Jewel Master
From Sega Retro
| Jewel Master | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| System(s): Sega Mega Drive | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Publisher: Sega | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Developer: Sega R&D2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Original system(s): X68000[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Developer(s) of original games: Amusement[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sound driver: Cube/Noriyuki Iwadare | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Genre: Action[2][3] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Number of players: 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Jewel Master (ジュエルマスター) is a Sega Mega Drive action game developed by Sega R&D 2 and published by Sega. It is a port of the unfinished X68000 game Blade of the Great Elements[1][8]. It was first released in Japan in August 1991 and was brought to the United States and Europe later that year.
Contents
Story
The Kingdom of Mythgard is terrorized by Demon King Jardine the Mad and his Dark Legion, but they are stopped right before successfully destroying Mythgard by the Twelve Masters of the Elements. Jardine manages to destroy eight of the twelve, and the other four channel their power to a Holy Blade, which you must retrieve to finally defeat Jardine.
Gameplay
The game is a side-scrolling action-adventure played as a mystical warrior who obtains magic powers through the use of elemental rings. The rings represent the "four powers of nature": fire (red), water (blue), wind (white), and earth (green). There are three rings for each element, each increasing in power. The warrior starts the game with one fire and one water ring and obtains the remaining ten from defeating fantastical creatures over the course of his journey. The warrior can equip up to two rings on each hand, with different combinations of rings bestowing different abilities upon him. Some combinations of rings produce a unique ability while others no effect. Some enemies are only vulnerable to certain elements, and some stages require the use of special jumping abilities granted by the rings.
The warrior moves with 
and 
and crouches with 
. He jumps with 
and jumps off platforms (including the stairs in the first stage) with +. He uses the ability on his left hand with 
and the ability on his right hand with 
. Magic attacks can be done while crouching or jumping. They can also be aimed directly upwards (even in midair) by holding 
.
The player can change the equipped rings at any time by pausing the game with START . The D-Pad moves the cursor to select a ring, and selects a ring. While a ring is selected, places it or removes it. All rings can be unequipped with .
The warrior has a life gauge represented by colored rectangles. Each unit changes color before it is eventually lost as the warrior takes damage from foes. The game ends if the warrior loses all of his life, but it can be continued from the beginning of the current stage if the player has credits remaining. Every stage has a hidden fairy that extends the life gauge by one unit if found and rescued.
Magic Powers
If more than one ring of the same element is equipped on the same hand, the effect of the highest level ring is given.
| Flame | |
|---|---|
| Generates a jet of flame in front of the warrior. This ability is produced by equipping Fire Level 1-3 by itself on one hand. The second level produces a longer flame than the first. The third level shoots a tall fan of flame a short distance forwards. | |
| Fire Wall | |
| Drops pillars of fire that burn along the ground a short distance in front of the warrior. This ability is produced by equipping Fire Level 1-2 on the same hand with Earth Level 1-3. Higher levels of earth rings produce a wider and taller area of effect. | |
| Fire Viper | |
| Unleashes a fire viper made of fireballs, which bounces off the ground towards enemies. This ability is produced by equipping Fire Level 3 on the same hand with Earth Level 1-3. Higher levels of earth rings produce longer and faster vipers. | |
| Fire Ball | |
| Shoots fireballs across the length of the screen. This ability is produced by equipping Fire Level 1-3 on the same hand with Wind Level 1-3. Higher levels of fire rings increases the number of fireballs to two or three (which travel in a conical formation). Higher levels of wind rings increases the speed at which the fireballs fly. | |
| Barrier | |
| Conjures a barrier that briefly reduces the damage that the warrior takes from enemy attacks. This ability is produced by equipping Water Level 1-3 by itself on one hand. Higher levels of water rings lengthens the duration of the effect. | |
| Wave | |
| Shoots an energy ball that travels in a sinusoidal wave pattern across the length of the screen. This ability is produced by equipping Water Level 1-3 on the same hand with Wind Level 1-3. Higher levels of water rings increases the number of energy balls to two or three. Higher levels of wind rings increases the speed at which the energy balls fly. | |
| Ice Dagger | |
| Shoots a wave-shaped projectile across the screen, which ricochets off surfaces. This ability is produced by equipping Water Level 1-3 on the same hand with Earth Level 1-3. Higher levels of water rings increases the number of projectiles to two or three. Higher levels of earth rings increases the speed at which the projectiles fly. | |
| Earthquake | |
| Causes the ground to tremble, stunning ground-based enemies (but having no effect on flying enemies). This ability is produced by equipping Earth Level 1-3 by itself on one hand. Higher levels of earth rings increases the stun duration. | |
| Speed Up | |
| Increases the movement speed of the warrior. This ability is passive and persists for as long as the ring is equipped. It is produced by equipping Wind Level 1 by itself on one hand. | |
| High Jump | |
| Increases the jump height of the warrior. This ability is passive and persists for as long as the ring is equipped. It is produced by equipping Wind Level 2 by itself on one hand. | |
| Double Jump | |
| Grants the warrior the ability to jump a second time in midair. This ability is passive and persists for as long as the ring is equipped. It is produced by equipping Wind Level 3 by itself on one hand. | |
| Blade | |
| Arms the warrior with the legendary blade of the Element Masters. When swung, the sword blasts an energy wave imbued with the power of the four elements. This ability is produced by equipping Fire Level 3 on the same hand with Wind Level 3 and Earth Level 3 on the other hand with Wind Level 3. |
Items
| Fruit | |
|---|---|
| Restores one unit of the life gauge. | |
| Life Potion | |
| Fully restores the life gauge. |
Stages
| Stage 1 | |
|---|---|
| Stage 2 | |
| Stage 3 | |
| Stage 4 | |
| Stage 5 | |
Development
Jewel Master was originally in development for the X68000 computer under the name Blade of the Great Elements. Developed by Amusement, a prototype of the original is known to exist in the form of a "test version", and with the disk reportedly having been available for purchase at some point.[1][8] However, it currently remains undumped.
Magazine articles
- Main article: Jewel Master/Magazine articles.
Production credits
- Japanese cover artist: Hiroaki Shioya
Promotional material
Physical scans
| Sega Retro Average | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
 |
65 |
|---|---|
| Based on 28 reviews | |
| Mega Drive, JP |
|---|
 Cover
|
  Cart  Manual |
| Mega Drive, US |
|---|
 Cover
|
 Cart  Manual  PCB |
| Mega Drive, EU |
|---|
 Cover
|
 Cart  Manual  PCB |
| Mega Drive, BX† |
|---|
 Cover
|
| Mega Drive, AU |
|---|
   Cover
|
 Cart  Manual |
| Mega Drive, AU (alt) |
|---|
 Cover
|
Cart  Manual |
Technical information
- Main article: Jewel Master/Technical information.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 https://murakun5555.at.webry.info/201112/article_36.html
- ↑ File:JewelMaster MD JP Box.jpg
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 https://sega.jp/history/hard/megadrive/software.html (Wayback Machine: 2020-07-20 09:51)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Sega Power, "November 1991" (UK; 1991-10-04), page 11
- ↑ Computer Trade Weekly, "" (UK; 1991-11-18), page 27
- ↑ Sega Force, "Februrary 1992" (UK; 1992-01-23), page 75
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Sega Power, "April 1992" (UK; 1992-03-05), page 34
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 @goldwing1992 on Twitter
- ↑ Sega TV Game Genga Gallery, Graphic Sha, page 81
- ↑ 1700 igr dlya Sega, "" (RU; 2001-xx-xx), page 103
- ↑ Aktueller Software Markt, "Dezember 1991" (DE; 1991-11-15), page 140
- ↑ Beep! MegaDrive, "September 1991" (JP; 1991-08-08), page 35
- ↑ Consoles +, "Octobre 1991" (FR; 1991-10-05), page 58
- ↑ Console XS, "June/July 1992" (UK; 1992-04-23), page 131
- ↑ Mean Machines: The Essential Sega Guide, "" (UK; 1993-11-18), page 61
- ↑ Famitsu, "1991-09-06" (JP; 1991-08-23), page 39
- ↑ Games-X, "12th-18th September 1991" (UK; 1991-09-12), page 37
- ↑ Game Informer, "January/February 1992" (US; 199x-xx-xx), page 7
- ↑ Hippon Super, "September 1991" (JP; 1991-08-03), page 90
- ↑ Joypad, "Novembre 1991" (FR; 1991-10-1x), page 44
- ↑ Joystick, "Octobre 1991" (FR; 1991-xx-xx), page 158
- ↑ Sega Mega Drive Advanced Gaming, "January 1993" (UK; 199x-xx-xx), page 92
- ↑ Mega Drive Fan, "November 1991" (JP; 1991-10-08), page 91
- ↑ Mega Force, "Janvier 1992" (FR; 1992-01-15), page 89
- ↑ MegaTech, "Xmas 1991" (UK; 1991-12-06), page 78
- ↑ Mean Machines Sega, "October 1992" (UK; 1992-09-xx), page 139
- ↑ Player One, "Décembre 1991" (FR; 1991-xx-xx), page 102
- ↑ Power Play, "1/92" (DE; 1991-12-11), page 181
- ↑ Score, "Květen 1994" (CZ; 1994-05-01), page 59
- ↑ Sega Pro, "November 1991" (UK; 1991-xx-xx), page 50
- ↑ Sega Pro, "Christmas 1991" (UK; 1991-12-12), page 67
- ↑ Sega Pro, "April 1993" (UK; 1993-03-11), page 66
- ↑ Sega Force, "Februrary 1992" (UK; 1992-01-23), page 74
- ↑ Sega Saturn Magazine, "September 1995" (JP; 1995-08-08), page 87
- ↑ Supergame, "Maio 1992" (BR; 1992-05-xx), page 42
- ↑ Tricks 16 bit, "Tricks Sega Gold 800 igr" (RU; 1998-03-20), page 94
| Jewel Master | |
|---|---|
|
Main page | Comparisons | Magazine articles | Reception | Region coding | Technical information | |
