Wimbledon II (Sega Master System review)

Developer: SIMS
Publisher: Sega Enterprises, Ltd.
Released: 1993

Wimbledon II is a sports title and the sequel to the 1992 Sega Master System original.

+ Roster has been greatly expanded (32 compared to 16 in the original game), and you can now choose female players.

+ Gameplay is easy to master and there's a good range of shot types, as well as match customisation options.

+ More accessible than its predecessor in terms of difficulty, and the issue with constant service faults has been fixed.

+ There's now the ability to turn music off during matches, although you can select from five tracks if preferred.

- Tournament mode requires you to grind for points, meaning early matches suffer from ceaseless rallies with no power shots.

- Once again, you can only play doubles in Practice mode, which is a huge missed opportunity to increase longevity.

- Some CPU players have an oddly frequent tendency to hit serves out of the baseline, missing the court entirely!

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.

Scratch Golf (Sega Game Gear review)

Developer: Eleca, SIMS
Publisher: VIC Tokai
Released: 1994

Scratch Golf is a sports title that's exclusive to the Sega Game Gear.

+ Well designed holes (some with 600+ yard pins) and there's even advanced options including club sets and driver material.

+ Unlike similar titles such as Mean 18 Ultimate Golf (1989, Atari 7800), this one displays the club max distance in-game.

+ Presentation is excellent, with many catchy jingles that strike a sombre note for bogies and giddy tunes for birdies.

- Overhead view creates a myriad of problems and doesn't provide a decent angle of where your intended shot will travel.

- Putting is super confusing and unintuitive at first, as the display consists of multiple lines moving in different directions.

- Doesn't let you use a putter on the fringe, and even when you're on the green shots lip out with alarming frequency.

- Graphics are unimpressive for a 1994 release with little scenic detail, and there's no crowd SFX throughout.

Air Rescue (Sega Master System review)

Developer: SIMS
Publisher: Sega
Released: 1992

Air Rescue is an action game that takes inspiration from Choplifter (1982, Apple II).

+ Displays a handy map prior to each stage for strategic planning and the timer creates urgency to your rescue mission.

+ Can switch between four weapons at the helipad, giving you numerous ways to tackle the enemy assault that lies ahead.

+ Stage 2's verticality mixes things up and rescuing people from the burning building requires more finesse than combat.

+ Challenge is spot-on and Stage 5's cave escape is epic due to its narrow corridors where absolute precision is needed.

+ Has five continues, the soundtrack is outstanding and the animation of the ladder swinging from your helicopter is terrific.

- Only five short missions available and once you've seen the credits there's nothing else to sink your teeth into.

- Attempting to fire a projectile is hit-and-miss, as the game doesn't always seem to register your inputs.

Donald no Magical World (Sega Game Gear review)

Developer: SIMS, Treasure
Publisher: Sega
Released: 1994

Donald no Magical World is an action-platformer that was only released in Japan.

+ Level design is above-average and features some intricate layouts that discourage you from simply heading to the right.

+ Being able to increase your attack power by finding Magical Sticks gives you another reason to scour the environments.

+ Does an excellent job of mixing horizontal and vertically scrolling sections, as well as challenges with light puzzle elements.

+ Despite not being released outside Japan, the game is fully translated into English if played on a Western console.

- However, cut-scenes drag on and the sparse accompanying images have no impact due to them being on screen too long.

- Slowdown is a continual issue (usually when enemy sprites are visible) which results in ignored button presses.

- It's not always clear whether some platforms are part of the background or foreground, which can lead to failed jumps.

Tails' Skypatrol (Sega Game Gear review)

Developer: Japan System House, SIMS
Publisher: Sega
Released: 1995

Tails' Skypatrol is a horizontally scrolling shooter that was only released in Japan.

+ Feels like a shooter and a pinball title as you time ring throws to attack enemies and activate parts of the environment.

+ The stages allow you to tackle them in numerous ways thanks to the multiple layout routes on offer.

- The opening Training Area does a horrific job of teaching the mechanics and instead relies on you failing repeatedly.

- Trial-and-error never lets up, as you're forced to memorise large sections in the hope of grinding through to a checkpoint.

- Only five stages are on offer meaning the game is very short and has little in the way of replay value.

- The collision detection is poor and you'll occasionally fail to collect an item despite flying straight through it.

- Bosses feature barely any imagination, as they all play exactly the same despite the opening battle being a snooze fest.