Move over Nintendo!

Back in 1988 with the help of some extra disposable income I decided to buy another game system. I know the NES was the king but the Sega master system was so much better when you looked at the specs. Plus it had all those sega arcade games. And I found one used for $75.00 :) Of course the games were cute. Like the safari hunt game that was built in. But my early favorite was choplifter. This was the same concept as the computer version I had bought a year earlier but the graphics and sound added so much to the game. At the time most of the games were between 25 and 35 bucks. This was probably the point I went into game overload. That summer the old school games and systems hit the flea markets and yard sales. I was collecting things at an alarming rate. I remember buying rampage for $39.00 and playing it for a week and getting bored with the repetition and stopping to think if I enjoyed collecting games more than I liked playing them. I decided to spend more time playing and stay off the Atari BBB's. Back then Mario was why every kid had a NES. There was this rival that sega was claiming was better. Alex Kidd. It was only a $20 investment and my kids wanted it so I said what the heck. They liked it so much they even video taped the game while they were playing it and would watch it when they didn't have game time. (see explanation) Wait, I think I lost my point here. Oh yeah, more time playing, I was on a mission to beat a game. So I played and played and took notes and finally beat the game. I don't remember how long it took but it was just in time because there was hype in the home system world about this new game coming out. An RPG that was going to be the hottest thing ever to come into a home video game system. This million seller in Japan was coming to America. Phantasy Star... The big shock didn't come till you saw the price. $60.00 Back then this was unheard of. But all the reviews and ratings gave it the number one game at the time. Well I got it for my birthday that year. For the next six weeks I was wrapped up totally in that game. I don't think I turned on anything else. I was drawing maps, taking notes, plotting and planning. I don't remember how many hours it took but I know 5 weeks later I was stuck. I seemed to be unable to find the final boss. Hit points and gold to the max I was still at a loss. Ended up calling sega's tip line. It wasn't a 900 number back then just a long distance call. Half an hour later (what a hold time:) I was told about the secret door in the last dungeon. Aarrgh, I should have known. One more day to beat the final boss and I was drained from the month and a half ordeal. Well I did collect lots of sms carts. Got one of those games on a card also. Ghost house. Real cute. The sms remained the 'newest' system I had all throughout 89 until we all wanted a genesis. But thats the next story. Anyway step up to the future. When we moved into this apartment my son brought some old junk from his mothers. One of the boxes was all sms carts. No master system though. The sight of all those unplayable carts. Sob.. But wait. The mastergear converter for the Game gear. Old memories relived through a tiny screen. Then I found the emulators on the web. I got all nostalgic one night and stayed up playing sms games. Even tried to recapture some old magic by buying Miracle Warriors. But this wasn't too good on the little game gear screen. I did play it for several weeks on the emulator but for some reason I stopped. Then in august 97 I got a power base converter and after hacking the case up it fits on my genesis. It's strange to play these games and think back 10 years to when I first played them. Stranger is the difference in my life between then and now. But that is a story that doesn't belong here with the games :) Anyway, when I bought the converter I also bought Y's The vanished omens. I had played this as a PC game and really wanted it for some reason on the sms. As of last night Feb. 7 1998 I am half way through the game. I wonder if I'll finish it. And I wonder how long it will take to write the genesis section and my experience with Phantasy star II ...
Update Feb. 12 1998. I did beat the game. Y's that is. That brings my total finished master system games to 3 :) Alex Kidd in miracle world, Phantasy Star, and Y's . All the PC games and the playstation things I have and I'm still spending my time playing master system games. Wonder what that tells you...