Wimbledon (Sega Game Gear review)

Developer: SIMS
Publisher: Sega
Released: 1992

Wimbledon is a sports title that was also released on the Sega Master System in 1992.

+ Includes multiplayer Gear-to-Gear Cable support, 1P & COM doubles, and a handy tournament password option.

+ Difficulty is more approachable compared to the SMS, and you're never forced to play from the opposite side of the net.

+ Service games are much easier due to decreased faults and lets that relentlessly plague the 8-bit console version.

+ CPU players have distinct characteristics that force you to adapt, and the awful music during matches has been removed.

- While you can play doubles in Practice, the game only allows for one-on-one matches in Tournament mode.

- Doesn't feature any real world tennis players or female stars, and the decorative between-game artwork is gone.

- Stereo SFX cut in and out if using the mono speaker, and it's easy for your timing to be thrown by absent audio cues.

Wimbledon (Sega Master System review)

Developer: SIMS
Publisher: Sega
Released: 1992

Wimbledon is a sports title that was also released on the Sega Game Gear in 1992.

+ Has a neat password feature to continue tournaments, and you can even play doubles matches alongside the CPU.

+ Instead of palette swaps, CPU opponents have distinct characteristics that force you to adapt to baseline / net shots.

+ Includes excellent artwork between games, and the players have humorous animations based on how well they perform.

- Starts you with pitiful stats, and the first two tournaments are rough without the means to adequately angle cross-court shots.

- Blistering gameplay speed gives barely any time to react to incoming shots, and your sprite often moves out of camera view.

- A.I. is inconsistent, as one minute they'll return everything under the sun before forgetting to swing at a passing ball.

- Service faults are common, there's no real world players, and dreadful music plays incessantly throughout matches.

Andre Agassi Tennis (Sega Mega Drive / Genesis review)

Developer: Epyx, Halestorm
Publisher: TecMagik
Released: 1992

Andre Agassi Tennis is a sports title that was ported to the Sega Game Gear and Sega Master System in 1993.

+ Skins Tournament mode has real promise, as instead of a fixed match prize it offers a variable purse for each shot.

- Requires exact positioning to hit the ball, but the players move so slowly that it's hard to line up with a cross court shot.

- Animation is light on frames and there's a noticeable delay for each sequence to activate in relation to your button presses.

- It's weirdly challenging to judge spatial distance between your player and an incoming ball, making every return a nightmare.

- Opponent A.I. is seemingly unfinished, as they can look like a world beater before forgetting to swing their racket.

- Crowd is eerily silent throughout each match and there's no difficulty options to tailor the game to your liking.

- Prior to each CPU serve the game randomly forces you to press the Start button, which is an unnecessary step!

Ariel the Little Mermaid (Sega Game Gear review)

Developer: BlueSky Software, Disney Software
Publisher: Sega
Released: 1992

Ariel the Little Mermaid is an action title that was previously released on the Sega Genesis (1992) and Sega Master System (1996).

+ Ability to call upon your fish friends is a charming mechanic that can net you treasure and open new pathways.

- However, using button combinations to summon them is clunky and they sometimes wander off-screen without helping!

- Frame-rate is dreadful, the game randomly speeds up and down, and the scrolling is so jerky it'll hurt your eyeballs.

- Controls are wildly unreliable and you're never quite sure if a light d-pad tap will make Ariel inch forward or zoom ahead.

- Checking the map to locate polyps is tedious and it also takes a painful amount of time for the graphic to draw-in.

- Ariel frequently gets stuck on the scenery, and the adventure is all too brief as there's only four short levels.

- Bosses are extremely disappointing, as you can stand in one spot and blast away at the static foe in front of you.

Ariel the Little Mermaid (Sega Mega Drive / Genesis review)

Developer: BlueSky Software, Disney Software
Publisher: Sega
Released: 1992

Ariel the Little Mermaid is an action title that was also released on the Sega Game Gear (1992) and Sega Master System (1996).

+ Ability to call upon your fish friends is a charming mechanic that can net you treasure and open new pathways.

- Gameplay is mind-numbingly repetitive in its collect-a-thon nature, and Ariel frequently gets stuck on the scenery.

- Levels are poorly constructed with monotonous layouts, and there's barely any distinctive moments throughout.

- Controls are wildly unreliable and you're never quite sure if a light d-pad tap will make Ariel inch forward or zoom ahead.

- Frame-rate is dreadful and the game randomly speeds up and down, even when there's no enemy sprites in the vicinity.

- Checking the map to locate polyps is tedious and an on-screen radar would have stopped the constant interruptions.

- Bosses are extremely disappointing, as you can stand in one spot and blast away at the static foe in front of you.

Back to the Future Part III (Sega Master System review)

Developer: Probe Software, Krisalis Software
Publisher: Image Works
Released: 1992

Back to the Future Part III is an action title that's based on the 1990 movie of the same name.

+ Music is one of the redeeming features, and once you've beaten a stage you can continue from that point indefinitely.

+ As the game only launched in PAL territories, the reduced 50Hz speed gives you more time to react in the horse riding level.

- However, it's still punishing due to logs that are dropped without warning, and heavy memorisation is required to succeed.

- Missing the Shooting Gallery from the Sega Genesis version (1991) and with only three stages the game's content is thin.

- Pie Throwing level is a shambles due to unintuitive controls and the isometric viewpoint affects launch angle calculations.

- The final Train level is hindered by oppressive checkpoints and the game often refuses to throw a dish towards enemies.

- Even if you do suffer through all three stages it's not worth the grind, as the ending sequence is lacklustre.

Toki: Going Ape Spit (Sega Mega Drive / Genesis review)

Developer: Santos
Publisher: Sega
Released: 1992

Toki: Going Ape Spit is an action-platformer and an enhanced version of the 1989 Arcade original.

+ Great level design with a nice assortment of enemies, environmental hazards and stage verticality to mix things up.

+ Fans of the Arcade original will find plenty to enjoy here thanks to the expanded levels that now span three areas each.

+ Solid controls and your ability to fire diagonally opens up your attack arsenal and protects you from airborne enemies.

+ Offers lots of customisation options in terms of lives, difficulty, points needed for extended play, and continues.

- Relies heavily on trial-and-error due to blind leaps of faith and enemies lurking just outside of your peripheral vision.

- Toki's movements are painfully slow, and the maze-like underwater level and Stage 7's sludge don't help matters.

- Graphics are dark and desaturated, and Toki is lacking in personality and charm compared to Bonk (Turbografx-16).