Retro Arena: Master System Classics

[Leon Retro]

Well that's the thing, I have one as well and it now includes FM support so I already have access to everything. Plus there's those Gamegear to SMS conversions. I guess it's just the collector in me wanting those nice boxes on a shelf.

Yeah, it's nice to have the real hardware and nice boxes in a collection. I've got a few MS games, but haven't got into collecting for it. I use an MS Everdrive now.

Also, I just realised, there's no Castle of Illusion on that list! Now that's a true classic, easily one of, if not the best game on the system.

I had it on my list, but I forgot to include it. It's a really nice platformer.

Shinobi is the Master System game I like most, followed by Castle of Illusion.

I'm not sure if Shinobi is regarded as a good port, so I didn't include it. I should have but Castle of Illusion.

Compile’s port of R-Type is fantastic has decent FM audio where supported and an entire new level.

Yeah, it's a nice port. I need to play it with FM audio.

Wonder Boy 3 is such a good game and should be as highly regarded as Metroid.

Yeah, a truly great game that deserves lots of praise.

New Zealand Story may be another arcade port but it’s arguably better than the MD and PCE versions. Just look at it. Plays brilliantly too.

Yeah, it's better than the PCE version. It should have been quite a bit nicer on the PCE.

And I’m another fan of The Ninja. I got pelters from my mates BITD when I bought it. Until they played it. Cracking wee game.

I really need to play it next time I have my MS out. Sounds like a fun little game.

Agree on NZS theres something shamefully dank about the backgrounds on PC Engine and the sound is shrill as hell.

Yeah, well below par.

Yeah, gotta be honest, I've never understood the love for the system. I mean certainly there were competent games; one of my friends had one when I was growing up and we used to play some of the Sonic games on it, along with maybe OutRun... But it just wasn't part of my childhood so I don't really "get" it.

It was a nice piece of kit around 1987-1989. The arcade ports really did seem like something special back then. The popularity of the machine in the UK meant that it was still getting decent games into the 90s. Part of its success was down to the under-£100 price point that made it really attractive to all sorts of people. I think the later MK2 machine was maybe priced below £50, so that made it an attractive purchase in the early 90s.

[Team Andromeda]

From that list the standout games are R-Type, Wonder Boy 3 and New Zealand Story.
Compile’s port of R-Type is fantastic has decent FM audio where supported and an entire new level.
Wonder Boy 3 is such a good game and should be as highly regarded as Metroid.
New Zealand Story may be another arcade port but it’s arguably better than the MD and PCE versions. Just look at it. Plays brilliantly too.

To to be fair there are some other crackers on the list too. Prince of Persia was a great port, Alex Kidd doesn’t look like much but plays well and has bags of character. Phantasy Star, Psycho Fox, Master of Darkness and Sonic are all great too.
And I’m another fan of The Ninja. I got pelters from my mates BITD when I bought it. Until they played it. Cracking wee game.

The Ninja is ace and so much fun. While R-Type is an amazing port, I saw it after the amazing PC ENg version (so it was a bit of a comedown) I have to say Wonderboy is still my fav MS game. It plays brillianty and is almost Arcade perfect and a special meantion must go to the 3D glasses, the 3D effect from those were off the chart brilliant for the time and it was the system to own for Light Gun games

Such a wonderful system and sadly never seems to get the credit it desvers, most prob very much like the ZX Spectrum or the Amiga, because it never took off in Japan at the time and back then that was seen as not cool

I also thought the ports of Choplifter and Time Soldiers to the be best versions of the games

[Leon Retro]

The Ninja is ace and so much fun.

I didn't know it was regarded as a classic game by some people. I've never played it, but I'll have a go next time I set my MS up.

and a special meantion must go to the 3D glasses, the 3D effect from those were off the chart brilliant for the time and it was the system to own for Light Gun games

I wish I had got to use the 3D glasses back in the day. I have a MK1 machine in my collection that has a 60Hz switch, but that doesn't work well with a lot of games because they were designed for 50Hz.

Such a wonderful system and sadly never seems to get the credit it desvers,

I remember it being quite a big thing in the UK between 1987-1989. Then after that, people wanted 16-bit machines. Although, the MK2 machine being quite cheap kept it alive longer than you'd expect. Even Zool and Earthworm Jim came out for it.

So as much as the Master System was a huge flop in America, it was quite popular in the UK and across Europe. Not forgetting Brazil, where it was hugely popular for many years.

[Baseley09]

What master system games were budget/cheap apart from £9.99 for Ninja. Deffo Transbot, any others?

[Colin]

Ghost house, teddy boy?

EDIT: My hero maybe?

[Yakumo]

The Master System was my first ever console and a joy to own. I had the pack that came with the light gun and the Safari Hunt / Marksman Shooting cart. The base console had the snail game and Hand On built in. I loved that machine but only had it for a year because in 1989 I bought a Mega Drive so I had to sell the Master System to fund it.

Anyway, my best memories of the Master System are Space Harrier (the first game I ever bought. I still remember going yo Toys R US on Boxing day with my parents to buy it), Wonderboy 2 and Wonderboy 3.

The Master System was such a powerful machine compared to the Famicom but sadly it did lack the 3rd party suport until the later years.

By the way, I'm making a Master System Retro Core Special that will be released by Christmas.

[Yakumo]

What master system games were budget/cheap apart from £9.99 for Ninja. Deffo Transbot, any others?

Aztec Adventure was 12. 99. I remember buying that one and being very disappointed. But being a kid with no money I had to make the most of it.

[Team Andromeda]

The Master System was my first ever console and a joy to own. I had the pack that came with the light gun and the Safari Hunt / Marksman Shooting cart. The base console had the snail game and Hand On built in. I loved that machine but only had it for a year because in 1989 I bought a Mega Drive so I had to sell the Master System to fund it.

Anyway, my best memories of the Master System are Space Harrier (the first game I ever bought. I still remember going yo Toys R US on Boxing day with my parents to buy it), Wonderboy 2 and Wonderboy 3.

The Master System was such a powerful machine compared to the Famicom but sadly it did lack the 3rd party suport until the later years.

By the way, I'm making a Master System Retro Core Special that will be released by Christmas.

While the Intellivision was my 1st ever console. The Master system was the 1st ever console I asked for and wanted for the big Christmas. I can still remember looking at the catalogue (remember them ) one used to get and showing my mum, exactly what I wanted and the games I wanted.

Toys R Us was my go-to shop too and still remember me, my mum and uncle walking around there, ready to buy the Master system and the 3 games, I was allowed to have with it . I had the Hang-On version of the Master system bundle and my fav memory is me and my brother playing Wonderboy on the MS on Christmas day downstairs on the BIG TV until 3AM in the morning (boxing day) and getting endless warnings off mum, that we needed to switch it off and go to bed, till in the end mum came down and unplugged it in a bit of a rage lol

Looking forward to the RC Special btw

[Yakumo]

While the Intellivision was my 1st ever console. The Master system was the 1st ever console I asked for and wanted for the big Christmas. I can still remember looking at the catalogue (remember them ) one used to get and showing my mum, exactly what I wanted and the games I wanted.

Toys R Us was my go-to shop too and still remember me, my mum and uncle walking around there, ready to buy the Master system and the 3 games, I would be allowed to have with it . I had the Hang-On version of the Master system bundle and my fav memory is me and my brother playing Wonderboy on the MS on Christmas day downstairs on the BIG TV until 3AM in the morning (boxing day) and getting endless warnings off mum, that we needed to switch it off and go to bed, till in the end mum came down and unplugged it in a bit of a rage lol

Looking forward to the RC Special btw

Hahaha, oh man they were the days. Being able to use the big TV. I remember my dad blaming me for braking the TV because i plunged my Master System in to it. I normally had to play on a crappy 14" Ferguson portable via RF. I remember actually beating the original Wonderboy while playing on the TV in my mum and dads room. I never had my own TV back then. Talking of which,my first TV was a ITT with a scart socket and a plastic sheet in front of the screen to make it look more square. IN fact, it was this one.



Check out that bad boy. 3 scart sockets!!!

[Leon Retro]

By the way, I'm making a Master System Retro Core Special that will be released by Christmas.

I look forward to watching it.

The Master system was the 1st ever console I asked for and wanted for the big Christmas.

It was the first console I owned and asked for. I remember playing Hang-On in Woolworths and becoming quite addicted to it, so I had to have it in the home. For Xmas I got the machine that came with Hang-On and Astro Warrior. Astro Warrior is a shooter I have fond memories of, despite it being a bit too basic.

I remember quite a few kids at school also got a Master System for Xmas -- and I used to swap games with them for a while. I remember liking the wrestling game a friend lent to me.

What I didn't like about consoles at that point, being a young kid, was how expensive the games were. £30 seemed like crazy money at that age. So I didn't get many MS games, which led me to sell the machine after a while.

I also remember getting the MS adapter for the Mega Drive and buying cheap Master System games. You could buy them at computer fairs for a few quid by the early-90s.

Talking of which,my first TV was a ITT with a scart socket and a plastic sheet in front of the screen to make it look more square. IN fact, it was this one.

Check out that bad boy. 3 scart sockets!!!

As a kid, I had a TV with a glass panel over the screen, but I always thought it was stupid.

I didn't know Nokia had made TVs. 3 Scart sockets is awesome -- I wonder if any of them were wired for RGB? I remember a lot of TVs didn't have RGB Scart, so you had to investigate which ones did. That's how I ended up with a Sony, because they made sure the Scart socket(s) were RGB by the early-90s.

[samanosuke]

Aztec Adventure was 12. 99. I remember buying that one and being very disappointed. But being a kid with no money I had to make the most of it.

Yeah, I bought that and it was sh*te.

I looked at the screenshots on the back of the box and thought - nay, hoped and prayed - it might be like Golvellious which a mate of mine had and I absolutely loved. Sadly it was nothing like it. Wish I’d have bought The Ninja instead!

Incidentally I notice Golvellious hasn’t been mentioned yet. To me it was just a battery-backed save function away from being a Zelda killer. The ridiculous password system makes it a little archaic to play in this age, sadly.

[Leon Retro]

Incidentally I notice Golvellious hasn’t been mentioned yet. To me it was just a battery-backed save function away from being a Zelda killer. The ridiculous password system makes it a little archaic to play in this age, sadly.

I remember thinking it looked impressive in screenshots, but I never played it. I think I would have really liked it. It's a shame there isn't a battery save function.

[Colin]

Love these era specific Master System stories! I’ll add mine after work!

[Leon Retro]

Which model do you like the most?

I've always disliked the MK2 model -- I remember thinking it looked like a cheap kids toy. I think I was a bit harsh, but I still think the MK1 looks far nicer.

[Leon Retro]

I've added 3 games to the list: Space Harrier; The Ninja; Castle of Ilusion.

Maybe Sega will take note and create a Master System Mini.