In the days before international communication became cheap and convenient, it was easy to miss out on what was going on elsewhere. You’d be aware of import games thanks to magazines, but it wasn’t so easy to find out anything else. Thus, it came as a huge surprise to me when I got online and discovered that the Master System – the console that myself and all of my friends had owned as kids – was considered a failure in the USA. I also discovered that it was considered to have few good games, which seemed bizarre until I learned just what my American friends had missed out on. The likes of Ninja Gaiden and Master of Darkness never reached their shores, so I’d often highlight great European releases.

Of all the games I highlighted in this endeavour The Lucky Dime Caper was one of the most frequently used, which is fitting as it’s a game in which Donald Duck tours the world. Quite aside from being one of my favourite games when I was growing up, the game has that instant appeal that comes with a Disney licence. Donald Duck’s game lived up to the standards that Sega had set for its Disney licences with Castle Of Illusion, and featured some excellently designed platform stages alongside the bright, bold visuals that characterised Master System games. A fair few people looked at the console differently after playing The Lucky Dime Caper. But that’s to be expected – after all, great games are great games regardless of whether or not you caught them the first time around.