Sega Master System - What makes this system special.

[@hezekiahramirez6965]

I never knew about the Master System until I was an adult. I now prefer it to the NES. I grew up with an NES, SNES, Genesis, Game Boy, Game Gear, and Lynx plus whatever I played in arcades and on the PC so I had access to a lot of games between rentals, purchases, trades with friends, arcades, etc. So imagine my surprise when I found out a whole console existed that I had never heard of. Guys and gals, I'm telling you... It was a revelation. I was at least aware of the Neo-Geo, TG-16, and 3DO but SMS just passed by completely unnoticed by me. By then I had gotten a controller and started to download old ROMs so I played a lot of the games and now I think it's a shame more people haven't played a lot of these games. Wonder Boy 3 is an all timer. I love action adventure RPGs and that's one of my favorites. It's so fun and while I do see that the stunlock gets annoying and there are some cheap deaths I think it's one of the best 8-bit games ever made

[@chrisbee1984]

I love the master system. It was the first console I had as a kid. Psycho Fox was the first game I ever completed.

[@deathofkings5633]

Wow. That’s a tough one.

[@alessandroguerriero7858]

meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee tooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

[@BaronVonYolo]

Got it in 1987 and it was my first console too. First game I ever completed was either Wonder Boy or Golden Axe I think...

[@ShadowAngel606]

@@BaronVonYolo I can tell a funny story with the MS Golden Axe: It was christmas and i started to play the game, while we were waiting for the presents and all the stuff to get ready. We were called to get the presents but i was just about to reach the last 2 levels so i screamed "the presents can wait" :D My family was weirded out, came over and started to laugh when i told them "I'm sooooo close to finish the game". They watched me playing all the way through. Wasn't my first game to finish on the MS (Can't remember all but i definitely beat Castle of Illusion, Asterix and Enduro Racer before)

[@ShadowAngel606]

@@deathofkings5633 Actually one of the easier ones. Try Rambo 3, Secret Command/Rambo2, Cloud Master or Shadow of the Beast in terms of difficult

[@jonathanross149]

I bought a Master System as a kid in the 80's because I wanted to rebel from the NES. I have never owned an NES, and only Nintendo systems I have ever owned was a Game Boy and an Advanced Game Boy.

[@hattrickjmr]

Great video. Accidentally omitted Phantasy Star 1 and the RPG category. A lot of kids back in the day wanted a SMS for the RPG’s.

[@atariboy9084]

My first time getting the Master System was in late 86 after me and my family moved to Brooklyn at the time and saw it at a Family Discount Store that sells lots of home items, toys and games and saw it for $119 and I like the box art and also the Light Gun looks cool so I bought it and got some games and it still with me to this day.

[@joeo1725]

Damn....built to last back then. I've had each of my last 3 ps4 controllers break within 3 months!!!!!

[@kiwicedric687]

My first game system at the time here in France 🙂

[@2bin]

"Master system mini" has a nice ring to it.

[@CaptainCaveman1170]

Nintendo's policy of preventing their third party developers from making games for the competition REALLY harmed the Master System's potential. Thankfully, the policy was found to be illegal, but the damage was already done. I had a Master System and loved it, but years later I discovered the main reason it flopped (in North America) and it was a rather upsetting discovery. Imagine a Contra, Castlvania, Tecmo Bowl or even Sunsoft's Batman on the SMS (among so many others). :-(

[@HollowRick]

It would have been amazing at least it had master of darkness as a castlevania substite 😂

[@KrunchyTheClown78]

It hurt the 7800 as well.

[@Ksathra2012]

Also add in the TG16 and other consoles and handhelds

[@mtreams72]

Great video. As a SMS owner back in the 80s, it sure took me back. Everyone has their favorites, of course, but for me, you can't talk about the SMS without mentioning either "Choplifter", or "Phantasy Star".

[@thetruth1862]

Both games where awesome

[@loveandrockets4life]

13:36 The SMS version came out before the Game Gear version and can therefore not be considered a "port".

[@ShadowAngel606]

Actually the game was developed for the new Game Gear first. As the story goes, Yuzo Koshiro told Sega he could develop games. So he got tasked with developing a Game Gear version of Sonic. This led to Koshiro founding Ancient. During development Sega asked them to also do a port for the Master System. Yes, the Game Gear version was released 10 days later, but it was the first version to be created and the MS version was a subsequent port of it. Understandable, since outside of Europe and Brazil the Master System didn't sell, while Sega hoped the Game Gear would be a massive success. So the claim is correct.

[@markchambers3833]

​@@ShadowAngel606​ Not correct. As with most GG/MS crossovers, the game was developed for both systems at the same time. Which is obvious, since the systems are very similar - more colours on GG, higher resolution on MS. The way you tell it, you'd think they finished the Game Gear game then decided to patch up a version for the MS as an afterthought! 😂 The Master System was anything but an afterthought for Sega. It was a key part of their worldwide sales strategy which is why they gave it serious support through to 1995. The sales figures alone confirm this. PAL sales of MS Sonic were just shy of 3 million units (with an additional 3 million units in Brazil). Whereas GG Sonic sold only 150,000 units. You have to remember that the year before Sonic launched (1991), Sega had invested a lot of money launching the redesigned Master System 2. MS Sonic is not a port from the GG, nor is GG Sonic a port from the MS. They're two versions produced by the same team at the same time for two virtually (but not quite) identical systems.

[@ShadowAngel606]

@@markchambers3833 Doesn't change the fact, that the game was originally created for the Game Gear. As for your sales numbers: You need to do some proper research. 1. Sonic was of course almost instantly bundled with any new Master System being sold. Obviously that drives up the "sale" number but also makes it not a real sale number at all. 2. The 150,000, you propably took from Sega Retro without further looking, was just the number of units sold in the North American market of the Fiscal Year 1997, not total worldwide sales. That should be obvious without even having to think too hard.Especially since the 13,8 million directly next to it make it obvious that it sold a lot more (and again, that's just the NA sales) try harder and do some proper research next time.

[@mattsmedley.onehandedgamin9029]

My favourite 8bit console. Grew up with on as living in the UK, where Nintendo NES wasn't as popular due to high pricing and import delays with no support for the independent retailers from Nintendo. Good times with happy memories of the mighty master system.

[@HollowRick]

I was about to post something similar but this says exactly what I was going to say haha it blows my mind how people in the UK nowadays forget this and somehow have second hand nostalgia from American KZbinrs banging on about the NES 😅

[@mattsmedley.onehandedgamin9029]

@@HollowRick I'm a child of the 70s, first machine was a zx speccy 48k rubber key & a black & white TV (then 128k speccy). Got the master system which served me well before getting the Amiga A500 Batman pack in whatever year that came out. Never owned a Nintendo NES, yes I did get a Gameboy & SNES when SF2 was released. But the mighty master system will always be my favourite 8 bit console (it has such a happy sound chip that is instantly recognisable to the ear). 👍

[@joeo1725]

So true 👍 😊

[@videogamemusicrenditionsby7625]

What happpend to the SMS in the US was what happend to the NES in Europe... The Mastet System was king in nearly the 44 countries here in Europe (plus countries such as Brazil and Australia) whereas the NES was famous mainly in the US and Japan. I don"t know how we should look at such scenerio: The numbers of consoles sold or the number of countries where they were succesful?

[@HollowRick]

​@@mattsmedley.onehandedgamin9029that's brilliant I love seeing other peoples console history My first System was the master system then we got a mega drive and then a playstation 1 :)

[@audiolatte]

No Phantasy Star???? that game blew my mind as a kid

[@healthandbeauty101]

Black Belt was my favorite master system game. The music is fantastic and stayed with me to this day. I also loved Shinobi, Double Dragon, Choplifter, and Astro Warrior! I still remember getting the system on my 7th birthday at Chuck E Cheese. Memories.

[@glenraven6223]

Haha black belt, use to love that game ,the bosses were hard though

[@chaospoet]

Getting a Master System at Chuck E Cheese on your birthday had to have been one of those life moments when you felt like you were King of the world.

[@thetruth1862]

I never beat Shinobi but I must have beat Black Belt 1 million times!

[@captaincorleone7088]

Thanks for this video. It's always nice to see the SMS receive appreciation. It underperformed in North America but did extremely well in the UK, Europe and Brazil. There's a homebrew CD for the Dreamcast that features almost every SMS (and GG for that matter) release and it runs perfectly. That's how I play SMS games nowadays and it's still on a Sega console. 🙂

[@obvfw]

I was surprised to find out that Wonder Boy: the Dragon's Trap on the Switch was originally a Master System game. The new artwork is gorgeous and the music is incredible, and you can switch back to the old graphics and sounds with the press of a button. They even added an FM Sounds option!

[@markchambers3833]

I'm pretty sure the FM sound on WBIII is original to the game, although I'd need to check as it's been a while since I played it. The games with FM sound were programmed with both an FM and a PSG soundtrack. On original hardware, the game detects whether the system has the FM sound unit; if so, it plays the FM soundtrack, otherwise it selects PSG. You can play MS games with the FM soundtrack on the MD/Genesis using an Everdrive. (The MD is back compatible with the MS.) The MD's Yamaha sound chip is an upgraded version of the MS's FM chip.

[@Owazrim]

Really underrated system and games.

[@arcadedbeast]

Master System was my first console and i loved it so much. Alien 3 and Bonanza Bros and Fantasy Zone were my favorites. In my neighbourhood pretty much every one had a Master System so we all got to enjoy a huge amount of games by loaning cartdidges.

[@DrAndyShick]

I got a Master System for Christmas in 1987 when I was 6. I had asked my parents for an NES, but my parents, not wanting to indulge my every wish, got me a Master System instead, which cost $50 more and which I gave away to my cousin a month later. I had to work for the money to get one myself in Dec 1988 (similar to the story of 8 Bit Christmas, good movie if you haven't seen it)

[@mikew2151]

I had a SEGA Master System when I was a kid and thought it was great! My favorite games were Space Harrier, Rambo 1st Blood Part 2, and Zillion... I don't have the system anymore but I do have all the games on my PC. ;) ;)

[@learrus]

I had no idea about the Golden Axe rpg. I would have gone nuts over that as a kid!

[@HollowRick]

I did go nuts over that a long with Govellius I didn't know Zelda existed until Links awakening on the game boy 😂

[@DragonPop64]

Hope all you collector's realize you're helping preserve these amazing games. Keep up collecting and protecting these physical games and systems! We need them for the future so we can one day replicate the machines spec for spec

[@deathofkings5633]

Goldenaxe warrior and phantasy star were both awesome experiences I enjoyed as unlockables on Genesis for Xbox 360. Making maps for phantasy star on grid paper was wild.

[@sammitman3031]

Master System was my first game console, and still one of my favs. my fav games on it were and are Ghost House, Wonder Boy in Monster Land, and Gangster Town

[@Aaronwilliam]

I was a NES boy through n through, one friend had the Master System, it was like forbidden fruit especially during the Sega/Nintendo School Playground Wars of the late 80s early 90s, ha

[@CasperEgas]

It was my first console. Had 12 games for it as a little kid. I now have a full Dutch set, with some US imports as extras. I also have a PAL SC-3000H. It is worth a look too!

[@birdsoup777]

When i got a SMS in 1986, fist game was Acton Fighter. I had the following: Choplifter, Ninja, Kensiden, Enduro Racer, Zillion, Alex the Kid, Wonder Boy. Alien Syndrome, Rambo, Quartet, Fantasy Zone, and Rambo.

[@roberto1519]

Give the NES dominance from a install base and third party perspective, managing to sell a little over 23 million (13~ around the world plus 8+ million in Brazil) and the amount of good games it received, mostly from SEGA themselves, is quite the achievement. It was great they've kept the Genesis fully compatible with the Master System, the Power Base looked cool and the controller is better, an early backwards compatibility done right, supporting card games and its peripherals. Can you imagine if Capcom, Konami, Data East, Sunsoft and more supported the system? Not from a business point of view, the expanded capabilities of the system would have rendered great Contras, Castlevanias, Batmans, and many exclusives only available for the NES. Phantasy Star wasn't mentioned in this video, still, no NES RPG comes close visually, it was released at the same time as the first Final Fantasy. Asterix 8-bit games were popular outside the US, Black Belt is simple fun, Batman Returns is much better than the 16-bit release, I prefer the 8-bit Castle of Illusion, the list goes on. Have you checked Deep Duck Trouble Starring Donald Duck? The system have some games that are quite impressive.

[@lukewood7060]

Golvellius was my fondest memory from that system. Such a great game!

[@cessnaace]

I bought my SMS Model 1 new as an adult. I had planned to buy an NES but when I saw that Sega had a console I got the SMS instead. Years later I imported a Japanese SMS, which will also play games for the SG-1000, SC-3000, and Mark III. The Japanese SMS looks just like a Model 1, except for built-in Rapid Fire, 3D hardware, and built-in Yamaha FM Sound. The cartridge slot is a different size, so as to handle the games for their earlier systems. There's also a Rapid Fire fire button top-left. The Pause button is top-right. Both of my SMS consoles are still working great! Much better designed than the NES Model 1.

[@retrogamingknight]

I was aware of the Japanese Master System sharing the shell design of the US model 1, and the built-in FM sound, but I didn't realize it had the 3D adapter and the rapid fire built in.

[@cessnaace]

@@retrogamingknight Yes, and since the 3D hardware is built into the Japanese SMS you don't use the card slot. There is a small mini-plug jack beside the card slot that you plug the glasses into instead. Yesterday I was cleaning my SMS consoles and was reminded that the Japanese SMS has no RF output. AV only.

[@cubeflinger]

My first console. In the UK they were very popular. Half my friends had Nintendo and half had sega and some spoilt kids had both. In retrospect I wish they shipped the fm synth as standard as the noise it makes grates but some fantastic games out there. Highly recommend asterix

[@meganmarie5243]

this was the first console i had access to as a kid. my dad had bought it when it first came out. i would’ve been about 6/7 years old in the 90s and we had the box tv in the wood cabinet. i would play Hang On constantly and eventually screwed up the tv because of it. i would continue to play this console into teenage years while having access to other consoles thanks to friends. i would eventually come to play zillion and obsess on that game on the weekends when i would go to my dads house after my parents divorce. not mention playing golf, football, baseball and sometimes wrestling with dad. it’s somehow became lost somewhere in the family. i would love to own this console again.

[@iwanttocomplain]

Here's the thing about dissing Alex Kidd by saying he's "Sega's _attempt_ to copy Mario". Not just an accessible game in the most popular genre, using a cute cartoon character, as if N invented that. Did you know, that the concept of breaking blocks was _stolen_ by N from Boulderdash?! There is a fundamental difference in the design of these two characters, however. As Mario dazes in wonder into the middle distance, or somewhere just in front of his nose, Alex glares with determination and focus in the original design at least. His eyes have darkened lines beneath them to signify determination in a threatening situation. He is a martial artist.

[@VulpisFoxfire]

One of the quirks of the system was that due to how the controller port was wired, you could quite easily use an Atari 2600 joystick with it for anything that only needed one button. When I had mine, I also had a 9-strand cable from a broken C64 mouse that I used to wire to a 2600 stick for use with Afterburner, that had the stick button fired missles, and the machinegun button line was shorted so you had autofire. Great fun back in the day. :-) And for some reason, I always liked the more angular look of the Phaser to Nintendo's Zapper, too.

[@markchambers3833]

The Light Phaser looks very cool. It's also very accurate and responsive. Plus the games for it are excellent. Wanted and Gangster Town are real highlights, but I can't think of a bad light gun game on the system.

[@StevieDrawStuff]

I still have my Master System I got in 1986 for Christmas. I loved it then and I still love it. My 3D Glasses and everything still work too.

[@thetruth1862]

I got mine for Christmas 86 as well !

[@EDFCentral]

I got the Master System for Christmas 1987. I asked for a Nintendo, but "Santa" brought me a Master System. I had no idea what it was, and over the years realized I was the only one in my neighborhood who had one. Despite that one kid in school who had one, but we didn't get along lol. Anyway, I gave it away to my girlfriend at the times little brother around 96-97. I say all this to say that I just got it back in the mail a couple days ago complete with the 6 games I had for it at the time. He had held on to it for nearly 30 years and graciously gave it back to me free of charge. Christmas morning all over again.

[@BeingKyleBusch18]

Mistakenly came across your video of the Sega master System. I owned the majority of the video game consoles, growing up. I was born in 1973, so i was a 70's baby, an 80's kid and a 90's teen. I owned a Sega Master System, Nes and everything before and after them. I either played Atari. Colecovision or owned them at some point. I have a very rich history with video games as a child, being i was exposed to almost all of them and was aware of everything out at the time. This is because of one of my uncles that was wheel chair bound, being he could not movie from the waste down. He purchased so many video game consoles, so me and my 3 siblings would play them all the time. The Sega master system was an odd one for me. I liked it a lot but as of today. i don't have a fondness for the Sega Master System as much as the Turbo Grafx 16 for example. or the Sega Genesis or Nes. Don't get me wrong, i have nostalgia for the SMS..... I remember going to my local mall as a kid and buying SMS cartages when i came across some cash. I remember playing rocky, Ninja master, alex kid, ghost house, great basketball and more. But i eventually forgot about the old girl, SMS and moved on and never looked back.....until i installed an SMS emulator on my modded wiiU a couple years ago and had a blast, catching up with an old friend. ^_^ Thanks for uploading the video...I had a walk down memory lane. :P

[@retrogamingknight]

Glad to hear that you have some good memories of the Master System. Sadly there were 3 times as many games released in Europe than in North America. If we had some of those exclusives, it would have looked like more of a contender against the NES.

[@gimmedaloot754]

Got the Master System for Xmas as an excited kid!!

[@Domarius64]

As an Australian who grew up with this system as the main gaming console in the house until the Super Nintendo, I am amazed at what a good high-level overview you gave for this system considering you only really got into it in recent years. Dead set, WB3 is so good, I couldn't part with it when we sold everything else and I still have the original copy with manual to this day!

[@eversosleight]

Master of Darkness, Golden Axe Warrior, Ghouls and ghosts, holy cow, these are just some of the fantastic titles Master System offers. You mentioned the graphics on Shinobi blowing NES port out of the water and I agree. Shoot, nearly everything on MS looks like SNES or Genesis graphics. And I'm a NES fanboy but hats off to the MS 😃👍 It deserves some serious credit for being ahead of it's time and revisiting value! Great vid my friend!

[@xTerrySunderlandx]

the master system graphical chip was better than the nes, that is no news, so game look better for a reason, but lets not go that far to say "like snes or genesis" hahahaha

[@roberto1519]

True, some Master System games are so close to 16-bit, makes us wonder why some other more spartan games look so sad. As for NES Shinobi, in all honesty, both the SMS and NES games could have looked so much better, take Batman - Return of the Joker for the NES, makes many 16-bit games look bad, Aladdin on the SMS is just beautiful, with neat 3D-like effects, great sprite work and colors. I like SMS Shinobi, but both releases could have been much more, specially the NES which, otherwise handled by Sunsoft or another good developer, would have.

[@tabsntoot]

There is a bootleg port for nes called super shinobi by super games who made a bunch of audacious nes ports like boogerman and donkey Kong country it’s quite impressive

[@roberto1519]

@@tabsntoot I never heard of those, thanks for the suggestion!

[@hezekiahramirez6965]

I think the visuals are more accurately compared to the TurboGraphix-16, tho certainly not quite as capable. It's definitely graphically superior to the NES tho. I still think a lot of the games look pretty good. Wonder Boy 3 looks good to this day, I think

[@JohnnyRebel1776]

Idk what exactly attracted me to the Master System but every time i went to toys R us as a kid to buy a NES game i always spent some time drooling over the SMS console and games. Eventually i got to play a few SMS games on a friend's Power Base Converter but this was a weekend rental type situation. Anyway, around 20 when i was working and had some extra cash i started looking for and collecting. Found a MS with several games at a local thrift type store that i stole for like 40 dollars at the time. Even tho i now play the games on an emulator i still have my MS in storage and some fond memories. If i ever win the lottery i'm going to buy one new off eBay 😂

[@sasoriko]

I lived in the US and I had a Master System growing up. All my friends had Nintendo but would come to my house to play Double Dragon as it was definitely better. Alex Kidd in miracle world made Janken (rock, paper, scissors) a must in my friend group. Wonder Boy the dragons trap changed my whole life that game was amazing from top to bottom. Any game that was on Nintendo and Master System was better on the Sega from my recollection. I remained a sega fan all the way to the Saturn. Sega was my childhood.

[@SaadAzim]

Great video, dude. I *think* the reason the Master System had the pause button on the machine, and only two buttons on the controller was because of the system's backwards compatibility with the SG 1000 and SG 1000 II. Also, if you're not familiar with "Sagaia" (AKA "Darius") on the Master System, I highly suggest checking it out. :)

[@retrogamingknight]

Thanks. I have played Sagaia, but don't own a copy because I have the Genesis/MD version and outside of the N.A. releases, I've mostly been focusing on the console exclusives.

[@flyinghippo5767]

As a 90s kid raised on Nintendo, I missed out on the Master System entirely. Once I got an Anbernic handheld a few years and started to really explore fullsets of retro systems, I fell in love with the Master System. It's such a cool system with some great and unique titles, some honorable mentions being Ghost House, Kenseiden, Ys: Ancient Vanished Omen, and Ultima 4.

[@MrLandale]

You didn't mension Phantasy Star? That's a reason on it's own to get a Master System. Argubly the greatest 8-bit RPG ever!

[@retrogamingknight]

In a top 10 list, Phantasy Star would have ranked very high (1-3), but I felt that RPGs weren't very representative of overall lineup of the Master System. There are only a few RPGs on the system, so PS doesn't really fit into the theme of most games on the system.

[@MrLandale]

​@@retrogamingknight Phantasy Star is what makes Master System so special, in my opinion. A game that is appreciated as much today as it was 35 years ago. It was the killer app. A game that put sega on the map as something more than just an arcade game developer. It sold more units than any other games for the system.

[@fgfhjfhjfbhfghf5771]

​@@retrogamingknightit's literally the only good master system game if that isn't representative material idk what is

[@neverping]

Master System was quite huge in Brazil. I am glad seeing someone collecting the console on a late moment and realising how good the console is. When it comes to overall architecture (Z-80 processor), I think the Master System is the best system that brough the perfect combination of elements to make a good usage of this processor, excluding the Game Boy.

[@reagandow850]

What a great video. So glad I recently found (and subscribed) to your channel. The Master System truly has many phenomenal games and was certainly the better system. Unfortunately it never caught on here in America like it did in the UK. Nintendo really had their foot on the neck’s of the retail stores in America and successfully kept many stores from even selling this system. I love playing games on this system still today.

[@PongbyAtari]

I bought the Master System before picking up a NES. I was managing a small town video rental store and our VHS/Beta distributor also had access for video games and consoles. I love both the SMS & NES lots of found memories of both and thanks to FPGA I still enjoy playing both often.

[@greybush38]

Owned one growing up, loved all the arcade conversions.

[@victorgagnon5929]

I didn't think it was possible to make a video like this without mentioning Phantasy Star (or did I somehow miss it? I'm a bit sleepy between night shifts), but you did it -- it's okay; I'll still like the video. I appreciate the info on a system near and dear to my heart (2nd one we had growing up)!

[@retrogamingknight]

I did not feature Phantasy Star in this video, although I might have made a quick mention of it. I wanted to focus on the types of games representative of Sega's overall direction with the console and set it apart from the competition, not necessarily the best games released. RPGs were few and far between, especially in the U.S. so I felt like Phantasy Star or Ys Vanished Omens didn't really fit in this one.

[@fgfhjfhjfbhfghf5771]

​@@retrogamingknightPhantasy Star is literally the only good Master System game. If that isn't representative material idk what is

[@forcaportugal2012]

​@@fgfhjfhjfbhfghf5771The only good Master System game??? LOL

[@markchambers3833]

​@@fgfhjfhjfbhfghf5771​​​ "...Literally the only good Master System game"! 😂😂😂😂😂 You need to play more Master System matey. Easily the best true 8 bit system with a phenomenal library of great games. The only way you could think Phantasy Star is the only good game on the Master System would be if Phantasy Star were the only Master System game you've ever played. I think it's safe to say that the guy who made the video has a much better idea of what represents the console than someone who appears to have never played anything on it!

[@SnarkyRC]

The Master System is great. I have pretty much have every game from USA, Japan, Europe and Brazil.

[@KnoxAnder]

Brooooo! Hearing the Shinobi music is taking me waaaaaaaay back. I never did beat that game. I was to young and it was very hard for me at the time. Great video!

[@smallmj2886]

Big omission with Phantasy Star. It was groundbreaking.

[@HollowRick]

Aa a person from the the UK the master system was more popular here mostly because of a whole load of factors that contributed to the system Doing much better in Europe. The market conditions that the Famicom/NES entered entered in Japan and NA just weren't there. It wasn't some cutting edge piece of kit or a timely bounceback for an industry driven to the brink by Atari's excesses. Home computers kept gaming alive in Europe throughout the 80s to a far greater degree than in the US. There was no crash. Then Nintendo just took their sweet time getting here - the console wasn't widespread until 87, by which time it was sharing shelf-space with the Master System. From that point it's an uphill battle - the visuals aren't that great compared to the more colourful Master System. A portion of the more sophisticated NES games aren't going to make it over, or will take ages to make it over, because of the localization effort required. Nintendo continued to price hardware and software at Nintendo prices, in a market where people have been used to buying super-cheap cassette games (I mean, *when* they bought software at all, the greatest competitor was piracy). Funnily enough, I suspect what really kicked the Master System into gear in Europe was the release of the Mega Drive. It sounds like a paradox - I mean, the MD is basically what killed the same machine in Japan and North America. But the Master System got priced really aggressively while the Mega Drive was more of a premium machine. Thing is, the "premium machine" in most households probably wasn't a console - it was more likely an Amiga or some other home computer. So you've got this cheap little system - the Master System II redesign that you buy to attach to your TV that your younger kids can play. Heck, even that Sonic game everyone is talking about is on it now? Then there's loads of these systems out there so the games keep coming - active development on the virtually hardware identical Game Gear keeps stuff coming over from Japan, and the European developers continue to take a punt on it because they've done 8-bit stuff for years, so why not if the market's there? Nintendo just didn't make that move, so the NES just never became that popular.

[@retrogamingknight]

That's some great insight into the gaming market of the 80s in the UK. There were definitely some major differences to how the US market developed.

[@2bstiff584]

not many know this with the OG master system released in the U.S. turn it on with no game and you got 3 build in games 1 for the gun and 2 others I can only remember the name of the gun game it was Splat

[@ecmyersvids]

Great overview of the system! I've been wanting to play more Master System games; I never had one, as I grew up an NES kid, but it has a large library of 8-bit games I've missed out on. I can only play them on my MiSTer at the moment, but I would love to get a real console and at least an EverDrive to get started. I kind of want the original Master System just because it looks so cool, but the console is so large it won't fit in my gaming unit, and it seems kind of expensive these days.

[@MaxOakland]

The thing that's starting to attract me to the master system is the colors. It's still 8-bit but it's so much more colorful than NES and the 16-color palettes mean the graphics can look almost 16-bit when done well

[@Draw2quit]

Master system was my first console. I saved all my wages from my paper round to buy it and whilst it had its limitations, I don't regret buying it at all. Standouts for me on the system were Sonic, Wonderboy 3 and Bubble Bobble.

[@chaospoet]

I had a friend who had one when it came out in the 80s. I had NES so between us we both got to experience both systems. It wasn't until I was older that I learned how uncommon of an experience that was. I consider myself lucky. Have very fond memories of playing Double Dragon and Rambo (the other Rambo game not Rambo 3 in this video). I also remember my friend's Dad got Phantasy Star and all of us were floored when we saw the dungeons for the first time. Wanted my own for years but they were next to impossible to find. Wasn't until like 10 years ago I found one complete with the box. It's my favorite thing in my collection. Only have about a dozen or so games, I pick stuff up here and there if I see a good deal (like finding a few years ago a CIB copy of YS for $20!). But I've got some good stuff like Shinobi, Rastan, Golvelius and Wonder Boy 3 (one of my favorite games period regardless of era or system). So while my collection may be small it's top quality.

[@AvoidantTS]

I own a Master System console since 1990 and it has some of my favorite games such as the ones you mentioned , Alex Kidd in Shinobi World, R-Type, Rescue Mission, among many others. It's a very unique system, even though the NES has a much greater and better game library.

[@markchambers3833]

😂 The NES really doesn't have a better games library. Americans think it does because they're almost completely ignorant of system. Granted, the NES has over 700 games but half of those titles are shovelware or complete dross. The MS has over 300 games with a remarkable consistency of quality. There are very few bad games on the system and, as you'll see in any side by side comparison, the MS blows the NES out of the water. Quality over quantity. Don't get me wrong, the NES is good and has some great games, games I'd have loved to have had growing up. That said, I feel lucky that we had the full MS experience in the UK because it's a far better console.

[@teddyaldridge7871]

Micro machines was a very faithful port that was on par with the 16 bit market. Robocop v terminator. When Murphy spoke “thank you for your cooperation!” I nearly spat my tea out, no way the master system had THAT in the tank! It was amazing. Graphically it was impressive too. Street Figher on the MS was cool. There were so many games that made the MSX which shouldn’t have but was so good that they did.

[@mattparr3038]

Transport was the first game I played on Sega. The music is very nostalgic for me.

[@rafaelalvarezotero6675]

Thanks for reminding me the reasons I bought a master instead a nes. Lately, I started to think that I was wrong.

[@dc110770]

I’ve never owned a NES but have owned a SNES, Megadrive, PlayStation 1 to 4 and a Switch. The Master System holds up really well, quite popular here in England at the time.

[@Dansteindler]

This video was awesome, bro!! It brought back so many memories!! I can't thank you enough.

[@iwanttocomplain]

The Master System won out over the NES/Famicom in sales in territories outside of the US and Japan selling closer to 20mill according to my sources, averaging 20 games sold per console to the NES’s 8 games per console (tie rate). Resulting in 420mill game sales to the NES’s 500mill. Probably netting Sega roughly double the profit that Nintendo generated from the NES, considering that the consoles themselves do not generate profit. The NES didn’t make sense as a purchase for most people due to it’s high cost and limited library in PAL territories. The games were quite limited when compared to the Master System. The earliest Hanes I experienced on the SMS were The Ninja, Fantasy Zone, Double Dragon, Hang-On and Safari Hunt (built in) and R-Type. The NES I only saw Super Mario Brothers and Double Dragon. NES colour pallet was a strange thing. The colours are earth-tones and very low contrast and fit some reason a lot of games were very black and orange, green and purple. I read once the system was specced to play an arcade perfect Donkey Kong. So the colour choices can be explained when you consider arcade games at that time like say Galaxian were mostly small sprites on a black background so if the colours were more saturated, they would kind of bleed out into the black area and resonate a bit too strongly. In the background plane, a 2x2 group of 4 (8x8 pixel) tiles must share the same 4 colour pallet. Having looked closely at the NES library I feel strongly the system enjoys it’s spotless reputation on KZbin almost entirely based on brand loyalty and nostalgia. It does have good games, don’t get me wrong. Smash TV is better than in the SMS although the levels for some reason go on way too long, kind of spoiling it. But when you’re 8 you only have the game’s that are available to play in store and at friends houses to base your opinion on. Suffice to say, my opinion on the NES was pretty dim. Huge giant console and cartridges costing double and giving you half. It’s no wonder it more or less tanked. Nintendo had a knack of capturing the attention of people very early on then not following up with much. Super Mario Bros and Duck Hunt defines the system for the US, selling gangbusters in a short period of time. With it’s charming ‘black box’ consistent box designs and first party games offering a cohesive and charming ‘video-gamey’ art style with titles like Wild Gunman, Punch Out, Kid Icarus and Ice Climber. Making them easy to identify with the brand. Zelda is a simple to understand game with an emotional, reverent melody that almost cradles you in it’s safeness and confidence. Nintendo build a brand like nobody else. The cohesiveness of the narrative across its library invite you to engage with it’s warm and cozy safe place. You’re always the underdog hero and the games are designed to draw you into the atmosphere and world building of the stories. Never complicated or disturbing. Which is where I think the term Nintendrone cane about. They won’t criticise anything Nintendo does. They might pay lip service to a competing brand but they are fiercely loyal. Their favourite video game brand is uncritically adored. But there’s never an in-between, I find. You are either an acolyte or are kind of repelled by their message and tone. It’s not about games, as much as it’s about loyalty and worship.

[@iwanttocomplain]

The NES colours are a result of efficiencies that exploit particularities of CRT TV's, involving chroma or something. Some of the colours are too close to be considered different and there is no pure black or white.

[@KrunchyTheClown78]

I feel the same way about the Atari 7800. A great console that was hurt badly by Nintendo. I really hope you cover that console too, it really deserves more love.

[@OldAussieAds]

6:10 - The start button was one of the two buttons on the controller. The Pause button and start button weren't the same button like on the NES. And yes, it would have been better on the controller. However Sega used the standard Atari DB9 port for their controllers, so leaving off fancy stuff meant there were more third party options.

[@allan6992]

Great video, buddy. Am hoping you’ll be gaining some more subscribers as you definitely deserve them! Enjoyed hearing about your own personal history with the console. I grew up with the Master System and the Genesis/Mega Drive and never knew the NES existed until I was like 30 😂

[@retrogamingknight]

Thanks. Sounds like you had the complete opposite childhood experience from me. Everyone I knew had to have an NES, and I don't ever remember even seeing a Master System in stores while it was being produced. Genesis was different, Sega really pushed that console with their "Genesis Does" ads.

[@benbjr]

My first and favorite console of all time...nostalgia reasons right? I used to be the black sheep in my neighborhood, all other kids had Nintendo and when inviting them to go to my house to play, they always said...He doesn't have a Nintendo, let's stay here lol Great video man, congrats from a Brazilian retro gamer.

[@Black_Raven9938]

I got my first SMS this year and absolutely adore it. There is no nostalgia but actual feeling about console! I thought it would be pale NES clone but system has it's own face. In fact, Contra and TMNT is the only flaw of SMS - other titles often have their own unique answers: Final Fantasy - Phantasy Star, Castlevania - Vampire/Kenseiden, Zelda - Golden Axe Warrior, Road Fighter - Action Fighter, Duck Hunt - Safary Hunt, Adventure Island - Wonder Boy, etc.

[@Loagz_Beatz]

Very good video man. It's a shame this didn't do better back then. I only heard of it when I was older, I had no idea there even were systems before the genesis or I would have bought them long ago!

[@jonathanross149]

The joy of beating my 1st JRPG "Miracle Warriors" without any help as a kid.

[@donkeyparadise9276]

Great vid

[@ShadeofJeremy]

I got into it with the Master System II. I didn't have many games, but I loved the system. I regret getting rid of it to this day. I had the Power Base for the Genesis so at the time I didn't feel I needed it. I wish I had kept it though. Phantasy Star was hands down my favorite game on the system.

[@RlsIII-uz1kl]

I went to elementary school with the guy named Jason with a younger sister named Jennifer and he had one of these. I got to play it but never knew anyone else who had this system.

[@nitrofurano_]

sms is a console that is a pleasure trying to code for it, from the development tools we have available now

[@freakshowfilmfestival3591]

We had a Master System growing up. We didn't have a NES. But I loved it. It came with Hang On and Safari Hunt and they are awesome. (They are no Mario and Duck Hunt, but still awesome) And we had After Burner and my brother would pop on the Top Gun soundtrack. Lol

[@myflyisopen.8732]

Nothing like the Master System. I chose it over the NES because of Space Harrier (I knew it wouldn't come out on the NES at that time), brighter colors, and the generally more powerful hardware. I might have had a Telstar, Coleco Tank, a 2600 and a C64, but the Master System is my personal favorite. Even if I had gotten every gen machine, I still come back to the SMS!

[@josephperry1356]

Surprisingly, I only every had one friend that owned a Master System. I was able to play a few times, both floppy and cartridge titles, but the friend had way more cartridges than floppy. I thought it was pretty neat. Double Dragon played smoothly. But my intro this system was like in 1990, so the system was already past its prime, and this friend already had a Sega Genesis and playing Altered Beast, Insector X and others on a big screen tv was too tempting to pass up.

[@afriend9428]

*Great video sir And the truth is the unit is HUGE in South America mostly Brazil and Europe!!*

[@saynotop2w]

I neither had NES nor the MS back in the day, so I like the perspectives of someone who had them back then.

[@2girls1up]

I remember playing hang on for this system as like a 4 year old at my church!!

[@Puckanm]

Nice video. I was a NES Kid and never knew this system existed only the 16bit genesis.

[@putzmeisterdeluxe1204]

Super wonder boy 3 - dragons trap is one of my all time favourite games. I live in sweden and got the master system in 87.

[@thehumbleone1983]

❤️ the Sega Master System 👍 great video

[@KhawChing]

You missed another thing you could buy for it. They had a joystick you could buy that had the 2 buttons on the left versus the gamepad having them on the right. The top of the joystick was pretty big making it easy to wrap your fingers around. It's what I mostly used when I played back then. I got the system my sophomore year in high school. All my friends had Nintendo. I played the demo systems at Federrated and kept going back to the Master System over the Nintendo because the graphics just looked so much better more like what the real arcade games looked and played like. So I asked for that instead of the NES. Christmas or my birthday, I don't recall which, I got the SMS. I got Transbot, Afterburner and Zillion with it. Transbot was a hit with my sisters and my parents. I got a bunch more games as time went on. I got the F16 Fighting Falcon simulator game because I wanted to join the Air Force, but alas I was medically disqualified from serving in any of the armed forces from a childhood accident. I got a couple different RPG type games that I played a lot of. Zillion was one my friends came over to play along with Double Dragon because it was more like the arcade. I had Cyborg Hunter which was alright I guess. It was neat but also kinda weird. Zillion II was another I got but the game play was significantly different than the original Zillion game so I didn't play II and much as I played the original. As I got older I got a Genesis on my own and didn't play much of my SMS. I always wanted to get the game adapter but never did get it. So the SMS sat idle. My Mom asked if my Niece could have it to play and I told her and my Niece both that she could but when she didn't want to play it anymore I wanted it back. Well apparently nobody cared because years down the road when I asked about it, I was informed my Niece sold it because she needed money for rent... It still pisses me off to this day and I keep looking at them on eBay thinking about getting one. But then I see the adapters for the Genesis as well and think I may just get one of those and buy the games I like again. Now I see a Mega Drive cartridge in your video that has most of the games already on it and I'm about to try to find one of those because if I can get it and use it in my Genesis? HELL YEA!

[@jotacepv]

Loved the Master System since I saw it depicted in Micromania (most famous videogames magazine in Spain those days). My cousin got one, but my parents didn't like consoles, so we got microcomputer instead. Recently I have found a Master system 1 on a good price and bought it (never liked the second version). I'm enjoying it a lot, and thinking about FM mod. Also, its a beatiful piece of hardware.

[@OldAussieAds]

I was in love with the Master System (version 2 in my case) from the second I saw that title screen of Alex Kidd in Miracle World. I thought to myself, wow, if Miracle World is this good, I can't wait to play the other Alex Kidd games. Disappointment ensued.

[@pinebarrenpatriot8289]

The SMS is one of my favorite consoles. My advice to retro collecters is to stick with original SMS library like the Wonder Boy series, Alien Syndrome, Shinobi, Phantast Star, Zillion,.... ect. The Genesis games converted backwards to the SMS were sluggish and didnt handle 16-bit games too well but the original library is fantastic 👍

[@ricashbringer9866]

I both a Master System and an NES. I have to repair my NES, but the Master System runs like it is brand new, and has never given me issues, unlike the NES. I do find the graphics better on the Master System. I spent hours playing Rambo First Blood Part II, and The Ninja.

[@shortalpha2734]

Cut my gaming teeth on the Sega Master System. Games that stand out are Astro Warrior, The Ninja, and Rambo. Safari Hunt/Hang On was a great starter combo that was included in the box. Pro Wrestling is memorable as well.

[@fan1701]

Just been buying a few systems missing from my collection. The Master System is next on my list. I've just got to have a real one even though I have the converter base for my Genesis.

[@chrisc_1012]

A great video on my first Home console, which I got after having various Sinclair computers Here in the UK the NES wasn't as big at all as in the USA, and I believe Master System may have outsold it. Although we had our own unique computer systems going off at the time & a battle between the Sinclair ZX Spectrum, the BBC, and also the Vic-20 and the Commodore 64 But the Master System still made an impact, although its successor the Mega Drive was a huge success

[@Oribaa90]

Nice video! I just discovered your channel. Last year I bought my first ever Master System. It is such a great retro system.

[@retrogamingknight]

Right on! There are a ton of really great games for the Master System, even more so if you're importing from PAL territories.

[@KnoxAnder]

I was hoping you would talk more about the card slot and other external peripherals. 🙏🏿

[@KnoxAnder]

Also my first System and Double Dragon was the first game I beat for it. I also had Rocky and Space Harrier but never beat those.

[@BigBearHgX]

yet another great video, hope to see more soon as this was the last one for me 🤣

[@rameybutler-hm7nx]

I loved my master system i played it way more than the nes. The master system games always seemed to me to be more fair. I miss it alot.

[@ApustajaGearSolid]

Magical Master System

[@AGwolf2097]

I cut my teeth on NES and Genesis, didn't even know master system existed until the mid 90s? I remember getting a random SMS cart from a tag sale or flea market or something, and I have a distinct memory of asking someone at FunCoLand what I needed to play it... looking back, they absolutely thought I meant Mega Drive because they said to just cut the tabs out of my genesis cartridge slot, and 12 year old me was confused because the board/pins were Clearly not the same as the genesis cartridge slot lol As a big Genesis and Saturn fan, the SMS and Dreamcast both disappoint me equally... the novelty is fun, and I guess I can appreciate the Sonic games because I'm a shameless fan, but I just didn't care about anything else in the library. None of it was as enticing as what I had already experienced on the Genesis and saturn by the time I could emulate the hardware, and later get physical devices and play roms. I wanna like it, but it just doesn't do much of anything for me.