The Final Days of the Sega Master System
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- čas přidán 1. 03. 2021
- Here I take a look at the Sega Master System in the United States. How it fared during its life, and ultimately how things ended up.
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Opening 3D Logo By:
Jan Neves
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Opening 2D Animation By:
Kevin Bhall
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Episode Notes:
1. Captured on the Mega SG.
2. TecToy, the Brazilian company that distributed the Master System, still sells a version of it to this very day.
3. The European sales of the Master System far exceeded the US. It wasn't even close.
4. The final 4 games for the system in the US only have a UPC sticker on them to differentiate them from their European counterparts. And people pay crazy prices for them.
5. The redone Master System II had Alex Kidd in Miracle World built in.
6. I remember when they phased out the SMS II, it was just $19.99.
7. Many of the Game Gear games that were released in US, actually had Master System versions in Europe and Brazil. - Hry
Quick correction. Seems the Zillion anime did make its way to the US.
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zillion_(TV_series)
Are you related to Sushi X from the EGM magazine?
Hello. Are you or have you made an 'Great Visuals on the SMS' episode?
Yup I own all the Zillion VHS tapes. I was absolutely in love with that game and series... although very short in the US.
@@syrtycon7299 lol... I totally forgot about him.
@@mxggo9046 I’ve done some graphics related vids for the SMS, yes.
A console dearly loved in Brazil still to this day
Tectoy
Why?
Apparently it also did very well in Europe
Thats correct
@@bigladmatt6769 yes here the uk out sold nes I think
I plugged in my Phantasy Star cartridge, and my game was still saved. Talk about a blast from the past!
In a SEGA exclusive internal company contest, 1000 *genesis* carts of Phantasy Star 1 were given out, but they weren't upgraded or anything; it was just the Master System game. Still, it _is_ collectable...
The Master System was very popular in Europe because they followed a very different route, it was marketed as the entry level Sega console, with an acording price, it was very cheap, so if you couldn't afford a Megadrive you still could play Sega games at home, which was great, because they really cared about bringing 8bit versions of 16bit hits, you knew it wasn't gonna be the same, but for the price it was more than enough.
Very true.
It was a completely different story in the US. Game prices for the Master System were always at the same level as the NES. The hardware pricing was similar as well. Worse, you almost always got NES games hitting the bargain bins regularly. Just finding Master System games at retail was a task.
Same thing here in Australia
Yeah my first console was the MS II, played Sonic and Mickey Mouse on there first. It was an upgrade from my family's ZX Spectrum. Mainly as "What everyone wants" got a deal with Sega to sell older carts at a discount. Got to play Phantasy Star that way. Moved on to the Amiga after. Weirdly at the time the NES felt very American to me, I mean I knew Nintendo is Japanese, but it felt much more foreign than the MS did. Maybe it was that European publishers would do MS games, like Populous or the Asterix games. I think I felt more at home there. I think the gaming market was less global in tastes then rather than now.
@@SegaLordX Yeah I think bigger markets in the U.S. had a better Master System representation. I'm in Miami (was back then too), and you readily found the SMS at most of the big retail stores at the time, Toys R Us, Lionel Playworld, Babbage's, Electronic Boutique... but it did have a rough time against the NES.
I really like to play the Genesis version of Dick Tracy after spending some time with the SMS version. It makes it feel like an awesome arcade game in comparison.
Indeed. I have found a few games where this is the case.
Yo game sack!
It would make a nice video from this perspective!
GS! Wazzzzuuup. Helo from Ukraine
We need that sega lord x game sack collab! Both sega lovers
Golden Axe Warrior is such a good game. I wish more people would play it.
Of course it's good, it's a straight up copy of Zelda
I loved and still love this game!
It's quiet a surprise to learn that in the USA, your last game was sonic.
Here in France, we still saw new games released until 1994, maybe 1995. We got titles like Sonic 2, sonic chaos, Jurassic park etc....
The last one released in europe should be The Smurfs 2 but i'm not certain.
I can't help but feel sorry for you guys.
It's not a surprise, the Master System was a complete failure in North America (but came first in Europe).
Nobody in the US was playing Master System by then or would buy Sonic 2 when they could get it on the Genesis.
Yes the U.S. did us wrong on this game system.
The Smurfs 2 for the Master System was an odd case. It's actually a cancelled European release that already got a big batch of copies produced by Infogrames. Apparently most of them were stored in warehouses of the Czech republic, so it got spread in that country first and then got ahold from many collectors from the rest of Europe, hence why it's so extremely rare. There are also some Italian Halifax copies which started to appear at a later date.
@@BigGainer98 It's, arguably, even worse with its successor.
The SEGA Genesis had so much support in the Western Countries, more so than in its home country of Japan. The Super NES , however, seems like the opposite. Westerners got a neutered version of the Super Famicom.
Nintendo's lucky to have the Game Boy to succeed.
Growing up in the UK the Master System was great and supported long after everywhere else it seems. Games like Sonic 2 and Land of Illusion were amazing and I regularly played the system even when I had the Megadrive. Weirdly it was the NES which I never came across with any of my friends or even in stores
People I knew mostly had computers like Amstrad, Commodore, Spectrum etc but out of the console owners only one had a Master System, everyone else had NES. Megadrive/SNES was much more evenly split.
Land of Illusion is arguably the best game this console had, it's so good it's a shame the US didn't had it.
Yeah was same where i live. More Master Systems then Nes. But lucky for me my neighbours had a Nes and and our parents both got on so we would swap consoles sometimes for weekends. That way both our families didn't miss out. Means i got to play Mario 1 2 3 etc.
As a European it really amazed me that Master System had such a lifespan. And some of the games were really good.
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@The Thing On The Doorstep h.p
here in the Netherlands the master system was for sale well into 1993. despite the succes of nintendo the master system was very populair overhere. great system, great memories 🌟👍
Such an underrated console.
I never had a SMS as a kid, but I always marveled at screenshots that I saw. The color pallet seemed so alien compared to the NES.
I have very fond memories of having a master system as a kid. Loved a lot of games for it and being from Australia the console was supported for a lot longer. I'm glad I was able to experience classics like asterix and obelix and wonder boy in monsterland.
Wonderboy in Monsterland is one of my top 10 favorite games all time. Highly playable to this day!
I loved Asterix too. Good memories
Master System II was quite popular in Spain in the early 90s, toe to toe with the NES. Even in 92 there were plenty of releases. I played Sonic 1 and 2, Shadow Dancer, the Mickey games, Bubble Bobble...
No Wonderboy III: The Dragon's Trap? I am disappoint! Of the best on the system.
Yeah, he missed a lot of titles.
And his claim that Ghouls N' Ghosts is impossible? It's the easiest version! Did he know there are exclusive armor upgrades, which allow extra hits? Or that you can find a magic that makes you invincible?
And the slowdown is basically a free bullet time feature.
If you can't beat this version, than maybe retro gaming isn't for you?
@@juststatedtheobvious9633 Yeah, the power-up system is completely different on SMS. The shops let you buy permanent upgrades you keep after dying and continuing. It feels slow from the start, but when you buy the leg atmor upgrades, you run much faster. Anyone who says it's too slow and hard never stuck with it more than just to try it out.
Agreed. This is still a fantastic game
Kung Fu Kid and Bomber Raid are a couple that don't get much love either.
@@luckyrockmore2796 I do really like Kung Fu Kid. It's a fun one.
Make a video about Master Systems European Games! That was awesome with Buggy Run, Sonic 2, Legend of Illusion, Asterix 1 & 2, Aladdin and so on! The best Master System games came out here in Europe in the years 92, 93 and 94!
A lot of those were game gear games in the US.
I was a NES Kid, odd for a British person, although I had the standard ZX Spectrum/Amiga computers too. But my wife was a Sega Master System Kid. I bought her one as a surprise for Xmas a couple years back, and we’ve been exploring the library together. I think the Disney games are great for one thing, and very different to those on the NES (Duck Tales/Chip’n’Dale etc) 👍🏻
LoL Same here.
the Wonder Boy ist great too.
I loved this console and I never hear it talked about. So many memories with it
"even longer in Brazil". If I want a brand new Master System now, I can grab one at any Supermarket. But we cannot find games anymore. Figure it out...
Please grab one for me.
@@gusposey8218 Don't get so excited yet. The ones being sold here in Brazil nowadays are just glorified emulators with a MS shell.
@@julianocs87 You got that right. Those things are MS only in name. Shame on you, Tec Toy.
@@julianocs87 But that Mega Drive makes me feel like 10 yrs old again. Every time I see one, I want to buy.
@@M3troid. well, it has a beautiful blue, sonic, 132 games and two SIX button controller hahaha
Like you said at the end, Europe got four more years of the system. I'm British and had a Master System before we upgraded to a Mega Drive. Weird to think you guys bowed out with Castle of Illusion and Sonic 1 while we went on to get Sonic 2, Sonic Chaos, and Land of Illusion to name just a few. Also, very happy to see Kenseiden get a shout out. Great game, sorely overlooked.
Some of those we got on the Game Gear instead. The Master System lived on a bit longer in the U.S. with the GG, especially if you got the SMS cartridge adapter for it.
@@lazarushernandez5827 Europe usually got both the Master System and the Game Gear versions of all those shared games.
I am still amazed at how long the Master System lasted in Brazil, My favorites Master System titles are Sonic 1, Phantasy Star and Zillion. I did not know Ghouls N Ghost was on the MS, looks impressive
Didn't the Megadrive have a similarly long life there? And For some reason I want to say the Playstation/PS2 as well. I got the impression that Brazil was basically just in a gaming time warp 10 years behind the rest of the world :)
@@goodlookinouthomie1757 not really, brazil always got the new stuff. it's just that the old sega classics never got killed off.
i could say i bought a playstation right at launch, but that would be a lie because instead i bought a pc in 1994 and was happily masterracing all the way through 2004, when i finally started buying consoles again as secondary gaming machines. i remember how awesome it was when the genecyst mega drive emulator came out in 1997 and suddenly i had all the games i loved from the mega drive right at the tip of my fingers. good times.
Sonic 1 ❤
Growing up in the 90,s in the UK, it has to be said that the Master System seemed way more popular than the NES. Nearly all of my schoolmates had a Master System. And I actually prefer it over the NES. It went on to release the likes of Mortal Kombat and MK2 and they are decent ports more surprisingly.
I remember the Mastersystem still being big well into 90s in the UK. I hardly knew anyone with a Megadrive.
I only ever knew 3 people that had a NES pretty much everybody else had a master system, i think sometimes that gets lost with american folks, on the price difference between the micro computer master system and nes software, in 1988 very few people could afford the 40 quid nintendo was asking for a game
SMS still got one of the best colors for 8bit systems
It did pretty well down here in Australia ! Sigahhh
I’m from NYC and I literally knew only ONE person who owned a master system as the NES was what everyone had at home so I didn’t really have much exposure to it but I remembered thinking it was really kool and would’ve loved to have one. The way Sega of America handled its games and hardware in the states will forever elude me
Sometimes I feel like I'm the only person in the entire world who actually loved (and loves) the Golden Axe SMS port.
I am surprised that most people don't see the brightness to a Golden Axe port on Master System. It plays really well and if they had more time to develop they may have been able to add Gilius and Tyris (still just in one player). It's pretty cool for an 8-bit game.
I actually think it's a pretty good game. It's choppy and pared back, but I think it plays rather well. It certainly stomps all over the PC Engine CD port of the game, that's for sure.
@@samfrito My thoughts exactly. Pretty much everywhere I've checked, I've seen it getting a lot of flak, quite unfairly in my opinion. Despite its omissions and shortages, I think it still deserves some serious kudos because at least the developers tried their darnest to keep it as close to the arcade game as they could (every level, enemy and beast from the arcade game is present in mostly their correct positions, big sprites with decent animations, and a pretty faithful rendition of the original soundtrack).
Dunno, there are far worse SMS arcade ports (i.e.: Altered Beast; an entire level/transformation is missing, the protagonist transforms in two steps instead of three which equals to shorter levels, some enemies are missing, and most of the ones that are present are ridiculously tiny, bad controls and general gameplay way choppier than Golden Axe's), and people seem to cut them a lot more slack, like "eh... yeah, it's bad, but it's an SMS game, it was to be expected".
@@homiedclown Oh my God, the PC Engine CD port, that was a sobering experience. It felt more like an SMS port than the actual SMS port.
Phantasy Star, Y's Ancient Vanished Omens, Golvellius... All great rpg's
Miracle warriors was good too
The final days....nooooo! Come back Master System!
Nahhhhhhhhh it was trash.
@@cantstopbeeboo2055 true
as an NES kid, I always wanted an SMS to a lesser extent growing up. Had some games I wanted. When I finally got to experience its library a little more in depth as a teen/adult, I did miss out on some gems.
Master system kid here, I could say the same for NES. These were very different systems with very different games, at least that's what I think. A complete and proper 8-bit experience requires both NES and Master System.
@@MOLTEN0 i think you could say that from 8 bit til maybe ps2 Once we hit ps360 it all became samey...and exclusives started to dwindle down
@@thecunninlynguist wait have you already heard of the game Infamous? Not sarcastic tone intending either
Final Days of the Master System? I just picked up two games for my SMS this weekend. (Captain Silver and Ghostbusters) Man, I am behind the times. Fun vid, SLX! 🎮👍
How many of you remember the Rambo and Rocky videogames for the Master System? I do!
The Rambo game was great for his time.
Don’t push it, or I’ll give you a war you won’t believe
First Blood: Part II was renamed Secret Commando over here in the UK (though strangely, Secret Command on the box), and it was a really fun game with two players.
I remember playing Rocky! I didn’t own a master system, but a family friend owned one back in the day.
It was one of the first games I got. I played it until my fingers went numb! Nintendo got Commando we were graced with Rambo!
I'll always look back on the transition from 8-bit to 16-bit as a very exciting time in the history of video games.
Miracle Warriors was the first role playing game I'd ever played and I was hooked. I loaned it to SMS owning friends after beating it and they got hooked too. We compared notes heavily. To this day I still remember seeing one of my friends maps for the caves and all his notations and thinking "this fucker should be a cartographer".
Miracle Warriors, Phantasy Star, and Ultima IV are my top 3 RPG's in the platform.
The map that came included with Miracle Warriors was pretty friggin sweet; it further raised my enthusiasm about exploring and discovering every area of the game. Overall the game was pretty good as role playing games go but Phantasy Star captivated me a lot more, and Ys probably had more actual fun factor.
@@shiningphantasy1393 AGREED! Most things included with games back then were not as great as both the Miracle Warriors map and Phantasy Star map. I've looked up images of the Japanese counterpart to Phantasy Star and they had a nice manual and tip book included with lots of illustrations. Tonka did not see fit to translate and reprint any of that, but at least we received a huge game.
@@samfrito The tip book would have been nice for sure; as a 13 year old at the time of playing through those two games I'll confess that I had to call 1-800-USA-Sega and request the tip printouts to be mailed to me for a confusing spot here and there. Back then I was very appreciative just to get to play through a JRPG since they were not very common (USA market) until a few years later.
while i never owned a master system as a kid, but i do own a master system 2 with alex kid built in now , i can respect the MS for one thing at least, the great usage of colors on screen, most MS games i see , have 1 advantage over nes games, and that is the bright colors, most nes games tend to have really drab colors , even the most colorful ones like DUCK TALES , but master system games have a spark of joy in them, and that is something, considering the superior genesis is the king of drab colors as a contrast and the snes is the pastel king of 16 bit games, the MS has the EGA charm to it that i was fond of on my IBM pc, and explains why many sega ports to the ibm pc in the early days, looked like master system games.....good console, even from a nintendo kid point of view, it was nothing to laugh at , not in the lightest.
Well, it could do twice as many on-screen colors and didn't have that 4 color per sprite limit that the NES had. Genesis could o much more colorful games (one look at Super Fantasy Zone can tell you that), but trends had shifted and Sega was going for the more mature and (relatively) realistic looking games. US games like Batman Returns, Chakan an some others really took the drab to the next level though. They also typically overused dithering, which looks on CRT via a composite cable, but looks like ass now. Anyway, my personal top 10 Genesis games all haver excellent color use - not drab, but not too pastel and cartoony either.
NES looks like hi-res C64, SMS looks like hi-res Amstrad CPC.
@@Prizrak-hv6qk Yeah some games just try to use too narrow a band of colours and end up dithering loads probably more because of master palette limitations than colours at once.
@@Prizrak-hv6qk Contra: HArd Corps/probotector I actually thought colour wise is a bit trash. Just good in other ways.
Slap Shot is essentially Blades of Steel for SMS
It was a blatant, low budget ripoff of it.
Thought this as soon as I saw it. Even the way the guys fall to the ice looks the same.
A SMS 24 min video? My dream now is true 😁
My brother still has all his Sega systems. We play every once in awhile.
I envy people who don't get rid or sell their old systems and can still play them after 20-30 years. I don't have such patience sadly
@@alex.starostin - I have absolutely NO comment for You !
Final days? Here in Brazil it's more like The Ongoing Days...
I remember my dad buying me some random game once in a few months, one game cost about $100 in Europe, seems insane now. I loved the Sega Master System when I was a kid, good times
I found this channel rather recently and have been enjoying it greatly. I wasn’t a sega guy back in the day, but a friend of mine had a master system which I liked playing. Thanks for these little pieces of info, they are very interesting.
Welcome aboard! Glad to hear you like the content.
The Ultima 4 port to SMS is one of my favorites and probably the best port from Origin to a console ever made.
I love Kings Quest too, the SMS version is my favorite version! I had it back in the day and it was amazing to have a game like that on the console and they did a good job on the menu system so it plays good.
Please make a part 2 - The final days of the Master System in Europe and brazil. Btw. personally I like Ghouls Ghosts. Top 10 on my list😁
Wow, that bounce back when Spider-Man gets hit. Simon Belmont is saying he needs to tone it down.
Compare that Spiderman game to the one on the PS5.....we've come a long way!
Hey man your channel is my favourite channel on CZcams overall by far aswell man. I grew up with Nintendo but I have always liked sega better for some reason I just do. Your channel is my favourite thing I like to watch on tv while I'm resting in my bed not well man. Thanks for the entertainment been watching for about 6 months or so but never commented before.
As a brazillian kid, I just got all this master system glory. Nice video
04:12 just a minor correction. Zillion the anime was released in the States. Streamline pictures had a dubbed version of it on VHS. There was even a OVA release that took place after the war in the series.
I loved the guns in the series. It was basically a pistol version of a Mega Smasher/Wave Motion gun. In other words it destroyed it disintegrates its target on impact.
I always thought it odd but cool it looked like the light gun from my beloved SMS . It wasn’t until many years later that I learned Sega was directly behind Zillion and that’s why the similarities.
Edit, I added “that I learned” before Sega in the last sentence.
I had no idea. What year was the VHS release? It had to have been well after the game?
I was just about to reply the same thing, in fact I have 3 of those tapes complete with their slip covers in my anime collection.
@@SegaLordX Around 1989/1990.
I remember them being decent shows but not my favorite at the time. That honor went to Bubblegum Crisis, Macross and Space Battleship Yamato
@@superstarichiban I had the complete North American series but I gave them all away to a friend.
@@rjhisle1973 You sound like a great friend to me :)
Sms was huge in Brazil. You would be the outside kid if you had the nes
Funny because it was the opposite here in the states I had a master system for a few months and it certainly had better games graphically but just not enough of them so we got our Nintendo back a couple of months later I was the only kid in my class that had the Master system at that time while everyone else had Nintendo..
If you had an NES in Brazil, you spent a ton and imported it, or you had a pirate Famiclone.
There were lots of famiclones as well though right? Or is that jsut Argentina?
Fantastic video. More SMS please. Great console. Underrated to the max.
I had a Master System Model 1 with Alex Kidd built into it. I really loved "The Ninja", "Rampage" and "Quartet". I liked "Golvellius" too, but could never get very far, because I didn't understand a single Word English as a Child.
oh, i started learning english very young thanks to alex kidd in the enchanted castle. i actually memorized the entire trivia that btch teacher put us through before she would give the damn map piece. there was a bunch of other dialog too that got me started off on the language through repetition and with the help of magazine guides (which i couldn't read either because i was like 5 years old, my brother and older friend did the reading) giving more context.
it wasn't a good game, but when you're super young, you can't even tell. i got it when i asked my grandma for alex kidd in shinobi world and got alex kidd in the enchanted castle AND shinobi instead. I think that was probably my first time feeling empathy ever too. I remember being disappointed by not getting what i wanted, but somehow very warm inside my grandma tried her best to please her grandson. so i played the hell out of both.
As a kid I had never even heard of the Master system. However, having heard of it for the first time in the last few years, it looks graphically more impressive than the NES, and appears to have a lot of games that would really appeal to me.
Some SMS games appear to be graphically superior to the NES, but the sound chip is horrendous hahaha...
Dude, vigilante on the sms was so good.
One of the most nostalgic systems ever, I got my SEGA Master System Plus package in 1987 in the UK. I had a good collection of games, I would rent a game every week and had a older friend that lived in the same street that had a large collection that was always happy loaning me a game or two when I had nothing new to play.. I played my SMS up until I got the SEGA Mega Drive.. I still own all my original systems and will never part with them (I did sell some of my games back when I got the SMD, regret that now)
I always wanted a Master System model 2. That thing is great looking. I've only ever found the larger, earlier model at any stores.
The graphics were much better than the NES but the sound was just not as pleasant and sounded very shrill in a lot of areas.
That's literally the only strike against it hardware -wise vs the other 8 bits out there. If Sega would've included the optional FM audio expansion it had in Japan, that slight would be erased.
@@lazarushernandez5827 The lack of a pause button on the controllers is certainly another con. As for the FM synth, the YM2413 only became available in 1987; which was several months after the initial release of the SMS in the U.S. unfortunately. Still, Sega could have updated the Master System II with FM synth.
Sounds great in some games but it seems to have been harder to get good sound out of it.
I have a hard time liking how the SMS musics sound. I wish it sounded like the Game Boy : I still love how that one sounds !
I can't recall seeing any system prior to the NES that wasn't shrill. Maybe it was just how things were done.
This video brought tears to my eyes. The Master System was my first console (well, we used to have an Atari 2600 in my household but my parents played it more than me) and it was BIG here in Brazil, I have fond memories of the games I played back then (and still do via emulation). Thank you for talking about the system with so much care. I love your content, man
i owned the master system rather then the nes and i loved it. the 3d games blew me away at the time. so many good games and memories.
Really well done! These are my favorite types of videos of your's.
Who's ready for a master system mini?
Brazil had some pretty impressive ports made by Tectoy, such as Mortal Kombat 3 and Street Fighter 2.
I guess some of them are interesting on a technical level but, idk, I think most of them are pretty bad gameplay wise and some of them are just Game Gear ports
Impressive for the hardware but I assume crap to play.
@@brendanroberts1310 you bet.
Street fighter is a decent version, however MK3 is awful and barely playable. Such a shame as the 1st 2 were great efforts.
In my 40's, Sega fan for life, yet never got to experience the Master System first-hand. Hell, wasn't even aware of its existence until adulthood. So I very much appreciate this retrospective video.
Its crazy how this system was ahead of its time I remember playing this in 1990 my uncle had the system
I have always had a soft spot for the Master System. Absolutely love it! It's one of my favorite systems to collect for even to this day. I don't know what it is, just something about it has loads of charm in my eyes. I also love how there are so so many games that only came out in other regions that were simply fantastic, so if you really want the best experience you need to import a good many of the games.
Am also kind of glad that the system still doesn't get tons of attention and thus the prices are not too terribly thru the roof, at least for the stuff that isn't uber rare. Speaking of which, I happen to have three complete boxed copies of both Phantasy Star and Golden Axe Warrior :) That's how much I love this system.
The nice thing about the Sonic games for the Master System is that they did eventually get them all overseas, as in all the ones that came out here for the Game Gear, they all had Master System ports in Europe, and they were essentially the exact same game but with more visible screen real estate due to the superior resolution. They are excellent playing ports for those that were fans of the Sonic games on the Game Gear. All of them came to the Master System, including Sonic 2, Sonic Chaos, Sonic Spinball, Etc. I think the only one that didn't get ported was Sonic Triple Trouble.
Have to say that your "Last days of X" series is one of my favorites here! Excellent job, moreso because it's mostly for Sega consoles!
How about a " Last Days of the Sega Game Gear?"
I am proud to say that I NEVER had an NES. i instead started my game playing with Sega Master System. got it in 1986, sold it in 1991 with 16 games for $189 and same night, bought a Genesis w/ Sonic 1.
That's... an odd thing to be proud of; you missed out on a lot of very good games. What games were in your SMS collection?
Been subbed for awhile...really impressed with your work ethic.
Here in Italy the SegaMaster System 2 has been very popular, many people have switched from the Sega Master System 2 to the Playstation
You should do a video on Thunderhawk on the sega cd. Imho, that was probably the best game ever released for the platform.
Love it. Love the SMS. Thank you, Lord😃
I wish Sega would release a Master System collection.
Fantastic work as always Sega Lord X. Really enjoyed every second of this. The Master System was my first games console when I was a kid and loved it. I still enjoy playing certain titles to this day.
It's cool to hear that kind of perspective because I wondered for years how the SMS performed in North America. Here in Brazil the NES hasn't been oficially released at the time and as Sega would manufacture their games and consoles locally then the Master System made a huge success in the late 80s/early 90s. As a matter of fact, it is still on the market as a cheap option for very young children who are looking for their first videogame, with lots of games in its memory. Sonic games for 8 bit architecture are pretty different from their 16 bit counterpart and pretty good ones on their own, maybe you should make a video about them!
You mean TecToy. Sega had no part in it. They sold the rights to TecToy.
@@kekeke8988 yes, and still everything I said remains valid. Just like Nintendo entering the brazilian market through Playtronic
Sega tried to keep it going with the Game Gear, where there was an adapter for it to play Master System games, and another adapter on the Genesis. What Sega should have done was made the bottom of the cartridge the same shape as the Master System, kept the card slot, and remapped the Start button on the controller instead of have it on the console. As far as I know, the Genesis was simply a beefed up Master System, which is why the Power Base Converter was nothing more than a pass-through and contained no additional hardware outside of connections for the Pause button, and connections for the cartridge and card slots. At this rate, Sega should have kept backwards compatibility a priority continuing with the Saturn, since the Saturn already has a cartridge slot for expansions such as memory cards, adapters for online play in Japan, and cheating devices. If they could have played their cards right, it would have been compatible with the Sega 32X and Sega CD on top of Genesis and Master System, to at least made it more appealing for potential buyers (even though unlike prior systems, the Saturn's architecture was bizarre and a nightmare to develop for).
The Genesis is a lot more than a beefed up Master System. The Genesis used the Master System's CPU (the 8-bit Zilog Z80) as its sound chip controller and had a far more powerful main CPU (the 16-bit Motorola 68000), clocked higher (7.6Mhz vs 4Mhz). It also included far more capable video hardware, sound synthesis (even compared to the Japanese Master System's FM chip) and just about everything really. It does include the Master System sound chip as well, and the Genesis VDP has a mode that is compatible with the Master System VDP's main mode (but notably not with the modes that were used in Mark 1 games). This compatibility mode is selected by a cart edge pin, but this is a specific design feature and not a side-effect of beeing a "beefed up Master System".
I used to do QA testing for Sega, the Game Gear was basically a Master System, the testing hardware itself was a slightly modified MS mainboard. The Megadrive was in no way like a GG or MS, other than that they ran off of electricity and the MD had an adapter plugin (similar to the 32X).
the Super Monaco GP engine noise sounds like a spooky ghost
I don't have the same memories of the Master System that many of you do, but was impressed with what it could do graphically. If Nintendo didn't have such an iron grip on third party support, and if they left the FM driver in the North American versions, I guarantee it would've done so much better and we could've seen ports of games like Castlevania, Dragon Quest, etc. Shame that Sega screwed the pooch royally after the Genny's lifespan came to an end though, a part of me wishes they still made hardware.
British view, Nintedwho? ahh that computer you can buy from toysrus (there are about 6 in the country at the time) with brown graphics.
Desaturated graphics and all, it still had those amazing platformers that were better than what everyone else was putting out.
After growing up with a Nintendo, I was amazed of how bright and colorful the SMS graphics are, and how clean the video output is when compared to the NES. Its crazy that the MS never took off here in America, I never even knew it existed until the early 2000s because of how rare they are here.
brown graphics? your tv must be wrong hahaha. the nes looks fine and sounds better than the master system.
@@pelgervampireduck It looks more washed out and blurry compared to the MS.
@@pelgervampireduck The Master System does have higher color saturation and more pure primary colors in its palette than the NES, you might not notice it unless you compare them side by side. Of course, you can always adjust the saturation and tone on most televisions, so it is a bit of a moot point.
Sonic was the last game in the USA? I was in Brazil during my childhood and most of my teenage years and clearly remember loving playing sonic 2 and sonic 3 on the master system. I used to prefer these versions over the Mega Drive (Genesis) ones. Also castle of illusion and Land of illusion were two of my favourites as well!
Sonic 3?? What kind of bootleg did you play? Was it a hack for Sonic Chaos?
@@thewindthatblows He obviously meant Sonic Chaos.
@@PJBonoVox Not "obviously", maybe there was a hack of Sonic Chaos rebranded to Sonic 3, some Genesis games for example were released like that in Argentina to sell better (We had a version of Puggsy sprite swapped with Wario which I can't find online). Or maybe it could have been some other bootleg game for the Master System made exclusively for Brazil called Sonic 3, like Sonic 4 for the SNES.
Yeah sorry, probably meant sonic chaos, the last sonic released for master I guess, the cartridge was 8MB if I remember correctly.
@@6060234 The last Sonic title for the Master System (also for the Game Gear) and 8mb cartridge release is Sonic Blast.
Keep on bringing these great memories back!
Wow Golden Axe Warrior looks awesome, I had no clue any games like it existed on the master system.
The Master System was my favorite.
Phantasy Star, Y's, Wonder Boy 3, Golvellius, Miracle Warriors...so many great games.
The Final Days of the *NOMAD* ? :)
That is all the days of the Nomad.
I had an NES but got a paper route so I could buy the Master System because I saw an ad on tv that showed three seconds of Phantasy Star and i needed that game!
Still have the Sega Master I got for Christmas 1986.
That machine is precious.
The Master System was so badly slaughtered here in the US, I still can't physically find this console or it's games in the wild to this very day.
About 15 years ago pawn shops always had games and they were eager to get rid of them
I could be mistaken on this, so don't take it as gospel, but IIRC the Atari 7800 actually outsold the SMS by a small margin in America.
They're getting pricey now tho
@@luckyrockmore2796 I am going to sell my collection soon. Too much stuff built up over the years. I was lucky to get Power Strike for 3 dollars.
@@georgehancock23073 dollars!? 🤯🤯🤯 Niice!! I gave a ton away, and slowly built it back up to something decent. I've learned over the years to never trade in again. I'll be passing on my collection to my daughter who has a love for gaming
I miss my Master system...it's in my closet but doesn't function anymore 😢 😭
Mine is hooked up to my TV. It still works, and my Phantasy Star cart from 1988 still has a working battery. Unfortunately the TV I'm using is not a CRT, so my Light Phaser and 3-D glasses don't work.
@@homiedclown always got to keep a small CRT for the classic consoles!
Incredible info, thank you. Its crazy how strong the control Nintendo had on the market blackballing the SMS out of store shelf's. I never even knew of it's existence untill way later into the 90s.
That hockey fight at 11:06 is hysterical 🤣🤣
When younger i had every Nintendo system and later on the Sega systems, and Sega to me had better graphics but no longevity as a staying company - smh.
Brazilians read the title and are like "When?"
Recently discovered “Buggy Run” a late release that’s one of the best games on the master system. Definitely worth checking out.
I would love to play it, but it's expensive.
To me, the Master system never even got started in the USA. I had one friend with the system, and our fav game to play together was Double Dragon.
Maybe you should change the video's name to "Last Days of the MS in the US"? Americans tend to think of the MS as a failure, but it was quite a success for Sega, only not in the US...
The description mentions that the video is only about the consoles life in the U.S.
@@Spewa-em8cm yes, it does, but I maintain my statement. The title is somewhat misleading.
I will go on record saying that the SMS was the single most underrated great console in video game history. Also, Slap Shot was a blatant, low budget ripoff of Konami's Blades of Steel for the NES. And to this day, I still say that Wonder Boy has, by far, the best in game music of the 8-Bit era.
Wonder boy in Monsterland was all time favorite 8bit game. Very playable even today
I think this episode could get a sequel about the console's European time before retiring completely. Lots of good games over here to talk about :)
I’m one of those rare Americans who owned an SMS and absolutely loved it with a passion. Most other kids I knew owned an NES at the time instead.
Some of my fondest memories were staying up late summer nights in the late-80’s playing my favorite SMS games like…
Aztec Adventure
Hang-On
Black Belt
Alex Kidd in Shinobi World
The Ninja
Kenseiden
Quartet
Wonder Boy
Choplifter
My Hero
The Master System was great, all Sega consoles and arcades were great, but the management was absolute trash
Don't blame Nintendo or Sega. Tonka distributed the Master System in North America. They're the culprits. True, Sega shouldn't have trusted them, but still...
@@GamingDelight Nahh man., i´m a SEGA fan, Sega had talent, i mean they were like a factory of making new IPs, they made hardware and software for arcade, and several consoles at the same time, and each systems with their own new IPs, but there were big management problems, the biggest was the sega america vs sega japan, they kinda died when they let go Tom Kalinske, sega america was left without a strong team, many even moved to Playstation, and sega japan didn´t manage the asian region too good either, the problem was SEGA´s management in general was not good even when they did had magic and talent making games
@@johnnada6855
No, really, it was Tonka distributing the Master System in North America. By the time Sega cut ties with Tonka, they were already preparing for the Genesis.
Service Games: The Rise and Fall of Sega, as well as Console Wars prove it, among other books.
My first console. It's better than the NES in mind. You can't beat Mario 3, but besides that, the MS was mad.
And Castlevania III, the Mega Man series, the Probotector/Contra series, the DuckTales series, River City Ransom, Double Dragon II, Crystalis, Battletoads, Shatterhand, the Teenage Mutant Hero/Ninja Turtles series, and so on; ad nauseam. The Master System had so much potential, but its games never quite matched the refinement of the top end NES games. Ninja Gaiden on the SMS is beautiful, but even the first NES game has better level design and more of the momentum that is the trademark of the series.
@@ostiariusalpha I personally don't like any of those games you listed. Also, the NES can't scroll the screen smoothly and it doesn't have a pleasant colour palette.
@@reinforcedpenisstem That's your loss. And I don't know where you are getting that about the screen scrolling, the NES is butter smooth.
@@ostiariusalpha You know the Master System actually received a Battletoads game, right? Not the original, but a 8 bit version of Battletoads in Battlemanics. The original Battletoads game was also slated for the Master System but never did in the end as it was repurposed as Battletoads in Battlemaniacs.
@@WeskerSega Oh dear God... that Tec Toy port is a damn mess. It's certainly not something to boast of.
Great video. One of my favourites so far!
Great video, as always! I'd love to see a video like this on the extra Euro and Brazil games!