Topic: 8-bit Sonic games (Master System)

Why aren't the Master System Sonic games as fondly remembered as the NES Mario games? Come to think of it, why aren't any Master System games remembered well?

Was the Master System a complete failure or something?

Try googling around, reading about it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sega_Master_System

Well the main reason why the Sonic games aren't as remembered is because they were released so late in the Master System's lifespan (if I'm not mistaken Sonic 1 was the last MS game to be released in North America) and by that time people had moved on to the 16-bit consoles.

And no the Master System wasn't a complete commercial failure. While it didn't sell too great in Japan and North America due to the market dominance of the NES/Famicom, it was successful in Europe and extremely successful in Brazil of all places.

I'm playing Sonic Chaos right now on the Wii, and I can see why the Master System Sonic's aren't as well known as the Genesis titles.

The game seems very rushed and the level designs are very sloppy. The music is poorly done as well, nowhere near as good as Capcom, Konami, or Nintendo's 8-bit music.

Huh I didn't know the Sega Master System was still being sold in Brazil, cool.

Why does Brazil keep these retro platforms around? They're still supporting the Genesis, Game Gear, Master System, etc. Do they not have any modern systems to play?

I actually prefer Sonic 1 on the Master System to any of the Genesis Sonic games.
The way you can't grab your rings if you drop them, and Robotnik fights not giving you rings at all, feel a ton less hand-holdsy than the Genesis games. Platforming feels stronger, akin to Mario, what with it's auto scroll level, and upward scrolling levels.

I praise the difficulty in Sonic 1 MS, but I think Sonic 2 MS seems to crank it up to eleven and make the difficulty unfair. Spikes. Spikes everywhere.

Can't say I know much about the other MS Sonic games though.

These retro platforms are cheaper, sturdier and easier to produce than any modern system.
Why buy your kids that expensive new console with 1 expensive game (sold separatedly, disc is delicate don't touch it) when you can get them that small cheap console that includes 127 original classic games built-in over there?

Yeah that's another problem with them too. Most people consider them inferior to the Genesis games for some of those reasons (the first Sonic MS game is pretty good though and has great music).

Agreed. The Game Gear version is even harder than that one though mostly due to the limited screen space. I never was able to make it past the first boss when I still had the game for that reason.

Well if you use that logic then maybe companies should do that kind of thing worldwide. Nintendo, Sony, Sega, etc. should re-release their old systems with dozens of built-in games. It would be great for the retro-enthusiasts (like myself), and the systems would be cheap to manufacture, since the tech in those systems is incredibly old and simplistic.

That's called poor level design.

Yeah all they did was take the Master System version and zoom it in. Definitely wasn't designed with the Game Gear in mind.