For me, Phantasy Star is the best game on the console. I first played it after playing through 2-4 in the early 90s and only had an idea in my head of what this game would be like based off of rarely found screenshots and a bit of written word in magazines. I was disappointed the first time I played it but grew to love it. It’s now my second favorite in the series after 4.
Phantasy Star is not only the best game on the system it is arguably the best 8-bit game ever made. I play through it every couple of years the same as I play through Super Mario 3, Zelda and Metroid every few years. Don't forget amazing first person dungeons and a soundtrack that rivals any soundtrack of it's era. It's also blows Dragon Warrior, Final Fantasy 1&2, Ultima and Miracle Warriors out of the water. Easily my favorite game of the 8-bit era distantly followed by the Nintendo classics such as Zelda and Castlevania. It even has an open world with 3 planets to fly back and forth from.
I would love to see a play through / review!! What a wildly amazing game from start to finish. It's the best of the 4 in the series and even by today's standard is an extremely fun RPG. It's a grindy level up with a strategy guide for the dungeons and the open world aspect of three planets to explore is a blast! The special legendary Laconian weapons are fun to track down so that you can beat Dark Falz!! In fact when Phantasy Star 2 came out on the Sega Genesis I was HUGELY disappointed. Only 2 planets? No first person dungeons? No random encounter fights where there is actual graphics of the location in the background? Phantasy Star 3 was terrible. Phantasy Star 4 was really good, but still not even close to as good as the first. This game really should stand out as the very best RPG of all time or at least on the level of classics such Final Fantasy 7, Chrono Trigger and Skies of Arcadia. It's the undisclosed secret best game at the time of the 8-bit system era. IMHO, best RPG of all time.
I only have one master system game, R-Type. My mom found it at a garage sale a few years ago and got it for me, even though I never owned the console. I was finally able to play it when I got my Mega SG, which comes with an adapter to play master system games.
Great group of games. I would add Wonder Boy, Wonder Boy in Monster Land, Missile Defense 3-D, R*Type, R.C. Grand Prix, Phantasy Star, Ys, and maybe Shinobi and Black Belt.
I definitely find that Wonder Boy in Monster Land gets overshadowed by its sequel. Wonder Boy in Monster Land has discrete levels instead of the sequel's Metroidvania level design, it's missing the mechanic of switching between different creature types, and the graphics are a bit simpler, but it's still a perfectly solid action platformer on its own merits and I think I might have a slight preference for the music in Monster Land compared to Wonder Boy III.
RC Grand Prix is not a good game. If you want a game like that, Buggy Run is a much better option. And Missile Defence isn't great either, better than RC Grand Prix though. Black Belt and Shinobi are good but not great, although Shinobi gets praised to the rafters these days for some reason.
@@jeremiahthomas8140 Don't want to be good at it, it's sh*te! 😀 Even if you like the game, how could you consider it top tier? Buggy Run's a much better game in every way, looks better, controls better and way more fun.
@@UltimateGamerCCmiracle warriors doesn't need to be on there. It's fun but a 5 star game? Meaning it's basically close to perfection for its time, little to nothing to improve? Nah.
very few games reach THAT so-called "close to perfection", so few in fact that if you want to go down that route, SMS has no 5-star games. and do you understand WHY i say that? cause that is all subjective based on one's opinion, which can greatly differ from person to person.@@JaceyMitchell
Game design isn't purely subjective though. And context is important. A 5-star rating should be rare exceedingly rare, because there's no going up from there. And there should be some amount of objectivity involved. I know plenty of games that I don't personally enjoy, but that are undeniably great games (the 8 and 16-bit Sonic games). And there are also plenty of games that I personally enjoy but that don't qualify as all-time classics, or even as objectively good games (E-Swat on SMS). Some of the benchmarks you can use are "is one of the best designed games on the SMS?" "Does it take what game design on the SMS is capable of (at that particular time) and push it to its limits?", or "is this a genre defining/system defining game". I believe you could argue all of these things for Phantasy Star, or Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap. Miracle Warriors? Not so much. Not a bad game, but does it stand as a truly all-time great game, one that is equal to Phantasy Star? If it's all purely subjective then your original comment makes no sense. No point in discussing anything that's purely subjective. And no point in telling someone "this should be on there too". If it's all subjective, then it's all a moot point anyway.
@@UltimateGamerCCNot all opinions are equal though, that's the mistake you're making. Your opinion is decidedly below standard. Others have better opinions.
the SEGA Master System was my first ever console, got it for my 5th birthday in 1986, thanks to my Grandparents (god rest their souls) and from that moment on my life changed forever. my nominees for 5-STAR; Phantasy Star, Global Defender, R-Type.
Great choices! I wasn't able to get into Miracle Warriors, Quartet, or Zillion, but I'm a big fan of all the rest! One of the coolest things about Kenseiden is that you can learn new techniques as you get further into the game.
I grew up with the Sega Mouse-Turd System (its an affectionate name) and i was lucky enough, out of the 5 or six games i could afford to buy, to have stumbled into Kenseiden and Golden Ax Warrior. There was no place to rent Master System games, and i was too young to know games magazines were a thing yet. I loved both those games.
Thanks for the recommendations. I've played around with emulating the master system, but had a litrle trouble figuring out which games are worth trying first. I've played a little bit of Zillion and it's definitely on my backlog. Added quite a few from this list to it too.
Retro gaming hippie approves! Nice work as usual from the incomparable Mr. Riggs I have yet to obtain a master system, but I did pick up a power base converter so I can explore these games. Miracle warriors and phantasy star are first on my list.
I never realised Sonic on the Master System was a port until i was older, as it was one of the first games i owned as a kid, i had a few other games, but Sonic and Alex Kidd were my favourites on the system.
I lean into SMS arcade ports, myself. I got my SMS dirt cheap around the time the Genesis came out, and was getting games at bargain bin prices from Half Price Books in Dallas TX, still have them and my original SMS. For games with more depth, like RPG's or adventure games, I was more inclined to go with computer games, so my console gaming was much more action/arcade oriented. That said, my own five star lineup would be: Alex Kidd Miracle World and Shinobi World, Afterburner, Hang-On, Altered Beast, Shinobi, Rastan, the Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck games, Rampage, the Fantasy Zones, Choplifter, R-Type, Sonic (which is absolutely AMAZING on that hardware), Astro Warrior (underrated, IMHO), and Outrun. I didn't have the 3D glasses, but always loved Subroc, so I'll give an honorable mention to Air Sea Battle as one that probably belongs on the list. As a D&D player back in the day, I probably would have enjoyed Golden Axe Warrior, too. If Space Harrier's animation was a LITTLE smoother, it would have made it, as well. And Thunderblade would have if rhe difficulty level was a little less off-the-charts. Although they had a library about 1/3 the size of NES, the SMS probably had about 5-6 times as many games that I actually wanted to play, and with the HUNDREDS of UK and Brazilian releases, that's even more the case now. SEGA FTW!!!
Great Video and you picked all my favorite games on the Sega master system. I have so many fond memories of the Sega master system me ND my sister had to walk 3 miles to the nearest video rental shop and we use to hire the Sega master system console out for the weekend before we eventually got one for Xmas.
I bought the SMS because of Choplifter. Played it in Apple IIe 1st, then got it on C64. When I seen it on SMS it made my mind up on which system I was asking parents to buy for me. SMS graphics were SO much more vibrant to NES. Sorry, y’all sound was better too. Don’t get me wrong, loved NES too. But, brother and most friends had NES. I played, beat, and enjoyed many of the games. Also, couldn’t play R-Type on NES.
I grew up playing SMS. In Europe Alex Kidd in Miracle World came with the console and he was eating a burger instead of onigiri :-) Wonderboy 3 is probably one of my favorite games of all time. Remaster is great too (unlike Alex Kidd remaster). Make sure to check Psycho Fox if you never played. It is similar to wonder boy. Thanks for the video, I never played 2-3 games from this list, will have to check it out :-)
I remember as a kid back when I played the mega drive, I read about the master system somewhere and that really fired up my imagination on what it could be, the name just sounded so awesome. I never got to play a real master system, but later got to enjoy few epic games like Power Strike 2 on various collections :)
MIRACLE WARRIORS!! This was one of my first couple Master System games, I didn't even know what I was in for when I picked it out at the store. So many fun hours spent on this one. I would like to play it again one day. I lost the cool map that came with the game years ago. Great video, Riggs!
SMS Land of Illusion is twice as good SMS Castle of Illusion, you must play it. Many unique gameplay mechanics/twists that keep you playing til the end, quietly one of the best 8-bit Disney games. Plus both Disney duck games, Lucky Dime Caper and Deep Duck Trouble are great. Asterix and the Secret Mission is a great PAL exclusive, fun to control with a nice double jump, a very good SMS game. You can't forget Ninja Gaiden, it's completely different and so much easier than the NES version, but it's still so good and it's own thing. There's plenty more that deserve to be played, I love the Master System even though I never played it growing up. I wish we had more homebrews/hacks/ports and de-makes of other consoles' games.
@CaptAwesumNo1Zone yes, I mentioned both of them, I think both are fun though I like Lucky Dime Caper a bit more. If u want to play a sequel to Deep Duck Trouble, play Donald Duck: Goin' Quackers on Game Boy Color(Donald Duck: Quack Attack on Game Boy Color is the same game). It improves on the original in every way, plus the graphics are really impressive for a GBC game.
Awesome video, thanks John. Loved my Master System. I only had one controller but could plug my C64 joystick in and enjoy some two player goodness, brings it all back!! I still have it and a stack of games but it hasn't been powered up for a long time.
Cracking list 👌🏻👏🏻 absolutely love the Master System, it was my first console as a kid (the MK2 version though)! I have most of your 5-star list either for the Master System or on the Game Gear. Lots of childhood memories! Also, that dust cover you have is absolutely superb ❤
Here in Italy the Master System, especially the Master System II, was the equivalent of NES for the kids of North America. The console was cheaper than the NES and so the games. Plus, their plastic boxes gave to our parents a sensation of "better looking" pieces than the cardboard which Nintendo used for NES games. Most of my early childhood memories come from the Master System II of my cousin, while I had a 2600 at home at that time. Try games like Sonic 2, Master of Darkness and Batman Returns: these are masterpieces!
Same Here in Germany. We went from 2600 to Master System the time the Mega Drive was about to be released and bought all the Games usede, MS an then the SNES my childhood. In the end we Had a massive collection including 3D glasses, the gun and pro Arcaden Stick.
True, I didn't even have idea the NES existed until much later. The only consoles I knew in the mid 90s, as a kid, were the master system, mega drive and super Nintendo.
Can't have a Mighty Master System top tier games list without mentioning R-Type, such a brilliant shooter with amazing soundtracks throughout. Dessert Strike on the master system also plays really well 👍
Thank you for the great video! I would add: the two 1st Asterix games, R-Type, Ninja Gaiden, Bomber Raid, Power Strike 2, Spellcaster, Shinobi, Psycho Fox, Lucky Dime Caper, …
the cyclopic umbrela thing is called a kasa obake. which just means umbrella apparition / ghost and is from japanes folklore which is why its so common in games
My Master System collection to the best of my recollection: Shinobi, Double Dragon, Alex Kidd, and possibly one of the Rambo games. Edit: and Phantasy Star I think. I will go check and return. Edit 2: okay it’s just Double Dragon, Shinobi, and Vigilante. Still not too shabby.
It's too bad you didn't mention PAL releases because the Donald Duck games (Lucky Dime Caper and Deep Duck Trouble), Batman Returns, Land of Illusion, Streets of Rage 1 (not 2, stay far away from it), and Robocop vs Terminator are very good. Also, no Phantasy Star? Power Strike?
Not exactly related, but I tried evo for the snes following your recommendation and its soooo awesome how could i have missed it from back in the day! Thanks for these awesome videos!
The Master System was my first system. I begged for it. Most of my friends were getting NES and I loved SEGA arcade games, so i thought it was the best of both worlds. Too bad the US was the worst place to own one. Brazil and the UK got all the games.
i love playing the Master System as a kid. The snail maze with no games in it. My buddy had 1 card game TransBot that was fun to play. Back in 85 i was shocked how little it was & i couldn't believe a whole game was on one little card. Now we got the Switch Games, but back in 85 that was considered tiny! Love all your picks for the Master System & i didn't know Sonic was made for it. I'll have to check that out. i missed this system so much i broke down & got an emulator to play all the old Master System Games. Going digital for Retro Games how odd is that?
Wonder Boy 3 is my favourite Master System game, the first level of WB3 is the final level of the previous game, Wonder Boy in Monster Land (which is why you are all powered up with lots of hearts and amazing gear)
Lots of fun watching this video! I was very happy to see Miracle Warriors on it. It was my first RPG and I really enjoyed it. Yes, it's a grind fest but it's got game. Miracle Warriors is actual a port with much improved graphics on the Master System! I also was really happy to see Quartet make your list. It was one of my first Master System games as a kid and while it can feel a bit stiff it's a solid game with some real depth to uncover and master. The Japanese version was called Double Target which feels like a good fit for this two player version. Phantasy Star should have been on this list, but I think you are just baiting us... you cheeky minx.
😂that's hilarious,Duet , I've literally made that joke before about the master system quartet . Great episode I agree with you across the board, but I'm Master system biased by nostalgia. Excellent
I remember getting the 3-D glasses. Blew people's minds. Granted, they were other 10 year olds who lived in the middle of Iowa, so we aren't setting the bar very high, but it was a neat gimmick.
Zillian's gameplay reminds me of Aliens 3 on SNES. Especially the interactive computers, but just overall really. I'm actually surprised because of this realization right now lol. (never played Zillian though, but because I did play Aliens 3 on SNES a few months ago it immediately reminds me of that).
I missed out on the Master System back then... NES, SNES, and even had/have a Genesis... But I should invest I'm thr Master System. Looks fun! Thanks for the vid :)
Streets Of Rage, Bubble Bobble, Rampage, Micro Machines. Think I got my Master System after it had been out for a few years and I was around 12. Had a Master System II with Alex Kidd built in. Had a ton more games than that but I forget most of them. Unfortunately it got stolen when we came back from holiday but I was able to upgrade to a Megadrive with the house insurance, when we eventually got it.
A video that pushes the limit of the master system would be great. Noticeably 1) robocop v terminator (it had full sentences spoken on the game!!! Wow! “Thank you for your cooperation!” And the graphics looked 16bit 2) special criminal investigation. Ok massively called scaled down sprites but has the speed and guns from the game. It was cool. 3) mortal kombat 1. (212down up) blood code. The limit it pushed the cartridge to handle to stop motion characters was immense. 4) moonwalker was awesome 5) street fighter 2!!! Again hello!!! Looked extremely well ported. 6) Road Rash was so good on the MSX. 7) T2 the arcade game had me thinking how on earth they did this!!!????
I had a Sega Master System growing up. It originally belonged to my older siblings. I remember that our version of Alex Kidd in Miracle World, instead of an onigiri, he ate a hamburger, haha. All else being the same, this was the one part they felt the need to translate
Great list. I'd add R-Type to it though.. Seeing it on the SMS surprised me when I first saw it, when it was Nintendo's name on the arcade title screen.
Yes, Zillion rules (and so do the other games you introduced). You'll probably laugh, but I think Action Fighter is a 5 star game. There are a couple 5 star homebrews as well, Silver Valley in particular
Shout-out to Wonderboy 3! Might be my favorite SMS game ever. Admittedly didn't finish it until I found out 'Dragon's Curse' was the PCE version of it (albeit with slightly different sprites) on OG wii virtual console. It's definitely a fun one! also if you don't have it already can't recommend enough DotEmu's HD remake of it. (which does also include a retro pixel mode, and I believe you can unlock the retro FM version of the music from the Japanese version?!) love it way more than zelda 2.
Oh man, I remember wanting the Alex Kidd game but learned that NES didn't have it. Pretty sure that I asked my parents to buy the Master System just for that game. We didn't get it of course, plus we were poor.
Golden Axe Warrior looks amazing. That snake boss looks like the same sprite used in Wonder Boy In monster Land. Also the "Ghost zombie monster things" are from Japanese culture, they are called YoKai, like from the IP Yokai Watch
The onigiri was changed to a hamburger over here in Australia 😊 Or, just in PAL regions, I guess. To this day, I’ve never met anyone that had an Alex Kidd cartridge. Most people had the Master System 2, which just had Alex Kidd built into the console. Which was pretty awesome.
Phantasy star must be a 6 star game since it is not on this list because it is one of the best jrpg that was released world wide in every region for the master system
you named all the games i had and loved- i would rate california games 4/5 maybe 5, btw fantasy zone 2 i would rate the best fantasy zone game period. phantasy star is amazing rpg (i dont normally like them)Zillion yes good game- initially it sux tho imo. lord of the sword same deal you eventually get hooked into it. ahah as a kiwi we were almost except for the few all about sega master system we even had a sega store here 1 of the very few outside japan. so many great games on the system it is hard for me to choose just 5 games. my next door neighbour had a SC-3000 also had sega 1000 system he sold both of them to me as he moved onto a pc. But they were also ahead of its time but yes by th time i played the sms it was way ahead of other 8 bit systems. of course i went on to get the sega mega drive but turned to the great amiga 500 and played both for ages then the PlayStation changed everything again ,still the best games around. I think sms graphics are a lot better and colourful than the nes, i did enjoy smb but alex kidd had my heart. that ending where you get clues and have to solve that puzzle
![Noob To Max With DRAGON REWORK In Blox Fruits [FULL MOVIE]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/LnBMOinoOvA/mqdefault.jpg)
5-Star NES ruclips.net/video/hsy53v1VSTM/видео.html
5-Star SNES ruclips.net/video/r6oiBNRImNQ/видео.html
5-Star Genesis ruclips.net/video/4D5_Ct_0wF0/видео.html
FINALLY SOME MASTER SYSTEM STUFF THANK YOU
wonder boy 3 dragons trap best sega master system game hands down :)
Always love your videos!!
I definitely believe the original Phantasy Star belongs on this list as well.
Absolutely! No question about it. Best RPG at the time.
I agree. Other than the music it’s insane how good the graphics are for the time
For me, Phantasy Star is the best game on the console. I first played it after playing through 2-4 in the early 90s and only had an idea in my head of what this game would be like based off of rarely found screenshots and a bit of written word in magazines. I was disappointed the first time I played it but grew to love it. It’s now my second favorite in the series after 4.
Definitely!
Oh yeah; such an amazing game
I would add:
Phantasy Star
Ys: Vanished Omens
R-Type
OutRun
Rampage
Choplifter
Japan-only:
Solomon's Key
Finally some love for Ys, it was the first open world RPG I ever played
@@Miakel
I'm 45..
Y',s on master system it's my nostalgia game of all time..
Play it once a year.
@@Agrq111 it's soundtrack lives rent free in my head
Phantasy Star is not only the best game on the system it is arguably the best 8-bit game ever made. I play through it every couple of years the same as I play through Super Mario 3, Zelda and Metroid every few years. Don't forget amazing first person dungeons and a soundtrack that rivals any soundtrack of it's era. It's also blows Dragon Warrior, Final Fantasy 1&2, Ultima and Miracle Warriors out of the water. Easily my favorite game of the 8-bit era distantly followed by the Nintendo classics such as Zelda and Castlevania. It even has an open world with 3 planets to fly back and forth from.
I would love to see a play through / review!! What a wildly amazing game from start to finish. It's the best of the 4 in the series and even by today's standard is an extremely fun RPG. It's a grindy level up with a strategy guide for the dungeons and the open world aspect of three planets to explore is a blast! The special legendary Laconian weapons are fun to track down so that you can beat Dark Falz!! In fact when Phantasy Star 2 came out on the Sega Genesis I was HUGELY disappointed. Only 2 planets? No first person dungeons? No random encounter fights where there is actual graphics of the location in the background?
Phantasy Star 3 was terrible.
Phantasy Star 4 was really good, but still not even close to as good as the first.
This game really should stand out as the very best RPG of all time or at least on the level of classics such Final Fantasy 7, Chrono Trigger and Skies of Arcadia. It's the undisclosed secret best game at the time of the 8-bit system era. IMHO, best RPG of all time.
Very true!
Phantasy Star and California Games are also Master System 5 stars. They must be on this list
I only have one master system game, R-Type. My mom found it at a garage sale a few years ago and got it for me, even though I never owned the console. I was finally able to play it when I got my Mega SG, which comes with an adapter to play master system games.
Master of Darkness is a great one we got here in Europe .
The best Castlevania clone with a Victorian aesthetic on top.
Absolutely a great great game
Great group of games. I would add Wonder Boy, Wonder Boy in Monster Land, Missile Defense 3-D, R*Type, R.C. Grand Prix, Phantasy Star, Ys, and maybe Shinobi and Black Belt.
Choplifter
I definitely find that Wonder Boy in Monster Land gets overshadowed by its sequel. Wonder Boy in Monster Land has discrete levels instead of the sequel's Metroidvania level design, it's missing the mechanic of switching between different creature types, and the graphics are a bit simpler, but it's still a perfectly solid action platformer on its own merits and I think I might have a slight preference for the music in Monster Land compared to Wonder Boy III.
RC Grand Prix is not a good game. If you want a game like that, Buggy Run is a much better option. And Missile Defence isn't great either, better than RC Grand Prix though.
Black Belt and Shinobi are good but not great, although Shinobi gets praised to the rafters these days for some reason.
@Mark-g7t I find R.C. Grand Prix quite fun. Maybe you are just not any good at.
@@jeremiahthomas8140 Don't want to be good at it, it's sh*te! 😀 Even if you like the game, how could you consider it top tier? Buggy Run's a much better game in every way, looks better, controls better and way more fun.
Miracle Warriors but not Phantasy Star? That's certainly a take...
agreed, they both need to be on there
@@UltimateGamerCCmiracle warriors doesn't need to be on there.
It's fun but a 5 star game? Meaning it's basically close to perfection for its time, little to nothing to improve? Nah.
very few games reach THAT so-called "close to perfection", so few in fact that if you want to go down that route, SMS has no 5-star games. and do you understand WHY i say that? cause that is all subjective based on one's opinion, which can greatly differ from person to person.@@JaceyMitchell
Game design isn't purely subjective though. And context is important. A 5-star rating should be rare exceedingly rare, because there's no going up from there. And there should be some amount of objectivity involved. I know plenty of games that I don't personally enjoy, but that are undeniably great games (the 8 and 16-bit Sonic games). And there are also plenty of games that I personally enjoy but that don't qualify as all-time classics, or even as objectively good games (E-Swat on SMS). Some of the benchmarks you can use are "is one of the best designed games on the SMS?" "Does it take what game design on the SMS is capable of (at that particular time) and push it to its limits?", or "is this a genre defining/system defining game". I believe you could argue all of these things for Phantasy Star, or Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap. Miracle Warriors? Not so much. Not a bad game, but does it stand as a truly all-time great game, one that is equal to Phantasy Star?
If it's all purely subjective then your original comment makes no sense. No point in discussing anything that's purely subjective. And no point in telling someone "this should be on there too". If it's all subjective, then it's all a moot point anyway.
@@UltimateGamerCCNot all opinions are equal though, that's the mistake you're making. Your opinion is decidedly below standard. Others have better opinions.
The pic of the four guys on the title screen for Miracle Warriors looks like the album cover for some 70s band. Thanks for the video, John.
the SEGA Master System was my first ever console, got it for my 5th birthday in 1986, thanks to my Grandparents (god rest their souls) and from that moment on my life changed forever.
my nominees for 5-STAR; Phantasy Star, Global Defender, R-Type.
Great choices! I wasn't able to get into Miracle Warriors, Quartet, or Zillion, but I'm a big fan of all the rest! One of the coolest things about Kenseiden is that you can learn new techniques as you get further into the game.
I grew up with the Sega Mouse-Turd System (its an affectionate name) and i was lucky enough, out of the 5 or six games i could afford to buy, to have stumbled into Kenseiden and Golden Ax Warrior.
There was no place to rent Master System games, and i was too young to know games magazines were a thing yet.
I loved both those games.
Aztec Adventure was one my brother and I played a lot back then
Choice game
A solid list, Mr Riggs. I'd have had the original Shinobi (although Alex Kidd in Shinobi World is lovely) and I'd have to include Phantasy Star 😎👍
Highlight of my lunch hour is watching your video game lists from the 8 and 16 bit games from our past. Much appreciated!!
Thanks for the recommendations. I've played around with emulating the master system, but had a litrle trouble figuring out which games are worth trying first. I've played a little bit of Zillion and it's definitely on my backlog. Added quite a few from this list to it too.
Quartet was such an incredible game in the arcade playing with my friends 3or 4 player. Definitely a hidden gem if there of was one!
Retro gaming hippie approves! Nice work as usual from the incomparable Mr. Riggs
I have yet to obtain a master system, but I did pick up a power base converter so I can explore these games. Miracle warriors and phantasy star are first on my list.
I never realised Sonic on the Master System was a port until i was older, as it was one of the first games i owned as a kid, i had a few other games, but Sonic and Alex Kidd were my favourites on the system.
I lean into SMS arcade ports, myself. I got my SMS dirt cheap around the time the Genesis came out, and was getting games at bargain bin prices from Half Price Books in Dallas TX, still have them and my original SMS.
For games with more depth, like RPG's or adventure games, I was more inclined to go with computer games, so my console gaming was much more action/arcade oriented.
That said, my own five star lineup would be:
Alex Kidd Miracle World and Shinobi World, Afterburner, Hang-On, Altered Beast, Shinobi, Rastan, the Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck games, Rampage, the Fantasy Zones, Choplifter, R-Type, Sonic (which is absolutely AMAZING on that hardware), Astro Warrior (underrated, IMHO), and Outrun.
I didn't have the 3D glasses, but always loved Subroc, so I'll give an honorable mention to Air Sea Battle as one that probably belongs on the list. As a D&D player back in the day, I probably would have enjoyed Golden Axe Warrior, too. If Space Harrier's animation was a LITTLE smoother, it would have made it, as well. And Thunderblade would have if rhe difficulty level was a little less off-the-charts.
Although they had a library about 1/3 the size of NES, the SMS probably had about 5-6 times as many games that I actually wanted to play, and with the HUNDREDS of UK and Brazilian releases, that's even more the case now.
SEGA FTW!!!
Great Video and you picked all my favorite games on the Sega master system. I have so many fond memories of the Sega master system me ND my sister had to walk 3 miles to the nearest video rental shop and we use to hire the Sega master system console out for the weekend before we eventually got one for Xmas.
I think Batman Returns on the Sega Master system is short but pretty fun.
I bought the SMS because of Choplifter. Played it in Apple IIe 1st, then got it on C64. When I seen it on SMS it made my mind up on which system I was asking parents to buy for me. SMS graphics were SO much more vibrant to NES. Sorry, y’all sound was better too. Don’t get me wrong, loved NES too. But, brother and most friends had NES. I played, beat, and enjoyed many of the games. Also, couldn’t play R-Type on NES.
Phantasy Star, R-Type, Rastan, Outrun, Y’s, Golvellius, Space Harrier, Kenseiden, Black Belt, WB3, WB monster world, Spellcaster, Alex Kidd1, AK Shinobi World, Shinobi, etc
I grew up playing SMS. In Europe Alex Kidd in Miracle World came with the console and he was eating a burger instead of onigiri :-) Wonderboy 3 is probably one of my favorite games of all time. Remaster is great too (unlike Alex Kidd remaster). Make sure to check Psycho Fox if you never played. It is similar to wonder boy. Thanks for the video, I never played 2-3 games from this list, will have to check it out :-)
No one can punch underwater. Then again Mario shot fireballs underwater...mistakes were made.
haha! True.
I remember as a kid back when I played the mega drive, I read about the master system somewhere and that really fired up my imagination on what it could be, the name just sounded so awesome.
I never got to play a real master system, but later got to enjoy few epic games like Power Strike 2 on various collections :)
Phantasy Star, Ghostbusters, Fantasy Zone, Rampage, Golden Axe Warrior, and Sonic the Hedgehog are excellent 5 stars games. 😀👍🎮
I dont like Ghostbuster on the Master, but i celebrate it on Genesis
I can see why people would not consider Ghostbusters a 5 Star. For me it is though. Just need to get the hang of it.
Needs more Psycho Fox. Great video John. Been looking forward to your Master System content! Didn't disappoint.
Lucky Dime Caper and R-Type!
MIRACLE WARRIORS!! This was one of my first couple Master System games, I didn't even know what I was in for when I picked it out at the store. So many fun hours spent on this one. I would like to play it again one day. I lost the cool map that came with the game years ago. Great video, Riggs!
SMS Land of Illusion is twice as good SMS Castle of Illusion, you must play it. Many unique gameplay mechanics/twists that keep you playing til the end, quietly one of the best 8-bit Disney games.
Plus both Disney duck games, Lucky Dime Caper and Deep Duck Trouble are great.
Asterix and the Secret Mission is a great PAL exclusive, fun to control with a nice double jump, a very good SMS game.
You can't forget Ninja Gaiden, it's completely different and so much easier than the NES version, but it's still so good and it's own thing. There's plenty more that deserve to be played, I love the Master System even though I never played it growing up. I wish we had more homebrews/hacks/ports and de-makes of other consoles' games.
The two Donald Duck games as well
@CaptAwesumNo1Zone yes, I mentioned both of them, I think both are fun though I like Lucky Dime Caper a bit more.
If u want to play a sequel to Deep Duck Trouble, play Donald Duck: Goin' Quackers on Game Boy Color(Donald Duck: Quack Attack on Game Boy Color is the same game). It improves on the original in every way, plus the graphics are really impressive for a GBC game.
WOW, I'm not alone in my admiration on "Kenseiden", thank you! I just wish that "Phantasy Star" could've been mentioned here...
RASTAN!! HOW COULD YOU LET ME DOWN RIGGS ;-) Phantasy Star too.
Awesome video, thanks John. Loved my Master System. I only had one controller but could plug my C64 joystick in and enjoy some two player goodness, brings it all back!! I still have it and a stack of games but it hasn't been powered up for a long time.
Spellcaster is an enduring but awesome master system classic, great story for 8 bit, 8 stars
That game had a great atmosphere. Quite spooky
I got a SEGA Master System for christmas with Duck Hunt, My Hero, and Kenseiden. Best christmas of my life. I felt like a sophisticated 80s man....
First console I had. My favorite was shinobi. Also Thunder blade, double dragon and black belt
Cracking list 👌🏻👏🏻 absolutely love the Master System, it was my first console as a kid (the MK2 version though)! I have most of your 5-star list either for the Master System or on the Game Gear. Lots of childhood memories! Also, that dust cover you have is absolutely superb ❤
Here in Italy the Master System, especially the Master System II, was the equivalent of NES for the kids of North America. The console was cheaper than the NES and so the games. Plus, their plastic boxes gave to our parents a sensation of "better looking" pieces than the cardboard which Nintendo used for NES games. Most of my early childhood memories come from the Master System II of my cousin, while I had a 2600 at home at that time. Try games like Sonic 2, Master of Darkness and Batman Returns: these are masterpieces!
Same Here in Germany. We went from 2600 to Master System the time the Mega Drive was about to be released and bought all the Games usede, MS an then the SNES my childhood. In the end we Had a massive collection including 3D glasses, the gun and pro Arcaden Stick.
True, I didn't even have idea the NES existed until much later. The only consoles I knew in the mid 90s, as a kid, were the master system, mega drive and super Nintendo.
Can't have a Mighty Master System top tier games list without mentioning R-Type, such a brilliant shooter with amazing soundtracks throughout.
Dessert Strike on the master system also plays really well 👍
SMS LOVE!!! ❤
OG Phantasy Star. Those faux-3d dungeons were mind blowing both graphically and gameplay wise.
Thank you for the great video! I would add: the two 1st Asterix games, R-Type, Ninja Gaiden, Bomber Raid, Power Strike 2, Spellcaster, Shinobi, Psycho Fox, Lucky Dime Caper, …
Ninja Gaiden was awesome on both 8-bit systems! I was waiting for it on this list.
the cyclopic umbrela thing is called a kasa obake. which just means umbrella apparition / ghost and is from japanes folklore which is why its so common in games
"Mommy's Home" might be popular because of the silhouette. I know it certainly grabbed MY attention.
It was a silhouette I bought on Etsy :)
My Master System collection to the best of my recollection: Shinobi, Double Dragon, Alex Kidd, and possibly one of the Rambo games. Edit: and Phantasy Star I think. I will go check and return. Edit 2: okay it’s just Double Dragon, Shinobi, and Vigilante. Still not too shabby.
Kenseiden reminds me a lot of Spellcaster, which was another favorite of mine on the SMS. the characters move almost identically
It's too bad you didn't mention PAL releases because the Donald Duck games (Lucky Dime Caper and Deep Duck Trouble), Batman Returns, Land of Illusion, Streets of Rage 1 (not 2, stay far away from it), and Robocop vs Terminator are very good. Also, no Phantasy Star? Power Strike?
Not exactly related, but I tried evo for the snes following your recommendation and its soooo awesome how could i have missed it from back in the day! Thanks for these awesome videos!
As far as Zillion goes, did you mean Impossible Mission on C64?
Yes. We had MI2 on NES.
@@JohnRiggsDo you mean Impossible Mission II? Because Impossible Mission and Mission: Impossible are not the same thing.
You and MJR always get immediate likes from me.
Where in the hell is Phantasy Star???
Miracle World, Quartet and Zillion are still to this day some of the best games to play.
The Master System was my first system. I begged for it. Most of my friends were getting NES and I loved SEGA arcade games, so i thought it was the best of both worlds. Too bad the US was the worst place to own one. Brazil and the UK got all the games.
Bubble Bobble was an excellent port on sms; one of my favourites growing up.
i love playing the Master System as a kid. The snail maze with no games in it. My buddy had 1 card game TransBot that was fun to play. Back in 85 i was shocked how little it was & i couldn't believe a whole game was on one little card. Now we got the Switch Games, but back in 85 that was considered tiny! Love all your picks for the Master System & i didn't know Sonic was made for it. I'll have to check that out. i missed this system so much i broke down & got an emulator to play all the old Master System Games. Going digital for Retro Games how odd is that?
I'm loving the Relentless Wrestling shirt! I still need to get to a show but they keep running nights when I'm busy, LOL.
9:09 It was actually called "Double Target" in Japan...which is fun trivia. haha
OutRun 3D was fantastic. And so was Road Rash. I get neither was released in the US, but Cyborg Hunter was and that also deserves a spot on the list.
My father inlaw was 26 when MSystem came out. His favorite game was Kenseiden which he gave me.
You left off the list the greatest Role playing game ever for the 8 bit console, Phantasy Star
Wonder Boy 3 is my favourite Master System game, the first level of WB3 is the final level of the previous game, Wonder Boy in Monster Land (which is why you are all powered up with lots of hearts and amazing gear)
Honestly all the SMS Wonder Boy games were pretty good. Big fan of that series, i wish it were better known.
Playing Fantasy Zone, I feel like the Beatles will break out singing Yellow Submarine at any moment 😄
Golden axe warrior was the game of my childhood
Phantasy star 1 should've been here mate.
Got into that game around 2018 first time playing it and it holds up so well.
Lots of fun watching this video! I was very happy to see Miracle Warriors on it. It was my first RPG and I really enjoyed it. Yes, it's a grind fest but it's got game. Miracle Warriors is actual a port with much improved graphics on the Master System!
I also was really happy to see Quartet make your list. It was one of my first Master System games as a kid and while it can feel a bit stiff it's a solid game with some real depth to uncover and master. The Japanese version was called Double Target which feels like a good fit for this two player version.
Phantasy Star should have been on this list, but I think you are just baiting us... you cheeky minx.
😂that's hilarious,Duet , I've literally made that joke before about the master system quartet . Great episode I agree with you across the board, but I'm Master system biased by nostalgia. Excellent
Solid list of games for the U.S.
Outrun, Enduro Racer, Shinobi, and Phantasy Star could be argued for five stars.
So glad to see Miracle Warriors on this list. Have what felt like a hundred hours logged on that game.
I remember getting the 3-D glasses. Blew people's minds. Granted, they were other 10 year olds who lived in the middle of Iowa, so we aren't setting the bar very high, but it was a neat gimmick.
Love ya vids bro. There is some great Fantasy Zone game play on the 3ds in the Sega 3d classics collection, was playing it just last week
Zillian's gameplay reminds me of Aliens 3 on SNES. Especially the interactive computers, but just overall really. I'm actually surprised because of this realization right now lol. (never played Zillian though, but because I did play Aliens 3 on SNES a few months ago it immediately reminds me of that).
I missed out on the Master System back then... NES, SNES, and even had/have a Genesis... But I should invest I'm thr Master System. Looks fun! Thanks for the vid :)
I Like spellcaster more than kenseiden. Also R Type must be on the list. My favorite Europe exclusiv is Asterix.
Streets Of Rage, Bubble Bobble, Rampage, Micro Machines. Think I got my Master System after it had been out for a few years and I was around 12. Had a Master System II with Alex Kidd built in. Had a ton more games than that but I forget most of them. Unfortunately it got stolen when we came back from holiday but I was able to upgrade to a Megadrive with the house insurance, when we eventually got it.
Great list of games. I'm gonna play these all soon and stream
A video that pushes the limit of the master system would be great. Noticeably
1) robocop v terminator (it had full sentences spoken on the game!!! Wow! “Thank you for your cooperation!” And the graphics looked 16bit
2) special criminal investigation. Ok massively called scaled down sprites but has the speed and guns from the game. It was cool.
3) mortal kombat 1. (212down up) blood code. The limit it pushed the cartridge to handle to stop motion characters was immense.
4) moonwalker was awesome
5) street fighter 2!!! Again hello!!! Looked extremely well ported.
6) Road Rash was so good on the MSX.
7) T2 the arcade game had me thinking how on earth they did this!!!????
I used to play Zillion all the time when i was young. Before my family got an NES that is lol.
The only version of Double Dragon that mimicked the arcade was the SMS.
You are probably meaning Yokai. Abandoned objects that become posessed.
That's the word I was thinking of.
Yokai refers to monsters \ demons \ spirits. I'm reading a Yokai book from Japan.
I had a Sega Master System growing up. It originally belonged to my older siblings. I remember that our version of Alex Kidd in Miracle World, instead of an onigiri, he ate a hamburger, haha. All else being the same, this was the one part they felt the need to translate
Lord Of The Sword and Spellcaster are great too.. Lord Of The Sword reminds me somewhat of Zelda 2.
John Riggs at Retrocon 2024 playing some Brazilian Master System games,wonderful!
Great list. I'd add R-Type to it though.. Seeing it on the SMS surprised me when I first saw it, when it was Nintendo's name on the arcade title screen.
The SMS version of R-Type is one of the best games on the system, IMO.
Yes, Zillion rules (and so do the other games you introduced). You'll probably laugh, but I think Action Fighter is a 5 star game. There are a couple 5 star homebrews as well, Silver Valley in particular
I just picked up a SMS bundle on eBay. Came with Altered Beast, Double Dragon, Rambo, Joe Montana Football, and Super Monaco GP
I had the NES, but the Master System always impressed me, because of its color pallette.
Shout-out to Wonderboy 3! Might be my favorite SMS game ever. Admittedly didn't finish it until I found out 'Dragon's Curse' was the PCE version of it (albeit with slightly different sprites) on OG wii virtual console. It's definitely a fun one! also if you don't have it already can't recommend enough DotEmu's HD remake of it. (which does also include a retro pixel mode, and I believe you can unlock the retro FM version of the music from the Japanese version?!) love it way more than zelda 2.
Oh man, I remember wanting the Alex Kidd game but learned that NES didn't have it. Pretty sure that I asked my parents to buy the Master System just for that game. We didn't get it of course, plus we were poor.
Golden Axe Warrior looks amazing. That snake boss looks like the same sprite used in Wonder Boy In monster Land.
Also the "Ghost zombie monster things" are from Japanese culture, they are called YoKai, like from the IP Yokai Watch
Just alittle fun fact from Alex Kidd, the Motorcycle in the shop is the Hang-On bike... Sega Easter Egg lol
The onigiri was changed to a hamburger over here in Australia 😊 Or, just in PAL regions, I guess. To this day, I’ve never met anyone that had an Alex Kidd cartridge. Most people had the Master System 2, which just had Alex Kidd built into the console. Which was pretty awesome.
Phantasy star must be a 6 star game since it is not on this list because it is one of the best jrpg that was released world wide in every region for the master system
you named all the games i had and loved- i would rate california games 4/5 maybe 5, btw fantasy zone 2 i would rate the best fantasy zone game period. phantasy star is amazing rpg (i dont normally like them)Zillion yes good game- initially it sux tho imo. lord of the sword same deal you eventually get hooked into it.
ahah as a kiwi we were almost except for the few all about sega master system we even had a sega store here 1 of the very few outside japan. so many great games on the system it is hard for me to choose just 5 games. my next door neighbour had a SC-3000 also had sega 1000 system he sold both of them to me as he moved onto a pc. But they were also ahead of its time but yes by th time i played the sms it was way ahead of other 8 bit systems. of course i went on to get the sega mega drive but turned to the great amiga 500 and played both for ages then the PlayStation changed everything again ,still the best games around. I think sms graphics are a lot better and colourful than the nes, i did enjoy smb but alex kidd had my heart. that ending where you get clues and have to solve that puzzle
What are Sunyougi from Rygar doing in Kenseiden? 7:07
_Phantasy Star_ is easily the greatest Sega Master System game of all time. Was shocked to see it omitted on this list.
4:00 seems like Flappy bird got inspired by Fantasy Zone