Kobun Heat | 11 Posted April 9, 2020 Share Posted April 9, 2020 (edited) Hi! I was thinking about what my first post here should be, and I noticed there was no Sega Master System list, so I figured, why not? Here's the list of U.S. game releases for the Sega Master System. 114 games in all. I'll do the master list first and break down the various subsets and other errata afterwards: I. The List II. United States versus Everywhere Else III. Third-Party Games IV. UPC Stickers V. Variants Hopefully this should all be in order, but let me know if I missed anything! I. The List All 114 officially licensed games released in the United States for the Sega Master System. *Card format: This game was released as a Sega Card, not a cartridge. ** Third-party: This game was released by a third-party software maker, not Sega. *** UPC Sticker: This game is identical to the European version, but with a U.S. UPC sticker on the case. Action Fighter Aerial Assault After Burner Alex Kidd: High Tech World Alex Kidd: Miracle World Alex Kidd: Shinobi World Alex Kidd: The Lost Stars Alf Alien Syndrome Altered Beast Astro Warrior Aztec Adventure Black Belt Blade Eagle 3-D Bomber Raid** California Games Captain Silver Casino Games Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse Choplifter Cloud Master Columns Cyborg Hunter** Dead Angle Dick Tracy Double Dragon Enduro Racer E-Swat F-16 Fighting Falcon* Fantasy Zone Fantasy Zone II Fantasy Zone: The Maze Galaxy Force** Gangster Town Ghost House* Ghostbusters Ghouls 'n Ghosts Global Defense Golden Axe Golden Axe Warrior*** Golvellius: Valley of Doom Great Baseball Great Basketball Great Football Great Golf Great Ice Hockey Great Soccer Great Volleyball Hang-On / Astro Warrior Hang-On / Safari Hunt James "Buster" Douglas Knockout Boxing Joe Montana Football Kenseiden King's Quest** Kung-Fu Kid Lord of the Sword Marksman Shooting / Trap Shooting Maze Hunter 3-D Michael Jackson's Moonwalker Miracle Warriors Missile Defense 3-D Monopoly Montezuma's Revenge** My Hero* OutRun Paperboy Parlour Games Penguin Land Phantasy Star Poseidon Wars 3-D Power Strike Pro Wrestling Psycho Fox Quartet R. C. Grand Prix** Rambo: First Blood Part II Rambo III Rampage** Rastan Reggie Jackson Baseball Rescue Mission Rocky R-Type Shanghai Shinobi Shooting Gallery Slap Shot Sonic the Hedgehog*** Space Harrier Space Harrier 3-D Spellcaster Spider-Man*** Sports Pad Football Spy vs. Spy Strider*** Super Monaco G.P. Super Tennis* Teddy Boy* The Ninja Thunder Blade Time Soldiers Transbot* Vigilante Walter Payton Football Wanted Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?** Wonder Boy Wonder Boy in Monster Land Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap World Grand Prix Ys: The Vanished Omens Zaxxon 3-D Zillion Zillion 2: Tri-Formation II. United States versus Everywhere Else The Sega Master System is, generally speaking, region-free, meaning that most games can be played on most models of the hardware. Because the European versions of Sega Master System games were released with similar box art and often identical cartridges, and were sold so frequently in U.S. stores, many European games were already mixed in to the population of these games within the U.S. even before eBay and the global marketplace began to spread games around the globe. With few exceptions -- those being the "UPC sticker" versions of Spider-Man, Sonic, and Strider discussed below -- official U.S. releases will only have English text on their back covers and manuals, and specifically note that they are manufactured by "Sega of America" on the manuals and boxes. While U.S. and European game cartridges are often identical, there are some cases where they are not. Alex Kidd In Shinobi World and Slap Shot were only released with blue cartridge labels in the U.S., so if you have a version of either of these with a red label, it's not the U.S. release. Additionally, some Sega Card games were also released on standard cartridges in Europe, but not the U.S. III. Third-Party Games The vast majority of Sega Master System games were produced by Sega. Of the 114 in the list, 8 of them were produced by three different third parties. Note that many of these games were produced by Sega in other territories, and the only official U.S. releases of these were by third parties. Activision: Bomber Raid Cyborg Hunter Galaxy Force Rampage Parker Bros.: King's Quest Montezuma's Revenge Where In The World Is Carmen Sandiego? Seismic: R.C. Grand Prix IV. UPC Stickers Towards the end of the Master System's life, Sega of America cheaped out a bit with the final releases. Instead of manufacturing unique boxes and manuals for four of its final releases, it simply took a batch of the previously-existing PAL releases of the games, put a sticker with a UPC code over the EAN code, and sold those copies in the U.S. These games were Golden Axe Warrior, Strider, Spider-Man, and Sonic the Hedgehog. Since these games were indeed officially released in the U.S., they are necessary for a full set. Collectors tend to be of two minds on these releases: 1) Since the products are identical but for a single sticker on the back, they're happy to have any copy of the game in their collection. 2) Since the sticker is what denotes the U.S. version, they want the sticker. Only you can decide what makes you happy! Whether you personally want to collect copies with stickers or not, you should know that the sticker is a major variant that can increase the value of the game significantly, sometimes tenfold. The UPC codes for each game are: Golden Axe Warrior: 0 10086 07505 2 Sonic The Hedgehog: 0 10086 07076 7 Spider-Man: 0 10086 07065 1 Strider: 0 10086 09005 5 (Note that Spider-Man's sticker contains not just the new UPC code, but the U.S.-specific trademark and copyright notices that also had to be added to the product for it to be released in the U.S.) V. Variants There are two major groups of variant versions of Master System games in the U.S. As the 1990s dawned, Sega decided to revitalize its products for the new decade by putting tiny stickers that read "Sega For The 90's: The New Generation" on the box, manual, and cartridge of many of its Sega Master System games. Many games can be found with these stickers. I don't have a complete list, and I'm not quite sure a complete list exists. The other variant has been better documented (see this video). Again, in 1990, Sega re-released several early Master System games with significantly redesigned box art featuring a bold typeface, manuals printed on cheaper paper with a 1990 copyright date, and, most noticeably, a blue label on the cartridge instead of the standard red: Alex Kidd In Miracle World Black Belt California Games Choplifter Double Dragon Enduro Racer Fantasy Zone Ghostbusters Out Run Rambo: First Blood Part II Reggie Jackson Baseball (Additionally, two games -- Alex Kidd in Shinobi World and Slap Shot -- were ONLY released in this format, with a blue cart label, in the U.S.) Another well-known error variant is that many cartridges for the game Monopoly spell its title "Mono Poly." These are not especially valuable. Edited April 10, 2020 by Kobun Heat Spelling error! 5 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strange | 1,727 Posted April 10, 2020 Share Posted April 10, 2020 Thank you for this. I’m pursuing a full US Sega Master System set so this is extremely helpful. (I’m on team “no UPC sticker”) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strange | 1,727 Posted April 10, 2020 Share Posted April 10, 2020 Another variant I’ve seen is on Wonder Boy in Monster Land labels. Standard label vs. “Super” Wonder Boy label: 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoctorEncore | 3,691 Posted April 10, 2020 Share Posted April 10, 2020 (edited) Holy cow this is awesome! I was considering Master System as the next set I go after and you may have just made my decision for me with this fantastic guide. Thank you! Edited April 10, 2020 by DoctorEncore 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
O.G. CIB | 416 Posted April 10, 2020 Share Posted April 10, 2020 Awesome list! I’m team UPC Sticker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DorkOverlord | 688 Posted April 10, 2020 Share Posted April 10, 2020 Thanks! Great to see the Master System getting some love. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glazball | 176 Posted April 10, 2020 Share Posted April 10, 2020 (edited) Is Golden Axe Warrior actually the same for US and EU only with a US UPC sticker? That doesn't seem right to me, but I don't have the game in front of me at the moment. I thought it was just Sonic, Spider-Man and Strider that got the UPC sticker treatment for US? ETA: My mistake. I knew it had a "tall" manual vs. a "sideways" one and thought only US games got tall manuals. I didn't realize the PAL versions had the same style manual. Also, great list - thanks! Edited April 10, 2020 by glazball Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doctornick | 419 Posted April 11, 2020 Share Posted April 11, 2020 (edited) Fantastic list, thank you! I'm down to my last 30 for the set, I will not be going for a UPC Sonic unless I get lucky enough to find it for less than $100. Also great to see you over here man! Edited April 11, 2020 by Doctornick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strange | 1,727 Posted April 21, 2020 Share Posted April 21, 2020 Did a major YouTuber do a video on Spellcaster? It used to be a game you could get CIB $20-$30 all day, but now I’m seeing them listed around $60-$80 seemingly overnight (I know that’s not the same as sold listings, but someone still had the idea to start listing it at that price and it seems others have followed their lead). I’ve been wanting Spellcaster for awhile but it was one of those games I just hadn’t pulled the trigger on yet. After seeing that I tracked one down for $30 and panic bought it, naturally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tabonga | 2,528 Posted April 21, 2020 Share Posted April 21, 2020 You can upgrade Miracle Warriors since at least some of the foreign releases (Japanese Master System, Famicom, MSX, MSX2, PC88 and FM-7) came with a light canvas like map and a pewter figure, The map that came with the US release is pretty big and made out of paper. So even when you do find one it is almost always hammered pretty badly, 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doctornick | 419 Posted April 22, 2020 Share Posted April 22, 2020 On 4/20/2020 at 8:23 PM, The Strangest said: Did a major YouTuber do a video on Spellcaster? It used to be a game you could get CIB $20-$30 all day, but now I’m seeing them listed around $60-$80 seemingly overnight (I know that’s not the same as sold listings, but someone still had the idea to start listing it at that price and it seems others have followed their lead). I’ve been wanting Spellcaster for awhile but it was one of those games I just hadn’t pulled the trigger on yet. After seeing that I tracked one down for $30 and panic bought it, naturally. This happens with lots of Master System in little waves. I don't pay attention to any youtubers, but people will start posting a game for a lot more than it sells for and others follow suit. If you're patient you can grab anything at a reasonable price. I've been using that method for the last few years on eBay because finding CIB Master System in the wild is super rare here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoyalT | 161 Posted May 21, 2020 Share Posted May 21, 2020 This is great man! I agree with @The Strangest that it'd be great if we could add the other cart label variants as well (Wonderboy in Monsterland and Psycho Fox alongside the monopoly note) as well as a small piece on Sega for the 90s stickers to deal with leftover Tonka stock. An additional section on "extras" as well, including posters, manuals, reg cards (for the Activision releases). Thanks for this! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strange | 1,727 Posted May 21, 2020 Share Posted May 21, 2020 Something that has been bugging me since I posted it: Is the Wonder Boy label variant I posted actually a North American variant or is it perhaps regional? Does anyone know for sure? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goobigal | 1 Posted June 8, 2020 Share Posted June 8, 2020 Hey, literally made an account to ask about this ebay listing. I've never seen a release that looks like this. Could this be an early, pre-launch mock up type deal? Couldn't find any info or carts that resemble this, so maybe y'all would find it interesting. This thread is easily the most recent resource I can find right now. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Hokuto-no-Ken-Fist-Of-The-North-Star-BLACK-BELT-Rare-Sega-MASTER-SYSTEM-NTSC-Htf-/233399085730 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DefaultGen | 5,707 Posted June 8, 2020 Share Posted June 8, 2020 (edited) 12 hours ago, goobigal said: Hey, literally made an account to ask about this ebay listing. I've never seen a release that looks like this. Could this be an early, pre-launch mock up type deal? That is super homemade and the seller should feel bad about it. The grid is blurry. It's missing ® and ™all over the place. The font is close but wrong, even in the world of disparate SMS fonts. Sega didn't move their logo to the top of the box until later in the SMS life. Compared Wonder Boy to Wonder Boy III for example. Black Belt wouldn't have had a logo up top (or squished that close to the top in any case). The art isn't centered and doesn't match the style of any other SMS box art. The cart label doesn't look like anything else. The Arial on the back of the box is way out of place, most old games have serif fonts on back, but I'll give you that one as circumstantial. The text on the back sounds ridiculous for 1986, particularly the sentence fragment "This often resulting in a violent gory death". The UPC is the UPC from Ghostbusters, which came out a year later. The Players: 1 box has the grid poking through it, I'm not sure if this was just an attempt to seem deliberately lazy and "prototypey" though. I'm sure an SMS expert could point out even more weird inconsistencies with it out if they want to go hard. Like, maybe Sega wasn't using that style of Players: 1 box yet, or maybe the PO Box address vs the 573 Forbes Blvd address is wrong for the time period. Or hey, screenshots from that era were almost always surrounded by a black border, but those aren't. Even having the Sega logo 3 times on the box seems excessive, any other games have the Sega logo twice on one side? This is fun, like playing spot the variant difference with @RH While pretty much every argument about prototypes can be dismissed by saying "it's that way because it's a prototype" I would say no, this is not a prototype. Edited June 8, 2020 by DefaultGen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strange | 1,727 Posted June 9, 2020 Share Posted June 9, 2020 (edited) I picked up a blue label variant of Double Dragon from my local game store and I wanted to post pictures on this thread for documentation sake. If someone needs better photos for any reason I’d be happy to take some when I can. At the bottom of this box, it’s copyright Sega of America. I believe on the boxes for the red label carts it’s copyright Tonka, but if I’m wrong please let me know. The manual has a copyright date of 1990 Edited June 9, 2020 by The Strangest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strange | 1,727 Posted July 1, 2020 Share Posted July 1, 2020 And here are photos of the North American copy of Alex Kidd in Shinobi World. Check out that sexy blue label! As mentioned above, this game ONLY came with a blue cartridge in North America. So if you see a red cartridge, it’s PAL. SMS is region free, but just a bit of info for those who are shooting for the North American set. Other factors for identifying North American copies: vertical manuals and only English-language on the back of the box. There are exceptions to these rules on a few SMS games, however. Alex Kidd in Shinobi World, if I remember correctly, was originally going to be an entry in the Shinobi series simply titled “Shinobi Kid,” but then Sega decided to throw Alex Kidd into the game at the last minute. So this is really more “Shinobi” than “Alex Kidd.” 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strange | 1,727 Posted July 5, 2020 Share Posted July 5, 2020 (edited) For those of you that are curious about the Master System, Hungry Goriya (an underrated YouTube channel) posted this video recently comparing NES mainstays with some similar offerings on the Master System. My favorite game on the Master System is featured first. Edited July 5, 2020 by The Strangest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoctorEncore | 3,691 Posted January 2, 2021 Share Posted January 2, 2021 I'm officially on the Master System collecting train, so thanks for all the awesome info. If anyone is looking to unload any CIB stuff, please hit me up. I will buy in lots, whenever possible. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captmorgandrinker | 1,653 Administrator · Posted January 2, 2021 Share Posted January 2, 2021 12 minutes ago, DoctorEncore said: I'm officially on the Master System collecting train, so thanks for all the awesome info. If anyone is looking to unload any CIB stuff, please hit me up. I will buy in lots, whenever possible. US or any? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoctorEncore | 3,691 Posted January 2, 2021 Share Posted January 2, 2021 8 minutes ago, captmorgandrinker said: US or any? US... For now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThePhleo | 2,248 Posted January 3, 2021 Share Posted January 3, 2021 8 hours ago, DoctorEncore said: US... For now. Yeah...good luck with Brazil. The only thing they love more than SMS is Atari, and PS2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brickman | 4,186 Posted January 3, 2021 Share Posted January 3, 2021 9 hours ago, DoctorEncore said: I'm officially on the Master System collecting train, so thanks for all the awesome info. If anyone is looking to unload any CIB stuff, please hit me up. I will buy in lots, whenever possible. A very under rated system. Don’t listen to the Nintendo fanboys, it’s got a lot of fun games. I do recommend going PAL as well though, the US missed out on a lot of good games. The system is region free so no need for mods or extra consoles. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoctorEncore | 3,691 Posted January 4, 2021 Share Posted January 4, 2021 On 1/2/2021 at 11:42 PM, Shmup said: A very under rated system. Don’t listen to the Nintendo fanboys, it’s got a lot of fun games. I do recommend going PAL as well though, the US missed out on a lot of good games. The system is region free so no need for mods or extra consoles. Any recommendations on what PAL and Japanese games to pick up? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brickman | 4,186 Posted January 4, 2021 Share Posted January 4, 2021 48 minutes ago, DoctorEncore said: Any recommendations on what PAL and Japanese games to pick up? Not familiar with the Japanese games but a few PAL exclusives that I have enjoyed: Asterix Sonic 1 & 2 (I think you guys got 1 but it has a ridiculous markup due to a sticker) Ninja Gaiden Master of Darkness Power Strike 2 Streets of Rage 1 & 2 Land of Illusion Wonder boy in monster world Bank Panic (I loved this game as a kid but haven’t played it as an adult so you might want to check it out on an emulator). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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