RetroActive – Sega Master System

Saturday, 13 August 2011 10:33 Last Updated on Wednesday, 14 March 2012 16:44 Written by Kevin 29 Comments

In this episode of RetroActive Kevin gives a brief overview of that often over looked 8-bit console the Sega Master System. Talking about how it started, how it ended, and the games and hardware that you can get for it. 

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  • http://videogamesarerad.com/ Nathan

    Great video! It’s about time the MasterSystem got it’s due. The best part about it is that there are so many great Europe-only games that you can import for dirt cheap.

  • Anonymous

    I never had a Master system back in the day, mostly because I was a Nintendo Loyalist. But just last Christmas, I got myself one, the model II unit anyways. It’s pretty cool to play games I may not have played before.

  • http://www.facebook.com/johnnydelia John Delia

    YES SMS! Great video. I have to get the 3D glasses — they work so damn well.  Famicom had a similar set of shutter glasses.

  • Chris

    As I’ve said before, I LOVE the SMS…I grew up on the NES but after playing the SMS I think it really could have been a competitor with the right marketing.

    • Anonymous

      Unfortunately, it wasn’t just marketing but Nintendo’s contract practices stating that 3rd parties making games for the NES can ONLY make games for the NES.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Austin-Kelly-Mackert/100000790359124 Austin Kelly Mackert

    Nicely done man!

  • Patrick

    I never really got into the Sega Master System. In my opinion, the original NES had soooo many better games, and nothing on the Master System really stood out. Yeah, it had Space Harrier….whooooo…

    And sorry, but I need to point this out: Kevin, you gesticulate with your hands with EVERY word you say, in every video. I know sometimes it makes the words flow easier, but it gets to be pretty grating.

  • Jobocan

    I recently got a Master System for cheap (15$, came with Great Baseball, Super Tennis and Hang-on/Safari Hunt, as well as a japanese Megadrive), partly because it was broken (the voltage regulator was fried), but it was a super-easy fix that cost me about 1$. Currently looking for some games to get for it. This video was pretty informative, there’s a few games I’ll be looking out for.

    Good stuff.

  • Rheatard

    oh wow, content! cool vid

    • Jdelia

      Great video and yes, new content. I know, it’s been slow run the last couple weeks. New sold sep from me tomorrow.

  • Crowlevel8

    enjoyed watching that lol 

  • http://www.facebook.com/fracassi Anthony Fracassi

    The Golden Axe Adventure and Phantasy Star games are some of the best.  The Sonic games are fun  too since they have extra levels.

  • http://twitter.com/davidhass3lh0ff michael smith

    great vid, i love the sega master system it was so underrated and had some realy great sega games on it and ghost house is a real good game and another great master system game is master of darkness, sega’s take on castlevania   

    • http://www.retrowaretv.com Kevin Willingham

      I’ve played Master of Darkness, it wasn’t bad. 

  • Garbageface

    I wonder what the deal was with Brazil using it so long — was this because of poverty — people not making enough disposable income to afford the newer systems?

    • http://www.retrowaretv.com Kevin Willingham

      It is just ridiculously popular. They still have Sega Genesis systems for sale there too thanks to TecToy. That same website I showed has one that comes with a Guitar Hero guitar knock off. 

      • Thiago

        As a Brazillian myself, allow me to answer:

        Back in the day, neither Nintendo nor any other videogame company had interest in Brazil’s market, and because of that NES was never officially released in Brazil. *we had a few clones, but nothing official.

        Sega, on the other hand, made a deal with a toy company, TecToy, and the Master System was officially released in Brazil, and then the Genesis, what made Sega systems a lot stronger down here than Nintendo.

        Even now, Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft are very reluctant about Brazillian marketing, and because of that, Tec Toy’s systems are the only ones that are not imports.

        They are currently mostly sold as low-end systems, because, even though they’re outdated, they are cheap to produce and distribute, whyle most local gamers import the newest systems.

        Its more about the companies overlooking the market than anything else.

  • drmalackel

    Does anybody know the song that plays from 4:58 – 6:07?

    • http://www.retrowaretv.com Kevin Willingham

      Wonder Boy III – Side Crawler’s Dance

  • Anonymous

    Had a Mastersystem prior to getting an NES as a kid. Had some good times with it. Altered Beast was one of, if not, the first game I ever beat. Also had Afterburner, Hang-On, Safari Hunt, Ghostbusters and Alf. Yeah Alf. It is as bad as people say it was.

    But we got our NES soon after and the SMS just couldn’t hold my interest.

  • Anonymous

    Watching this was so nostalgic for me. I had an NES growing up, but my cousins all had the SMS and swapped games with each other. Although I had the system with more games, I can’t honestly say with definite certainty that I had the better system. 

    As an SMS owner, I can personally vouch for Phantasy Star, Y’s, the Wonder Boy series (MonsterLand being a fave), and Vigilante.

    Great review. Thanks for bringing back the memories.

    • http://www.retrowaretv.com Kevin Willingham

      I love the Wonder Boy series; I wish it would of continued after the Genesis. 

      • Anonymous

        It actually did continue on the Genesis(technically), but the heads at SEGA decided to divide the Wonder Boy and Monster Land franchises and so the titling and release schedule gets a bit wonky after Monster Land.

        Wonder Boy 3: The Dragon’s Trap(Monster Land 2) was released on the SMS; but the same year would see the release of Wonder Boy 3: Monster Lair(technically WB2) for the PC-Engine CD with a North American TG-CD version (titled Monster Lair) released a year later and Japan and European Mega Drive versions being released in 1991.

        Wonder Boy in Monster World (ML3) was released later in 1991 in Japan with North American and European releases the following year. The Genesis version shouldn’t go for much beyond $10 (in box) at most in the States as it’s obscurity greatly lowers it’s value. :P

        Finally; the Japanese Mega Drive exclusive Monster Land 4 was released in 1994 and that was it for the Wonder Boy series. I’ve also heard rumors about a PAL release as well, but I have yet to see a genuine copy. However Monster Land 4 was announced to be localized for English speaking markets for the Virtual Console, PSN, and Live Arcade markets so keep an eye out for a release.

  • Anonymous

    This was my first console. Here in UK the NES sold really badly because of a licencing issue. There was actually two different types of NES in UK, and the games were not compatible if you had the wrong version. On top of that the NES was much more expensive, and the games often where as much as £60 (that’s almost $100 USA each). When Master System games where easier to find, and only £25 on average, it was a no brainer. That said, if you had a Commodore 64 or Amstrad 464 (or the colour 664), you could get games for around £5, maybe £10 for some of the big names.

    I don’t know anyone in person who owned an NES. The SNES did much better, but people here didn’t bother with the NES, they normally had the Commodore 64, Collecovision, Sega Master System or Atari 7800. I’d never even heard of Mario until I played Super Mario All Stars on the SNES.

    All these gaming sites seem to be populated by American gamers, there just doesn’t seem to be a proper British take on video games. After all, the gaming world was very different here than it was in USA, for a start we only got about half as many games released over here, and with no internet you can forget importing, becides, with our 240v system, Japanese and USA systems will just fry as they use a 110v system, so even if we did import both a console and the games, we’d need a step-down transformer the size of a suitcase.

    Still it’s nice to see the Master System get some love. I really loved this console. It was my first, and my first games ever where Paperboy, The Ninja, Alex Kidd in Miracle World, and Castle Of Illusion (which is not the same as the Mega Drive/Genesis game). All 4 of those are great games and I suggest any collectors looking for games to go for to grab them. I also totally recommend the first Sonic The Hedgehog, (it’s a completely different game than the Mega Drive/Genesis Sonic), Golden Axe Warrior, (very similar to Legend of Zelda), Ninja Gaiden (again, not the same as the NES game, completely original and in my opinion better), and of course Out Run and Hang On are classic arcade racers.

    Master Of Darkness, Aladdin (again the Master System game is entirely original and nothing like the SNES or Mega Drive/Genesis games) and Alien 3 are decent action games, and Lucky Dime Caper and Asterix are good platformers too but not as good as the ones above. There where also some good puzzle games, like Marble Madness, Columns, Mean Bean Machine, Klax and my personal favourite, Putt and Putter which is a crazy golf puzzle game.

    I’m always remember the Master System, a so often underappreciated gem of a console.

  • http://www.facebook.com/billy.w.hudson Billy Hudson

    I have had somewhat of an obsession with the SMS recently. Great episode, dude!

    • http://www.retrowaretv.com Kevin Willingham

      Thanks glad you enjoyed it. I’ve had the same obsession lately!

  • http://twitter.com/retrosportsgmr Mr. Retro Sports

    I’ve put together a nice little library of SMS games.  The biggest purchase I’ve made there was finding the Sports Pad, which works for a whopping 3 games on the system (and one is not even a sports game).  The trackball is cool as hell though.

  • MrSaturn

    Whoops didn’t realize I had already posted for this video.

  • Emmanuel Menjivar

    I played the ever-loving crap out of Space Harrier on my SMS.  I loved that system so much.  Still got it boxed up somewhere.