The Sega Master System at 40 – and six of its best games
The Master System didn’t quite conquer the games industry, but it did set Sega on the path to greatness
The Sega Master System has turned 40. Sort of. Certainly, the Sega Mark III that became the Master System in the US in 1986 just turned 40. Either way, you’re old if you owned one back then. Sorry. On the plus side, today is a great excuse to celebrate Sega’s 8-bit wonder.
I remember loving the ads too: “To be this good takes AGES!”
And rarely have marketing slogans been so apt, because it took forever for Sega’s 8-bit console to find its feet. On paper, things looked great: the Japan-only SG-1000 Mark III was a would-be Nintendo Famicom smasher. But Ninty locked down devs into exclusivity contracts; a US relaunch in 1986 gave the console its familiar name, and a swankier shell, only for Nintendo to lock the doors again. So Sega turned to Europe… and nearly face-planted even harder.
How? Did it somehow ruin Christmas?
Pretty much. With the NES struggling in a region awash with 8-bit micros and cheap tape-based games, Sega made an ‘arcade at home’ pitch. It undercut Nintendo and hooked kids who couldn’t face spending cash on yet more atrocious home ports of arcade faves. But Sega didn’t deliver stock until Boxing Day, sending distributors to the wall – and parents up it. Still, once the boxes landed, Europe loved them – though not as much as Brazil, where a local toy company licensed the tech and still makes Master Systems to this day.
Unlike Sega itself, which no longer makes consoles at all…
True. The company made many more hardware blunders, but the Mega Drive/Genesis wasn’t one of them – and without the Master System there’s no Mega Drive. It laid the groundwork for Sega to become a global force in home gaming, albeit with all the grace of Sonic getting walloped and spraying his rings everywhere. Which might explain why, outside Brazil, there’s no Master System plug-and-play box. Or maybe Sega figured it’d just take AGES to convince most people to buy one.
Six of the best: Sega Master System games
Look, there are loads of Sega Master System games, so feel free to argue online about which ones truly deserve a spot here. But in Stuff’s opinion, these six are non-negotiable classics that are still worth firing up today.
Alex Kidd in Shinobi World takes the original (and superb) white-knuckle platformer and adds ninjas. Because everything is better with ninjas.
Fantasy Zone 2 has sugar-coated visuals a world away from the metal shiny of most horizontally scrolling pew-pew fare. Don’t be fooled. It’ll still take your face off.
Enduro Racer wisely swerves a direct arcade conversion and instead gives you a slick isometric treat. But play the Japanese release; the western one hacks out half the game.
Wonder Boy III mixes up platforming action and a smattering of RPG elements. It’s expansive, charming and one of the system’s richest adventures.
Psycho Fox features a fox that can transform into a hippo. And if that doesn’t tempt you, the colourful and compelling platforming action should.
California Games rounds out this list for being so painfully ’80s that it hurts. The best Epyx multi-sports sim, in its finest 8-bit incarnation. Totally rad, dude!
Craig Grannell
Contributor 
