Just as the NES had its Zapper, the Sega Master System had the Light Phaser, which was actually better than the Zapper in many respects. Firstly it's black, instead of orange and grey which suits serious gun games far better, secondly the trigger is far easier to pull and has a nice soft click rather than the stiff motion of the Zapper, and lastly it's more accurate on well programmed light gun games. I currently own 5 games (the first 3 of which are all on one cartridge) which work with the Light Phaser, so here are short reviews of all of them.
Game: Marksman Shooting
Console: Sega Master System
Developer: Sega
Release Date: 1986
While the concept of Marksman Shooting isn't the most elaborate (it's literally set entirely at a shooting range), it makes up for the lack of variety with some of the best accuracy featured in a Light Phaser game, a slow but challenging difficulty curve, and enjoyable gameplay. The aim is to hit as many targets as possible, squarely in the red circle on their chest (headshots and other hits don't count), per round so as to exceed the target percentage.
In contrast to other light gun shooters across various systems, accuracy doesn't matter in this game; you're allowed to shoot as many times as you like. The only important factor is the percentage of targets players manage to hit overall. This is useful for tracking your aim across the screen between shots for more accurate shooting when it matters. As the player clears more rounds, the speed of the targets increases, as does the percentage needed to clear a round. It's a steady rise in both and makes for a good level of challenge which gets truly difficult around round 10.
Graphically the game is good with clearly marked targets and a good sense of depth for the era, although the fact that there's no change of scenery in the entire game may put some players off. The sound in the game is pretty basic, but a clear "hit" sound when players shoot a target correctly is useful. The accuracy and detection of the Light Phaser in this game is some of the best I've seen.
Overall Marksman Shooting is a basic but very well executed Light Gun Shooter which allows players to improve their skill with the Light Phaser for use in other games, and challenge for a high score by reaching the highest round they are able to. While a change of scenery/target within the game would have made it even better there's a certain charm it, almost as if it could be a minigame featured in a game from later console generations.
Rating: 70/100
Grade: C
Game: Trap Shooting
Console: Sega Master System
Developer: Sega
Release Date: 1986
Trap Shooting is another simple light gun title for the Master System which is based on the sport of clay pigeon shooting. Players must shoot clay pigeons which are fired from up to three locations, outwards across the screen. Two clay pigeons are usually shot per turn, with three bullets given to the player. Upon shooting a clay pigeon the player will receive points for how far it was away from them, and a yellow dot on the scorecard at the bottom of the screen. If they can pass the arrow underneath with yellow dots, then they are allowed to progress to the next round.
The distance between the player and the screen is important whilst playing this game, as you have to be much closer than most of the other titles in this review to even register hits. When you're in the correct position it's a pretty fun game to play, despite being fairly easily. When you're too far (we're talking about 1.5m here) away from the screen however, gameplay is pretty frustrating as no matter how hard you try to hit anything, nothing will happen.
There are some nice backgrounds featured in the game, which rotate every 5 levels until level 15 and provide a good aesthetic for the game. Once again the sound effects and music aren't really anything special, but it's almost to be expected with such an old light gun game.
Overall Trap Shooting's slight issues with accuracy and lack of challenge mean that it's far less interesting than Marksman shooting. While the targets move, it's a very slow and floaty movement when compared to that of many other light gun games.
Rating: 52/100
Grade: D
Game: Safari Hunt
Console: Sega Master System
Developer: Sega
Release Date: 1986
Safari Hunt is a game which was heavily influenced by the success of Nintendo's Duck Hunt for the NES, although it features more animals and a greater variety of locations. Different amounts of points are awarded for shooting different types of animals; some have a bonus for shooting them multiple times also. The aim of the game is to surpass the qualifying score for each level.
Animals pop up and move around the screen in different ways, but usually those worth the most points will hide behind objects. The hit detection and accuracy of the light gun with this game seems to be fairly low. This is compounded by the fact that there's no indication of where you're shooting if you miss, meaning that losing track of your aim can prove to be a big problem.
Graphically Safari Hunt uses bright colours and cartoon like sprites for its targets, although they're not particularly detailed, and Duck Hunt looks slightly better. Just like the previous two games, the sound effects are basic and fairly uninspiring. Overall the game is pretty disappointing; there's not much to do due to, being based on Duck Hunt and with difficulties in targeting added to this, it's a pretty poor title. Of the Master System light gun games I have, this is probably the least enjoyable and one of the hardest to play well.
Rating: 30/100
Grade: E
Game: Rescue Mission
Console: Sega Master System
Developer: Sega
Release Date: 1987
Rescue Mission tasks players with assisting their soldier in finding and rescuing their injured comrades whilst riding a handcar along railway lines through enemy territory. To avoid the soldier being blown up by mines, rockets and other weapons, enemy troops must quickly be identified and shot with the light gun. Leaving enemies too long without shooting them will usually result in their projectile being fired which players must quickly shoot down before it reaches the handcar. With three handcar operators to choose from (each of whom move at slightly different speeds, and stop for different intervals), the player only has 3 lives until the game is over.
At each downed comrade, the handcar stops to administer aid before continuing. Players can choose to shoot their comrade in order to speed through the level but will lose points and the bonus which is received for having helped. Usually this either a helmet (which protects the player from an extra shot) or a health pack which heals the player, or providing that the player is fully healed, blows up all on screen enemies. There are 5 levels in the game; Jungle, Swamp, Village, Bridge and Ammunition Depot, which feature on foot enemies and jetpack enemies alternately.
Graphically the game looks well presented and colourful for the time, although the targets and sprites are fairly basic in design and animation. The game's music isn't bad, although the theme which plays when you lose a life resembles that of Super Mario Bros in the same situation. The light gun works wonderfully with the game and once players have themselves set up, it's easy to shoot exactly where you want to. The only real issue I experienced with the game was its overwhelming difficulty from around 3 levels in.
Overall Rescue Mission is a great idea and concept for an early light gun shooter. It doesn't overcomplicate itself, but takes the action out of a generic setting and gives real challenge to the player. Although the difficulty level increases to an almost unbearable level by the end, with only 5 stages, the game needs something to ensure that it has replay value. On the whole though, it's a lot of fun.
Rating: 66/100
Grade: C
Game: Operation Wolf
Console: Sega Master System
Developer: Taito
Release Date: 1987
While it's perfectly possible to play Operation Wolf with just a Master System controller, it's pretty obvious that the game was intended as a light gun shooter. Without a light gun, players move the target reticule about the screen and press 1 to throw grenades, and 2 to shoot. With a light gun, the shooting and aiming is controlled via the peripheral, although grenades are still selected via a Master System controller (without one plugged in, there's no way to use grenades).
The object of the game is to make your way through 6 enemy infested stages, getting rid of soliders, vehicles and aircraft as you go, and taking as little damage as possible. There are a few innocent targets which if hit will deplete the health bar at the bottom. Players can also pick up extra grenades and ammo clips to help them with their mission along the way by shooting passing birds and animals. The level ends when the counters in the bottom right have reached 0, and the game ends if the player's health bar turns exclusively red.
The main drawback of Operation Wolf is that getting past the first 2 stages is incredibly difficult whichever control scheme you use as there's not many chances to restore your health, which is carried over from level to level. Players are given one continue, but since this sends them back to the beginning of the level they previously failed, it's only really good for getting a little further, rather than helping to complete the game.
Graphically the game isn't particularly detailed, and the enemy sprites are nowhere near as big as in the arcade version of the game. The sound leaves a little to be desired, but isn't bad for the era. Overall Operation Wolf is a fun light gun title which works very well with the peripheral and is only really let down by its difficulty; I couldn't find any footage of players getting past the 3rd level without using a mouse to hit the targets.
Rating: 64/100
Grade: C
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