greenween

I made it through the first level, but then died pretty quick. 73,000

There's a mountain with a gap in it on the first level. If you go through it you get 5,000 points. Just in case you didn't know. 🙂 

Getting better. I managed to max out the upgrades and make it to level 3. Got hit, lost it all and then it was over . LOL 119,400

I remember getting very far in this game. I'm not sure if I ever beat it though. Once you lose all your upgrades and start with nothing it gets impossible.

Oh yeah. I loved it when it came out. Very hard but very rewarding when you made it to that next level. 🙂

Day 2 on my NES. Heading to level 3 now. Took the time to gather heart containers, rupees, master sword, and every other item obtainable. I am using walkthroughs for the best pattern for getting these things.

I made it through the first level, but then died pretty quick. 73,000

Getting better. I managed to max out the upgrades and make it to level 3. Got hit, lost it all and then it was over . LOL 119,400

I think what Gianna is playing looks really interesting.  I'd have a go at that.  Some games just really grab hold of you and will not let go.
As for Zillion...I remember seeing that game in that same poster you are showing in the pictures but I never found that game.  I had mostly the arcade stuff including outrun and some originals like Global Defense.  The Master System in my area at the time was way overshadowed by the NES and was more of an afterthought.  It showed up one day at a local Wal-Mart, no advertising at all, but no one seemed to care.  A demo unit was present but never hooked up.
The two units I got for Christmas were actually second hand store returns.  Between Mountain Home and Flippin (yes, that is correct) was a small store called J&S variety store.  They bought store damaged/returned products and tried to resell them.  My home stereo came from them a piece at a time except for the Amp.  I traded three CDs for that to a friend's father. But the two Sega systems came from there because they were the only place that had them.  I asked for one for Christmas and pointed out the one with the Great Football game inside.  Mom got me that one for Christmas, somehow granny got the other one for me.  
The Master System I have now has no games other than the built in snail game.  I'd love to see the football game again and would like to locate two original controllers for it.  I did enjoy the system.
I have had fun with this.  I got to share games I enjoy playing.  Due to an unforeseen issue I was unable to share playing Star Raiders on the ST for the first time. I did share one of my favorite pinball games and brought friends along on my journey discovering A8 games.  The A8 and ST stuff I ignored and missed out on when those were on the market.  I'm now discovering what all they had to offer.  So when I'm showing games I get for those I'm basically buying blind because I don't know those games...I'm only going on what I have researched.  So far what games I physically have are fun.
I enjoyed playing DK with @greenween because I'm not a DK fan.  I suck at that game.  Always have.  I don't dislike the characters I just always had a hard time with that game.  But playing it has opened up a new door for me.  I learned how to play the game better.  It's still a pain in the but but I learned not to walk into the monkey when running away from fireballs.  
I'm sure everyone one of us has a game that holds a story that has remained close to the heart.  One game had to have done that or we would not continue collecting and playing them.  The games I shared here were those games for me.  I hope we can do this again sometime.

I've been playing Zillion for Sega Master System off and on, you can consider it "my book for the summer" that I'm working through chapter by chapter. I've always had a soft spot for the Sega Master System, especially during summertime. This Zillion cartridge originally belonged to my friend Jon, you may remember from stories I've told in the past that Jon was the friend who first introduced me to Sega Master System at his house. He was like the one guy I knew growing up who had a Sega Master System. Eventually his SMS collection made it into my hands and I've continued to play and preserve all the SMS games we originally played. The Zillion game I'm playing is the actual cartridge we played 30 years ago. It's still in great shape and has a nice place in my collection.
During one summer in 1992 Jon and I decided we were going to go on a mission to get through Zillion to the very end. That year Sega Genesis was at its peak, and during the day we were playing games on Genesis like Sonic the Hedgehog, Ecco the Dolphin, Streets of Rage, and Cyborg Justice. But during the summer we would stay up late playing games through the wee hours of the night straight on until morning. For some reason it was usually around 11 pm when a game like Zillion would come out, something we considered "classic" even in 1992. We'd hit the lights, fire up the Sega Master System and hunker down with a bowl of popcorn, a Master System controller, a pad of graph paper to take notes and write down codes, and head out on our mission.
Zillion is essentially an "Impossible Mission" clone with that added Sega Master System twist mixed in. Zillion feels like Impossible Mission, if Impossible Mission existed in the world of "Akira" and you played inside of Nakatomi Plaza. You shoot at nefarious robots, seek out pass cards and data disks, and collect a passcode of four alien hieroglyph-looking letters to enter into the computer terminal to unlock the door and proceed into the next room. The results were an impressive game that improved on Impossible Mission and provided hours of super challenging gameplay. The game definitely had the Sega Master System sensibilities, with terrific 8-bit graphics and sound that outshined comparable games on NES and Atari 7800. Impossible Mission is possibly my favorite game on Atari 7800, and Zillion has ended up being one of my favorite US release games for Sega Master System. 
Amazingly, when I opened the case up I found a very cool surprise hidden inside; not only did I still have the original Sega poster and instruction manual inside, but I also had the map that Jon and I had drawn out on graph paper 30 summers ago when I last took a deep mission into this game. The Zillion Map looks like something that belongs with my home made Atari 7800 Strategy Guide from middle school. The map has proven to be accurate and surprisingly helpful on my mission 30 years later! I've been using it as my "strategy guide" and I've been referencing it as I go deeper into the tunnels and backrooms of Zillion. I've included a scan of our map below. Enjoy!
 
 

 

 

 

 

I tried again today and couldn't beat my best. I'll never understand why Nintendo did not include the 4th level.

I remember getting very far in this game. I'm not sure if I ever beat it though. Once you lose all your upgrades and start with nothing it gets impossible.

Oh yeah. I loved it when it came out. Very hard but very rewarding when you made it to that next level. 🙂

I think it's a "fair" hard though.  Every death feels like it was my fault.  The patterns are always the same.  It's a matter of learning what to do and then executing.  Plus it's fun to see what's next. 
The VCS "Recharged" games remind me a lot of this...a brutal difficulty level, but it's not unfair and I do get better over time.
 

This game is brutal. Absolutely brutal. I'm trying to remember what we all were thinking when we first played this game when it was new. Going from Asteroids and Tempest to this is like immediately jumping into the deep end of the pool and learning to swim.
My High Score: 93,300

Oh jeez, I had forgotten how hard this game is.  43,100
 

I made it through the first level, but then died pretty quick. 73,000

Getting better. I managed to max out the upgrades and make it to level 3. Got hit, lost it all and then it was over . LOL 119,400

There's a mountain with a gap in it on the first level. If you go through it you get 5,000 points. Just in case you didn't know. 🙂 

I got a bit closer.  I ran into the monkey trying to avoid a fireball.  Opps. 31.7k my best so far.

I'm hoping playing this game in a challenge might help me get better at it because I really am no good at Donkey Kong lol.

Well.  I did better until someone called my name lol
 

Game B it is.  I will have to use my Mini.  I don't have a physical cart of DK.  

NES Pinball is good.  Be sure to let us know how you like it.  Pinball Quest is really fun!  If you ever find that one at a reasonable price you might try jt.  It will really challenge your pinball skills.
Oh...and I was asking what you had to see if we might have the same game where we could do a bit of a battle challenge for this thread before it ends.