Jap Sega 8-Bit Consumer Help:
 

I never had any real interest in Sega's 8-bit format being an arcade kid and then getting a Jap MD in early '89. Now living in Japan and seeing the abundunce of this format for pennies makes me want to collect the finest (if any) titles just as a new project as I've completed everything else (bar Marty). Please advise on the best Japanese 8-bit solution and soft. I have great interest in Alex Kidd BMX Trial Pak and Wonderboy. Is Mk 3 the definative?

Thanks in advance.

A Japanese Master System is the best bet if you can find one - it looks like the western SMS1, but has the FM sound unit, 3D Glasses adaptor & rapid-fire unit all built in as standard. The Mark III is basically a western SMS1 in a different shell, without the extras.
Either will play both Mark III games and the earlier SG1000/SC3000 games. You could just opt for the MD Mega Adaptor (JP equivalent of the Master System Convertor), but that won't play the SG/SC games.

Most Mark III games were released for the Master System in the US & Europe, but there's around 15 exclusives aswell (including BMX Trial and the other paddle games).

The fairly small Mark III library has a much better ratio of quality/crap than the US/European SMS library thanks to the lack of 3rd Party cash-ins and watered-down Mega Drive ports and I'd say probably 70-80% of it's games are at least worth a look.

Here's a few personal faves (* denotes Mark III exclusives):

Alex Kidd in Miracle World
Alex Kidd BMX Trial (*)
Phantasy Star
Fantasy Zone 1 & 2
Aleste
Woody Pop (*)
Galactic Protector (*)
Kenseiden
Fushigi no Oshiro Pit Pot
Space Harrier
Final Bubble Bobble

JAPJAC, I'm selling my Mark III and stuff. I'Ve sent you a PM about it. Since e both live in japan postage will be cheap.

Yakumo

Alex Kidd BMX Trial is dire.

Nonsense!

It's fecking awful mate, seriously. Forgetting the 'rare' value of the title, it's a pile of shit and the paddle controller ranks as one of the most useless peripherals in the history of videogames.

Well, I like it ;) And the Paddle Controller is spot-on for Galactic Protector & Woody Pop - I could certainly think of worse peripherals (The Sports Pad springs to mind...)

WTF were Sega up to making the Master System sticks left handed.

Sorry, just wanted to get that off my chest hah.

What was that sensor thing that came out for the Megadrive? It was supposed to detect your movements and put them into the game, so when you punched, your character punched on-screen...The Activator or something?

oh god i think i remember that. gonna have to dig the old gamesmasters out as im sure there was an article in one of them about it. Im sure I remember having conversations with friends about how cool streets of rage 2 would be great with this....

Thanks everyone!

anagrama-"A Japanese Master System is the best bet if you can find one - it looks like the western SMS1, but has the FM sound unit, 3D Glasses adaptor & rapid-fire unit all built in as standard. The Mark III is basically a western SMS1 in a different shell, without the extras.
Either will play both Mark III games and the earlier SG1000/SC3000 games."

Thanks. One can get a fully boxed A1 Jap Master System A1 easily, but what is slightly off-putting is the looks as I'm not a fan of the Western SMS1. However I do like the Jap Mk3 looks very much. Can I buy the extra's for the Mk3 to make it Jap SMS1 spec in terms of playing with FM sound?

"Most Mark III games were released for the Master System in the US & Europe, but there's around 15 exclusives aswell (including BMX Trial and the other paddle games)."

I'm reading this as Jap only titles?

Ta.

Yeah, you can get the FM Unit sepertately to plug into a Mark III. Looking for one of those myself ;)

And yeah, by exclusives I meant JP-only titles. I doubled checked last night and there's actually about 20 of them.

Diamond, cheers son.

I had a great sunny Sunday afternoon shopping in Akihabara today on a 8-Bit Sega 'Vibe'. Really enjoyed myself. Managed to see most things, boxed SMS and Mk3's and shit loads of games.

Just one question though-Can one buy the paddle controller separately without having to buy Woody Pop or Alex Kidd BMX say? Thanks in advance.

Not sure - I got my Paddle Controller loose on eBay. Can't remember seeing a boxed one stand-alone one, but that doesn't mean they're not out there.