To Sega's credit, the primary reason Nintendo was more popular than Sega's first 8 bit systems was because Nintendo wouldn't let games on their system unless the companies agreed to make games for the NES/Famicom exclusively, and these deals were dealt with before the systems even launched. This left Sega with much less support and thus Nintendo got more sales because there was more TO sell with their system. It's not something you can blame Sega for and they still managed some top notch games for what relatively small development they had to work with.
I know this is an old comment and I can understand Nintendo doing such a terrible thing (because competition for support should be based on hardware and *not agreements with developers)* but please put evidence to show that this isn't a troll. Nov 14, 2019
I know. These days the names are so bland. It seems menial, but it's just the charm of the past I guess. It seemed like people had more time back then.
cabsk8er7 It IS the charm of the past. We were all kids and we had friends, bikes and consoles instead of consoles, internet and followers or connections... The names are a reflection of current culture, and it $uck$.
how's sega nowadays? Oh they quit making home consoles, lol. Nintendo always owned sega all the generations they fought by sales kid get a clue! Dreamcast was a pathetic flop!
My first ever console i received as a kid way back in 86. Alex kidd in miracle world, gangster town, great memories. There was also a secret game hidden in the console when you first turned it on.
The snail maze game. I remember forgetting to put a cartridge in and seeing the basic message and then messing with the controller. All of a sudden a game pops up and I was like WHHHAAAATTTT.
America you lost out! Here in the UK you see way more master systems about than you do of NES consoles! Also the master system is probably one of the unique most best looking consoles out there! Much better looking than that NES grey box! Also the game cases are way more durable and the light phaser is much more reliable than the zapper. Oh and the 3D glasses are awesome
Same across the puddle in Ireland- still haven't seen a NES in real-life. Knew rakes of people with the Master System II and a little later, the Mega Drive. I got my SMSII when I was 6 and it was already old hat by then. The best Sonic the Hedgehog version was on the SMS, IMHO. Tecmo World Cup '93 was the best 8-bit soccer game without a doubt. The built-in Alex the Kidd was class.
***** Same here and had a ton for games. I would have to say Space Harrier was my favorite. No wait, Wonderboy 2 in Monsterland is. No wait....Would have been nice if CGR showed the hidden snail maze game in the console and the original controllers had tiny screw in joysticks.
Spy vs. Spy was fantastic stuff, played Phantasy Star as an adult on an emulator because I never got to it as a child- rememeber seeing it on the box the console came in. Played some Fantasy Zone but I watched my older brother play it more. Mark was holding a copy of SpellCaster which was a game I watched a lot of but didn't actually understand. Loved all the Alex the Kidds, Sonic 1 & 2, Secret Commando (?), Mickey Mouse Land of Illusion, R-Type, OutRun, don't remember if Thunder Blade was actually any good but I loved it.
FuYing Bro That sounds cool but unfortunately we had the MSII with the reset button & card slot removed. Had Alex the Kidd in Miracle World built-in. Which was fantastic obviously
The system I grew up with, and I can still remember opening it up Christmas morning. I was the only kid in my entire school that owned one, and I wouldn’t change a thing. I loved this console.
The Pumpking King Lol. That's ok dude, I like this stuff. I also had a gadget that let me play master system games on my game gear.. but the games were way too fast.
Another good reason to collect for the Sega master system And the Mega drive/genesis Is that the games mostly come with the box. Where Snes games are extra expensive if you get it with the box. I also like the boxes of the Sega games they will not break easily! Got to get my first Sega still tough...
Yeah. I purposely saved all my NES boxes in a drawer. Sega did a good thing by making plastic cases. People will readily throw away a paper box (even though it's got all the artwork), but have a hard time ditching a plastic one. That said, I do have a few late-release Genesis games that are in paper boxes. I guess the plastic ones created good habits early on.
Don't forget the built-in maze game that had about 10 levels. All you had to do is turn on the system without a cartridge and hold down A&B and down left (or right.. It's been a long time) and then press start.... Who else remembers that?
Although I played the NES with friends one year earlier, in 1988 my older cousin obtained the Master System, and 3rd grade weekends were never the same. I just remember awesome Friday nights playing Astro Warrior and Alex Kidd as my cousins stayed the night, and then hopping out of our sleeping bags at 8 AM to a perfect California day, and eating egg, bacon and pancake breakfasts while playing Hang On, Shinobi, Rastan, Action Fighter etc. Tons of great memories!
The fact that this game system was destroyed commercially in the US by the the NES and is relatively obscure makes me want one so badly. It looks and sounds so different from my beloved NES that it just seems so fascinating to me!
I guess I was one of those lucky Americans to have had this during my childhood! Original Phantasy Star, Hang On, Altered Beast, Govellius, Miracle Warriors- truly amazing games :D Too bad my parents stuffed it somewhere in their attic and we can't find it anywhere now, but I still have my old Phantasy Star cartridge.
My mom got my brother and me a Sega Master System in the late 80s, and it still works. Zillion was my favorite MS game by far. Still play it today from time to time.
I never had a Master System, but I did (and still) have a Master System II--fond memories. I used to love playing Shinobi, R-Type, RoboCop versus Terminator, Sonic 1 (pre-installed) and Sonic 1, Golden Axe, Out Run, Batman Returns.
The Sega Master System was the first console that I ever owned remember buying it from my local second hand shop for something like 20-30 quid. First thing I asked the bloke who ran the shop was where's the monitor ( I had only owned computers before ) God I really loved that console. I used to buy at least 1 second hand game every week wish I had kept the games some of them might be worth a fair bit of money nowadays. I don't think the Master System gets enough recognition these days with most people remembering the Nes more although the Master System way outsold the Nes in the UK as the Nes was so hard to get hold of. I honestly think in my opinion that the Master System was the superior console. Not to say that I didn't also love the Nes which was my second console but your first ones always the special one
I always loved the more technically and polygonal shape of the Master System 1. Glad that its less popular status and games in the States didn't affect his review like it would for some people. We need more reviewers like this! Great job on a great game console.
When i was a kid, I had a Master System 2. it conquered the heart of many, even parents. I still remember my parents always arguing about whom should play "Alex Kidd in Miracle World" first: it was their favorite console game.
My favorite Sega master system game & I like play on my was Sonic the hedgehog & Sonic the hedgehog 2 & Paperboy & Rescue mission & Shinobi & Phansty star
The Sega Master System saw some more success in Canada. I picked up a bundle on a decent deal last year, after seeing reviews of more Master System games on TH-cam. It came with a lot of cool stuff; two controllers, an Arcade Stick, a Light Phaser, a chintzy third-party trackball, and eight games, all in their original boxes. I think I only paid $120 for it all, too. The only problem was, it didn't have video hookups, and it had a weird knockoff power adapter that didn't work. I tried looking around the house for one that would be able to power it, and tried the one from my NES, since it fit in the socket. I was told later that might have fried the system, when I mentioned it to a friend. Fortunately, I also found out that the power plug and AV cables for the Genesis Model 1 were compatible with it. I happened to have a Model 1 Genny, and the plugs work like a champ on the Master System! I avoided frying it with the NES plug, and it lives again! My particular model had Hang-On as its built-in game, which is way better than Snail Maze. I've got a hell of a lot of play time out of the Master System, and I hope to collect more enthusiastically for it in the future. I just have to make sure that the games I get are complete, to go with the rest of my initial collection. ;)
my master system works now for over 25 years. i wouldn't expect that from a ps4. you also have to check out the japanese master system bios. it's extremely awesome.
I agree with u buddy. My Master system ,Genesis, Super Nes all work as if they're brand new. Cant say the same for the modern machines. The old saying goes, 'they sure don't make them like they used to'.
LittleBigKid707b That's true. I miss the days when you would just buy a game and play it and you wouldn't need to update it or download the latest patch no waiting for menus you just hit start and you are playing.
xShadowBladerx Sega and Nintendo actually make (and made) better hardware than Sony or Microsoft. Not only cartridge-based consoles but also the Saturn and Dreamcast still work fine today. What happens when you put a scratched disk in your Saturn? The game works fine! What happens when you put a scratched disk in your Playstation (PSX)? The game doesn't work either because of the disk or the lazer.
So much nostalgia! I got the SMS for X-mas in 1986 and had so much fun playing Hang-on/Safari Hunt game. Then it got better when I got After Burner and Shinobi for my B-day. Then came Phantasy Star, which made me spend most of the weekends in my room (wasn't allowed to play on school days). Good times!
The Master System is still somewhat sucessfull here in Brazil that it's still sold, brand new, but in another version, I think the last version is from 2012. Now it doesn't have a cartridge slot and all the games come embedded on the console's memory. I had a Master System III back in 1993, and I never forget how fun was to play Sonic on it. And to finish, greetings from Brazil Lord Karnage!!
awesome this was my first console! just bought one from a guy on craigslist unopened for 200 bucks! the box isnt perfect but everything else is. happy to see so many others still love this old thing. thanks for the review Karnage!
Finally, a review of the North American release of the Sega Master Syster (aka the Mark III) from Classic Game Room. I never played or owned on though.
I don't know what 2 really say, but i had one, and still can't get over, the way Sega had the video game's, that it had was so good till this day, even the Sega escape arcade video game's, were Great.
Sega Master System was the 1st system I bought with my own money. It was also my 3rd system I ever owned. And its definitely in my top 10 consoles/handhelds I have owned. It's a great underappreciated system.
Part of the reason it was outsold by the NES was confusion about the "My Card". Some People (my parents included) thought you needed the card and a cartridge to play games. Meaning you had to use booth together and that it was just more stuff to buy and stuff for kids to break and lose.
Should of reviewed the japanese Sega Master System. that thing has an awesome startup song to go along with it. the song was even "remastered/remixed" in Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed.
North American SEGA fan boy here!! Boston MA in fact and it's true the SEGA Master System struggled in the Commercial wars here but then Genesis showed up and we SEGA fans felt like we had the last laugh!!😂😂🎮🎮🎮🎈💣🏆🎆💥🎇🎉🎮🎮🎮 Yet SEGA had been a let down since. Still SEGA Master System fam ALL the wayyy not being bias here but it was better than the NES
Don't get me wrong. I'm also a Sega fanboy (my favorite Sega console being the Dreamcast), but I still think the NES is a much better console than the Master System, and that's simply because it has more games. Actually, now that I think of it, I think I like Sega and Nintendo equally.
I was poor so I had a master system and not an nes. My cousin had the nes which he always touted as superior. But after a short time I grew to love my master system more than his nes. Like you said, the games for it were awesome. And those 3d glasses were the bomb back then. 3d missile defense was a trip. I had sold my original back at the turn of millennium convinced by my mother that I no longer needed it. Just a few years later I couldn't take it anymore and bought another one and a bunch of games and accessories on ebay. Still have it today. I'm 33 and my 5 year old son and I just recently finished a complete playthrough of Phantasy Star. Nothing like the Sega Master System!
Fantastic video. I started late on the sega master. Even though i grew up with Sega genesis and nes beside my brother owning Atari 2600 with his love for pacman. I agree shinobi looks fantastic. Thanks for sharing.
We were one of the few master system familys here in the US. My brother's master system was my early videogame stomping ground and I too recently purchased a master system for that reason... I have never stopped humming the astro warrior boss music after all these years... HAHAHA! MY personal console hands down!
I remember that game console we got for Christmas in 1983-4(can't remember what year). We had Outrun, Shinobi, and the light zapper game. One thing I like about the cartridge is that you can take the Philips screwdriver, unscrew them, swap out the PC board with another game, and screw them back on.
Was my first system ever. I had it in the early 90's so I got everything cheap from yard sales. Y's and phantasy star were my fav games. Also it came with built in snail maze game. was my go to console until PS1. Everyone had a SNES and Genesis but for me it was the generation old master system.
The Master System was my first console. This may seem out of the ordinary, and even more so since it was 2004.We were very poor, and I don't remember how we acquired the thing because I was very young. We had Double Dragon, Rocky, Outrun, and some attack helicopter game. So while all my friends were getting into gaming with Halo 2 and San Andreas, I had to start pretty much from the beginning and with the least traditional console. However, my youth allowed me to notice and view video games as just video games, regardless of technical aspects and the like. Playing Halo 2 at a friends house was just as fun as playing Double Dragon with my brother. One foot into the future, and another unwittingly stuck in the past. Also, people say that Double Dragon on Master System is bad? How do they come up with this conclusion? That game was phenomenal.
I still cannot believe my mom bought me this game in 1995 for Christmas and I was actually stupid enough to believe this was some off-brand Sega Genesis game.
I remember I had a few friends had a Sega Master System. We use to play it and had a lot if fun. I never got one myself but did get a Sega Mega Drive (Genesis).
I had one as a kid. Still have my cart converter for the Genesis and all my games, including Power Strike, which you could apparently only get in the US through the Sega magazine via special order. The SMS had a hidden game burned into the console BIOS, a very simple but somewhat fun maze game called Snail Maze. To access it you had to power on the unit without a cartridge or card inserted to bring up the instructions screen. From there you press button 1 and 2 with Up. Would love to see a review of Zillion. It's nothing like Zillion II. I liken it more to the SMS' version of Metroid as a large platforming action game with lots of strategic elements, only with more memorization because of the constantly changing room codes.
Grew up with one. Still have the same one. Working. Except the controllers...they gave up some 10 years ago. Can't tell how many times I went to pause Alex Kidd in the Miracle World way into the game (or any game for that matter) and accidently hit reset...but it's still my favorite console. Shame it's not at all affordable to collect it in my country anymore. People are going nuts on the prices.
I had one of these consoles and I loved it. The one thing no one mentions is the secret maze game thats hidden and built into the console itself. Turn on the console with no game cartridge and press both buttons on the controler ad press either up or down on the D pad at the same time. The first of 10 mazes I think will appear fro, the right side of the instruction screen. This maze game easter egg was was such an awesome find for me when I was a little kid. Let me know what you think.
I still remember going to toys r us as a kid in around 87 looking for an NES, unfortunately it was sold out so I had to choose the SMS or else my dad wouldn't buy me anything, once I got home I fell in love with it, with games like choplifter, Alex kidd and hang on and astro warrior I didn't care that all my friends, neighbors had an Nes, though I did feel a bit left out when everybody talked about video games lol
I keep my model 1 SMS on the top shelf of my game systems' display. Love the design and the games are hella fun, too. I still haven't run across any of the cards games, tho.
There were 2 built in games on my Master System, one was Hang On and the other was a game for the lightgun if I remember corectly. Also there was a secret maze game if you switched it on without a cartridge and held down A and B.
I was born in 1989 and I have an older brother who is 36 (will be 37 in April), who had an NES and I liked the NES (though I prefer SNES) and didn't know the Master System existed until 1997 when my older cousin gave it to me (along with his Atari 2600). At first I didn't care for it, but as time went on, I grew to enjoy it thanks to titles such as Great Basketball, Out Run, Shinobi, Choplifter, Great Baseball and some others, just as much as I did my SNES and PS1. I still prefer the NES, but the Master System is very fun and I do hope to collect more games for it in the future, especially the superior port of Double Dragon.
Here's my take on the Master System: First released in Japan in 1985 and U.S. in 1986. Sold like wildfire around the world with many different Master System models available yet wasn't as common here in the U.S. Also, it has very similar hardware to the COLECOVISION. Of course newer hardware, but if I recall correctly they have similar sound chips and CPUs. Now in my opinion the Master System looks awesome and very impressive game-wise, but the only reason why I wouldn't get one is because there aren't really any early 80's arcade classic ports on it. If there was, it would have been the best mid-80's console in my opinion.
the master system also has 2 built in games if you power it up without a cartridge in. you can find a third hidden game too not quite sure how to get that one but you can look it up its some kind of maze with a snail game.
I just bought me a Model 1 Master System, mint in box. The model 1 is extremely rare in New Zealand, the model II is relatively ubiquitous. $160 NZD, I'm feeling happy.
Nintendo was soo popular when i was growing up, i hardly knew this console exsisted until i went to a used video game store couldnt believe my eyes when i seen a Sega before the Genesis
Oh man that damn pause button on the console was the bane of my existence as a kid (I had both the Nes and Master System). Often times I would get up in the middle of the night and play my Master System well past my bedtime. I would typically turn the volume down on the TV, turn the brightness down on the TV (I don't know why), and play until the wee hours of the morning. It never failed...I would just get past a difficult spot in a game or boss fight and go to hit the pause button only to miss and reset the console. That typically sent me into a blind rage and before I knew it...I was screaming obscenities at my Master System. This of course would invariably wake my parents up and lead to a proper grounding...they took my Master System many times for this over the years. Thankfully, my parents were generally not as sharp when they were half asleep and always forgot to take my Nes as well. I never got caught playing my Nes after hours as a kid as I could pause the damn console without mashing reset button. Even though my Master System got me in trouble quite a few times I always preferred it over my Nes. Both consoles took a backseat when I got my Sega Genesis in 1989.
@@attiepollard7847 Listen, I wouldn't have had a tenth of what I did as a kid had I not had severe medical issues growing up. I was diagnosed with hydrocephalus at birth and by the time I was 7 I had 5 neurological procedures. I wasn't really allowed to do things most normal kids could so I gamed.
Great video on the SMS. I once played one at a friend's house and was amazed how well the zapper played compared to that *clunk*fest the NES zapper was. That copy of Rambo reminded me, can you review Rambo 3 for the Genesis sometime? I loved that game and thought it was a ton of fun with great music. (hot tip: put an exploding box at the far edge of the screen and shoot it with an arrow while running away from it. Guards can't shoot anymore after that and the game becomes a fun stabfest. Ruins the challenge, but it becomes more fun without the guards bugging you.)
I had this too as a child but if I'm not remembering it all wrong there was a racing game built in the console, and if you presed a button combination you would get another game with a snail...though I might just remember it wrong.
I remember playing double dragon with my friend(which btw is 2 player unlike the nes version) and while playing we were doing head butts to the goons and my friends dad thought we were "spitting in the enemies faces" lol haha... ahh the amazing sound effects of 8 bit gaming.
That system was AWSOME. Ahh to be a kid again and playing Alex kid and double dragon....and doing the ten roundhouse kicks at the beginning of the last stage to get unlimited continues. And who could forget punching those big guys through the walls
My parents got my brother a Master System WAAAAAAAAAAAAAY back in the late 80's which I played at the time as it was more affordable (I'm Irish so I know how fussy parents where about new expensive machines). I got a AV label and thanks to a Retro Gamer magazine they convinced me how good this system was though I'll never get any new games for it.
Just picked one up on ebay for 150 bucks that came with 18 games, light guns, controllers, glasses, and trackball. Plust some additional odds and ends.
I had a SEGA Master System as my first console - you didn't really see Nintendo stuff around that much at the time here in the UK, it was all mainly SEGA or people using ZX Spectrum's (along with a few other computers) which was the huge gaming computer of the early to mid 80s era. We had no Video Game Crash etc, and it's quite interesting to see what was happening in the USA at that time compared to here, as if you had an Nintendo you were thought of as being a little 'odd'!
I was 14 when I got my very first job and paycheck. What did I do with the money? Went to the store to buy a new bike. Came out with a shiny new Sega Master System. What great memories. It came preloaded with Hang On (bike racing) and I think a shooter game for the pistol. Solid console. Better than NES in many ways.
To Sega's credit, the primary reason Nintendo was more popular than Sega's first 8 bit systems was because Nintendo wouldn't let games on their system unless the companies agreed to make games for the NES/Famicom exclusively, and these deals were dealt with before the systems even launched. This left Sega with much less support and thus Nintendo got more sales because there was more TO sell with their system. It's not something you can blame Sega for and they still managed some top notch games for what relatively small development they had to work with.
I know this is an old comment and I can understand Nintendo doing such a terrible thing (because competition for support should be based on hardware and *not agreements with developers)* but please put evidence to show that this isn't a troll.
Nov 14, 2019
Carlo Nassar I'm pretty sure you can google it without much dificulty.
Nintendo being Nintendo
@@CarloNassarevidence you have the internet Google it I'm sure you can some articles on the subject
@@CarloNassar This has been well known and docummented.
The best 8-Bit console, the name itself screams greatness. The Master System.
I know. These days the names are so bland. It seems menial, but it's just the charm of the past I guess. It seemed like people had more time back then.
cabsk8er7
It IS the charm of the past. We were all kids and we had friends, bikes and consoles instead of consoles, internet and followers or connections... The names are a reflection of current culture, and it $uck$.
SEGA, SEGA, SEGA, Does what Nintendont. !!!!!
Oh really how come then Super mario bros alone sold more than the sega console itself ROFL! NES 62 millions! master system 14 millions winner nes!
how's sega nowadays? Oh they quit making home consoles, lol. Nintendo always owned sega all the generations they fought by sales kid get a clue! Dreamcast was a pathetic flop!
This was my very first gaming system!!
And my ♥ to SEGA begun...
my very first console? Dreamcast.
Mine was the Sega Genesis model 2 😍 .
My first ever console i received as a kid way back in 86. Alex kidd in miracle world, gangster town, great memories. There was also a secret game hidden in the console when you first turned it on.
The snail maze game. I remember forgetting to put a cartridge in and seeing the basic message and then messing with the controller. All of a sudden a game pops up and I was like WHHHAAAATTTT.
Jesus, Alex Kidd in Miracle World. Takes me back!
"SPANISHED FROM EARTH PLASTIC GAME ROOM"
XD
America you lost out! Here in the UK you see way more master systems about than you do of NES consoles!
Also the master system is probably one of the unique most best looking consoles out there!
Much better looking than that NES grey box!
Also the game cases are way more durable and the light phaser is much more reliable than the zapper.
Oh and the 3D glasses are awesome
Same across the puddle in Ireland- still haven't seen a NES in real-life. Knew rakes of people with the Master System II and a little later, the Mega Drive.
I got my SMSII when I was 6 and it was already old hat by then.
The best Sonic the Hedgehog version was on the SMS, IMHO.
Tecmo World Cup '93 was the best 8-bit soccer game without a doubt.
The built-in Alex the Kidd was class.
*****
Nice. He was jus' sayin' in general.
What games did you like best? I had spoilt cousin who I leached games from.
*****
Same here and had a ton for games. I would have to say Space Harrier was my favorite. No wait, Wonderboy 2 in Monsterland is. No wait....Would have been nice if CGR showed the hidden snail maze game in the console and the original controllers had tiny screw in joysticks.
Spy vs. Spy was fantastic stuff, played Phantasy Star as an adult on an emulator because I never got to it as a child- rememeber seeing it on the box the console came in.
Played some Fantasy Zone but I watched my older brother play it more.
Mark was holding a copy of SpellCaster which was a game I watched a lot of but didn't actually understand.
Loved all the Alex the Kidds, Sonic 1 & 2,
Secret Commando (?), Mickey Mouse Land of Illusion, R-Type, OutRun, don't remember if Thunder Blade was actually any good but I loved it.
FuYing Bro
That sounds cool but unfortunately we had the MSII with the reset button & card slot removed. Had Alex the Kidd in Miracle World built-in. Which was fantastic obviously
my mom gave mine in 87 and still using them in 2016!
awesome me to 👍
+Nathan Ludwig hi,is it true that sms better than atari 7800?
@@jonyjohn947 yes
The system I grew up with, and I can still remember opening it up Christmas morning. I was the only kid in my entire school that owned one, and I wouldn’t change a thing. I loved this console.
Ive been waiting so long for a Master System review!
I had one of those converters.
Richard Howell
It was actually a full master system that just used the TV out and Controller ports on the Mega Drive.
The Pumpking King That's interesting.
Richard Howell
Sorry .. Did Not mean to Bore you to tears... ; )
The Pumpking King Lol. That's ok dude, I like this stuff. I also had a gadget that let me play master system games on my game gear.. but the games were way too fast.
Another good reason to collect for the Sega master system And the Mega drive/genesis
Is that the games mostly come with the box. Where Snes games are extra expensive if you get it with the box. I also like the boxes of the Sega games they will not break easily! Got to get my first Sega still tough...
Yeah. I purposely saved all my NES boxes in a drawer. Sega did a good thing by making plastic cases. People will readily throw away a paper box (even though it's got all the artwork), but have a hard time ditching a plastic one. That said, I do have a few late-release Genesis games that are in paper boxes. I guess the plastic ones created good habits early on.
A truly beautiful gaming system. Pity I never ever owned one.
same hear had plenty of friends who did loved outrun spaceharrier and shinobi liked it a lot still have the Nintendo entertainment system
had a cousin who had one. used to bring it over so we'd have something to play while he bogarted our nes in the back room...good times
Only 2 million sold in the US which is not a lot
I don't know how My dad had one as a kid
Don't forget the built-in maze game that had about 10 levels. All you had to do is turn on the system without a cartridge and hold down A&B and down left (or right.. It's been a long time) and then press start.... Who else remembers that?
Although I played the NES with friends one year earlier, in 1988 my older cousin obtained the Master System, and 3rd grade weekends were never the same. I just remember awesome Friday nights playing Astro Warrior and Alex Kidd as my cousins stayed the night, and then hopping out of our sleeping bags at 8 AM to a perfect California day, and eating egg, bacon and pancake breakfasts while playing Hang On, Shinobi, Rastan, Action Fighter etc. Tons of great memories!
My first console, all hail Alex Kidd
Unless it's High Tech World.
The fact that this game system was destroyed commercially in the US by the the NES and is relatively obscure makes me want one so badly. It looks and sounds so different from my beloved NES that it just seems so fascinating to me!
I guess I was one of those lucky Americans to have had this during my childhood! Original Phantasy Star, Hang On, Altered Beast, Govellius, Miracle Warriors- truly amazing games :D Too bad my parents stuffed it somewhere in their attic and we can't find it anywhere now, but I still have my old Phantasy Star cartridge.
The original Phantasy Star is super expensive. But I think it might be worth it considering it started a great RPG franchise.
My mom got my brother and me a Sega Master System in the late 80s, and it still works.
Zillion was my favorite MS game by far. Still play it today from time to time.
My first console. Loved it a lot. Still have one. Long live to the SMS.
I never had a Master System, but I did (and still) have a Master System II--fond memories. I used to love playing Shinobi, R-Type, RoboCop versus Terminator, Sonic 1 (pre-installed) and Sonic 1, Golden Axe, Out Run, Batman Returns.
The Sega Master System was the first console that I ever owned remember buying it from my local second hand shop for something like 20-30 quid.
First thing I asked the bloke who ran the shop was where's the monitor ( I had only owned computers before )
God I really loved that console. I used to buy at least 1 second hand game every week wish I had kept the games some of them might be worth a fair bit of money nowadays.
I don't think the Master System gets enough recognition these days with most people remembering the Nes more although the Master System way outsold the Nes in the UK as the Nes was so hard to get hold of.
I honestly think in my opinion that the Master System was the superior console.
Not to say that I didn't also love the Nes which was my second console but your first ones always the special one
I always loved the more technically and polygonal shape of the Master System 1. Glad that its less popular status and games in the States didn't affect his review like it would for some people. We need more reviewers like this! Great job on a great game console.
When i was a kid, I had a Master System 2. it conquered the heart of many, even parents. I still remember my parents always arguing about whom should play "Alex Kidd in Miracle World" first: it was their favorite console game.
My favorite Sega master system game & I like play on my was Sonic the hedgehog & Sonic the hedgehog 2 & Paperboy & Rescue mission & Shinobi & Phansty star
The Sega Master System saw some more success in Canada. I picked up a bundle on a decent deal last year, after seeing reviews of more Master System games on TH-cam. It came with a lot of cool stuff; two controllers, an Arcade Stick, a Light Phaser, a chintzy third-party trackball, and eight games, all in their original boxes. I think I only paid $120 for it all, too.
The only problem was, it didn't have video hookups, and it had a weird knockoff power adapter that didn't work. I tried looking around the house for one that would be able to power it, and tried the one from my NES, since it fit in the socket. I was told later that might have fried the system, when I mentioned it to a friend.
Fortunately, I also found out that the power plug and AV cables for the Genesis Model 1 were compatible with it. I happened to have a Model 1 Genny, and the plugs work like a champ on the Master System! I avoided frying it with the NES plug, and it lives again! My particular model had Hang-On as its built-in game, which is way better than Snail Maze.
I've got a hell of a lot of play time out of the Master System, and I hope to collect more enthusiastically for it in the future. I just have to make sure that the games I get are complete, to go with the rest of my initial collection. ;)
I live in Brazil and this console here in Brazil at the 80's was so successfull, everybody that I knew had a sega master system on their cupboard.
Best joystick of history.
This channel is fantastic.
Congratulations from Brazil.
my master system works now for over 25 years. i wouldn't expect that from a ps4.
you also have to check out the japanese master system bios. it's extremely awesome.
I still own my genesis model 2 and that thing still works after all these years.
I agree with u buddy. My Master system ,Genesis, Super Nes all work as if they're brand new. Cant say the same for the modern machines. The old saying goes, 'they sure don't make them like they used to'.
LittleBigKid707b That's true. I miss the days when you would just buy a game and play it and you wouldn't need to update it or download the latest patch no waiting for menus you just hit start and you are playing.
xShadowBladerx Sega and Nintendo actually make (and made) better hardware than Sony or Microsoft. Not only cartridge-based consoles but also the Saturn and Dreamcast still work fine today. What happens when you put a scratched disk in your Saturn? The game works fine! What happens when you put a scratched disk in your Playstation (PSX)? The game doesn't work either because of the disk or the lazer.
Daniel T. I also have a dreamcast and it still works. But yeah I agree that the nintendo and sega consoles last longer.
So much nostalgia! I got the SMS for X-mas in 1986 and had so much fun playing Hang-on/Safari Hunt game. Then it got better when I got After Burner and Shinobi for my B-day. Then came Phantasy Star, which made me spend most of the weekends in my room (wasn't allowed to play on school days). Good times!
I love the SMS. I still have my original from 1986. Works like a champ.
The Master System is still somewhat sucessfull here in Brazil that it's still sold, brand new, but in another version, I think the last version is from 2012. Now it doesn't have a cartridge slot and all the games come embedded on the console's memory. I had a Master System III back in 1993, and I never forget how fun was to play Sonic on it.
And to finish, greetings from Brazil Lord Karnage!!
*You Really sound like Harold Ramis you know the clever science guy from Ghost Busters sir Great review btw!* ⭐️
I got my SMS on xmas in 2012 from the wife. Been a NES head. Was so happy to get it!
awesome this was my first console! just bought one from a guy on craigslist unopened for 200 bucks! the box isnt perfect but everything else is. happy to see so many others still love this old thing. thanks for the review Karnage!
Finally, a review of the North American release of the Sega Master Syster (aka the Mark III) from Classic Game Room. I never played or owned on though.
I don't know what 2 really say, but i had one, and still can't get over, the way Sega had the video game's, that it had was so good till this day, even the Sega escape arcade video game's, were Great.
Sega Master System was the 1st system I bought with my own money. It was also my 3rd system I ever owned. And its definitely in my top 10 consoles/handhelds I have owned. It's a great underappreciated system.
Part of the reason it was outsold by the NES was confusion about the "My Card". Some People (my parents included) thought you needed the card and a cartridge to play games. Meaning you had to use booth together and that it was just more stuff to buy and stuff for kids to break and lose.
+Ryan Peck The Master System outsold the NES worldwide in Europe, Brazil, Australia and new Zealand
Should of reviewed the japanese Sega Master System. that thing has an awesome startup song to go along with it. the song was even "remastered/remixed" in Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed.
North American SEGA fan boy here!! Boston MA in fact and it's true the SEGA Master System struggled in the Commercial wars here but then Genesis showed up and we SEGA fans felt like we had the last laugh!!😂😂🎮🎮🎮🎈💣🏆🎆💥🎇🎉🎮🎮🎮 Yet SEGA had been a let down since. Still SEGA Master System fam ALL the wayyy not being bias here but it was better than the NES
Don't get me wrong. I'm also a Sega fanboy (my favorite Sega console being the Dreamcast), but I still think the NES is a much better console than the Master System, and that's simply because it has more games. Actually, now that I think of it, I think I like Sega and Nintendo equally.
I was poor so I had a master system and not an nes. My cousin had the nes which he always touted as superior. But after a short time I grew to love my master system more than his nes. Like you said, the games for it were awesome. And those 3d glasses were the bomb back then. 3d missile defense was a trip. I had sold my original back at the turn of millennium convinced by my mother that I no longer needed it. Just a few years later I couldn't take it anymore and bought another one and a bunch of games and accessories on ebay. Still have it today. I'm 33 and my 5 year old son and I just recently finished a complete playthrough of Phantasy Star. Nothing like the Sega Master System!
This console brings back so many memories
Fantastic video. I started late on the sega master. Even though i grew up with Sega genesis and nes beside my brother owning Atari 2600 with his love for pacman. I agree shinobi looks fantastic. Thanks for sharing.
man these videos bring me back
We were one of the few master system familys here in the US. My brother's master system was my early videogame stomping ground and I too recently purchased a master system for that reason... I have never stopped humming the astro warrior boss music after all these years... HAHAHA! MY personal console hands down!
Gotta love your kickass background music! Keep at it Mark!
I have the master system 2 but I always liked the old model too. I also like the graph paper background they used on their designs.
And zillion and zillion 2 are criminally underrated games.
***** Yeah it is. And the music in zillion one is awesome!
I still have mines since the 80's, I just have to find it, my favorite game was Astro warrior
Jonny Q That Game was my favorite!!!
I was lucky to have a poor parent so i only had the sega master system and the nes no ps2 which was new when i grew up :)
Oh man your story is like mine but I had Master System and for a short time Mega Drive. No PS2 though!
Glad you can relate :)
I know exactly what u mean
Bo88y Beretta me too man
+Tpg Dudde But the PS2 is awesome... :C
I remember that game console we got for Christmas in 1983-4(can't remember what year). We had Outrun, Shinobi, and the light zapper game. One thing I like about the cartridge is that you can take the Philips screwdriver, unscrew them, swap out the PC board with another game, and screw them back on.
Was my first system ever. I had it in the early 90's so I got everything cheap from yard sales. Y's and phantasy star were my fav games. Also it came with built in snail maze game. was my go to console until PS1. Everyone had a SNES and Genesis but for me it was the generation old master system.
The Master System was my first console. This may seem out of the ordinary, and even more so since it was 2004.We were very poor, and I don't remember how we acquired the thing because I was very young. We had Double Dragon, Rocky, Outrun, and some attack helicopter game. So while all my friends were getting into gaming with Halo 2 and San Andreas, I had to start pretty much from the beginning and with the least traditional console. However, my youth allowed me to notice and view video games as just video games, regardless of technical aspects and the like. Playing Halo 2 at a friends house was just as fun as playing Double Dragon with my brother. One foot into the future, and another unwittingly stuck in the past.
Also, people say that Double Dragon on Master System is bad? How do they come up with this conclusion? That game was phenomenal.
I still cannot believe my mom bought me this game in 1995 for Christmas and I was actually stupid enough to believe this was some off-brand Sega Genesis game.
I remember I had a few friends had a Sega Master System. We use to play it and had a lot if fun. I never got one myself but did get a Sega Mega Drive (Genesis).
Still own mine from my childhood! :)
I had a SEGA Mater System 2.
I loved it, Sonic Chaos is still one of my fav Sonic games.
The music in your videos is so awesome.
I had one as a kid. Still have my cart converter for the Genesis and all my games, including Power Strike, which you could apparently only get in the US through the Sega magazine via special order.
The SMS had a hidden game burned into the console BIOS, a very simple but somewhat fun maze game called Snail Maze. To access it you had to power on the unit without a cartridge or card inserted to bring up the instructions screen. From there you press button 1 and 2 with Up.
Would love to see a review of Zillion. It's nothing like Zillion II. I liken it more to the SMS' version of Metroid as a large platforming action game with lots of strategic elements, only with more memorization because of the constantly changing room codes.
Best game, IMO, for the SMS is Fantasy Zone II: The Tears of Opa-Opa!
Power on without a cart. Press Up+1+2 when message shows up and hidden game :D
This blew me away when I was a kid.
frigginjoe *SNAIL MAZE* ⭐️
I LOVE IT when he says "NEW JERSEY"
I had the model 2. It was an amazing console for its time. Sonic and alex kid look like 16bit games... Amazing
I had a master system in 87!Loved the first Phantasy Star!
Another great review Mark on the Sega Master System! :D
The game from this console that stands out to me is Space Harrier.
Just picked one of these up. Hell yeah Phantasy Star!
Grew up with one. Still have the same one. Working. Except the controllers...they gave up some 10 years ago.
Can't tell how many times I went to pause Alex Kidd in the Miracle World way into the game (or any game for that matter) and accidently hit reset...but it's still my favorite console. Shame it's not at all affordable to collect it in my country anymore. People are going nuts on the prices.
My first and favourite console!
I had one of these consoles and I loved it. The one thing no one mentions is the secret maze game thats hidden and built into the console itself. Turn on the console with no game cartridge and press both buttons on the controler ad press either up or down on the D pad at the same time. The first of 10 mazes I think will appear fro, the right side of the instruction screen. This maze game easter egg was was such an awesome find for me when I was a little kid. Let me know what you think.
I still remember going to toys r us as a kid in around 87 looking for an NES, unfortunately it was sold out so I had to choose the SMS or else my dad wouldn't buy me anything, once I got home I fell in love with it, with games like choplifter, Alex kidd and hang on and astro warrior I didn't care that all my friends, neighbors had an Nes, though I did feel a bit left out when everybody talked about video games lol
you were quite lucky in my opinion
I'm an American, and I owned the Master System. Only 2 other kids on my school had one, but it was great!
I keep my model 1 SMS on the top shelf of my game systems' display. Love the design and the games are hella fun, too. I still haven't run across any of the cards games, tho.
There were 2 built in games on my Master System, one was Hang On and the other was a game for the lightgun if I remember corectly. Also there was a secret maze game if you switched it on without a cartridge and held down A and B.
*Safari Hunt which was 10 times better than Duck Hunt!*
The first console I ever had.Found one at a flea market a few days ago too.
I was born in 1989 and I have an older brother who is 36 (will be 37 in April), who had an NES and I liked the NES (though I prefer SNES) and didn't know the Master System existed until 1997 when my older cousin gave it to me (along with his Atari 2600). At first I didn't care for it, but as time went on, I grew to enjoy it thanks to titles such as Great Basketball, Out Run, Shinobi, Choplifter, Great Baseball and some others, just as much as I did my SNES and PS1. I still prefer the NES, but the Master System is very fun and I do hope to collect more games for it in the future, especially the superior port of Double Dragon.
Here's my take on the Master System:
First released in Japan in 1985 and U.S. in 1986. Sold like wildfire around the world with many different Master System models available yet wasn't as common here in the U.S. Also, it has very similar hardware to the COLECOVISION. Of course newer hardware, but if I recall correctly they have similar sound chips and CPUs. Now in my opinion the Master System looks awesome and very impressive game-wise, but the only reason why I wouldn't get one is because there aren't really any early 80's arcade classic ports on it. If there was, it would have been the best mid-80's console in my opinion.
the master system also has 2 built in games if you power it up without a cartridge in. you can find a third hidden game too not quite sure how to get that one but you can look it up its some kind of maze with a snail game.
I just realized that this console is the one that appears in regular show. Nice!
On the screen that tells you how to play a game, hold up and buttons 1 and 2 and it should take you to a hidden game called snail maze.
yesss I remember the secret snail maze game!
As a kid, I knew nobody with a master system. I would like to get on someday, games look fun.
I just picked one of these up a few days ago with Phantasy Star, lol
I just bought me a Model 1 Master System, mint in box. The model 1 is extremely rare in New Zealand, the model II is relatively ubiquitous. $160 NZD, I'm feeling happy.
Master System + Phantasy Star = GREATNESS
Good video. And you have one of the best Master System games I ever played (that's Ys)...
Nintendo was soo popular when i was growing up, i hardly knew this console exsisted until i went to a used video game store couldnt believe my eyes when i seen a Sega before the Genesis
I had the Nintendo NES.... And my neighbor had the Sega Master system. I'm going to eBay right now to see if I can get one!!
Oh man that damn pause button on the console was the bane of my existence as a kid (I had both the Nes and Master System). Often times I would get up in the middle of the night and play my Master System well past my bedtime. I would typically turn the volume down on the TV, turn the brightness down on the TV (I don't know why), and play until the wee hours of the morning. It never failed...I would just get past a difficult spot in a game or boss fight and go to hit the pause button only to miss and reset the console. That typically sent me into a blind rage and before I knew it...I was screaming obscenities at my Master System. This of course would invariably wake my parents up and lead to a proper grounding...they took my Master System many times for this over the years.
Thankfully, my parents were generally not as sharp when they were half asleep and always forgot to take my Nes as well. I never got caught playing my Nes after hours as a kid as I could pause the damn console without mashing reset button. Even though my Master System got me in trouble quite a few times I always preferred it over my Nes. Both consoles took a backseat when I got my Sega Genesis in 1989.
This game came out in the 80s but my mom bought me this game in 1995 for Christmas lol
@@attiepollard7847
Listen, I wouldn't have had a tenth of what I did as a kid had I not had severe medical issues growing up. I was diagnosed with hydrocephalus at birth and by the time I was 7 I had 5 neurological procedures. I wasn't really allowed to do things most normal kids could so I gamed.
Great video on the SMS. I once played one at a friend's house and was amazed how well the zapper played compared to that *clunk*fest the NES zapper was. That copy of Rambo reminded me, can you review Rambo 3 for the Genesis sometime? I loved that game and thought it was a ton of fun with great music. (hot tip: put an exploding box at the far edge of the screen and shoot it with an arrow while running away from it. Guards can't shoot anymore after that and the game becomes a fun stabfest. Ruins the challenge, but it becomes more fun without the guards bugging you.)
coolest name for a console
Great review, Thanks a lot!
I had this too as a child but if I'm not remembering it all wrong there was a racing game built in the console, and if you presed a button combination you would get another game with a snail...though I might just remember it wrong.
I remember playing double dragon with my friend(which btw is 2 player unlike the nes version) and while playing we were doing head butts to the goons and my friends dad thought we were "spitting in the enemies faces" lol haha... ahh the amazing sound effects of 8 bit gaming.
That system was AWSOME. Ahh to be a kid again and playing Alex kid and double dragon....and doing the ten roundhouse kicks at the beginning of the last stage to get unlimited continues. And who could forget punching those big guys through the walls
My parents got my brother a Master System WAAAAAAAAAAAAAY back in the late 80's which I played at the time as it was more affordable (I'm Irish so I know how fussy parents where about new expensive machines). I got a AV label and thanks to a Retro Gamer magazine they convinced me how good this system was though I'll never get any new games for it.
Dope system, wish I played it now even
Just picked one up on ebay for 150 bucks that came with 18 games, light guns, controllers, glasses, and trackball. Plust some additional odds and ends.
Astro Warrior @ Rocky
Was my two favorite
Spiderman and altered beasts was next
I had a SEGA Master System as my first console - you didn't really see Nintendo stuff around that much at the time here in the UK, it was all mainly SEGA or people using ZX Spectrum's (along with a few other computers) which was the huge gaming computer of the early to mid 80s era. We had no Video Game Crash etc, and it's quite interesting to see what was happening in the USA at that time compared to here, as if you had an Nintendo you were thought of as being a little 'odd'!
I was 14 when I got my very first job and paycheck. What did I do with the money? Went to the store to buy a new bike. Came out with a shiny new Sega Master System. What great memories. It came preloaded with Hang On (bike racing) and I think a shooter game for the pistol. Solid console. Better than NES in many ways.