I was still using the Amiga when my sister got a Master System for Christmas one year. It had Alex Kid in Miracle World onboard and it loaded if there was no cart or card inserted. NGL, I played the hell out of that game.
Great video! The Master System is especially nostalgic for me. It came out when i was at my first job, salesperson at Dixons. When it first came in we all huddled around a TV after the shop had closed and played Astro Warrior. It had a greay arcade feel that the computers didn't have. The golden era of gaming!!
2:20 The SMS also paired the 8-bit Z80 with a powerful 16-bit GPU running at 11MHz, truly hardware out of the arcades. Indeed, it packed another 16KB of VRAM, enough for unique tiles to be drawn over the entire screen if tile flipping were used. All those extra chips needed for the Nintendo cartridges were completely unnecessary in Segaland.
Great vid! So many quality ports, was the MS architecture perhaps easier to work with than some of the competition? I discovered Fantasy Zone for the first time via the MS version, emulated. What a great game! The music!!! Best music in a game ever. Strange finding: it's in a different key to the arcade version.
Now Dynamite Dux brings back a few fond memories. That was a great game that I completely forgot about. Good end of level boss fights, weapon upgrades, you name it.
Well, there are reasons for both situations. In the case of NES vs SMS, Nintendo had both utter market dominance, especially in the US, and Draconian terms of partnership with third party developers. On the other hand, in the case of PSX vs SS, the PSX was much simpler to develop for and the hardware had peculiarities the Saturn couldn't match, but Sony also offered a lot of money and support in production, marketing, publishing, localisation, distribution, and basically anything else a huge company with many branches could do. However, is wasn't a one-sided fight, SS was almost always superior in 2D games and when developers knew how to develop for the hardware, it could also perform better than PSX in some cases.
Yeah, I kinda got the impression that’s devs back then were pretty much on their own when developing for the Sega Saturn, where Sony were going out of their way to support everyone.
Technological superiority is often not the reason why one sells more than others. This is up to the present day, with Nintendo Switch beating their more advanced competitors. I personally don't like FM music in 8 bit consoles, they sound like from the upcoming generation and don't fit well with the graphics and gaming styles. In addition to that, the SMS had FM sound only in Japan, and it lost the battle to Nintendo there. It led the market in Brazil, in most of Europe and Australia, all of these without any sort of FM synthesis. I'm Brazilian and nearly every household had a SEGA Master System in the early 90s here
@lean.drocalil very interesting to know and I agree 100% I’d never heard of the NES in the UK until a mate showed me TMNT running his machine. I wasn’t impressed, graphics didn’t look right for me. But then he showed me Mario 3 and I was like, I need this. But wasn’t a big deal over here.
Sure I loved NES, but I would never consider myself a Fanboy (indeed after the Snes I pretty much lost interest in Nintendo) but like many I had little choice back in those days and if I wanted to have more games to choose from I had to have what all my friends and family had so NES it was. Being in Canada I believe the market was much like the US where the NES was dominant and unchallenged for the most part, no regrets but I was always intrigued by the MASTER SYSTEM, going to department stores seeing it on display I did think the graphics had an edge. It would only be many years later as an adult and retro collector that I would come to experience what I missed out on and so I have a very nice original Master System and even the 3D Goggles, a few of the top carts etc. I will say I am HORRIBLE at Psycho Fox though 😆
Alex Kidd in Miracle World was a bit crap. Alex Kidd in Shinobi World was great. Both still do not even slightly compare to Super Mario Bros 1, 2, 3. I love the Master System, some of the games on it were better than on the NES but it's library pailed in comparison to what the NES had. I do feel that anyone who says otherwise does not know either systems catalogue. I'd love to say that the Master System had a better library but it really did not.
Yeah the Master System was good and had better graphics and colours but the NES library was a lot better also the sound chip was miles better and didn't sound like a ballerina music box
I was still using the Amiga when my sister got a Master System for Christmas one year. It had Alex Kid in Miracle World onboard and it loaded if there was no cart or card inserted. NGL, I played the hell out of that game.
Great video! The Master System is especially nostalgic for me. It came out when i was at my first job, salesperson at Dixons. When it first came in we all huddled around a TV after the shop had closed and played Astro Warrior. It had a greay arcade feel that the computers didn't have. The golden era of gaming!!
That's awesome! Couldn’t agree more
I remember some of these old Sega games such as Alex the Kid. Out Run. Gauntlet. Pac-Man and Asterix etc.
Fantastic times...
This console is still sold to this day
Its holds the record for the longest selling/supported console ever.
I can honestly see why. Love the massive screen and detailed sprites. R-Type nailed it.
If SEGA had a killer legal team and would have included both the square wave and FM chip from day one... Nintendo wouldn't have stood a chance!
What’s the square wave?
2:20 The SMS also paired the 8-bit Z80 with a powerful 16-bit GPU running at 11MHz, truly hardware out of the arcades. Indeed, it packed another 16KB of VRAM, enough for unique tiles to be drawn over the entire screen if tile flipping were used. All those extra chips needed for the Nintendo cartridges were completely unnecessary in Segaland.
I sometimes play games on the Sega Master System and I’m literally gobsmacked by what I’m seeing.
@ClassicReplay It sported some powerful graphics for its day.
Great vid! So many quality ports, was the MS architecture perhaps easier to work with than some of the competition? I discovered Fantasy Zone for the first time via the MS version, emulated. What a great game! The music!!! Best music in a game ever. Strange finding: it's in a different key to the arcade version.
Yeah, Z80 architecture 👍🏻
Black Belt was my favourite Master System game.
Good game! I remember ignoring it for ages, big mistake.
Was a great console , dynamite dux was my first game ,still play it on the emulator 🕹
Now Dynamite Dux brings back a few fond memories. That was a great game that I completely forgot about. Good end of level boss fights, weapon upgrades, you name it.
Must of been a great console to have for its time
A Sega console in your home, just wow!
Good stuff. It sucks that companies sometimes gave priority to NES and didn't polish SMS ports as much. Sort of like with PSX and SS in later years.
Well, there are reasons for both situations. In the case of NES vs SMS, Nintendo had both utter market dominance, especially in the US, and Draconian terms of partnership with third party developers. On the other hand, in the case of PSX vs SS, the PSX was much simpler to develop for and the hardware had peculiarities the Saturn couldn't match, but Sony also offered a lot of money and support in production, marketing, publishing, localisation, distribution, and basically anything else a huge company with many branches could do. However, is wasn't a one-sided fight, SS was almost always superior in 2D games and when developers knew how to develop for the hardware, it could also perform better than PSX in some cases.
Yeah, I kinda got the impression that’s devs back then were pretty much on their own when developing for the Sega Saturn, where Sony were going out of their way to support everyone.
Their only mistake was not puting the FM sound chip in the North-American version. That is why they lost the war.
Technological superiority is often not the reason why one sells more than others. This is up to the present day, with Nintendo Switch beating their more advanced competitors. I personally don't like FM music in 8 bit consoles, they sound like from the upcoming generation and don't fit well with the graphics and gaming styles. In addition to that, the SMS had FM sound only in Japan, and it lost the battle to Nintendo there. It led the market in Brazil, in most of Europe and Australia, all of these without any sort of FM synthesis. I'm Brazilian and nearly every household had a SEGA Master System in the early 90s here
@lean.drocalil very interesting to know and I agree 100% I’d never heard of the NES in the UK until a mate showed me TMNT running his machine. I wasn’t impressed, graphics didn’t look right for me. But then he showed me Mario 3 and I was like, I need this. But wasn’t a big deal over here.
Nes was great.. Pc Engine was also outstanding..
100% I played so many great games on the consoles you mentioned
Sure I loved NES, but I would never consider myself a Fanboy (indeed after the Snes I pretty much lost interest in Nintendo) but like many I had little choice back in those days and if I wanted to have more games to choose from I had to have what all my friends and family had so NES it was. Being in Canada I believe the market was much like the US where the NES was dominant and unchallenged for the most part, no regrets but I was always intrigued by the MASTER SYSTEM, going to department stores seeing it on display I did think the graphics had an edge. It would only be many years later as an adult and retro collector that I would come to experience what I missed out on and so I have a very nice original Master System and even the 3D Goggles, a few of the top carts etc. I will say I am HORRIBLE at Psycho Fox though 😆
At least you’re honest 👍🏻
Alex Kidd in Miracle World was a bit crap. Alex Kidd in Shinobi World was great. Both still do not even slightly compare to Super Mario Bros 1, 2, 3. I love the Master System, some of the games on it were better than on the NES but it's library pailed in comparison to what the NES had. I do feel that anyone who says otherwise does not know either systems catalogue. I'd love to say that the Master System had a better library but it really did not.
Bloody NES fan boys 🤣😉👍🏻
Yeah the Master System was good and had better graphics and colours but the NES library was a lot better also the sound chip was miles better and didn't sound like a ballerina music box