I recently bought a Powerbase Converter for my Mega Drive and I'm on the lookout for some cool Master System games.

Most people are quick to recommend Alex Kidd and a bunch of games that you can also find on the Mega Drive, but are there any cool Master System original games you'd recommend?

So far I'm planning on picking up Rampage and Cyborg Hunter.

Zillion and Wonderboy in Monster Land

I would recommend Phantasy Star but I never played it in its original form and without the niceties added in the PS2 Complete Collection I fear that it might be too much of a slog to have a lot of fun with.

Well, the original Wonder Boy which later became Adventure Island. Space Harrier, Shinobi, Super Monaco GP, Ghouls and Ghosts, Psycho Fox, R-Type, or Fantasy Zone.

Alex Kidd in Miracle World on the Master System is not the same as Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle on the Mega Drive. The Master System one is way better. At least the first one. The second, Alex Kidd: The Lost Stars is a bit simplistic. Alex Kidd: High-Tech World is a bit insane. The first half plays like a graphic adventure game and the second half is a poorly controlling platformer not worthy of the Alex Kidd name. I don't know anything about Alex Kidd in Shinobi World. Phantasy Star is awesome. All three Wonder Boys on the Master System are great for different reasons. Wonder Boy is a simple arcade action game. Wonder Boy in Monster Land introduces some rpg aspects like currency and buying weapons and secret doors you can go in and stuff. Then the third: Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap, is a full blown, early open world Metroidvania that doesn't get nearly enough praise. The music alone is worth it.

Quartet confusingly named for its four-player compatible arcade iteration, is a cool shooter. The Master System version is only two players, they kept the name anyway. Rampage is much better than the Nintendo version of the same game. Aztec Adventure: The Golden Road to Paradise is a top down action game like Ikari Warriors with some unique mechanics including lots of different weapons and hiring companions with gold you collect in the game. Fantasy Zone: The Maze is the lesser well known third Fantasy Zone game that went full-on Pacman clone with two players and coins instead of dots that you can spend on weapons and the ability to prevent enemy spawning by running over the spawn points in time. It's got some cool frenetic gameplay that ramps up well. Golvellius: Valley of Doom is a weird Zelda clone that I could never finish. It haunts me to this day. Zillion is a great game you probably already know about if you hang around Giant Bomb at all. The sequel: Zillion II: Tri Formation gets a lot of shit for not being anything like its predecessor, but is still a lot of fun in its own way damnit! Space Harrier, Spy vs. Spy, The New Zealand Story, OutRun.. Man I loved the Master System.

Its pretty damn good. Not as good as Miracle World but really really good.

@darkbeatdk

As Sinusoidal said but I'll go a step further, most games released with the same name on the Master System were different games to the Megadrive version. Some were done better than the MD versions too.

Sonic 1 is a great game on the Master System and completely different to the MD version. A good challenge is to complete the game without dying, collecting all the chaos emeralds, and obtaining the one extra life "box" available per level and one extra life and continue "box" per special stage. Its do-able.

California Games, again done better on MS. It's a great arcade style sports game.

Land of Illusion - The best Mickey Mouse game, beautiful platformer with replayable levels that open up after acquiring different items. Its almost like a metroidvania.

Spy vs Spy - odd spy game based on the Mad magazine characters. Funny animations / kill scenes.

Shinobi - based on the arcade original, this wasn't released on the MD.

Golvellius - Valley of Doom - Did 8 bit Zelda better than Zelda.

Alien 3 - Different to MD version, if you like Alien platformers this is a good one.

Asterix - Great platformer with a harder difficulty level than most platformers in the 8 bit age.

Shadow of the Beast - great port of the Amiga classic. Really great level design if not frustrating sometimes.

Thanks all for the suggestions. Did some YouTubing of some of the titles and I've picked out a couple that I'll pick up.

The only mastersystem game I remember playing is one that you're a karate man and whenever you defeat dudes they turn into several cubes and fly off, I guess I liked it, granted I didn't have much of a choice in games back in the day.

Can't remember the name though.

Ah yes, a quick google search solved that:

I try to think about mastersystem games and all I can think about are the RPGs for it.

Such as Golden Axe Warrior which was the Master Systems Zelda. As Well as Ys and Ultima 4.

Which they all do actualy hold up today, at least I think so.

Also Robocop vs Terminator.

It was already suggested earlier but Wonderboy in Monsterland is a fantastic game. It's the one game on the Master System I go back to if I'm ever in the mood to play a Master System game.

Teddy Boy, Hang-On.

@onarum:Black Belt is the other SEGA system game based on Fist of the North Star that was localized with different graphics. The plot is weirdly intact: Karate dude in the post apocalyptic world is trying to bring order with his fists.

@akyho: I think I might have played the Mega Drive or Super Nintendo version of that. I got hopelessly stuck on the boss at the second stage. You have to jump over him, but Robocop can't jump very well.

Donald Duck in The Lucky Dime Caper is decent as are the Mickey Mouse games.

Master of Darkness is certainly up there with the best titles, even if it is essentially just a Castlevania clone, it plays really well and has an awesome soundtrack. The MS version or Ninja Gaiden, by the same devs, is also fantastic. I'd actually say it's arguably better than the NES game.

@darkbeatdk: I never owned a Master system, but I always find Game Sack to be a great resource when it comes to classic gaming.

@spaceinsomniac: Thanks for the recommendation. Since I've made the thread, I've become really smitten with Bank Panic. I'm usually not a big fan of the old classic arcade games like Donkey Kong, Pac-man and Centipede, but Bank Panic is really neat.

@darkbeatdk: YES! Bank Panic is amazing! Really basic but quite a lot of fun.

I used to play it a lot with my dad when I was a kid, so I have a lot of sentimental attachment there. I actually prefer it over the Arcade version, to be honest.

Phantasy Star, Spellcaster, Golden Axe Warrior, Outrun, Choplifter, Double Dragon, Ghouls'n'Ghosts, Fantasy Zone, Reggie Jackson Baseball, Strider.