Master of Darkness
When a Master System fan laments that Castlevania stayed reserved for the rival console, the same reply usually comes back: Master of Darkness. This gothic action platformer with a horror flavor is Sega's answer to the famous Konami series, and for owners of the 8-bit Sega it was a welcome way to enjoy the atmosphere of hunting vampires and monsters.
The content is genre-legible and stylish: you stride through dark, atmospheric levels cut from Victorian horror, swinging a weapon and dispatching skeletons, monsters and other vermin lurking at you from the shadows. The pace is more deliberate, dictated by the emphasis on gothic atmosphere and gradual progress through levels capped with fights against imaginative bosses. You can feel that proper adventurously spooky mood the genre lives by.
Visually the game bets on gloomy, stylish environments — foggy streets, dark corners and monsters torn from classic horror motifs. On 8-bit hardware it manages to conjure a suitably grim backdrop, and the overall impression is tight and atmospheric, exactly as befits gothic action.
For players who craved a dose of vampire action in the Castlevania style on the Master System, Master of Darkness represents a logical and accomplished choice. It's one of those titles that lend genre variety to Sega's 8-bit library — and for lovers of gothic horror in a retro coat it's a tip that's definitely worth digging up out of the grave.
Why play: A gothic, atmospheric action platformer in the spirit of Castlevania — for Master System owners the right dose of stylish monster-hunting.
Game 14 of 67 for SEGA Master System
The same title elsewhere (1)
On the Game Gear the game is held back by a smaller screen with lower resolution than the Master System offers, so the player sees a shorter stretch of the level ahead and has less time to react to enemies leaping in from off-screen. The Master System, running on a television, gives a wider view of the surroundings, making jumps between platforms and monster fights feel clearer and smoother. Both versions run on similar 8-bit hardware with the same sound chip, so the music and effects don't differ dramatically — the main difference is how much space around the character the player can actually see. Anyone after a clearer, more "home console" take should reach for the Master System, though the Game Gear's portability is an appeal all its own.
