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Wooo! Michael Jackson dances his way onto the Master System! While not as potent as its Genesis sibling in presentation, the 8-bit version of Moonwalker is still a good game that captures the essence of the musical legend. If you’re looking for a new game for your Master System and have some cash to spare, this one is worth adding to your library.
Like giant monsters and trashing cities? Who doesn’t? Luckily, Bally Midway’s arcade classic Rampage smashed its way onto the Master System in 1989, and it was a great port. Two-player simultaneous destruction and 50 stages made it a great game to play in short bursts.
Parker Brothers was one of the rare publishers on the Master System, but it was good enough to port one of the best old school platformers ever. Montezuma’s Revenge has become a bit pricey, but there’s so much great gameplay here that it’s absolutely worth the price of admission.
The story of Tetris is long and convoluted enough to fill an entire book, and those wanting to know the full story about the tangled legal mess that the game’s home rights turned into are encouraged to check out David Sheff’s Game Over: Press Start to Continue. It has all the details about the litigation and underhanded plays that occurred as multiple entities and people tried to cash in on the Russian phenomenon. One company that was caught in the crossfire was Sega, which tried to release a version of Tetris for the Mega Drive, only to find itself slapped down by the legal issue. Few copies were actually released, and a slew of pirate versions have since cropped up, fetching ridiculous prices on eBay.
With all the later, more advanced offerings by Sega and Electronic Arts, most people tend to forget the early sports games released on the Genesis. Some of them are rightly forgotten, but others such as Arnold Palmer Tournament Golf, still hold up pretty well. Granted, you’re not going to get the full PGA experience, but it’s still a fun way to spend an afternoon.