30 best games to celebrate 30 years of SMS

[Rastanfarian]

I realize this thread is like beating a dead horse, seeing as we already have had a top 5 games, top 20 games and so on....
But with the Master System celebrating its 30th birthday why not have a top 30 games thread?

So I'll go first, my top 30 in no particular order

1. Wonder Boy
2. Wonder Boy in Monster Land
3. Wonder Boy 3 the Dragon's trap
4. Shinobi
5. Quartet
6. Action Fighter
7. California Games
8. Choplifter
9. Zillion
10. Double Dragon
11. Penguin Land
12. Super Off-Road
13. Rastan
14. Spy vs. Spy
15. Basketball Nightmare
16. Tennis Ace
17. Psycho Fox
18. Y's 
19. My Hero
20. Transbot
21. Montezuma's Revenge
22. King's Quest
23. Phantasy Star
24. Out Run
25. Masters Of Combat
26. Power Strike
27. R.C. Grand Prix
28. Pit Pot
29. Aerial Assault
30. Alien Syndrome

I won't bother with any honorable mentions since one really should be able to narrow their favorites down to 30.
Nearly every game on this list I had as kid, which I think shows how stubborn or closed minded I have become. 
It's really difficult for me to appreciate "new" games.
Only Masters of Combat, Power Strike, and Aerial Assault have made it onto the list as a newer (or post childhood) purchases.
I'm willing to bet this list looks a lot different for most of you. Obvious omissions are the Alex Kidd Games, Sonic, Castle of Illusion, R-type and maybe a few more. 
To me Sonic will always be a 16 bit game and the SMS version pales in comparison. 
Alex Kidd games are so boring to me  although I don't mind Shinobi World or High Tech World.
(It should be noted that I did not have any Alex Kidd games growing up and didn't realize there was a master system release of Sonic until about 2010.) 
If I didn't live in Asia in the early 90's, Pit Pot, Tennis Ace and Basketball Nightmare would not have made this list as they were not released here in the U.S. 
Super Off Road probably shouldn't be on here either as I think it is more of a nostalgic choice based more on the arcade version but I do enjoy the playing the SMS version now. 

Hope this thread can drum up some renewed activity for the next few days/weeks.
At the very least maybe some of you may decide to give some of these games a first (or second) chance.
Feel free to criticize my choices and hopefully also post your own top 30 list.
 



 

[evo4123]

great list there dude, even with 30 its hard to narrow down lol my list is:

1. wonderboy in monsterland
2. shinobi
3. wonderboy
4. r-type
5. r c grand prix
6. sonic
7. alex kidd in shinobi world
8. action fighter
9. e-swat
10. asterix
11. psycho fox
12. sonic 2
13. lucky dime caper
14. castle of illusion
15. bomber raid
16. alex kidd in miracle world
17. fantasy zone
18. california games
19. outrun
20. my hero
21. world cup italia 90
22. double dragon
23. rescue mission
24. master of darkness
25. dynamite dux
26. golden axe
27. choplifter
28. kung fu kid
29. rastan
30. heavyweight champ

theres others ive probably totally forgot about, others like enduro racer i cant believe im leaving out

[playgeneration]

1. Action Fighter
2. Alex Kidd in Miracle World
3. Alex Kidd in Shinobi World
4. Asterix
5. Asterix and the Secret Mission
6. Astro Warrior
   
7. Aztec Adventure
   
8. Bomber Raid
9. Captain Silver
   
10. Castle of Illusion
11. Enduro Racer
    
12. Fantasy Zone
13. Jungle Book
    
14. Lucky Dime Caper
15. Mortal Kombat
16. My Hero
17. The Ninja
18. Operation Wolf
19. Outrun Europa
20. Paperboy
    
21. Power Strike II
22. Putt and Putter
    
23. Rescue Mission
24. Robocop vs Terminator
25. Secret Command
    
26. Shinobi
27. Sonic
28. Sonic 2
    
29. Star Wars
30. Wonderboy
    

It was actually quite hard to choose 30 games, left out quite a few games I like. My list is a mash up of games I had or rented as a kid and others I discovered when I started collecting and playing everything.

[rupert]

Here is mine, not in an order...

1. Putt & Putter
2. Zillion
3. Castle of Illusion
4. Land of Illusion
5. Alex Kidd in Shinobi World
6. Alex Kidd in Miracle World
7. Cosmic Spacehead
8. Mortal Kombat
9. Micro Machines
10. Action Figther
11. Moonwalker
12. R-Type
13. Wonderboy
14. Wonderboy III
15. Sonic
16. Sonic 2
17. Sonic Chaos
18. Lemmings
19. Mean Bean Machine
20. Bonanza Bros
21. Speedball 2
22. The Ninja
23. Lucky Dime Caper
24. Columns
25. Paper Boy
26. Baku Baku
27. Fantastic Dizzy
28. Fantasy Zone
29. Enduro Racer
30. Transbot

A good number of these are nostalgic to me. I think if I put more time into some of the other games this list would change quite a bit.

[evo4123]

Nov 7, 2016 21:31:47 GMT playgeneration said:

1. Action Fighter
2. Alex Kidd in Miracle World
3. Alex Kidd in Shinobi World
4. Asterix
5. Asterix and the Secret Mission
6. Astro Warrior
   
7. Aztec Adventure
   
8. Bomber Raid
9. Captain Silver
   
10. Castle of Illusion
11. Enduro Racer
    
12. Fantasy Zone
13. Jungle Book
    
14. Lucky Dime Caper
15. Mortal Kombat
16. My Hero
17. The Ninja
18. Operation Wolf
19. Outrun Europa
20. Paperboy
    
21. Power Strike II
22. Putt and Putter
    
23. Rescue Mission
24. Robocop vs Terminator
25. Secret Command
    
26. Shinobi
27. Sonic
28. Sonic 2
    
29. Star Wars
30. Wonderboy
    

It was actually quite hard to choose 30 games, left out quite a few games I like. My list is a mash up of games I had or rented as a kid and others I discovered when I started collecting and playing everything.

great to see action fighter get some love

[Transatlantic Foe]

1. Power Strike
2. Robocop vs The Terminator
3. Desert Strike
4. Star Wars
5. Operation Wolf
6. Power Strike II
7. Gain Ground
8. Sagaia
9. Super Space Invaders
10. Assault City *
11. GP Rider
12. Sonic 2
13. Rescue Mission
14. Scramble Spirits
15. Digger Chan
16. Strider II
17. Phantasy Star
18. Zillion
19. Streets of Rage
20. Mortal Kombat
21. Golden Axe
22. The Ninja
23. Sonic the Hedgehog
24. Line of Fire
25. Missile Command +
26. Lemmings
27. Outrun
28. Cyborg Hunter
29. Super Smash TV
30. Aerial Assault

* light phaser version
+ Missile Command is, of course, from Arcade Smash Hits. I don't think the other two ports on the cart particularly warrant a mention!

Controversy?
Aerial Assault sneaks in on account of it being quite good but only if you play it on hard difficulty
It takes a lot for a platform game to win me over, hence there not being many in my list!
For a list with a lot of shooters, R-Type deserves a mention as an excellent port but of a game I never liked
Strider II. It's the MD version that's awful, this is good!

More people need to play Gain Ground, it's amazing!

[playgeneration]

Nov 8, 2016 10:09:29 GMT evo4123 said:

great to see action fighter get some love [/quote]

Really like the game, even though I'm not very good at it. I think its a shame it never got an even more sophisticated sequel.

[evo4123]

Nov 10, 2016 21:06:34 GMT playgeneration said:

Nov 8, 2016 10:09:29 GMT evo4123 said:

great to see action fighter get some love

Really like the game, even though I'm not very good at it. I think its a shame it never got an even more sophisticated sequel.[/quote]

it definatly deserved a sequel, the arcade port is good

[bakery2k]

Alex Kidd in Miracle World
Alex Kidd in Shinobi World
Asterix
Bubble Bobble
Castle of Illusion
Enduro Racer
Fantasy Zone
Fantasy Zone II
Golden Axe
Hang On
Land of Illusion
Lemmings
Marble Madness
Micro Machines
Out Run
Out Run Europa
Phantasy Star
Power Strike
Power Strike II
Rainbow Islands
Road Rash
R-Type
Shinobi
Sonic The Hedgehog
Sonic The Hedgehog 2
Space Harrier
Taito Chase H.Q.
The Ninja
Wonder Boy
Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap

To help put this list together, I used smsall.txt. A first read-through led to about 20 "top tier" games for the list, and a second reading added another dozen or so. I reduced the total to exactly 30 by dropping "Sonic Chaos" (2 Sonic games are enough) and "Pacmania" (only really present due to nostalgia).

[nearbythiscafe]

Mine, in order:

1. Wonderboy in Monsterland
2. Alex Kidd in Miracle World
3. Pyscho Fox
4. Micky Mouse castle of illusion
5. Micky mouse
6. My hero
7. Penguin Land
8. Lucky dime caper
9. Sonic 1
10. Sonic 2
11. Alex kidd and the lost stars
12. Enduro Racer
13. Zillion
14. Wonderboy
15. Alien syndrome
16. Asterix
17. Alex kidd in shinobi land
18. Lemmings
19. Out run
20. Fantasy Zone
21. Transbot
22. Zillion 2
23. Jungle book
24. Shinobi
25. Strider
26. Hang on
27. Pacmania
28. Dizzy
29. Ninja
30. R type

[evo4123]

Nov 12, 2016 14:40:13 GMT nearbythiscafe said:

Mine, in order:

1. Wonderboy in Monsterland
2. Alex Kidd in Miracle World
3. Pyscho Fox
4. Micky Mouse castle of illusion
5. Micky mouse
6. My hero
7. Penguin Land
8. Lucky dime caper
9. Sonic 1
10. Sonic 2
11. Alex kidd and the lost stars
12. Enduro Racer
13. Zillion
14. Wonderboy
15. Alien syndrome
16. Asterix
17. Alex kidd in shinobi land
18. Lemmings
19. Out run
20. Fantasy Zone
21. Transbot
22. Zillion 2
23. Jungle book
24. Shinobi
25. Strider
26. Hang on
27. Pacmania
28. Dizzy
29. Ninja
30. R type

wonderboy in monsterland...... hell yeah

[retrokevretro]

Nostalgia played a big part when choosing my top 30 SMS games.

1. Sonic
2. Super Kick Off
3. Fantastic Dizzy
4. The New zealand story
5. Fantasy Zone
6. Shinobi
7. Wonderboy 3
8. Enduro Racer
9. R-Type
10. Transbot
11. Ultimate Soccer
12. Castle of Illusion
13. Wonderboy
14. Powerstrike 2
15. Masters of Combat
16. Choplifter
17. Asterix
18. Bubble Bobble
19. Champions of Europe
20. Micro Machines
21. Renegade
22. Rainbow Islands
23. Putt & Putter
24. Populous
25. Zool
26. Psycho Fox
27. World Grand Prix
28. Bank Panic
29. Rastan
30. Action Fighter

[Kaunisto]

Phantasy Star
Rampage
Sonic the Hedgehog
Fantasy Zone
The Ninja

Populous
Wonder Boy III
Asterix
Snail Maze
Road Rash

Basketball Nightmare
Slap Shot
Speedball
Tennis Ace
Super Kick Off

Ultima IV
Hang On
Dragon Crystal
Aztec Adventure
Dynamite Dux

Trivial Pursuit
Gauntlet
King's Quest
Great Ice Hockey
Ys

High School! Kimengumi
World Grand Prix
Hoshi wo Sagashite... (Story of Mio)
Olympic Gold
Marksman Shooting

[nearbythiscafe]

Nov 14, 2016 19:46:24 GMT Kaunisto said:

Phantasy Star
Rampage
Sonic the Hedgehog
Fantasy Zone
The Ninja

Populous
Wonder Boy III
Asterix
Snail Maze
Road Rash

Basketball Nightmare
Slap Shot
Speedball
Tennis Ace
Super Kick Off

Ultima IV
Hang On
Dragon Crystal
Aztec Adventure
Dynamite Dux

Trivial Pursuit
Gauntlet
King's Quest
Great Ice Hockey
Ys

High School! Kimengumi
World Grand Prix
Hoshi wo Sagashite... (Story of Mio)
Olympic Gold
Marksman Shooting

Nice to see snail maze make an appearance

[playgeneration]

There's quite a lot of variety in everyone's lists so far, makes me want to play some of these games again a bit more thoroughly.