Sega Master System (Sega Mark III)

merlin
Super Spy

Posts: 494

Sega Master System (Sega Mark III) Jun 14, 2021 19:29:05 GMT

Quote

Post by merlin on Jun 14, 2021 19:29:05 GMT

Seems it was hard for the Master System to compete with the Famicom which dominated the market in Japan. From Wikipedia:

Though its hardware was more powerful than the Famicom, the Mark III was not successful on launch. Problems arose from Nintendo's licensing practices with third-party developers, whereby Nintendo required that games for the Famicom not be published on other consoles. Sega developed it's own games and obtained the rights to port games from other developers, but they did not sell well. Sega developer Mark Cerny said "pressure was very, very high", with a typical Master System game allotted only three months of development time.

Henke I had no idea about the missing levels in The Ninja. Seems strange that they did that. I will have to try the JPN version on an emulator. Some other PAL versions also had content cut like that?

Although I do prefer the Japanese box art I can see there's something appealing about the western grid style inserts. I seem to remember the box art improved in later western releases with the art covering more of the front cover.

I never owned any of the games in card format RiKo since they did away with the card slot on the Master System II to reduce costs. If I decide to buy a Master System again I'll go for the earlier model.

Psycho Fox is one I need to spend more time with. I know it's held in high regard by many.

Another PAL budget game that I loved which was available in both cart and card format was Ghost House. It's loosely based on Sega arcade game Monster Bash. Quite a tough game. Despite playing it a lot I never completed it. I once got to stage 5.

plexo Neo Geo Weenie Posts: 39	Sega Master System (Sega Mark III) Jun 14, 2021 19:43:19 GMT merlin likes this Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Back to Top Post by plexo on Jun 14, 2021 19:43:19 GMT I genuinely think that this is the best console ever in history, has never dissapointed me. All ports brought from superior systems were amazing. My favourite game was Gain Ground on this machine.

merlin
Super Spy

Posts: 494

Sega Master System (Sega Mark III) Jun 14, 2021 19:54:32 GMT

Quote

Post by merlin on Jun 14, 2021 19:54:32 GMT

Good to see you are so enthusiastic about the Master System Plexo! There's something very appealing about Master System games and the graphics still impress me. As I said before I love how colourful the games are. I've barely played the Master System port of Gain Ground.

amigajay
Neo Geo Weenie

Posts: 43

Sega Master System (Sega Mark III) Jun 15, 2021 7:30:48 GMT

Quote

Post by amigajay on Jun 15, 2021 7:30:48 GMT

I never owned any MS cards, i don’t think many actually got released and they were mainly for the budget tiny £9.99 games. Although i had the original MS with card slot (never like the design of the MS2, the original was far more cool looking!).

But in general consoles only started taking off in the UK in 1989 due to micro computers ruling the roost with cheap games, so by the time i wanted to get one in 1989 the NES was already looking ancient graphics wise, the MS was far more colourful and appealing, along with as i’ve said looking alot cooler with its futuristic design, light gun etc. Plus it had Sega arcade games, which was a huge factor back then for alot of people and why the MS took a massive lead over the NES in the UK for a few years.

Riko
Administrator

NeoGeo4Eva!

Pirate Wolf

Posts: 3,081

Sega Master System (Sega Mark III) Jun 15, 2021 14:03:33 GMT

Quote

Post by Riko on Jun 15, 2021 14:03:33 GMT

Jay - that was the same with the Megadrive 2 - looked like a toy compared to the original "Hi-tech" design. I don't think you can use the 32X on the Megadrive 2 either!

That's right about the NES in the UK- didn't it get picked up/released really late? so like you say no one was very excited by it. We all loved playing Super Mario Bros in Dixons tho. Why did the NES have such a strange (dark) palette? I've always wondered about that choice.

amigajay
Neo Geo Weenie

Posts: 43

Sega Master System (Sega Mark III) Jun 15, 2021 21:22:14 GMT

Quote

Post by amigajay on Jun 15, 2021 21:22:14 GMT

Jun 15, 2021 14:03:33 GMT Riko said:

Jay - that was the same with the Megadrive 2 - looked like a toy compared to the original "Hi-tech" design. I don't think you can use the 32X on the Megadrive 2 either!

That's right about the NES in the UK- didn't it get picked up/released really late? so like you say no one was very excited by it. We all loved playing Super Mario Bros in Dixons tho. Why did the NES have such a strange (dark) palette? I've always wondered about that choice.

Yeah the whole Megadrive II and Mega-CD II looked cheap especially up close, its one huge piece of thick plastic! You can use the 32X on the Megadrive II though.

Yeah the MS and NES didn’t go on sale in the UK until 1987, both muted releases, neither by their respective companies as the distribution was very different back then, but Virgin Mastertronic did 100% times better at marketing the MS than the NES, it wasn’t until the Turtles in 1990 did the NES actually start to sell in numbers!

Yeah Mario was of course great, i used to play it in the arcades, but Sega arcade games were so much more appealing than anything Nintendo could bring to the table at that time.

Last Edit: Jun 15, 2021 21:22:58 GMT by amigajay

Deleted Deleted Member Posts: 0	Sega Master System (Sega Mark III) Jun 16, 2021 20:15:48 GMT Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Back to Top Post by Deleted on Jun 16, 2021 20:15:48 GMT Can’t remember all of them, but some of the games that are cut in western regions are The Ninja, Enduro Racer, Captain Silver. Not too many I believe but som have other changes.

merlin
Super Spy

Posts: 494

Sega Master System (Sega Mark III) Jun 16, 2021 22:21:39 GMT

Quote

Post by merlin on Jun 16, 2021 22:21:39 GMT

I actually like the look of the Master System II but agree that the original design is cooler looking.

My brother had a NES so I did spend countless hours enjoying games on that system. The Master System will always mean more to me and I prefer the look of the games but I will always be a big fan of the NES too. It has so many quality games. Yes the colour palette was disappointing with I think multiple greys and blacks?

Thanks for the info Henke. I didn't know about those cuts made to western releases.

I'm keeping an eye on Ebay. Looking for an unboxed Master System that's in good cosmetic condition. I assume if I get an aftermarket scart cable and an OSSC I will get good image quality on my LCD TV?

Last Edit: Jun 16, 2021 22:23:03 GMT by merlin

Gecko1993 Real Neo Geo Hot Dog Neo·Gecko: Greater, Grottier, Greener Posts: 61	Sega Master System (Sega Mark III) Jun 7, 2024 1:19:53 GMT Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Back to Top Post by Gecko1993 on Jun 7, 2024 1:19:53 GMT I may not have a Sega Master System, but I do have a Power Base Converter for my Genesis as a means of convenience. The only thing I wish somebody would do is implement FM Sound on the Power Base Converter.

neon1
Real Neo Geo Hot Dog

Posts: 85

Sega Master System (Sega Mark III) Oct 14, 2024 9:53:35 GMT

Quote

Post by neon1 on Oct 14, 2024 9:53:35 GMT

Well I'm glad this thread was already here so I know all the regular's opinions so I don't need to ask!

I've been watching some of Jeremy Parish's Segaiden series on youtube, and it just seems to me that the SMS was basically the Neo Geo of the 80s. Arcade style games, more true to the arcade conversions, superior hardware and technology to NES, massively popular in South America, and also, a total loser in the actual sales category to Nintendo's system at the time.

Basically the only thing that stops me is when he mentions the difficulty of a lot of titles. Like, beating double Dragon on SMS you have to do it on 3 credits. I think you get like, 9 in the NES version? I also can't fathom getting through After Burner or stuff like that with the crazy sprites and stuff. I experienced a lot of this with earlier Genesis titles as well, they just made arcade like games but expected you to finish it with just some random hand selected amount of credits even though arcades you would of had quarters.

I don't know, I guess it just seems like having a SMS would be a lot of fun really and to play through the core library. I feel like if you can somehow play through Japanese Arcade games from 78 to 90 or so, have an NES and an SMS, then you get as complete a portrait of 70s and 80s games as you can get which is pretty cool. When you watch Gamesack and he has like 15 6 hour videos covering just like 10% of games from the 90s it's altogether clear to me if you want a decent understanding of what was happening just ignore the 90s and focus on the 70s and 80s first.

Well actually you need an Atari, but I just skip Atari. The top selling games for Atari VCS were Japanese arcade games like Pac Man and then the rest of it all added up somehow to crashing the market eventually so that can't be good.

Last Edit: Oct 14, 2024 9:58:21 GMT by neon1