How Does the Sega Master System Compare to the NES? - Retro Bird

Bonus points for anyone who can name the song played in the voicemail from the Saturn at the end of the video :) Games played: The Lucky Dime Caper Starring Donald Duck (0:01), DuckTales (0:20), Master of Darkness (0:43), Contra (1:08), Castle of Illusion for Sega Master System (1:25), Mega Man 2 (1:31), Kenseiden (2:14), Ninja Gaiden for NES (3:00), Castle of Illusion for Sega Genesis (6:07), Hang-On (7:20), Ninja Gaiden for Sega Master System (7:50)

Ironically, this channel has the most goofy and silly dry humor but also a very chill and mature takes about the hobby. Keep up the good content, dude.

The Sega Master System doesn't get enough love.

I was a Famicom (clone) guy in the late 80s, but the Master System (that outlive the Mega Drive here in Brazil... as it's still being manufactured since 1989 and the MD was discontinued this year) had created two huge landmarks in my infancy as a gamer: 1) It had the first RPG full translated to Portuguese-BR (Phantasy Star), what made me a insta-fan of the genre (that still one of my favorites) 2) Summer Games (here called Jogos de Verão) was the only game with a multiplayer that could handle all my friends together. It has 8 players slot and at my street we were about a dozen kids playing it all together. And here I want to thank Mr and Ms Jara, that had the patience to tolerate us all in their living room lol The Master System is an amazing videogame. A lot of kids in Brazil still play it as their main video game machine. We have the tendency to compare and I was a fortunate kid that have access to a Famicon-Clone right in the 80 and could raise my bar very high, but the Master System delivered a huge and diverse gaming library with great games in almost every genre back that time. There aren't that much consoles that weren't the top of their time that still could deliver that level of quality... it's in the same level of a N64 or a Dreamcast in their generations. PS: The MS gamepad was really bad and used to fck the thumbs of the small siblings of some friends when playing games as the skate and surf stages of Summer Games and Double Dragon (some movements required more "dpadcraft"). This kind of sht didn't happen even with some of the worst Famicom clones around. Thank you for this video. Brought me only good memories. Cheers!

I've really come to like all the retro systems equally.. there's always at least a handful of really good titles on every system worth playing.

I was one of the lucky few to own both systems back in the day. Loved both for different reasons

Mastersystem was really popular here in the UK. Had some really quality titles. Best version of Rampage nothing comes close. Also two player double dragon. Nice to see more of are Amercan friends starting to enjoy the system.

If you didn't point it out, I was gonna point out Master Of Darkness. What a cool game. It captures that Castlevania feel so well.

Last year I offered you my childhood 32X so you can make content with it and you gently refused. Well, my complete in box 32X has gone nearly 28 years unused now and it sure would be great if it could receive some love again. I’ve received three years of very entertaining content from you and would sure love to offer recompense with the 32X. I’ve tried giving it to my son, but the only retro-games he plays are on the NES, SNES, and original GameBoy. Please give this unloved console a home!

I never even knew the master system existed until I started game collecting a few years ago. Honestly one of the most fun thing I have done with the hobby is research and learn all the old consoles/games I never even knew where around. Playing phantasy star on an emulator because of discovering the master system.

Ghouls and Ghosts is interesting on the SMS in that you have hit points, spells, and a bunch of different upgrades to your speed and stuff. It's not just a stepped down arcade port, it adds stuff! It's also easier, which is great but because that whole series of games is way too hard for me!!! 🙂

I feel like the Game Gear gets more attention, given that it has most of the Master System's best games, more of a global audience, and a lot of great exclusives of its own, but you'll typically have a better time with the Master System versions (especially if you're using original hardware). The higher resolution versions can feel like a real luxury if you've only known the Game Gear versions.

I’m glad more people like the master system now but I kinda miss the days where i thought I was the only one in the universe that knew about it and loved it.

Excellent. I would love to see a video that focuses on regional differences between releases in the East vs. releases in the West. If you already have a video like this, I’d love to check it out.

In my country the MS had almost non-existent distribution. I found out recently, thanks to Spanish friends, that it is a wonderful system. Of course it lacks some of the best 8bit franchises of the time, but it has several games with an outstanding playability and beautiful graphics.

I often find myself enjoying less technically advanced ports of games too, not sure why. Like outrun on master system is pretty fun. And ive been playing donkey kong land on game boy

I was an arcade kid so I ended up with an SMS. No regrets , and so glad I held onto it and my games. I will say that in 2023, the PSG sound is grating to my ears unless the devs really knew how to make it sing (WB3, Streets of Rage, Sonic). Too bad we didn't get FM built in. For a treat, the Japanese SMS Bios version of the Space Harrier theme is incredible though

I grew up with the Master System , and I still remember many games who were ( and are still ) so good. I still love Asterix , Tazmania, Alex Kidd, Shinobi & Castle of Illusion.

For myself I just never heard of it, I had a NES once but that's the only one from that era and I only had a few games so I watch these videos to see what's fun that I could try out now

Great points all around. There were some exceptions for the arcade ports like Shinobi which added a life bar and new weapons. Wonder Boy 1 added the hidden dolls and bonus levels. After Burner had added bosses and Space Harrier a new boss and music track.