Top Ten Sega Master System Games
So, when I began to stream, I decided to do a project. That project would be to play all of the commercially released games for the Sega Master System for a few minutes each, just enough to get the feeling for them, and rank them. With the game Hang-On & Safari Hunt as my baseline (That being the game that was bundled with the system) I’d play the games, see if they were better or worse than Hang-On and then how much better or worse.
I started with the US released games, them moved onto other regions. The Master system having a library of only 115 games in the US and not that much more in other regions (except Europe, more on that later). I picked the Master System because I had that first and I didn’t really see much talking about or discourse in general for the Master System (In the US, again, more on that later). With that out of the way, on with the list starting at #10 and moving on from there
#10: Ghostbusters
Looking at the Excel sheet for the master list of rankings, I noticed that this was just outside of the range. Well, We can’t have that as the game above it I didn’t like as much. (And it’s my list so there) Comparing this to the NES version, it’s a lot more colorful and lively. There’s only one song on loop, but hey, that’s not a funeral dirge-y version of the Ghostbusters theme. It’s a lot more bright and peppy. The controls work very well, and the game play loop is easy to get into. Drive to building, corral ghosts with beams, catch in trap, empty trap at HQ, repeat. There are items that help with this, like Super traps that hold more before they have to be emptied, stronger beams with more energy, a device that stops the ghosts from flickering if that annoys you, as long as you have the cash. I just find it very fun and chill, even at the part where you have to climb up the building’s stairs because in this version you can shoot the ghosts and destroy them so you actually can defend yourself. So yeah, 10th best for this one.
#9: Master of Darkness
This game gives me the chance to talk about how the Master System fared in Europe. Mainly, much better than in the US. A lot more games released for it and it was more popular than even the NES in that region, so a lot of games that only came out for the Game Gear here was ported to the Master System in Europe. And for this one, it’s a blast to play. It’s pretty much Castlevania but in London. You have a main attack that upgrades, sub weapons that have limited use, and you can even break walls to get health refills. You even fight Dracula in the end. A few of the differences are you can downgrade your main weapon if you pick up everything you see so that kind of sucks, the health pickup is a potion instead of a hunk of meat, and you’re not just stuck in a castle the whole time. Also, being on the Master System you can see a hell of a lot more on the screen than on the Game Gear. It has a good challenge, but not too difficult or frustrating.
#8: Wonder Boy in Monster Land
The first Wonder Boy played more like Hudson’s Adventure Island, even though Wonder Boy came out first (That’s a story for another time). This was the game that set Wonder Boy off in a different path and gave us some really good games like The Dragon’s Trap and it’s remake, The Monster World games and their remakes, even The Dynastic Hero on the PC-Engine CD. This started in the arcades but the Master System version is the best by far. You hack and slash, getting money to get better equipment and upgrades, and explore a linear world set up into stages. You can visit shops and even chat with NPCs to get things to help you advance.
#7: Sonic Chaos
The first of three Sonic games on the list (Why yes, I happen to be a fan of Sonic The Hedgehog), this one is pretty fun, but is a little marred by some not as fun boss fights, and a really unfair and ridiculous Final Boss. Like, he has two phases, takes 16 hits to beat each one, and has a move that can insta-kill you rings or not. But the levels are fun to run through and the action is pretty good. You can pick either Sonic or Tails in this game, and Tails has his ability to fly, and Sonic has the spin dash, and the super peel-out from Sonic CD. Not that you really make use of it, just like in Sonic CD! It’s like they’re the same game!
#6: Sonic The Hedgehog 2
We all know Sonic 2 on the Game Gear is ball bustingly difficult, many horror stories about not getting past the first boss as it’s a difficult fight on a slope, you have to dodge rocks bouncing at different speeds, and there’s no rings. Well, with the Master System version, fuck all that shit, it’s way more civilized. You see more of the screen, the rocks all bounce in the same slow, low pattern, and it’s a lot more civilized. Europe was lucky to get this port since we only got the Game gear version here. the other levels are fun as well, and I like this game because Green Hill zone comes much later in the game, and has a kick-ass version of the Japanese and European Sonic CD opening song. There’s no Tails in it, even though he’s in every title card, the title screen and on the box. He’s been kidnapped and you have to save him, but this does predate his Genesis premiere (In the US on the Game Gear anyway). Or, if you get the bad ending, never see him again. You can let yourself imply whatever you want from that.
#5: Black Belt
A pretty simple belt scrolling beat-em up, you play as Riki, whose girlfriend was captured by his hated enemy and have to traverse though the levels, punching people so hard they explode and… wait a minute. Yes, this was a Fist of the North Star game in the Japanese version but since no one knew what the hell Fist of the North Star was over here, it was all scrubbed out and Kenshiro was replaced with generic karate man Riki here. He still has all the moves and enemies all explode when you hit them. This version though is way easier than the Japanese version. There’s power ups that float across the screen, one giving you invincibility that’s not on a timer, it lasts until you get hit a certain number of times. There’s also Sushi that floats by, usually after each mid boss that fills your health. In the Japanese version, the power ups are hidden and very reduced in number. So I like this version more even if the license of one of my favorite Animes was stripped from it.
#4: Kung-Fu Kid
Another Beat-em up, but this one is a little more cartoony and a lot more fun. This is actually the sequel to Dragon Wang on the SG-1000 (Stop snickering) and you play as Wang (Yes, even in the US version they kept his name as Wang. Sega didn’t care) and have to punch, kick, jump kick, sweep and throw talismans at the many enemies you will encounter. There’s Kyonshis in this game. that alone give it some power points in it’s favor. The game is very smooth and the action goes at a quick pace, and you can trick the AI by getting three enemies to follow you and no others can appear. The bosses are fun to fight, even if they have some very simple patterns (The second level boss I pretty much have down to muscle memory) but it’s fun. The music like in all the other games in this list, is very good. Also, I think this was one of the games I played the most when I was over my cousins house, who also had a Master System.
#3: Sonic The Hedgehog
Top three time baby! Here’s the last Sonic game on the list and as you can tell by it’s placement, the best. The game-play is fantastic, it has several unique levels to set it apart from it’s Genesis counterpart, and it was made by Ancient. This being Yuzo Koshiro’s company the music is fantastic. Great conversions of the level themes, and really nice compositions for the new levels (The Bridge Zone music is the best track in the game). There’s no special stages, instead you find the Chaos Emeralds hidden in the levels which I really like. The challenge is really nice, and like Sonic 2 and Chaos, being on the Master System gives you a ton more screen real estate to move around in and see what’s coming. This was also the final game released in the US for the Sega Master system, so it went out on a high note even if no one really paid that much attention to it here.
#2: Space Harrier
Until very recently, I’d say about 2 years ago, this was my all time favorite Master System game. You play as the Harrier who flies around shooting the hell out of everything that moves and doesn’t move. Compared to the Arcade version though, the graphics took a huge hit, it’s choppy, the frame rate is halved, and the sound is a little scratchy. But I’ll let you in on a little secret. I’m not a fan of the Arcade version. I like this version the most. I played it the most over my cousin’s house and even though I never beat it, I always enjoyed playing it. A nice game for when you just want to move around the screen and shoot everything and not really think about a complicated story or anything else. Just shoot the things that move and don’t let them hit you. They also added a final boss exclusive to this version of the game so there’s even more incentive to play it. So, what kicked Space Harrier out of the #1 spot? I think you can guess which game if you’re familiar with the Master System library.
And number one is, of course…
#1: Phantasy Star
I never played this game fully until I actually sat down and streamed it from start to finish using a fan translation. After playing the whole thing, this easily rocketed it’s way up to the top of the list. Even if you play the normal US version it’s still good, with a very good official translation for it’s time. Are there some flaws, yes of course. It’s very grindy and you better have a map for the later first person dungeons or you’re really boned, and there are ways to soft lock yourself into having to start the entire game from the start if you don’t know what you are doing. But that doesn’t really matter anymore. You can play the fan translation that lets you boost your Experience points and Meseta (Money) with each encounter, you can look up in a walk through for maps or play the version of this that came out on the Switch (Which not only makes a map as you go through each dungeon, but lets you boost your Exp and money. it even had a list of all the items so you can see what weapons and armor are better. And that soft lock that happens can be negated by buying a specific item before you get to that part and just keeping it around. This being the first RPG on the system, it’s still the best and spawned a whole franchise that is still around here and there. If you play any Sega Master System game, I’d recommend this one before all the others since it’s my favorite and all.
And there it is, the top ten games on the Sega Master System. Tune in next time for a list that will probably be more interesting, the bottom ten games on my list and hoo boy, there are some piles of shit on there.
