6 Most Difficult Master System Games Ever Made

The Sega Master System emerged in 1985 as an important competitor to the Nintendo Entertainment System. Sega wasn’t quite ready to compete with Nintendo on the global stage, but the Master System did perform well in a few places, most notably in the European market. While Nintendo’s own games were often known for their difficulty at the time, a few Master System games were equally challenging, proving to be a pain point for younger gamers. Of course, that’s not a huge surprise when you remember that many of these games were ports of arcade games, but Sega wasn’t playing around with a few of these.

Here are the six hardest games on the Sega Master System.

6) Action Fighter

Action Fighter puts players into a superbike and asks them to navigate a fast-paced highway filled with enemies. As you progress, your bike gets upgraded to several different vehicles, including a jet and a Formula One racer. It’s a neat idea that mostly works, but don’t take that to mean you won’t die constantly.

The thing that makes Action Fighter so difficult is the speed at which the game moves. You’ll need lightning-fast reflexes to get past most of its challenges, and as more enemies and gun emplacements are added to the mix, you’ll find yourself trapped in one of the toughest bullet-hell games on the Master System.

5) OutRun

Critics widely praised the Master System version of OutRun for being as close to the arcade version as any other port. Of course, it was surpassed when OutRun came to 16-bit consoles, but at the time, it was a revelation for Master System players.

Still, OutRun is a diabolical mix of speed and intense cornering. If you can’t master OutRun‘s turns, you aren’t going to make it very far. Once you get them down, OutRun becomes more manageable, but that learning curve is a monster for new players.

4) Kenseiden

Kenseiden is a bit of a weird one. The actual side-scrolling campaign isn’t too difficult. The action is crisp, and Kenseiden‘s visuals make it easy to get lost in the joy of working your way through each level. There are a few brain-teasing puzzles that’ll stump some players, but it’s not overbearing.

The issue is the optional training missions, which throw so many enemies at you that most players find them nearly impossible. Your character naturally moves relatively slowly. That’s not a huge problem in the main game, but it makes the training missions incredibly frustrating. Thankfully, you don’t have to beat them unless you want bragging rights.

3) Black Belt

Black Belt is a side-scrolling beat ’em up that’s actually a modified version of the Japanese Master System game Hokuto no Ken, which is an adaptation of the Fist of the North Star manga. It throws seemingly endless waves of enemies at you, which can be painfully monotonous.

The developers do toss in a few mini-bosses to keep the action somewhat fresh, but you might stop from boredom before ever reaching a boss. Once you do, you’re in for a challenge. The first few bosses are manageable, but when you run into the Oni in Chapter 4, you’ll likely hit a major wall. His defense is nearly impregnable, and without a guide, most players never figured out how to take him down. There are three more chapters after this one, and they continue to get more difficult.

2) Choplifter

If you know what you’re doing (or read a guide), there’s a trick that makes Choplifter much easier. On a few of the more difficult stages of this side-scrolling helicopter adventure, you can fly your vehicle backward. That stops some of the projectiles from spawning, making this a relative walk in the park.

However, if you don’t know that trick, Choplifter feels nearly impossible, especially in the Cave level. Granted, taking a helicopter into a cave in real life would also be difficult, but maneuvering through that sucker requires such precise control that most players can’t pull it off, especially on the Master System’s mushy D-Pad. It’s not a bad game, but that Cave level can go right into the bin.

1) Penguin Land

Penguin Land is a cutesy puzzler, which is why it ranks so highly on this list. Look at that adorable little penguin and then consider what kind of gamer was likely to pick this up. Penguin Land is geared toward a younger audience. If you’re a parent looking to pick something up for your nine-year-old and you see this on the store shelf, you’re buying it without question.

Unfortunately, you’ve just gifted your kid one of the toughest games on the Master System. It starts simply enough with relatively tame puzzles, but as you progress, Penguin Land starts to require some real brainpower. You also can’t take your time, because there’s a rude vulture that’ll take you out if you waste too many precious seconds puzzling out the answer. It’s a dastardly mix of cutesy graphics and brain-bending puzzles, making Penguin Land a clear frontrunner for this list.

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