NES Vs. Sega Master System: An 8-bit Console Comparison

It wasn’t until the 16-bit era that we had a proper console war. There were video game systems, and competition before then, but it was generally pretty one sided. I was a bit young at the time when the Nintendo Entertainment System and Sega Master System were competing head-to-head. I had the NES, but had never even heard of the Master System until I was an adult. It just wasn’t popular outside of Europe or South America. I thought it would be fun to compare the two consoles today in console-wars format. So here it is, this is the NES vs the Sega Master System!

Let’s start by giving some background information on the two consoles.

Nintendo Entertainment System
Release Year: 1985 (North America)

The video game industry crashed in the early 80s and a new home console didn’t seem like a very viable idea. The Nintendo Entertainment System was met with immediate success in Japan, and after a few smaller launches in North America took the market by storm. This is due in part to Nintendo advertising it as an ‘entertainment system’ rather than video game console. It paid off in a big way and moved Nintendo from the arcades into the living rooms.

If you grew up in the 80s (and even early 90s) odds are you had a NES. The console was absolutely everywhere. As such Nintendo was able to control the market with some rather underhanded tactics which dissuaded third party developers from supporting the competition. That’s why most companies had to release games on the platform exclusively. The market boom led to the creation of many of the industry’s biggest franchises here on the Nintendo Entertainment System.

Sega Master System
Release Year: 1986 (North America)

Sega was, and for the most part has always been, primarily an arcade game developer. They created some of the most downright inventive and imaginative coin-op games in the 1980s. Titles like Space Harrier and OutRun are now legendary. Sega decided to leverage their arcade expertise into a home video game console. It was met with middling success, but Sega still released it worldwide under a new name. The Sega Master System failed to compete with the NES, but Sega sure tried.

The problem was that their biggest games for the platform were arcade ports. The hardware just wasn’t up to the task of running the engines that powered Space Harrier and OutRun (which to be fair, were far ahead of their time). Sega tried their hand at home console exclusives but didn’t have anything that could compete with the likes of Mario. It didn’t help that Nintendo had a stranglehold on third party support and actively punished companies that made games for anyone else. The Sega Master System achieved success in Europe and South America but was largely ignored worldwide.

Hardware:

Console Design:

The Nintendo Entertainment System looks and feels like an electronic device from the 80s. Whether that’s good or bad is up to you. The gray and black box design makes it look more like a VCR or something that would look right at home in an entertainmeny center. Personally I’m not a big fan, but it’s hard to hate something that’s so iconic.

Sega went with a more sleek design for their hardware. Instead of going for the VCR box design their angular end product looks more like a flat cassette deck. The red and black make it much more attractive than the plain old NES. Compared to Nintendo’s design Sega’s looks futuristic and cool.

Winner: Sega Master System

System Durability:

Nintendo skimped out a bit on the parts for its console. Specifically the loading tray and pins are prone to failure. This is where the whole idea of ‘blowing in the cartridges’ came from, and even when everything was new it sometimes didn’t work. These days it’s hard to find an original unmodified system that’s still functional. Mine sure isn’t. It’s fairly easy to fix however.

On the other hand the Sega Master System is kind of a tank. I doubt mine was ever cleaned before it arrived at my door, and it worked right out of the box. I’ve never even encountered one that doesn’t work. It feels durable and high quality, and like something that could survive a few falls easily. The top-loading cartridge slot is a lot better than any sort of tray, that’s for sure.

Winner: Sega Master System

Controller Designs:

In a time when most controllers had numerical pads or switches Nintendo created and popularized the traditional directional pad with this system. The red buttons and black design are very attractive even now, but as an adult I have a real problem with just how small it is. It’s not comfortable to hold, and the sharp edges really bother my hands after a while. The rubber used for the start and select buttons also tears after years of use.

The Master System controller is basically the same idea. A little rectangle with a directional pad (or, Sega’s version of one at least) and two face buttons. There are a few key differences however. First of all the directional pad is a little mushy. It doesn’t feel as precise as the one on the NES. Secondly, there’s no Start or Select button. To pause the game you need to press the button on the console. It’s a terrible, awful decision. On the plus side the edges are not as sharp as on the NES controller.

Winner: Nintendo Entertainment System

Game Media:

In Japan Nintendo went with these cute and small cartridges. Elsewhere we got the big and long cartridges. These are a little clunky and are shaped to look less like video games and more like VHS tapes. There are a few advantages to it. For one the artwork stickers are very large and look amazing. The games are also harder to lose, and look great lined up on a shelf. I’m a big fan of the cartridge design even if the inside of most games is empty space and air.

The Sega Master System uses not one but two different types of storage media for its games. The first is a small black cartridge. Unfortunately these do not feature artwork on the stickers and instead just display the name. Then we have small cards that were a cost reducing idea from Sega, but they store less data. On the plus side the games came packaged in clamshell cases which is a godsend. It’s much easier to find games complete with case and instructions on the Master System.

Winner: Nintendo Entertainment System

Graphical Capabilities:

Unfortunately the NES has some pretty ugly games on it. The hardware had a very limited color palette, low memory, and was prone to flickering. As the system aged and developers became more familiar with the hardware they were able to push significantly better visuals. Things like parallax scrolling and rotations were pulled off with tricks. I like the graphics from a nostalgia viewpoint, but overall the NES has aged worse than many of its contemporaries.

The Master System was pretty similar in terms of raw power to the NES, but it fares quite a bit better. The console had a much wider color palette and because of it the multiplatform titles for both generally look night and day from one another. It makes a huge difference. The two seem to be pretty close in other areas such as sprite count and flickering issues. Developers tapped into the Master System less even later in its life, but it’s clear that this was the more capable machine.

Winner: Sega Master System

Audio Capabilities:

The Nintendo Entertainment System featured only the most rudimentary bleeps and blips, but with multiple channels of audio they could be used to compose some really neat music. Some of the world’s greatest video game composers were at work here and the NES has some of the best game soundtracks of all time on it. Some specialized audio chips were introduced into the cartridges later on, but we won’t count these because they are proprietary hardware on a case by case basis.

Now, the Sega Master System is a different story. It had about the same capabilities as the NES audio hardware but for some unfathomable reason some of the default bleeps and blips are super scratchy. So many games make use of these that it can be downright garish. It makes me want to mute many of the games. Some models of the system have an enhanced FM synth which many games take advantage of, but this wasn’t widely available in North America so it’s a moot point.

Winner: Nintendo Entertainment System

Software:

We’re going to go down the software comparison by dividing it up between genres. That’s just to make it easy and organized because there’s a whole lot to talk about! We’re limiting the spread to just genres that were popular in the consoles’ heyday. Also note that we’re just sticking to North American releases here because the import scene is a whole other topic.

Action:

The NES had more than it’s fair share of action games. No less than six Mega Man titles graced the platform, and you also had the likes of Bionic Commando, Blaster Master, Contra, Castlevania and more. The platform was an action game fans paradise. Almost all of the big names were on Nintendo’s system.

Sega’s hardware didn’t fare quite as well, but it no doubt had a formidable line-up thanks in no small part to the company’s arcade lineage. Home ports like Shinobi, Smash TV, and Altered Beast helped to elevate the platform. Unfortunately it didn’t have a lot of original efforts or exclusives.

Winner: Nintendo Entertainment System

Platformers:

As far as platformers go it’s almost no contest. Nintendo had three excellent and legendary Super Mario Bros games for the platform (the third in particular might just be the best 2D platformer of all time). Add in things like Kirby, Nemo the Adventures of Dreamland, Adventure Island 2, and Capcom’s Disney games and you have an absolutely unbeatable line-up. It’s no contest really.

Unfortunately Sega’s console had no way to compete. Throughout it’s lifespan it had nothing as marketable (or even as good) as the Super Mario Bros titles. Alex Kidd was okay, but the level designs left a lot to be desired even back then. Plus, he just wasn’t cool. Other titles such as Psycho Fox, and a late released version of Sonic the Hedgehog were cool but simply not enough.

Winner: Nintendo Entertainment System

Puzzle:

Tetris was just catching on and becoming a worldwide phenomenon in the 80s. The Nintendo Entertainment System had its own port of the game, and even a sequel. You also have Dr. Mario, Yoshi, Yoshi’s Cookie and many more. Nintendo and third parties really hit this genre out of the park for their 8-bit releases, and these games are timeless.

This is another genre wherein Sega was kind of left in the dark. Experimental titles such as Penguin Land were fun, and then there was a rather good port of Columns on the platform. Aside from those most of the major puzzle games were exclusive to Nintendo’s platform.

Winner: Nintendo Entertainment System

Racing:

Nintendo had a decent library of racing games for their 8-bit platform. Titles such as Rad Racer were competent copies of OutRun (though not nearly as good) and others such as RC Pro Am are still remembered fondly. A few arcade ports such as Super Off-Road and Roadblasters were pretty decent as well. All of the very realistic racing games fail to hold up unfortunately.

Now we’re talking. The Sega Master System had a pretty competent line-up of racing games including home ports of OutRun, Super Monaco GP, and Hang On. The hardware had scaling issues but they are still pretty playable. The Master System is definitely the system to get your speed on with.

Winner: Sega Master System

Role Playing Games:

This is where Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy originated. The Nintendo Entertainment System had not one but four installments of the former, and one of the latter (in North America at least). Besides that there are a few hidden gems such as Crystalis, Legend of Ghost Lion, Faxanadu, and a few others. The NES was an RPG powerhouse that wins in both in terms of quantity and quality.

Phantasy Star carried the Sega Master System as far as role playing games. It may be one heck of a game but it’s simply not enough. There were a few other RPGs on the platform, including a spin-off to Sega’s Golden Axe series, but nothing was as popular or marketable as PS.

Winner: Nintendo Entertainment System

Shooters:

This category may not carry much weight these days, but back in the 80s shoot ’em ups were all the rage. The NES managed more than its fair share of quality titles. You have Konami classics like Gradius and Life Force as well as other big names like the 1940 series, Star Soldier and Twinbee. If you’re looking for a good shooter you can’t go wrong with the NES.

The Sega Master System was no slouch when it came to shoot ’em ups either. You have the original Aleste, a passable port of After Burner, two Fantasy Zone games, Thunder Blade, Galaxy Force, R-Type, and a few other smaller releases. That’s more than enough to keep a gamer happy. I consider the two platforms equal in this genre and it boils down to which franchises you prefer. Personally, I’m going with the Sega Master System line-up.

Winner: Sega Master System

Sports:

Third party developers were all over bringing their best sports games ot the NES. Konami and Tecmo created amazing hockey and football titles for the system. SNK released a lot of their early sports titles for the platform which rounds out the library. All different events were covered and with multiple quality titles for each. Even experimental titles like Punch-Out were ported over. I can still play even the simple titles such as Tennis and have a great deal of fun.

Sega was not the big name in sports they are now, back then at least. The number of sports games for the platform is limited with few options for each category. Most of these were developed by Sega themselves. They simply couldn’t compete with the breadth of third party sports games put out on the competition. It wasn’t until the Sega Genesis that the house of hedgehog focused on sports.

Winner: Nintendo Entertainment System

Overall:

Both consoles are great and worth collecting for. The NES is the iconic video game platform of the 80s but the Sega Master System introduced the home market to many of the company’s best arcade hits. When it comes down to it the Nintendo Entertainment System wins in the key areas. Software is more important than hardware, and in most categories the NES blows the SMS completely out of the water. I love both consoles but Nintendo’s is my choice for the overall winner between the two.

Overall Winner: Nintendo Entertainment System