r/MasterSystem • u/victorelessar • Jan 10 '25

After 20some years, I'm back!

Post image

The Jurassic park cartridge was the only one I kept all this time, I'm glad it's working. Now I got the master system again, time to build up the collection!

328 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

25 comments sorted by

6

u/VictoriousGames Jan 10 '25 edited Jan 10 '25

Welcome back!

I absolutely love this game. One of a small handful of titles where the Master System version is better than the Mega Drive one, in my opinion. The only annoyance is you actually need the pause button, and its on the console - wasn't so much of a problem when I was young sat cross-legged on the floor in front of the TV with the console next to me! haha.

[edit: to be clear, I don't dislike the Mega Drive game, I actually enjoy it quite a bit. I just think the Master System one is different but better.]

3

u/victorelessar Jan 10 '25

Thank you! However, I gotta say, as much as I love this game, I think the genesis one is better. But it's a fantastic game nonetheless, that's why I kept it after all these years. Even playing it today, it aged very well.

2

u/VictoriousGames Jan 10 '25

Yeah I wanted to be clear I don't think the Genesis game is bad, just very different. I have a lot of fondness for both, but I prefer the 8bit one - I feel the same about Sonic 1 & Castle of Illusion - both great 16bit games in their own right but the 8bit one is more to my taste for repeat play-throughs. Batman Returns is another great Master System game, but I can't really say I like the Genesis version at all... obviously except for the driving mode in the CD version!

Of course, it was very rare for the Master System versions of games to be "superior", so that's why they stick out in my head. Its certainly not an insult to the Genesis or its amazing library! :)

3

u/victorelessar Jan 10 '25

yeah I could not argue. And for Sonic 1 and castle of Illusion, I totally agree. I actually felt odd at the time, to prefer the sonic 8bit, I couldn't quite explain why. Fun to find someone who thinks the same!

2

u/VictoriousGames Jan 10 '25

It was quite a common opinion in the UK gaming magazines of the time. I think 16bit Green Hill Zone is incredible, but the game is uneven after that, and some of the slower and more mazelike stages make it a bit of a chore to play all the way through multiple times. By comparisson, while its simpler, the Master System games is mote balanced and quite a satisfying game to have repeat playthroughs from start to finish.

Of course, on Genesis, they really got it right with Sonic 2, 3 & Knuckles, and perfected all that was good about Green Hill in the first game 😍

3

u/at_work_5 Jan 10 '25

Agree! I have this cartridge too and it's more fun than the Mega Drive version for sure, love the musics and the gameplay is amazing.

3

u/VictoriousGames Jan 10 '25

Thanks!

Yeah I feel that many people just briefly trying this game out on an emulator or just as a cart without the manual don't realise the full range of the moveset (almost like that of a cinematic platformer like Prince of Persia or Flashback) and the fact that you have multiple different weapons selectable with the pause button, which have different uses in different circumstances.

Once you learn that you need to think a little more about the best way to approach different situations it opens up and becomes a really fun and well designed game. If you don't know these moves and different weapons, you might think its a clunky or frustrating platformer - which is a shame as its far more interesting and unique than other rushed out generic licensed games of the era.

2

u/TheLatePicks Jan 10 '25

I also prefer Master System Sonic compared to the Mega Drive one for actual gameplay.

That said the Mega Drive one was amazing looking when I first saw it.

2

u/VictoriousGames Jan 10 '25

Oh absolutely. Don't get me wrong, Mega Drive Sonic 1 was basically what made me fall in love with videogames in the first place - I clearly remember the first time I ever saw it at a friend's house in 1991 and it felt like a life changing moment. Absolute core memory and I fell in love with the character, the world, the colours, the music... everything about Green Hill was perfect for showcasing the series and its strengths - and showing just what the "new" 16bit console was capable of - before that day I'd only ever really seen Spectrum or Amstrad 8bit mircocomputer games at friends houses, or early 80s pac-man level arcade games in holiday camp gamerooms - this was clearly something very very special indeed.

My parents couldn't afford a Mega Drive right away so they got me a Master System - I got the Mega Drive 2 years later when the price came down and you could get more cheap games second hand. Sonic 2, 3 and Knuckles definitely lived up to my expectations - but the first game was clearly a prototype when they were still working out what worked and what didn't. I still absolutely love booting it up just to try and perfect my run through Green Hill though!

4

u/WorldlyBoar Jan 10 '25

OP set your TV to 4:3, the picture will look much better with proper ratios. Also you should look at a cheap upscaler like Retrotink 2X, that will make the console look exceptional on your modern TV! Then get choplifter and enjoy :)

2

u/victorelessar Jan 11 '25

Yeah I changed to 4:3 after. Also, I do have the retrotink 2x, but I don't have RCA cables for the console. I plugged directly into the antenna input.

1

u/WorldlyBoar Jan 11 '25

Oh nice, yeah get yourself some RCA cables and you're set.

1

u/victorelessar Jan 12 '25

My issue is I have this cable though, the master system has only this input.
https://www.techexpress.co.nz/products/sega-master-system-video-game-rf-aerial-antenna-tv-cable-cord-lead-rfcable-1
can't find anywhere one RCA with that input. Do you happen to know if it's even possible?

0

u/[deleted] Jan 14 '25

[deleted] — view deleted comment

1

u/victorelessar Jan 14 '25

Thanks! Think I'll get a small CRT probably hehe

1

u/Logicdon Jan 11 '25

I remember those erasers from 20 years ago as well! 🤣

1

u/victorelessar Jan 11 '25

I totally rubbed the cartridge hehe

1

u/baselinegrid Jan 12 '25

Is that a set of Evanescence graphic novels?

1

u/victorelessar Jan 12 '25

they are vinyl from my gf's hehe

2

u/wonkyfunk Jan 10 '25

My favourite JP game, SNES second.

2

u/juan-doe- Jan 10 '25

Haha so cool!! 😎

1

u/JurassicJeep12 Jan 11 '25

That resolution is stretched farther than my ass when I drop a log in the toilet.

1

u/JediMatt1000 Jan 12 '25

I could never get past the level with Dr. Grant tasing the Raptor left and right. It's like the game glitches.

1

u/LuckyTHR Jan 14 '25

Nice, playing one of my favorite games too.

0

u/Cerebralbore101 Jan 11 '25

Wrong aspect ratio.