Sunsoft's Blaster Master is a fantastic NES title and effortlessly one of the highlights of the console's amazing library – but, despite its legendary status, there's room for improvement.
It seems that we almost got a version which would have papered over some of Blaster Masters' rougher edges for the Nintendo Playchoice-10 arcade system, which was based on the NES.
We weren't previously aware this version even existed until VG Museum alerted us:
We then spotted the following video online, along with this description:
This is the holy grail of the NES/Arcade era! If you ever wondered why the Blaster Master box claimed Authentic Arcade Action, look no further... The legendary frog cinema is gone! An alternate title screen with a high score, credit system and added level map solve players' major complaints with the 1988 console game making this the definitive version of a timeless classic!!
The Blaster Master series has continued over the years, with Blaster Master 2 (1993), Blaster Master: Enemy Below (2000) and (more recently) Blaster Master Zero, Blaster Master Zero 2 and Blaster Master Zero 3.
Would you have liked to have played this particular version of Blaster Master, or do you still think the original NES version is the king? Let us know with a comment.