Hang-On (Sega Master System)

Hang-On
Developer: Sega Publisher: Sega Platform: Sega Master System Released in JP: October 20, 1985 Released in US: October 1986 Released in EU: August 1987 Released in AU: 19xx Released in TW: 19xx This game has hidden development-related text. This game has unused music. This game has regional differences.

The Master System port of Hang-On, one of the system's launch titles, was quite a looker for the time. While it couldn't replicate the original arcade game's impressive super scaler technology, it featured more detailed graphics and smoother scrolling than anything seen on any competing console at the time, cementing the Master System as a worthy competitor to the NES (though we all know how that ended up).

It also released alongside a version for the SG-1000, which was bizarrely titled Hang-On II despite being the exact same game on weaker hardware. At least that version actually has music during gameplay (more on that below).

Hidden Music

The arcade game's main theme. For some extremely inexplicable reason, the Master System version of the game doesn't feature any music during gameplay. A 10-second snippet is used on the title screen, and the same version of the theme that goes unused here plays during gameplay in both the aforementioned Hang-On II and in Hang-On Jr. (a port of Hang-On on the Master System-derived System E hardware). Instead, this track can only be heard when inserting the Japanese version of the game into an SG-1000, SG-1000 II, or SC-3000.

(Source: SMSPower)

Build Date

Offset 0x7FEB of the Japanese version's cartridge data contains a build date:

H.O SEP. 11 1985

(Source: Bock)

Regional Differences

The Sega Mark III logo was removed in the international versions.

Japan	International

The hilariously-redundant copyright info was shortened.

Japan	US	Europe

The Japanese version has a 16-pixel-wide black bar on the right side of the screen during gameplay. This was removed in the other versions, which also move everything 8 pixels to the right to take advantage of the expanded screen estate. The road color was also changed from blue to a more natural gray.

The European version changes the 8-pixel-wide bar on the left side of the screen from black to the current sky color.

(Source: Sega Retro)