The look of the controller was very similar to the NES counter part with the control pad and two button layouts.   Rather than the plus looking controller pad NES worked with, Sega made an almost circular controller pad to make not only up and down easy, but diagonal as well.   Instead of A and B buttons, this has 1 and 2.   The one missing element on the controller is the select and start button.   They used the 1 and 2 buttons as the owner of that function.  Later in the Master System lifespan there were other types of controllers, but this was the standard controller that came with the system.  The cord was the typical length, but in my opinion could have been longer.   I still am surprised when the older systems made the cords they were not that long.   Later in the 1990’s some of them had long cords but not many. Another cool feature, and I don’t know if it was planned,  but the place where you plug in the controller was universal for the next gen console and you can use the Sega Genesis controller on the Master System.

There were some additions to the control family for the Sega Master System.   There was an item called the Control Pad.  It was a much larger controller with the buttons being on the left side and the huge knob looking control stick on the right side.    In my opinion this was not a good addition to the system.  It really wasn’t used much.    There was also an attachment you can get the original controller and screw in a mini joystick on it to get the arcade feel for your games.  Personally, I prefer the standard controller out of the box.

There were definitely memorable games for the Master System.   Some titles today are hard to find and worthy of any collector.   One of my favorite titles and most poplar game in my opinion back then, was Alex Kidd in Miracle World.   This unique game had the player controlling Alex Kidd in multiple ways.  You could scroll to the left and right as well as up or down to find hidden screens and powerups.

Alex’s punching ability is used to destroy enemies and to break rocks in order to access new paths and to collect items such as money which can then be used to purchase other items including vehicles such as motorbikes and helicopters.  To move left and right you would use the control pad and if you pressed down you would squat. Button 1 was the jump button and button two acted as the punching or throwing moves.  If you pressed the buttons simultaneously, you would be able to destroy blocks above you to find hidden paths. There were even swimming levels where you would need to punch and swim your way to the end.

Another favorite game of mine was Fantasy Zone.  This game brings back many memories of trying to get farther in the game which was a challenge.  The main character, Opa-Opa, is sometimes referred to as Sega’s first mascot character.  The controls were pretty simple as you would fly your ship around and shoot the enemies in a fantasy world.  This side scrolling game allowed you to move left or right and scroll the screen in either direction.  This was almost similar to Defender in the arcade.   Along with shooting you could drop bombs on the enemies below.  After each enemy is killed, coins come out and you can collect these to purchase items four your ship in the Shop.  The graphics are pretty cool looking for an 8-bit system.   The smoothness of controlling your ship with the controller is very good.  Dodging the enemies is as easy as moving the control pad in any direction.   

The last game that made my top list of master system games is After Burner.   I was a huge fan of the arcade game where you actually felt like you were in a dogfight with the aircrafts.    The Master System did a great job of replicating the arcade.   The graphics were top notch for the times.   The sound was as accurate as the arcade and the controls were just as good.   To move your aircraft you would move left, right or up and down.   If you moved the controller left then right quickly, you would do a cat roll, which was important to dodging the other places bullets.  Button 1 on the controller would shoot your guided missiles and Button 2 would fire your canon.   The game had 15 levels and to complete all of them to beat the game was very challenging.  Still today it is one of the hardest Sega Master Games to beat.

All in all, the Sega Master System controller was not state of the art,  but simple enough to compete with its competitors and make the controlling of your character or ship smooth and easy to learn.   There were other controllers for the system but in my opinion, nothing beats the original.

The post The Sega Master System – A Forgotten Treasure appeared first on Old School Gamer Magazine.

An interesting take on the pinball genre with some classic Sonic mechanics, Sonic Spinball is a spinoff of the main series based on the early 90’s cartoon The Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog. The game received mixed to moderately positive reviews, with problems cited mainly due to its clunky controls and shortfalls as both a Sonic game and a pinball game.

Sonic Spinball‘s soundtrack was composed by Howard Drossin, Brian Coburn, and Barry Blum. It features theme music for each of the four main levels, as well as tracks for boss rooms, bonus games, and high score display. There are also a few sound effects and transition tunes included here, but for the most part, we won’t go into detail about them.

[wpdevart_youtube playlist=”PLF302AB24DD4DDBC5″ width=”640″ height=”385″ autoplay=”0″ theme=”light” loop_video=”0″ enable_fullscreen=”1″ show_related=”1″ show_popup=”0″ thumb_popup_width=”213″ thumb_popup_height=”128″ show_title=”1″ show_youtube_icon=”1″ show_annotations=”1″ show_progress_bar_color=”red” autohide_parameters=”1″ set_initial_volume=”false” initial_volume=”100″ disable_keyboard=”0″]1ZKKb0SZTcU[/wpdevart_youtube]

“Spinball Theme”

It’s worth mentioning solely because it’s the “main theme”. A little disappointing that it’s only a few seconds long, but to be fair, it normally wouldn’t play for long on the title screen anyway. It’s nothing special, but it’s certainly not the worst Sonic tune out there.

“Toxic Caves”

This peppy little number is the first song you’ll hear during actual gameplay. It’s upbeat enough to get the ball rolling (get it?) quickly, and sufficiently varied so that it doesn’t get terribly repetitive. The bass line, as in many Sonic the Hedgehog soundtracks, starts out strong and keeps the track funky. In addition, the lead synthesizer melody complements the driving low-end rhythm. Overall, it’s not bad for a first level.

Sonic Spinball was, in many ways, a product of its time.

“Lava Powerhouse”

This one might be a little polarizing; depending on how you feel about the buzzing synthesizer at the beginning, it might get on your nerves at first. However, if you can hold out past the initial forty seconds or so, the track really starts to get interesting. We get a brief reprieve from the droning (thankfully) and the song transitions into a more minimal melody and a simpler bass riff for a while. It alternates between chilled-out and in-your-face loud, and I’m not convinced that the dynamic range is entirely for the better.

“The Machine”

The theme for Sonic Spinball‘s third level is much more mellow. Both the high and low ends get a little playful in areas, and some “futuristic” sound effects are thrown in for good measure. If nothing else, it’s a welcome change from the previous level. There are a lot of “non-melody” sounds in here, but it’s not busy in a frustrating way due to their sparseness. It helps, too, that there’s not really a main melody either; it lets some of the more interesting sounds come to the forefront without really detracting from the tune itself.

“Showdown”

Being the theme for the final level in Sonic Spinball, you’d expect this track to build some tension and urgency — and it delivers. The simple bass line and not-too-complex melody evoke a sense of impending doom, and despite its relative repetitiveness, it sets the stage for, well, the final showdown with Dr. Robotnik. There’s some dissonance that helps make a player uncomfortable, which is great in a final level; it makes Dr. Robotnik seem like he should be much more serious than he looks and acts in the animated series on which the game is based.

And yet, the final boss is…this.

“Boss Room”

Funky and driving, “Boss Room” gets a player in the mood for a good, old-fashioned fight. The problem is, fighting a boss as a pinball is significantly more challenging than the usual Sonic the Hedgehog fare. It’s hard to know how to feel about this tune, because the experience is so much different from what a player would expect. The music is okay, but it does get a little repetitive after a while, particularly upon hearing it more than once in a playthrough.

“Bonus Game”

This happy-sounding song deviates from the rest of the soundtrack in its tone and sort of lack of a real connecting thread throughout. Its staccato notes and multitude of different instruments keep things interesting long enough to get through the relatively brief bonus stages. Its whimsical nature does match the departure from the (kind of) seriousness of the main levels that can be seen in the bonus stages as well.

One of several bonus stages

“High Scores”

This one’s a little shorter — which is nice, because the short amount of time spent viewing the high scores might as well be spent with the volume on mute. This track’s incessant buzzing is grating and unpleasant. There’s technically a melody to it, but it’s hard to listen to due to the instrumentation.

Final Rating

There are some pretty decent tracks here, but the egregious nature of “Lava Powerhouse” and especially “High Scores” (which, admittedly, isn’t really part of the main gameplay, but you’ll still hear it after every playthrough) really brings down the overall quality of the soundtrack. It’s not necessarily that the songs are poorly composed — on the contrary, the melodies are good and the dynamics of most of the songs keep things interesting. It’s just that the instrumentation, particularly the harsher buzzing noises, makes the two tracks mentioned above hard to listen to in a loop. Overall, Sonic Spinball‘s soundtrack is just…okay. Not terrible, but not great. I’m giving the soundtrack three Chaos Emeralds out of seven.

Image courtesy of willowthewolf10 on DeviantArt.

The post Soundtrack Review: Sonic Spinball (Sega Genesis, Sega Game Gear, Sega Master System, 1993-1995) appeared first on Old School Gamer Magazine.