Alrighty folks, its time for more verbal diatribe from your favourite Welsh queer, me! This time, something new from me, a top 5! As a child of the 80s, I grew up playing classic, what would now be considered retro, (and boy does that term associated with my youth fill me with all manner of loathing…) games and game systems.
Growing up, I was a Sega kid. I was able to play some amazing games thanks to friends and kids my age having a variety of consoles, and regularly stayed overnight on a Friday just so we could stay up late and play videogames.
But with that said, I had a love for all sorts of games, and systems. My very first memory of gaming is on Christmas morning on an old Sinclair machine when I was a wee nipper, maybe no older than 4. I remember playing the original Prince of Persia, and I was *horrendous* at it. To this day I still suck at it, despite the original disk being lost to the sands of time, or entropy, depending on which of my parents you ask, I still maintain a copy, kept in a firesafe in my garage. I’m that much of a data hoarder.
But I digress, you guys came here to hear my opinions on my personal top 5 Master System games. I hasten to add that this is in no particular order, and the numbers have been assigned arbitrarily. These are all games I play when I’m in the mood for some nostalgia. With that said, some are firmer favourites than others.
So, starting us off with arbitrary number 5, we have Alex Kidd in Miracle World. Now for those of us old enough to remember such things, Miracle World was available as a separate cartridge as well as pre-programmed onto some Master System IIs. It’s a cracking game, with plenty of options for fun. The graphics for the time were so pretty and the music was just amazing. It’s possibly the single most nostalgic game for me, that takes me back to my childhood and happier times sat in front of an old black and white tv running from dragons and swimming without the need for oxygen (looking at you modern games, and then retracting this statement after remembering another game in this article has oxygen meters…)
The game doesn’t require a huge amount of thought, and the more you die, the more you learn which breakable blocks are which, and what block will release the ghost walrus, which will give you gold etc. I’d give it a solid 4 out of 5. It’s repeatable, it’s infuriating in its simple complexity (isn’t that a contradiction Joe? Yes it is Joe. Ah, good.) Unfortunately I don’t think there’s a word in the English language that can convey the feeling I have when I play this game. Simple complexity will have to do.
Moving on, and arbitrary number 4 is Castle of Illusion. Another game that I obsessed over as a child, if my brother wasn’t playing the console, I’d have Castle of Illusion on the go as soon as I got home from school. Its story is not a complex one, Mickey’s main squeeze Minnie gets kidnapped by an evil witch by the name of Mizrabel, a “clever” play on words young Joe was too ignorant to spot, and he was too innocent to understand sarcasm. The principle of the game is such that you chase Mizrabel to her Castle of Illusion (mua ha ha ha!!!) and must defeat the witch via an elaborate series of puzzles. The game was originally launched for the newer systems, the Mega Drive and the Genesis, and eventually was made backwards compatible for the Master System and Game Gear.
Another side-scrolling platformer, it’s an amazing example of the games released in that time. Classic music, light and ethereal, with the odd bit of drama thrown in to liven things up, the level design can be both beautiful and kitsch, to dark and eerie at any given moment. It’s a firm favourite between myself and my friends who had the pleasure of playing it with me who plays it to this day. 4.5 out of 5.
On to arbitrary number 3 and what should pop out of the ground but Earthworm Jim! Another side scroller (surprise surprise,) but a little-known fact, the video game was created first! Of course then the cartoons and other tie-in merchandise came along but Jim had already wormed his way into the hearts and minds of the populace (ewwww…)
The game relies on your traditional side scroller fare, run and gun, with some inventive level design, with the sole purpose of rescuing Jim’s squeeze Princess Whatsername. No, seriously, that’s her name – it’s a pop at the culture and media of the time to have a throwaway heroine who never returns after their initial appearance. All the old favourites are there, Queen of Disgusting Names That End In Slugforabutt, Psycrow etc. It’s a solid game for the time, and whilst not as compelling and replayable as Castle of Illusion, I’ve still got a good amount of nostalgia attached to it. This was a game I could only play at friends houses due to my parents not liking all the violence involved, which unfortunately does affect its score, which I have to put at a solid 3.5 out of 5.
Following on from the mildly awesome arbitrary number 3, we move on to arbitrary number 2, Ecco the Dolphin. The game starts as you play and frolic with your pod (no, not airpods youngsters, a pod is the term for a group of dolphins that live together as a unit.) Tragedy strikes though, as you are separated from your pod after you perform a spectacular leap into the air. It turns out that there is a giant phenomenon which looks like a great waterspout that happens every 500 years, and your pod has been captured by this entity. Ecco has to leave the bay, and comes across all manner of aquatic life who try to help him. He ends up travelling to Atlantis after meeting a giant blue whale in the Arctic.
Ecco’s main gameplay relies on you attacking your enemies by ramming into them at high speeds. There are two gameplay features based on real dolphins that allow Ecco to be a real boy, or dolphin. Sorry, where was I? Ah yes. Ecco can sing, which allows him to communicate with other aquatic creatures. The other function is echolocation, which allows you to map the area. Once you get to Atlantis, you have to interact with glyphs, which are big crystals, in order to proceed, You also face piranhas, and you have to move blocks with your nose to stop piranhas attacking, but to allow you entry to some of these glyphs.
In all, it’s a game I remember fondly but doesn’t hold up to a replay nowadays, taking its score down to a 2.5.
Lastly, our arbitrary number 1 – James Pond 2 – Codename Robocod. Now. When I say very few games excited me the way this game did, I would not be lying. The game starts in one of the most magical locales for kids, Santa’s toy factory! There are a lot of doors leading to various levels of different themes. The goons come in all different shapes and sizes depending on what level you end up in. Unlike his namesake, there are no weapons in James Pond 2, so the primary mechanic is very similar to Super Mario, lots of jumping. Unlike his cheesy womanizing namesake, our James wears armour, meaning he can extend his body vertically, allowing him to scale walls, hang from ceilings to drop on enemies, spy on pretty ladies as they… no wait, sorry, I’d gone back to the namesake again.
I first played this on the PC at my uncle’s house, my older cousins were massive nerds, and had a massive library of games for us to play. After I’d played it there, I begged my parents to buy it for the master system. I set my system back up to replay some of these games earlier this month and this game has remained the one in my system the most, earning itself the highest score of 5 out of 5.
I hope you enjoyed my personal top 5 list, obviously it is my personal list as these were the games I played the most as a child. Obviously your opinion may differ, and I’d love to discuss it with you down below in the comments.
