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I’ve been trying and trying to pull back on game gathering and more on playing, but then Mrs. Shake gasps and when I ask what, she says “Nothing! You don’t want to see...”, and then here I am talking about a new console and the Great Sega Christmas Of 2015.

She went wild and got me a Mega Everdrive, a 32x (!) + Model 2 Genesis, and a(nother) Model 1 Genesis for Christmas, along with a couple of cheap ’n’ common boxed games as stocking stuffers. We both have had a blast digging through the Everdrive, and the Master System library has been a really pleasant surprise. We both grew up in the 8-bit era, so we're really enjoying exploring the SMS games that were mostly new to us. She’s become a complete Fantasy Zone addict. Like everybody else, I knew one kid in early grade school who had one, but we usually played Zelda and Super Mario Bros. instead.
But from the first time I saw the two-second clip in the commercial, the 3-D, psychedelic tornado of Moai heads from Space Harrier made me long for one of these sleek and advanced machines.
So yesterday, I’m sitting on the couch and she does that “gasp" thing next to me. She knows that I’ve wanted to pick up a reasonably-priced, working SMS just for kicks, even though I can now play the games via the Everdrive. But she also knows about my almost pathological devotion to Double Dragon.
I’m not very good. I acknowledge that its a fun-but-superficial game with a stack of crappy home versions. But I’ve always loved Double Dragon in a weird "nostalgic fixation" kind of way, and (casually) pick up every version I can if it’s cheap enough. Get a 2600? Buy Double Dragon. Finally set up a Genesis? Buy Double Dragon. Tiger Handhelds? They’re awful, but I got Double Dragon when I was a kid. I don’t have a 7800, but if I find a cheap boxed copy of Double Dragon, I’ll buy it for when I eventually get the system. Not an obsession, but let’s call it a “quirky affinity”.
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(Because everyone needs a taste of this.)
Anyway, Mrs. S shows me a craigslist post for a $75 Sega console (in the “Sega Base System” package) with three boxed games: Black Belt, Rastan, and Double Dragon. I knew that Double Dragon goes for $15-$20. Which sweetens the price of the bundle for me. I know Rastan is a favorite for some people, and while I have no attachment to Black Belt, I clearly love side-scrolling beat-em-ups. So, despite wanting to protest, I don’t stop her from contacting the seller to get it for me as "one last Christmas present".
We go to pick it up and it’s missing one controller (mentioned in the listing) but I have a light gun and a loose copy of Safari Hunt to make up for it; and the RF switcher the seller has is an NES one, not the original. But other than that, he’s got the box, the paperwork, the styrofoam, and even the "Sega" f-type converter. He kindly tests it for us, and we round up all the stuff and we’re on our way. It turns out to be cleaner than I’d expected and we set it up and have a blast. Black Belt even included a minty Sega poster that could not be more "of its moment in history", and it even has a game catalog on the back..
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"Trippy..."
A little reading today taught me that it’s model 3010-B, which has ONLY Hang On built in, rather than Hang On / Safari Hunt. A few places online say this is slightly “more rare”, which is curious to me mostly because I can’t find any concrete info on hardware variants online! Any suggestions on where a hardware junkie can research?
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[This box (that white part is printed, not a sticker) seems to verify that this console and this box went together originally, since it only says that Hang On is included, which seems to match descriptions of model 3010-B.]
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Regardless, I really dig it, and while it could never surpass the NES in my heart, it’s a really fun compliment and a great 8-bit system with its own character and personality. The light gun is FANTASTIC, and I’m looking forward to maybe trying a pair of the 3-D glasses. Maybe even picking up a Master Everdrive in a few months so I can play SG-1000 stuff, too...
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Any Boston-area gamers care to shed some light? I'm not from around here...
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I guess Santa got held up back in ’88-’89, because boy-oh-boy did some Sega dreams come true this year.

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It took me a while to find a complete pair of 3D glasses at a good price, but it's worth it.

 

I wanted a new pair so I could be sure I had everything I needed. I found out they are sized for small heads, though, and they don't fit my head. So I had to remove the arms and just use rubber bands to hold them on. Seems lots of pairs that are available work OK, but the arms have broken off, so you might consider those when you see them.

 

Also, someone once told me you can use some of the 3D glasses made for the 3D TVs that came out a couple of years ago (but I think you still need the HuCard part that comes with the Sega 3D glasses).

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Do they all have a built-in game?

Not all of them, but only a handful of very early models that were sold as low end had no build-in games. Instead they came with a Sega Card game. It is very rare, and even if here in Europe the SMS was a huge success, I have yet to see in real a SMS without the build-in game.

From what I recall, there are Snail Maze, Hang-On (one of those two have a second game you can access by pressy a direction on the D-block, if I recall correctly) and finally Alex Kidd in Miracle World.

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Do they all have a built-in game?

 

I had the Sega 3D package that came with console, light gun, 3D glasses, and Missile Defense 3D. There was no official built in game, if you turned the console on without a cart you got a message explaining ti turn off the system and plug in the cart. I sold the system long ago so I never checked for the snail maze, I didn't know about it until long after it was sold.

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Do they all have a built-in game?

Snail Maze was in the 1986 and 1987 manufactured consoles. Just power the game on without a cart and hold up plus the 2 buttons to activate it. 1988 and 1989 models have Hang-On and Safari Hunt built in. Which was the pack in cart prior. And the Master System 2 has Alex Kidd in Miracle World built in.

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The SMS is a fun system, much more so if you are playing on the real thing. Every once in a while I go on a SMS kick and that's all I play for a couple of weeks. There are a lot of charming games on the system. Great to see your wife is into Fantasy Zone as well--both of those original games are awesome, especially Part II. FZ: The Maze is even kind of fun as well.

 

I think you will dig Double Dragon. And I see you got Black Belt with it as well--that's a really fun one as well.

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I'm the same way with Double Dragon and my infatuation began because of the SMS. I too got 1-3 on Tiger handhelds and it was the second 7800 game I ever bought.

 

But yeah, I'm shocked more people aren't like you, 8-bit fans should be chomping at the bit to get a SMS, but they're not, so I guess that just means more for the rest of us. I absolutely would track down the 3-D glasses. I'm not into buying rare games or anything like that, and I don't buy boxed stuff in general either, but I wanted my SMS glasses to be boxed so they never got wrecked. They came with Space Harrier for like $70 5 years back, but they were worth it. To my surprise, they actually worked well. I bought pretty much all the light gun and 3-D games for the system, had about 20 to start with and now I use emulation because the SMS flickers so much and I'd prefer to see the pretty graphics without it. Either way, it's cool to bring another SMS fan into the fray. If there's one system that doesn't deserve the shit it gets, it's the SMS. If anything, it should be the kind of "NES we never had..." since most people didn't even get to play one as kids and they're cheap to get into.

 

If you like Metroid, you need to try Zillion. Zillion is awesome.

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Another game to consider, if you liked classic Zelda games and don't mind clones both Golden Axe Warriors and Golvellious would be fun. GAW is close to blatant Zelda ripoff but with overworld twice as big and 10 dungeons total, there's more to explore. Sadly no secret second quest. Golvellious is a bit harder but quite fun.

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Do they all have a built-in game?

 

I'm pretty sure they ALL have at least Snail Maze built in. That is, even if it shows the instruction screen about putting in a cartridge, just hold UP+1+2 while powering on the system and it will load Snail Maze.

Aside from that you have models that have:

Hang-On built in;

Hang-On & Safari Hunt,

Missile Defense 3-D,

Alex Kidd In Miracle World,

and even Sonic The Hedgehog!

 

 

AK:MW and Sonic were only built into the rereleased Model 2 consoles, and THOSE do lack the Snail Maze game I believe, but I'm pretty sure ALL models 1s have Snail Maze.

Edited by Torr
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Thanks, everyone!

 

That's good info to know about the smaller sizing of the 3D glasses. Let's just say I have a I have a "generously sized" melon, so the rubber-band route might be the best way for me to go... which is good, if I can get a "broken but fixable" pair for a better deal.

 

And as far as the built-in games go, this DOES have Snail Maze (UP +1+2 on the loading screen), as well as Hang-On. I'm wondering what the tech of 3010-A is, if they only put one official built in game on the 3010-B... did the 3010-A have more games, or less? Again, mine does not have Safari Hunt included in the hardware.

 

For what it's worth, all the documentation I noticed had a copyright date of 1987, and the startup screen says 1988.

 

Despite my existing Mega Everdrive, and the potential picking up of a Master Everdrive for this one (maybe next Black Friday), I'll probably pick up a very select few games for this. I'm going to try and stick to a "boxed only" policy (since I can play the games already, it's really just -ugh- shelf collecting, and I want to be careful). But Mrs. S has tested out Fantasy Zone: The Maze, and I think she's hooked -- so that's on the shortlist. The Zillion games are contenders for my short list, too. Golden Axe Warriors and Golvellious have only come to my attention since researching the catalog, and I can definitely see myself getting into them -- I'm not much of an RPG fan, but I can dig some Zelda-style "action RPGs" when the mood hits. And despite my not being an RPG player, I definitely think it's time to get in on some Phantasy Star. Other than that, it's about getting a handful of the ones I wanted when I was a kid. That means Space Harrier and Shinobi.

 

Oh, and Eltigro, that pic of your kids playing Double Dragon warmed my shrunken, blackened heart. Good for you, and good for them! Interestingly, the box for my system didn't have the UPC cut out... which meant that the previous owner must have just loved "walk left to right and kick some butt" games to have the ones he did.

 

Oh, and for those of you who are interested in circuitry, here are some gut shots from when I opened it up to clean it. Sorry about the shadows, I didn't notice until I'd already put the dang thing back together. It's got an August 5th, 1988 birthday stamp on it. And what a time to finally get one of these... 2016 marks the 30th anniversary of the US release!

 

I may be 30 years late, but they told us the challenge would ALWAYS be there, right?

 

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Oh, and Happy New Year, everyone!

Edited by mikey.shake
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That's awesome, man. I was a NES kid back in the 80s, but for some reason I REALLY wanted a Master System. They just looked so cool to me. Finally got one earlier this year (although I've had a Power Base Converter for my Genesis for a long time.) Have fun!

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Chinese are offering cloning service. I want to clone your wife so I can have her! :D

Clone? You'll have to raise her from a baby first! :rolling:

 

@Mikey.Shake: nice find! I've toyed wiht the idea of getting an SMS but to reduce the amount of clutter, I opted to go with the Power Base Mini in my Sega Genesis model 1 instead. I have a very modest collection of games including a loose Sonic 1 I bought on eBay imported from Europe for less that $10 USD including international shipping. Those asshat scalper US sellers wanted like $50 or more for a boxed one that lacked the UPC label. Eff that. :P

 

I also picked up Hang On / Safari Hunt, Fantasy Zone, Alex Kidd, and a couple other 2-in-1 lightgun games.

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3010- snail maze

3010A- snail maze, hang-on/safari hunt

3010B- snail maze, hang-on

 

3010B is among the harder variations to find and was sold as The Base System in Sega and Tonka era packaging.

 

 

Ah ha! Thanks for this! Now the lack of Safari Hunt might make more sense. If this model was perhaps made to be specifically sold in The Base System set, it makes sense to only include 1 game instead of 2 -- more incentive for people to pony up for the "premium" Master System set, perhaps? And if you're gonna strip one out, dropping the one that requires the not-included light gun is obvious.

 

HoshiChiri -- thanks for the tip! I swiped the composite cable from my unused secondary Model 1 for the time being, and it looks pretty good! However, this weird TV of mine sometimes looks "better" via RF on some older systems -- I may take you up on your offer. I'd like to see if the proper unit makes any kind of minor difference on my set. (I'll PM ya! :D )

 

Jibbajaba, glad to hear you finally scratched that itch as well! Yeah, there was something about the system that stuck in my mind all these years -- must have made quite the impression back then. I love the look of the thing, too -- so sleek in its own way, despite all the empty space inside. Oh, and your vids are favorites of Mrs. S and I -- really great, informative stuff. Your two-part Genesis set was excellent! After your recent vid on Shinobi, can we expect a Master System overview anytime soon? Consider this an official request. I'm kind of surprised at the lack of review content for the system considering its place in history, and we all need more quality content out there, right?

 

And Stardust, I hadn't looked into the importing thing or the rarer SMS games until now... and YIKES! Thanks for the heads-up. I'll keep my eyes peeled for European sellers in case I'm looking to get my hands on anything pricey -- in fact, the Sonic games are on my "if I can find them inexpensively enough" list, so I'll be sure to check abroad for those.

 

It's currently 4:16AM, and I'm very seriously considering firing up The Ninja to see what the fuss is about. I've heard good things.

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