Jeremy Parish

Segaiden #045: Enduro Racer & state of the union (Patreon)

Published:

2023-04-05 12:27:54

Imported:

2024-04

Tags:

enduro racer master system sega segaiden super scaler

Content

Brace yourself, because we're about to experience a rare sight: A legitimately disappointing Master System conversion of an arcade hit. Why, such a thing hasn't been seen since the hoary days of My Hero! And yet, Enduro Racer disappoints... doubly so, in fact, if you play the hacked-up American ROM.

And this seems like a good opportunity to take a step back and give the nascent console race in the freshly reanimated zombified American console market a look. Compare Master System to NES to this point and Sega has honestly been doing a damn good job of trading punches with Nintendo, matching NES's offerings and providing quite a few unique experiences of its own. And yet, we all know how that console race turned out. I'd argue that Summer 1987 marked the turning point, the moment at which Sega's prospects for 8-bit market dominance became hopeless in the U.S., and this episode opens with a brief referendum on that state of affairs.

But mostly, I'm just annoyed by the lackluster conversion of Enduro Racer. I mean, c'mon, man. What even is this.

Files

State of the union: Enduro Racer & Master System ’87 overview | Segaiden #045

Master System has been a pretty wild ride so far, huh? Unfortunately, the software and tech highs that Sega brought to the table failed to make the headway you might expect against Nintendo's head start with the NES, and this episode opens with a comparative look at the two consoles in summer 1987. And it's all tied to a less-than-wild ride: A very underwhelming reinvention of Super Scaler dirtbike coin-op Enduro Racer for console, which became even less whelming in its transition from Mark III to Master System. Of course, this one mediocre racer didn't cause Master System to slip so far behind NES's American market share. It's just one of those things. Production notes: Why watch when you can read? Check out the massive hardcover print editions of NES Works, Super NES Works, and Virtual Boy works, available now at Limited Run Games (https://limitedrungames.com/collections/books)! Look forward to SG-1000 Works: Segaiden Vol. I, due July 2023. Video Works is funded via Patreon (http://www.patreon.com/gamespite) — support the show and get access to every episode up to two weeks in advance of its YouTube debut! Plus, exclusive podcasts, eBooks, and more! Master System footage captured from U.S. carts running through a cart adapter on Sega Mark III hardware with FM Sound Unit and RGB bypass modification by iFixRetro. Most arcade and Light Phaser footage captured from MiSTer, with thanks to MiSTerAddOns. Video upscaled to 720 with xRGB Mini Framemeister. RGB cables courtesy of StoneAgeGamer.com and Allie Bellrose.