Snail Maze
Snail Maze is a 1986 maze video game developed and published by Sega for the Master System. Instead of being released on a cartridge, it was built into the BIOS of the non-Japanese versions of the console and could be played by starting the system without a game cartridge inserted and holding Up and buttons 1 and 2 simultaneously, consequently being a launch title for the console in the region. Some later console models included a minimal BIOS because of memory constraints, and Snail Maze had to be removed.
Snail Maze
- Date
- 1986
- Genre
- maze video game
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
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Documentary summary
Snail Maze is a 1986 maze video game developed and published by Sega for the Master System. Instead of being released on a cartridge, it was built into the BIOS of the non-Japanese versions of the console and could be played by starting the system without a game cartridge inserted and holding Up and buttons 1 and 2 simultaneously, consequently being a launch title for the console in the region. Some later console models included a minimal BIOS because of memory constraints, and Snail Maze had to be removed.
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wikidata · Q3487108 · wikipedia · Snail Maze
In this article
The object
The object
These systems instead included a built-in Alex Kidd in Miracle World or Sonic the Hedgehog. Not released in Japan.
Key facts
Key facts
• Title — Snail Maze • Developer — Sega • Publisher — Sega • Genre — Maze • Modes — Single-player • Platforms — Master System
Gameplay
Gameplay
A very simple game, Snail Maze involves navigating a small orange snail with a yellow shell through a blue maze. A goal area is clearly marked, which players must attempt to reach within a time limit. Despite its relative simplicity compared to other games of its era, Snail Maze can be quite challenging. Subsequent levels reduce the time available, giving a progressively lower margin for error.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
- Japan
Named but not plotted · 1
Snail Maze is associated with Japan.
Country
Legacy
A version of Snail Maze was included on the Coleco Sonic handheld system, created in 2006. An emulated version of Snail Maze can be played in various entries of the Like a Dragon series by using an in-game Master System without selecting a game. In 2004 an unofficial port of Snail Maze was made for the Japanese MSX computer platform with enhanced graphics and a new title screen. An unofficial port Snail Maze was released on iOS in January 2013. An unofficial port of Snail Maze was released in December 2015 for the TI-84 Plus CE graphing calculator, written in eZ80 assembly language. In 2020, Genesis Project created and released a Commodore 64 version of Snail Maze.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.The Games Machines, p. 198
- 2.Sega Does: Snail Maze. segadoes.com. November 1, 2014.
- 3.Sega Master System Snail Maze full playthrough.
- 4.Service Games: The Rise and Fall of SEGA: Enhanced Edition, p. 36
- 5.Snail Maze for iOS (IPhone/IPad) - GameFAQs.
- 6.Snail Maze v1.0.0. www.cemetech.net. 20 December 2015.
- 7.C64 Snail Maze +.
References
Citations
References
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Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 19 August 2026.
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