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→Arcade
Only a few homebrew games or ROM hacks make full use of the 3/6 button control pads. At least in their libretro fork, Genesis Plus GX supports several Genesis controllers to be used in Sega 8-bit systems, as long the game itself supports them.
==Hardware quirks==
;Games with extra RAM
Some cartridges include extra RAM in their cartridge boards. These games are:
* ''Ernie Els Golf'' (8KB, Game Gear only)
* ''Home Basic'' (32KB, SG-1000 / Sega Mark III only)
* ''Othello'' (2KB)
* ''The Castle'' (8KB)
;Not backward compatible warnings
Two games released in Sega Card, ''Pit Pot'' and ''Hang-On'' display an incompatibility message if they are played in a real SG-1000/SC-3000 through the ''Card Catcher''. This feature predicts the not backward compatible warning screens from Game Boy Color-only games by more than 15 years.
Some emulators allow the use to force a system to be chosen, such as Genesis Plus GX and MAME, and these screens can be reproduced on them.
;Mappers
Just like the NES, both Master System (including games that rely on legacy video modes from SG-1000) and Game Gear support a variety of cartridge mappers that can be used in their respective systems. However, only two mappers are official: The Sega one and a Codemasters one, used in their own cartridges. Many unlicensed cartridges (mostly from South Korea and Taiwan) use their own custom mappers.
Emulators that are updated still to this very day such as MEKA, Genesis Plus GX, MAME, and Emulicious, can handle almost every kind of unlicensed cartridge mapper known to the community. Most of them are used for multicarts that contain original SMS games, SG-1000 games, or even unlicensed MSX1 conversions. Notably, the only unlicensed Western cartridge with a custom mapper is ''4 PAK All Action'' from HES, which was released only in Australia.
;Game Gear to Master System hacks
ROM hacks of Game Gear games that allow them to be played in a real Master System or a Sega Genesis through the Power Base Converter. While the main advantage is a bigger (but still restricted) play area, there are more disadvantages to using them, such as a second controller required to mimic the Game Gear's Start button, a weaker color palette, missing animations or sprite zoom, graphical garbage, and no Stereo function.
While not recommended, they can be played on outdated Master System emulators who does not emulate a Game Gear, such as PicoDrive.
;MSX1 and Colecovision conversions
Conversions of MSX1 and Colecovision games made by bootleg companies in Taiwan or South Korea (except for Colecovision) or by the community. While made primarily thanks to the legacy video modes inherited from SG-1000, they are optimized for Master System and Game Gear through flash carts such as ''Master Everdrive'' and ''Everdrive GG''. They will not work on a Sega Genesis.
Most of these conversions are not playable on SG-1000/SC-3000 with extra RAM and do not work in outdated emulators.
;BIOS routine check
International Master System models do have a ROM header routine check. Most games that originated from Japanese-style cartridges do not include this ROM header, which forces the BIOS to give a '''SOFTWARE ERROR''' message, regardless from an adapter or through a custom flash cart. The only BIOS that bypasses this check is the one included in Japanese and Korean models. On Game Gear, the Majesco-manufactured models include a BIOS that works in the same way as the TMSS from Sega Genesis, except the routine is performed in the same way as the International Master System models do.
The BIOS from all models can be emulated in Kega Fusion, MAME, Genesis Plus GX, and others, although they are completely optional. MEKA includes an altered version of the v1.3 BIOS that skips the routine check.
;Dual language
Some Master System and Game Gear games have dual language support, depending on the hardware's region. Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong use the Japan region, while every other country uses the International (English) region. This behavior may be updated in time with a region switch and such behavior can be done in emulators as well (results vary between games).
;93C46 EEPROM
A 128-byte EEPROM is used in several Game Gear cartridges. All games are licensed baseball games to hold custom team data and/or save Pennant Mode progress:
* ''The Majors Pro Baseball''
* ''World Series Baseball'' / ''Pro Yakyuu GG League''
* ''World Series Baseball '95'' (the Japanese version, ''Hideo Nomo no World Series Baseball'', uses generic SRAM)
Several outdated Game Gear emulators do not emulate this type of SRAM, which also makes the game not initialize properly or not boot at all.
;Stereo Music
A function used in most Game Gear games, it adds channel audio panning to the handheld's sound chip.
Most known Game Gear emulators support this function.
==Arcade==
