Black Belt (Sega Master System review)

Developer: Sega R&D 2
Publisher: Sega of America
Released: 1986

Black Belt is a side-scrolling beat-em-up that's exclusive to the Sega Master System.

+ Gameplay can be enjoyable in short bursts due to its rhythmic flow and endless waves of incoming enemies.

+ Encourages full use of your attack arsenal, as each boss has a weak point that must be identified for maximum damage.

- However, the action suffers from extreme repetition and is too derivative of Kung-Fu Master (1984, Arcade).

- Damage is unavoidable when enemy sprites overlap, as you can only hit one bad guy at a time, leaving you vulnerable.

- Poor collision detection (especially during boss fights) and your attacks can have no effect despite making clear contact.

- Would have benefited from a smoother difficulty curve, as even the first boss is hard as nails and there's no continues.

- Using the d-pad to jump leads to many accidental leaps, and having to press Down then Up for a high jump is cumbersome.

Great Golf (1986) (Sega Master System review)

Developer: Sega R&D 2
Publisher: Sega Enterprises, Ltd.
Released: 1986

Great Golf is a sports game that was only released in Asia and is unrelated to the similarly titled Great Golf (1987, Sega Master System).

+ Tournament mode can be played by up to four players (sharing two controllers) for couch-based competition.

+ Courses are meticulously crafted, with slivered fairways and staggered islands that test your ball striking accuracy.

+ Has an intuitive four-step process before each swing, and the mechanics on the putting green are uncomplicated.

- On-screen HUD doesn't tell you how far away the ball is from the cup, leading to awkward calculations and guesswork.

- Doesn't allow you to scroll the camera to peek ahead, and there's no clear indication of where the ball will travel.

- Could have used more wide open fairways during the first few holes to ease players in and help them learn the basics.

- Lack of crowd SFX make for a muted round of golf, and the isometric viewpoint isn't ideal when trying to avoid hazards.

Great Soccer (Sega Master System review)

Developer: Sega R&D 2
Publisher: Sega Enterprises, Ltd.
Released: 1986

Great Soccer is a sports title that was only released in Europe and Japan.

+ Does a respectable job of auto-selecting the nearest teammate, and the difficulty options are well balanced.

+ Curling shots is a joy and is reminiscent of the crazy amounts of spin you can add in the Sensible Soccer games.

- Replayability is low, as the game contains only two teams with no discernible difference apart from their jersey colour.

- Extremely light on content, as single matches are your sole option and you can't customise the length of each half.

- Players have exactly the same statistics regardless of their position, making every match a repetitive experience.

- There's a noticeable delay when attempting to execute passes, and the game frequently ignores your button inputs.

- Controlling a defender and goalkeeper at the same time can be problematic and leave the net wide open when marking.

Teddy Boy (Sega Master System review)

Developer: Sega Enterprises, Ltd.
Publisher: Sega Enterprises, Ltd.
Released: 1986

Teddy Boy is an action-platformer that was first released in the Arcade in 1985.

+ Figuring out the best position to safely attack each level is enjoyable, and the intelligent enemy A.I. is tough to outwit.

+ Shrewdly adds extra intensity by collapsing your current platform if you haven't moved within a set amount of time.

+ After losing a life, the game doesn't reset the stage and instead remembers how many foes you have left to destroy.

- Mid-air adjustments are overly sensitive on the horizontal axis and it's unbearably easy to miss your intended target.

- Early difficulty spike is enormous and there's nothing that prepares you for the speed and aggressiveness of enemies.

- Buttons are reversed which can cause issues in the heat of battle, and the repetitive music grates the more you play.

- After a handful of rounds, you've seen everything the game has to offer and it doesn't improve on its initial core ideas.

Robotron: 2084 (Atari 7800 review)

Developer: General Computer Corporation
Publisher: Atari Corporation
Released: 1986

Robotron: 2084 is a wave shooter that was first released in the Arcade in 1982.

+ Ferocity and speed of the gameplay is mesmerising and the difficulty is more forgiving than the Atari 5200 version (1983).

+ Throws an enormous amount of sprites and animations around the playfield, and there's never any flicker or slowdown.

+ Having only a second or two to survey the most urgent threat(s) prior to the wave commencing is endlessly gripping.

+ Deciding whether to rescue humans or deal with the onslaught of robots is a great hook that adds risk-reward.

+ Using two controllers to fire and strafe works brilliantly and gives you just the right amount of manoeuvrability.

- Doesn't play nearly as well with just a single controller, as you can't be as nimble when evading / shooting enemies.

- Unlike the Atari 5200 port, this doesn't have a playfield border and the transition screens / SFX aren't as impressive.

Ballblazer (Atari 5200 review)

Developer: Lucasfilm Games
Publisher: Atari Corp.
Released: 1986

Ballblazer is a sports game that was also ported to the Atari 7800 in 1988.

+ Action is impressively fast-paced with no slowdown despite the split-screen, and the graphics fit the futuristic vibe.

+ Brilliant scoring system to keep the competition tense, ranging from 1-3 points depending on your distance from the goal.

+ Has some clever ways to outwit your foe, such as swerving the ball and using the boundary to your advantage.

+ Two-player mode is the highlight and shooting the winning goal when the posts are at their narrowest is euphoric. 

+ Bass-heavy intro music rocks, and there's some innovative audio cues to signal when you can blast an opponent.

- Camera alternates between two angles and it can be very disorientating when it suddenly moves to a side-view.

- While there's nine CPU skill levels, it's a shame a Tournament mode wasn't implemented to prolong play sessions.

Choplifter (Sega Master System review)

Developer: Sega R&D 2
Publisher: Sega Enterprises, Ltd.
Released: 1986

Choplifter is a 1982 scrolling shooter (Apple II), although this version is based on the 1985 Arcade remake.

+ Missions have greater depth than the original game, a wider range of enemies / hazards, and there's a two-player mode.

+ Adds much needed variety in the way of new locales that test your skills in close quarters and wide-open spaces.

+ Travelling deeper and deeper into enemy territory is nerve-wracking and making it out alive is extremely gratifying.

+ Graphics are gorgeous and the awesome parallax effects don't interfere with the smooth scrolling / frame-rate.

- Difficulty is off the charts from Stage 1 and the game doesn't offer you any continues to aid learning and progression.

- Screen doesn't always scroll far enough ahead, leading to unforeseeable enemies that pot-shot you for quick kills.

- Shots don't always destroy clearly struck targets, and there's a mountain of flicker when rescuing hostages.