SMS Forever

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History

All-Time Top Five List

Please Vote for Your Fav. SMS Game NOW!!

It’s true, it’s true. Don’t let anybody else tell you otherwise. Even game developers will tell you that the Sega Master System (SMS) was the best system of its day. The SMS, released in 1986 only months after the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), was an 8-bit 'fourth-generation' home video game console, designed to compete with the NES. And compete with the NES it did, very successfully, in fact, especially in foreign nations as in Australia, Europe, New Zealand, and Brazil (where it is still in production!). However, in the US, things were not quite the same. The SMS was Sega’s answer to Nintendo’s 8-bit NES. There did not seem to be any reason why the SMS should not succeed, it boasted built-in games, a range of quality peripherals (including the highly-acclaimed SegaScope 3-D shutter glasses that enabled the player to view numerous special 3-D games with surprisingly good quality), and class-leading technology superior to that of the NES. Yes, Nintendo knew it too. The two systems were released at a time when both the SMS and the NES were exactly what the video game industry needed; a means to be reborn. The last thing Nintendo needed was a superior system to steal its sales, so it made all 3rd-party NES game developers sign a special contract. Basically, the contract stated, "You develop NES games, and NES games only." Smart move, Nintendo. Bad luck, Sega. But what did this mean? It meant that if software developers wanted to write software for the NES, they were not allowed to develop and release titles on competing systems. At the time, if you programmed for the Big N, you programmed ONLY for the Big N. Inevitably, 3rd-party developers are a key factor to the success of a system, as they develop more than twice as many games as the system's maker itself. In affect, Sega was on it's own while the NES was scoring bucket-loads of new games and earning Nintendo big bucks and 90% of the 8-bit market share while poor little insignificant Sega was hanging onto less than 10% of the market share and scoring a comparatively small amount of new SMS games due to this lack of 3rd-party support (the only developers that did develop games for the SMS were Activision and Parker Brothers). Yes, Sega's games were arguably better, but it's just another common case of quantity over quality. Eventually, a government investigation led to the fall of Nintendo's 3rd-party agreement. Did this finally mean more games for the SMS? No! The reason being that Nintendo had another trick up it's sleeve which was just as long-lasting as the last. Basically, this agreement imposed a FOUR YEAR waiting period before a 3rd-party developer or licensee could transfer an NES title to another format! By this time, however, the SMS had failed miserably to make significant sales due to the lack of exposure as well as receiving little interest from outside developers. What 'sane' developer would want to develop SMS games anyway? Not one developer would want to quit Nintendo now, after the NES had convincingly sold such large quantities of games Anyway, by this time, Sega was already on their way to unleashing the Genesis on the shelves where they would soon reverse the tide with Nintendo and dominate the 16-bit market. As a mentioned above, the SMS was forced to focus instead on quality over quantity. The NES may have hundreds of more games, but they also have hundreds of more clunkers. The SMS sported quite a few gems during its short life (see my top five list), such as the renowned RPG Phantasy Star which is currently the most sought after 8-bit game on the Web. To end this history lesson, the SMS in the US was officially dead in 1992, truly a sad year for those who were fond of the system. However, not to end on a bad note, the SMS was king of the overseas market. Nintendo was always a dirty player, but much more so in the US than in other countries. You see, it was only Nintendo of America who made it's developers sign that barbaric and unjust contract, not Nintendo of other countries. So in Europe and Australia, the SMS and NES received equal 3rd-party support, and as the SMS was clearly a superior system, the majority of Euros and Aussies chose it over the NES. Hence, the SMS flourished, and scored over 300 games, compared to the measly 120-odd games it scored in the US. Obviously, most of these were 3rd-party titles, but some were Sega-developed games not released in the US due to the system's early death in this country such as Sonic 2, Sonic Chaos, Mortal Kombat I and II, Ultima IV, etc. Yes, Sega may have dropped the SMS in 1992, but only in the US, not in other countries, where it lived until 1996, which is a surprisingly long 10-year life! It seems that the system was also a success in New Zealand, where many people didn't even know what an NES was. It was pretty much the only game system there was in the early 90's, and was dominant until the Mega Drive became affordable. But the country where it has been most successful would have to be in Brazil, where, amazingly, it is still in production! Yes, still being manufactured in the form of the SMS-3 (Master System 3), with such titles as Street Fighter 2 available. Is that cool or what? But production will probably cease in a year or so, if not sooner... such is life. Now here is my top five SMS games. Like any ranking there is bound to be controversy. Some of you prefer certain genres over others which will in affect influence and deviate your own rankings from mine. Now, I have played over one hundred SMS games via cartridge and emulation roms, so I know I good game when I see one. Anyway, I personally like all types of genres so I think this ranking will be a fair assessment of which SMS games completely RULE!!! Also this list will tell you which games you should definitely check out if you haven’t had the pleasure of playing them yet.