Well just a few days ago I received my Sega Card Catcher for the good ol' SG-1000! Now incase you're wondering, the Card Catcher lets you play My Card games, instead of just cartridges. The card games are like PC Engine HuCards, and were made as a cheaper alternative to the cartridge format. While the cards had less memory than the carts, surprisingly many of the cards had much more complicated games than the carts. All time classics such as Gulkave, Dragon Wang(don't laugh), and H.E.R.O. were exclusively made for card. Along with my card catcher, I got 4 games. Here is a short review for each.

Monaco GP- This is a re-issue of a cart game, and is a mighty fine conversion of the 1979 classic racer. The gameplay is like Bump n Jump on ColecoVision and NES, but on steroids! The game is extremely fast, with lots of obstacles on the road, and many sharp turns and jumps that you have to make. Who knew there was ice in Monaco? Also, you can set the difficulty from one enemy car on the road to three! There is much replay value in this game, and while you win the race at 80,000 points, the game keeps going after the limit of 999,999 points! Monaco GP is a lightning fast racer that will test your reflexes while being extremely fun too!

Grade: A-

Dragon Wang- Just the title alone is enough to make people curious. It's the only beat'em up on the system, and a pretty good one too! DW was basically Sega's response to the success of Spartan X(Kung Fu Master), and shares many similarities. You control Dragon Wang through 4 stages(though I have heard that the game loops), while kicking and kicking(no punching) enemies. On each stage, there are a number of floors. There is a boss on each floor. For example, on the first stage you have to fight Bosoh, Nunchan, and Warpman. On the next stage you must fight those 3 bosses plus RB-TT(a robot, how awesome?). From each boss Wang gets a key, and he must have all the keys to beat each level. There are also lots of traps on each stage. Watch out for the waving balls(don't laugh), non-fatal trap doors, and gates that you have to kick through. For being the only fighting game on the SG-1000, Dragon Wang is a really good game. Why only really good? The difficulty is rather high, and many people give up after the first MINI-BOSS!! Don't worry, with a day or two of practice you can beat this game. I've only owned this game for a day and I can get to the last stage(Jonathan beats me)! Give this game a try and you will at least have some fun.

Grade: B+

Champion Ice Hockey- I don't like sports games. This is an ice hockey game. That means your players slip and slide everywhere. I've only played this game once, but it was too hard for me. Team Pixelboy is converting this game to ColecoVision, so maybe it's good, but I have no idea.

Grade: N/A

Drol- This is one of the few computer ports for the system, and a rather fun one, too. Drol is a game by Aik Beng where you control a robot that moves down platforms through trap doors while shooting many different monsters. On each of the three levels, Drol must save someone. On stage 1, he must save a girl and a crocodile, stage 2 a girl and a lizard, and on stage 3 the kids' mom. Drol can not only shoot but fly as well, making him able to go up trap doors and shoot arrows, swords, and flying birds into roast chicken! After the 3 levels, there is a cutscene and the next round starts. I can only get to the end of round 2, but round 2 introduces flying drones, and now the enemies can spit at you. There are 5 rounds in total. Drol is a highly original concept that has been executed very well, with lots of bright and colorful graphics, fast-paced shooting, and happy music. This is a game that you have to play!

Grade: A

Hopefully you all enjoyed these mini-reviews. If you are interested, here is a link to a list of sg-1000 roms and a picture from the ebay auction. Happy gaming, and long live SEGA.