Kieren Hawken - The A-Z of Sega Master System Games, Volume 1

The A-Z of

Sega Master System Games

Volume 1

Kieren Hawken

Published in 2017 by

AG Books

www.agbooks.co.uk

Digital edition converted and distributed by

Andrews UK Limited

www.andrewsuk.com

Copyright 2017 Kieren Hawken

The right of Kieren Hawken to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1998.

All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without express prior written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted except with express prior written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright Act 1956 (as amended). Any person who commits any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damage.

The opinions expressed herein belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect those of AG Books or Andrews UK Limited.

Game screenshots are included in this publication legally under applicable fair use law which allows such material for the explicit purposes of commentary and criticism.

Introduction

The Sega Master System is a console with a very interesting history. It was originally released in Japan in 1985 as the Sega Mark III. It was the follow up to the Mark I and Mark II, which are better known as the SG-1000. It took the existing hardware and added more memory, as well as a better graphics chip, so it could better compete with Nintendos best selling Famicom console. When Nintendo released the Famicom as the NES in the west, Sega soon followed, skipping the SG-1000 hardware completely and renaming the Mark III as the Master System. While it failed to capture the US market at all, being overwhelmed by the NES, the situation in Europe, Australasia and especially South America was very different. In these territories the SMS (as it became known) ruled supreme and the many of the best games for the 8-bit Sega console were only released in these areas.

In this book I take you through the life of the Sega Master System and the SG-1000 looking at a varied cross section of the 400+ games available with a small review and screenshot of each one. This is not a list of the best games, a list of the worst or indeed a complete guide to whats available. The A-Z of Sega Master System Games: Volume 1 is just that, the first volume of my look at a selection of SMS games in alphabetical order. There are three games featured for each letter and these range from the earliest titles released, to modern homebrews and even unofficial bootlegs! Hopefully this book gives you some inspiration to try games youve never played before or bulk up your personal collection. You might even find it that brings back happy memories of unwrapping Christmas presents or inviting your friends round after school for some multiplayer madness. But most of all I hope you enjoy reading it and remember what makes the Sega Master System such a great home console.

Kieren Hawken

February 2017

A

Ace of Aces

US Gold - 1991

Ace of Aces

One of several flight simulators for the Master System, this game was originally released on the 8-bit home computers by the same people who created Bubsy The Bobcat (Accolade), that should tell you a lot in itself. You are a fighter pilot during the Second World War over Europe and must compete in a series of missions, mostly involving flying around and shooting down enemy fighters and bombers while also taking out trains and U-boats. Before you start you are required to load up your aircraft with things like bombs and fuel, making sure you balance it correctly for the mission in hand. The controls and various functions in this game take a lot of getting used to and mastering, thankfully the programmers chose to include a practice mode. You can use this to not only get to grips with the controls but to also practice shooting down bogies. Everything in this game is very lacklustre from the drab looking graphics and simple sound to the boring gameplay and lack of variation in the missions. The awful frame rate and out of tune music only add to the pain endured. If you loved the original version of Ace of Aces on the home computers or are a fan of flight sims in general then you may get some enjoyment out of it, although I even doubt that as the SMS hardware is just not up to the task here. I suggest everyone steers well clear of this huge flying turd.

3/10

Alien Storm

Sega - 1991

Alien Storm

The original arcade version of Alien Storm used the same engine as Segas classic Golden Axe and had many similarities in the gameplay department too despite its alien invasion theme. Its a scrolling beat em up at heart, although the characters do sport weapons, where you can select one of three characters and go around kicking some alien butt! Like Golden Axe you also have a magic of sorts that must be built up to be unleashed to maximum effect. Where this game does differ from Golden Axe is that it has some brilliant Operation Wolf style bonus stages where you not only shoot aliens but also shoot bonus objects to rack up more points and grab things such as extra lives and health too. These are particularly fun and destructive, especially the one that takes place in a supermarket. Each level is spilt into parts with a particularly ugly and generally angry boss at the end of each one. I always liked this game and love all the little comedic touches such as the mailbox aliens that wake up and chase you and the animations of the aliens themselves. The graphics are nice if not spectacular and although they suffer from a bit of sprite flicker it isnt bad enough to put you off. The sound is pretty decent with both music and sound effects. Most of all though its gameplay is highly enjoyable, its just a shame that this Master System version (like the SMS version of Golden Axe actually) is one player only as the game was always better with a friend. If you love Golden Axe then you will love Alien Storm too, its like a cheesy B movie in video game form!

8/10

Altered Beast

Sega - 1989

Altered Beast

This massive arcade hit was also the game that was originally given away free with the Master Systems little brother, the Sega Mega Drive. Its a fantasy styled scrolling beat em up on one plane where its key gimmick is the ability to transform from a human to different types of monster by collecting magical orbs left behind by the golden boars. As a human you have a limited range of punches and kicks but with every magical orb you grow stronger until you transform completely. Then you can use your far more powerful magical attacks to defeat the un-dead enemies. Each level takes place on a 2D flat plane and ends with a huge boss. The surrounds vary from Greek like ruins, to an eerie cave to a grand temple but the style of the game always stays the same. This Master System version looks pretty close to the original, especially considering the hardware its on. The in-game graphics are very nice with smooth parallax scrolling and decent animation although it does suffer from a fair bit of flicker. The wonderful soundtrack and some of the iconic speech are also present and sound terrific here. All in all I think this is a really good conversion and I just cant understand all the hate this game seems to get these days. Sure its not as complex as Streets of Rage 2 or Golden Axe and its a bit linear, but it does have a lot of charm and fighting fans like me will dig it.