All Master System Games with FM Sound

Episode 404 - The FM sound capabilities of the Sega Master System weren't used all the time, and when they were it was only on versions of the console that were released in Japan. But many games that were released worldwide still have that FM sound intact in the code. So lets look and listen to all of those games!
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#smsfm #fmsound

[@clairofmemories]

fun fact, in Sega 3D Classics Collection on the 3DS, if you go to the extras menu and tap on the empty space on the bottom left, you unlock the master system version of Fantasy Zone, and this version has an exclusive FM soundtrack!

[@HappyConsoleGamer]

Haha the Dynamite Dux part caught me by surprise! Love that game to death....

[@Pawnband]

I hope you guys can colab some time!

[@gtrzdaddy]

Sega Lord X absolutely hates Dynamite Dux

[@AnalogX64]

When is a colab coming? Inquiring minds want to know 😁

[@MarginalSC]

Omitting the FM sound hardware worldwide was such a bad decision.

[@barryschalkwijk9388]

Yeah such a shame. Although in some cases i prefer the PSG sounds (Monsterboy 3 just sounds soulless in FM)

[@morenauer]

Sega being the cheap fucks they always were. Megadrive / Genesis v2.0 and later had crap audio hardware just to cut costs too.

[@ynotwalk7391]

it really adds polish to the overall library, more premium With the option to revert to PSG as desired

[@StormsparkPegasus]

At the time, with few exceptions, only Japanese developers knew how to create good FM sound. This problem persisted into the Genesis era. Which is why GEMS (ugh) existed. There are a few games that show what the Genesis FM sound can do though...see the Sunsoft Batman game.

[@Adamtendo_player_1]

That’s why the master system sounds sucks in the west with a few exceptions.

[@Spintechfilms]

3 Game Sack episodes in 3 consecutive weeks, say less, can't express how badly I needed some Sack in my life right now, ive had a bad week

[@Igoreshkin]

Don't be sad. Everything will be fine. Sending virtual hug :)

[@Supadupanerd]

Same...

[@dsw141]

Legend channel

[@daakrolb]

And this made things better for you?

[@lilithaensland5566]

i need some sack too i like to empty different sacks ^_^

[@Nukle0n]

I love these technical episodes, complete with some debunking of "people say this has it, but it don't"

[@ynotwalk7391]

people seem to crap on sms a lot, but i dunno it has a good number of top tier 8-bit games

[@subtledemisefox]

​@@ynotwalk7391 I actually just started Phantasy Star and it's really fun, in spite of the initial difficulty.

[@ynotwalk7391]

@@subtledemisefox try to imagine what is was like in the 80s. seemed like the best graphics ever, plus a massive quest

[@Adamtendo_player_1]

@@ynotwalk7391 that’s because the Master System outside of a few games kinda sucked due to a lack of variety but that’s more to do with Nintendo’s evil monopolistic practices which mean the Master System never stood a chance.

[@StephenOConnell-tz5zw]

no

[@arashnikoubashman6946]

What is this madness? Another gamesack episode? Thanks Joe, don’t overwork yourself!

[@SevenCompleted]

us OG fans remember the weekly episodes

[@arashnikoubashman6946]

@@SevenCompleted True! I remember the "shock" episode, where Joe & Dave announced going biweekly instead.

[@energuminum]

As a Brazilian, any time he said "This wasn't released in America or Japan" I thought "Oh God, how did TecToy eff it up?"

[@FallicIdol]

Were you around when the Master System was prevalent? Id love to hear what it was like as a consumer

[@energuminum]

@@FallicIdol its heyday was before me, but my older sisters had a master system. It was good because tectoy officially licensed the master system, and it was assembled here. The NES wasn't, only clones came around with different names, so it was kinda weird all the games magazines talking about games for the NES, even though people didn't have an NES, and didn't necessarily know their clone was an NES.

[@nostartia]

Love anything about videogame sound. It truly fascinates me to this day. I wish you'd do more episodes like this, talking about different arcade boards for example. One I'm especially crazy about is the Namco system2, that sound tickles my brain like nothing else. Have a great day and thank YOU for making Game Sack.

[@NYCJoeBlack]

If there isn’t a video on the topic already, I would love a break down on the Super Nintendo sound chip versus the Game Boy Advance non existing sound chip. The GBA, according to a lot of resources, states that it is more powerful than the SNES, but what held it bad was having to allocate some of the CPU power for sound.

[@juststatedtheobvious9633]

The Castlevania trilogy demonstrates the graphics vs audio trade offs brilliantly...to the detriment of the first two games.

[@Adamtendo_player_1]

I’d love for Game Sack to do an episode with “Good sounding “Genesis Games” we already have “The Worst sounding Genesis Games” this is long overdue.

[@juststatedtheobvious9633]

@@Adamtendo_player_1 Devilish is a must. Too many people aren't even aware it exists, much less how great it sounds and who composed it all.

[@ClexYoshi]

I've never been a huge fan of the PSG's Tootsie toy sound... it sounds like the ice cream man is coming up the street when I hear most PSG audio even for games that I know I like the actual composition of the music, so... the FM audio on Master System/Mark III games is such a life saver.

[@GameSack]

LOL that ice cream man part gave me a good laugh

[@Adamtendo_player_1]

That’s the best way to describe PSG sound. Especially Master System PSG sound is grating on the ears most of the time with its shrill tones.

[@ClexYoshi]

@@GameSack You can have that one for free for a future Game sack episode, Joe.

[@USandwich64]

I love the psg sound but you're spot on with that analogy 😂

[@Adamtendo_player_1]

@@USandwich64 Master System PGG sounds are grating on the ears with a few exceptions.

[@realGilby]

Episodes like this make modern Game Sack such an excellent show from a preservational, archival and informational point of view. The fact that all these games are being catalogued using high quality footage on real hardware makes them basically invaluable as a source

[@chamchamtrigger]

The FM version of that R Type hidden stage is such a classic.

[@ynotwalk7391]

the graphics in that stage slay the nes

[@poble]

@@ynotwalk7391 r-type was never released on the nes though

[@ynotwalk7391]

@@poble i just mean in general, the colors esp

[@Mike-nf6nf]

I just came from Yuzo Koshiro's official KZbin channel to this. Quite fitting, really.

[@irfanafendi4837]

Yuzo Koshiro had an official KZbin channel?

[@redwolflancer3051]

I'm so glad I found gamesack, I first seen Joe on AVGN when he wished all deck enhancers would explode and I liked Joe's the best and went to his channel and been watching it ever since.

[@YTKeepsDeletingAllMyComments]

Oh man modern AVGN is so bad. James doesn't even play the games. At least you found a channel of someone who actually cares about gaming.

[@T0NYFERRELL1]

Joe I’m glad you made this video for two reasons. First the Master System is awesome and deserves more coverage. Second is this is basically an A-B comparison video that would normally be dull, but you have the ability to make it both informative and entertaining. Such a shame games did not use the PSG for sound effects and percussion and the FM for music, although I believe the Japanese BIOS did his with Space Harrier theme. It would’ve been much closer to the Mega Drive and just plain awesome.

[@mistkeyblade]

There’s still room in my Saturday night for some Game Sack

[@Dac_vak]

Nothin’ like a fresh Sack to get the week started. Thanks for your hard work, Joe!

[@VorkKnightOfGood]

Game Sack doesn’t need a sequel, there's nothing that needs improvement.

[@samuraibushido13]

I would agree except that you'd miss out on all the subtitle possibilities, or like Die Hard you could mix it up. Game Sack 2: Game Sacker, Game Sack with a Vengeance, Live Free or Game Sack, etc...

[@dillonandon]

Those planets from Galactic Protector are some of the most expressive things I've seen in a video game. They look traumatised.

[@alex64gaming]

Had a horrible Saturday, seeing game sack on my notifications made my night! So pumped!

[@reinforcedpenisstem]

Me too. Awful day

[@goldenretrogames]

So many people seem to really enjoy FM music. I've always much preferred PSG. I find PSG to have a charm that FM doesn't have.I even felt this way on PC and struggled back in the day to find samples I could load on my sound card that I didn't hate listening to.

[@johnellis3383]

I really miss the days when consoles had unique hardware. The different sound hardware gave these systems so much more personality. Great video as always, Gamesack never dissapoints on delivering quality fart sounds!

[@TopSpot123]

I first learned of the Master System's FM capability on an early Game Sack so this is like full circle. Also the end bit is a nice change of pace as long as it's intermittent.

[@LouisTheSEGANerd]

It's a shame the Mark III FM Unit couldn't do both FM + PSG simultaneously like the JP Master System could, as the combination of the 2 elevates the possibilities so much, and definitely brings it closer to the MegaDrive. The MSX is a good example of what could've been with this setup as many games on that platform supported YM2413 + AY sound.

[@todesziege]

Yeah, many games have very weak effects in FM mode.

[@f.k.b.16]

Dude! I was just about to tell everyone about your work where you combined the two but then saw this comment and realized it was you! I find those mixes you did absolutely freegin amazing!

[@LouisTheSEGANerd]

@@f.k.b.16 there was no way I was gonna miss this episode hehe ;)

[@dab7465]

Louis I love your channel

[@LouisTheSEGANerd]

@@dab7465 :))

[@DemomanX614]

Posting kinda late, Joe, you had me worried.

[@GameSack]

Yeah sorry. I noticed an error in the video at the last minute that I had to fix, re-export, then reupload with my ghetto Comcast/Xfinity internet. Then KZbin had to take forever to process it only to stall at 99%, then reject the next reupload at 85%. It finally worked on the 3rd reupload, but as I type this 4K hasn't processed yet. Oh well, it will.

[@cax1175]

​@@GameSackI blame the sun trying to stop game sack with the northern lights

[@orderofmagnitude-TPATP]

The Reddifer forgiven as im sure he has uploaded 3 weeks in a row now!​@@GameSack

[@jpb7875]

@@GameSack Move to Tennessee and get 1gb synchronous with AT&FT. $90 a month no promotional bullsack. Oh yeah, thanks for the new Sega video.

[@GameSack]

@@jpb7875 Google Fiber is supposed to be here with a pretty decent price like that, asynchronous 1GB (or more) and no BS. Google Fiber customers seem to love it so that's good.

[@dtcartoon]

This might be my favorite episode of late. It’s insane how much difference the sound can make in perception of how powerful a system is.

[@Turbulation1]

The unfortunate reason most of the FM music sounds the way it does is because out of the 9 FM channels composers had available on the YM2413 chip, only one of them could be a custom 2OP FM patch that you could alter to your liking, while all the other ones are default presets that are typical instruments like snare drums or others. However, you could theoretically play an entire song with the one 2OP custom patch channel by constantly swapping between different patches on the fly. Mahbod's Tunes has made some incredibly sick YM2413 beats with patch swapping.

[@jsr734]

That explains why most ot this FM soundtracks sound repetitive. They were reusing the same instruments over and over.

[@todesziege]

The limited instrument set gives it a bit of an identity though.

[@genxveteran]

I guess you can say its the Master Systems version of GEMs.

[@atomicskull6405]

@@genxveteran No because Yamaha actually did a good job programming the built in FM sounds. They're limited but not terrible sounding.

[@Nate1979]

It is amazing how much a sound chip can affect the impact of a game. The FM sound makes a lot of these games feel like PC Engine releases. Great stuff, Joe! Thanks!

[@ProfessorSF]

Man, seeing developers get mileage out of the YM2413 ( or OPLL ) Is always something. The chip's probably one of the more restrictive ones since you get 16 patches ( only one is customizable. ), some preset drums in drums mode, and that's it.

[@LouisTheSEGANerd]

It's restrictive but it makes it a lot more approachable for newbies to learn how to use it and then start getting creative trying to get around it's limitations :)

[@atomicskull6405]

15 channels not sounds, the sounds are pre defined in ROM but you can only make user defined FM sounds on one channel. But you can use any of the predefined FM sound in ROM on any of the other 15 channels.

[@LouisTheSEGANerd]

@@atomicskull6405 actually op is correct with the 15 sounds since there are 15 presets + 1 user preset (at a time anyway since you can have as many user presets as you want :-P). You get 9 channels in standard mode but only 6 if you have drums enabled (which consist of 5 separate channels for each drum component)

[@melancholas]

This episode was superb in many cases: The topic was interesting, especially for someone like me, who is sound lover in general. The FM sound had some good moments in a few games, but often felt to "clean" and generic, if this explanation makes sense. A little off topic, but I appreciate the fact that you announced upcoming flickering in games. I am not affected by it, but these small details are what I really like in your productions. As a big fan of your comedic parts at the end of your vids, I've been positively surprised that you tried out something new, with reading some comments/questions. To put my words in a nutshell: this episode was a really feel good episode and would like to see more of this. 👍🤘

[@ramizghauri7592]

Keep 'em coming Joe. Huge fan.

[@malcolmar]

Those games brings back the memories. Compile could put out some great tunes in PSG. Too bag Sega did not put full support behind FM sound. Pretty crazy that some developers made a complete soundtrack in PSG an then another complete sound track in FM. I feel it was a missed opportunity to not give the Power Base Converter the ability to play SMS FM sound on the Genesis. Also a little sad FM sound was cut from the Game Gear. Loved the question and answer at the end but I also loved the skits. Would not mind alternating from one to the other just to mix it up. I just appreciate your work. Thanks you.

[@vidarlystadjohansen9829]

never thought I would watch an entire video about this topic, but glad I did

[@robintst]

The only thing that truly bugs me about the FM sound on the Master System is the flat sounding percussion. And at this point, PSG style audio in 8-bit games is more nostalgic for me anyway. I'd rather hear Phantasy Star in PSG than FM.

[@jeremy__hopkins]

A dream scenario be the equivalent of the 2A03 + MXM-1 for the Master System. Combining the best of PSG & FM would be great. Hearing what was possible on the MSX with PSG & SCC in the Konami games along with the right composer, hints at the potential. Just like I wish Sega had released a console similar to the X68k with YM2151, extra ADPCM channels and YMF288 from the Mercury Unit for the ultimate arcade sound at home. Guess with MiSTer, fans are building their own version.

[@leeg12000]

Game Sack is my Sunday morning ritual, new episode or not. Always appreciate the content Joe.

[@pedroalmeida7153]

awesome episode...really cool to know how many games can play FM Soud. But I gotta say...all these years playing listening to PSG SOUND made me like it a lot...even Moore than the FM musics...

[@OllyDee123]

Joe there's no way I'm going to bail on a video about game music, something my life increasingly seems to rotate around.

[@marafolse8347]

Now this is a video I've been needing for a while. Trying to do my own research and find All these examples on my own was a real headache a while back

[@ndpx673]

Another awesome episode!!! Thank you for all your hard work! These episodes are all fantastic!

[@g40rc378]

Thank you for in depth coverage of sound in games. The switch in sound quality from 8 to 16 bit era was such a leap forward.

[@Dodo-bf3dm]

Those square waves are so nostalgic, I can't help but love them, but the FM music holds up so well, today!

[@warchild9381]

You are doing the lort's work Joe. Compiling all of this game footage between the PSG and FM sound and editing it must have been a lot of work! I am happy there is finally a resource for this being documented outside of just a list on Wikipedia. Thank you!

[@Scott-fj9uf]

Thank god. I need to unwind with this so badly. Thanx Joe!

[@jpb7875]

Don't thank god. Thank the sack.

[@ChibiFighter]

Thank you for the fantastic videos as always Joe I loved the little ending skit.

[@HypnoticSuggestion]

I'm still a relatively new viewer, but these are becoming a real treat for me each Sunday morning when I get home from work. Good stuff

[@gregorys9629]

Another great episode, so fascinating!

[@orderofmagnitude-TPATP]

Aww joe. Never stop uploading your sack whilst im in my sheets - watching you. Id miss it terribly. Anyway. Master system games with FM I love sega and miss my collection dearly...buuuttt as a sega fanboy; it gutted me i didnt even know about the fm sound till way after my collection went. That PSG Noise maker was a bit horrible, even back then.

[@RedSoul001]

That ending segment was great. Loved the video Joe!

[@SuperLlama42]

20:08 Oh my god I love how it looks like you're just piledriving the survivors from atop a multi story building when you rescue them

[@oodaloopc9725]

I must admit to being a big fan of these technical videos and the expertise behind them. Excellent all around- well done as always Joe.

[@pizzamike4420]

This is a video I didn't know I needed, and I love it. Great work sir!

[@joestewart2026]

Awesome episode, thanks Joe!

[@loganroberts2195]

Enjoyed the ep and the questions at the end! Should definitely do again sometime. Thanks for your hard work!

[@turnbasedtoddy7664]

Even if these videos don’t get as many views as your other ones, I hope you never stop doing videos like this. To me these are so interesting and I love hearing the different sounds.

[@craigwise6374]

I still miss Dave

[@skibidi.G]

Dave is a Woman now .

[@anthonydotmoe]

That Dave joke at the end got me! 😆

[@CrispyBagelBites]

That’s me at 46:16! Super cool to see a random reply I left in March pop up to haunt me months later!

[@AnalogX64]

This was a great episode, I know what amount of work that went into producing this, so just wanted to say it is very much appreciated.

[@samjam64]

It may be lower quality, but I choose PSG everytime for filling me with lovely warm nostalgia

[@richardbyatt4018]

Weekly Game Sack! And Master System content to boot. Praise Sega for this legend Sunday.

[@ezequielgomez7083]

Shinobi was my all-time favorite fm music sound like Arcade

[@Dungyfan007]

Didn't grow up with anything Sega so love seeing these in depth tech videos about their consoles

[@atomicskull6405]

The YM2413 was basically an OPL2 with fewer operator waveforms and user defined instruments/sound effects on only one channel. all other channels had to use pre defined FM sounds from internal ROM. It also lacked an adder and instead multiplexed the channels by playing them out the DAC in sequence fast enough that the human ear couldn't discern that they were being switched. Think the arpeggio effect on a C64 that was used to simulate chords except fast enough that the three notes blend together to sound like an actual chord, that's basically how channel mixing worked on the YM2413.

[@ricardosyozi]

Excellent video that cleared a lot of my doubts about the FM Sound on the Master System. Keep up, Joe!

[@jmatt781]

Hell yeah!! This episode was fucking awesome!! I really needed this today, thank you Joe.

[@moverofobjects]

What a great episode to watch with quality headphones, loving these long form videos as well!

[@skibidi.G]

Love you mane, technical episodes are dope btw . The Q&A was hilarious 😂 . Can't wait for next episode ✌️

[@PeteSkerritt]

I’ve never had any personal experience with the Master System, so I appreciate this content all the more. The shift between PSG and FM can be quite striking. I always learn a few things when I watch these episodes, and I’m always grateful for them. Thank you.

[@musicaldude9429]

its episode 404, and you did not make a video about glitches/errors what a shame lol, but great videos as always, love when youtubers talk about retro sound hardware

[@stephandolby]

Golvellius was on the MSX2+ as well, and as that uses an optional YM2413, would sound identical for the tracks shared between both it and the Master System version. I like the FM. Sure, it wins some and loses some, but it's a great added bonus. I wonder how much it would've cost to add to the Master System, but I suspect it would've been ripped out for the Master System II along with the card slot and reset button.

[@Bearcade]

Great episode. Love the examples in the video.

[@BatmanWangChung]

I use a drum machine that has FM synth capabilities so I really appreciate this episode Joe! Have a fantastic day! ✌️😎

[@willweisgerber245]

Love the episode. And love my Modded MasterSystem. My favorite game FM sound game is R-Type.

[@QuestForTori]

I’ve been loving these episodes centered on specific technical features. It would be super useful to see an episode on early surround sound implementations in retro games - very few people have talked about it on KZbin!

[@retroboomer3197]

I was excited to hear the FM sound of Phantasy Star. I thought for sure that it would sound magnitudes better than the PSG, but I couldn't have been more wrong. The FM sounded terrible!

[@gwicks]

This was an awesome episode! Music has always been an integral part of gaming for me, so I really enjoyed this!

[@kadosho02]

Q&A with the Sack 🤘 PSG vs FM is a fascinating subject. So many titles relied on the sound format. Puts things into perspective, when recent titles give you original, or modern options with remasters of classic games.

[@RobbyRaccoon]

After all these years you're still cranking out original ideas. Well done!

[@burnsquid]

Awesome episode, love the viewer questions at the end :)

[@retrospiel]

love your clean recordings of the 3D games!

[@jeffandjoshplaytheworld9994]

Right! I haven't figured it out yet. Feel like sharing Joe?

[@airforcex9412]

Great episode!

[@thedrunkmonkshow]

As someone who grew up with the Master System in the US when I found out it had a Yamaha chip in it I was blown away and wished we could have had that option. But at the same time I can see why Sega didn't because though the idea seemed novel on paper, in execution it's faults become apparent rather quickly for both the listener and the game designer. The YM2413 the Mark III had is part of the same OPL line similar to the YM3812 or OPL2 used in the Adlib/Sound Blaster Clone cards of the 80's and 90's on MSDOS PC but is stripped down or cost-reduced as they put it. It uses two modes: one with 9 melodic channels without FM drums or the other with 6 melodic channels and FM drums. Seems like a lot to work with at first but the chip primarily uses fixed FM patches or 15 instruments only. Now it is possible secondarily to build a single custom FM patch but that's it and can be applied to just 1 channel or all available channels depending on the mode it's set to. Long story short, though you can find some creative uses or arrangements with the FM chip on the Master System, the overwhelming majority of songs are in the 6 melodic FM drum mode and tend have the same feel. Usually when Master System games did create the single custom FM sound it was for the purpose of crafting certain sound effects that just aren't possible with the fixed instruments alone. Though sometimes in title screens, endings or screen crawls they would add a unique FM patch as an instrument since there's no sound effects going on. All in all I hope I don't sound overly critical of the YM2413 as I do enjoy certain implementations but just pointing out it's limitations. The best example or my favorite songs with this chip is the OST for Final Fantasy port on MSX2 computer. 😃

[@fiskburk2908]

Watched the whole episode with high quality head phones on and it was a blast, thanks a lot for the episode Joe

[@ZakkHung]

I care about sound as well and I'm loving this episode. Also, nice shirt! I love Zaxxon on the ColecoVision. 💙

[@NickTaylor-Phantom-Works2]

Yayyyy! A brand new game sack episode! There's something just soooo relaxing about this channel. Even though the only sega console I've ever owned is the Dreamcast (twice!) I still appreciate any new game sack.

[@greentilde4751]

Loved this episode! Got a few games that I didn’t know about that seem my cup of tea. Do more Q&A ending skits!

[@MzuMzu-nx1em]

PSG reminds me of the cabinets of my childhood, the 80s .

[@marcusandolivia2025]

I love your videos mane I've been playing videogames since 1997 I'm twenty nine years old still play video games My most favorite game console is the Sega master system and My favorite game is you know it fantasy zone happy Sunday game sack

[@wichitarichard]

Thanks for saving me from boredom, Joe!

[@Taranchule]

I think the FM sound is usually superior, but to me PSG IS the sound of the Master System, and I wouldn't trade it for anything.

[@georgiobriester]

Game Sack is my favorite show

[@noaht2005]

Perfect timing! I just ordered a Powerbase FM converter

[@Alreezy]

The FM module really makes the music at 8:00 sound more foreboding. Sounds like something you'd hear if a shark is pursuing you.

[@stupidbluebird]

i really appreciate this look at the library. never been able to experience fm sound myself.

[@turron83]

the best part of a sunday is a gamesack video !

[@bovinedevine2715]

Another amazing video and a one stop place to hear all the comparisons so thanks for the hard work as always Joe! I always thought the idea of a hidden soundtrack within games that have been dormant and waiting to be heard here in the US was so amazing and incredible that I generally like to play with the FM version as I feel it sounds "cleaner" in most instances but the fact that you can choose between PSG and FM is just a fantastic option. Keep up the good work as always man!

[@DocSherbert]

Keep doing what you love Joe. Keeping it fresh.

[@richpope7218]

......or a Ms. Game Sack? or a Game Sack Jr? Or a Super Game Sack? Or a Game Sack Championship Turbo Edition? Or a Game Sack 64? Cmon, slacker!

[@billyretrogamer]

I just had the fm module mod installed into my master system (installed by Ifixretro) early in March, and it’s been AWESOME!!!

[@notenoughmonkeys]

I was playing the Master System games without the best possible sound quality? FM....L.