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meanwhile, Europe and Brazil:
(context: the Master System, and Sega in general ended up becoming the most successful in those two particular regions)
also, it was more powerful than the NES when it came to its processor and graphics controller (which even though only had 64 colors to choose from compared to the NES's 448 (technically, it had less colors to choose from due to only having 56 base colors, the rest only being accessible with color emphasis bits), it could display more of those colors at once (31 colors vs the NES's 25), and it used a more recognisable color standard, that being RGB, whereas the NES used custom colors that were (for the most part) incompatible with RGB standards at the time, which could've complicated emulation of the NES if the VGA didn't come to the rescue), with only slightly worse sound capabilities (which is a fair sacrifice that got remedied by the FM Sound Unit on the original Mark III, and then the built-in YM2413 on the MK-2000 model of the SMS, both units unfortunately exclusive to Japan, but at least one of them came with the best BIOS songs, right?)
also, we (the Europeans) had one of the first truly successful RPGs on the Master System specifically (Phantasy Star, designed by Yuji Naka), before eventually the genre became unpopular there, until it got revived mainly due to Final Fantasy VII being released on the PS1, but that's a story for another day
back to the Master System, sure, there were some bad games for it, but that basically applies to every game console. it's unavoidable.
also, we got Sonic the Hedgehog on the Master System (famously the last Master System game released in North America, meaning we got to have Sonic 2 and Sonic Chaos on the Master System, and some other games that otherwise remained exclusive to the Game Gear in NTSC regions)
Alex Kidd in Miracle World is also worth mentioning. there's a whole library of classics on the Master System, with even some titles ported from its successor, the Mega Drive. the two consoles effectively boosted the other's popularity in Europe, with two whole models of the Master System Converter being released in Europe.
couple that with Sega's marketing (Nintendo's marketing was nonexistent in Europe at the time the Master System released), the fact that there was no video game crash in Europe (the video game market was dominated by computers before the Master System's release), and therefore the nonexistent console competition in Europe, and you get the recipe for the best video game system ever.
while it was eventually discontinued in Europe, it still lives in Brazil, with it outselling basically every game console there, meaning that the Master System is also the longest-living game console ever, all thanks to Tec Toy
so there you have it. the Master System IS the best video game system, and that's final.
TL;DR: the Master System had more powerful hardware than the NES, it popularised the RPG genre with Phantasy Star, was where Alex Kidd's first game got released, gained a lot of popularity in its later years thanks to the Mega Drive (ports from and to the MD, and the Master System Converter), and became a smash hit in Europe and Brazil thanks to practically nonexistent competition and the lack of a video game crash there

i kinda wish i grew up in the Master System era, but it is what it is, and i grew up during the era of the Wii, the DS, and their successors, Wii U and the 3DS, but that's alright, i've mostly been a PC gamer, and i lost trust in Nintendo in recent years anyway :3

"The Best Video Game System"
yeah, keep telling yourself that

when it comes to the Master System BIOS, it's always Space Harrier. thank you, Hiro!

Who up playing snail maze

Ngl the PSG+FM rendition of Space Harrier's theme slaps hard
I still stand by the fact that this is the best rendition of the theme