Sonic Chaos. I will say as someone who owned the Game Gear version as a kid that Sonic 2 is FAR better on Master System though.
I legitimately cannot believe that the GG version of Sonic 2 was even released with that first boss. Only got past Underground Zone once as a kid. Master System version is a really fun game though.
Sonic 1, followed by Chaos - wow I'm GLAD i got Chaos in '94 for the GG instead of 2, the cover just looked way more appealing to me. But after playing 2 on an emulator about 10y later I saw it: I wouldnt have made it past the first boss ^^
I got the three of them for a video I did a while back, Sonic 1, 2 and Chaos, and Sonic 2 has to be one of the stupidest designed Sonic games out there. I have never gotten so angry at a Sonic game in my life, and after playing it on GG via 3DS, it’s only worse there, but I STILL think it’s a awful time. Chaos is better, as it’s the total opposite in terms of difficulty, but that final boss sucks and beyond that it’s overly easy besides a few unfair in my opinion traps that will only kill you once. Sonic 1 is the only one of the three that for the most part feels like a actual proper Sonic game, despite how basic it can be. The music is phenomenal thanks to Koshiro, and besides the weird scrolling challenge of Jungle Zone and the fact that Sonic can breathe underwater forever in labyrinth, the game was very enjoyable to me. With how right S1 got it on MS, and how long S2 was in development (we have that auto demo from 91 and the game came out in September 92) you have to wonder what the hell happened. Edit: breathe forever in labyrinth act 3-
You know, I aways thought this was the least weird thing about Labyrinth Act 3. All Act 3s in the game feel different from the rest in how straightforward they are - from the Robotnik icon in the map to the absence of rings and the ring counter. So being able to breathe underwater never struck me as especially weird. The placement of the 1-Up monitor in that stage, though? That I always found extremely strange. It's undescribably hard to get it and come back alive, and I never understod why they chose that specific monitor to star the hardest piece of platforming in the entire game (besides choosing the top route in Sky Base Act 2 probably).
I honestly know basically nothing about the Master System. I'm afraid to admit that every time I saw images of it's games, I just thought they were Game Gear exclusives (for the most part)... I knew the Master System existed, but always had thought it was merely the precursor to the Mega Drive, and assumed it was quickly abandoned after the Mega Drive arrived on the scene, like the nes and the snes. I only just now saw that it was relevant as far into the Mega Drive's lifespan as to have had a its own version of Sonic Blast. I have literally never seen one in my life, they are obscure.
That depends on where you live. Outside of North America, the Master System was a very prolific system. It sold 1/3 of what the NES did worldwide (20 million vs. 60 million), which is nothing to sneeze at. Comparing the SMS to the Game Gear, it sold almost twice as many units worldwide (20 million vs. 11 million), so it was definitely not more obscure than the GG from a global point of view. Also, in the age of emulation there's hardly such a thing as an "obscure console"... If a series/franchise you love has entries in "obscure" consoles, there's little excuse for not taking the 10 minutes needed to get an emulator and the ROMs to give them a try.
Sonic 1 is probably the most consistent effort. Sonic 2 is an interesting oddball, but the difficulty is a bit of an offput (even if it's not as bad as on the Game Gear). Also taking out the good ending music kinda downplays the catharsis of going to all that trouble in the first place. I have a soft spot for Chaos in terms of feel and aesthetics, especially since it all feels a lot less claustraphobic on the Master System, but it's let down by how pathetically easy it is. I'd actually love to see a hack that simply made the levels a bit longer. Triple Trouble is a more developed game, but alas it only had an unofficial port. I also agree with a previous post that while Blast isn't GOOD, it's not AWFUL, and at least has the novelty of playing as Knuckles on 8 bit.
Heh, I definitely remember justifying the need to buy this game back when it came out with the fact that this was "Knuckles' first outing on the Master System"... As if there would ever be a second one so late in the system's life!
The only 8 bit Sonic game I was ever particularly impressed with was Sonic 1. Surprisingly strong level design and presentation in that game that just unfortunately isn't present in 2, Chaos, Triple Trouble and Blast. Sonic 1 in 8 bit is a contender for a really great Sonic game worth checking out while the other ones seem like curiosities at best.
Yeah, as was pointed out earlier, the Master System is definitely one of the most regionally divergent success stories. It didn't make much of a mark in Japan and was never competitive with the NES in the USA, either, but it was hugely successful in Europe and Brazil (Sonic Blast is a Brazil exclusive). Over half of the total number of games released for the system were exclusive to PAL regions, which continued releasing software into 1995, despite the final game released in Japan appearing 7 years earlier. I grew up in the USA, and never knew anyone who owned a Master System, but I do remember seeing the godawful USA game box designs in toy stores at the time. It was like Sega of America was performing some sort of willful self-sabotage LOL. Years later, I was finally introduced to the Master System via emulation. Minus any nostaligia, I can't say it did anything to convince me that I wouldn't have been happier sticking with my NES, but I can at least admit that it is a technically superior system. And I think it's pretty cool that the Sonic games for the SMS aren't just ugly ports of the 16-bit games, but rather legitimately different games allowing a fan to play and appreciate both.
The Master System II was my first console (got it in December 91) and Sonic 1 my first Sonic game so I'm biased. I play it almost yearly. Sonic 2 is fine, not that difficult (I could beat the first boss on GG as a kid so I never considered it difficult) except for the emeralds. I think I've only got the good ending once, without cheating. Chaos is too easy but charming, TT is really good too.
Now that we are into it, I'll take the chance to contrast my bad impressions about Triple Trouble with your good ones. First, I must say I beat S1, S2 and Chaos on a real Master System II, S1 being inside its memory, and I also beat S2 on a lended GG, but I haven't played the GG versions of the other two games and only played TT and Blast on PC emulators. This could be important because I might have used an emulator with worse controls than the original console which could have biased me and what definitely biases me is not having played TT close to its release (read: I was older and played 3D games, also younger me was a lot more tolerant with difficulty to enjoy S2). So, with that in mind, my gripes: -The size of the screen wasn't particularly friendly for such an imitation of the 16-bit games. -A lot of the level design was disorienting, instead of feeling the freedom of having multiple paths I felt lost and never knew if I was going towards the goal. -Sonic's jump was quite uncontrollable for me, didn't felt that fun. Probably Chaos had the same jumping issue but it was easy enough to not matter. -Curling and uncurling in the air is interesting in concept, but it led me to a lot of misplays and didn't give me a big advantage, yet it was mandatory for no other than the first boss (it took me a good amount of deaths to guess I could do that). -Those things in Sunset Park that stopped your jumps were so prevalent they were a constant pace breaker and a potential booby trap. The boss of this zone may have that unused track from Chaos, but it's repetitive as hell and not a real boss fight. -Tidal Plant is also boring, really boring, though I had a bit of fun with tubes like I did with Scrambled Egg Zone. -What the hell with chicken spammers in Atomic Destroyer zone? There's a difference between setting a trap and annoying the player constantly instead of letting them play the level (same design philosophy of those things in Sunset Park, I suppose). -Special Stages had potential but their design disoriented me even more than the regular levels, and that's quite unfair in a level where time is very limited and needs to be replenished by finding monitors. And you can still fail them if you manage to reach to the end but lose against the boss. I think that's all. Overall, I think they pushed the limits of the GG to an awesome level with this game but forgot it had to be fun first and foremost. And then they made Blast.
Sonic 2, hands down. Sonic 1 is pretty close too, but I love the sense of danger and adventure S2 has. Also, I don't find it as hard as anyone says it is. Yes, is harder than 1, but it is not harder than the regular master system platformer from that age. I loved how the vehicles gave the game a sense of uniqueness, and back in the day they were pretty mind blowing ( at least they were for me, I had not the chance to play or even watch the 16 bits games, my only contact with Sonic were Sonic 1 and 2). Also the music is absolutely AMAZING. I think you had to play this back in the day to really enjoy it. If you compare it to later games, you find it laking. But back then it was awesome.
For me it's a tie between Sonic 1 and Sonic Chaos. The level design in Sonic 1 feels better thought-out, but Sonic Chaos has Tails, and the Spin Dash and Strike Dash. Agreed. The game is hard enough without the screen crunch making the first boss almost impossible. And I somehow tied you for the number of times I actually beat that boss in the Game Gear version.
I wanna say Sonic 1? It's a fun game, definitely better than any Sonic game between 3K and Adventure 1/Pocket Adventure (can't remember which came first). I don't really like any other GG Sonic game.
Sonic 1 here - the mechanics may be a little more basic, but despite the lack of loops I feel like it's the most successful at echoing the 16-bit entries (or the first one at least, as obviously that's all there was to compare it with at the time!). It has a genuinely catchy soundtrack thanks to musical maestro Yuzo Koshiro, well-designed stages despite the limitations of few curves/no loops, and a more dramatic ending than its counterpart - Sky Base and Robotnik's blimp definitely deserved to be in the 16-bit version! I've no idea why Aspect ended up taking over from the second entry onwards, but part of me really wants to peek into an alternate universe where Ancient continued the series instead...!
While I remember my aunt having a Master System, I really cannot recall if I even ever played anything on it. I've never emulated them either, despite knowing that I'd have a better experience with Sonic 2 than I ever have on my Game Gear. I do have every entry in my Game Gear collection though, having had all but Triple Trouble and Sonic 1 since childhood. Sonic Chaos was easily my favourite back then, but I probably played Blast nearly as often just for Knuckles. Now, having revisited them all relatively recently, I'm more inclined to call Triple Trouble my favourite.
The master system wasn't obscure in North America either, people just don't remember because it didn't sell very well. Despite not selling well, it was everywhere the NES was. I didn't have an NES, we got our Sega Master System in 1986, and I live right in the heart of Texas. At the time, you honestly wouldn't have known how much the NES was outselling the SMS by the availability of it. I rented SMS games from Mom and Pop video rental stores that had SMS shelves right next to NES shelves. I bought my SMS games at places like Toys R Us and Sears and Kay B Toys. Blockbuster Video also used to rent SMS games, I remember renting stuff like Wonder Boy III and Alex Kidd in Shinobi World from Blockbuster. SMS TV commercials would also air, I remember seeing the commercials for Double Dragon which lead to me picking it up. Relevant to this topic, I saw Sonic 1 for sale at a Kay B Toys in Texas City, Tx *after* I already had my Game Gear in 1992. Here I am in 1988 getting Space Harrier 3D for christmas: After getting my Game Gear in 1992, the first thing I did was go to Electronics Botique and bought myself a Master Gear Converter, which they were pushing in the Game Gear section specifically for SMS owners. I got the Master Gear converter, because I already had like 20 SMS games and it made my game gear library explode right out of the gate. So the SMS wasn't really obscure or unknown here. It just didn't sell well. But it was basically every place you'd find the NES or video games in general. If a place had NES stuff, it almost certainly had SMS stuff too in North America. If you want to talk about Obscure consoles, the Atari XEGS was obscure. I saw Atari 7800 games at all the places I mentioned, I *never* saw the Atari XEGS for sale anywhere except once at a Service Merchandise in the computer section, not the video game section. So like besides the IBM PC Clones and such.
If it counts I should probably add special mention for Mean Bean Machine, which had APPALLING cosmetics even for an 8 bit game, but retained the same gameplay as the 16 bit version (meaning still addictive) and also added a Puzzle Mode as a nice variation. Game Gear version ranks slightly higher for at least adding new backgrounds that the other two versions lack though.