In Defence of Tiertex - Was the SMS their Master System?
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 15 ส.ค. 2024
- Tiertex are infamous for bad ports and worse original games but that's not the impression I got of them on the Master System. So let's play them all, including the 2 the UK never saw and settle this.
(Part 1 of 2)
#mastersystem #sega #segamastersystem
00:00 Intro
03:56 Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade The Action Game
06:30 PaperBoy
09:32 Gauntlet
11:37 Impossible Mission
14:08 Ace of Aces
16:42 Heroes of the Lance
19:07 Mercs
21:40 Ms Pac-Man - เกม
Fun fact: Tiertex are named after a defunct ceiling texture coating company. Companies House gave them the name when they first set up the business, and they could never be arsed to change it :D
But they did some good work, they really knocked it out the park with their early Master System ports like Paperboy, Gauntlet and Impossible Mission,
Oh, for Ms. Pac-Man, in Tiertex's defence, that Ms. Pac-Man isn't really based on the arcade game, it's based on a pseudo-remake that was doing the rounds at the time that also appeared on the Mega Drive and Philips CD-i of all things. They also had co-op too, which was nice.
Larry bringing the facts. Does that mean they got the extra frills for free as well or were those their invention?
@@Yesterzine YOu'll have to ask the Pickfords, they're the ones who told me this :D
Good stuff. I've always winced when folks slam Tiertex. Yes, they prodiced some crap. But as you've spotlighted here, they also managed some rather impressive feats. Gauntlet in particular on the Master System is quite something. Considering how the console struggled when it came to certain arcade conversions, it's amazing to see such a snappy, fluid port.
There's several they're not visibly credited on, which does change things. Most people though consider Gauntlet SMS a classic but had no idea it was Tiertex.
Funny how they was capable of delivery good and bad ports over the years. This was a great trivia about Sega's Master System console. Keep up, Dudley man!
Kinda makes it worse though doesn't it? They COULD do well, just half the time it didn't happen.
@@Yesterzine Indeed.
Great video and left on a cliff hanger 😲
Yeah I think at the start of part 2 I call the score "Suspicious if I were that smart"
Nice one mate well done and I'm really looking forward to watching part 2. Interestingly there's a chance we might do the Brazilian one in the challenge next week if enough people are up for it 👍
Interesting... One I've technically practiced for!
@@Yesterzine 👌😎
As an Amiga gamer, yeah their name doesn't fill me with confidence.
So its good to see they did do some good games, and ones that I own like Impossible Mission.
Which techincally got an Amiga port but as part of the 2025 Special Edition. And was a direct port of the C64 version with out the updated graphics.
Yeah, I think they suffer that some of the good ones either have their name very subtly in like Gauntlet or not at all like Mercs. I think they only get a big logo intro once in all the SMS I've seen and it's their very last game.
I had the "Indiana Jones: The Last Crusade: The Budget Crap" for A500.
It was sharing shelf at stores with the legendary graphic adventure of the same name.
How many people got this US Goldenshower version, because it was cheaper than the good one?
@@jordidemaio In the UK at least I think they were both distributed by US Gold so it'd be an even easier mistake to make. I've not played the Amiga version but I am very willing to believe you it's no better than on SMS, NES or Spectrum.
The home computer versions of Last Crusade do TECHNICALLY have a timer. For example, in the first level you have to keep picking up torches; if you miss one your torch will go out, rendering the screen completely dark. It isn't an instant life loss like in the Master System version, but it does effectively make the level almost impossible to get through and usually results in you falling off a platform and losing a life. Later levels have similar items, like a boarding pass for the zeppelin that for some reason falls apart over time and results in alarms going off everywhere if it disappears.
I quite liked the Amiga version, and it was the first game I ever played all the way to the end. It (and the ST one) are the definitive versions for me because they're the only ones where you correctly play as River Phoenix boy scout Indy in the opening level instead of adult Indy. I don't even think the Mega Drive version does that.
Ah that makes sense, I think it fooled me because the NES version has that mechanic but when it's dark it's actually just about as clear as when it isn't.
There were some pretty impressive dodges in Ms Pac-man!!
Yeah, actually that fed into my decision. I can't prove it but I'm fairly certain at least one of them is the AI doing something it shouldn't.
Cool episode......did you know that originally Mrs pac man is pac man twin .... amazing right
If Codemasters could put 2 Joystick ports on a cart for 4 Players on the MD, Tiertex could have done it for the SMS ;-)
I assume that would have been technically possible to do, they were already making their own shells. The only problem I can think of is possibly bandwidth between cart and machine.
Great video. Played all these master system games.
So did I ;)
Have you managed to play the Sonic game from Part 2?
Not had the best of experience when it comes to Tiertex on the ST. But glad to hear they managed to produce some good stuff on the SMS! 😁
Certainly they seem to have a better SMS record, although of course at the end of part 1, the jury is still out.
@@Yesterzine A bit of a cliffhanger really! Looking forward to final judgement in part 2!
Great video 👍
Thanks 👍 Glad you found both parts!
Cool video dude
Much appreciated :)
I guess it's coming in part two (although you didn't hit on it) but James Pond II on Master System by them is a good port.
Oh bollocks. It's not actually on the list. It was surprisingly difficult to work out a definitive actually by Tiertex and both mobygames and Wikipedia don't say it was them. It's especially difficult when they're not credited on games like Merc and Ms Pac-Man.
But I've just put it into my SMS now and goddamnit you're right, there's a credit right there in the menu. Star Wars too. Conversely several sources credit them with the port of Super Space Invaders but that's The Kremlin. Then you get weird stuff like Desert Strike where the SMS is The Kremlin but the GG is Tiertex. Thankfully I've seen part 2 and I don't think it'll change the overall result but I'm going to need to put out a blooper reel or something afterwards.
You're right though, I'm really not a fan of Pond 2 the game but Tiertex did a fine job with that conversion.
Even if a developer has a bad rep, like Tiertex, Bits or whoever else, I do take the time to study the games they released and see if there’s anything worth playing. Beam Software’s Dash Galaxy may be the NES’s worst game but I really enjoyed their SNES cricket game Super International Cricket! The Code Monkeys are infamous for trash like Shrek Treasure Hunt for the PSone but I think their Game Boy port of Asteroids is pretty good! Tiertex released a lot of bad games for computers and Sega consoles but I hear their Noddy game for the Game Boy Color is rather good!
If I'm remembering my conversions, Beam were responsible for the SNES smashTV that was probably the best home version of that until the arcade emulators came along in the PS2 generation.
Tiertex is the GameMill Entertainment of the 80s and 90s
Had to look that one up :D
Strangely I never realised Tiertex had a bad reputation!
See, samesies. The stuff they're identifiable in on SMS is not a slam dunk as we're already seeing, especially as I know we disagree on one in part 2. :)
Although Street Fighter and "Street" "Fighter" "2" are more than enough crimes on their own.
You forgot to include Star Wars. One of my all time favourite Master System games.
Yep, information on who actually wrote what was sketchy and that didn't appear on a lot of lists, and most games don't have Tiertex credits in the game itself.
Of course I later find out that one DOES.
@@Yesterzine Superior to the NES version so they did a great job. 👍
Yeah, I missed Robocod too which while I’m not fond of the game is a good conversion.
@@Yesterzine They did the Master System port? Nice!
Amigans got a BIG beef with tiertex too!!!
Oh my yes, this is absolutely their best system. HKM itself merits the death penalty on the miggy.
The Master System version is _genuinely_ the greatest version of Paperboy ever made (better than the arcade, even) but it is nevertheless a terrible game. You say it is perhaps the best version, I would say with certainty: it's the best version.
Everything about paperboy should be a good game but I agree, I've never actually liked it. And I don't REALLY know why.
You mean Torturex
Where were you when I was scripting this?
Tiertex was the worst video game developer in history, they should have disappeared long before and put their founders in jail and also US GOLD who hired them
Hey now, Midas exists!
Tiertex was shit. There’s no defending them.
And yet...