Jeku - Sonic 1 on the Master System was one of the very last master system games released in the states and canada. Unfortunately for you lot, it was probably the first "great" master system game which started the trend of Megadrive/Genesis & Master System games being released at the same time by the smae developers but with different levels, so to play the "real" game you had to own both versions
Sonic 1 on the master system was a master peice of level design, and while it played very differently to the Megadrive version, it was a really cool game in its own right. Perhaps I even prefer it to the 16bit version - I played it so much at the time that to this day I can honestly complete it with my eyes closed, my hands are programmed so well to fit the exact responses to send him going where he should. The mere fact that you can do that rather than the seemingly randomness of some of the physics in the more advanced 16 bit levels makes the 8 bit version a better game to some extent.
Sonic 2 on the Master System was also a great game, but unfortunatley did not have a 2 player mode or have tails following you. It did however have some really cool innovations - you could ride a hanglinder, and in underwter levels, you could actually climb inside the bigger airbubbles and swim around in them!
Sonic 3 was not released on the 8bit platforms, but instead a game called Sonic Chaos. Sonic Chaos played a lot more like the 16 bit versions, with Mobius strips, complicated systems of loops etc which were missing from the other 8bit versions. Sonic Chaos was also cool because there were plenty of exclusive power ups (inlcuding springs which stuck to your feet, & rocket boots!!), bad guys and innovations not seen in any other sonic game, and you could choose to control and play the game as tails, who you could make fly around the levels and get to hidden areas. It was great
The Game Gear also had 8 bit versions of Sonic 1, 2 & Chaos, which were very similar to the master system versions, but spoiled somewhat by having the view zoomed in too close to sonic , so you culdn't see what was coming as easily as you could in the big screen 8bit versions. Also released on the game gear were Sonic Drift 1 & 2 (a kind of cross between mario Kart and Outrun but with Sonic characters) Sonic Labrynth (Like Sonic 3d) and Sonic Triple Trouble (Chaos 2). Tails also had some exclusive adventures on the 8bit game gear, Tail's Adventure and Tails' sky patrol.
Also converted to The MAster System and Game Gear were Sonci Spinball and DrRobotnik's Mean Bean Machine - and both these games were actually better on the 8bit systems, they ran smoother and the visuals were clearer, which was needed for those games
Other games that were actually MUCH better on the Master System were the Mickey Mouse Games (Castle of Illusion, Land of Illusion etc), Asterix, MArble Madness, Pacmania, Micro Machines, Fantastic Dizzy and Cosmic Spacehead (especially the last two - awesome and MUCH better than every 16bit version). Many reviewers also believed that Mortal Kombat and Lemmings played more faithfully in the Master System version than the Megadrive/Genesis, and these were BIG games for the magazines to be recommending the 8bit versions above 16...
Its worth remembering that the Master System was far more powerful than the NES, and in certain parts of the world new games carried on being released until around 1998 - I have seen rare copies of late 16 bit and early 32 bit games on the Master System and Game gear, including Street Fighter 2, Virtua Fighter, Puzzle Bobble(Bustamove), Baku Baku Animal, Fifa Soccer, NBA Jam, etc etc etc etc.
The fact that the Master System failed in the States And Canada before it hit greatness is one that saddens me deeply, especially as in 1991-1995 I owned a Megadrive & Snes, and yet my favourite games were still being released on the Master System
