[field balm]

For many, the era between the Genesis and the Dreamcast was Sega’s golden age. During the NES’s reign, Much of the world (mainly America, it seems Europe and Australia were into it as they didn’t get the NES until later) completely ignored Sega’s early efforts at the home console market. I grew up with a Master Sytem 2 - it was the only non-pc gaming I experienced untill I got my first job and bought my first playstation.

Sega had several 8-bit consoles - the SG-1000 (and the SC-3000, the home computer version), the Master System (Mark III in Japan), the Master System 2, and the portable Game Gear, all which run fairly similar hardware. The games were released on both cartridge and sega card. I’m not going to go into much detail about the hardware, as the main attraction is the games (and the hilariously bad western box art).

The Master System’s library contains a load of quality arcade ports, and the progenitors of many of Sega's most loved franchises. Likewise, there are back ports from other/later consoles such as the Genesis and MSX. There are also heaps of mediocre-to-decent licenced platformers including Disney, WB and Marvel.

This is a thread to talk about 8-Bit Sega Games.

The main characters in these first few games were the closest things Sega had to a mascot until the invention of a certain blue hedgehog. What better way to kick off?

ALEX KIDD IN MIRACLE WORLD



Sega’s first shot at Mario. One of the most polished platformers on the system. You play as Alex, Prince of Radactian, trained in the ancient art of Shellcore (breaking blocks with your giant hand), on a journey to rescue your princess. A fairly standard linear-level platformer, it features a few interesting features like being able to buy motorbikes and helicopters for some levels, and playing janken against bosses.




There are a few other Alex Kidd games on the system (as far as I can tell, they’re all japanese games sprite swapped to be Alex Kidd), but the only one worth playing is Alex Kidd in Shinobi World.



WONDERBOY

The wonderboy series is one of my all time favourites.



The first one is a fairly standard mario rip-off, with a few differences. You can ride a skateboard, which is kind of fun and turns everything into forced scrolling sections in exchange for speed - which is important, as unlike mario, wonderboy must constantly consume fruit or he will die. The later games in the series changed the gameplay severely.



WONDERBOY IN MONSTERLAND



This game keeps the linear levels of the original, but adds in RPG elements, like upgrading your equipment at shops (and because of this, grinding). You can buy better swords, more effective shields, and boots that improve your speed and jump height. A lot of the game is about balancing your time between searching for hidden cash/shops and progressing through the levels, as you still have a pretty stiff time limit. The jungle/primitive setting is replaced with a medieval, monster filled one. Although it sounds like it could be an action-rpg, don’t get me wrong - this is still an arcade game (both this game and its prequel were also released in arcades). Highly recommended.




WONDERBOY 3 THE DRAGON’S TRAP



This is, in my opinion, the best game on the system. A charming little metrovania game, me and loki talked about it a bunch here http://forums.selectbutton.net/viewtopic.php?t=31937.

FANTASY ZONE



In my mind, this game is perhaps the birth of the Sega Aesthetic. I wish Opa-Opa (a sentient spaceship with wings) had taken off as the face of sega. The graphics are adorable.




The game is a hori shoot ‘em up, but not a traditional one. Levels can scroll left or right, and you can change direction at any time. The levels are finite in size, and loop seamlessly at the edges. Once you destroy all the enemies on a stage, you have to defeat the boss before you go to the next one. There’s an awesome bosh rush at the end too!

You start off with a basic gun, weak bombs and a small wing, all of which can be upgraded in shops. Most of the weapon upgrades have time or ammo limits, and once you purchase an item any further items become more expensive, making some strategy in upgrade purchasing necessary. The sequel, FANTASY ZONE 2 - TEARS OF OPA-OPA is very similar, with improved graphics. I really enjoy these games, and would recommend them heartily. The third game is a wierd pacman rip-off, you might like it, you might not.




I have more games to talk about soon, I'm not sure whether to do shmups or rpgs next.

Please use this thread to talk about how much you love early sega!

[Tlon]

There's one of those MAME cabinets in my local pub and people keep playing Wonder Boy on it. I tried it once and did okay.
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[Schwere Viper]

There was a dedicated Wonder Boy cab in the arcade I went to as a kid. I was so stoked when I got the Master System version one day.

Interesting that this thread pops up just when I decided to hook up one of my Master Systems! I managed to snag a copy of Phantasy Star in pretty great condition off of eBay, so I figured I should have it set up ahead of time. I tell you, most of my favourite games are in these boxes.

I'd like to recommend Sonic 1 and 2 (the former with some stage music done by Yuzo Koshiro!) and possibly Sonic CHAOS as well, although it's not that great. As field balm said, there are a ton of great arcade ports, and personally I can vouch for Teddy Boy, Marble Madness and R-Type.

oh man I'm gushing oh man
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[Loki Laufeyson]

gonna play master system games when i get out of bed so i can post about them :D

i think the only alex kidd game that's a sprite changed japanese game is high tech world. lost stars definitely came out in japan as alex kidd, as did bmx trial. i think shinobi world might have been pal and brazil only because it came out pretty late (later than enchanted castle on the mega drive!)
the first stage of high tech world is hilarious, and i don't know how much of that is intentional.
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[CubaLibre]

I don't know dick about the Master System (I'm American), but your description of Wonder Boy and the screenshots make it look like a sprite-swapped Adventure Island, by Hudsonsoft (and on the NES). What's the deal with those two games?
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[Teflon]

Chronsega is a series of videos providing a semi-exhaustive look at the Master System's software library in chronological order. It is mad informative to those of us not intimately familiar with the Master System (hi) and pretty great laid-back viewing in general.

[Loki Laufeyson]

[BenoitRen]

The Sega Master System II was my first ever video game console, and Alex Kidd in Miracle World my first video game. It's a hard game, and even harder to beat. I only beat it years ago thanks to a solution I found on the web for the game's last room. I wonder how anyone was supposed to find out the solution.

The next game was Sonic 2, the game that introduced me to the series. I actually was going to buy Monaco GP, but the saleswoman recommended this game, and I figured I'd give it a try. I had a great time with it, looking back.

Asterix and the Secret Mission was the next game. A great Asterix game by Sega Japan that I also put a lot of time in. It's actually thanks to my brother that I figured out how to get the last flower and beat the game. To this day it still seems bizarre.

I'd also exchange games with some family acquaintances, and that's how I played the original Sonic and Bank Panic.

After that, I got other home consoles, but still went back to it from time to time when I bought games from a flea market or from someone else through an ad or eBay. Most notably, Phantasy Star. But there are still several gems like the Wonder Boy series that I never got my hands on. I want to someday.

[Isfet]

my older brother had a Master System and it, by default, became mine. i don't really have many games for it whatsoever and, being that no one i knew as a child had one, i never really had any idea as to what games i should have been getting for it, so i didn't. kind of a shame, really! really, it seems to me that, at least where i was, the Master System had no presence whatsoever. most of my friends weren't even aware that Sega even had a console before the Genesis.

that said, i played the hell out of Shinobi and Double Dragon (which i enjoyed a lot more than the NES port).

[luvcraft]

Remember when Opa Opa was Sega's mascot? The other day I read someone say "Alex Kidd was Sega's mascot before Sonic", and I knew that didn't sound right. And then just now I saw your mention of Fantasy Zone and remembered that Opa Opa was the mascot.
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[Loki Laufeyson]

opa opa had mascot-like qualities, though. he appeared in the sega-spnsored cartoon zillion, as well as having cameos in other sega games (including alex kidd and the lost stars!)

today, i learned that the japanese version of the master system game "pro wrestling" was about women's wrestling in japan, which isn't surprising really, since it was really really popular in japan in the 80s. i'll post comparision screenshots later/tomorrow.

also to come: a post about the sg1000 game girl's garden
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[Loki Laufeyson]

there's a really simple roguelike on the mega drive called fatal labyrinth. there's a master system game called dragon crystal which plays pretty much exactly like fatal labyrinth, but while FL's stages were all dull identical dungeon corridors, DQ has fields full of giant flowers and crystal walled caves among othe locations


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[Loki Laufeyson]

girl's garden is a game for the sg-1000. according to legend, it was yuji naka's first ever game!

in it, you wander around this barren looking plain, picking flowers. once you get ten fully grown flowers, take them to your boyfriend's house and he marries you. also, there's bears trying to kill you.

after a couple of stages, the challenging stage appears, with its magnified sprites. you get 250 points for every bear you jump over

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[field balm]

I've been busy this week trying to confirm my new job, so I forgot to keep this thread going :(

thanks for doing Girl's Garden Loki, I don't know much about it but I know it needed to be talked about! Fairly unique. I really love the graphic style of sg-1000 games.

play girls garden here - http://www.digimorf.com/fsc3k/cart.php?Game=GGARDEN

Dragon's Crystal is one of the 2 rpgs I was gonna cover so I'll just do Golden Axe Warrior. It's a pretty great roguelike IMO, I still emulate it on my shitty nokia phone when I'm on the bus etc. Shmup post coming in an hour or 2!

[field balm]

Here is a link to a decent flash based sg-1000 emulator guys -
http://www.digimorf.com/fsc3k/

Luckily for those who like Shmups, the smooth scrolling on the 8 Bit Sega Hardware makes it ideal for the genre. There are heaps of quality titles, and loads of not so quality ones. There are decent ports of arcade classics like Sagaia and R-type.

For fans of Compile, we have the classic vertical scrolling Aleste series. This is one of the few times the MS and GG versions of the same game are actually different games, not just ports of each other. These are probably the best shmups on the console, featuring lots of different enemies, and loads of enemies and bullets onscreen at once.

Aleste/Power Strike




Aleste 2/Power Strike 2



GG Aleste/GG Aleste 2



Gulkave

This is an awesome early Compile title for the SG-1000. Unlike Compile’s usual fare, it’s a Hori scroller.

Play Gulkave here - http://www.digimorf.com/fsc3k/cart.php?Game=GULKAVE






The Ninja/Ninja Princess



These games are basically Master System and SG-1000 versions of the same game, but look completley different. I kind of prefer the SG-1000 version (Ninja Princess(impossible to find screenshots for online!) as it has smaller/better looking sprites and less flicker. Vertical scrolling shmup where you play a ninja on foot, allowing you to scroll the screen at your leisure. One button shoots in the direction you’re moving, the other one always shoots straight forwards - hitting both together makes you do the classic ninja dash, becoming invisible and invincible for a second. I keep coming back to this game again and again.

Play NinJa Princess here - http://www.digimorf.com/fsc3k/cart.php?Game=NPRINCES





satellite 7

This is a pretty standard vertical cute'em'up I can't stop playing for some reason. You play as a beetle, and you shoot down bees, starfish etc. You get straight forward shots and air-to-ground bombs, no powerups as far as I can tell. In 2 player mode you can bump into each other to spray bullets everywhere.




Star Jacker

A pretty mediocre sg-1000 shmup, only interesting for the fact that it could be where shoot 1-up got its gimmick - you start as a swarm of 4 ships, firing four bullets, and lose one each time you're hit. You get one back for doing well at checkpoints.

Play it here, if you want - http://www.digimorf.com/fsc3k/cart.php?Game=SJACKERA

[Pijaibros]

i am glad you are keeping up with updating this thread. it is always to pleasant to read about systems and their gems that i am unfamiliar with. plus, i really like the color palette these games employ.
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[Renfrew]

http://blogs.sega.com/usa/2011/05/12/vintage-collection-3-announced/

Why is no one talking about this?
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[Loki Laufeyson]

fully localised monster world iv? shame it's not on a console i own. :I
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[field balm]

thanks Pijaibros!

Hardware Post!


The sg-1000. The first Sega home console, released only in Japan. It looks so goddamn fun. Not sure about the controllers though.


The sg-1000 II. Possibly the classiest console ever. Best enjoyed with wood paneling and fine scotch. More normal controllers.


The sg-1000 mark III. Japanese equivalent of the Master System.


The Master System. For western release we got the ~charming~ maroon and black color scheme. Different controllers again, too.


The Master System 2. Much more compact, this is the version most people had - me included. Lost the ability to play sega cards.


The Game Gear. Colour portable well before the GBC. Woulda been great if it had any battery life. Pretty much the same hardware, can play MS games with a cart adapter.

Accessories!


Sega 3d Glasses! Like 8 games or something supported these, they worked by blocking out each eye really quickly, synced with the game flashing 2 slightly different perspectives.


Sega Light Phaser. Every system needs a badass light gun!


Sega Commander Pad. I really want one of these. Interesting as it's a first party peripheral with rapid fire switches.

[field balm]

[Loki Laufeyson]

i've never seen the commander pad before, but even odder/cooler is this thing. the rapid fire unit:

you can probably work out from looking at it, but it goes between the controller and the console
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[handsomenattou]

[field balm]

Man, that's wierd. I wonder why they thought rapid fire was so essential then dropped it for anything further. Maybe there was something stopping devs from implementing rapid fire in software for the 8 bit stuff?

Golden Axe Warrior



Golden Axe Warrior is one of the best rpgs on the system (I’ll be honest, I haven’t played Phantasy Star). It’s pretty much a rip off of the first Zelda game, with multiple dungeons to go through in order, but it improves on most of the elements. It has proper towns, and way more items, including usable ones like a canoe and hot air balloon. You can use different weapons, from swords to axes, with different uses for each. The graphics are really good, and the controls are tight. Well worth playing if you like classic action-rpgs.

[diplo]

yeah, i find golden axe warrior much more palatable than the first zelda. plus, you can chop foliage down to reveal staircases. it still has some nonsense, though, like rewinding your progress if you exit a screen on the overworld from the "wrong" direction.

[The Blueberry Hill]

More SG-1000 stuff! I think I'll spend a day this weekend looking through its catalogue.

[The Blueberry Hill]

Champion Boxing has some nice sprite work, and this video doesn't do the graphics justice.

Maybe this's a bit better:


Oh, Champion Pro Wresting is similar looking, and functioning.


As is Apooooh (arcade)

[The Blueberry Hill]

Drol sure has some cute enemies. Including the best scorpions.

[Loki Laufeyson]

that is a pretty great scorpion
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[The Blueberry Hill]

Hustle Chumy has the best cats.

[The Blueberry Hill]

Can't stop playing Gulkave, and Sinbad Mystery. I'm getting fond of this system, though the Master System's library, and aesthetic, has never clicked with me.

Sinbad Mystery is a maze game. You wander nicely drawn screens picking up questions marks. Once all are got a lamp, and a skull appear. The skull will chase you, and collecting the lamp will end the stage. There are four, then the game loops. Each stage is patrolled by a different type of monster whose paths can be blocked by digging a hole.

[field balm]

Yeah, the sg-1000's library seems to have more consistency than the master system - i have no idea why the graphics are so inviting, i think it has to do with the flat colour sprites. I haven't played hustle chummy before, going to have to give it a shot!

time for another sg-1000 gem - forefather of the bubble bobble series, taito's Chack'n'Pop



from wikipedia -

The SG version is notable for featuring extended introduction and ending sequences and a small additional training stage before the first.

Chack'n, a small yellow creature (later recolored green) with extendable legs must traverse a series of single-screen mazes. He is capable of walking on floors or ceilings but not walls. He can climb steps and traverse high walls by extending his legs until he is tall enough to pass onto the next step. He is capable of throwing hand grenades to his left or right which, after a short period, explode into a cloud of smoke. Separate fire buttons control rolling to the left or right. Chack'n is killed if caught by the explosion cloud.

Each screen is played against a time limit, marked by a Mighta pushing a boulder along the top of the screen. The Mighta reappears in Bubble Bobble as a recurring enemy.

Chack'n's aim is to reach the top of the screen before the time limit expires. He is delayed in this process by a series of solid walls. In order to get past the walls, he must free hearts from cages using his hand grenades.

A further obstruction comes in the form of Monstas (same creatures to appear in Bubble Bobble) hatching from eggs. Hand grenades can also be used to destroy the creatures or the eggs producing them (however, the player will get bonus points after completing the level for not destroying any enemies). Later levels include moving platforms and, reminiscent of Bubble Bobble, water bottles that when blown up flood the level with water. The water does not destroy anything or in any way inhibit the movement of the enemies, but it allows Chack'n to swim to otherwise unreachable platforms.
Once all the levels are completed, Chack'n is able to marry his girlfriend, Miss Chack'n.





sidenote: Something interesting I found while looking for screenshots -



This is the sprite set. Notice how it's uncoloured? I'm assuming this means all assets for the sg-1000 are this way, and are coloured through programming instead of a palette. Easily explains the single colour sprites.

[Loki Laufeyson]

masters of combat is a fighting game for the master system. it was released during the big 16-bit fighting game craze started by street fighter ii. i guess sega realised that attempting to port street fighter to the master system would be awful, so they created an original fighting game just for the system. it's pretty good too!
it has 4 selectable characters, and some of the best graphics and music on the console.
the controls are interesting, too! one button is for attacks, and the other is a kind of context-sensitive movement button: depending on what direction you press with it, it can make you jump, dash or slide along the ground, forwards or backwards.
it seems to have been developed by a company called SIMS, who did a bunch of master system and game gear stuff. they're apparently japanese, but some of their sms games are europe only. weird.
masters of combat did get a japan only game gear release a year later as "buster fight", though.


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[field balm]

man i remember hiring that literally 15-20 years ago and being a robot/ninja dude - i'll give it a shot when i get to my windows pc!
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[Loki Laufeyson]

bumping this thread with a link
http://honnyara.web.fc2.com/
a master system-themed dojishi exists :O
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[angrygeometry]

alex kidd in miracle world was built into my sega master system. i remember it being extremely difficult for a young gamer, and there was one point i always got stuck on. you bought the motorbike, and had to then fly it over a ramp in some sort of jungle. i haven't played it in years but as a kid i played it to death (being one of the few games i had) and pretty much mastered the game up until that point. i've never found out how to do it either.
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[field balm]

Man, the black forest level was also the defining point of my childhood :(
high five!

Guys i've been really busy with work and I forgot about this thread - i have a load more content I'll try and get around to posting in the next few days!
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[BenoitRen]

You didn't have to buy the motorbike, though. I always did that place on foot.

The part I got stuck on is the game's final room. I never figured out what the hell I had to do there. The Moon Stone had a picture with icons on it that was supposed to be a clue, but I never figured it out. Many years later I found instructions on some obscure website and finished the game.
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Get Xenoblade Chronicles!

[Loki Laufeyson]

i've never got far enough in miracle world to get to the motorbike. or actually, i may have done, years and years ago and forgotten.

maybe the reason they put the motorbike in really early into enchanted castle is because they'd made this awesome fast level in miracle world and no-one was getting far enough to see it.
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[Persona]

[Loki Laufeyson]

there's a copy on french ebay for 99 euros
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[Persona]

I am interested but not 135 dollars interested.

A shame. Maybe I'll make my own book to compensate.
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