Ghostbusters Master System

Description

Ghostbusters Master System

• Managing the business: The game begins at the Ghostbusters headquarters. Players start with $10,000 to purchase a vehicle and essential ghost-busting equipment. The choices affect your speed and carrying capacity.
• Driving: In an overhead map of New York City, you select buildings that have glowing paranormal energy, and then drive there. During this stage, you must navigate traffic and can use a “Ghost Vacuum” to capture free-roaming ghosts for extra cash.
• Busting ghosts: When you reach a haunted building, the perspective shifts to a side-view. You control two Ghostbusters, using their proton streams to guide a ghost over a trap placed on the ground. A successful capture nets you money, but failure will cost you.
• PK energy and Stay Puft: The city’s overall paranormal energy, or PK Level, increases over time. If it fills with yellow, the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man may randomly appear to destroy a building, costing you money. If the meter reaches red, you have a limited time to make it to the Zuul building.
• Zuul building: To enter the Zuul building, you must have at least $10,000. Players must then navigate their team past a bouncing Marshmallow Man to enter the tower. Inside, you must climb a side-scrolling stairwell to confront Gozer. 

• Visuals: The Master System version features sharper, more colourful graphics and better-defined sprites. The game world feels more dynamic, with detailed elements like a forklift operator in the shop menu.
• Gameplay tweaks: It offers thoughtful design improvements, including rebalanced costs for vehicles and equipment. It also lacks some of the broken mechanics that made the NES version so frustrating.
• Difficulty and polish: While still challenging, the Master System’s gameplay is more cohesive and less obtuse. The overall experience is more refined, making it a more accessible and enjoyable game. 

• A “hidden gem”: The game is praised by many retro enthusiasts as one of the better releases for the Master System, especially in contrast to other console ports of the era.
• “Tedious” vs. “fun”: Opinions on the game’s repetitive core loop are mixed. Some critics found the pattern of buying gear, driving, and busting ghosts to be monotonous, while others enjoyed the resource management aspect and arcade-like gameplay.
• Password system: After a game over, players with more than $10,000 in cash are given a password, allowing them to restart with their accumulated money. This makes subsequent attempts at completing the game easier.

Another great retro game available at Escapist Gamer – Sonic The Hedgehog (Master System)