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.