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Syndicate
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Console of the Month (June 2023) - Game Gear

by Syndicate Fri Jun 09, 2023 7:23 pm

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In this month's Console of the Month, we'll be talking about the Game Gear, Sega's answer to the original Nintendo Game Boy. Released in the Spring of 1991 in North America, the Game Gear was unable to topple Nintendo's hold on the portable market, and though it had a long run only sold 11 million units worldwide.

The Game Gear library was filled with a healthy amount of Master System ports, in addition to some excellent original games like The G.G. Shinobi games or ports of SMS games not released in N.America like Master of Darkness, Dragon Crystal, and Deep Duck Trouble. With the optional Master Gear adapter the Game Gear also had access to the SMS cartridge library, making classics like Rastan, Phantasy Star, Zillion, and Golvellius playable while on the go. Additionally, the Game Gear is region free, making access to games that didn't make it to your region of choice relatively simple.

Though the Game Gear was unable to tackle the venerable Game Boy (more than likely due to poor batter life), it was the second full color handheld released in the N.American market and I believe the first backlit system. The Game Gear also enjoyed a pretty long run, even seeing a re-release in 2000 from Majesco. The Game Gear never received any major revisions, but it did receive a few special editions released in various colors.

Lets discuss the Game Gear this month - what are your favorite games for the system? What was your first experience with the system? Lets get to it.
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alienjesus
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Re: Console of the Month (June 2023) - Game Gear

by alienjesus Mon Jun 12, 2023 3:27 am

Thanks very much for making th thread this month- I’ve been struggling to keep track of things lately.

The Game Gear is a system that I think is largely ignored by retro gamers, and I have to say that is a real shame. I’ve really gotten into the system in the last couple of years, and it has a great library of both master system ports and exclusives.

I do understand people passing by on the Game Gear. This is probably the single hardest ‘mainstream’ system to enjoy these games as the hardware really doesn’t hold up. The form factor is actually pretty good despite its large size, but between the awful battery life, the fact that basically 100% of systems need new capacitors put in to make the screen visible and the sound audible, and the fact that a lot of the systems best games are Japan exclusive, it’s a tough system to get into with real hardware. Thankfully there’s a slowly increasing selection of hardware alternatives these days.

I’ve done it the hard way though, and purchased a modded game gear with a modern screen, and then later added a rechargeable battery mod myself. It’s such a huge game changer for the system to not be tethered to one spot and to not struggle with the blurry old screen. I also picked up an Everdrive to play the Japanese exclusives - there’s some great 8 bit RPGs to play on the system, and quite a lot of fan translated titles at this point!

I’ll write a bit more this month about some of my recommended games, but if you can get past the hardware being the biggest hurdle to enjoying Game Gear, you’ll find a library that’s incredibly solid and enjoyable
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bmoc
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Re: Console of the Month (June 2023) - Game Gear

by bmoc Mon Jun 12, 2023 9:40 am

I had a Game Gear when I was young. At the time, I was in a Nintendo household and had only used a Sega Genesis a handful of times at places like Sears and Service Merchandise. Service Merchandise was particularly great because it was never busy in that section of the store. I usually had the Genesis kiosk all to myself. I never saw a Master System in-person until I was an adult so I had very little exposure to Sega.

During a school trip, one of my classmates brought his Game Gear and let me play it some. I don't remember what game(s) he had but I was hooked pretty quickly. This thing had a backlit screen and color! I think I got one for Christmas that year. I recall owning Sonic 1, Sonic 2, Sonic Triple Trouble, X-Men, Jurassic Park, Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat II, Ecco the Dolphin, and Ecco The Tides of Time. I also had the illustrious TV tuner (RIP analog TV signals).

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Though the first thing I bough for it had to be the AC adapter because of the way it chewed through batteries. I believe my parents also got me some rechargeable batteries as well.

I know that I traded it in after many years of use but I don't recall what for. Probably PS1 games. I enjoyed my time with it but I've never had the urge to get back into it. Most of the games that I care about are available on the Master System which is where I play them today.
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Syndicate
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Re: Console of the Month (June 2023) - Game Gear

by Syndicate Sat Jun 17, 2023 11:45 am

So I don't really have too much experience with the Game Gear. My sister had one and I definitely spent more time with it than she did though :lol: I've only played Columns , Castle of Illusion, and Sonic. Columns is Columns, a solid puzzle game w/good music. Castle of Illusion is very good, a totally different experience than the Genesis version. The gameplay is fun and the controls are responsive. The new levels are fun and even 8-bit takes on the excellent 16-bit versions are really good. Just like Castle of Illusion, the 8-bit version of Sonic is totally different than its 16-bit brother...and once again it's a good thing. Solid controls, new takes on levels, and w/Ancient handling the Game Gear version you know the nusic is good stuff too. There were a few other games that I wanted to try out like Ninja Gaiden, Psychic World, the G.G. Shinobi, and Dragon Crystal but that just never happened.
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