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I was quite surprised when I first heard of this game. The first time you play it, it hits you instantly: Master of Darkness plays exactly like Castlevania. But don't be put off... this is far from a bad thing. In Master of Darkness, you take the role of Dr. Social, a parapsychologist who sets off to solve the mystery of Jack the Ripper, and ends up entangled in a plot to resurrect Dracula. You go trough five fairly varied levels, which are the docks along the river Thames in London, a wax museum and roof tops where you fight an evil spirit made of ectoplasm emitted from a medium, a graveyard, church and clock tower, an evil wizard's castle and lab and, finally, the dungeon maze of Dracula's castle. Each level is composed of three rounds and level 3,4 and 5 have a few multiple paths you can use. Getting trough them you'll find several weapons, which is where this game and Castlevania differ. You'll come across a useless knife, a fast and long-reaching rapier, a well-balanced hammer (or is it a cane?) and a powerful but short axe. None have upgrades, you merely switch as you find them and use the weapon that suits you best. The sub-weapons though are a gun, bomb, boomerang and stake. The first three behave almost exactly like the knife, axe and cross from Castlevania, but the stake is an incredibly useful weapon that destroys non-boss enemies in one hit, flies fairly fast and goes trough everything. You also find 1ups, health potions and a variety of items that boost your score. The controls are responsive and solid, though it is a bit tricky to go up and down stairs at points. And if you're using the regular Sega Master d-pad I found that I had trouble sometimes turning around or activated my sub-weapons by mistake, since the controller button is a bit awkward. Still, no major complaints. There is a fairly good variety of enemies, including bats that have several different flight patterns, zombies, thugs with guns, skeleton swordsmen and hooded figures with swords. There are also some interesting obstacles such as rotating platforms and poltergeist rooms where hordes of enemies and furniture appear to attack you. every level has a little something unique. On the downside, other than maybe in level 4 and 5, the bosses aren't very hard so long as you're not using the knife. While I've never been fond of the limited Sega Master sound chip, the music is actually some of the best on the system. It's not only quite catchy but also atmospheric. No complaints on that. The challenge though can be a bit lacking. Most enemies never seem to take that much health off your life bar and, if you know where to look, 1ups and life potions are plentiful. Although don't let that lull you in a false sense of security; the levels are fairly long and while you find less power ups in the later levels, the enemy count also goes up. Though, spikes do not kill you on one hit and there aren't that many bottomless pits. Everyone compares this game to Castlevania, it's almost unavoidable. But while it's so similar it's almost a flat out copy, Master of Darkness has a lot of unique elements to distinguish it from the game that inspired it, including unique levels and enemies, different weapons and a difficult but fun maze in the last level. If you're a fan of the old-school Castlevania games, give it a fair chance and accept it as its own game instead of nitpicking at the similarities. If you do, I can guarantee you'll have fun with it!Read full review
This game is fantastic. Good music, gameplay and level design. It's just fun to play. It can be hard but thankfully there is an easy lvl select code you can enter.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
I always wished that the Sega Master System had their very own version of Castlevania. The Belmont family, putting the undead to rest and beating Dracula. Well, Master of Darkness is the closest thing to be produced by the Sega Master System. There are weapons, ghouls and potions. The storyline is lame, so I just pretend it is one of Simon Belmont's brother out for an evening of combat with the undead. He doesn't use a whip, but he uses a dagger, axe and gun. The gameplay is good and the music, while is no Castlevania, is decent. The graphics are better than it's NES counterpart and the game is challenging. One of my favorite for this console. Get ready to dish out some cash because finding a US seller with this game in his Ebay store is rare. A fair price would be around $20.00-$25.00, complete and in good shape that is. If you are a hardcore Castlevania fan with a love for the Sega Master System, this game is for you. If not, pass. Thanks, Master K.Read full review