(23/30) Snail Maze

The game that was built into the original Master System and could be played when the cartridge slot was empty, which was a lovely idea.

A pure maze navigation game where you guide a little snail from the start to the finish, accompanied by a happy little tune and under the pressure of a timer, which has extra time added when you complete a round. There are 12 rounds in all.

It's nice to play on the small screen but some of the vertical lines aren't very well defined. The lines are all perfect on the big screen though.

(22/30) Ristar

This is the Game Gear version, which has its own unique features.

Colourful and upbeat platformer where you play as Ristar the Shooting Star, a fantastical creature who stretches his arms out, grabs and whacks his face off things and is able to catapult himself into outer space towards other planets just by swinging on poles.

In this game stages take place across 6 planets, rich for exploring and you're not scored or under pressure for time so it is worth exploring to find treasures and trying everything out. At the end of a planet's stage you fight a boss before hopping to the next planet to right the wrongs of the game's main antagonist Greedy.

Stages get pretty hard as the game progresses and you can often find yourself addicted to slowly climbing a wall by stretching out and bashing your face off of it!

But it's all in good fun. Everything appears nicely on the small screen.

There's also a password system with 6 digits. If you enter KUMI you get access to a debug mode, where you can skip to the next level by pressing B while the game is paused and then unpausing. Also, if you hold UP and B and then unpause you gain access to a level select screen.

(21/30) Quartet

This is the Master System version of the game.

Very arcade-centric horizontal platformer with a sci-fi theme. You play as a woman named Mary who has to destroy enemy alien invaders.

In each of the 6 enemy filled stages, you have to find and destroy the boss, grab the key it leaves behind and find the exit. There's a jetpack you can use, but you get knocked off it when you get hit. Try to stay low so it doesn't remain suspended too high in the air to reach.

Annoyingly, the shoot and jump buttons are reversed from standard.

At the title screen if you press the START button 14 times and then press A you start the game with a wide beam.

Text and objects are easy enough to see on the small screen.

(20/30) Putt & Putter

This is the Master System version of the game.

A mini-golf sim with 3D isometric stage layouts and elements from pinball tables like bumpers. It's got 3 stages, each with 6 holes. There's a couple of bonus holes as well when you do a complete playthrough. There's also a practice mode with 6 holes of its own.

At the title screen hold LEFT and DOWN, then press A or B to unlock a stage select when you begin a normal game.

Text and objects are quite pleasant and easy to see on the small screen.

(19/30) Penguin Land

This is from the Master System, which was the only console that had it. In the original version of the game there was a stage editor, but it's absent here unfortunately.

A cute puzzling platformer, where you play as a penguin trying to get his egg down to the bottom of the stage in order to join your penguin crew on your spaceship. You do this by breaking bricks Lode Runner style and guiding it carefully, figuring out where to go while avoiding enemies and other hazards.

Annoyingly, the action button and jump buttons are reversed from standard.

There are 30 rounds in the game at first and you can select one to start from at the title screen. After you beat them there's an additional 20 available. At the end of every stage you get a time bonus.

Throughout the game there are many different blocks and objects you come across that mix the gameplay up a bit. It's worth getting a feel for these and seeing what they allow and don't allow you to do.

Objects are easy to see on the small screen but the text is very difficult to see due to its outline.

(18/30) Opa Opa

This is the Master System version of Fantasy Zone II: The Tears of Opa-Opa.

This horizontally scrolling shooter looks and plays similarly to its predecessor which is also built-in to this handheld, but now you can go to different areas through warp points, which gives this game its own spin.

Just like the first game there's no turbo fire option, but the objects and text are easy to see on the small screen.

(17/30) Mean Bean Machine

This is the Game Gear version of Dr Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine, which features characters from the "Adventures of Sonic The Hedgehog" cartoon. It's a nice way to present this Puyo Puyo game.

Puyo Puyo is a block dropping game where they come down in pairs of blocks. You must stack and match at least 4 of the same colour to clear them out. It's usually played competitively, where you try and make chains of blocks clearing in order to dump rubbish blocks onto your opponents side with the aim making their screen flood and collapse.

There are 3 modes of play.

Scenario mode is the competitive mode where you play in stages against Dr Robotnik and his robots, including Scratch, Grounder and Coconuts from the cartoon. There's a little high score table and a password system that uses 4 characters.

Exercise mode is the solo endless game where you select your difficulty and away you go. There's the odd special block you get that mixes things up and there's a little high score table here too. Should be a good place to practise chains.

Puzzle mode is stage based where you're given little missions on what to do on prepared stacks of blocks. It's presented as a training manual for Dr. Robotnik's robots which is pretty cute. There's a 4 digit password system in place here too so you can continue at a different time.

Blocks, play area and text are nice and easy to see on the small screen.