All ya gotta do is JUUUUMP into this continuing round-up of every Master System game ever made, ever. Ever.
Aerial Assault (1990)
I am fond of the visuals in this game, they manage to look surprisingly rich despite the sprite work being very minimalist. It’s well-drawn, is what I’m saying, and the backgrounds are no kind of slouch either with some cracking parallax to enjoy. I think parallax has fallen by the wayside and does not get nearly enough appreciation from the kids. I suppose there’s just no room for a good old parallax scroll in between all the predatory monetisation of Fortnite and predatory, erm, sexual predators of Roblox. As for this game, it’s a very simple horizontal shooter that I felt dragged quite quickly, but it is worth a go anyway as the challenge level is pretty good. I don’t love the way your weapon upgrades work as some of them are markedly less useful than others and if you get lumbered with a stinker you might find yourself fighting a boss for rather longer than you’d appreciate. Not a bad game at all, but nothing to write home about. Though I suppose I am writing about it. At home. ***
After Burner (1987)
Oh, dear. I never get motion sickness, ever, and After Burner for the Sega Master System made me need to switch it off after about three minutes. I appreciate that may not be long enough to give the game the old college try, but it’s so choppy that I can’t really bear it. The Master System was never going to be able to play the Super Scaler masterpiece After Burner properly anyway, but this is bordering on completely intolerable. A more creative adaptation might have been the way forward; it would perhaps play alright if the game ran well, as the basic elements are present and correct, but it’s just so nausea-inducing that I can’t abide this. Maybe it wouldn’t make you physically sick, but that’s a pretty low bar to clear and even if it doesn’t it’s far from a pleasant experience. *
Air Rescue (1992)
Hmm. I wanted to enjoy this as it seemed Choplifter-ish, a game I grew up with on Master System and one I have a great deal of time for. Sorry if that spoils the later Choplifter entry in this series. Regardless, Air Rescue isn’t very good. It seems, initially, like it might be quite cool, as it’s doing what After Burner (see directly above) should have done in adapting a technologically advanced arcade cabinet into a much more palatable and sensible version for the home console port. Unfortunately, it sucks. It’s just so finicky and unresponsive to control and it seems like your craft will explode in flames if you so much as break wind. The collision detection is just not quite there, which is a problem as the game has you flying into some remarkably tight spaces as early as the first stage. Much like Choplifter you’re going and picking up your little blokes then ferrying them back to base, but the level of precision required seems completely at odds with how unfair the handling can feel. It’s certainly possible I just missed something, but as it stands I just couldn’t hack the difficulty. Choplifter is difficult, yes, but I feel in control when I play it. Not so Air Rescue, which can’t be saved by its impressive graphics and sound. A shame. **
Aladdin (1994)
This is a solid, simplistic puzzle platform game that is far more like Prince of Persia than anything else, a break from the norm when it comes to Disney tie-in games on Master System. Sadly, it’s also a break from the norm in terms of quality. While it’s far from terrible, it does have a habit of pulling some Rick Dangerous shit by dropping stuff on you from off-screen that you kind of need to know is coming to have a fair chance to avoid. It’s also all a bit slow, despite having several Canabalt-esque auto-runner stages. It’s impressive how much of the story is represented and how it’s told through both cutscenes and gameplay, while the visuals are among the best on the system and the music is pretty damn great. I feel like I’m being too hard on it, because it really is basically alright, but the quality of most of the other Disney offerings on Sega’s 8-bit eclipses this one. Not by any means a waste of time, but nothing that stands out beyond its aesthetics. ***
(Next: Alex)
