Master System
They say that when you always remember when you discover something new for the first time: It’s the one that leaves the greatest impression and influences your line of thinking from that point on. Which brings me to the Sega Master System.
Whilst this wasn’t that big a deal in the US or Japan (ie the places the matter), the plucky MS was actually quite popular in Europe and here in Australia. I first became aware of Sega during Primary school where many people had a Master System.
In fact, in retrospect, I think I knew more people with a Master System than people with a NES.
So what did the Master System do to win me over? I guess many of the reasons can only be attributed a childlike wonder of discovering something new: Colourful graphics, irritatingly catchy tunes and finding something that appeared to be world apart from what I was familiar with (which was the Commodore 64).
Some particular favourites in this era included The Ninja, Alex Kidd in Miracle World and Wonderboy. I was also impressed by how Sonic made the transition from the Megadrive and still came out great. And special mention must also go to Mortal Kombat – how they managed to replicate those graphics in an 8-bit system still blows my mind today.
Looking back however, there are more than few things wrong with the damn thing. Sure many of the games looked nice but they were plagued with wonky controls that sent your guy running in all directions, playing areas where everything therein could kill you and situations that insisted you memorise a pattern that had to be obeyed to the letter in order to get anywhere! With such poor designing in the games, it is little wonder that the NES outpaced the Master System with games and developers.
Still, in spite of my criticisms, the Master System played it’s part in furthering my interest in games. And that’s a worthy achievement in my book.
NES
Now you’re talking.
Again, this wasn’t a console I owned – but I still got to play it through a friend of my brother. Indeed, this is of particular interest: Whilst the Atari 2600 was confined to school and the Master System was owned by friends (and thus even further out of reach), the NES represented something of a breakthrough. Finally those fabled boxes had arrived in my house. They were hooked up to my TV and infiltrated their way into familiarity. And finally I had the chance to try these videogame consoles for real (or whatever you want to call it).
Whilst the memories of the Master System may be hazy and somewhat confused with youthful excitement, the games I played on the NES are far more ingrained in my mind. Compared to the Master System I can proudly point out the games I played: Super Mario Bros, Super Mario 3, Captain Skyhawk, Star Wars and TMNT.
Whilst the Master System got to me first, the NES however had a substantial selection of games – and the funny thing is I still play of some of them today. I guess most of it comes down to smart design – and now that I think about it, that’s most likely what I got the most out of the NES. True the Master System may have won me over on a stylish level but the NES proved what can be achieved with a little bit of substance. Indeed, if I’m still playing 8-bit games today then that says a lot about the staying power of them. In fact it makes me wonder if any games made today will still be played twenty five years from now….
Another of the more lasting impressions of the NES was being something of a franchise starter: Super Mario, Legend of Zelda, Metroid, Final Fantasy and Metal Gear Solid all had their humble beginnings here. Looking back I didn’t think much of serials: I was happy to enjoy games on both the Master System and NES, caring little of actual names. I didn't think that Mario and Zelda were big deals (like they were in the US or Japan) I just figured they were there and there were Nintendo - although being in a truly awful cartoon didn't really help their cause at all.
Funny thing was, many of the titles I mentioned above went on to become legends whilst many of the Master System games now look largely (and painfully) generic. In any case, the foundation stones were set for a survival of the fittest that even Darwin couldn’t comprehend. True the NES may have had it’s fair share of ‘generic’ games but I guess they’re easy to ignore on a system that became the birthplace for Mario/Link/Samus/Snake.
Can’t really think of much else to say. Much has been written about the NES and its importance to video game history so my own recollections and experiences may just well be enough.
That’s it for this week. Stay tuned for the next generation and a breakthrough of massive proportions….
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