The 20 Greatest Sega Master System Games of All Time
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- Опубликовано: 21 июл 2023
- In this video I countdown the 20 greatest Sega Master System games of all-time as voted for by my viewers and the retro gaming community at large.
Video Links:
20 Greatest Consoles of All-Time: • The 20 Greatest Consol...
Retro Gaming Hysteria Facebook Group: / 1174206102963529
Sega Master System Review: • Sega Master System 1 &...
Sega Master System Games: • Over 100 Sega Master S...
Brazilian Master System Games: • All 30 Brazilian Sega ...
Unreleased Sega Master Drive: • The Story of the Unrel...
Sega Master System Exclusives: • 10 Amazing Sega Master...
Greatest of All-Time Playlist: • The 20 Greatest Consol...
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#Nintendo #RetroGaming #SuperNintendo 
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Anything SMS is an insta-click for me
Same here
ruclips.net/video/ROPKyOJuu9M/видео.htmlsi=BWYOnF6shHUZ_lx_
No lies detected
SMS was my first system and I loved it!
Mine too 😊
This is the best top sms list
Other lists are rubbish
Shinboi and WBIII on 2d and 3rd spot. Excellent!
Well done and all who contributed.
Glad you enjoyed!
Exactly. I saw a different Top 20 video the other day, and _Phantasy Star_ didn't even make the list, for example. Like...WTF??
being older i bought this when i left home and it has to rank as one my fav consoles of all time.
How old are you? You left home when this system was released?
Ys, Wonder Boy 3, and Phantasy Star I remember to this day. The music instantly triggers memories.
Still have my master system from the 80s works perfectly , They built consoles to last back in the day !!
LOL, I definitely remember those Sega Master System TV commercials starring a super-young Stephen Dorff back when I was in grade school and middle school. Great times.
I always remember playing Alex Kidd in Shinobi World on the console we had, good times... Nowadays I play it on the Miyoo Mini Plus, still an enjoyable experience 🙂👍
Road Rash, Sonic Choas, Cool Spot and Donald Duck and the Lucky Dime Caper for me.
I owned Phantasy Star from new on release day, being 6 at the time i did pretty well, i got as far as finding Noah, but gave up, went back to the game 10 years later, and completed it still loving every second. Every now and then i do a complete playthough its just that good.
I played Rocky for hours with my friends , can't believe it wasn't on the list .
In my top 20 there are Kenseiden, Castle of Illusion, Sonic 2, Streets of Rage, Ninja Gaiden and Batman Returns.
No surprise that Phantasy Star is number one. It's still to this day a fine game and one I replay every few years.
This definitely sent me on a nostalgic trip. The SMS was my first game console when I was a kid, but I didn't get a big library of games for it. They were pretty uncommon in Canada and my parents wouldn't spend much on games for me, so I was limited to choosing from the small selection of used games at a local game shop. Still, I spent tons of hours playing R-Type and Double Dragon, among others. Fond memories.
I'll have to check out most of the games on this list.
Great feature thank you. Im now less than thity minutes away from winning a system on ebay and reclaiming another vintage piece of my childhood.
Good luck!
Asterix was one of my favourites on the Master System. There was a bit I got stuck on where you had to navigate a hole in the ground and I kept falling in. My friend came over a visit and simply walked over the gap. I felt so stupid 🤦♂️
Asterix only just missed out on the Top 20.
I would have picked Asterix, the graphics were as good as the cartoon and comic books.
What game surprises me not to be on the list? Ninja Gaiden, easily in the top 5 🤗. Thanks for all this work!
Yeah I really like Ninja Gaiden and featured it in my 10 Amazing Sega Master System Exclusives video. It only just missed out on the top 20.
ruclips.net/video/ssiuKS4tjzk/видео.html&ab_channel=TheLaird%27sLair
I have always loved wonder boy 3, it's one of my all time favourites on any system.
i feel you dude. Shudda been #1
Man your greatest arcade game series is really awesome. I watched every year and love your videos.
Glad you like them!
I once owned a VHS tape of Zillion the Animation. It was a dub from Streamline Pictures, the company that did an early dub of Akira which featured Cam Clarke who was known as the voice of Ninja Turtles' Leonardo. The anime had a laser tag tie-in, which is why the good guys had those light sensor and zapper thingies.
Rastan was a really good conversion. Wish we knew of the FM options back in the day lol
Glad to see Wonder Boy (the original) and Golvellius here
Great List. I totaly agree with your Ranking
Very very happy to see Ys crack the top 10. Not the best version of the game but still a fantastic port of such a classic RPG. That being said i’m also very happy to see Phantasy Star take its rightful place at the top of the list. Still a masterpiece even some 30 years later, and the series only got better as it crossed over to the Mega Drive
I'm glad to see that Fantasy Zone made this list as it truly is an underrated game.
For hundreds of people to vote and overlook a masterpiece like Power Strike 2 which is arguably one of the greatest 8-Bit shooters of all time shows that maybe there's still lots of people who never got to play it since it was an European exclusive release. Other than that I'm totally on board with Phantasy Star being #1. I used to assume or speculate the cartridge had some kind of enhancement chip as some of the graphics resembled something you'd see on a 16-Bit system like the Genesis, yet all the while it was the vanilla SMS pumping out that kind of quality in 1987. 😃
It got quite a few votes, just not enough to rank in the top 20, or top 40 for that matter sadly. I think it's just too rare like you say, because it's a brilliant game. I featured in my 10 Amazing Sega Master System Exclusives video:
ruclips.net/video/ssiuKS4tjzk/видео.html&ab_channel=TheLaird%27sLair
Even in Europe it's very rare and expensive, unfortunately
I love Aleste/Power Strike. And I do agree that Power Strike 2 is is the apex for vertical shooters on SMS.
It always amazes me how these polls produce solid lists like this one, which is a great representation of the SMS library. Although I still prefer the NES, the Master System has a lot to offer, and I'm glad it's finally getting the love it deserves. Sega and Nintendo complemented each other so well in the 1980s and 1990s, especially their 8 and 16-bit consoles, and I'm proud to own all of them and lots of games. As far as Master System goes, I currently own around 100 games, but there are many more I still need, such as Rampage and the original Wonderboy (both in this list) or Ninja Gaiden (which didn't make it)
I prefer the SMS myself, but like you say they offer very different experiences, even more so when you throw the Atari 7800 into the mix too.
@@TheLairdsLair I have two NES consoles, having purchased the first in September 2019, and the second in September 2022. I also still have my original Atari 7800 with seventeen titles CIB. My mom gave me the console for Christmas 2019, after I convinced her that's what I wanted, however, she didn't know where the games were (only "Pole Position II" and "Night Driver"). She then found all the other games when she was gutting her basement after my stepfather passed away. She gave them to me on Mother's Day 2021, which made it feel more like my own birthday! 😆
Ironically, I never owned a SMS, but had a friend growing up who had one with a handful of games. We never really played it, because he was more into playing sports and getting into trouble, as it goes.
@@TheLairdsLairThank you for this and all your efforts
Solid list with no surprises.
I didnt see the notification for voting unfortunately, but my top 5 would be:
1): Wonder Boy 3 - Still play it now and was the first game i got again when i got into collecting.
The music and sound effects are burned into my memory. Fantastic game.
2): R-Type
3): Wonder Boy in Monster Land
4): Rastan
5): Outrun
Keep up the good work mate.
Strange, because I posted the voting form twice too! Always worth checking my community tab a couple of times a week ;-)
Looks like all your picks made the list anyway!
I'll definitely have to do that in the future, cheers.
Yeah for real, some great games on the list...a few I haven't played/owned...but they are on my list of wants.
I love this console. Golvellius makes the list on merit, a brilliant Compile game. Completing that was a fun exercise. Wish I hadn't sold my SMS back in the 90's now.
This was THE 8-bit console for we europeans and brasilian people, but it remains quite obscure anywhere else in the World and ithat's a shame, because the MS is full of gems.
Master of Darkness and Wonder Boy III were unbelievable for the hardware. The first time I've played Master of Darkness I was scared by the music...yeah, because it was effectively scary!
Well done Sega. But, as far as I concern, Sonic 2 was far way better than the first one: it was a really unique game among the Sonic franchise, with better level design and great music also.
Alex Kidd In Miracle World, I'd rate as being an overall better game than Super Mario Bros. It offers a lot more variety, it isn't simply a run-to-the-right affair. I do acknowledge that SMB is one of the greatest video games of all time, and it's fair to point out that Alex Kidd may have been heavily influenced by it. But I do think that the gameplay of SMB is sometimes a little overrated. Sonic The Hedgehog on the SMS, I am biased towards. It's easily among my top five games of all time. To try and be objective, I do think that Green Hill Zone offers a somewhat unimpressive start, especially in comparison to its 16-bit counterpart. Act 3 contains nothing, other than a very easy boss battle. But things quickly improve in Bridge Zone. From Jungle onwards, it really gets into top gear. This is where it really starts to impress. Although the 8-bit and 16-bit versions are compared a lot, it's actually not a straight forwards battle. They are two very different games, which I think was a wise move. Instead of just porting it to be a poor-man's Sonic, they developed it for what the SMS could realistically offer. I think that Sonic 1 on the SMS is one of the most underrated and overlooked games of all time.
I prefer it to SMB too, you're not alone.
No Space Harrier! Graphics were so cool for the time, esp with the 3D glasses.
My personal Top 5 would be Wonder Boy 2 and 3, Golvellius, Ys and Phantasy Star. Some of the later games might surpass those, but I moved on from the SMS when the Genesis/Mega Drive was released.
Thank you for the video
Why the SMS sputtered so much in North America.. still baffles me. Late in elementary school, the ' third gen' 8 bit consoles started trickiling into friends houses. My first impression of it was really solid. I think one kid had Space Harrier and Rambo. But by Dec 87... everyone was getting a nintendo. I think one gamer friend had the SMS later
.. he had most systems and an Atari ST. But I think he just had tge RPGs which while good... weren't the things we picked up to play at his house.. i think we played the ST and the nintendo... he played one of the SMS rpgs in thr living room.😂😂😂
Bad marketing and poor availability, that's all you can put it down to really.
@@TheLairdsLair yeah. It was one helluva good system. The fact that Genesis/MD ports for it played as well as that Sonic Port is just jaw dropping. SEGA N.A. did it right only with Genesis. They were f-ups for the rest.
I posit that "Side crawler's dance" from Wonderboy III is the best non-FM produced piece of music on the SMS.
When the intro is nearly as long as the video 🎉😂
Cyborg Hunter should be on this list, but I don’t know what game I would bump
Surprised golden axe isnt on this list. Also loved alex Kidd in shinobi world absolute classic game
Really nice! Not much surprised about the 1st place, but I got very glad about it, as well as Alex Kidd in Miracle World. Shinobi was indeed a BIG surprise. Thanks for putting my comment about Zillion. I wonder how much my beloved Kenseiden has ranked...
By the way, will you make a poll like that for the NES?
Kenseiden, just missed out on the top 40 on a tie break.
I'll definitely do one for the NES at some point, just trying to vary the systems between the different companies and types (console/computer/handheld)
@@TheLairdsLair And what about Sonic 2? Great, I'll look forward to the NES' poll!
I was actually surprised at just how few votes Sonic 2 got, it didn't even make the top 40!
@@TheLairdsLair NOW I AM SURPRISED. How come forgetting Sonic 2 on Master System?!
My top:
1.batman returns
2.streets of rage
3.robocop VS the Terminator
4.predator 2
5.sonic
6.ninja gaiden
7.alex kidd.in mira le world
8.battle out run
9.moonwalker
10.e-swat
Golden Axe Warrior suggests you had collectors/"system snobs" voting as opposed to "normal" players, and it's place is here due to its rarity rather than any gaming It's an incredibly rare game that only a tiny number would have played on the original hardware!
It could also be that people have tried it through emulation.
In 2023 "normal" gamers don't play on the Master System, and most of all in 2023 we have a different appreciation of the system after 20+ years of retrogaming websites, RUclips channels and so on. I personally voted for Kenseiden, which isn't a game I would have played in the 1990s. The same goes for Golden Axe Warrior, which has become more widely known now. Of course results for the same poll in 1995 would have been totally different
It wasn't a rarity outside of the USA - in fact it was very common. Was a great game I owned back in the day, and I'd suggest your comments come from a place of ignorance rather than educated.
Surprised Space Harrier and Ghouls N Gosts didn't make it!
I really enjoyed Captain Silver.
That first commercial freaked me the f*ck out.
Master system = love.
Wonder boy 3 used the color palette of the SMS so well. Very little flicker, immersive gameplay, tons of secrets and great sound. I don't see how it's not the best game on the sms by far but whatever.
I full on expected Wonder Boy III to win, I was really surprised when it didn't.
@@TheLairdsLair Guess it came out a little too late in the console's lifespan. But i am sure that everyone who actually played it had it in their top 2.
I see all your comments!
@@TheLairdsLair Yeah YT was being weird, they didn't show up for me after refreshing :(
Alex kidd was also balls hard. if you didn't know to buy the starmap you had like a 1 in 564 chance to complete the game.
phantasy star this it the way !!!!! THE GAME of the SYSTEM
When a really good game doesn't make a list like this, I think it qualifies as a hidden gem. Every Master System shooter fan should try out Submarine Attack, it's just different enough to be a lot of fun.
I'll have to check that out!
Never heard of it. It looks really good.
Bubble Bobble "one of the best multiplayer games on the console.."?
Dude.. Bubble Bobble is comfortably one of the best multi-player games ever! And whilst not unique in this, it's one of those games that is special because playing it with 2 players makes it EXACTLY twice as easy as playing it with 1 player. lol
I agree, it's one of my favourite games ever.
Woooo lets goooo
I’m surprised no one ever mentions the baseball games for SMS as both Great Baseball and American or Reggie Jackson Baseball are both excellent games.
I am guessing because the Master System was very popular in Europe and South America, where nobody is interested in baseball.
Wonderboy in monsterland
Oh man I remember that Sega commercial when the TV screen became alive. I was so excited about it. But ... eventually I ended up saving money for NES.
I'm not a fan of rpgs, buts hard to argue with most of this list
Great list again. But I'd really like to see more of the games. Literally, only about 25% of the screen shows actual game play. Why not show the screen as it is now with the box (which is great) but zoom in to the tv when you are done talking about it?
It would improve quality in my opinion!
There's not a single one of these games that are undeserving of being in the top 20. I could have easily swapped any of these others with any in my top-5 besides my pick of Shinobi; the SMS has some great games. I do wonder if I'm the only one with The Flash as a pick for being in their top-5: I just had to pick it solely for that wonderful Jeroen Tel soundtrack.
I can confirm, you were the only person who mentioned The Flash!
Phantasy Star being at the top makes sense.
Although I'm kinda surprised Alex Kidd in Shinobi World is not here.
It only just missed out.
Really good list. These are not played on the console with the PSG chip, are they? Some of them sound weird. I really enjoyed games like Spellcaster aka Kujaku Oh, Kenseiden, Space Harrier 3-D and many others. Again good list.
Yes, I think I had PSG sound turned on.
I'd say hard to understand how bubble bobble ended up behind wonderboy, outrun, rastan. MS bubble is arguably better than the arcade because of the additional secrets and power ups. Outrun is an most an acceptable conversion of a brilliant arcade game, Rastan and Wonderboy great conversions of crap arcade games (I liked both in the day tbf, but they're not fun to return to!)
Yeah, it's a great port and a game I would have ranked higher personally.
If Nintendo didn't have a lock on Konami and Capcom the SMS would have easily dominated as their games on the sms would have looked so much better
There is actually quite a few Capcom games on the SMS like Forgotten Worlds, Strider, Street Fighter II and Ghouls 'n Ghosts.
@@TheLairdsLair you are right, I totally forgot that strider and Ghouls n ghost are on there
Dragon Crystal is my favourite.
Rtype first shinobi second this is all wrong but I guess it's the difficulty of those 2 that puts people off I still love rtype and can get to the last boss but its on my list to complete and when I do I'll probably cry :)
I loved R type the graphics were sick at the time
My console evolution list and years include 👇
😮
Sega master system -i cant remember yar i used it.
Sega mega drive 1990- 1993
Playstation 1 1995
Ps1 slim 1996- 1999
Ps2 slim 2000- 2006
Ps3 slim 2009-2013
Ps4 slim current console 2014- 2024
I always ask myself what would have happened if I asked for a Master System instead of a Nintendo. We could barely afford one of those back then. Master System was neat but I am glad I got the Nintendo. Besides the sound on the Master System makes my ears bleed.
Yeah. The Master System was basically an SG-1000 with 3 differences.
1. Built-in card slot. The SG-1000 plays cards, but you need an adapter.
2. 8kb of RAM instead of 1kb.
3. An upgraded video chip of Sega's own design, but backwards compatible with the original Texas Instruments-designed chip.
They should have tweaked the sound chip too. The sound chip (also by Texas Instruments) isn't great at providing bass, so everything is very high pitched compared to the NES.
I still have an original SMS
Send it to me
I played a couple of the games mentioned; even though the SMS had the better graphics I would pick the NES over it. The NES had the more memorable games.
I prefer the SMS, but I know I'm in the minority!
I personally liked Ninja Gaiden for that system, but most of the top 20 games were North American versions.
Ninja Gaiden only just missed out on the top 20.
You can get a coverter so you can play sms games on game gear.
My top 10
1 wonderboy 2
2 gain ground
3 Asterix
4 Castle of illusion
5 psycho fox
6 wonder boy 3
7 golvellius
8 Alex kidd in shinobi world
9 land of illusion
10 ninja
Dont understand noone list gain ground... Its soo stupid not have it on the list. And ofc fantasy star and golden axe warrior but have only 10 spots but they can be their together with ninja. And Street of rage and many many more games.
This is a problem when you ask to people their opinions, all games here are all the most famous, or basic historical to know; but only few are real good games, much more games not mentioned was better in graphics, gameplay, musics etc ...
Sega Master system had the best graphics at the time
Despite being a Brit, I never encountered a Master System during my childhood, but given it's strong history in the UK it is a system I'd like to own one day. It's just a matter of room and cost and it's easier to focus my retro game collecting on a single system (the less retro Wii in my case). Still, if I ever do own a Master System, I'm sure this will be a handy guide of games to look out for.
2:54 - That's very surprising given how big RPGs were on the SNES. As for the Master System higher voter base, I suppose a less focused-on system like Master System would have a more dedicated following, due to how it's not as widespread in discussions. You can easily find polls and videos discussing the SNES and Mega Drive, less so the Master System.
4:01 - Fantasy Zone is certainly a game I'd love to give a more thorough go someday, as I've only played it in short periods before. Those bright visuals just leap out the screen. It is surprising that Opa-Opa's game didn't rank higher but perhaps vote got split between it's sequel.
5:25 - I've never actually heard of Golvellius before. The green haired warrior looks pretty cool.
9:27 - I've never played Psycho Fox but I have played Decap Attack and I really enjoyed that game (fond memories of Sonic the Comic though may have helped with that fondness though.
11:56 - Rather funny that Ax and Tyris both have spin-off games where they are the lead protagonist and yet Gilius is still the most recognisable Golden Axe character and face of the franchise.
13:01 - I've heard nothing but praise for Sonic's Master System debut... well, aside from critique on including auto-scrolling levels. Definitely one I'd love to check out, be it on Master System or Game Gear.
13:30 - I once derailed an entire History lesson at school by mentioning Alex Kidd. My history teacher turned out to be quite a fan and ending up talking about Alex Kidd in Miracle World for a solid 5+ minutes.
15:18 - I'm not surprised Phantasy Star made the top 10 but I am surprised it made the number 1 spot (that early game grind can be a harsh introduction). I've enjoyed my time with it before on the Sega Mega Collection and own the Switch version of it... need to get around to playing that someday.
Wow, no Asterix game in the list... what a pity
What about Rambo III ? Cyborg Hunter? After Burner? Hang on?
What about them? They didn't get enough votes. Although Rambo III did make the Top 40 (32nd place)
06:22 ummm, there was a C64 version. I know, i still have it.
The C64 isn't a console, there are quite a few home computer ports.
@@TheLairdsLair Your right, however you said there was no 'Home Ports' you didn't say console.
I hope you can understand my confusion. :)
Nope, listen again, I say "only home console port"
unfortunately a lot of the best sms games are not here like, road rash, impossible mission, populus, kung fu kid, alladin, enduro racer, golden axe, double dragon, renegade, california games, choplifter, gauntlet, the new zealand story, barcelona 92, global defence, sagaia, super space invaders, winter olympics lillihammer94, just to name a few.
This is what people voted for!
The video starts at 3:54
No it doesn't, the countdown starts at 3:54, the intro is actually quite important.
Kenseiden? Rambo(secret command)? Not in the top 20?
Kenseiden only just missed out.
Castle of illusion should be much higher
What a disappointment for number 1 :/ turn based rpg games have always been my least favourite but are the most popular lol
I thought the same but phatasy star and later on ZELDA ON Nes will hook you
Saaaaame.
When I see people talking about RPGs in a list, I'm like: 🥱😴⏩⏩⏩
Did SEGA strike a deal with Disney because Nintendo was holding all the best developers hostage? (Konami, Capcom, Hudson Soft).
I'm not the biggest fan of Disney games but they were all the best looking games on the system and im sure i heard that Disney would do all thier own game development back then because they didnt want the IP getting tarnished. When you look at all the studios Nintendo had contracted to work on only thier console its amazing that SEGA didnt go under.
Yes, along with the sports games it was one of the many deals that Sega struck to get around Nintendo's monopoly.
@@TheLairdsLair do you take suggestions for video topics?
I think it is a great story how sega managed to build a unique library of games without help from any of the big developers Nintendo had and still succeed, it's quite amazing that SEGA could have ended right there and we wouldn't have had the eventual Dreamcast
You'd be interested to know that a few years ago I did an interview with former Sega of America President Mike Katz and we spoke at length about that very subject. I plan to put the interview in an upcoming Mega Drive/Genesis book that I hope to have out before Christmas. I might do a video about it at some point too.
@@TheLairdsLair look forward to seeing that
Glad to see Wonder Boy (the original) and Golvellius here