SMS: Very disappointing

[sku_u]

I just played the SMS for about an hour. I have to say that I am very underwhelmed.

 

For starters, the game speed is terrible. I was a master at both Out Run and Hang On in the arcades. I was barely able to control the vehicle with the no-frills SMS controller and not even able to get up to the first checkpoint.

 

Now for some of the other games:

 

R-Type--this is a classic game that the SMS does not deliver on. The gameplay is terrible and choppy.

 

Shinobi--I thought this version was supposed to be a gem? The control on this game sucks and the screen scrolls in a very awkward fashion.

 

Altered Beast--what the hell were they thinking?

 

After Burner--I loved this game in the arcades. All I see here is a vague semblance to the Arcade version with terrible control.

 

Rastan--A good concept, but a terrible game.

 

Rampage--the graphics are good, but once again game control stinks.

 

Enduro Racer--a pathetic rip off of the vastly superior Excitebike

 

World Grand Prix--a choppy shotty version of Pole Position. Better gameplay exists on the 2600 version.

 

Am I missing something here? Or was this system just a terrible mistake? I've never had a more unenjoyable gaming experience.

 

The SMS plays like a NES in slow motion. I'm considering doing something I've never considered doing before (not even with the Channel F): selling the SMS and all games I have for it.

[keyngs]

Sorry to hear about your recent experience with the master system. Have you tried Golvellius? or Miracle warriors? Monopoly is a blast. My favorite feature of the master system is the sounds. and the 3-D-Glasses. never before have i seen REAL 3-D like this. Anyway,,,, I think you should give these other games a try. If you havent done so already. Thanks again for everything!

[CPUWIZ]

Am I missing something here?  Or was this system just a terrible mistake?  I've never had a more unenjoyable gaming experience.

 

The SMS plays like a NES in slow motion.  I'm considering doing something I've never considered doing before (not even with the Channel F): selling the SMS and all games I have for it.

 

Nope, IMO you're absolutely right and that is exactly why I got rid of mine ages ago, too painful to play.

[NE146]

Well yeah, I imagine it would seem kind of odd...especially since you're first trying it out about 15 years later

 

When it came out.. it did seem beyond most anything seen yet. But I remember also thinking even back then that some games DID pale when put up next to my Famicom/NES (especially with games like Megaman 2 on the NES, etc.) And since that time, nothing has really displaced that feeling.. I still feel the NES had a better percentage of software than the SMS. (And have expressed it several times)

 

That being said, I still loved my sms (as I do most all consoles) and there are DEFINITELY some games that the NES can't match in any form whatsoever. The first off the top of my head is Phantasy Star. If you're into RPG's, the 3D dungeons and enemy graphics go beyond any NES game. I remember when Dragon Warrior (us) came out for the NES I was highly underwhelmed after having already played the superior Phantasy Star. But of course... you'd have to play the game, which is very long and hard to see it.. which kind of puts negative points on it. Then of course there's R-Type. The SMS port was very respectable for it's time. It's only now really that you really see the choppiness, but back then that was as good as you could get. (yeah yeah we all know the beloved 2600 was never choppy )

 

The Alex Kidd games (Miracle World, and Shinbobi World) and Wonderboy III: Dragon’s Trap games are also very good. But you'd have to get into them..

[Artlover]

R-Type--this is a classic game that the SMS does not deliver on.  The gameplay is terrible and choppy.

 

Well, in responce to this one.

 

Pretty much all home ports of R-Type suck except one; TurboGrafix 16. :wink:

 

 

I don't have a SMS myself, but I have used the emulators, and I too was underwhelmed. SMS Sonic was pathetic. Been a few years since I last played with it. Just goes to show you how much I enjoyed it.

[Ze_ro]

There is at least one solid reason to have an SMS: Wonder Boy in Monster Land. That game is crazy-ass fun!

 

Strangely, I have yet to actually find a copy! I have the original Wonder Boy, and the more rare Wonder Boy 3, but no WBML The search continues...

 

--Zero

[sku_u]

Well yeah, I imagine it would seem kind of odd...especially since you're first trying it out about 15 years later

 

Well...I did only get to try the Odyssey2 system about 15 years after the fact...and I think it rocks!

 

I'm going to give a few more games a try before passing final judgement on this sytem. Then I'll probably end up selling it for something I can actually appreciate.

[moycon]

Don't knock the SMS till you've tried:

[JB]

All I have is Hang-On/AstroWarrior. AstroWarrior is fun.

[SteveW]

I bought a SMS years ago with about a dozen games, and all the games left me cold. The only game I cared for was Alien Syndrome, and I only played it for about 10 minutes. (I was spoiled by the Amiga version.) I used to love Rastan in the arcade, but the SMS version wasn't good at all. And I didn't have any 3D goggles to play with, so I couldn't play one of the games.

[MegaManFan]

You either love it or you don't. What else can I say?

 

Personally, I don't see games like Alex Kidd in Miracle World, Wonder Boy III, Astro Warrior, Sonic the Hedgehog, Rampage, Reggie Jackson Baseball, Montezuma's Revenge, Paperboy, Colums, ESWAT, Zillion, et cetera cetera cetera being any LESS fun than any of the NES' best.

[Susuwatari]

If you didn't like SMS, then you'll hate NES even more.

 

Take Double Dragon: Nes is one player at a time and it looks crappy compared to SMS version that allows 2 player simunateous.

 

Another example: Rampage. in NES version no matter how fast you beat up the buiding, only one will fall at a time. In SMS version, you co0uld knowxck down all the building almost at teh same time.

 

Nintendo took several years before making a NES game that even remotely compares to Phantasy Star. Zelda is very easy compared to Phantasy Star and graphic wise, Zelda seems very 2600-ish.

[CPUWIZ]

If you didn't like SMS, then you'll hate NES even more.

 

I do.

[JB]

Nintendo took several years before making a NES game that even remotely compares to Phantasy Star.  Zelda is very easy compared to Phantasy Star and graphic wise, Zelda seems very 2600-ish.

Zelda isn't even remotely LIKE Phantasy Star.

 

Square's Final Fantasy and Enix's Dragon Quest are, though. And all came out at roughly the same time.

 

My evaluation:

Phantasy Star has better writing.

Final Fantasy has a better battle engine.

...

Dragon Quest predates both by a year('86 instead of '87), so it's allowed to lose in all categories.

[chrisbid]

world grand prix and hang on choppy? simplistic yes (they were launch titles), but i was always impressed by how smooth they were. and yes, gameplay wise, both played like pole position, but on a graphic level, they were better than anything else out there (including Rad Racer)

 

Outrun, Space Harrier and After Burner are allowed to be choppy, as they were ports of arcade games that used super scaler Sega Arcade hardware. check out the NES port of After Burner to see how bad it can be, but game play wise they dont hold up as they did then (kindof like some of the more advanced arcade ports on the 2600)

 

overall, the controls are a tad loose, and the sound is whiney, but the graphics were better than 1st and 2nd generation NES games. Super Mario Bros 2 was the first game that equalled the SMS colorful display. The NES has more dynamic sound. My first taste of the SMS was Alex Kidd in Miracle World, and in my mind it was a better looking and more interesting game than Super Mario Bros on the NES. After the Genesis was released, the quality of SMS games didnt improve much, most releases were 8 bit ports of 16 bit games, altered beast, golden axe, sonic and others are pretty bad, and the NES was entering its golden age with SMB 3, Mega Man 2 and others.

 

in the end, ive always had a soft spot for sega, when comparing the NES to the SMS, you have to really look at the early NES for a fair comparison, and on that level, Sega did have the superior machine. as we all know with the 2600 or dreamcast, the "inferior" system with the right development can blow away most games on the superior system, and thats what the NES was doing in 1989 and later.

 

 

 

edit: btw SMS Choplifter rocks

[Happy_Dude]

as we all know with the 2600 or dreamcast, the "inferior" system with the right development can blow away most games on the superior system, and thats what the NES was doing in 1989 and later.

Dreamcast did NOT die from poor development.

There where no PS/2 games at the time that could "blow away" any D.C

game (there where however quite a few that just plain blew )

 

ahem .....

 

Alex Kidd in Miracle World is the only reason you need to own a sms

(get a sms2 and you don't even need to buy it )

[chrisbid]

did i say anything about the dreamcast dying? all i said was that the "inferior" system with good developers can surpass superior systems.

[Happy_Dude]

did i say anything about the dreamcast dying?  all i said was that the "inferior" system with good developers can surpass superior systems.

Oh well thats much worse. Thanks for clarifying

 

I was just confused because it reads like your saying the Dreamcast was the inferior system

or that the PS/2 had better development (marketing yes)

[chrisbid]

thats why i put "inferior" in quotes

[Happy_Dude]

[Rob Mitchell]

I picked up the SMS console as a curiosity one day because there were no Atari carts in the thift on that visit. Later I walked through a pawn shop in a one light town and there was a SMS cart with box for $3 .. so I picked it up .. Later I learned that the cart I bought to test out my SMS console was the much desired Phantasy Star! So for the longest time it was a one cart collection!

 

Later a friend scanned the PS manual for me .. I need to pull that one out again and play.

 

Rob Mitchell, Atlanta, GA

[ubersaurus]

Zillion rocks-its way better then the original metroid(which aged horribly).

 

Also a sweet game is Power Strike-its a Compile shooter, and you know that means quality.

[Tempest]

You either love it or you don't. What else can I say?

 

That seems to be my experience. It is true that many of the games aren't as good as they should be, but I've found enough gaqmes on the SMS I like to justify the shelf space it takes up. Personally I like the stupid games no one else seems to like such as Ghost House, Bank Panic, Teddy Boy, Pit Pot, Astro Warrior, etc.

 

The 3-D games are my all time favs.

 

Tempest

[ApolloBoy]

I just played the SMS for about an hour.  I have to say that I am very underwhelmed.

 

For starters, the game speed is terrible.  I was a master at both Out Run and Hang On in the arcades.  I was barely able to control the vehicle with the no-frills SMS controller and not even able to get up to the first checkpoint.

 

Now for some of the other games:

 

R-Type--this is a classic game that the SMS does not deliver on.  The gameplay is terrible and choppy.

 

Shinobi--I thought this version was supposed to be a gem?  The control on this game sucks and the screen scrolls in a very awkward fashion.

 

Altered Beast--what the hell were they thinking?

 

After Burner--I loved this game in the arcades.  All I see here is a vague semblance to the Arcade version with terrible control.

 

Rastan--A good concept, but a terrible game.

 

Rampage--the graphics are good, but once again game control stinks.

 

Enduro Racer--a pathetic rip off of the vastly superior Excitebike

 

World Grand Prix--a choppy shotty version of Pole Position.  Better gameplay exists on the 2600 version.

 

Am I missing something here?  Or was this system just a terrible mistake?  I've never had a more unenjoyable gaming experience.

 

The SMS plays like a NES in slow motion.  I'm considering doing something I've never considered doing before (not even with the Channel F): selling the SMS and all games I have for it.

 

Shame, you haven't even tried these games yet...

 

Zillion (if you liked Metroid, you're gonna like this)

Phantasy Star

Golden Axe Warrior

Outrun Europa

Robocop vs. The Terminator

Wonder Boy II

Wonder Boy III

Kenseiden

Aerial Assault

Cyborg Hunter

Bomber Raid

Columns

Moonwalker (believe it or not, it's actually quite fun)

Sonic series

[Gregory DG]

Never much cared for the SMS. Probably because I had already played the Genesis and it was such a better system.

 

SMS games just feel "soulless" to me. There's just something missing from them that I can't put my finger on. IMO, one of the worst gaming systems.

 

Ironically, I think the Dreamcast is one of the BEST gaming systems. Sega, at least, learns from it's failures. (Just wish the DC was more of a success...)