Nostalgia Kicked My Ass: Sega Master SystemNostalgia Kicked My Ass: Sega Master SystemWhen I was a kid, I used to own a Sega Master System. I think me and one other person had the only SMSs on the block, because almost every friggin house I remember visiting had a NES. It seemed liked everyone only owned a copy of Super Mario Bros., too. I probably missed out on some good NES action at the time (I got a NES a couple years later).
But I didn't care. I was too busy playing with steroid-enhanced Alex Kidd making his way through Miracle World while partaking in rock, paper, scissor battles. Other games also provided me with entertainment: riding on a skateboard through caves in Wonderboy, never figuring out how to open doors in Zillion, and having fun hitting a punching bag in Rocky. These and many other titles (I think I had most of the North American library in my possession) basically turned me into a Sega fan, which lasted through many years (I started becoming disinterested in most of Sega's new games after the Dreamcast's demise).
Fun time with the Master System eventually ended when the system and all the games got sold off, however. But even when the years went by, and new, better systems whored after my attention, I still had a soft spot for the SMS. I would speak good things about it whenever someone would bring it up, and would usually say it was better than the NES. It was only a couple of years back (2002 or 2003) that I had the chance to play SMS games again by using..... um..... other methods.
I played around a little with some of the titles I used to own, and the memories came flooding back. Then I played the ones I never touched before and was like "Cool.". Then I really started playing them all in-depth, and I made a shocking discovery.... The Sega Master System had A LOT of sucky games. Alex Kidd in High-Tech World is fucking terrible (and had one of the most ironic endings, ever), Kung Fu Kid requires zero effort to beat because you can just jump over all your enemies, and Dynamite Dux was the dullest beat-em-up I've ever played. Don't even get me started on Altered Beast. Sadly, even the system's best games, like Alex Kidd in Miracle World and Zillion, were above average material.
While I still have fond memories of playing the Sega Master System, I can't look at it as this wonderful console that tried to go up against the NES like I used to. Because.... well.... the Sega Master System kinda sucks. There are only a small amount of titles that are even worth playing, and probably the best thing the system had going for it was that its games were prettier looking than the majority of NES titles.
Damn, nostalgia can really kick your ass sometimes.
In a way, you can kinda see my realization that SMS games suck when I started reviewing them back in 2003. Ha, in some of them, you get this sense that I was kinda in denial. I even recommend the "great" games when I had the chance. So, since you're probably too lazy to go over to the Reviews section, here's a list of all the SMS games I've written so far in order:
My Hero (2003) - Ghost House (2003) - Vigilante (2003) - The Ninja (2003) - Altered Beast (2004) - Pro Wrestling (2004) - Shadow Dancer (2004) - Shinobi (2004) - Black Belt (2004) - Scramble Spirits (2004) - Enduro Racer (2005)