Tag: Master System
News Kickstarter For The Sega Master System Visual Compendium Is Now Live
And it's got Sega's blessing, too
Our pals over at Bitmap Books are at it again, this time focusing their attention on the Sega Master System, the 8-bit console that took on the NES and failed (unless you were in Brazil or Europe, in which case it emerged victorious). The latest entry in the popular Visual Compendium series - which has already...
News After The NES And SNES, Bitmap Books' Next Tome Tackles The Sega Master System
To be this good takes ages
UK publisher Bitmap Books has confirmed that its next "Visual Compendium" will switch focus to Nintendo's rival, Sega. Bitmap's last two compendiums focused on the NES and SNES, and showcased loads of lovely screenshots, artwork, features and exclusive interviews. The next book will highlight the talents of th
Random When Fans Go to the Next Level - Check Out Alex Kidd in Miracle World 2
No Kidding
Sometimes business realities don't bring us all of the games we want, or publishers have their own ideas on how to best utilise an IP. This certainly applies to retro gaming and 'missed opportunities' in the past, which explains the rich scene in mods and fan created games that deliver sequels and remasters that enthusiasts want to see...
Video Which 8-bit Version Of Ghostbusters Are You Gonna Call?
Sega or Nintendo? There's only one way to find out...
Back in the mid to late '80s, North American gamers were hooked on Nintendo, and prior to the launch of the Genesis / Mega Drive, Sega was very much locked out when it came to getting all of the juicy third-party titles. However, there were a handful of games which made it over to Sega's 8-bit...
Video Nintendo's Wild Gunman And Sega's Bank Panic Face Off In A Deadly Shootout
Which one is the quickest on the draw?
Back in the '80s, it wasn't uncommon to see Sega and Nintendo launch games with similar themes in order to compete with one another, and a good example of this rivalry is the similarity between the NES light gun title Wild Gunman and the Sega Master System outing Bank Panic. Both had their origins in the...
Hardware Review AtGames Arcade Gamer Portable
Sega's Master System and Game Gear hardware gets cloned
Nintendo may be fiercely protective of its vintage games and retro hardware, but former rival Sega isn't quite so precious about where its former classics end up these days. We've already seen the likes of Sonic, Golden Axe and Streets of Rage migrate to practically every modern format under...
Hardware Classics Sega Master System
Everyone's favourite underdog
If you're reading this outside of Europe, then there's a very good chance that your perception of the Sega Master System is one of complete and utter failure. The 8-bit system wasn't even close to contesting the might of the NES in North America or the Famicom in Japan; although Sega at that point was a well-known...
Video This Mock Trailer For The Sega Port Of Montezuma's Revenge Turns On The Toilet Humour
Don't get caught short
The NES may have ruled the roost in North America during the '80s and early '90s, but Sega's Master System console was still home to some amazing titles — and in Europe, was incredibly popular. Keen to keep the memory of the console alive, our old friend Tyler Esposito of Sega Master System.com is putting together a series...
Exactly as promised.
The observant ones probably already noticed, but in a change of pace, Nintendo of Europe already updated their website with all of this week's releases over the past few days. The games in question make up the entire update, as there's no surprises this time. Alex Kidd in Shinobi World on the Master System was the last Alex Kidd...
Nintendo Download Bikes, Frogs, Dragons, Bombs, Plankton and Cybernoids (US)
DSiWare gets another big batch of budget titles, WiiWare gets Excitebike.
There's eleven new games this week, but don't get excited right away - five of them are budget DSiWare versions of commercial disaster Electroplankton. WiiWare gets the previously announced Excitebike and two more games, while Virtual Console gets two rather unremarkable...
A whopping 8 new downloads this week.
There's nothing really big on DSiWare and WiiWare this week, so instead, Nintendo has chosen to release not 2, but 3 games for both services. The Virtual Console gets two well-known games, but both of them are of debatable quality. Let's start with WiiWare - "Aha! I Got It!" Escape Game is a lot like...
Nintendo celebrates the 100th WiiWare release in style.
Last week saw the release of a single WiiWare game in Europe, which happened to be the 99th - Logically, we all assumed that this meant Nintendo of Europe was saving something special as 100th release. Thankfully, we were right - One of today's new WiiWare games is a sequel to a launch game...
Nintendo Download R-Type, Cubes, Monkey Island, Poker and Cookery (EU)
WiiWare plays catchup to North America while VC and DSiWare both get one new game.
WiiWare this week is mostly predictable - All three games have been out in North America for some time, and two of them were even specifically announced for release today. VC and DSiWare are a bit more surprising, although neither of them has really gotten something...
Nintendo Download Monkeys, Rattles, Fantasies and Puzzles (US)
Another catch-up week for North America.
There's a fairly diverse offer of new games this week - An adventure game, a party game, an RPG and a puzzler. All of them are also catch-up games - Europe has already had 3 of them on VC/WiiWare/DSiWare for a few weeks, while the final game was already released on PC two weeks ago. At least they're finally...
2 DSiWare and WiiWare games, and one Virtual Console game.
For the first time in quite a while, this week brings us two new DSiWare games. Today's other new releases aren't exactly surprising! For DSiWare, there's the previously announced Flipnote Studio, a nifty application which lets you draw your very own animations, which you can then fine-tune...
Nintendo Download Bits, Tanks, Ants, Commandos, Pulses and Brains (US)
Nintendo of America counters Nintendo of Europe with an import week of their own. Also, more WiiWare!
Nintendo of America sure loves WiiWare all of a sudden. This week sees yet another three new WiiWare releases, along with two VC imports recently released in Europe. DSiWare only gets a single new game. As previously announced, today is the North...
News What SEGA games do you want to see on the Virtual Console?
Let the good people at SEGA know what you want.
Now that the rate of Virtual Console releases has slowed from a flood to a trickle, it is understandable that many VC gamers have given up hope of playing their favourite SEGA games in the comfort of their living room on the Wii with a Classic Controller. SEGA are now releasing their classic arcade...
News The OFLC Rates More Capcom and Sega Classics for Virtual Console
Expect more Final Fight, Phantasy Star and Shinobi in the near future.
The OFLC had a decently-sized update today, in which they added some new games rated in the past few weeks. These ratings have revealed a few new VC games for future release in PAL regions. First up is Final Fight 2, the second in the Final Fight series which was, and still is,...
Nintendo Download Fantasies, Fishing, Warfare, Reversi and Sudoku (US)
NoA's sudden WiiWare push continues, with yet another 3 WiiWare games and 1 game for both DSiWare and Virtual Console.
Nintendo seems to be focusing on WiiWare a lot lately. Perhaps they're just trying to stir up excitement for upcoming big releases? It mostly seems to be a Europe catchup week - Only two WiiWare games are new for the west and...
Nintendo Download Fantasy Zone II, Rainbow Islands and More Magic (EU)
Two hits and one miss this week!
All the signs were pointing to a new Hanabi Festival starting today - Nintendo of Europe did not reveal today's new games in advance (Unlike the past two weeks) which lead us to believe there'd be something big. On top of that, it's "Golden Week" in Japan at the moment, a national holiday! How much longer...
News USA VC Update: Alex Kidd: The Lost Stars
It's back to Sega games this week, it seems. Today's new game is the second game in the Alex Kidd series.
Alex Kidd: The Lost Stars was the beginning of a steep slope downhill for Sega's original mascot. The first Alex Kidd game was fairly good (We gave it a 7/10), but for the second game Sega made a massive mistake - They basically completely...
News EU VC Update: ClayFighter and Sonic Chaos
Hanabi Festival enthusiasts have to wait a bit longer, it seems - Due to recent OFLC ratings, many thought one would be right around the corner, but Nintendo seems to have given this VC week to Sega instead.
The first new game this week is ClayFighter for the Mega Drive. Attempting to cash in on other popular games at the time, such as Street...
News USA VC Update: Sonic Chaos
The streak of high-profile releases for the US continues - As Sonic 3 wasn't remade for the Master System, Sega has decided it's time to release the other Sonic games for the system.
Sonic Chaos is the third Master System Sonic game. The Chaos Emeralds have been stolen yet again, so Sonic and Tails will have to travel through six zones to get them...
News USA VC Update: Wonder Boy in Monster Land
Today's US VC update isn't very surprising. This week's new game was released in Europe last Friday.
Wonder Boy in Monster Land is the second game in the Wonder Boy series and the first to introduce more RPG elements. Unlike later games however, it still clearly has some features from the original game, such as the fact it's rock-hard! If you don't...
News Wonder Boy in Monster Land Includes Special Options
Here's some interesting news - According to those who have already downloaded Wonder Boy in Monster Land, it is possible to press the "-" button during gameplay to open up a special menu containing two options.
The first option is fairly simple. It allows you to swap the functions of the 1 and 2 buttons on the Wii remote. The second...
News EU VC Update: Mario Golf and Wonder Boy in Monster Land
This week, Europe finally gets another N64 game! Can you believe it's been almost 8 months since the last one? Accompanying it is what is likely to be the last Wonder Boy game on VC.
Mario Golf was strangely already released in the US and Japan months ago before finally appearing in Europe this week. This is the first Mario Golf game, and although...
News EU VC Update: Enduro Racer and Donkey Kong 3
Today marks the first time in quite a while that the European VC update doesn't really have anything good - Both new games today are arcade ports, although one of them is actually totally different from the arcade game it's supposed to resemble.
Enduro Racer for the Master System was Sega's attempt at bringing the arcade game with the same name to...
News EU VC Update: Secret of Mana and Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Master System)
Today's update was already revealed a few days ago - No additional games have been added to the two games that were announced, but does it really matter when one of them is Secret of Mana?
Secret of Mana is probably Square's most well-known SNES game aside from the Final Fantasies and Chrono Trigger. Unlike those two, it's an action RPG - There's no...
News Mana From Heaven For RPG Fans On Boxing Day In Europe
Hopefully European readers have asked Santa for lots of Wii points this Christmas as it seems ours pals at Nintendo have been holding back on you for a boxing day surprise this coming Friday.
Obviously the surprise is completely ruined now! Isn’t the Internet good for doing that? All the same we think you will be delighted to hear that one of the...
News USA VC Update: Enduro Racer
Shockingly enough, Nintendo of America has decided to have another week with just 1 VC game! While the previous few weeks were at least somewhat tolerable as the games were ok to good, this week is a real miss.
Enduro Racer is Sega's attempt at porting the arcade game with the same name. Apparently they didn't manage, though, as the Master System...
News USA VC Update: Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Master System)
It's the third week in a row with just one VC game! This time, it's a big-name title, but to be honest, even fans of the franchise might be disappointed.
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 on the Master System is not at all like the Genesis version. Yes, it's a platformer as well, but the levels, bosses and almost everything else is completely different. This...
News USA VC Update: Space Harrier
Welcome to the Fantasy Zone! Today’s solo Virtual Console game is none other than Space Harrier from the Sega Master System. A console which many North Americans simply won’t even remember. As such we can’t help feeling that today’s update is a bit of a kick in the teeth, sure it’s not a bad game, but releasing it with no other games is hard to stomach. This is already out in Europe so you can check out our review for more info.
On a more exciting...
News EU VC Releases: Mayhem in Monsterland and More
A very nice surprise for Commodore 64 fans today - Out of nowhere, Commodore has released one of their most popular games. Accompanying it are two Sega classics.
Mayhem in Monsterland was one of the very last Commodore 64 games, and is seen by many as the last great game released on the system. Aside from very colourful graphics and nice music, the...
News EU VC Releases: Master System Sonic & Two C64 Classics
Today's releases include Europe's 250th Virtual Console game! We're not quite sure which of the games Nintendo considers to be the one, but all three of them are absolute classics.
Sonic the Hedgehog on the Master System is a remake of the Mega Drive game with the same name. While the basic gameplay remains the same (Collect rings, defeat Dr...
News USA VC Update: Sonic (Master System) and Splatterhouse 2
If you've been keeping up with the news and saw our recent articles, you would've known that Capcom, Hudson Soft and SNK Playmore all "confirmed" that one of their games would be released on VC today in the US. These games would have been Mega Man, Ys Book I & II, and Samurai Shodown II, all classics and very well liked among retro gamers. Sadly, it appears that Nintendo of America is having none of that (Just like two weeks ago with Star Parodier and Break In) and has chosen to release completely different games instead.
...
News US VC Releases - 23rd June - Alex Kidd in Miracle World
Not too bad of a week for the US today, especially if you couple it up with what was released on WiiWare.
The pick of the bunch is of course Alex Kidd in Miracle World, the first in the Alex Kidd series and arguably the best. The game is rather simple and fun to play, unlike its many sequels which mostly introduced new, not so good elements which...
News EU VC Releases - 13th June - The Last Ninja 2, Alex Kidd and more!
After last week's VC disaster, we assume everybody was hoping Nintendo would release an extra large amount of new games this week as some sort of apology. Well, they have chosen to do exactly that, as there's five new games now available!
Last Ninja 2: Back with a Vengeance is quite similar to the first game (also on VC), featuring the same...
News Sega Fans Rejoice: Alex Kidd In Miracle World Is Coming
It was the news that Sega fans all over the globe had been waiting for ever since the announcement that Master System games would be available on the Virtual Console.
Ok, maybe not all Sega fans, but we were certainly hoping it would come true, and it has. Alex Kidd’s finest adventure is inbound. Sega’s forgotten mascot may have already made his...
News US VC Releases - 14th April - Mega Turrican
If you like blasting things then you are in for a treat this week as this Monday’s Virtual Console selection will give you hours of blasting pleasure.
First up is Mega Turrican on the Sega Genesis. You might remember this as Turrican 3 on the Commodore Amiga. It's kind of a mix between Metroid, Contra and Gunstar Heroes but that doesn’t really...
News EU VC Releases - 11th April - C64 And Master System Madness
You might remember that Europe got the first two Commodore 64 games two weeks ago. Well, this week two more games join them. But that's not all, because the Sega Master System also arrives, and also brings two games with it!
As a new console is arguably more important, we'll list the Master System's games first - Fantasy Zone is a rather colourful...
News US VC Releases - March 31st - Wonder Boy
Not to be outdone by Europe getting the first Commodore 64 games on Friday it turns out that the North American Virtual Console service is getting its first Sega Master System game in this week’s VC releases!
For those not in the know about the Master System you can read up on the system in Damo’s hardware focus. Basically it was the 8-bit...
News Master System Hitting US 'Soon', 400 Points Per Game
In a press release issued today, Sega has announced that Master System games will indeed be heading to the US Virtual Console. The games will cost 400 Wii Points each, 100 less than in Japan, where they're 500 each.
The first two games will be Wonder Boy and Fantasy Zone. No exact date yet, but Sega says you can expect them "soon". No word...
News Master System games hit the Japanese VC
Japanese Wii owners will no doubt be rubbing their hands with glee as the first Sega Master System game is released in their region today.
Sadly its not the greatest game to grace Sega's 8-bit wonder, Fist of the North Star (Black Belt to you!) wouldn't have been my first choice for the system! In celebration of this monumental occasion why don't...
News Hardware Focus - Sega Master System
When Nintendo announced that the Virtual Console would be supporting the Sega Master System console you can bet that there were a fair few American gamers scratching their heads in a rather quizzical manner.
The console was a complete failure in the US thanks to a combination of poor marketing, terrible distribution, woefully misjudged software...
News Japanese Virtual Console list - February 2008
Quite an uninteresting month this time. It seems like all companies are just putting out a bunch of backlogged games so that they're on there and they don't have to worry about them anymore. Japan also gets the Sega Master System this month, but with only one game. As usual there's also a new N64 game! Here's the list:
Japanese VC list - February...
News Master System Games Coming to The VC!
The first new Virtual Console channel of 2008 has been confirmed and Sega fans should be rejoicing as it's the 8-bit Master System that will be getting the VC treatment. Game Gear software will also to be released under the same channel (which makes sense as technically the two consoles shared the same technology).
The first games in Japan will be...
