, it saves having to find a separate solution for a SMS system. Technically the color is supposed to be a bit off, but from what I've seen, it's only the difference between different models of the same hardware (like how model 1 and 2 Genesis systems look different).

Isn't there an issue with the 3D glasses and the PBC?

IIRC there was a second version of the PBC with no card slot in PAL regions and/or Brazil - the regular U.S. version should work fine with 3D.

[Nando]

You guys rock it!

THANKS!

[Tatsujin]

and the fact that I still can't believe they localized it.

yeah, but they couldn't just leave his stylish hakama he's wearing in the japanese version, because that sure would have been too much of gh3y in the west.
instead he wears those even more gh3y tight pants.

west:

JPN:


west:

JPN:


also the japanese versions are based on the 80s famous manga/anime serie "kujaku oh".

[cho_aniki]

Interesting. I hadn't actually noticed that.

[Mzo]

I had ignored the Master System for many, many years.

After finally getting my hands on one I was very surprised by the amount of quality software for it.

The controller is kind of garbage, though, I hate the shape and feel of its directional pad.  I'd go with a modded (or butchered, in my case) Genesis controller.

[KnightWarrior]

It's a good system to have

[VenomMacbeth]

Sonic The Hedgehog 1 and 2
Sagaia (better than R-Type, IMHO)
Ninja Gaiden
Fire & Forget II
Power Strike 1 and 2
Kenseiden

Also, if you can find a repro of GG Aleste II for the SMS (I believe they sell them at windygaming.com) then it's an absolute must-own for the system.

[esadajr]

alex kidd in miracle world
wonder boy series
sonic (first one is a must have for the system)

The Sonic games are pretty good, especially Sonic 1 and Chaos. And not too expensive to import from the UK.

[VenomMacbeth]

I almost forgot, Master of Darkness!  A really atmospheric 'Vania clone.  The music can get a little repetitive, but otherwise I thoroughly enjoy it.  It's a hell of a lot less cheap than Kenseiden, too.

[Arkhan Asylum]

Anyone who ignores the master system is a tard.

Altered Beast on SMS is better than PCE.

No joke.

[BigusSchmuck]

Bubble Bobble Enough said.

[Nando]

Bubble Bobble Enough said.

THIS!!!

[Xak]

QUESTION . Altered Beast is better for Master System or PC engine?

[CrackTiger]

QUESTION . Altered Beast is better for Master System or PC engine?

PCE. I think that Golden Axe is the only bad Sega to PCE port.

[TheClash603]

QUESTION . Altered Beast is better for Master System or PC engine?

PCE. I think that Golden Axe is the only bad Sega to PCE port.

SMS Altered Beast is essentially a flip book.

[Arkhan Asylum]

It's also more playable than the PCE one, speaking in terms of the HuCard only.

The HuCard Altered Beast is a giant pile of crap in all regards except visuals.