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.
@@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.
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 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 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!!!
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 :-)
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.
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?
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.
Quote, "Quartet might be my favorite arcade game of all time." Bro, even though I grew up with that game myself, it's like you're saying your favorite chair is made out of masonite.
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!
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 :)
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.
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.
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.
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.
IMHO, Zillion really should've been the SEGA mascot, and there should've been a whole series of experimental, high concept Zillion games coming out every year... perhaps something similar to Metal Gear Solid, FF7, and Virtua Cop. Proof that SEGA could come out with some innovative new games.
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
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.
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 :)
Alex Kidd is better than SMB? I mean, what are you smoking??? Yeah, the cheap, cheesy-looking knock off is better than the real thing...cool story bro. 🙄 "Keep your Rolls-Royce, I much prefer a KIA!" I mean, I'm just gobsmacked...
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?
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.
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.
My grandma's house always smell like a woman on a bad period mixed with fresh cookies baking in the oven. To this day I cannot enjoy a chocolate chip cookie without the smell of rotting fish being somewhere close by
Los mejores juegos de Sega Master System: - POWER STRIKE - POWER STRIKE 2 - KRUSTY'S FUN HOUSE - SUBMARINE ATTACK - CASTLE OF ILLUSION - LAND OF ILLUSION - AERIAL ASSAULT - ASTÉRIX - ASTÉRIX AND THE SECRET MISSION - MASTER OF DARKNESS - SPELLCASTER - SONIC - SONIC 2 - SONIC CHAOS - ALEX KIDD IN MIRACLE WORLD - ALEX KIDD IN SHINOBI WORLD - DOUBLE DRAGON - SHINOBI - NINJA GAIDEN - WONDER BOY - WONDER BOY: MONSTER LAND - WONDER BOY 3: THE DRAGON'S TRAP - WONDER BOY: MONSTER WORLD
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
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)
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 👍
Some of them I agree with and some I don’t. I’m busy playing through all 269 UK pal games one game every Tuesday on my channel so I know what really is a great game to myself.
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).
Those were some nice hidden gems from Sega you showed us. Funny story, when I checked out Golden Axe Warrior on Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection for Xbox 360, I thought it was kind of pitiful how Sega was mimicking The Legend of Zelda with that game. And just now I realized the SMS version of Castle of Illusion: Starring Mickey Mouse was a copy of Capcom’s Ducktales NES game.
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.
i had this console as a kid, owned 5 games at first , kept thinking the games would get better , ending up owning like 33 games for it. My uncle ripp me off and bought all the games for like 175 bucks just so i could buy a genesis. disclaimer i hated the games so much , talking about arcade type games i punched m y master system to death and it died. I liked phantasy star thats about it. Nintendo was better i must admit and was jealous of all the friends that had it most of the time i was in the arcade though playing sega arcade games or whatever was available in the 80s. Will never buy this console again for nostolgic purposes , isnt worth it to me. Commodore 64 was a better system from 1984 to 1988-89 Glad i got into PCs in 1991 thats were the elite were playing on , a 14" VGA monitor was bliss with an adlib or soundblaster.
Phantasy Star is the best 8 bit RPG ever made, Ninja Gaiden, Road Rash, Golden Axe Warrior, Master of Darkness, R-type and Monster Boy 3 are all 5 star games.
Didnt own a master system and didnt know anyone who had one.. so all these games are totally alien to me! First thing I notice is they all look super colorful. Reminds me of turbografx in that aspect a bit. A lot of NES games had washed out palettes for whatever reason. Im looking at you, Terminator 2.
You may be interested jn sa-1 romhacks of older snes games. For example Gradius III. No slowdown but you will want the sleed reduction hack version because this makes the game very hard. The speed reduction puts the game at normal speed minus the slow down. Otherwise the game goes full out. They have these hacks for quite a few games to speed them up and they work ln a real console.
