Getting Back in to the Sega Master System

On a recent trip to the retro game store, I acquired a Power Base Converter for the Genesis. Along with it, I got boxed copies of Aztec Adventure, Kung-Fu Kid, and Quartet. I had a blast playing these titles again, and it really gave me the urge to get back into collecting for the Master System. Sega's 8-bit console was the first one I seriously began to collect for, and I'd forgotten just how great the games were.

So over the past few weeks, I've been buying games little by little. I recently got Action Fighter and Time Soldiers from a great fellow over on the Digital Press boards. Action Fighter is a Spy Hunter clone, and a pretty good one at that. I love the Sega truck that powers up your weapons! Time Soldiers is a port of the arcade game, and while it's pretty faithful, it's just too hard.

In fact, that's what's starting to come back to me now - just how hard MS games are! I can remember my frustration at many of them, some of which I conquered and some that I didn't, but damn if I didn't try. Maybe now I'll actually be able to find all 5 scrolls in The Ninja and reach the princess or get to the end of Miracle Warriors.

eBay has been good to me for finding games, as has the Sega-16 forum. A recent trade has netted me a set of (boxed!) 3D glasses with Space Harrier 3D, Maze Hunter 3D, and Missile Defense 3D - all complete with boxes and manuals. I also just bought complete copies of Spellcaster and Black Belt, so my little collection is starting to come to life!

I'll try and post some impressions of these games as I get them, but if I don't come back soon, you'll know what I;ve been doing!

Carzy Little Thing Called Life...

Wow, it's been a while, hasn't it? I normally don't take so long to post, but it's been an uphill battle keeping this blog alive. I originally intended it to be an outlet for my opinions on non-Genesis gaming (Sega-16 suffices for that), but the time needed to write the comprehensive posts I prefer just isn't there.

The best way then, is to post smaller thoughts, capsules of information that will simultaneously serve as my outlet and keep this poor little blog alive. This seems like as good an opportunity to start as any, so here goes...

Jeez, looking at my last post about Game Room makes me genuinely sad. How could Microsoft have failed at what was an awesome idea? Why would it let Game Room wither and die? After how callously it pulled the plug on 1 vs. 100, one would expect it to let Game Room die with a little more dignity, but I guess it was not meant to be. Lesson learned: stay FAR away from MS "events" on Xbox Live, lest ye be burned!

On a more positive note, I went to Neo Japan Games, a great retro shop on the far side of the island, and I came back with some choice items:

Genesis

- Battletoads (loose)
- Cyborg Justice (complete)
- Garfield: Caught in the Act (cart and box)
- Heavy Nova (cart and box)
- Mazin' Saga: Mutant Fighter (cart and box)

32X

- Kolibri (loose)

SNES

- X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse (loose)

Saturn

- Croc (complete)
- Dark Legends (complete)
- Virtua Racing (complete)
- World Series Baseball (complete)

... and best of all, this bad boy:

I also picked up a few Genesis doubles, which I promptly gave away and kept the boxes (for refitting the collection). I got an extra Genesis Virtua Racing whose box fits my naked Game Genie cart perfectly. I printed out a custom insert and voila! Instant Game Genie clamshell!

The whole deal came out to about $137, which I paid for with some trade-in. Of everything I bought, I'm especially happy with the Arcade Racer. Now I can play Virtua Racing, Daytona, and Sega Rally in style!