Rob's First post as a Blog Writer! Be nice to him!
The Sega Game Gear was, as most gaming products of the time, a response to a competitor's product. The Game Gear was no different, it being Sega's response to the Nintendo Game Boy.
The Game Gear's development began in 1989 under the codename 'Mercury', sticking with the Sega tradition of naming things after Roman gods. A year later, on October the 9th, 1990, the Game Gear was released in Japan, with a North American and European release a year later (Australia would get the handheld sometime in 1992). Comparing the GG and GB is fairly easy: the Game Gear is technically superior. With a higher color palette, higher resolution, larger & backlit screen, one could ask, why did the Game Boy remain on top? The answer...
Cost, as well as bulkiness and battery life. Oh, and you mustn't forget the fact that the Game Boy was already established as a market leader, with many games already out for it.
The Game Gear is a mammoth, even larger than the Sega Nomad. Weighing in at
over 400 grams, it could give you a workout just holding the thing. In addition to weighing an extraordinary amount, the thing was as thick as a textbook! Size (and non-portability) mixed with horrid battery life (6 AA's would get you 5 hours, according to Sega. I've never gotten that much) is what killed, or rather, never let this system live out a proper span.
As for the system, in terms of games and gameplay, it does not fall too far short of the Game Boy. With having amazing sound and full color, the games
did pop off of the screen, before smearing into a blur as the game scrolled by. Another plague of the system, screen smearing, this is incredibly evident in all fast games, and makes classics like the GG Sonic's almost unbearable to play. Games are fun and simple, much like the Game Boy. But again, you are presented with a dellema, $149.99 or $89.99, and the Game Boy is smaller, more portable, has more games, etc, etc. You choose which one you want. I'd pick the Game Boy.
After you get through all the bad aspects of the Game Gear, the ones that caused it to not fail, but to not do as well as it should have, you see a system that isn't so bad after all. With a car AC adapter, and a couple great games (Columns, Dynamite Heddy, Sonic 1, 2, Triple Trouble, etc), you would be set for those long car rides to wherever they may be.
EDIT: Wow, aren't I an idiot. I completely forgot to mention the Master System add-on. See, the Game Gear was basically just that, a Master System in a portable form, with a few extra colors. Sega realized this, and released a converter allowing SMS games to be played on the GG. This brought over such classics as R-Type and Phantasy Star to the Sega 'Handheld' table.
To sum it all up, the Game Gear isn't the best hand-held out there, but it definitely is
not the worst. Bogged down by a list of problems and hassles, Sega could have done a better job on this system (as well as a few others!). However, if you were ever to come a crossed an example of this system for $20 or lower, snatch it up. It will make a nice addition to your collection.
Even with its share of problems, the Game Gear gets a well earned score of:
17.5/20 or 87.5%
And, as a quick after thought, thanks to the staff for choosing myself and Nionel to contribute to the blogs. I know we'll do a fine job.
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Being able to play Master System games with a converter gives it a lot of versatility. Need to kill some time? Phantasy Star or Golden Axe Warrior are worth 10 Gameboy RPGs.
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@c4176: Dagnabit, how did I forget to put the SMS converter in there?! Thanks for making me feel silly Tan! 
Well, you must always fall before you can get back up. I can only, as with everyone else, in all aspects of life, get better, right? 
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Great Job Logical!! I'd say the final score is a bit generous considering all the flaws you mentioned, but I did learn a couple things I didnt know before. Looking forward to the next one!
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@logical123:
With so many 3rd party crap knockoffs and incompatibility with later models it's almost an article onto itself. I keep forgetting to buy one even years after having 2 Game Gears and a healthy love for SMS under my belt.
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Nice review!
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Good jorb!
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I enjoyed my Game Gear as a kid, it's too bad I had to spend a so much of my allowance on batteries. ;p
Anyway, good article, nice work.
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@c4176: No. Just no. Phantasy Star is great but it doesn't compare to Seiken Densetsu, SaGa series, Pokemon series, Dragon Warrior 1&2, Dragon Warrior 3, Links Awakening, Oracle of Seasons/Ages, Dragon Quest Monsters, and Crystalis.
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@Shimra:
Half or more of what you just listed is for the Game Boy Color not the Game Boy, which was the system the Game Gear was competing with. By the time the Color came around, the GG was long gone.
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@c4195: Ok then... Seiken Densetsu, SaGa series, Pokemon Blue, Pokemon Red, Pokemon Yellow, Links Awakening
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I should probably also mention the Shining Force series, the Phantasy Star and Lunar games as well as a couple dozen other RPGs for the Game Gear. It's all about your personal preference for these two much like the Genesis/SNES. But combine those with the Sega Master RPGs like King's Quest, Ys & Miracle Warriors, you have a helluva lineup on that system and a bit more variety than the GB offers.
Link's Awakening does rock, but Link's Awakening DX rocks better.
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@c4208: Those games aren't for the gamegear. There is a Lunar but it was released in Japan and is apparently bad. And the Phantasy Star game is Phantasy Star Gaiden. There's literally only 4 RPGs for the gamegear that were released in the US. But yeah you can do the Master System thing and count Ys and stuff but you know. I just see the GB much better when it comes to RPGs imo.
And Link's Awekening is amazing.
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